#31

When the guild emerged from the forest and the logistics warehouse was just ahead—

“...Huh?”

A strangled sound leaked from atop a tree.

Then a corpse, a dagger embedded in its heart, plummeted to the ground.

“...!”

A curse spat through the teacher’s clenched teeth.

“It’s a trap!”

He shouted—but far too late.

The Revoo Knights, disguised as merchants, drew swords hidden within the wagons and ambushed the shadows.

Even from within the carriages supposedly filled with flour, knights sprang out.

“Damn it, what the hell is this?!”

“I thought they went after the merchant lord?” 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The ones being chased by Revoo turned on the teacher in blame.

The teacher bit his lip, the bitter taste of blood flooding his mouth, as he realized—even the plan to arrest the Signo Guild’s merchant lord had been a trap.

‘In that case...!’

The shadows sped up.

“W-wait! That way leads to the North!”

Someone trailing behind shouted in panic.

“We don’t have a choice! We have to hide in the North!”

“But Voreoti is there...!”

“Only if we’re caught!”

It was like walking straight into the lion’s den, but sometimes the spot directly beneath the lamp was the safest hiding place.

“And those bastards can’t follow us into the North.”

No knight order was permitted to cross into another territory while armed.

Doing so was grounds for war.

The Revoo Knights seemed fully aware of that as they moved quickly.

“Don’t let them cross into the North!”

A silver-haired knight, barely tinted in moonlight, shouted. He swung his sword with a clear intent not to let them escape easily.

“Aaagh!”

“Gahk!”

Blood fell to the ground like red petals from a summer bloom.

“If we just make it into the North, they can’t follow us!”

“Damn Western dogs...!”

“We’ll repay this humiliation!”

By the time the surviving shadows barely crossed the northern border—

The armed Revoo Knights, just as the teacher had expected, ceased pursuit.

Yet not one of them looked frustrated by the escape.

Because their true objective was already complete.

“Repay this humiliation, huh...”

A voice, utterly flat, muttered.

“It’s always the ones who say crap like that who die first.”

Clouds began to drift across the moon above.

Though the moonlight that had quietly lit the ground faded, someone hidden stepped fully into presence.

A murderous aura radiated, pressing down on the assassins like a vice.

‘W-what is this...!’

Terrified, the teacher collapsed to his knees.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

A fear that threatened the very foundation of his life crept up from his feet.

“...Duke Voreoti?”

As moonlight weakly seeped through the clouds, a pair of jet-black eyes colder than permafrost gleamed.

“This one’s saying sweet things before he dies.”

Leonia smiled faintly.

“Gladiago.”

Behind the black beast, other beasts revealed their presence.

“Begin the hunt.”

***

“Deep in the woods, a secret grave...”

Who’s buried there?

“Deep in the woods, a secret grave...”

Leonia’s cheerful tune filled the dark night.

Her humming voice was so innocently bright it made the scene all the more disturbing.

Her steps light as if on a pleasant stroll, she circled the assassins buried up to their necks, their faces the only thing above the earth.

Who buried them, I wonder?

Leonia abruptly stopped her song and crouched down on one knee.

“Hmm? Who could’ve buried them?”

She asked the assassins, but they couldn’t answer.

Their faces had been beaten beyond recognition—unrecognizable lumps of pulp.

Blood, dark and thick, stained Leonia’s white cloak.

Not that she expected an answer. Rising again, she resumed her tune.

“At dawn, the mine worker...”

Her voice rose suddenly in pitch, clear and unwavering.

Leonia, surprisingly, could sing quite well.

“Tucked the shift supervisor in bed...”

With a sip of whiskey—

“And gave the order to bury.”

Singing out the final line with gusto, Leonia seemed in excellent spirits.

Or at least, appeared so.

The Gladiago Knights, who had subdued the assassins and quietly stood back, knew all too well how displeased their future mistress currently was.

Still, this was preferable.

Because the target of her wrath wasn’t them.

“...Today might be the last day I see you alive.”

The Marquis of Hesperi muttered under his breath.

Leonia’s wrath was so palpable it could be felt even from afar. If she caught the one she sought, she’d show no mercy.

And that ‘someone’—was probably his son.

But while the Marquis was full of anxious thoughts, Scandia seemed bewitched, eyes locked solely on Leonia.

And before long, Leonia’s gaze was locked only on Scandia.

The tension between the two lovers hung like a taut wire.

The moonlight cast a deep shadow across Leonia’s face, while it illuminated Scandia’s completely.

“Young Lady.”

Meleis quietly asked.

“Your orders?”

She was asking how to deal with those buried up to their necks.

They were criminals from the West—but the one who had captured and nearly killed them was the North’s future Duke.

“You’re right.”

Leonia feigned realization.

“What should I do with them...”

The eerie muttering paired with her chilling gaze made the air turn unnaturally heavy.

Meleis swallowed dryly.

Though she had done nothing wrong, she felt as if she should drop to her knees and beg for forgiveness.

The same feeling hung over the West, just beyond the border.

“You’ve grown up quite impressively.”

Ibex moistened his parched lips and gave a stiff smile.

The little girl who once yawned so wide in the Duke’s arms—where had she gone?

“Count Rinne, can’t you do something?”

He turned to Carnis, who had come along just in case of such a scenario.

But Carnis was no more able to interfere than he was.

“Phew... She’s the spitting image of her father.”

Carnis felt strangely sentimental, as if he were seeing a younger Ferio.

And at the same time, it seemed Leonia was even more than Ferio had been at that age.

The father and daughter were oddly different.

Ferio had been so cold, he was like searing ice.

Leonia was so hot, she was like freezing fire.

“We ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ may need to offer a sacrifice.”

Carnis offered the best solution for this situation.

In truth, there was only one.

The only thing that could soothe such a fierce beast was to offer a groom as a sacrifice.

“I haven’t even done much for my son...”

Ibex grimaced, preparing himself for what felt like a tragic farewell.

“Young Lady!”

“Wait, you’re crossing the—!”

A commotion erupted near the border.

Leonia had crossed the line.

The Revoo Knights tensed for a moment.

Fortunately, Leonia was completely unarmed. She had passed her sword to Meleis before stepping over.

Now she walked calmly through the ranks of the Revoo Knights.

She didn’t need to push or demand they move. They simply parted on their own.

The oppressive aura around her shoved them aside, pushing their feet backward without effort.

Leonia stopped.

At the end of the parted crowd stood Scandia.

The two stared silently at each other.

“Right now...”

Leonia murmured in displeasure.

“Are you looking down at me?”

A faint breath of white mist escaped her lips with her scornful laugh.

“Kneel.”

And with that single word, winter fell upon the West.

It was Scandia who shattered the tension of the cold air.

“Leo.”

Slowly, he bent one knee and gently wrapped his hands around Leonia’s bloodstained hand, pressing it to his cheek.

“...Ha.”

Only then did life return to his grim face.

Leonia looked down at him resting his face in her palm and asked,

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t cut your leg tendons right now.”

Scandia didn’t hesitate.

He didn’t particularly care about the tendons being cut.

Honestly, it would hurt—but what scared him more was the thought that Leonia might never look at him again.

“Well? Give me a reason.”

Leonia prompted again, almost graciously.

“If I cut your tendons, what should I do with you after?”

Should I put you in a pretty cage so nothing else goes wrong?

“Even if it’s a misunderstanding, I don’t think this displeasure will fade so easily.”

Her black eyes flickered with unrest, waiting for an answer.

“In that place...”

Scandia slowly lowered Leonia’s hand from his cheek and pressed his lips to it.

The thick scent of blood couldn’t hide the intense, addictive scent of his skin.

“Let me be imprisoned with you.”

Scandia prided himself on knowing Leonia better than anyone else in the world.

He dared say—not even Ferio could compete.

Which is why he also understood exactly what this enraged tyrant of his was contemplating.

“If you keep me by your side for life, unable to move, it wouldn’t be a prison—it’d be heaven.”

“Ugh, and that’s my child.”

What did I feed that boy...

The Marquis of Hesperi pounded his chest in mock agony a few steps away.

Leonia let out a faint, dry laugh.

“As I thought.”

Her fingers under Scandia’s jaw lifted slightly.

“You’re starting to crawl up a bit lately.”

That simple gesture and soft voice sent an inexplicable chill through the air.

Scandia let out a breath—one he hadn’t even realized he was holding.

Leonia raised the corner of her lips.

Then, removing her hand from his grasp, she turned away without a word.

Scandia remained where he was.

He didn’t dare reach out. He simply watched her back in a daze.

“Sir Levipes!”

Crossing back over the border, Leonia ordered Meleis,

“Turn the captured ones over to the Revoo Knights.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Gladiago, prepare to withdraw.”

The walk was over.

One of the Gladiago Knights handed Leonia a document.

She signed it with the pen they passed to her.

It was the official transfer document for moving captured criminals from the North to the West.

Only then did the Revoo Knights cross into the North and begin dragging out the assassins like pulling radishes from the dirt.

“Young Lady Voreoti.”

In the meantime, Carnis approached Leonia.

“Count.”

Leonia greeted him with warmth.

“Have you been well? Lady Abipher and the children are healthy, I hope?”

Her greeting was so normal, it was as if that terrifying tension from just moments ago had never existed.

As they exchanged pleasantries, Carnis struggled with a question circling his mouth—

“You... weren’t really going to cut them, right?”

“Cut what?”

“Th-the tendons... of the young lord...”

He was almost too afraid to say it aloud.

Sneaking a glance back—

“Oh, just marry him already.”

“Mother, are you serious?”

“You’ll be the death of me with this blood pressure.”

“Then lean on my arm, Father.”

“...Scandia, I see who you take after.”

The Marquis and Marchioness of Hesperi were flanking their son, scolding him like he was being exchanged as a prisoner.