Chapter 227: Perfect 'Tool' [2]
Camilla silently watched Carl, whom she hadn't seen for about ten days, resting his chin on his hand and staring at the flickering candlelight.
The numerous appearances of Carl that change with the flickering candlelight feel unique.
Camilla hesitated with her lips pursed, then slightly crossed the line.
"If you need a justification for war, I will take action."
Carl, who had been lost in thought at Camilla's words, slowly rolled his eyes and looked at her.
Camilla was startled for a moment, as if her heart had been pierced by an ice pick.
This was because Carl, who had been pretending not to care about her but secretly considered her special, now saw her as a perfect 'tool'.
"That's it, I… … ."
"What is the relationship between Tumaris… no, the Hadad sect?"
"… … ."
Camilla couldn't even breathe properly at Carl's indifferent voice. She was caught. She had only crossed the line once.
Carl slowly got up from his chair and leisurely approached the frozen Camilla.
Camilla was relatively tall for a woman, but she was almost a head shorter than Carl.
She was a powerful Master who could come and go from the palace as if it were her own home, and if she were willing to die, she could even assassinate Emperor Azgoth.
But now, Camilla was overwhelmed by Carl, who could easily kill her with one hand, and she just stepped back with a pale face and a gaping mouth.
It was partly due to the influence of Carl's demonic charisma, which was close to a curse, but more than anything, it was because her feelings for Carl were sincere.
"Speak, Camilla."
Carl's large hand grabbed Camilla's wrist. Camilla froze, unable to playfully embrace Carl as she had before.
"Or should I say them one by one with my own mouth?"
"… … ."
Camilla's beautiful face was distorted in pain. It was the face of a woman whose relationship with the man she was special to was on the verge of ruin.
And it was the face of someone who was blaming herself for having her well-hidden secret exposed in an instant due to clouded judgment.
At the same time, it was an unbearable joy for Camilla to realize that Carl knew everything and yet carefully turned away from her, extending a final hand. Explore new worlds at m,v l|e'm-p|yr
'If you tell me everything now, if you truly entrust everything to me, if you throw everything you have at me without leaving anything behind, then.'
Carl's impassive face and eerily calm, sunken eyes stared at her.
Beyond that face that did not seem human, Camilla felt the heat as if she had been thrown into the sun. Horribly and desperately, Camilla couldn't shake it off. Before she knew it, she was so, so…in love with this young Archduke.
"...Then, will you hug me?"
... She had fallen in love with him so much.
Carl did not answer.
Carl did not answer. But he gave her something bigger than words.
To Camilla, who had been playfully telling him that compliments were no longer enough, he showed her a clear token of promise.
Camilla couldn't breathe because Carl's lips were so hot. It felt like her own lips were no longer her own.
The trembling breaths mixed together, and everything became vague.
"… … ."
Everything passed by in such a short moment.
No, maybe it was just Camilla feeling that way—it might have been longer than a thousand years. Camilla looked up at Carl, gasping for breath.
And when she saw Carl suppressing himself to hide the agitation in his eyes with his still, indifferent face, she raised the corners of her trembling lips slightly.
It all came crashing down not because of 'Bloody Ring Camilla,' but because of a woman named Camilla. His Excellency the Grand Duke Carl Feldhardion.
To be honest, Camilla was now feeling not only the joy of love, but also the thrill of conquering an unbreakable flag. She could totally understand how men feel when they cling to a dashing woman.
"I, 'we' were originally the hidden blade of the Hadad sect."
Camilla placed her hand on Carl's chest as she had done before and whispered.
"Still, will you hug me?"
Even though she had already heard the answer, Camilla asked again.
The hidden blade of the Hadad sect, she was especially active in the dark places of Tumaria. Would Archduke Carl, who wanted to become the Emperor of Hardion, embrace her?
"I told you."
Carl grabbed Camilla's wrist and pulled her close, wrapping his strong arms around her waist as he held her in his arms.
"You are mine."
A firm voice. If so, Camilla had no need to be afraid anymore.
Camilla buried her face in Carl's chest and hugged him tightly. Guilt for having deceived and exploited Carl all this time. A sense of relief that the mission could be accomplished.
And the relief of being able to let go of such a heavy burden. A sense of triumph and conquest at having obtained the noble Carl, more noble than the flowers on the cliff. The joyous happiness of finding love.
"Ha...."
All of those mixed tears flowed out with a hot sigh. Camilla was finally able to shake off all her worries and smile slightly.
Soon, Camilla whispered all her secrets to Carl without any lies. Holding Carl's chest, feeling his body temperature.
***
Camilla, 'Bloody Finger,' was originally an organization that handled all the dirty work of the Hadad Church.
Originally, it was an entity without a name, without any records, and only passed down orally and secretly to a select few people.
The organization was united in faith and loyalty to the Hadad Order and devoted itself solely to carrying out its mission.
"We were emotionless dolls. We were born that way, raised that way."
Within it, unnecessary things like human emotions were thoroughly controlled in a managed environment.
There was never any dating or marriage, and only highly qualified agents were paired off and had children.
The leader of an organization was someone who was created by selecting the best genes, just like crossbreeding livestock.
Camilla was the most outstanding of her father's many children, the head of the organization, and was briefly able to avoid being treated like livestock by being designated as the next head.
Having become a master at such a young age and solidified her position, she was set to repeat the same history as the organization that had been with her since the birth of the Hadad Sect after becoming its head.
"Everything just fell apart in an instant. In an instant, really."
It all came crashing down one day when a woman suddenly showed up at the Hadad Church.
"She called herself 'Leader Sianna.'"
"Are you saying that in the presence of the high priests of the Hadad sect?"
"Yes."
Camilla recalled the memories of that day while hugging Carl's chest.
"I still remember that voice. That irresistible voice that filled my head. That power that bound me like a curse."
Camilla hugged Carl tighter.
"When that black tongue whispered, I had to follow it without moving, like a puppet under control."
"…Like Garten's black eyes? So you realized they were in cahoots and tried to save me?"
"It wasn't just like that. Do you still not trust my heart?"
"That...."
Camilla reached out and stroked Carl's slightly stiff cheek, brushing his neck.
Because their emotions were thin, they did not calmly put aside their doubts and guard against anything, and were swayed by those thin emotions and could not say yes or no.
"I'm joking. It's cute."
"… … ."
Carl's eyelashes fluttered at Camilla's smiling words.
"The reason I can hide in the shadows is because of the power of the Master, which is rarely passed down to the children of the head of the family. It is because the bloodline is managed very thoroughly."
Before Carl could react, Camilla brought up the story he had been wondering about.
And then she pressed her whole body against Carl's and gently rubbed her head against the nape of his neck. Carl was left unable to pursue the issue any further.
"But even that bloodline was meant to be used for this."
Camilla raised her head and met Carl's eyes, and at that moment, Carl's body staggered.
"… …Was it something that other people could bring in too?"
Carl's legs were buried in the shadows, and a sticky black shadow was wrapped around his entire body. Carl felt as if he was being held in Camilla's arms.
"Even one person can do it. It's a treasure known only to a very select few even in the Hadad Sect, the 'Night Lady's Garment.'"
Camilla buried her face in Carl's chest again, gently tracing his back with her fingertips and mumbling.
"The words 'Go far away' were all that was left in the will."
"… …Sianna, isn't she dead?"
Instead of offering words of comfort, Carl continued the story. In fact, Carl was a man who was truly incapable of comforting others.
Although he understood the act of comforting others, he could not feel it intrinsically.
He had only ever felt that way for one person, and now that person was far away. Carl hadn't felt that way about Camilla yet, and Camilla probably knew it.
"Sianna didn't die. Even though her heart was clearly pierced by the Mana Blade.… I ran away instead of fighting back."
"Then why were you looking for someone to kill Sianna instead of you?"
Carl could now see Camilla's intentions. She realized that her own power was not enough and was trying to kill Sianna by using someone with great power.
First, it was Adrian, now it was Carl.
The reason she escaped from Tumari was probably because Sianna knew about Camilla and the 'Night Lady's Garment.'
And it was impossible to imagine how far Sianna's influence spread within Tumari, with the power to control people with her black tongue.
That is, Camilla didn't care what happened to the Tumariana Hadad sect; she just thought she had to kill Sianna.
Even if Emperor Hardion destroyed Tumaria.