Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Chapter 109



Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 109

EP.109 The Secret of Reltra Part 2

 

The moment Reltra’s words registered, Jeong-hyeon found himself utterly stunned.

‘A birthmark beneath her chest? Wait… How does Reltra even know about that?’

As he processed this revelation, his gaze remained fixed on her, bewilderment plastered across his face. Reltra, oblivious to his internal turmoil, spoke with a tone brimming with confidence.

“How was that, Hero? Did you find it to your liking?”

Jeong-hyeon’s initial instinct was to scold her for betraying Shin Si-ah’s privacy so casually. Sharing such personal information about her ruler without permission was unacceptable.

Yet, before he could act on his intent, his mouth betrayed him.

“Very much so.”

Reltra responded with a satisfied smile.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

‘Damn it. That was a mistake.’

Jeong-hyeon groaned inwardly, marveling at how primal instincts could override his better judgment.

As he tried to regroup, Reltra took the opportunity to press her advantage.

“I possess plenty more intriguing tidbits like that. If you’re willing to overlook your earlier displeasure and offer me a chance to build rapport with you, I’d be delighted to share them.”

Once again, his reflexes nearly had him agreeing before he managed to clamp his mouth shut and rein in his thoughts. If he allowed himself to be completely captivated by her pace, there would be no escape.

Taking a deep breath, Jeong-hyeon decided to tackle the most glaring question first.

“I’ll consider it… but let me ask you something first.”

“What would you like to know?”

“The information you mentioned earlier—the birthmark and such. How exactly did you come by that knowledge?”

Reltra’s lips curved upward in a sly grin. She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

“I saw it myself.”

“…You saw it?”

“Yes,” she replied, her tone unwaveringly confident.

Jeong-hyeon blinked in disbelief, unsure how to even process her audacity. Reltra, however, seemed utterly unbothered, even continuing with a tone tinged with excitement.

“The Demon King has a habit of whining a little before falling asleep. If you time it just right, you can catch her at her most vulnerable. Fortunately, given my gender, I’ve been able to exploit this by slipping into her chambers under the guise of offering assistance…”

Her voice trailed off abruptly as her expression froze. She seemed to have only just realized how much she had said aloud. After an awkward silence, she cleared her throat and added in a stiff, forced tone,

“…Please pretend you didn’t hear any of that.”

Jeong-hyeon stared at her, incredulous.

‘You spill all that and expect me to forget it?’

He shook his head, letting out a long, weary sigh.

“I suppose it’s only natural for demons to revere their ruler in… eccentric ways.”

Hoping to move the conversation past this absurdity, Jeong-hyeon opted for a dismissive comment. However, Reltra didn’t take kindly to his words.

“That is not why I revere the current Demon King,” she said, her tone suddenly heated.

“Then why?”

“Of all the Demon Kings I’ve met, she is the most….”

Jeong-hyeon’s mind raced to fill in the blank. Was it her strength? Her resolve? Something about her ideals or leadership?

“…the most beautiful.”

A stunned silence followed.

“…What?”

Jeong-hyeon was completely taken aback. He had never imagined that Reltra’s devotion to Shin Si-ah could be driven purely by her looks.

“After spending so many years as a high-ranking Demon King, serving numerous Demon Kings, I’ve never seen someone as beautiful as her.”

Shin Si-ah was certainly beautiful, but Jeong-hyeon couldn’t understand how someone could worship her so obsessively over something as superficial as appearance. At first, he thought maybe Reltra was lying, but when he looked closely, her expression didn’t seem to suggest that at all.

‘This is insane.’

Unsure of how to respond to such fervor, a question suddenly popped into his mind. Maybe it would help him determine the truth of Reltra’s words.

“By the way, aren’t there other beautiful women in the demon world? As a high-ranking noble, you must have seen countless beautiful demons, so why Shin Si-ah?”

Reltra immediately tensed up, her voice rising in agitation.

“Don’t you dare compare such lowly creatures to the Demon King! Shin Si-ah is far above them, noble beyond measure!”

‘Crazy.’

Reltra’s obsession was becoming more unsettling. Jeong-hyeon scowled, disgusted by her intensity. His thoughts raced, and another question surfaced, one that he felt could expose the real truth.

“But wasn’t the Demon King a hero? Even so, you still adore her like this?”

Reltra laughed bitterly. “Ah, Hero, it seems you don’t understand what attraction really is. It’s precisely because she was my enemy that she’s so special. Think about it—someone who was once my enemy, and yet, after becoming my superior, tries to make things work despite the awkwardness… How could that not be enticing?”

“…What?”

“It’s like a knight being captured by goblins, but eventually opening up to them and trying to make the best of the situation.”

“…What the hell?”

Jeong-hyeon looked at Reltra with confusion and a touch of disbelief, his mind struggling to process the bizarre analogy. He sighed deeply and tried to piece together what he’d just learned.

‘Reltra knows the Demon King used to be a hero, and she accepts Shin Si-ah as her ruler despite that. She knew about it all along and still followed her…’

The revelation that Reltra had been loyal to Shin Si-ah before her death only added to the strange puzzle.

‘I don’t understand why anyone would so easily follow someone who was once their enemy, though.’

What Jeong-hyeon did know for sure was that this entire situation was rooted in some fundamental truth within the demon world, a truth that no one seemed to question. He couldn’t help but wonder if demons had always been sending heroes enemies they knew they could defeat, so the next generation of Demon Lords could be raised up.

‘I’m just guessing, but who knows.’

Realizing the conversation was spiraling into absurdity, Jeong-hyeon decided to change the subject. However, before he could steer things in a new direction, a pressing thought struck him.

Wait, doesn’t Shin Si-ah have the ability to read status messages? She can read the minds of the dukes, right?

If that were true, then it meant Shin Si-ah was probably aware of everything Reltra was saying. The thought sent a wave of unease through Jeong-hyeon.

‘She knows everything Reltra just said, doesn’t she?’

The realization hit him with full force, and for a moment, his head spun with the implications.

 

***

Meanwhile, Shin Si-ah lounged on an opulent sofa, lost in thought.

‘How should I handle these two dukes?’

Two dukes were standing in her way, each formidable in their own right. The first was Duke Pamur, known for having the most capable subordinates and wealth among the noble ranks. The second, Duke Betica, was recognized as the most powerful individual among the dukes. Both were difficult opponents, each presenting unique challenges.

‘And the fact that I died has only complicated things further…’

She couldn’t help but think that their interest in her throne was likely due to her death. While the rumor of her return hadn’t spread yet, it was only a matter of time before it would, and she would have to face the consequences.

‘What should I do about them?’

Her thoughts quickly turned to Duke Pamur. He was known to be the weakest physically among the dukes. However, his insecurity was endless, and no matter how much she tried to manipulate him, Shin Si-ah instinctively knew he would never side with her.

‘Besides, he never liked me much to begin with.’

Unlike Reltra, who had been warm and friendly from the start, Pamur had always kept his distance. He was a difficult duke to deal with.

Shin Si-ah then shifted her thoughts to Duke Betica.

‘Betica… I don’t know what he’s after.’

His intentions were unclear to her. Was he an ally or not? What did he truly want? She couldn’t make sense of his motives, and that made him all the more unpredictable.

‘Guess I wasn’t cut out to be the Demon King after all…’

She sighed as she thought about how she was often called the most “hero-like” Demon King in history. The truth behind that might be something she’d have to come to terms with.

At that moment, she could see Reltra’s mental state status message flashing in front of her.

‘What’s this?’

Such an intense mental state usually meant danger or conflict, and Shin Si-ah immediately feared that Reltra might be in trouble, possibly even fighting with Jeong-hyeon. She quickly checked the message with a sense of urgency.

‘Please, don’t let it be a fight with Jeong-hyeon…’

Reading the message, her eyes widened.

[With this, I’ve successfully spread the beauty of the Demon King to the hero… now, together with the hero, we can indulge in…*]

“…!”

Shin Si-ah hastily closed the message and lay back on the sofa, her face flushed with embarrassment.

She had known that Reltra was extremely loyal, even to the point of being overly affectionate. These overzealous expressions of admiration weren’t entirely new to her.

‘Even I know that this level of affection is excessive…’

Still, she couldn’t exactly tell Reltra to stop being so affectionate, not without feeling a little bad. It was just her way of showing loyalty, no matter how intense.

‘But honestly… the constant attempts to touch my chest are a bit much.’

Given her naturally fuller figure, it was a sensitive subject for Shin Si-ah, something she wasn’t eager to have drawn attention to. As she was reflecting on this, Reltra’s mental state message flickered again, drawing her attention once more.

What was going on this time?

Shin Si-ah stared at the flickering message, suspecting it would be something as over-the-top as the last one. However, knowing Reltra was with Jeong-hyeon, she couldn’t entirely ignore it. Reltra’s tendency to say or do something outrageous could potentially escalate into a bigger issue.

When Shin Si-ah reluctantly clicked on the message, an entirely unexpected and shocking statement popped up before her eyes:

[Then I’ll just take the hero to the secret room. It’s the only way to completely win him over.]

‘The secret room? Win him over?’

The words sent her mind spinning. The phrases sounded suggestive, to put it mildly, and her face burned red. Her thoughts turned to static for a moment as she froze in place.

‘W-what the…?’

Unable to make sense of the situation, she came to one conclusion: she needed to intervene before anything outrageous could happen. Her instinct to stop them from doing anything bizarre was strong enough to push her to her feet, and she rushed outside in search of the two.

 

***

Meanwhile, Reltra was leading Jeong-hyeon down a secluded corridor with an eager glint in her eyes.

She had made her decision: it was time to show him her greatest treasure—her ultimate collection.

Her “secret room” was a sanctuary dedicated to her adoration of Shin Si-ah, filled with memorabilia painstakingly gathered over the years.

‘If I show him this, he’ll surely come to share my appreciation for the Demon King.’

The secret room’s walls were plastered with countless pictures and portraits of Shin Si-ah, her likeness immortalized in various poses and expressions. The centerpiece of the room? Hundreds of hand-crafted dolls modeled after the Demon King herself.

Admittedly, Reltra knew the sheer intensity of the collection might seem excessive at first glance. However, she was confident that Jeong-hyeon would understand its significance.

“This is going to amaze you,” she said with a satisfied smile.

“What’s this all about?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

With that, Reltra opened the door to the room, unveiling its dazzling contents.

For a moment, Jeong-hyeon stood frozen in the doorway, staring blankly at the overwhelming sight before him.

“……”

His expression was difficult to decipher. To Reltra, it looked like he was utterly captivated by what he saw.

‘Yes, this was the right decision.’

However, before she could bask in her triumph, an unexpected voice broke through the silence.

“…Hah… hah… what are you two doing here? If you’re playing around… can I join in?”

The voice, unmistakably Shin Si-ah’s, carried a mix of exhaustion and confusion.

Reltra’s heart skipped a beat as she turned to see the Demon King herself standing a short distance away, visibly out of breath. Worse still, Shin Si-ah’s eyes had already caught sight of the open door.

Reltra panicked, slamming the door shut in an instant.

But it was too late. The look on Shin Si-ah’s face said everything—she had seen it.

The Demon King stood frozen, her gaze darting between Reltra and Jeong-hyeon in disbelief.

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