Novel Full Chapter 250: Weight Of A Crown
Chapter 250: Weight Of A Crown
“You can come out now.”
For a few heartbeats, nothing happened.
Then a cluster of massive ferns shook nearby, and someone stepped out.
He was a boy with copper-tan skin, cotton-white white hair, and piercing cerulean eyes.
Tall and athletic, with sharp features, he carried the sort of handsomeness that felt more untamed than refined — as though he belonged to the wilderness, not the world of men.
Maybe that was why his presence didn’t feel out of place here, and why I had trouble spotting him.
Or maybe it was because he was an exceptional scout who had mastered the art of moving without being noticed.
In any case, he seemed far more relaxed than anyone else I’d met in this hellish forest.
I flashed the kind of smile that was reserved for close friends.
“Kang Tae-jin. Are you stalking me? Wait, is that why you ignored me earlier?” I gasped and pressed a hand over my mouth. “You got flustered when I tried talking to you, didn’t you? My, my… I always knew I was divinely beautiful, but beautiful enough to make even men fall for me? Oh, heavens~!”
Kang didn’t seem the least bit amused by my joke.
“Cut the crap,” he deadpanned, his voice low and gruff.
I batted my lashes. “Huh? Whatever do you mean by that?”
“I said cut it!” He bared his teeth, and though he wasn’t using his powers, his canines looked sharp as a wolf’s fangs. “You may have fooled the others, but not me. I see right through you, Theosbane.”
The easy-going smile on my face dulled into something far less kind. “Now, now, you mongrel pup. It’s Lord Theosbane to you. And I don’t know what nonsense you’re babbling.”
Kang ignored the insult and curved his lips up into a challenging smirk. “Oh, you don’t? Funny how conveniently you forgot slaughtering more than half a city.”
My brow twitched, but I held my tongue.
With venom lacing every word, he pressed on. “How do you sleep at night, Lord Theosbane? If it were me, the faces of all those I sent to the grave would haunt my dreams. So tell me — don’t they haunt yours?”
I stayed silent, keeping my face expressionless and eyes half-lidded.
Kang kept talking, his smirk stretching into a taunting grin. “Come on! Deny it. Pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Play dumb.”
He stepped closer, then closer still, until he was face-to-face with me. “But you can’t, can you? I’ve done my digging, and I know for a fact that you orchestrated the destruction of Ishtara.”
I chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh? Allow me to jog your memory,” Kang’s wolfish grin stayed intact but his voice dropped even lower. “As soon as we left for the mission, you started riling up Michael. You pushed his focus entirely onto the Overlord, while you quietly worked on setting up the High Priest. And right when we needed them the most, the city’s blueprints just happened to fall into our hands.”
He raised a finger. “But here’s the thing — I have near-perfect memory, you see. And I remember those blueprints were wrong. They described the tunnels connecting to the Overlord’s underground lab. But while the information seemed true, the designs themselves were fake. That means someone already knew what was happening in Ishtara. Someone knew we’d be investigating.”
He lifted a second finger. “And that someone wanted to keep us away from the church. Us as in — Lily, Michael, Young Mistress, and me. Not you. Because it was an inside job. And you were behind it.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.
“You led us to the Overlord. Then you tipped him off. You told him we were coming for him. My guess? You did it to frame the High Priest. To pit him against the Overlord so they’d kill each other. And that’s exactly what happened!” He clapped a few times.
At this point, I just let him continue his monologue.
And he did. “Both their bodies were found in the High Priest’s safe house, all his treasure looted. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who walked away with that treasure.”
“Me?” I guessed.
He snapped his fingers. “Bingo! I don’t know why or what treasure you took, but I know it was you. You manipulated us all and schemed for Ishtara’s two most powerful men to kill each other.”
He shrugged. “Michael’s a great guy, but not the sharpest. He didn’t see you pushing him away on purpose. After Ishtara fell, the poor fool blamed himself, drowning in guilt for not listening to you. And that was your plan from the start.”
He paused. “Lily’s sharp, but her history with you clouds her judgment. She’s biased. As for my Young Mistress, she would’ve figured out your half-baked manipulation under normal circumstances. But for some reason, she also favors you.”
Kang leaned in, practically snarling. “So, I guess what I’m saying is — you were the puppeteer pulling every string while we danced for you like fools. You were the architect of Ishtara’s fall. You were the cause of all those deaths. And you thought no one would figure it out… but I did.”
He jabbed a finger into my chest. “Don’t bother pretending otherwise. I’ve connected enough dots to know the picture. Maybe I don’t have the whole canvas yet, but the shape is there. And it looks an awful lot like you.”
I took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Wow. Your imagination is truly wild. Anyway, could you not invade my personal space? Back off, shoo.”
Kang’s eyes flashed like a predator ready to strike. “Mock me all you want, Lord Theosbane. Act like a hero in front of everyone else. But I know what you really are. You’re a fraud. A traitor. A selfish bastard who thinks he’s untouchable! A villain! And hear me well — if you drag my Young Mistress into danger again… it’ll be the last mistake you ever make.”
I paused, blinked a few times… then broke into laughter. “Wha—? Ahh, hahaha! Oh, gods, Kang! You can’t be serious! After all that growling and your big detective speech, all you care about is keeping your precious Young Mistress safe? Just how whipped are you?! I swear, Juli will hate you—”
“Shut up!” Kang barked. “You think this is a joke? That the lives you toy with are just pawns for your amusement— khuaa!”
Before he could finish, my hand lashed out and seized his throat.
Kang stumbled back a step as my fingers clamped around his neck.
He gasped, clawing at my arm, his nails raking against my skin. He tried his best to pry me off, but I held firm.
“No, it is not a joke!” I spat. “But you know what is? A whoreson, stable-born wretch like you thinks himself worthy to even breathe in the presence of my noble blood!”
I tightened my grip and forced him down an inch.
“Do you know who I am, you fetid mutt?!” I roared, watching his eyes flicker with a mix of panic and scorn. “I come from a lineage of legends! My father conquered the Grave of the Old Gods at the age of twenty! My uncle once slew nine Unholy Spirit Beasts simply because they dared disturb his sleep! My mother was called the Saintess of Boundless Salvation, for not a single soldier died under her watch in the War of Black Fangs! My great-grandfather single-handedly united the West beneath his banner!”
My voice rose in contempt. “I’m a Theosbane! You know why our middle name is Kaizer? Because even the Monarchical families recognize us as their equal! And you? You’re nothing! Less than nothing! You’re mud on my boots, a cur I’d sooner toss scraps to than spare a glance.”
Kang clawed harder at my wrist, his gaze burning with hatred, but his strength was fading under my hold.
I leaned closer and sneered. “You dare show me your fangs? Hah! You know what? You’re right! I orchestrated Ishtara’s fall! I manipulated you all like the fools you are! And I enjoyed every fucking moment!”
Veins bulged in his neck as he struggled to breathe.
“And that Young Mistress you whine about so much?” I hissed. “I will do with her as I please, and you will be powerless to stop me!”
Finally, I let go of him.
Kang collapsed to his knees, coughing and clutching his throat as if trying to reclaim the breath I had stolen from him.
His eyes, bloodshot and watering, still burned with defiance.
I shook my hand as if I’d touched filth and scoffed in disdain. “You dare lecture me on guilt and conscience? Like a lowly worm could ever fathom the weight of a crown!”
Kang trembled as he forced himself upright and rasped, “I’ll… kill you…”
“Aw, how cute!” My smile returned and tone shifted from contemptuous to almost friendly. “Try to summon a Card, and I swear they won’t even find your body. Now get lost.”
Kang glared at me.
I could see how torn he was.
He wanted to lunge and rip my throat out with those fangs of his.
But his instincts screamed at him to back down. This was a fight he couldn’t hope to win.
Hot-headed pride or survival.
For once, survival won.
He clenched his fists and took a slow step back, body shaking with barely contained fury, eyes never leaving mine.
I watched as he turned to storm back toward camp— until I called out lightly, “Oh, wait. Before you go…”
He froze, shoulders stiff, then faced me again.
And his eyes immediately widened.
Because in my hand, I held up a phone. His phone.
For a second, Kang didn’t breathe. His hands darted to his pockets, only to find them empty.
His jaw dropped in shock.
I dangled the phone between two fingers. A bright red dot blinked on its screen.
Yes. This bastard had been recording our conversation.
I sighed like I was disappointed. “Clever pup. Almost clever enough to be dangerous. But you didn’t really think I’d fall for the oldest trick in the book, did you?”
The color drained from his face, only to come flooding back in a furious red. He looked like a rabid dog on the verge of exploding.
I simply crushed the phone in my grip. Plastic and glass shattered with a sharp crunch.
Kang gritted his teeth, nails digging into his palms so hard I could smell the faint metallic tang of blood. The boy was seething.
He was seconds from giving in to that feral rage and charging at me…
But he didn’t.
For his own sake, he didn’t.
He swallowed the scream that threatened to burst from his chest, spun on his heel, and walked away.
I nodded at his retreating back approvingly. “Good boy.”