A Snake’s Life Ch 36

Chapter 36

 

Footsteps echoed in the dark space, saturated with a musty stench. A woman, who had been sitting with disheveled hair, shot up like lightning at the sound and clutched the iron bars. A loud noise followed, and they stood in front of the bars. As the woman’s fiercely glowing eyes glared ahead, Zerpell, Cedric, and Ian approached. One of Zerpell’s eyes lifted sharply upon seeing her condition. He asked Ian,

“What happened to her?”

She looked drastically different from before. In that short time, this space had become unbearable for her. Just a few hours ago, she had been exuding elegance, but now her bloodshot eyes were wild, her hair was a mess, and the accessories on her clothes were torn. It was clear she had resisted fiercely on the way here. Ian shuddered as he spoke.

“She resisted so fiercely the knights gave up. And this place isn’t somewhere a noble could endure, is it?”

Indeed. Zerpell looked around the prison and clicked his tongue. This place was reserved for those who committed grave crimes, and the environment was beyond harsh. It was only natural since she had meddled with the royal treasury. Bugs crawled on the ground, and the squeaks of rats echoed from all directions. A place no noble could withstand.

Ian grimaced at the sight of a bug crawling on the floor. As it approached, he scrambled to avoid it. Wanting to leave as soon as possible, he quickly explained the situation.

“The documents were flawless, but the evidence from her room was just as damning. She had a separate vault where she stored expensive jewels and gold. The witnesses are solid. Exile is guaranteed.”

“Don’t lie! Her Majesty, what did Her Majesty say? She wouldn’t abandon me like this.”

Ian looked at the wet nurse, who kept calling for the Empress, with disgust. He clicked his tongue and shook his head as though dealing with a lost cause.

“She’s not making any sense, as you can see. Do you think you’re the only one? Don’t waste your hopes.”

Ian sneered at her. The wet nurse glared fiercely in response, but none of the three paid her any mind. Her pupils trembled as if in utter disbelief.

‘I invested ten years!’

Her knees slowly touched the ground as if she were sliding down.

“That can’t be……”

The wet nurse began to mumble in a daze. From her perspective, she simply couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Before she was Aiden’s wet nurse, she was someone who acted under the Empress’s orders. The Empress, who appeared to be a loving mother, had been displeased with Aiden, who was born weak. In her stead, the wet nurse took on the role of Aiden’s mother. She consulted priests and doctors about his illness and tended to him constantly. To carry out the Empress’s will, she strove to help Aiden become a great emperor. She had even spread malicious rumors about Zerpell through the attendants to plant a negative image of him.

‘Who do they think helped Lord Aiden grow up so well!’

She truly believed that. Zerpell looked at the wet nurse, who stood frozen, gripping the iron bars in a daze. After a long moment, her hands dropped with a thud, and he spoke.

“I’ll show you mercy.”

At those words, the wet nurse jerked her head up. Based on their demeanor, she had assumed she had been abandoned. The thought of the Empress, likely sipping tea somewhere without a care, made her grind her teeth. In the end, she was nothing more than that to the Empress. She latched onto Zerpell’s promise of mercy.

Facing reality, the wet nurse spoke in a hoarse voice.

“……There must be conditions, right?”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Ian let out a small sigh. Finally, she was making sense. He slapped down a document. It seemed this was finally coming to an end.

“See this?”

Ian pointed to a spot on the document. The wet nurse’s breath caught in her throat when she saw it. That document should not have existed. Her eyes shook violently as she looked between them. She desperately wished she was hallucinating.

Seeing her reaction, Ian beamed. Thanks to the prince pushing the investigation, he’d been working overtime endlessly, and shadows darkened beneath his eyes. The wet nurse, who wouldn’t stop calling for the Empress, had been frustrating, but now he felt completely unburdened. Her expression turned suspicion into certainty.

“The Brandt family. Counts, but buried in debt—practically ruined. Then you got picked as the prince’s wet nurse. You gave embezzled funds to your family. Must’ve been spending quite lavishly. But still in debt, right? Then suddenly repaid everything within a year? And a strange number of missing persons popped up around that same time. Isn’t that odd? Supplying slaves from your territory, maybe? According to the investigation, complaints about mysterious abductions were completely ignored.”

Ian locked eyes with the wet nurse. At the deadly glint in his eyes, she gulped hard. Her trembling lips betrayed her turmoil.

“I-I don’t know anything about that.”

“Oh please. Don’t play dumb with us. Honestly, we don’t expect you to give us any major intel. You’re a discarded pawn—what would you know? But if you give us even a small lead, we might actually go easy on you.”

Ian wasn’t wrong. The casino business was tightly linked with the pro-emperor noble houses. And Marquis Francia was involved in the slave trade. Some families participated in the auctions and bought slaves; others provided them and got paid. But that was the work of the families. She herself had nothing to do with the slave trade.

She glared daggers at Ian. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She bit her lip hard. This involved not just her but other houses deeply intertwined as well.

“They must be doing slave trading.”

Zerpell stated flatly. The wet nurse looked at his face. It was the face of someone who already knew. Then what information were they expecting from her?

“If you’re so sure, then what is it you want from me?”

To her horror, she had just confirmed the existence of the slave trade with her own mouth. She had completely fallen for Zerpell’s leading questions.

“Your family must’ve supplied the slaves. That means you earned quite a sum. Enough to revive a house that had been drowning in debt for over ten years. So where exactly is all that money going? Enough to justify using slave trading?”

Zerpell hadn’t expected to get valuable information. With her earlier reaction, he had already achieved his goal. Just proving the existence of the slave trade was enough. Her deeply furrowed brow and her gaze fixed in thought showed she was contemplating something.

Ian quietly whispered to Zerpell behind the wet nurse’s back.

“She doesn’t seem to know.”

“So it seems.”

They had never expected the flow of funds to be so easily uncovered. Zerpell turned his body and said,

“Then there’ll be no mercy.”

“W-Why? I…”

She tried to object, but the words caught in her throat. She realized she had never actually said the words “slave trade” out loud. She had been tricked. She clenched her fists. Zerpell only smirked at her reaction.

Watching her tremble with rage, Zerpell spoke.

“If you wanted to survive, you should have chosen your targets more carefully.”

“What are you…”

“If you truly don’t know, then I have nothing more to say. It’s late.”

Ignoring the wet nurse’s screams behind them, they walked away. Ian, relieved, said,

“It’s finally over, Your Highness. Will you exile her?”

“……Of course not. Cedric, make sure she’s quietly taken care of. Loose lips are a risk. There’s no guarantee she won’t report this conversation to the Empress.”

“Understood.”

Zerpell spoke his chilling decision without a hint of emotion. Cedric agreed without hesitation. Then, with concern, he addressed Zerpell.

“Your Highness, perhaps you should increase your guard?”

“He’s right. From now on, your life will be in constant danger.”

“You assigned Casa to Lady Shuiren, didn’t you? We must prepare for the worst.”

Ian supported Cedric’s concern. Zerpell continued walking without a word. He was fully aware of the danger. The problem was that there was no one he could trust to watch over Casa’s back.

“Was there ever a knight who didn’t become a hindrance to me?”

Cedric was left speechless. Zerpell gave a knowing smile at his reaction. The image of Shuiren passed through his mind. He wanted to protect him safely within the palace, but he didn’t believe there would be no one like the Pope seeking the slightest opening. He couldn’t stay by his side all the time.

“You make a good point. But not me. You’re enough.”

“Your Highness……”

Cedric, moved by his words, looked at him with admiration. Ian rolled his eyes at the display. The topic of additional guards seemed to be dismissed again.

“Let’s select guards specifically for Shuiren. Unlike me, he can’t defend himself. Cedric, select skilled individuals. Be thorough.”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Cedric nodded with a brightened expression at Zerpell’s order. As each man immersed himself in his own thoughts on the way back to the palace, Ian’s footsteps suddenly came to a halt. It was Cedric who noticed the change while walking beside him.

“Ian?”

Ian didn’t seem to hear him. In a trembling voice, he spoke.

“Your Highness… this is bad.”

His gaze was fixed on something—Zerpell’s chambers. His brown eyes widened in shock as though he had seen something he shouldn’t have. With a trembling voice, he spoke to Zerpell.

“The magic on the necklace has been activated.”

Though his words could carry many meanings, one thing was certain. Shuiren was in danger. Before his mind could process it, Zerpell was already running toward his room. Cedric and Ian followed in a panic. Though the night was dark, the palace was quiet. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Though it was time for most to be asleep, there should still have been guards patrolling. But even they were nowhere to be found.

“Your Highness! Over there…”

Cedric spotted an attendant collapsed in the corridor. He approached and gently placed a finger on their neck. They were still breathing. Their steady breathing showed no sign of distress.

“They’re just… asleep.”

Ian arrived, panting. He was not one for physical exertion. He examined the attendant. A faint magical aura was visible. Before Ian could report it, Zerpell had already passed the attendant. His mind was filled only with Shuiren. Never had the palace felt so vast and unforgiving. The door in the distance was wide open, and knights lay collapsed before it.

The faint scent of blood in the air sharpened Zerpell’s senses. His eyes turned ice cold.

Inside, the room was a mess. Items were scattered, and Casa was struggling to fend off an assassin. His lips were tinged purple, evidence of poisoning. Then Zerpell saw Shuiren, collapsed, with an assassin holding a sword toward him. His heart plummeted. His eyes fixated on Shuiren, his hand moved quickly, drawing his sword and striking the assassin. Blood from Shuiren’s leg caught his gaze.

Zerpell’s expression hardened. The smell of Shuiren’s blood seemed to consume the world.

His teeth ground together. The fury wasn’t directed at others—it was at himself. This place had been a long-sought sanctuary. He had vowed to keep it safe. The space he had sworn was secure had been breached. This was their sanctuary—his and Shuiren’s. And now, not only had an intruder violated it, but they had also threatened Shuiren’s life.

How dare they…

His vision turned red with rage. Without hesitation, he cut down all who stood in his way. Anything that dared bare its fangs—he cut them down so that nothing could take what was his.