I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 134

CHAPTER 134

As expected.

Achel’s lip was torn down to her ear.

There he is!

Where her gaze, hidden like a snake in the tree’s shadow, landed, there stood a person.

It was Lionel, a rare handsome man with bright blonde hair and blue eyes.

The one who had returned with the wanderer.

Lionel stood at the crossroads, staring intensely at one spot.

It was precisely where he had picked up a piece of the statue.

‘I knew you’d come!’

Achel swallowed her breath to silence the sound.

That guy was so sensitive that one might doubt he was human.

No matter how skilled she was in stealth, there was always the possibility of getting caught with just the slightest mistake.

‘But I’m glad you came to see the show.’

Seeing him in such agony, isn’t it fun?

Achel grinned as she observed Lionel, who looked somber and melancholic somewhere.

It was a sight she hadn’t seen before.

Achel had known Lionel for a long time.

Back when she, too, was abandoned by her kin and dying, Lionel reached out to her.

Wasn’t she there even in that historic and euphoric moment when he was redeemed?

From when he was young to now, a seasoned warrior.

Despite knowing each other for so long, Achel had never seen Lionel in such agony before.

He was always so uncharacteristically relaxed.

To see him crumbling like this was exhilarating.

So joyful!

Achel’s lips tore apart again.

She barely held back from humming a tune as usual and casually tilted her head.

Lionel’s face, hidden in the tree’s shadow, became even clearer.

‘So why defy the gods?’

The day her god gloriously took the wanderer to the ‘place of memories.’

Achel blocked Lionel, who was about to move.

“Lionel.”

That was what her god commanded her to do.

“How about we start heading back now?”

Approaching Lionel, Achel swayed with a gentle smile.

“It seems even the wanderer might follow our god.”

“… .”

“If you were to return now, hmm.”

Achel’s eyes, pretending to ponder for a moment, sparkled with delight.

“I could place you in a suitable position. Somewhere you could receive sufficient rewards on the glorious day.”

It was an obvious mockery. 

Achel was mocking Lionel.

Since earlier, Lionel had noticed it, and his lips twisted.

“Achel.”

He lowered his head. 

A grim voice echoed in Achel’s ear.

What’s this? 

Achel faced forward while Lionel lowered his head.

The raw gaze that stared at her without blinking felt too intense.

“If I return.”

She was scared now.

“Standing next to the devil won’t be you, it’ll be me.”

“… .”

“Because you have no talent, no brains, nothing.”

She’s beneath him.

“… .”

As memories from a few days ago resurfaced in Achel’s mind, a vein popped on her forehead. 

Her teeth clicked together, emitting a faint sound. 

Achel’s gaze intensified. 

She wanted to draw her dagger and slit the throat of the idiot standing stupidly over there right away.

But she couldn’t, not yet. 

Achel relaxed her overly stiff body. 

‘It seemed the story had ended.’

But before meeting the wanderer, hadn’t the god said this: 

“Honestly, I’m not sure how the story will unfold, but still, I am a god. Achel, would you mind sneaking this to the place?”

Even to the wanderer who refused her touch, the god showed mercy. 

How merciful she was. 

Achel cautiously accepted it and, when the subordinate drew Lionel’s attention, discreetly hid it in the thicket at the crossroads. 

Later, a piece of the statue ended up in Lionel’s hands. 

‘The wanderer collapsed.’

She saw it. 

The wanderer, bathing, looking at a piece of the statue, then falling, bleeding. 

The young human crying out for help. 

How contorted the face of the latecomer was. 

‘I saw it all.’

Ahh. Achel sighed. 

That arrogant fellow, trampling over others, was in such agony. 

It felt good to watch, exhilarating even. 

Like witnessing an insurmountable wall crumbling down. 

‘It’s a pity.’

Achel stood up. 

She had to leave the human realm to stay by the god’s side and prepare for the temple. 

It was regrettable. 

The wanderer was far from waking up; she could have enjoyed that face for a few more days. 

Ironically, the longer the wanderer stayed unconscious, the more agonizing it would be for her. 

After a brief internal conflict, Achel rose to her feet. 

It was exhilarating, but it was time to return to the god. 

As soon as Achel tore her gaze away from Lionel to return…

“Kukk!!” 

A strong hand grabbed Achel’s throat, lifting her off the ground. 

Despite attempting to resist, her body was crushed by the immense force. 

All she could do was scratch at the hand choking her. 

“You, you!!” 

Tears streaming down, Achel could barely move her eyes. 

And she locked eyes with the smiling Lionel. 

“You, from the beginning.” 

Lionel whispered. 

From the beginning? 

Did he know from the beginning that she was here? 

‘No way.’

There was only one thing she boasted of being superior to Lionel, and that was her stealth. 

For starters, her race itself was Dark Elf. 

She was lighter than a human, adept at suppressing footsteps, and naturally blended into shadows and darkness. 

But caught? By him? 

“Yes, you’re caught.” 

Lionel laughed brightly as if he could read Achel’s thoughts perfectly. 

“To be precise, I led you here.” 

“……!!”

Achel’s pupils widened.

“You, you couldn’t be.”

Lionel nodded his head. 

“I knew you’d come all the way here just to witness my mess.”

“G-gh.”

“You felt inferior to me, didn’t you? You kept denying it, but you felt inferior to me.” 

Lionel’s grip tightened around Achel’s throat. 

Her vision blurred and cleared repeatedly.

“So, I couldn’t miss the chance to see you in agony.”

Did he know?

Achel bit her lip, trembling with pain and anger.

“Did you enjoy the show? How was it? You seemed to enjoy it when you enthusiastically played the role of the obedient follower for the first time, did you enjoy it?”

“…”

“Seeing you peeking earlier seemed to please you.”

“W-what do you want from me.”

“Nothing much.”

Achel choked and coughed, but she didn’t ease the pressure on Lionel, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

A broad grin spread across Lionel’s lips.

“I just want to get paid for the view.”

Now, spill everything she knows.

As Lionel finished speaking, Achel’s pupils clouded over faintly.

* * *

“Oh, Duke Marcus!”

“Where are you off to so early?”

Disgusting.

Lionel strode through the central corridor of the palace, brushing past people who recognized him but whose voices didn’t even reach him, falling to the ground. 

Someone called out to Lionel urgently, but he ignored them. 

They were humans who weren’t worth his attention. 

‘If only Master isn’t a princess, there would be no reason to stay in a place like this.’

It was noisy and chaotic. 

He felt irritated by people paying attention to him and his master. 

It would be nice to live alone like before, just the two of them.

‘But she probably won’t leave.’

For some reason, his Master favored these people this time. 

She had revealed and treated wounds that she had kept to herself until now, showing a desire to be loved by the family. 

It would probably look natural unconsciously, seeing her naturally like that.

‘I can give all that.’

Lionel bit his lip.

The love of a parent, the affection of a family.

He could give all of that.

Wouldn’t it be enough if he became his master’s only family and filled her heart with love?

He was confident.

Until her broken and shattered heart was patched up and filled to the brim.

Wasn’t his master also showing him that affection in the past?

So, others weren’t necessary.

‘I wish she’d only pay attention to me.’

He knew it was a childish thought, but he couldn’t let it go.

It was his nature.

Frowning and brushing his hair back, Lionel hastened his steps.

He wanted to see his master and share the information he had gleaned from that Dark Elf earlier.

But… 

“Hello, Duke Marcus.”

A strange man blocked Lionel’s path.

“We met once before. I’m Eben Floyd.”

Eben smiled as he looked at Lionel.