* * *
Cassian, who had arrived first, was wiping his sword with a dry cloth.
“I dropped him in the Labyrinth Forest as you ordered.”
“It’s going to rain starting this afternoon. I’ll leave the barrier open, so make sure Aiden doesn’t get suspicious. Keep an eye on the kid from nearby, and as soon as the rain starts falling, take Aiden straight back to the mansion. Then come back and check if the brat is dead or alive. You understand what I mean?”
“Is there a need to check, my lord? The path there is treacherous and the mana is unstable. Once someone falls in there, they’ll never come out alive.”
“If he walks out alive, your head will be the one rolling.”
“I… I shall obey your command.”
The knight knelt and swore his oath of loyalty.
“Handle this cleanly, and the position of Commander will be yours when I become the head of the family.”
At the same time.
Left alone in the Labyrinth Forest, Locke waited until the sound of the horses’ hooves faded.
He quietly closed his eyes and leisurely pressed his right hand against the ground.
“…Erebos.”
At his heavy whisper, the very air of the forest shifted.
The branches rubbed together with an eerie creak, and the leaves trembled as if in terror.
From the cold earth, a black smoke began to crawl upward, coiling around the back of his hand. It soon transformed into sharp, beast-like claws that gripped Locke’s arm firmly.
Patter, splatter.
The heavy raindrops that had been falling one by one suddenly turned into a downpour.
Amidst the sound of rain fiercely lashing the leaves, the wet thud of a knight’s boots rapidly ascending the mountain slope could be heard.
Having reached the mountain peak in one breath, the knight skidded to a halt upon discovering a human figure.
Even just by the perfect stature holding a sword in his left hand, it was clear the figure was Locke.
Shring.
The knight drew a sharp sword from his waist and pointed it at him.
“A knight’s duty is to follow the orders of the one he serves. So, do not resent me.”
“Then, who should I, an innocent man about to die, resent?”
The knight scowled, displeased by the servant’s sudden use of informal speech.
He dismissed it as a final struggle before death.
“Resent your own lowly status.”
At the knight’s words, Locke gave a thin smile and flicked the sword in his left hand through the air.
Why was it that this servant, dressed in rags and soaked to the bone, exuded a high-pressure dignity more overbearing than that of the top ten high-ranking nobles?
The knight shouted, trying not to be suppressed by the mysterious aura.
“I shall kill you without pain!”
Griping his hilt firmly to prevent it from slipping in the rain, the knight lunged forward with the intent to pierce Locke’s heart in a single strike.
Locke wore an expression that was far too relaxed for someone facing death.
The knight thrust his blade forward with all his might.
Sssss.
But what on earth happened?
Locke’s form, which had been right before his eyes, turned into black smoke and vanished instantly.
The knight could only stand there, bewildered.
Before he could even grasp what had occurred, Locke’s voice tickled his ear like tinnitus.
—Unlike you, I prefer driving my victims to the brink of extreme terror before death.
“You lowly beggar! How dare you… how dare you speak of terror to a proud knight!”
The knight swung his sword wildly in all directions.
Then, his foot slipped on the mud, and he lost his balance, pitching forward.
A chilling sensation washed over him; he looked down hurriedly to find a bottomless cliff beneath his feet.
‘Damn it.’
By the time he realized it was all an illusion, it was already too late.
Tap, thud, pitter-patter.
At the loud sound of rain drumming against the window, I snapped my eyes open and blinked repeatedly to clear my head.
“Wow… how long did I sleep?”
I’d had a fever since morning, so I took my usual medicine along with some cold flu meds; now it was already evening.
When I touched my forehead, it felt even hotter than before I took the medicine.
Stupid useless medicine.
Even a high-ranking healer is no use.
‘…Wait? It’s not that, is it? Am I dying?’
Was the “system” trying to kill me off just for resisting the scenario of being terminally ill? I quickly checked my heart.
The heart was an important guide that signaled not just mission failure, but my current health status.
[♥]
Only after seeing the single, vivid red heart did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
‘It feels similar to a manifestation, but it’s not time yet, so it must just be a cold.’
I must have kicked the covers off because I was hot, and my weak body was throwing a fit.
I pushed myself up and reached for the table out of habit.
“Huh?”
The tabletop was empty. There was no medicine plate, and even the vase was gone.
‘What?’
No way… Locke said something about revenge yesterday, but he wouldn’t have actually put it into action, right?
I muttered it as a joke, but then my face went pale.
My heart sank.
Was there a misunderstanding I didn’t notice, or did Cassian bully him again while I was passed out?
I had to see Locke before the misunderstanding grew any larger.
Just as I turned my heavy body to put on my slippers, there was a knock at the door.
‘I knew it!’
Revenge, my foot. I’ve been taking care of him with such kindness and affection.
I sat back on the bed, feeling guilty for doubting him so quickly.
However, the person who opened the door and entered wasn’t Locke—it was Anna.
“Where’s Locke?”
At my question, Anna, holding the medicine, hesitated before bowing her head.
I couldn’t help but let my expression harden.
“I do not know.”
Anna approached quickly and set the medicine plate and water glass on the table like someone being chased by a predator.
I noticed bandages wrapped around her trembling fingertips; seeing the fresh red blood seeping through, it looked like a very recent injury.
“The medicine—who told you to bring it?”
“I’m sorry. I do not know.”
There was no way she didn’t know who gave the order.
She had simply been silenced.
There weren’t many people in this mansion capable of threatening Anna like that. If it was an order from her master, Cassian, she wouldn’t answer no matter how much I pressed.
I licked my dry lips bitterly and asked a different question.
“How did you hurt your hand? You should at least know that.”
“While clearing away glass…”
“You cleared broken glass with your bare hands? Why? And the treatment—did you get it done properly?”
“Yes.”
“Liar. If you’d treated it properly, it wouldn’t be bleeding like that. You kept working without getting treated, didn’t you? Ugh, hold on a second.”
I opened the drawer and handed Anna the one remaining tube of ointment.
“No! It’s fine!”
“It’s not fine for me if you’re bringing me water and medicine with an injured hand.”
“Even if you go this far for me, I really don’t know anything…!”
“Who said anything about that? I get it, so that’s that. But you have to treat your hand.”
I forced the ointment into Anna’s hand.
She clutched it tightly and her mouth wavered, but in the end, it remained shut.
I didn’t have a hidden motive for giving her the medicine, so it didn’t matter.
That was my current standing in this house anyway, so I wasn’t particularly hurt.
A few minutes after Anna left.
Drag, drag.
Just in case, I went out dragging my slippers instead of shoes.
Since Locke’s room was empty, I went around asking every servant I ran into if they had seen him.
The answer was always the same: they hadn’t seen him since breakfast.
‘That’s strange.’
Locke usually stayed in his room at night because I might call for him urgently.
But he wasn’t in his room, and no one knew his whereabouts—it left a bad taste in my mouth.
‘Wait, don’t tell me…’
I stood blankly in the lobby, staring up at the third-floor railing.
The fact that Anna was the one moving clearly meant Cassian was involved, but the servants said he hadn’t returned from the hunting grounds yet.
Aiden had mentioned that Cassian had gained another person to join him on the hunt, right?
Could that have been Locke?
No matter how much of a scumbag Cassian was, Locke was someone who had never even held a sword, let alone used magic.
Would he really have taken him?
I thought he might have a shred of human conscience left.
But I soon realized how big of a delusion that was.
Just as I was about to give up and return to my room, I ran into the archer Cassian had said he would take to the hunting grounds.
“Wait… you didn’t go hunting?”
“Pardon? I’ve been in the mansion all day?”
My heart plummeted.
“Huff, huff.”
Why did they make the stairs so wide?
Even though my body was weak, I used to be able to handle walking.
But today, I was strangely out of breath.
“Whew…”
Clutching my chest, I barely reached the third floor.
I passed through the long hallway and stopped in front of the door at the far east end.
In the past, I had been a bit afraid of Cassian.
Aside from being blunt and prickly, it was because of his cruelty as a hunting fanatic.
That was why I never went near his room, but now wasn’t the time to care about that.
I knocked on the door immediately.
Knock, knock.
“Who is it.”
The damn servants said he hadn’t returned from hunting.
I forgot once again that they were all in league with each other.
I ground my teeth, telling myself I’d punish them properly after I found Locke, and answered.
“It’s Cedric.”
When I opened the door, Cassian—who was sitting on a monster hide rug brushing a Bael Wolf’s fur—looked up at me.
“What brings you here? You usually never show your face, saying my room is scary.”
I stayed glued to the door, wary of the Bael Wolf.
“I can’t find Locke. I was wondering if you had sent him on an errand, Brother.”
“Why would I, when I have my own servants?”
Seeing his expression as he blinked innocently—having sent his own servant Anna to me while pretending to know nothing—my suspicion quickly turned into certainty.
“Then, have you happened to run into Locke today? Or perhaps when you went hunting…”
Thud!
Cassian slammed the brush he was holding onto the table.
I flinched and quickly shut my mouth.
“I haven’t seen a hair of him today. Besides, it’s not like he’s the only servant; why are you acting like a person in a panic? Anyone would think a mistress had gone missing.”
“He’s someone who has never missed a medicine time, so I was just worried something might have happened to him.”
“Maybe he hit it off with someone else and ran away. Servants sleeping together and eloping happens all the time. Why the sudden fuss? I’m tired from the hunt. Get out.”
At the word “ran away,” my mind went blank.
* * *
