Chapter 8 : I’m Despicable? You’re the Despicable Ones!

Although Ron had shown a new kind of resilience and courage—

That didn’t mean Jon was giving up!

“Let’s talk.”

“What will it take for you to die?”

“Do you think there’s some loophole in the blood pact we signed?”

“Or are you just trying to get more out of this?”

As Jon spoke, he waved his hand to dispel the flames, his tone softening slightly.

Ron thought the man was finally compromising, choosing to give up violence as a means of coercion.

But just as Jon dispersed the flames—

He fired a Wind Blade straight at Ron!

Slash!

A sharp gash instantly tore open Ron’s fair and handsome face!

The hidden guards watching from the shadows widened their eyes in shock, barely able to restrain themselves from rushing out to protect him.

But to their surprise—

Ron calmly picked up a handkerchief and pressed it to his wound to stop the bleeding. 

At the same time, he subtly gestured for them not to act rashly.

“Ron,”

“I advise you to stop dreaming about surviving.”

“Our family will never allow Crasis, a rising star, to be shackled to a useless failure like you!”

“If you want to die with dignity, that’s your best option.”

“If you won’t do it yourself, then we’ll help you die with dignity!”

Jon sneered as he pressed forward, step by step.

Facing Jon’s growing pressure—Ron laughed.

He wiped away the blood still flowing from his wound, grinning cheekily at Jon.

“And what if I say—no?”

Instead of backing down, Ron took a step forward!

Hearing that defiant “no” from Ron’s lips—Jon’s eyes flew wide open in disbelief!

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Ron, who stood before him, calm and unyielding.

“You think… you’re in a position to say no?”

“In this world ruled by magic, you—a complete cripple with zero magical power—”

“A man with no cards in hand—what gives you the right to sit at the table, let alone negotiate?”

Jon unleashed his aura as a powerful mage.

The overwhelming magical pressure descended like giant invisible hands, crushing down on Ron.

But even under Jon’s terrifying pressure—

Even with blood still pouring down his face—

Ron calmly dropped the handkerchief.

He stood tall and unflinching, meeting Jon’s gaze head-on.

“I’m not qualified to sit at the table?”

“Heh…”

“And how exactly do you know that?”

“Who says I don’t have any cards to play?”

The way Ron asked those questions—

There wasn’t a trace of bluffing in his voice.

And that’s when Jon’s heart skipped a beat.

The sharp-minded noble immediately sensed something was wrong.

But unwilling to show weakness, he forced a sneer and replied with mockery:

“Then what do you have?”

“Are you seriously saying you do have another card up your sleeve?”

Faced with Jon’s mocking and sarcastic tone—

Ron simply decided to reveal his trump card.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a grayish-white moth.

The moment Jon and Crasis laid eyes on the palm-sized insect—

Their faces turned pale.

“A Whispering Moth!?”

“You—you?!”

“You were spying on us?!”

Ron offered no explanation.

But from the mouth of the moth in his hand, the unmistakable voices of Jon and Crasis began to play—

Exposing their dirty little conspiracy.

“I don’t care what it takes. You have to help me get rid of him!”

…

“Even if the old man blames me, I’ll take it!”

…

“Lure him out, then finish him off!”

“The maid beside him isn’t someone just anyone can handle…”

“Don’t worry. I already have someone in mind!”

Listening to this conversation—

Damning enough to destroy their social standing forever—

Crasis’s face went snow-white.

“W-When did you…?”

But before she could finish the question—

The answer flashed in her mind.

That moment when Ron had first greeted her…

He’d kissed her hand.

She quickly lifted her hand and checked—

And hidden in the lace of her glove…

She found it: a tiny insect egg.

The Whispering Moth could eavesdrop by sensing bioelectric signals around the egg!

Because it functioned through bioelectricity rather than magic, Jon’s anti-magic surveillance spells were completely useless!

Realizing what had happened—

Crasis turned red with fury.

“Y-You shameless bastard!”

“You used such despicable means to eavesdrop on us?!”

Faced with Crasis’s moral outrage—

Ron only smiled, unconcerned.

“Oh? And your methods were noble and just?”

“Sending a fake doctor to poison your fiancé?”

“Too bad that coward panicked the moment he entered our estate and couldn’t earn my mother’s trust. That’s the only reason I survived!”

“Then, when that failed, my mother started guarding me day and night.”

“So your assassination plan failed. And now what—switch to psychological warfare? Try to guilt me into suicide?”

“What a vicious woman you are~”

“How could someone be so heartless and cruel?”

Ron’s words made Crasis tremble with rage.

“I never even liked you! You’re the creepy, disgusting pervert who insisted on marrying me!”

“I had no choice but to fight back!”

“A man like you clinging to me—don’t you find yourself disgusting?!”

Faced with Crasis’s twisted logic—

Ron was so angry he actually laughed.

“Oh really, really.”

“I’m the one pestering you?”

“Why don’t you take a piss and look at yourself?”

“Round face and pointy chin aside—flat-chested as hell!”

The sheer vulgarity of Ron’s insults, completely devoid of any noble decorum, nearly made Crasis pass out from rage on the spot.

“You!!”

“You think you’re that good-looking yourself?!”

Before Crasis could even launch her counterattack—

Ron directly interrupted her spellcasting.

“Shut your damn mouth!”

“Don’t tell me you seriously don’t know how this engagement came to be?”

“It was arranged by our families when we were kids—an official betrothal! Because during the war, your father acted recklessly and advanced without thinking!”

“To save his life and cover for his mistake, my father went into battle and got gravely injured—and after the war, he died from multiple complications!”

“Your father felt guilty toward our Castellero family, so he personally arranged this engagement and promised that your Finip family would never abandon ours—that our families would remain bound by blood forever!”

“And now look at you!”

“The moment you found out I was a cripple with no magic, not only did you refuse to uphold that promise—you treated me like dead weight!”

“You didn’t want to support our declining house? Fine, I never asked your family to repay the favor!”

“I was willing to be a husband in name only. We each live our lives, don’t bother each other. What’s so bad about that?!”

“But you, you damn venomous snake—you went and tried to kill me so you could start fresh?!”

“If I had known this is how things would end up, my father should’ve let yours die on the battlefield! Now our family’s ruined even though we did nothing wrong!”

“Pah!”

At the height of his rage, Ron even spat at Crasis.

He no longer cared about dignity or appearances.

After all, Ron had no magic—he couldn’t win a fight with Crasis.

If he were the protagonist of a power-fantasy novel, armed with some invincible cheat skill…

He’d have already transformed into a one-punch man and blasted her into the sky!

Faced with Ron’s savage verbal onslaught—

Crasis screamed non-stop, furious beyond words!

“Y-You country bumpkin!”

“You—you—!”

Unable to come up with a proper comeback, Crasis’s face turned beet red.

The reason was simple:

Every single word Ron said was the truth.

Not a shred of exaggeration.

What her family was doing right now was the textbook definition of ungrateful betrayal.

Crasis didn’t even dare let her elders know what she really thought.

If they found out—Her father would probably be the first to break her legs.

The only reason she’d gotten away with it so far was because he’d fallen ill in recent years.

That gave Crasis—and the factions within the family who didn’t want to be “dragged down” by Ron’s house—the opening they needed to start their schemes.

“Waaahhh!”

To Ron’s utter surprise—

Crasis suddenly burst into tears.

“So what?! So what?!”

“You’re a gross, disgusting man! Who’d want to marry you?!”

“Waaaahhh! Uncle, he’s bullying your niece!”

“Just throw him off the building already, let him die!”

Watching Crasis sit on the ground and start throwing a tantrum—

Ron’s face twitched.

It was like his words had dealt a critical hit to her brain.

Crasis was now completely mentally broken—

A highborn dragon-blood noble with magic powers, totally defeated by a powerless man’s words.

Jon, at this point, was also furious.

He already didn’t know how to deal with Ron’s cunning schemes.

Ron’s verbal barrage was bad enough, even making Jon feel deeply humiliated.

But as a villain who only cared about family interests—

Jon didn’t give up on trying to turn things around.

Yet what drove him to the brink of collapse—

Wasn’t Ron.

It was Crasis crying and screaming nonstop beside him, making it impossible to think clearly.

“Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!!”

“Stop screaming already! You’re bursting my damn eardrums!”

Jon trembled with rage.

At this moment, more than wanting to deal with Ron, he wanted to throw Crasis off the building himself.

Faced with his roar—

Crasis froze for a second—

Then started crying even louder!

“You—you’re yelling at me now?!”

“I’m your niece!!”

Crasis got up and started kicking and punching Jon in a fit of rage!

And Jon, finally pushed past his limit by this tantrum—

Slapped her across the face with a loud smack.

“Enough! Stop acting like a lunatic!”