Betrayed, I Met The Demon Lord

Chapter 76 - AMoriA OBSCURUS (Magus Veil, FINALE)

Magus knew that no matter what he forced the queen to do, the king would oppose him—even with the Goddess looming overhead.

... So, he branded the king, with the queen standing silently beside him. He made her husband her slave; he was controlling her through his passives. And she agreed. She stood by and watched, her gut twisting at her husband's suffering, yet unable to place him above Magus.

Soon after, the king 'allowed' the knights involved in your torment to be punished, and you were transferred to the second battalion for the final month of your training under Sir Brennan's command.

Amoria explained all of this while watching Van closely.

'He's... really attentive,' she thought, noticing how carefully he absorbed every word. 'He doesn't even seem shocked at this point... Did he accept Magus's mental state by now...?'

"Yeah, I remember," Van said, his tone even. "Brennan was a Greatknight and the king's right hand—ranked above Nickelson in the chain of command. But he was a noble man, preferred to stay out of politics, and was always humble when he worked with the Second Battalion. I doubt he knew what I was going through, but..." Van paused, reflecting for a moment. "He was empathetic enough to ask. Eventually, he even looked past my passives—just before we left for the mission. He was a good man."

Amoria cleared her throat. "...Back to Magus. When the two of you set off on that journey together, the more time he spent with you, the more stable he became. You surrounding yourself with women? I get it now. His passives would naturally turn every man into your enemy, but every woman into your ally."

Van's gaze sharpened. "Why didn't he ask the Goddess to remove the passives?" he asked, his voice steady but deliberate. He noted how Amoria's face tensed—how her posture shifted under the weight of the question.

"He... H-he did..." Amoria murmured, her voice faltering slightly.

"And?" Van pressed.

"She told him she couldn't, and that..." Amoria trailed off, visibly uneasy.

"That... what?" Van's tone was quiet but firm.

Amoria hesitated, struggling to meet his gaze.

"She said that changing a skill would require sacrificing some of her life essence... so she refused," she admitted reluctantly, guilt lacing her voice.

Van's expression remained neutral—cold, almost detached.

"When was that?" he asked, the question slipping out effortlessly, as if her discomfort didn't matter to him.

Amoria shifted uncomfortably. "...Around the time he took his own life," she whispered, her words barely audible.

Van nodded slowly, a sharp click of his tongue breaking the silence. "Alright... Now get to the part where the two of you getting together wasn't just some accident. What was special about Millina? And why did he sleep with you?" His voice was cold, every word precise and measured, his patience visibly thinning.

Amoria's breath faltered. 'I thought he'd hesitate... but he didn't. It really matters to him, doesn't it?' She stared at Van, a flicker of awe creeping into her thoughts as she realized how deeply he wanted the truth.

"Well... Like I said, it wasn't an accident," she murmured, her voice uneven.

Van remained silent, his gaze steady, waiting for her to continue.

Amoria's brows drew together, "He never liked Millina. He never truly loved any of us..." she admitted as she swallowed hard.

"Him being broken over Millina... loving her... That's just what he wanted you to believe."