RHFTY chapter 32

During the times when secret missions were frequent, the ability to keenly detect subtle, deadly sounds often determined whether one lived or died.

That instinct was still ingrained in his mind.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Bennex sensed something was amiss.

He hunched his shoulders and turned around.

Glancing down, Chaeyi looked at his left hand.

What he held was a thin dagger designed to easily pierce flesh.

‘…An assassination attempt?’

The blade was so sharp that it cut his deeply the moment she grabbed it. Light crimson blood gushed out from the wound.

Thud. Thud.

As drops of blood fell, Bennex’s anxious gaze, which had been sweeping the air, abruptly shifted downward.

The next moment.

“Gasp!”

Seeing Chaeyi’s blood-covered hand and the cold blade, he jumped back in shock, exclaiming in horror.

“Your Grace, Chaeyi! Your hand…! Blood, there’s blood…!”

Hearing his cry, their companions nearby were the first to react, turning to look at Chaeyi.

Those who had been laughing and chatting without a clue also turned their heads, only to scream in fright upon seeing the blood dripping down.

“Aaaah!”

“Ugh! What is this?!”

There had been an assassination attempt, and it only took a few seconds for all that chaos to unfold.

“Chaeyi!”

Immediately after, Leonard’s urgent call rang out, enough to make one’s heart sink.

But… Chaeyi had no time to pay attention to that.

‘Where is it?’

Chaeyi’s sharp eyes quickly scanned the banquet hall.

Somewhere in this hall, someone targeting Bennex was hiding.

The weapon had been thrown aiming precisely at Bennex’s vital spot, there was no doubt about it.

Moreover, the attacker was quite well-trained.

Whether the assailant was a Manifested or a Hunter, it was clear they would not be easy to deal with.

Even those with relatively keen senses, like those who had manifested, had not noticed the attack until it was already happening—meaning the assassin was exceptionally good at hiding their killing intent.

Chaeyi could detect it and react because she was right next to Bennex. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known until the commotion began.

‘Who knows when they’ll strike again.’

The attacker had already failed the assassination.

A single mistake often meant death.

In that case, it was highly likely they would act again to complete the ‘mission,’ prepared to die if necessary.

The next attack might come in a more brutal and blatant manner.

And Chaeyi’s prediction was right.

‘Killing intent…!’

He caught a shadow moving among the people amidst the chaos.

Ting!

Chaeyi swiftly spun the dagger and switched it to his unharmed right hand, then pulled Bennex close with his left arm, hiding him in his embrace.

He then deflected another flying weapon aimed at them with his dagger.

Clang! Clang!

With a sharp metallic sound, the sticky, possibly poisoned weapons fell to the ground.

The assassin, who seemed caught off guard by the unexpected situation, showed an opening.

It all happened in less than a minute.

“Aaaah! It’s that guy!”

“Eek! Get out of the way! Move!”

The banquet hall became a scene of chaos.

People in a panic parted like a wave to avoid the assassin whose position had already been revealed.

It was a tense situation where no one knew what would happen next.

Chaeyi crouched down to apply pressure to his wound to stop the bleeding.

As Ferdinand and Leonard swiftly moved to protect Bennex and Chaeyi, Delion stepped forward.

“Quiet.”

An imposing pheromone mixed with that majestic command spread instantly, filling the hall.

“……!”

People felt a terror as if a predator was looming over them from above, and they fell silent in an instant.

Then, one by one, they began to collapse, their legs giving way beneath them.

Chaeyi, who was shielded by Ferdinand and Leonard’s pheromones, also felt a chilling sensation from the dense pheromones of a dominant Alpha.

And then…

Delion’s fierce gaze landed squarely on the assassin, who was hesitating under the pressure.

Amidst the chilling silence,

“……! Gah…! Gahk!”

Suddenly, the assassin clutched their throat as if in pain.

For some reason, they kept choking as if they were having difficulty breathing.

Ferdinand quietly explained to Chaeyi, who was watching the scene blankly.

“It’s because of Lord Cambest’s irregular ability pheromone.”

“Ability pheromone…”

“Lord Cambest can exert physical force with his pheromone. For example—”

At that moment, the assassin, who had turned pale and started foaming at the mouth, eventually rolled their eyes back and collapsed.

“—He can block the opponent’s throat with densely concentrated pheromones to suffocate them to death.”

The assassin’s body then began to swell up like a balloon, and with a gruesome sound—

“Or, he can inject the condensed pheromones into the body and then rapidly expand them to burst the person from within.”

Pop!

—burst apart.

“…….”

Only the scattered flesh remained to prove that he had ever existed.

‘What a terrifying power.’

A suffocating silence filled the room.

People, too scared to even lift their heads, were frozen in place, staring only at the floor.

It was clear how disturbed and frightened they were by Delion at that moment.

But Chaeyi was different from them.

He had seen mutilated corpses so often that he was desensitized to them.

He wasn’t someone who would be newly disturbed by such a sight.

“Clean it up.”

At Delion’s command, the knights finally began to move as if they had been waiting for it.

Then someone blocked Chaeyi’s view.

“Chaeyi.”

It was Leonard.

He moved in front of Chaeyi to prevent his from seeing any more gruesome scenes.

“Is your hand okay?”

Leonard’s calm gaze held Chaeyi, whose thoughts were unreadable.

When Chaeyi nodded, Leonard lowered his eyes.

“Let me see your wound.”

He then tore his expensive clothes to wrap around the wound as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.

Feeling Leonard’s hand gently trembling as he held his, Chaeyi reassured him once more.

“Don’t worry, Leo.”

For now, he felt almost no pain due to the tension.

Instead, Chaeyi was more worried about Bennex, who was trembling in his arms, unable to speak.

While Leonard tended to his wound, Chaeyi stroked Bennex’s hunched back.

“It’s all over now. Are you okay?”

Chaeyi tilted his head to check Bennex’s face.

As soon as he glanced up, his face flushed red and tears began to drop like chicken droppings.

“I’m so sorry… because of me…”

“Oh, absolutely not.”

If anything, it was his who was foolish for catching whatever was flying toward them with his bare hands without knowing what it was.

Although it was the safest way to handle the situation, she had no choice.

“I’m sorry, sob… I’m sorry…”

But Bennex shed even more tears than before.

He seemed unable to shake off his guilt easily. If this wasn’t resolved, it could end up as a trauma for him.

‘Hmm.’

Chaeyi, who had been staring at Bennex for a moment, realized it was a rather rude gesture and placed his hand on Bennex’s head.

Only then did Bennex make eye contact. With a gentle smile, Chaeyi spoke.

“I prefer a ‘thank you’ over an apology.”

Perhaps his words had some effect, as Bennex’s sobs came to an abrupt halt.

Blinking his round eyes, Bennex’s face turned even redder, and he shyly fidgeted with his hands.

“Th-Thank you, Lord Chaeyi.”

Huh? LordChaeyi?

Chaeyi, puzzled by the sudden change of honorifics, was about to tell Bennex to speak comfortably when Ferdinand shook his head with exasperation.

“Chaeyi, are you planning to become some kind of irresistible man? How many people do you need to charm before you’re satisfied?”

Chaeyi dismissed his remark as ‘nonsense not worth replying to’ and quietly but firmly flicked Ferdinand on the forehead.

“Ouch! Do you think I’m a pushover?”

“You said something worth getting flicked for.”

“I was just stating a fact, you know?”

The nobles remained silent, watching nervously, as if they were in a different world.

Delion, having swept his gaze over the room, placed his hand on his chest and gave a respectful nod to the quiet nobles.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

He then commanded the knights.

“It seems we cannot continue the banquet. Escort our guests to a safe place.”

Upon closer inspection, it was hard to tell if he was genuinely apologizing, given his stoic demeanor.

Perhaps it was because he remained so indifferent and composed even in such a situation.

In any case.

The guests, desperate to escape this hellish place, were willing to accept any excuse.

They fled en masse, and soon the Great Hall was completely empty.

“Lawrence.”

“Yes.”

“Go through the guest list and find out where that dead man over there came from. Inform Duke Clankers as well.”

“Understood.”

Following Delion’s orders, Lawrence quickly vanished.

Once the knights had cleared away the blood and flesh, servants entered to clean up.

They seemed quite accustomed to this sort of task.

“Ugh…”

Around that time, as the sharp, painful sensation intensified, Chaeyi furrowed his brow.

That was all it took for everyone to panic.

“Ch-Chaeyi…!”

“Are you okay?!”

“Chaeyi! Does it hurt a lot?”

Their fuss was unlike any other. Watching them flustered, Bennet intervened in a calm and dignified voice.

“I will guide you to the infirmary. There’s healing water available; let’s use it. Leonard, stay close and assist. Young Lord Bennex, you come along too.”