* * *
Ranshel’s expression stiffened.
“Why would they… do something like that to a kid…?”
“Because that’s what made me a desirable product.”
“…How could that even be allowed…?”
How was that ever acceptable?
‘What kind of insane game is this?’
Why even include this kind of backstory?
Ranshel bit his tongue, burning inside.
Danie, having brought it up, remained unfazed.
If anything, the slow blink of his eyes made him look a little… sleepy.
Seeing that composed face calmed Ranshel down a little, too.
‘Typical assassin…’
He looked like he could collapse at any moment, drained of all strength.
It seemed sheer willpower was the only thing keeping him upright.
With hazy eyes staring into the distance, Danie suddenly asked,
“By the way, are you really the Duke’s eighth son?”
“Of course. I swear it on the name of my third brother, Simon.”
Ranshel cheerfully threw someone else under the bus.
Danie, too sleepy to care, blinked slowly and murmured,
“…But you’re way too skilled for that. I don’t understand how you ended up with that number.”
“Ah, well, maybe it just looks that way because you’re injured. But thanks for the compliment.”
Ranshel brushed it off lightly.
This had happened before Cha Eunseong had possessed the body, so there was no reason for him to go on and on making excuses.
Training at Nameless was so brutal that no one had the luxury of hiding their skills.
The expression “no room for it” was more accurate.
Who would pretend to be weak when they could lose their life at any moment?
But Ranshel had done it.
To achieve what he wanted, he’d pushed himself desperately and, in the end, succeeded.
His real placement was probably…
“…Ugh…”
Just then, Doter, who was lying on the ground, let out a faint groan.
Ranshel quickly rushed to his side and opened his eyelids to check if he was conscious.
‘Still unconscious.’
Once confirmed, Ranshel immediately slapped him across the cheek.
Since he didn’t have the strength to hit hard, he alternated between slapping both cheeks.
Danie, who had been standing quietly nearby, joined in.
Even though she had received divine healing, it must have still hurt to get shot in the stomach with an arrow.
‘Smack, smack.’
The narrow alley echoed only with the sound of slaps.
Neither of the assassins had any strength left, so it wasn’t particularly loud.
After a moment, Doter sat up, his cheeks slightly swollen, and immediately spotted Danie.
He blinked a few times, then smiled limply.
“This is… kind of a fun situation.”
“I’m relieved to see you’re okay.”
Ranshel briefly explained to him how Zavad had come to cooperate with Frey, omitting anything about Nameless.
“…Hmm, that’s a bit troublesome. With things tangled up like this, I don’t know how I should report it…”
Doter muttered while staring into the air, then shook his head.
“No, this is still a huge improvement. Young Master Zavad needs power. If he can work with Lord Frey, that’s a good thing, right?”
“Yes, it’s a good thing.”
His gaze, which had been staring off into the distance, slowly turned toward Ranshel.
Tilting his head slightly, he asked in a strange tone,
“But for you… isn’t it kind of unfortunate?”
“Sorry? It’s obviously good for me too. I’m Young Master Zavad’s servant.”
“No, I mean, to solidify the partnership between the two…”
“Well, obviously, there’d be an engagement.”
It wasn’t exactly surprising.
This was an otome game, after all.
Ranshel had sensed this possibility from the start.
It didn’t particularly faze him.
“Mmm, right. So you already knew…”
Doter reached out and tidied Ranshel’s messy hair.
“It’s fine. You’re cute, after all.”
“…Are you going to keep saying weird things?”
Ranshel frowned deeply and swatted his hand away.
Doter just chuckled softly, showing no sign of offense.
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the far end of the alley.
It sounded less like a person and more like a massive bull charging through.
There were even faint sounds of a beast crying out…
“…Oh, Hans?”
Doter, who had been looking into the distance, muttered.
Ranshel widened his eyes and turned to see the figure rushing toward them down the alley.
As it got closer, Ranshel could clearly see it too.
Hans was running toward them, holding a wheelchair over his head.
His face was drenched with tears.
‘Right…!’
So much had happened that he’d completely forgotten about Hans.
From Hans’s perspective, he’d gone to the carriage depot and returned to find Ranshel missing, with only the wheelchair left abandoned on the main road.
Even after asking around, no one knew of anyone crushed by a carriage.
It was like Ranshel had vanished into thin air.
“There was blood—on the ground, and it kept going… it wouldn’t stop…”
Blood was still dripping from the wound where Ranshel had blocked Doter’s arrow with his hand.
It had continued to trail behind them while he was being carried.
Hans had followed the endless trail of blood drops all the way here.
“Hhhhk, I shouldn’t—I shouldn’t have left you behind…”
Seeing the burly man sobbing uncontrollably made Ranshel break into a nervous sweat.
He felt incredibly guilty.
It wasn’t even Hans’s fault.
“Um, it’s okay. Look, Doter came to help me.”
Ranshel glared at Doter as he spoke.
‘You explain.’
Doter gave a wink as if he understood and immediately began to rattle off lies.
“Yeah, I ran into Ranshel in the alley, and we were on our way to the branch office together. But then one of the wheelchair’s wheels broke, and it veered off course down the main road. Luckily, he didn’t get hit by a carriage, but he fell out of the chair and got hurt. I was going to carry him to a healer, but I got lost and ended up here.”
Doter, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pointed to Danie who stood behind him.
“And then—bam!—we ran into Lady Frey’s maid, who had come to do maintenance.”
“…Greetings.”
Danie now had the veil, which she had previously used to cover her face, draped over her shoulders—likely to conceal the wound from the arrow.
Startled, Hans clumsily bowed his head in the middle of his tears.
“She said she had come because it was about time to replace the wheel fasteners anyway, that they were getting loose. She said if she’d arrived a bit earlier, she could have prevented the accident and apologized.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Danie, blinking slowly, apologized in line with Doter’s storytelling.
Ranshel just stared at the ground, not knowing what kind of expression to make.
Hans, slightly calmer now, sniffled and asked,
“Then Ranshel, your injury…? Are you hurt badly?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a small scratch on my hand. Must’ve been something sharp.”
“Let me see.”
Unable to resist his gaze, Ranshel awkwardly stretched out his torn-up hand.
“…This is not nothing, nghhh…!”
Just when Hans seemed to have calmed down, he started sobbing again.
Ranshel was now sweating like rain.
Why was he crying so much?
It really wasn’t that big of a deal.
Ranshel could endure much worse.
Besides, this wasn’t even Hans’s fault!
‘You! You did this!’
He shot Doter a sharp glare, silently demanding he do something.
But Doter was too busy shaking with laughter to be of any help.
With no other option, Ranshel resorted to his usual method and began patting Hans’s broad back.
“…There, there, Hans. It’s okay now. There’s no more blood. Please don’t cry. Hush now.”
“Hmph, hic, I’m sorry… I should’ve stayed with you…”
“No, really, it’s okay. I’m not even in pain anymore.”
Ranshel was completely flustered.
A huge man was sobbing so miserably.
* * *
