Flarrio's features were frozen—caught between pain and shock—as he listened to everything Karbile Hogbor was saying... or at least, what he was supposed to say.
It was clear now—Hyung Ryo had decided to go off-script and improvise a little.
How does he know all of this? My plan was flawless! No gaps, no weak points! Not even the most cautious and vigilant could stay one step ahead of me... So how?! How did this bastard surpass me?! It doesn't make any sense!
"Judging from the look on your face, I'd say you're confused… trying to figure out how I managed to expose you, right?"
Hyung Ryo spoke through Karbile's voice as he held Flarrio by the shoulder, his grip tightening until he shoved him off the chair and onto the floor.
"But… don't you think you forgot something? Like, hmm... how I'm still alive after ingesting a lethal dose of Gray Forest Blossom poison?"
He leaned down slightly, voice playful, almost mocking.
Flarrio's eyes widened in disbelief. Whatever thoughts he had about how Karbile had uncovered his plot were shattered by the truth Hyung Ryo had just thrown in his face.
He didn't die... He never died?! Wasn't he supposed to?! I told my daughter to use the full dose, right after he started getting drunk. I made sure she used all of it myself… So how?!
How... how... how... HOW?!
His eyes rolled with effort as he looked toward Karbile, who welcomed his gaze with a terrifying smile—one that radiated the raw, twisted enthusiasm of Hyung Ryo.
"You know~… I'm dying to know who ordered you to assassinate me. What do you say? Tell me, and I'll give you the antidote."
He lifted a small wooden box in front of him.
"And I'll release your daughter too. I've heard you love her dearly. She's all you have left of your late wife… isn't she?"
"Stay away from my daughter!!"
Flarrio erupted in anger, despite the searing pain and his limited mobility.
"Shut up and listen to me."
Hyung Ryo stomped Karbile's boot down on Flarrio's head.
IDidn't expect that he actually cared about his daughter. It was just a guess, really—a gamble. But he just saved me the trouble of torturing him for answers.
"Don't you dare touch a single strand of her hair!"
Flarrio's voice was low, but loud enough to be heard clearly.
"I'll toss her into a room with twenty lust-starved men. You know what'll happen to her, right? She'll lose her mind… her name… even her very sense of self. How does that sound?"
Karbile's threat was direct, his words laced with a sinister smile and unhinged confidence.
Wow… he's cracking already. Just look at him. He probably imagined the whole thing in his head. Me? I won't even bother picturing it. The thought alone disgusts me.
"So? Are you going to talk? Or will you let your daughter be thrown into the hands of twenty depraved men? Choose now, or—"
Before Hyung Ryo could finish the threat, he saw it—Flarrio's eyes were quivering, and his lips about to move. The man was broken.
And indeed… after a moment, Flarrio began to speak.
"It was… the King's Deputy—Akrivelle Blarish. He… ordered me to kill you after… discovering that you were a traitor and a spy from the Kingdom beyond the Great Hills—Capria."
With a heavy breath, he continued:
"He told me to kill you… in a way that wouldn't leave a body behind… to make it look like you died due to alcohol poisoning or…"
Before he could finish, Hyung Ryo stomped Karbile's boot into Flarrio's skull again.
So the deputy found out this man's secret and decided to eliminate him. That explains it. And clearly… possessing this body isn't like in that one Korean novel—what was it called again? I forget…
But what matters is, there's a strict condition for taking over a body: the original owner must actually be dead. And from what I've gathered… the same rule applies to the other body too.
For now, I've got what I needed. The information. It's time to start laying out a plan—to claim everything I must, before the Royal Court tries to kill me again...
"I've told you… everything… I swear. Just… spare my daughter…"
Flarrio's voice was trembling, his body growing more discolored and bruised by the second.
"Oh yes… you did. You did well."
Karbile pulled his foot away and walked toward the large mirror in the room, staring into it silently.
An aged face stared back at him—black and white streaks in a trimmed beard, light brown eyes… nothing remarkable.
But compared to his original body in his past life, this one looked considerably younger.
I remember having white hair and a thick beard by the age of thirty-five. But this Karbile Hogbor… he's young. At least compared to me.
He reached into a drawer, rummaging until he pulled out a finely crafted golden dagger, encrusted with jewels.
"What… what are you going to do?"
Flarrio asked weakly, struggling to move his head toward him.
"You're a terrible assassin. Who gets their daughter involved in something like this? Are you trying to teach her how to kill? Using me as a lesson? That's just… pathetic~"
Hyung Ryo spoke casually, spinning the dagger in his hand without fear.
Flarrio's eyes said it all—deep unease, disgust, and growing dread at Karbile's sudden, unpredictable behavior.
"Listen… about your daughter… I can't really throw her in with twenty men. I lied to you."
Then, with a cold smile, he added:
"I forgot to mention—I already ordered my men to kill her… and burn her corpse."
That moment hit like thunder.
Flarrio's mind was instantly pulled back to the hallway outside the room… when he had caught the scent of something burning—something like meat. He hadn't paid it much attention then.
But now, in this cruel instant, the realization struck him like a blade.
That burning smell… it was my daughter's body.
"You… you bastard!!"
He lunged with all his might, but Karbile's dagger moved faster—slicing cleanly through his neck.
Flarrio collapsed, lifeless.
Hmm... I don't know why, but… I actually feel sorry for him. And for his daughter.
Still… this no longer concerns me. I have more important matters to deal with.