Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 63

 

 

TW: DRUG OVERDOSE/ABUSE, SEXUAL VIOLENCE

 

Chapter 63

 

“Y-Your Highness! W-Why are you here?!”

The marquis recognized the man at once and blanched in terror. Hadn’t they said it was the Imperial Knights?

Alexis narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Marquis Valeri, who was stumbling backward in shock.

“You seem overly surprised.”

“N-No, not at all! It’s just—given how dreadful the weather is, I was surprised you would come in person!”

The marquis bowed deeply, unable to meet the Crown Prince’s gaze. His eyes, fixed on the floor, flicked restlessly from side to side.

“I’m looking for Cecil. Are you certain he isn’t here?”

“…Yes. I’ve been feeling unwell today, so I stayed home all day. I didn’t even have a chance to see him.”

“I see.”

At the seemingly indifferent reply, the marquis barely managed to lift the corners of his mouth. True to his slippery nature, the lies flowed smoothly even before the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, the weather is harsh. Why don’t you come inside for a moment and have a cup of warm tea before you leave?”

He even went so far as to invite the Crown Prince and his party into the mansion.

But Alexis had no room in his heart to sit and exchange pleasantries over tea with the marquis. He frowned slightly and swept his gaze across the quiet interior of the estate.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be going.”

“Y-Yes, of course. If you’re busy, it can’t be helped. Please take care on your way back. I do hope Cecil is unharmed. I pray you find him soon.”

The marquis maintained his utmost courtesy until the very end.

He stood at the door seeing them off until the Crown Prince’s party disappeared into the distance. Only then—when he finally allowed himself to believe they were gone—did he slam the door shut.

Perhaps realizing things were taking an unusual turn, the marquis’s eyes widened with a ferocity more intense than ever before.

 

At that moment, Cecil was struggling with all his might to free himself. But no matter how he writhed, the ropes binding his wrists and ankles would not budge, and he only ended up wasting his strength.

“Hh—ngh—ugh!”

“A-Are you all right?”

Watching Cecil struggle, the butler suddenly noticed his breathing grow rapid and flinched.

Unable to breathe properly due to the gag, Cecil’s chest rose and fell violently. Worse still, his complexion drained of color by the second.

At a complete loss, the elderly butler waved his hands helplessly in the air.

“Mm—hng—ugh!”

When Cecil’s eyes finally rolled back, the butler panicked, fearing something terrible was about to happen. He hurriedly removed the gag from Cecil’s mouth.

“B-Breathe—please breathe! Slowly!”

He dared not untie the ropes binding Cecil’s limbs and was standing guard when Cecil suddenly threw his head back and screamed with everything he had.

“Is anyone out there?! Someone’s trapped in here!!”

“Eek!”

“This floor! The bedroom! Anyone—please—mmph!”

The butler hastily clapped a hand over Cecil’s mouth. Cecil thrashed violently, opening his mouth wide and biting into the old man’s fingers.

“Aaagh!”

The butler screamed and stumbled backward.

“Damn it! Someone help me! Anyone—please!”

“Idiot! I told you to watch him properly—couldn’t you even manage that?!”

The bedroom door burst open, revealing Marquis Valeri storming in. His heavy footsteps thudded across the floor as he advanced.

He climbed onto the bed in one swift motion and seized Cecil’s small jaw as though he meant to crush it.

“Do you still think someone’s coming to save you? They’re already gone.”

“H-Hh—just you wait. I will kill you. I’ll tear you apart alive and feed you to the beasts.”

“Pfft! Yes—that look! That glare! It’s thrilling. I love it!”

The marquis yanked Cecil’s chin upward and leaned in. Just before their lips touched, Cecil spat directly in his face.

Valeri merely licked it up, as though savoring something sweet.

“I wanted our first night together to be while you were fully conscious. What a shame. I suppose I’ll have to use a safer method.”

“What…?”

“Butler, go fetch more of the drug.”

The marquis straddled Cecil’s waist and forcibly poured the substance into his mouth. Half of it spilled out in the struggle, half of it was swallowed.

Still unsatisfied, he switched bottles and continued feeding him. Before long, three empty vials lay discarded on the bed.

Watching this, the butler’s hands trembled as he grabbed the marquis’s shoulder.

“My lord, this—this is too much! You can’t do this! What are you planning? At this rate, you’ll destroy him completely!”

“You think I don’t know that? If the truth comes out, we’re dead anyway! In that case, it’s better to make sure it never comes out at all!”

The marquis pressed a hand over Cecil’s mouth, making sure he didn’t spit the drug out.

He knew it was excessive. Originally, he had planned to let the addiction form slowly. But now, even taking his time felt like a luxury.

Taken in large amounts over a short period, the drug dulled physical function and erased reasoning and speech alike.

Its intended purpose was to relax the body and heighten sexual pleasure—but anything, in excess, became poison.

The marquis intended to render Cecil completely unconscious. He had seen countless humans destroyed by drugs in brothels—each one docile, dull, driven only by desire. If Cecil Adrian ended up like that, it would be perfect.

The anticipation alone made his blood race. A top-grade toy he could play with for the rest of his life—what a thought.

“Hoo… with this much, the effects should appear immediately.”

As if answering his wish, Cecil soon went limp. Only faint sounds escaped him now, his eyes emptied of all awareness.

After confirming his state, the marquis smiled with satisfaction and gave a nod.

“Untie him. We’re moving him to the basement.”

“Y-Yes…”

The butler complied with a troubled expression. Once the ropes binding his wrists and ankles were cut, Cecil felt considerably freer. Yet, despite regaining his freedom, he lay motionless like a doll.

The marquis hoisted Cecil over his shoulder and secretly carried him down to the basement. The underground space was pitch-dark, windowless, stale with trapped air.

He laid Cecil down on the damp bed, its mattress soaked with moisture. Drugged beyond movement, Cecil could not lift even a finger, yet his eyes wavered uneasily as though some shred of awareness remained.

“That’s right. Good boy. No need to be afraid. This is my favorite place.”

“…hh.”

“Yes. Make a sound. If you behave, your master will spoil you properly.”

In his haste, the marquis shoved his head beneath Cecil’s shirt. Perhaps because the Crown Prince and knights had come earlier, his mind was frantic.

Too impatient even to undress him properly, he yanked the clothes up to Cecil’s chin and inhaled the soft scent of bare skin. At the same time, both of his hands busied themselves tugging down Cecil’s trousers—and his own.

He was panting hot breaths and moving his hands frantically when— Bang! Bang! Bang!! As if to interrupt the heated atmosphere, the sound of someone pounding on the main gate echoed once more.

“Damn it! What now?!”

The marquis roared in anger. Repeated interruptions made his irritation boil over.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!!

Where the hell was the butler, and why was he letting this go on? He had strictly ordered the servants never to roam the mansion under any circumstances, so there was no one to greet the unwelcome midnight visitor.

As the pounding continued, he had no choice but to go himself. Hastily fixing his clothes, he climbed back to the first floor.

His hand trembled violently as he opened the door, fearing it might be the Crown Prince again.

But the man standing there still had shining platinum-blond hair. Cold blue eyes stared at the furious marquis with utter indifference.

“Your Highness. Why have you returned?”

“The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.”

“…Pardon?”

“I never said Cecil was in danger. Yet you prayed for his safety.”

“Well… it seemed like that might be the case, so I mentioned it…”

“I’ll need to inspect the mansion.”

The marquis rolled his eyes internally.

Moving Cecil to the basement had truly been a stroke of luck. Still, the thought of the Crown Prince searching his estate made his stomach churn.

Watching him coolly, Alexis said in an even colder voice,

“Step aside.”

Before the marquis could react, the knights surged into the mansion.

Thud. Thud. Mud-soaked boots left filthy tracks across the floors. Roused by the commotion, servants peeked out one by one, pale with fear.

While the knights searched the interior like hunting rats, Alexis stood in the central hall, surveying the estate.

Despite the late hour, the mansion was unnaturally silent, steeped in a gloomy, oppressive air.

His gaze traveled up the spiral staircase to the second floor. Countless doors—likely guest rooms—lined the corridor, all tightly shut.

If Cecil were staying here, he should have come out at least once upon hearing the noise.

Was he truly not here? Or was he hiding because he knew Alexis had arrived?

Frustration made Alexis’s straight eyebrows furrow. His footsteps naturally headed toward the staircase.

He went up to the second floor and opened the doors one by one. Most were empty guest rooms.

Eventually, he reached the far end of the corridor. A faint, bitter scent drifted from beneath one door.

Frowning, he turned the handle. It was another bedroom—but unlike the others, there were signs someone had been here very recently.

The crimson ropes tied to the bed’s four posts and the blindingly bright red wallpaper came into view one after another. The large bed in the center was covered in wildly disheveled bedding, and on the floor, two naked men lay tangled together, fast asleep.

“Hah. That filthy hobby of his hasn’t changed.”

Alexis assumed this was the marquis’s bedroom. The telltale signs of his wild nights with his bedmates were evident everywhere.

The thought that Valeri had emerged from this room only to brazenly invite him in for tea made a bitter laugh escape.

His mood sank beyond words. It was partly from witnessing the marquis’s sordid private life, but perhaps also because he couldn’t find Cecil anywhere, no matter how thoroughly he searched. He was just leaving the bedroom and heading back down the stairs.

“Your Highness, please look at this.”

One of the knights hurried over, holding something retrieved from a pile of rubbish.

The clothes and shoes he presented were soaked through—but unmistakably familiar.

Alexis recognized them instantly.They were what Cecil had been wearing the last time he saw him. His hand clenched tightly around the stair railing.