Chapter 120
Roderick (2)
“I can see Your Majesty’s shadow. What exactly are you harboring within it?”
Johan—Ilea—had detected the shadow King Roderick was concealing.
The witch’s eyes could clearly perceive the ghostly energy surrounding him.
The King had been tainted by some form of evil.
Although faint, demonic energy was unmistakably flowing through his body.
The moment Johan finished speaking, the King’s eyes began darting wildly in every direction.
It was an exceedingly eerie sight, but none of the ministers felt afraid.
An ordinary human’s vision could not follow the speed at which his eyes were moving.
Of everyone in the grand hall, only Ilea noticed the King’s bizarre behavior.
Johan—Ilea—smiled with her eyes.
His gaze intertwined with the King’s in midair.
Roderick stopped his strange movements and spoke.
“...My shadow, you say. Watcher of Narak, what exactly do you mean by that?”
His restless eyes had already regained their composure.
The King managed to maintain his calm.
Someone behind the scenes was probably advising him.
According to public opinion, King Roderick was not originally a man capable of controlling his emotions.
Johan spoke with a relaxed expression.
“It could be a parasite that burrows into a weak mind, a treacherous subject seeking to exploit stupidity, or a wicked entity that incites the evil inherent in humanity. Perhaps it is all of those things.”
The moment he finished speaking, the ministers erupted in agitation.
Some were so shocked that they stammered, while others shouted angrily.
“S-Sir Johan, what is the meaning of such a reckless statement?”
“Even if His Majesty misunderstood your intentions...”
“Will you not retract those blasphemous words at once?!”
“Withdraw that outrageous statement and apologize to His Majesty immediately!”
An uproar spread throughout the grand hall.
The King raised one arm to restrain them.
Silence returned.
Roderick slowly opened his mouth.
“Watcher of Narak, are you suggesting that I have been bewitched by something?”
His chillingly cold gaze fell upon Johan.
Johan remained perfectly composed.
“That is precisely what I am saying, Your Majesty.”
Roderick slammed his hand against the armrest.
“You dare insult the King?! Seize that insolent wretch immediately!”
Sir Mamon forced Johan completely to his knees.
Johan did not care.
He merely looked up at the throne and spoke calmly.
“Your Majesty, a wicked group invaded the royal capital not long ago.”
The King’s expression tightened slightly.
The moment the attack on the capital was mentioned, Roderick began betraying his emotions.
Noticing the King’s displeasure, Mamon glared at Johan.
“Sir Johan, close your mouth at once.”
Ignoring him, Johan continued.
“On the day of that attack, the barrier protecting the royal capital was briefly destroyed.”
Roderick’s pupils trembled for an instant.
Mamon pressed down on Johan’s shoulder and addressed the King.
“Your Majesty, I shall drag this man to the dungeon immediately. Please grant me permission.”
The King could not bring himself to agree.
The Watcher of Narak clearly knew something.
Roderick needed to discover exactly how much he had realized.
Clutching the armrest tightly, Roderick spoke.
“...It appears the Watcher of Narak has something to tell me. Mamon, release him.”
As though he had never displayed any hostility, Mamon immediately stepped away from Johan.
“I obey Your Majesty’s command.”
He had merely been carrying out the King’s orders. He held no particular animosity toward Johan.
Johan looked at the King.
“Your Majesty, please dismiss everyone for a moment.”
If what they were about to discuss became public knowledge, even the ruler of a kingdom would be unable to retain his position.
The throne would find itself a new owner.
Roderick had also vaguely realized that.
He waved his hand dismissively at the ministers.
“That will be all for today. I shall summon you separately at another time.”
The King’s attitude had changed far too abruptly.
The ministers could not help but find it strange.
Murmurs once again spread through the hall.
Johan rose from his kneeling position.
“I sincerely thank Your Majesty for your consideration.”
The King stared at Johan before snapping irritably at the ministers.
“Are you all deaf? I told you to leave.”
The ministers began departing the grand hall one by one.
The knights followed them out.
Before long, only Johan and Roderick remained within the vast chamber.
After quietly staring up at Roderick, Johan suddenly frowned.
He spoke in an indifferent voice.
“How long do you intend to keep looking down on me?”
He had dared to speak informally to the King.
Roderick’s eyes widened.
He was so stunned that he could not speak.
Not even Count Staviana treated Roderick in such a manner.
Ilea briefly sank into thought.
‘How would Johan behave?’
She had discovered the shadow the King was hiding.
She had found his weakness.
In this situation, Johan would unquestionably seize that weakness and refuse to let go.
That was what he always did.
Even when he first met Ilea, he had placed her under immense pressure by exploiting her weakness—Gaf.
It had been the same in his dealings with Count Staviana.
The moment Johan discovered something he could exploit, he never hesitated.
He revealed every card in his hand before crushing his opponent beneath them.
Johan’s methods were always the same.
And right now, Ilea was Johan.
She had to behave like him.
He would undoubtedly have used the King’s weakness to redefine the relationship between sovereign and subject.
Only when they stood at the same level could their conversation proceed smoothly.
Ilea immediately spoke down to the King.
“How long do you intend to keep looking down on me?”
King Roderick could not conceal his agitation. He doubted his own ears.
He might have been nothing more than a puppet king, but he was still the supreme ruler of a nation.
No one dared speak such words before the throne.
Roderick’s eyes opened wide.
His voice trembled slightly.
“W-What did you say? Say it again.”
Johan—Ilea—replied calmly.
“I asked when you intended to stop looking at me with such arrogance.”
Roderick shot to his feet.
His aged muscles trembled, and his deeply carved wrinkles contorted hideously.
He roared furiously.
“How dare you utter such insolence in my presence?!”
His voice cracked, producing a metallic rasp.
Johan chuckled.
“Do not overexert yourself. You might exhaust all the vitality that demon gave you.”
Roderick’s expression froze.
The word “demon” left him paralyzed.
“You bastard, what are you—”
Johan shook his head.
“No. That will not do. You should not deny it like that. We do not have enough time even if we speak openly about everything. Please, let us not waste our time and strength on pointless theatrics. I already know that you contracted with a demon.”
Roderick trembled violently.
Rage, shock, confusion, anxiety, doubt—countless emotions struck him all at once.
“What evidence do you have to support such nonsense?!”
Johan released a deep, resigned sigh.
“It appears I have no choice. Very well. I shall show you some evidence.”
Johan extended his palm.
The King flinched.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Johan smiled with Ilea’s characteristic crescent eyes.
“Do not worry. It will not hurt too much.”
At that moment, an unknown force wrenched Roderick’s mouth wide open.
His wrinkled throat convulsed.
A nauseating foreign sensation climbed his esophagus.
“Kuh—haaagh!”
Unable even to resist, Roderick could do nothing but groan.
Just as he was about to thrash around, Ilea closed her outstretched hand.
Cloudy white smoke burst from Roderick’s mouth.
It was demonic energy.
Yet despite being demonic energy, it was not black at all.
Johan exclaimed in admiration.
“Remarkable. So this is how you concealed its true nature.”
Without realizing it, Ilea had reverted to her usual manner of speaking.
Her genuine amazement made her briefly forget the role she was playing.
“Pure-white demonic energy” was an extraordinarily rare substance.
It carried neither the malice nor the foul odor characteristic of demonic energy.
Even a high-ranking priest would be unable to detect any demonic residue on Roderick.
At last, it was clear how the King had managed to contract with a demon without being discovered.
Without any trace of demonic energy, no one could have suspected him.
After expelling the demonic energy, Roderick collapsed onto his throne.
The strength faded from his eyes.
His entire body sagged.
All the vitality sustaining his aged body had drained away.
Roderick had returned to being a dying old man.
He slowly raised one emaciated arm.
“...Give it back. Please.”
A horrifying sense of helplessness overwhelmed him.
He could barely speak.
Roderick found the sensation unbearably painful.
Johan crooked a finger.
The pure-white demonic energy fluttered through the air in response to the movement.
“If I return it, will you tell me everything honestly?”
Roderick nodded with great difficulty.
“I will do anything. So please—please give it back to me.”
Johan smiled with his eyes.
“Very well. I shall trust you.”
He snapped his fingers.
All the demonic energy floating through the air returned to Roderick’s body at once.
Roderick’s eyes flew open.
A sharp gleam returned to them.
Rising from the throne, he asked,
“Watcher of Narak, what are you? Are you a mage?”
Johan frowned.
“Do not compare me to those crude creatures.”
She thought that was how Johan would respond.
“Then...”
Johan abruptly cut him off.
“From now on, I will ask the questions. Roderick, all you need to do is answer.”
Roderick’s eyes once again began darting wildly in every direction.
Johan stared fixedly at him.
The King was undoubtedly concentrating on something.
He murmured quietly,
“...I see. Understood.”
Johan spoke in a low voice.
“Who are you answering? Are you perhaps conversing with the demon you contracted?”
Roderick replied calmly.
“Precisely. It wants me to bring you to it immediately.”
Johan’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What does that mean?”
Roderick smiled enigmatically.
He touched his ring.
“You will understand once you experience it.”
Immediately afterward, a flash of light erupted before Johan’s eyes.
A cluster of pure-white light flooded his vision.
Johan covered his eyes with one arm and smiled.
“That is quite a useful spell.”
The witch’s eyes could see every formula supporting the magic.
An extremely high-order spell was being activated.
Naturally, Ilea could have disrupted or altered the spell’s structure immediately.
But she chose not to.
She was driven by pure curiosity.
She surrendered herself to the cascading light.
Johan vanished in an instant.
Left alone, Roderick burst into maniacal laughter.
“Wahahahahaha! You acted so high and mighty, yet look at you now! You will be offered as a sacrifice to Muel!”
His voice thundered throughout the grand hall.
Amid his booming laughter, another voice intruded.
“Roderick, what do you find so amusing?”
Roderick felt an unfamiliar weight upon his shoulder.
He immediately looked behind him.
His pupils widened dramatically.
Eyes redder than blood stared directly at him.
“H-Haaagh!”
Mapheltan’s lips stretched into a broad grin.
“Why don’t you tell me about it so I can laugh with you?”