* * *
Lying down, Yuri noticed something strange—there was no voice of the escort outside the door.
He sat up, cautious.
His eyes caught the sword still strapped to his waist, and he immediately watched the newcomer closely.
No knight from the estate stood behind the door.
The man in the white coat bowed deeply.
“My name is Philip. I run a clinic on D Street.”
Sylvian stood to welcome him, but Yuri instinctively reached for his sword.
He missed no detail—not the bag in the man’s hand, nor the way he walked.
‘A cautious young lord, huh?’
The assassin swallowed his grin.
He noticed the Duke’s wife’s hand—he was wearing Laurens’ ring.
‘So it really is today.’
His eyes curled with quiet glee.
“The wound is only on your forehead? Oh my, that’s quite a gash.”
Sitting casually in front of the wary Yuri, he opened his medical bag.
Inside were medicines and tools for wound care.
“With such a handsome face, we wouldn’t want it to scar. The pain must be intense, so I’ll use an anesthetic.”
Just as Yuri began to draw his sword, a cloth soaked in anesthetic covered his nose and mouth.
Their surprised green eyes met—but Yuri never got the chance to strike.
He collapsed where he sat.
“Yuri!”
“Even with a potion, the pain can’t be eliminated. It’s just a simple anesthetic.”
The doctor who introduced himself as Philip laid Yuri down with a composed expression, causing Sylvian to flinch back in fear.
As he turned and tried to flee, his wrist was seized tightly.
“Let go of me, y―!”
Before he could even call for the guards, a handkerchief was pressed to his mouth.
‘There’s something on the handkerchief… d-drugs—’
Thud.
The duchess’s body fell limp in Philip’s grasp.
“Isn’t February a delightful month, my lady?”
He chuckled lowly.
Having dodged the curse of January, it was finally time for scum like them to thrive.
‘Would Master be pleased to hear this?’
The man who called himself Philip picked up the duchess and quietly slipped out through the tearoom’s back door.
Smack.
The force of the blow turned the escort knight’s head.
“What punishment should I give the one who failed to protect his master?”
“I’ll repay it with my life.”
With a solemn expression, the knight dropped to his knees and bared his neck for Zeroth to strike.
“Get out of my sight.”
“Master!”
Tears streamed down the knight’s face in anguish.
No matter what the duchess might say, it was only right to return her to the ducal estate first.
He had chased and eliminated an assassin who was attempting to sneak near the duchess’s bedchamber.
But when he briefly stepped away from the door, he returned to find Yuri collapsed and the room completely empty.
“…Haah.”
Zeroth’s hand wouldn’t leave the hilt of his sword.
He couldn’t believe that the Empire’s elite knights had failed to protect even one woman—his wife.
“Lead the search to bring her back. Then I’ll decide your fate.”
“Yes! I will retrieve her without fail!”
Overwhelmed by the command, the knight stood, tears falling as he left with the others.
“Well done.”
A man clad in the black uniform of the ducal knights patted Zeroth on the shoulder.
“Julian.”
“The knights are already on the move. We should find the duchess soon.”
He flashed a grin, noting how things had gone wrong the moment he arrived.
“You’re not suggesting this all happened because you bring disaster wherever you go, are you?”
“You’re not going to kill me for it, right? Can you stop killing my men already?”
Had it not been for Julian, those two guards would’ve been executed on the spot.
“Do you know how hard it is to train good men these days?”
It’s enough to break your back.
Julian’s murky red eyes—like Zeroth’s but less vivid—burned with fury.
He had come to visit the famous duchess, only for someone to snatch her away first.
Who dared to lay hands on what belonged to the ducal house?
The oppressive aura from the duke and his commander made the staff tremble with fear.
“Sonya, Raizen.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Julian called the two who often served as the duchess’s personal guards.
“Bring me a list of all the gatherings and shops the duchess recently visited.”
“Investigate Karl Rooster.”
Zeroth, deep in thought with cold, sunken eyes, finally spoke.
“He’s the culprit?”
“Yeah. That bastard’s the only one.”
Crack.
The desk beneath Zeroth’s hand split clean in two.
After the Timothy incident, the shady group that had begun approaching Sylvian had withdrawn.
“Frame the Nerthian family for abducting the duchess.”
He had held back for long enough.
Because of his timid wife, he’d tried to live a good life—but the world wouldn’t allow it.
This might have looked like petty vengeance, but Zeroth didn’t care.
“Shall we proceed with what we had put on hold?”
Kelvin asked in a calm voice.
“Spread rumors about Marquis Rooster—say he’s been funding the Narman Kingdom’s independence forces.”
He needed to pay for daring to steal what was his.
Zeroth couldn’t shake the feeling that Karl had a hand in the kidnapping.
The hatred once directed at Zeroth had now turned toward Sylvian.
He thought Karl wouldn’t stoop to such filth, believing himself to be so pure.
The fury of having something stolen tore at his chest.
“Three days. I’ll give you exactly three days. Find Sylvian. Or I’ll bring the entire capital to the ground.”
Zeroth’s growling voice made Julian and Kelvin exchange glances.
‘Wait… he’s not kidding?’
‘Of course not.’
Kelvin’s lips twitched subtly, while Julian stared at the duke in disbelief.
‘Is this… really love?’
“I’ll begin by setting up checkpoints.”
Realizing the situation was more dire than expected, Julian quickly made his exit.
“What about the Holt heir?”
“He’s regained consciousness.”
“Give the Holt family a generous reward.”
Blood dripped from Zeroth’s clenched fist.
It might’ve been better if that brat had died…
It had already been half a day since Sylvian’s disappearance.
The moment he heard of the abduction, Zeroth stormed the tearoom and destroyed the building in his rage.
The merchant was punished for failing to protect the duchess.
He had drawn his sword again when he found one of the guards wandering the area in search of Sylvian, but Julian’s timely arrival had saved the man’s life.
“Where could he be hiding her?”
Karl had no shortage of secret properties.
He’d have to raid them all.
“I’m heading to the Imperial Palace. While I’m at it, I’ll root out the independence forces too.”
That way, they wouldn’t dare make another foolish move again.
* * *
