"Virgo…!"
At the door stood the blond Kevin.
"I should've known from the moment that woman started talking to monsters."
Hugo gulped warily and drew his bowstring, while Kevin unsheathed his blade.
"What? An unknown civilization? So you tried to kill Lee Geon? Because if Lee Geon were alive, you'd be in danger."
At that, Hayley's flustered loyal followers cried out.
[No! The princess is already on humanity's side! That side betrayed us over 20 years ago! Because of Lee Geon-nim!]
"!?"
Kevin's eyes widened at the followers' shouts.
Lee Geon's eyes went round as well.
Of course, Hayley stared at her loyal followers in horror.
Why would they bring that up now?
But the followers, in their scorpion-alien forms, shouted with veins bulging in their necks.
[The princess abandoned that side long ago!]
[That's right! Over 20 years ago! The princess fell for Lee Geon-nim….]
Before the words could fully leave their mouths, the followers screamed.
[Urgh!]
Because Hayley's lethal sword flew and pierced their backs.
Crunch!
At once, the followers, the black scabs on their backs blown away, howled as if wronged.
[No, Princess! Why are you doing this!]
[Do you truly intend to kill us!]
"Yes. Say one more word there, and I'll grant your wish."
Hayley glared at her subordinates with eyes full of rage.
It was a look that said if they so much as opened their mouths again, she would truly kill them.
Her face flushed bright red was a bonus. She seemed anxious, fretting over whether Lee Geon might have heard.
"You've said enough. Withdraw now. I will handle this myself."
At that, the loyal followers seemed wronged.
[No, you can't! That accursed Virgo is slandering the princess with strange misunderstandings!]
[Right! We were about to speak of the princess's innocence…!]
Simultaneously, the followers raised both arms as if surrendering and shouted to Lee Geon.
[If you understand, Virgo shut up! And Lee Geon-nim, listen! The princess is on humanity's side! And no wonder, because the princess... Aaagh!]
A vicious strike flew and impaled the subordinates.
Hayley, her face bright red, tried to behead her followers.
"It's you who need to shut up...!! Do you truly want your heads to fly...!"
Hayley's voice, whispering quietly, trembled violently. Her voice was laced with anger and bewilderment.
In the end, even Hugo sighed at the scene. At the same time, he looked at Kevin, who had charged in so viciously.
He gave him a look asking if he still hadn't grasped the situation.
In fact, Kevin also seemed dumbfounded.
Because even though Kevin habitually treated others' words like rubbish, he wasn't without perception.
There was no way he couldn't understand how the situation was unfolding.
As evidence, the sword he had meant to kill the Scorpio with the moment he saw her had stopped.
But despite that, Kevin still seemed flabbergasted.
That was only natural.
"Are you telling me to believe the words of monster underlings now? Ridiculous. Just like you poisoned Lee Geon's lunchbox."
What? Poison?
As the Constellations looked on as if wondering what that meant, Hugo thought, "Oh no."
Sure enough, Kevin's blue eyes flashed.
"Did you think I wouldn't see you sneakily putting something into Lee Geon's food? The Scorpio is a Dark Constellation on par with the Crab; making poison to kill one superhuman would've been nothing for you."
At Kevin's accusation, Hayley seemed flabbergasted.
"It wasn't me who poisoned it, but your side, wasn't it!"
"What?"
"Weren't you the one who put strange things into Lee Geon's lunchbox every time! It's a relief I swapped it all with medicine!"
Kevin looked dumbfounded.
"What is this woman rambling on about from earlier? It's because you put poison that I, myself, took it out and replaced it with medicine!"
"Poison?! That must have been you!"
As the two argued back and forth, accusing each other of poisoning Lee Geon, the Constellations looked astonished.
'Then doesn't that mean, in the end, they both fed Lee Geon medicine?'
Ultimately, the two Constellations, looking ready to grab each other by the collar and fight, raised their voices.
"Don't spout nonsense, Kevin! At least I know you've always been desperate to kill Lee Geon! You eternal second place!"
"What did you say? You're the one who always sneakily watched Lee Geon to assassinate him, aren't you! You sinister woman!"
"Sinister? Did you just call me sinister?"
When they finally drew their swords to kill each other, Hugo sighed as if exhausted.
Perhaps it was thanks to those two that Lee Geon, in that kind of body, could even make it to the demon tower.
Well, it didn't matter anyway.
"Congratulations. You could probably leave childcare to Kevin."
Hugo got kicked again by Lee Geon.
At the same time, Lee Geon narrowed his brow.
"Hey. The important thing right now isn't who put medicine in my lunchbox."
"Right. The important thing is the reason Scorpio remained a Constellation even while betraying her own civilization. I wondered if it could be, but the reason is quite shocking."
At this point, wasn't it practically a confession?
As Hugo glanced sideways at her, Lee Geon nodded as if agreeing.
"I know. I never expected a Sacred Spirit to choose someone who isn't even human as a Constellation, though."
Hmm?
Hugo looked at Lee Geon as if something was off.
But regardless, Lee Geon lifted the corner of his mouth.
"The Sacred Spirit is thinking in a peculiar way."
Hey, you bastard, that's not it.
"Geon. She betrayed her unknown civilization because of you. That's why she acted as a Constellation."
"Yeah, I know. I heard. She must've hated losing to me."
"???"
Hugo's expression was a sight to behold.
So he whispered.
"Hey. She liked you. All the way from back then!"
"?"
Lee Geon then shot him a look asking what nonsense he was spouting.
"You idiot? What woman in the world would like that face?"
"?!"
Kevin also put in a word.
"How naive, Lee Geon. Do you really think a Sacred Spirit, who is on humanity's side no less, would select a monster from an unknown civilization as a Constellation?"
Hugo looked at Kevin in disbelief.
But regardless, Kevin's eyes flashed.
"It's obvious. That woman killed the real Scorpio Constellation and took that position. She's been spying all along."
"!"
Hugo was dumbfounded, but in the end, unable to listen any longer, Hayley's loyal followers shouted in fury.
[You damnable Virgo bastard! Don't flap your lips carelessly!]
[The Scorpio Sacred Spirit truly chose our princess!]
"!"
Kevin looked surprised.
"Then what about that sword that came pouring out of your sanctuary? It clearly had the same pattern as the sword that stabbed Lee Geon."
"That is the pattern of the unknown civilization's Monarch."
"!"
Everyone was shocked. Wasn't the Monarch the leader of the unknown civilization?
Soon, Hayley narrowed her brow and continued.
"The Monarch's brand. The pattern itself exudes a terrible curse and poison. Humans absolutely cannot endure it, so I was merely collecting them whenever I saw them. Because it's a special brand containing the Monarch's power, it can't even be destroyed."
"……!"
They were surprised.
It seemed Hayley had noticed and collected those ominous brands roving around among the monsters.
Since they were essentially seeds of a curse fatal to humans.
"Most were brands with low power and were fine, but occasionally, there were weapons engraved with lethal brands. They were even found on Libra's Constellations."
"!"
At once, Lee Geon took out a dagger from his bosom.
"Then is this one too? It's the sword that stabbed me that day."
Receiving the dagger Lee Geon threw, Hayley nodded.
"It's faint now, but the sword that stabbed you must have had a clearly engraved lethal brand. A brand that paralyzes all the opponent's senses and leads them to a fatal wound."
Lee Geon raised the corner of his mouth, as if puzzle pieces were finally fitting together.
'So that's why I didn't feel anything back then and just took the hit.'
No matter how exhausted he was after catching the Red Eyes, it was a bit strange that he hadn't felt anything even up to the moment of stabbing.
Of course, until now, he had wondered if his physical condition had just been that bad.
'A brand, huh.'
At the same time, Cheon Seong-jae, watching from beside him, tilted his head.
His perceptive gaze was directed at the fountain pen roaring from Lee Geon's pocket.
That was only natural.
'That brand. The shape is slightly different, but it looks like the brand engraved on uncle's fountain pen.'
The brand skill Lee Geon used for the first time this time.
He didn't know why, but the shapes were slightly similar. Of course, Lee Geon's brand looked like it would swallow the Monarch's brand whole.
'Anyway, is uncle's death connected even to the Monarch level?'
Just why?
But Cheon Seong-jae soon shook his head and smiled.
If the Monarch's brand could be used like this, couldn't Lee Geon's brand also be utilized specially?
Soon, Hayley spoke.
"The appraiser who died while investigating a sword similar to that one might have been killed by the culprit who harmed you."
"Then could they perhaps be one of the Constellations...!"
At Cheon Seong-jae's words, Lee Geon nodded.
"Thank you."
"!"
Lee Geon took the sword Hayley handed over and smiled.
"Thanks to you, my curiosity is resolved."
"……!!"
For an instant, Lee Geon's hand brushed against hers.
At the same time, Hayley collapsed as if the strength had left her legs.
[Princess!!]
[Princess! Are you alright! Just now, your power…!]
Hayley, collapsed on the ground, felt like her heart would burst and kill her.
'L-Lee Geon smiled.'
That wasn't all.
'S-Skinship with Lee Geon!'
Though it wasn't something you could really call skinship at all.
And it was then.
Watching Hayley like that, Hugo whispered to Lee Geon anxiously.
"So what are you going to do about Hayley?"
"What do you mean, what?"
"A-Aren't you going to kill her?"
"Why would I?"
Hugo furrowed his brow, looking at Hayley, who seemed about to die from her heart bursting.
"Why? I mean, she doesn't seem like she'll harm you, but that person is..."
"Is a monster, you mean?"
"!"
At his expression as if struck, Lee Geon laughed.
After all, Hugo knew well how much he himself detested monsters.
So that must be why he was acting like this.
No matter what, to Hugo, Hayley was still a benefactor, at least.
He wouldn't go against his own convictions, but he probably hoped this could pass without trouble if possible.
So Lee Geon spoke.
"I told you. She's different from monsters."
"!"
"Whether she's a half-breed or whatever, she smells human."
"……!!!"
In the first place, while he had been absent, she was the person who had saved his best friend from a toad and provided a place to care for his wife.
He wasn't so uncultured as to ignore that and swing an axe.
And above all.
"That woman. I feel an energy similar to the unknown civilization's aura from Yuha's arm."
"!"
At Lee Geon's whisper, Hugo's expression was a sight to behold.
What he said was fact, but his look asked how he knew about Yuha's arm.
Lee Geon grinned.
He already knew that something strange was possessing Yuha's arm.
'Because it gave off a similar scent to the Monarch bastard I was entangled with on the day I awakened.'
"Anyway, it might be the solution."
Furthermore, if she was connected to the unknown civilization, it was actually an advantage for him.
Since he could then uncover their weaknesses.
And that wasn't all.
"She even betrayed her own civilization because she was scared of me in the first place. It's cute, isn't it?"
Hugo's expression was a sight to behold.
No. You bastard.
She didn't betray them because she was scared of you, okay?
'Damn. How on earth do I correct this guy's misunderstanding?'
No, it did seem like she was scared, but...
'In a different sense.'
Actually, Hayley seemed unable to even dare meet Lee Geon's eyes.
But that was only for a moment.
"More than that, I have something to tell you...!"
"!"
Having barely managed to stand up, Hayley urgently called out to Lee Geon.
It seemed like a very important story.
But her gaze unexpectedly turned toward Hugo.
"Hugo. It's about your wife."
(To be continued in the next episode)