The Prince Seduces Me with His Body Chapter 132

This is…

 

Diana’s violet eyes darkened as she read further. The journal was filled with dense entries, seemingly written by the duke himself. The first page read:

 

[My ancestors always warned me to fear his return, but I disagree. Why would we fear what is inevitable? Fear is nothing more than the leftover emotions toward something one cannot surpass. And there is nothing I cannot surpass. It’s only a matter of time. Once I succeed in taking his power along with his position, endless glory will befall Findlay.]

 

His…?

 

The words were quite arrogant, brimming with confidence.

 

Is he talking about the first dark elementalist?

 

Diana frowned as she turned the page. The following entries detailed various experiments. The duke had indeed tirelessly worked to create a dark spirit.

 

[The power of dark spirits is said to resemble monsters. If so, could it be that under specific conditions, monsters transform into dark spirits?]

 

[Experiment conducted under conditions of awakening through pain. Failed.]

 

[Experiment to form a spirit using the by-products of the previous failed experiment. Failed. However, the experiment to replace certain parts of one monster’s body with those of another succeeded.]

 

[Some of the ‘reassembled’ monsters had seizures. Their bodies mutated, and their abilities changed. Further experiments showed that when another monster’s fluids entire body, a mutation occurs in some cases.]

 

[Several researchers died while studying the mutated monsters. New toxins were extracted from the mutated monsters.]

 

But despite the duke’s efforts, he consistently failed to create what he truly desired. What he succeeded in was twisting and reassembling monsters, making them stronger and more grotesque. And the poison he created by crushing these reassembled monsters—that was the same poison used to poison Elliot.

 

…In the end, there’s no evidence here to prove the existence of dark spirits.

 

Diana read through the entire journal, but the last entry merely mentioned observing an egg laid by one of the mutated monsters. The journal did little to prove the existence of dark spirits; it only contained the words passed down by the duke’s ancestors. That part was disappointing, but the journal still provided enough evidence of the duke’s experiments and proof of Kayden’s innocence.

 

Diana glanced at the egg, still surrounded by bubbles, then quickly gathered the journal and other documents. By the time she finished searching the laboratory, Kayden had returned with his own armful of papers. The two packed the evidence into the bag Viscount Sudsfield had provided—a bag that was much larger on the inside than it appeared.

 

“It’s been a while. We might have to face some knights on the way out, so be careful.”

 

“Yes. And that egg… I think the duke’s reckless behavior might have started because of it. We should destroy it before we leave.”

 

As Kayden tied the bag, Diana approached the central cylinder. Upon closer inspection, she could feel a faint pulse from the egg. It doesn’t have the energy of a spirit… so it’s probably a monster.

 

Just as Diana was about to dismiss her guilt and destroy the egg. Thump. There was a heavy sound echoing from the passageway where Kayden and Diana had entered. At the same moment, someone dressed in black burst through the tunnel.

 

“…!”

 

Kayden, Diana, and the intruder all froze for a split second. Then, without thinking, their bodies moved.

 

Kayden and Diana instinctively used their abilities, lunging forward to silence the intruder. The intruder, likely an elementalist as well, quickly raised their own defense.

 

Clang! Kayden’s sword clashed with the intruder’s, the sound echoing through the chamber. Kayden’s eyes narrowed. Blocked?

 

The intruder’s arm was visibly shaking, but they had managed to block the sword of Kayden, the greatest swordsman, and elementalist in Valhanas. Not many could manage that, and those who could were mostly within the palace. That meant there was a high chance Kayden knew this person. Moreover, the energy emanating from the intruder was all too familiar. As Kayden recognized the familiar presence, the intruder also realized who they were facing. Simultaneously, they both spoke in shock.

 

“First Princess…?”

 

“…Third Prince?”

 

Diana, who had been about to break the intruder’s limbs, froze at those words. If it was the first princess… Rebecca?

 

Before anyone could process their surprise, the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder.

 

“…They’re down here! They went below!”

 

“Damn it, it’s just one! Stop them!”

 

Kayden and Diana had managed to reach the laboratory undetected, thanks to Muf’s barrier, but it seemed Rebecca had not been so fortunate.

 

“Kayden!”

 

Realizing the pursuers were right behind them, Diana reached out to Kayden without hesitation. Kayden quickly snapped out of it, pushing Rebecca back and grabbing Diana’s hand.

 

“Where do you think you’re going…!”

 

Rebecca reached for them, but just as her hand closed in, Kayden and Diana vanished into thin air. Unaware that it was a barrier concealing them, Rebecca paused in confusion, thinking they had somehow teleported.

 

At that moment, Duke Findlay’s loyal guards stormed into the laboratory. “There they are!”

 

“Capture them!”

 

“Damn it…”

 

Rebecca cursed under her breath, sending a fierce burst of flames toward the guards. She barely managed to fend them off before fleeing, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.

 

Diana and Kayden, hiding in the shadows, exchanged bewildered glances.

 

What the…

 

Rebecca was Duke Findlay’s granddaughter and a princess supported by him. So why had she infiltrated the estate like an unwanted guest, just like them?

 

At that moment, Diana recalled a report she had heard before.

 

[There were two factions—one led by the third prince’s men, and the other… by the first princess’s.]

 

Could it be… the first princess doesn’t know about the duke’s experiments?

 

But the one who could answer was already gone. Only unresolved questions lingered in the lab along with the flames.

 

* * *

It was late at night.

 

“Damn it…” Rebecca lay sprawled across her sofa, breathing heavily. Her body was covered in wounds.

 

Ludwig, who had been changing her bandages, paused as he heard her groan. He looked up.

 

They were in Rebecca’s chamber. The faint light of a candle barely kept the darkness at bay, casting a red glow over the blood that seeped from Rebecca’s injuries.

 

Ludwig eventually let the bandages drop from his hand. His voice was flat, but the weight of his words made them heavier. “Why…”

 

“…”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? That the duke was planning something else.”

 

“…”

 

“If I had known, perhaps none of this would have happened.”

 

Ludwig waited for a response, but Rebecca stubbornly remained silent, her face twisted in pain as she pressed her hand to her forehead.

 

After a moment, Ludwig sighed and stood. “I’ll take care of this for now. Please, get some rest.” He left the room, carrying the bloodstained bandages and water basin.

 

The moment the door closed with a click, Rebecca clenched her fists. I should have found it first.

 

The emperor had been poisoned, and the cause was the same poison used on First Prince Elliot. The fact that Duke Findlay was behind it was clear as day.

 

Rebecca had been furious with the duke for acting on his own without a word to her. Yet he had only smiled coldly.

 

“Now, Your Highness has no need to wait any longer. You can ascend to the throne. Be glad.”

 

At that moment, Rebecca realized she could no longer let Duke Findlay act independently. Until now, she had hesitated to intervene because of all the things he had done for her. But an old dog always bites the hand that feeds it in the end.

 

Unable to stand the duke’s secrets and the stench of blood surrounding them, Rebecca had snuck into his estate. If there was anything that could threaten her, she intended to destroy it herself. But there, Rebecca had encountered the unexpected: the third prince, and…

 

An elementalist, after all…

 

The third princess consort, Diana, disappears alongside him.

 

Rebecca gritted her teeth. Yes. Thinking back, the strange rift had started the moment Diana Sudsfield appeared in my life.