Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Archie’s Story (12)

The ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍woman, like a dried branch, was carrying a tray as large as herself, holding water, dry cloth, and small pieces of bread that could serve as food.

It ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍seemed she had come on an errand for the human who was now lying unconscious on one side of the room.

Amy, ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍who looked somewhat out of it, did not notice Archie until she had entered the room and closed the door.

Archie ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍approached the staggering Amy and took what she was holding.

Perhaps ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍surprised by the unexpected kindness, Amy’s gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, turned toward Archie.

Archie’s ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍attempt to help ended in failure.

Because the odds and ends that fell from Amy’s hands rolled across the floor with a loud clatter.

“Uh...... what? Is this a dream?”

Amy reached out and felt the face of Archie, who had come closer to her.

Archie could not decide whether to be shocked or angry at the fact that Amy could grow even closer to a corpse in only a week, and held her thin fingers.

“It’s not a dream. It’s not an illusion either. You’re too sane to see things like that.”

“No. If you’re saying that, then it’s definitely a dream. You always think I’m a little crazy.”

Amy spoke playfully and embraced him, and joy and delight swirled in her eyes.

Archie thought he probably was not much different.

But the emotion of their reunion did not last very long.

The low, threatening breath of a beast from behind dragged Archie back to reality.

Like a fish forcibly hooked out of the water, Archie looked at the leader.

The leader was deliberately making a growling sound as he glared at Archie.

What he was saying was obvious.

If you do not bite off my neck right now, I will expose your identity to that human.

It was a fairly brutal warning, and frustratingly, it was an effective threat.

Because Archie had no intention of revealing his identity to Amy yet.

At least, not until he found out how she had remained here without being dragged into the Imperial Family’s hunt.

Deep in his heart, his conscience seemed to shout that the reason he did not want to reveal his identity was not only because of such rational judgment, but Archie ignored it.

Instead, Archie set Amy, who had been half-floating in the air, down on the floor.

And then he guided her toward the door, intending to make the somewhat forced proposal that she wait outside, even if only for a moment.

But as with all things in the world, only a very small portion went as one intended.

Archie did not have much imagination.

Because of that, when he found Amy, the reactions he had expected from her were only two at most.

She would either insist she would remain here and wait for death, or she would be briefly glad, then refuse once she realized he was trying to take her outside.

Neither direction was positive.

In other words, this situation where Amy grabbed his hand and rushed outside in the blink of an eye was far beyond Archie’s expectations.

Unable to take his eyes off the hand caught in Amy’s dry fingers, Archie ran after her.

Strictly speaking, it was no different from walking quickly, but his heart was beating faster than when he ran at full speed, so it seemed pointless to separate the difference.

Amy stopped only after she dragged Archie with her and hid inside a small staircase within the wall.

Archie sat on the small stairs, which seemed only a child could move through, and quietly looked down at Amy, who was gasping for breath, waiting for her to catch it.

No, perhaps what he was waiting for was not for her to calm down, but for himself to calm down.

Because even if Amy became capable of conversation, he honestly did not know what he should say.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Amy solved Archie’s worry.

“What happened? Why did you come all the way here? Are you all right?”

Because thanks to the questions Amy poured out, Archie was given the easier role of respondent rather than questioner.

“......I’m all right. I came here because I heard you had been dragged to the Temple.”

It was not wrong.

He had merely left out a little of the process where he had been hunted by the humans’ god and captured.

Amy, who had no way of knowing this, had her expression change subtly.

Archie could not tell whether she was happy or angry.

It seemed Amy herself was the same.

She chewed her lip and chose her words for a long while before opening her mouth.

“You came all the way here to find me? Why? Didn’t you see what I wrote down?”

“I don’t know how to read.”

When Archie answered calmly, dismay filled Amy’s face.

It seemed she had not considered the variable that he might not be able to read.

“That...... I didn’t think of that. It wasn’t anything much. I just wrote that you shouldn’t look for me. Anyway, follow me now. One Werewolf must have escaped. There was only one in there earlier, so......”

Only now did Archie understand why she had hurriedly dragged him out, and what she was misunderstanding.

Because of that, his heart grew a little uncomfortable, but Archie ignored it.

Archie had a more important question than why she had tried to save him.

Archie came to his senses and grabbed Amy’s hand as she tried to climb the stairs again.

Without taking his eyes off her puzzled face, Archie asked the question he had been wondering since the moment he saw her.

“I’m curious why you remained here.”

For some reason, this question seemed enough to stop Amy’s steps.

The problem was that it had also been enough to drag her mood down to the floor.

“What do you mean? Are you saying I shouldn’t have been here?”

Amy asked sharply.

“No. I only want to know the reason. Whether you surviving here and standing before my eyes was by your own will, or whether it was merely a coincidence.”

Though he was pretending to be calm, Archie desperately hoped Amy had chosen to survive by her own will.

If she had shown even the slightest will to resist god’s will, no, if she had merely expressed even a small complaint, Archie could place his hope in that tiny possibility.

Because then he would be able to dream of a futile future where he escaped this mad empire and lived with Amy.

But Archie’s expectation was brutally shattered.

“Luck...... my luck was bad. I thought I was being dragged to the castle like last time, but because a guest suddenly came, the schedule changed. So the people who were dragged to the hunt are gone, but the rest of us are staying in the Temple for a while. I don’t know why, but they say we’ll go to the castle later.”

Archie looked at that pale face calling survival bad luck.

Amy had not changed at all.

She would probably never be able to escape the Imperial Family’s shadow for the rest of her life.

Feeling something closer to despair than disappointment, Archie felt the pain in his chest flare up again.

Of all the rotten luck, the old scar had to act up again at a time like this.

As if his senses were slamming his mood into the floor, Archie breathed heavily.

As old pain often did, his sharpened nerves made everything irritating.

That included Amy’s face, still looking at him worriedly without understanding what was going on.

If she had the leisure to worry about someone else, she should have looked back on her own situation, yet Amy was acting as if her own death were just another thing that happened every day.

At that foolishness, something hot surged from deep inside Archie’s heart.

“After you return to the castle? Are you going to die there after playing bait in that Imperial Family bastard’s hunt again?”

At Archie’s harsh rebuke, Amy’s eyes widened.

Archie was certain the reason Amy was shocked was not because of his tone, but because he had called the bastard she called god an Imperial Family bastard.

He did not even like that she was shocked by something of this degree.

That bastard is worth less than an animal carcass rotting in a field.

Even wild dogs would not be able to stand the stench coming off him.

If you are going to throw away your life because of that bastard’s order, then rather......

All sorts of words circled inside his head, but only one thing wanted to come out.

“Can’t you throw away that god and live?”

It was not as if saying it aloud would make it happen.

Archie looked up at Amy, who was blankly looking down at him from several stairs above.

She did not look angry.

But there was a change that would trouble Archie even more.

Archie read betrayal and shock in her eyes, and a fear that surpassed them.

It was probably because a blade-like realization had stabbed her.

“......Have I ever told you how I came to live in the forest?”

Because it was a question he already knew the answer to, Archie did not answer.

“There were two Werewolves in the room...... so, you are...... no, that can’t be......”

Amy repeated asking and answering herself, trying somehow to find another answer.

Archie watched for a moment as she turned away from the answer before her eyes, then climbed one stair.

At even that small movement, Amy flinched as if he had shouted loudly.

Ignoring the pain in his chest that had begun throbbing again, Archie met her eyes.

And he straightened the body he had lowered in order to meet Amy’s eyes.

Amy’s gaze followed him upward.

But the difference in height, which would normally have ended with her lifting her head a little, grew wider and wider, and the transformation stopped only when Amy’s head was nearly bent vertically.

Before the truth forced in front of her eyes, Amy’s breath stopped.

Archie grabbed Amy’s arm as she stepped backward and caught her foot on the stair.

As soon as he steadied her swaying body, Amy tried to shake off Archie’s hand gripping her arm as if she had touched grass.

But Archie did not obediently let go of her arm.

“Nothing will change.”

At Archie’s low whisper, Amy looked up at him with frightened eyes.

“You can live as you have until now. You only have to pretend you know nothing and quietly breathe in your house.”

“Wh-what does that......”

“It means if you want to live, ignore your god and listen to me.”

At that curse-like sentence, Amy seemed to forget to struggle.

Archie thought Amy might burst into tears, but Amy was braver than that.

“......You can just kill me now. Why go out of your way to keep me alive?”

Or perhaps death was simply easier.

Feeling his mood rapidly turn filthy, Archie twisted his mouth.

“You are the one who has to create the reason I should keep you alive. If you don’t want to die, help me get out of here safely.”

Archie did not take his eyes off Amy as she went white.

“First, guide me somewhere with clothes I can wear. If I walk around like this, humans will find me suspicious.”

He pointed at his blood-soaked clothes.

“And think carefully about what excuse I can use to leave the Temple. You should know what kind of situation would let two humans outside without anyone suspecting anything.”

Amy, who had been trembling, finally opened her mouth.

“After that? If I go outside with you, what happens to me afterward?”

“You’ll be used by me until you die.”

Archie answered calmly.

“This opportunity taught me very clearly. I can’t defeat the god humans serve by charging at him head-on.”

“So? Are you going to imitate humans like you did with me and eat us?”

“Yes. Slowly, without your god noticing, we intend to expand our territory. Whatever method I use, that will be more beneficial than killing you here.”

Archie spoke while recalling the past plan that had somehow been forgotten while he spent time with Amy.

“Do you think I’ll obediently help you?”

“If you seem truly worthless, then killing you at that time would be fine too.”

Imagining Amy’s blood-soaked corpse made his insides twist, but Archie deliberately ignored it and continued speaking.

“But if you reveal our identity to other humans, you had better be prepared. I’ll chase you until the day you die and make you pay the price.”

“You’re saying you’ll chase me until I die?”

At the quiet question, Archie nodded.

“Yes. Until the moment you die.”

Perhaps frightened, Amy closed her mouth tightly after that.

Archie changed back into human form, held Amy, who had become much more obedient, and began climbing the stairs again.

Amy followed him without much resistance.

At Amy’s attitude, which seemed obedient at a glance, Archie swallowed a bitter laugh.

He knew Amy would not obediently follow his words.

Because he knew death could frighten Amy, but could not rule her.

Amy would probably expose his identity, and she would tell the Imperial Family everything.

Archie had known from the beginning that threats would not work on her.

He merely wanted Amy’s value to rise even a little more.

The Imperial Family member seemed like a man with strong pride.

If a Werewolf he had almost caught escaped, and if many humans he could not kill all learned of that fact, he would surely try to recover his pride somehow.

He would persistently chase the Werewolf he had missed.

If he learned that the Werewolf held a grudge against Amy, he would surely use Amy as bait to catch him.

As long as Amy had use to the Imperial Family member, it meant she would no longer die meaninglessly.

Archie intended to begin a game of tag with him, one whose defeat was already decided.

Like that, he hoped she could live even a little longer.

Even if that was no different from leaving a pig in a slaughterhouse to grow a little larger.

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