QHIM chapter 28- Fake Justice

“Protect the priest!”

Luke clutched his bleeding neck. If it hadn’t been for Carlisle, his head would have surely been severed. With a pale face, Luke glared at me.

‘What a funny guy. Why is he glaring at me? It’s not like I did anything.’

The swords of the temple knights simultaneously aimed at Jerome.

Despite the dozens of blades surrounding him, Jerome showed no sign of being intimidated.

Jerome, who had been expressionless, suddenly smiled brightly and spoke.

“Carlisle, it’s been a while. You’ve gotten even more handsome. I’m glad to see you again.”

“Really? I’m sad to meet an old friend like this.”

Of course, this reunion between Carlisle and Jerome wasn’t in the original story.

Jerome had exited the story early on, killed by Jeanne’s hand.

Maybe that’s why. Somehow, even I felt nervous.

‘Jerome and Carlisle were academy mates, weren’t they?’

In the past, Carlisle and Jerome were the undisputed heroes of the Kaisar Empire.

If Carlisle was a tank strong in defense, Jerome could be described as a striker strong in decisive attacks.

The two, once the best of partners, became bitter enemies after the Mephisto sealing incident.

This was because Carlisle had taken all the credit for the achievements from the Mephisto expedition.

And that wasn’t all. It was also Carlisle who had Jerome confined to a mental institution.

Frankly, it wouldn’t have been strange for Jerome to rip Carlisle apart from north to south, east to west, shouting, “Why the hell did you do this to me, you bastard?”

I watched the two with a serious expression, contemplating.

‘Isn’t this a classic love-hate relationship? Not bad.’

Why hadn’t I thought of pairing these two up before?

My inner commercial writer momentarily surfaced but quickly regained control.

Damn this occupational hazard; I was combining relationships even in a situation like this.

“Don’t cause any more trouble. This is my last piece of advice to you as a friend. If you stir things up further, the royal family won’t be able to protect you from the temple.”

While I was discovering new possibilities between them, Carlisle calmly expressed his position to Jerome.

Jerome, who was watching Carlisle with interest, let out a mocking laugh.

“Protection, huh…?”

A dark aura emanated from the tip of Jerome’s sword.

Gripping Carlisle’s sword, which was touching his neck, with his bare hand, Jerome faintly smiled.

Blood dripped from Jerome’s hand as he held the sword.

“If I kill all of you here…”

“……”

“I wonder if you could still use the word ‘protection’ so recklessly.”

The moment I heard those words, I sensed the gravity of the situation. Mephisto still resided within Jerome.

If Jerome, having lost his sanity, flipped everything over, this novel would truly reach a catastrophic ending.

I tried to rush forward, but a temple knight blocked my path.

Biting my lower lip, I hesitated before shouting.

“Jerome! Look at me, Jerome!”

I snapped my fingers, forcing him to turn his attention toward me.

Jerome, who had been glaring murderously at Carlisle, turned his head.

Then, as if he hadn’t just uttered those violent words, he put on a playful face.

“Honey.”

That… fox.

Thinking that even his defeated appearance was just an act to seem harmless made me speechless.

Even the temple knights faltered and stepped back at Jerome’s unhesitating approach toward me.

Jerome’s gaze fell on the hand of the temple knight gripping my arm.

Jerome dropped the sword he was holding to the ground.

Then, with a leisurely expression, he spoke.

“The body you’re holding onto will be the future mistress of Howard.”

“……”

“Why don’t you let go before I have to personally cut off that filthy hand?”

The temple knight, who had turned pale, quickly let go of my arm.

It was so natural that I couldn’t even refute it, but I’d never thought of becoming Howard’s mistress.

What was he talking about?

From earlier, he’d been deciding everything by himself, from plans for children to retirement.

But now wasn’t the time to argue with all that crazy talk.

“It hurts.”

Jerome suddenly extended his blood-dripping hand toward me.

Upon closer inspection, the cut was quite deep.

As he whimpered, trying to lean into my arms, I pushed his head away and said,

“Carlisle, can we talk for a moment? I’ll try to reason with him.”

“Reason with Jerome?”

“Yeah, why?”

Carlisle’s gaze turned subtly cold. Clicking his tongue, Carlisle waved his hand dismissively.

“Make it quick, within five minutes.”

After dragging Jerome into the bushes, I examined his wound.

Of course, it wasn’t out of concern for this guy; Jerome was someone who could potentially free Jeanne.

He might even be able to perform a memory-erasing spell.

I figured it would be beneficial for me to earn Jerome’s favor, even for the future.

‘He’s different from Carlisle. Jerome is definitely a character who can benefit me. If I can just handle him the way I want… he’ll surely be helpful.’

Jerome looked somewhat sullen.

After tying a handkerchief around his large, bleeding hand, I let out a sigh.

Even without the fresh wound, his hands were covered in scars.

‘Classic hero’s hands.’

For some reason, my mood sank.

While quietly observing Jerome’s hand, he suddenly snatched it away.

Looking at me with a curious expression, Jerome spoke sheepishly.

“My hands are ugly, so I’m embarrassed.”

“Why would that be embarrassing?”

“……”

“They’re the hands of a hero.”

Jerome remained silent.

One moment he’d be rushing out without a care, the next he’d suddenly calm down, and even though he seemed shameless, he’d show embarrassment over strange things.

I thought to myself as I watched Jerome, who wasn’t looking my way.

‘He’s really hard to handle. This is why I killed him off. Characters like him are difficult to write.’

I turned my gaze away from Jerome to survey the surroundings.

The sky was clear after the clouds had parted, and the chirping birds were cheerful.

Except for the serial killer who kept reciting marriage vows,

And Carlisle, who had been glaring daggers at me from earlier.

‘One could say it’s a peaceful day…’

Staring blankly at the downcast Jerome, I broke the silence first.

“I get that you don’t have a good relationship with Carlisle. But no matter what, saying you’ll kill everyone is too harsh. Look, you scared everyone over there.”

Jerome, who had been quietly listening to my words, narrowed his eyes.

“But why do you keep calling him Carlisle so affectionately?”

“Well, that’s his name. And I wasn’t being affectionate.”

“Call him ‘that bastard’ instead of Carlisle.”

Is he a child? A child?

Suppressing the urge to criticize, I spoke in a deliberately calm voice.

“You have me, right? He doesn’t have me.”

Jerome’s hand trembled slightly.

Light flickered momentarily in Jerome’s eyes, which had been devoid of emotion.

Trying to suppress his smile, Jerome spoke in a satisfied tone.

“That’s true.”

“Until I give you permission, you must never kill anyone. If you kill someone, we can never meet again. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Come closer so I can hear you better.”

Jerome gestured for me to come closer.

I looked at him with suspicion but leaned toward him.

Jerome wrapped his arm around my shoulder and whispered like a child sharing a secret.

“This is the first time someone has said they’d protect me. I’ve always been the one protecting others. Not that I dislike it. But….”

“……”

“It’s exciting, you know. The feeling of being protected. You, with those wrists that can barely hold a sword, saying you’ll protect me.”

I couldn’t understand how a man who went berserk at the word “protection” from Carlisle now felt thrilled by my “protection.”

With a blank expression, I simply nodded.

‘Let’s just humor him for now. This is all planting seeds for the future.’

Jerome leaned his head on my shoulder.

Then he reached out toward an ant crawling on the ground.

Watching the ant crawl up his finger as if it were cute, Jerome spoke.

“I shouldn’t kill people?”

“No.”

“Even if there’s a just reason?”

“There’s no such thing as a just reason for killing someone.”

Even as I said it, I found the words ridiculous.

To be honest, I was in favor of capital punishment.

I believed it was right to beat to death those heinous criminals that frequently appeared on the news.

But right now, I had to use even such trivial justice to calm Jerome down.

Jerome, who had been smiling faintly, pressed down on an ant with his finger, killing it.

The meaning behind his action sent a chill down my spine.

“It sounds trivial, but when you say it, it somehow sounds different.”

“……”

“Then, what about me?”

To Jerome, humans must seem like those ants—creatures that can be easily crushed at any time.

The image of Jerome charging at me viciously flashed through my mind.

“You know from firsthand experience that leaving me alive is a mistake.”

His tone was almost taunting.

He was probably asking why I protected him after seeing what he was capable of.

I almost replied honestly, “Because I’m interested in your endless magical power,” but instead, I gave a more ambiguous answer.

“I saw another possibility, like you did.”

I was neither a noble lady nor a saint.

Therefore, I couldn’t become the pure and devoted wife Jerome wanted.

However, I could offer him some comfort in a world where he had nothing to trust.

Of course, it wouldn’t be for free. In exchange for that comfort, I intended to drain Jerome of his magical power.

‘For someone who opened his heart to me, it’s a pity I’m the one he chose. Jerome, you’re truly unlucky. I have no intention of being the one to accept a heretic with a kind heart.’

My goal was to survive in this novel. For that, I could lie as much as needed.

With a faint smile on my lips, I tilted my head slightly to the side.

“I need you, Jerome. So, for my sake, please stop killing people. I’m asking you.”

I set the bait and watched Jerome’s reaction.

He stared at me blankly before turning his head with a grim expression.

The temple knight who met Jerome’s gaze quickly looked away from me.

‘How did that lunatic know the temple knight was watching me? Does he have eyes on the back of his head?’

Jerome sighed deeply and responded expressionlessly.

“Fine, I’ll hold back. We shouldn’t be apart for too long, especially not during our honeymoon.”

“……”

“But I’ll think of you every night.”

Think of me every night… Why would he?

No matter how many times I heard it, I couldn’t get used to his choice of words, so I cleared my throat.

A long silence followed.

Jerome suddenly grabbed my chin and stared at me with eyes devoid of light.

“Why aren’t you answering? Are you saying you won’t come see me? That you won’t bear my child?”

“I-I’ll come, okay? So just behave yourself for the next few weeks. No one should suspect you’re not in your right mind. Act normal.”

“Okay, I like that.”

Yeah, now let go of me.

I glared at Jerome while he still had his grip on my cheek. Jerome, smiling innocently, suddenly kissed my forehead.

Smooch.

It was then I realized why I found it particularly difficult to handle Jerome.

A character’s actions must have some justification.

They should act according to the situation.

But Jerome always ignored the justification I gave him and acted on his instincts.

This was no different.

I couldn’t even begin to guess why he’d suddenly decided to plant his lips on my forehead.

“That’s enough, Jerome. You’re also charged with lewd conduct. Take him away.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Carlisle pulled me away from Jerome.

Holy magic handcuffs were placed on Jerome’s wrists.

Jerome, still looking dazed, spoke shamelessly.

“I couldn’t help it. Your forehead is so round and cute. I’m innocent of lewd conduct.”

“Sure, try saying that in court.”

Carlisle, smirking, waved his hand to indicate they should hurry up and take him away.

Unlike before, Jerome walked away without resistance.

As he passed by me, Jerome whispered softly.

“You have to come see me, honey.”

It wasn’t until Jerome left with the temple knights that I regained my senses.

My strength drained from me, and I felt faint for a moment.

‘This feels like launch day. I think I’m going to be sick.’

Still, there was some gain.

Unlike with Lily, I had protected Jerome from Luke this time.

But in doing so, I had forgotten something important.

Carlisle grabbed my swaying arm and pulled me close.

“By the way, Jeanne, you’ve never smiled at me like that.”

There was an inexplicable irritation in his relaxed tone.

I frowned at the rough grip on my forearm.

Carlisle, rubbing Jerome’s blood off my hand with his thumb, asked,

“Why did you smile at that bastard like that?”