I Became the Affair Partner of a Trash Duke — Chapter 18

HELLO. MY NAME IS ISABEL ALVAREZ.

LADY VIOLETA HERNANDEZ.

HELLO, MISS ISABEL.

WHY IS SHE LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?

IT'S AS IF I'VE DONE SOMETHING TO UPSET HER.

DID YOU MAKE IT HOME ALRIGHT ON THE LAST CARRIAGE YESTERDAY?

YESTERDAY...

OH, YES, I GOT HOME WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE.

ISABEL, HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? DID YOU SEE HER YOURSELF?

NO, I WAS JUST ASKING...

COULD I HAVE JUST IMAGINED IT?

BUT THERE WAS DEFINITELY HOSTILITY IN HER EYES...

See you at the warehouse after our shift. We'll talk there. — Isabelle

I'M SURE I JUST IMAGINED IT. AFTER ALL, SHE WAS THE ONE WHO ASKED TO MEET.

ALRIGHT, I'LL GO MEET HER AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON.

DUKE OTERO'S MANSION

DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND...

...WHAT A BLESSING IT IS TO WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND SEE THE FACE OF THE PERSON YOU LOVE FIRST THING?!

YOU SHOULD HURRY UP AND BREAK OFF YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH MY SISTER TOO,

SO YOU CAN FIND TRUE LOVE AND EXPERIENCE THIS JOY FOR YOURSELF!

SO, HOW IS THE PLAN TO BREAK OFF THE ENGAGEMENT COMING ALONG?

DON'T YOU FEEL SORRY FOR YOUR SISTER AT ALL?

YOU KNOW SHE AND I AREN'T EXACTLY THE CLOSEST SIBLINGS.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW IS YOUR MOTHER'S HEALTH?

STILL NO IMPROVEMENT?

AS IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW ALREADY.

I SEE.

LEO, ANTICIPATING THIS, I SECRETLY TRACKED DOWN A BRILLIANT DOCTOR.

I APPRECIATE IT, BUT I'VE ALREADY CONSULTED EVERY MEDICAL AUTHORITY IN THE EMPIRE.

HEY! DO YOU REALLY THINK I'D RECOMMEND SOME ORDINARY DOCTOR TO YOU?

WHEN IT COMES TO THE HUMAN BRAIN, HE HAS NO EQUAL.

HE CAME TO US STRAIGHT FROM THE KINGDOM OF KUTAN.

FROM KUTAN?

CURRENTLY, KUTAN POSES A THREAT TO THE EMPIRE DUE TO ITS DEVELOPMENT OF NEW WEAPONRY AND ITS RAPID LEAP FORWARD IN MEDICINE.

THE ONLY TRAGEDY IS THAT THE PRICE OF THIS PROGRESS HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY BLOODY...

THEY HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPING ENEMY SOLDIERS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD AND SECRETLY SMUGGLING CORPSES TO CONDUCT HUMAN EXPERIMENTS.

HOWEVER, DESPITE UNIVERSAL CONDEMNATION, KUTAN'S DOCTORS HAVE BECOME FAMOUS THROUGH A SERIES OF SUCCESSFUL SURGERIES AND TREATMENT METHODS.

AND NOW, MORE AND MORE ARISTOCRATS IN GARCIA ARE SECRETLY TURNING TO THEM FOR HELP.

AND YOU, AS A PRINCE OF THE EMPIRE, KNOWING ALL OF THIS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE, DARE TO SUGGEST SUCH A THING TO ME?

OH, COME ON, LEO! AREN'T WE OBLIGATED TO TRY EVERY POSSIBLE OPTION?

ARE YOU REALLY JUST GOING TO ABANDON YOUR MOTHER TO HER FATE?

AND WHAT EXACTLY IS HIS REASON FOR MOVING HERE?

MONEY? A THIRST FOR FAME?

HAS IT NOT CROSSED YOUR MIND THAT HE COULD BE A SPY?

DO YOU REALLY THINK I DIDN'T LOOK INTO HIM?

you wound me!

HE'S A DEFECTOR.

HE USED TO BE A MILITARY MEDICAL OFFICER FOR GARCIA,

BUT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, HE WAS CAUGHT IN AN ARTILLERY STRIKE, KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS, AND WOKE UP IN KUTAN.

TO PUT IT SIMPLY, HE ENDED UP AS A PRISONER OF WAR.

HE ALMOST BECAME A LAB RAT,

BUT HE REVEALED HIS STATUS AS A MILITARY MEDIC, GOT PLACED INTO A RESEARCH GROUP, AND MANAGED TO SURVIVE BECAUSE OF IT.

SO IT'S NOT A MATTER OF MONEY OR FAME, BUT SHEER DESPERATION.

THEN THAT'S ALL THE MORE REASON NOT TO TRUST HIM.

DESPERATE PEOPLE ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS.

BECAUSE WHEN SOMEONE IS IN THAT STATE, THEY'RE CAPABLE OF DOING ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING.

BESIDES, WHAT IF SOMEONE IS ALREADY MANIPULATING HIM BY PLAYING ON THAT DESPERATION?

YOU ARE UNBEARABLE!

ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO HEARTLESSLY REJECT YOUR FRIEND'S SINCERE CONCERN?

YOUR HIGHNESS, INSTEAD OF DISPLAYING FRIENDSHIP, YOU OUGHT TO SHOW AT LEAST A LITTLE VIGILANCE.

IF YOU'RE SO DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE COUNTRY'S SECURITY, THEN JUST RETURN TO THE ARMY!

THAT IS ALSO OUT OF THE QUESTION.

You can't do this, you can't do that! I'm telling you, I didn't start all of this without a good reason!

THEN TELL ME THE REAL REASON.

WE FINALLY CAUGHT THAT KUTANESE MOLE WHO WAS LEAKING INFORMATION!

UNFORTUNATELY, HE COMMITTED SUICIDE IMMEDIATELY, BUT A SECRET MESSAGE WRITTEN IN THE KUTANESE LANGUAGE WAS FOUND AMONG HIS BELONGINGS.

JUST IMAGINE THE ASTRONOMICAL FINANCIAL LOSSES WE SUFFERED BECAUSE OF THAT INFORMATION LEAK!

THEREFORE, AS A ...COUNTERATTACK, I WANT TO WIN OVER KUTAN'S DOCTORS.

AFTER ALL, NOTHING REFLECTS A NATION'S TECHNOLOGICAL MIGHT QUITE LIKE ITS MEDICINE!

BY STRIPPING THEM OF THEIR ADVANCED MEDICINE AND SKILLED DOCTORS, WE WILL DEAL A CRUSHING BLOW TO KUTAN.

SO SEIZE THIS CHANCE AND HEAL YOUR MOTHER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

IT WILL SAVE YOU FROM UNNECESSARY WORRIES IN CASE A WAR BREAKS OUT.

ALL THE WORKERS HAVE ALREADY GONE HOME,

WHICH MEANS ISABEL MUST HAVE FINISHED HER SHIFT TOO AND IS WAITING FOR ME AT THE WAREHOUSE?

See you at the warehouse after our shift. We'll talk there.

I'D BETTER STEP AWAY FOR A LITTLE BIT, AND I'LL FINISH THE REST WHEN I GET BACK.