The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 144
Hedonia wasn’t completely dominating Robert’s mind. Forgetting all of this would be too kind to him, given the suffering he had caused to so many.
Robert needed to remember everything.
Robert moved like a robot from his spot.
His steps were creaky and soulless.
But with intervals of lucidity, Robert continued to wail.
“Hedonia!”
Sometimes, he would call out his name…
“XXXXX!”
Robert muttered curses unbecoming of a noble.
Reciting the names of all the guides and releasing the spell, he collapsed on the spot.
“The Duke has lost his footing,”
Hedonia mocked, and Robert could do nothing in response.
“With the prospective guides, we must show what becomes of someone like you.”
Speaking in a gentle voice, Hedonia made sure all the guides, who had been imprisoned by Robert, could see him.
“Him…?”
“Is that really the Duke…?”
The guides were speechless, seeing Robert crawling on the ground, unable to move without Hedonia’s command.
The person who had oppressed them so much now looked so small.
It was a clear demonstration of how crucial one’s position and power are.
“Release the Duke!”
Some of them even felt sympathy for Robert. This was because they had already been brainwashed to think in his favor.
“Let me show you how futile your efforts have been.”
These guides were Robert’s lifeline, as were the ones active outside.
Hedonia intended to sever each of these lifelines, the blood vessels that kept Robert’s heart beating.
He began using his ability to break the brainwashing of the guides.
“Ahh…”
Hedonia wrapped the golden threads, visible only to him, around people’s heads and focused his mind.
It was more challenging to navigate their minds than Robert’s because he knew nothing about them.
He had to be careful about which memories and thoughts to touch.
He realized that a single misuse of his power could destroy their minds.
The eyes of those in the prison-like space gradually brightened.
“W-Where are we…?”
“The Duke tried to control us?”
Hedonia’s explanation was brief.
“If you want to leave, you are free to go.”
However, even those who regained their senses were reluctant to leave the mansion.
“No. We had nowhere else to go in the first place.”
The prospective guides accepted by Robert were already on the brink of life.
They couldn’t survive anywhere else.
In this regard, Robert had been thorough.
And his meticulous nature would now become Hedonia’s strength, not Robert’s.
“I will make sure the guides you trained are well taken care of.”
Hedonia looked down at Robert, who was still lying on the ground, unable to lift his head, he smiled.
“I’ll show you that the world can function perfectly without your guiding.”
Until now, Robert had manipulated and controlled the number of guides, making Espers dependent on him, but now things would change.
If these guides fully utilized their abilities, there would be no situation where Espers were at Robert’s mercy.
Robert’s unique position would disappear.
“Ah…”
Robert’s mind grew foggy.
‘Such brainwashing…’
Hedonia’s long awakening pain had hinted that he would become an extraordinary being, but not to this extent.
His brainwashing ability was among the most powerful, even among Espers.
‘I can’t do anything.’
His consciousness barely clung to awareness.
Robert felt true despair for the first time in a long while.
Not since he had felt the difference between his guiding ability and his mother Ellina’s had he felt such despair.
Seeing everything he had built turned to nothing.
“Ugh…”
Save me.
This can’t be the end.
…I really don’t want it to end like this.
As his mind continued to deteriorate, Robert was overwhelmed by emotions, desperately clinging to anything.
The continuous exertion of power took its toll on Hedonia’s mind as well.
Great abilities come with significant penalties. Despite this, Hedonia did not cease his control over Robert’s mind.
He wanted Robert to witness everything he had prepared crumble, to feel the helplessness of being able to do nothing.
“N…No…”
Robert’s unfocused eyes turned red. He was struggling to say something, fighting against the overpowering influence.
The worsening headache was evident.
“I will teach these guides independently.”
“…”
“Even without you, there will be plenty of guides to guide the Espers. The guides will no longer rely on you.”
Tears rolled down Robert’s cheeks.
“I can’t express how happy I am that my ability can completely ruin your life.”
“Hnnn…”
But apart from crying, there was nothing Robert could do.
Everything he had prepared became futile in the face of Hedonia’s overwhelming power.
