The Married Alpha Who Refuses to Be a Heartthrob (A/B/O · Alpha POV) - Chapter 28

Long Shi stared at the dog corpse’s head. If the magic stone was not inside its body, perhaps it was in the skull. So he drew his sword and swung it down on the corpse’s head.

The corpse’s head split open, but there was no magic stone inside. It only made the dining table messier instead.

Long Shi examined it carefully but still found nothing. “How is this possible? Where could he have hidden it?”

The puppy’s ghost whimpered, its face scrunched up. “Master said he wanted to avenge Fia. The Fia he loved was killed by the Lanqi family.”

“Who is that?” Wei was utterly confused. What did the affairs of nobles have to do with commoners like them?

Keith had a vague recollection of the name, as if he’d heard it in his childhood. But he couldn’t let the puppy’s ghost distract him now: “Forget who she is. For now, let’s focus on getting out of here or we’ll all die in this place.”

Vansen laid the steward’s body on the floor. He glanced up at the painting on the easel. The number of people in the painting remained unchanged, but the steward had changed from eating dog meat to lying dead on the table. “Everyone, Look at that painting!”

Kaes walked over and found out that the painting seemed to correspond to reality. Looking at Wei, he pointed at the wall in the painting: “Try painting a door on that wall.”

Wei understood. He squeezed out a blob of brown paint and used his brush to paint an open door on the wall. His hands trembled with excitement. If a door really did appear, it’ll be as if he is Ma Liang the legendary painter with a magical brush.

A door appeared on the wall, but it was closed. Everyone was thrilled. They plan to escape first, then find the magic stone later.

“A door really did appear.” Vansen stepped forward to open it.

The puppy’s ghost cried out, “I’m not letting you go, Woof! Woof!.”

Vansen suddenly felt an invisible wall separating him from the door.

“Damn!” Wei was on the verge of breaking down. He tried drawing another door and a window but both didn’t appear. They realized couldn’t just draw anything. Otherwise, Wei would be invincible.

At his desperation Long Shi tried to slash at the puppy’s ghost, but the blade just went through it. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he grew increasingly frantic: “What do we do now?”

Five minutes was relatively short and Kaes thought he could die here.

This puppy’s ghost kept thwarting them. Perhaps finding the magic stone could make it more obedient.

Keith rummaged through the dog’s skull, his white gloves stained with blood. The corpse’s white fur was filthy, yet he found nothing.

“It should be on the body. How could I miss it?” Kaes approached. He’d suspected it might be on the ghost but after Long Shi’s unsuccessful attack, it clearly wasn’t there.

This one was different from the nun’s.

Could it be the dim light in the room made him miss it? Kaes extended his hand, a flame igniting on his palm instantly illuminating the dining table.

The moment the flame lit up, Kaes thought he saw a glint in one of the dog’s eyes. He compared both eyes: one was dull and lifeless, dark and faded.

The other reflected the flame’s crimson glow, appearing almost blackish-blue upon closer inspection. It was a deep indigo revealed by the nearby light source.

“I found it!” Kaes felt his emotions like a rollercoaster. He steadied his trembling hands to dig out the magic stone, roughly the size of an eye.

Wiping away the dried blood, he noted its small size. It was roughly the size of a thumb and it has a dog’s head engraved on its back.

“It’s so tiny! Thank goodness we found it.” Vansen and the others felt relived. Their hope of escaping reignited.

Long Shi and Wei felt a dull ache in their heads. They never imagined it would be hidden on that spot.

“It’s really is tiny but how do we leave now that we’ve found it?” Keith was equally surprised.

“Alright then, I’ll tell you…” The puppy’s ghost moved near the door and hopped onto a chair close by. “You would not be able to open this door anyway. But since you found it I’ll kindly tell you how.”

Long Shi, refusing to believe it, hurried over to try the door. The invisible wall still blocked him. His attacks had no effect on it.

Long Shi dropped his sword in frustration. “Damn it!”

“Woof! Woof!” The puppy’s ghost licked its lips and grinned at the exasperated Long Shi, as if mocking his foolishness. “Just dispose of my corpse. You may either burn it or make it vanish in any way.”

The puppy’s ghost offered a seemingly simple solution. They glanced toward the candlestick. Kaes’s candle burned down more than halfway.

They dared not touch the candles on the candlestick. So how then could they dispose of the dog’s body?

Long Shi walked over, reaching for his own candle: “Use mine.”

“No.” Kaes stopped Long Shi. He neither wanted to die nor could he let others die for him.

Long Shi turned and gave Kaes a deep look. As long as Kaes could live, that was enough. He didn’t know what consequences taking it might bring, but he couldn’t think of a better solution now. The moment he reached out, Keith grabbed his hand.

“I’ll use fire magic.” Keith didn’t have time to think it through. Magic might be better than a candle flame.

“Oh my god, really? Don’t burn the whole house down!” Wei grabbed his hair, still nervously clutching his paintbrush. He couldn’t think calmly in this situation. “Governor, think of something!”

Telling the Governor to figure it out made Vansen feel as if Wei was acting like a clown. Vansen studied the painting thoughtfully. He sensed the answer was at the tip of his tongue, but the urgency of the situation was scrambling his thoughts.

A fireball rose in Keith’s palm. It was just the right size. It was not big enough to burn the house down. He tossed it onto the corpse.

The dog’s corpse ignited. Keith tried to open the door again, but it still wouldn’t budge. He looked at the puppy.

The puppy’s ghost wagged its tail incessantly: “We can only open the door after the process is complete. It’s still burning so we must wait.”

“Ah!” Keith suddenly let out a wail. Flames erupted inexplicably on his body. He looked down at his burning form, rolling on the ground. He felt a surge of witchcraft magic coursing through him. “I’ve been backfired!”

“Keith!” Kaes shouted, trying to rush over but was held back by Long Shi. Soon, Keith would be burned to death.

Kaes later realized that if he threw one of the candles, whoever it represented was likely to be backfired too.

This puzzle can’t be solved this way. Violence must not be used against the dog’s corpse.

“I know how to put the dog to rest.” Kaes muttered curses under his breath. Damn dog.

“Kaes, hold on!” Vansen had also figured it out. He approached the easel, and Kaes followed suit. It seemed they’d arrived at the same solution.

Vansen squeezed a glob of white paint onto the palette. Kaes held the brush. Vansen grabbed the palette and urged, “Hurry up!”

Kaes needed no prompting. He dipped the brush into the white paint and applied it thickly over the dog on the canvas.

The white paint spread across the table in the painting, covering the dog as if erasing it.

The dog vanished from the painting. The corpse in the hut disappeared. The flames on Keith’s body faded. Wei gaped in stunned silence.

This was the correct answer! He truly didn’t understand it. After this ordeal he no longer wanted to paint. He thinks he isn’t worthy to paint anything.

The puppy’s ghost transformed into a beam of light and entered the magic stone.

“What are you still standing there for?” Long Shi pushed Wei aside and ran to open the door. This time it swung open, flooding the room with fresh air.

Keith felt like he was about to be burned alive. Lying on the ground with his last breath, he saw Wei’s backyard through the open door as a faint glow appeared on the horizon.

“We can go home now.” Kaes hoisted Keith onto his back and left the dark room.

……

By the time they emerged, it was around six in the morning. The air was crisp, and dew still clung to the weeds in the backyard.

Kaes carried Keith through the yard, glancing down at him. His face and neck showed no burns. “How do you feel? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Keith felt much better. He shook his head. Having narrowly escaped death and still being with Kaes filled him with both happiness and gratitude. “I was fine once we were out. It was like nothing happened… Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I’d already be dead. You can put me down now. “

”If you died, I’d become a widower,” Kaes murmured, his voice trembling. Having nearly lost Keith, he held him tightly before finally lowering him to the ground.

If not for the people around them, he might have lost him forever.

The guards Kaes had brought stood watch at the Wei residence. The moment they emerged, the guards swarmed around them: “The Governor’s out!”

The guards’ voice woke the entire neighborhood.

The neighbors climbed out of bed in their pajamas, peering out their windows at Kaes and the others. They had been waiting every day for a solution to the Dead Dog’s curse.

Kaes pulled out the magic stone from his pocket. Viewed from outside, it was indeed a deep blue. The stone could sense his thoughts but since he wasn’t a summoner, he couldn’t control the puppy.

“Look at the puppy.” Keith was quite fond of their prize. The little black dog looked adorable in the dark room; he loved furry little creatures.

Kaes placed the summoning stone in Keith’s palm. Sensing Keith’s intent, the puppy’s spirit materialized at their feet gazing up at them with large & sparkling eyes.

Neighbors gasped in unison: “Look! It’s the puppy’s spirit! Has the Governor already lifted the dog’s curse?”

Expectation lit up everyone’s faces.

Kaes raised his voice to announce, “The curse is lifted. You may all resume your meals normally.”

“Oh my goodness! Thank you, Governor!” A wave of sighs and cheers washed over the crowd. While they could survive on porridge, their poultry at home couldn’t endure the famine. Now, finally, things would return to normal.

Kaes and the others boarded the carriage, with Wei seeing them off.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, ready to rest.

Kaes escorted Keith and Vansen back to the annex.

They had barely returned to the annex and stepped down from the carriage when a maid, anxiously waiting at the door, rushed forward upon seeing them. “Master Keith, you’re back! There’s a letter here addressed to the Governor.”

“Where did this come from?” Keith took the letter from the maid. It bore a plain black lacquer seal without any design.

Lacquer seals typically signified status. This sender seemed mysterious. Keith passed the letter to Kaes: “Could it be that person?”

Kaes snapped the seal and unfolded the letter. It contained no signature.

Content:

【I must admit, Kaes. You’re far more capable than my foolish wizard son, Keith. It’s a shame you didn’t study magic.

The nun’s and puppy’s magic stones are yours. I still have one magic stone and that one I can’t give to you. I must take my revenge on the Lanqi family. Your uncle killed my beloved Fia. 】

Uncle? Kaes hadn’t inherited the original host’s memories, only knowing that the original host’s family was dead, leaving only Kaes behind.

His uncle was gone, yet he still sought vengeance against the Lanqi family. He’s clearly a psychopath. There was nothing to discuss with a deranged sorcerer.

“It really is Father!?” Keith leaned in to read the letter, his face frozen in disbelief. “How is that possible? He should be dead… This Fia—I can’t recall who she is… Could he have loved someone before marrying my mother?”

Keith’s mother had been forced into marriage back then. They didn’t love each other. After deliberation by the Church, since Keith’s maternal clan lacked royal blood, his mother had to marry a prince from the previous dynasty. Only then could Keith’s maternal grandfather act as regent for the king.

“He is not your father, he is a madman… And he’s challenging me to a duel.” Kaes remained skeptical about the letter’s contents and tucked it away. “You two should rest for now… Who knows when ‘he’ will show up.”