Chapter 125
Just as I was about to fall, a firm body caught me and held me steady.
“…!”
It was Etias who had caught me, his lips parting slightly.
“Are you okay?”
At his low voice brushing my ear, I nodded and then looked down at my ankle, which had just been released from something.
The blue vine-like shadow had been severed and was now melting into black liquid, sinking into the ground.
And behind me—
Rustle—
I saw a bluish figure slowly collapsing.
“Rift Wizard….”
The clay-like form I had hunted earlier was a Rift monster, created when Rift Wizards turned ordinary people into monsters.
But the one now before me, with its distinct shadowy form, was what we called a Rift Wizard.
Naturally, a Rift Wizard was far more difficult to deal with than the monsters, since they were the ones creating them.
Realizing I had almost been ambushed, and that Etias had just saved me, I let out a small sigh.
“Thank you.”
“Never go out alone again.”
I looked at him, gave a faint smile, and nodded.
“Yes.”
Normally, I never strayed far. I only did light stretching behind the quiet guard post. But today, I had spotted a Rift monster nearby.
After hunting one, I went a little farther and found another.
Fearing I’d lose it if I left to fetch soldiers, I acted rashly.
By the time I had hunted three, I had wandered quite far.
“It was careless of me.”
Rift Wizards had no proper reason, but under sorcery from higher powers, they moved strategically.
Clearly, the purpose had been to lure me into danger.
“Don’t blame yourself. What matters is you’re safe.”
Etias’s comforting words made me nod again.
Holding me close, he lightly leapt down from the rock and gently set me on level ground.
Against the rising sun, his figure was dazzling as always.
Then, a voice like boiling iron burst out.
“Your Majesty! And Duke Katrin!”
I smiled faintly when I saw Camel rushing toward us.
At first, I thought he was just a gruff, inflexible man, but after spending more time around him, I realized he had a warm heart and a surprisingly light nature.
“Did the cook prepare duck stew for breakfast again today?”
Three days ago, Camel had grumbled all day when duck stew, which he hated, was served in the morning.
Reaching us, Camel gave Etias a short salute before shaking his head at me.
“This is more serious.”
‘That expression doesn’t look good…’
Then, his urgent voice rang out:
“Your Majesty, the Elemore mansion in the capital has been attacked.”
What?
My fingertips froze, and my heart sank.
Etias spoke sharply before I could.
“Explain in detail.”
“Yes. We just received word from the Scavengers. Two nights ago, at dawn, around twenty Rift Wizards broke through the capital’s defenses and assaulted the Elemore mansion. Ten were killed by the Imperial army, and ten escaped.”
“What about casualties?” I asked.
Camel continued.
“Two guards of House Elemore, three servants, and two maids were injured. Fortunately, none of the wounds were serious.”
Hearing there were no severe injuries, I could finally breathe.
“The only other damage reported was to the house itself—the interior was ransacked, and Duke Katrin’s room door was broken.”
A silence fell between us.
Etias finally muttered with a cold gaze:
“They were targeting you, Katrin.”
“….”
My eyes wavered.
If I hadn’t followed him here, if I had stayed at the mansion… I might have been captured.
“Out of the hundred Rift Wizards, they sent twenty just for this. They’re serious about capturing you. Probably because…”
I met Etias’s eyes.
‘Because I’m your weakness.’
I didn’t say it aloud, but he knew. We both did. And so did anyone aware of our bond.
Camel gave a small cough and looked away.
Etias’s eyes darkened as he spoke again:
“In any case, you proved your foresight again. It was right that you followed me. If you had been captured…”
His gaze trembled as if the entire world would have stopped.
“….”
Even though the attack on my home was bad news, I felt relieved that I had come with Etias instead of falling into enemy hands.
“They must have already reported back that I wasn’t at the Elemore mansion. That’s why they tried to lure me out here.”
Etias’s gaze sharpened.
“They’ll keep targeting you.”
I fell silent, staring at the faraway sky.
Could this be turned to our advantage somehow?
At that moment, my eyes met Lancelot’s, who was stretching and warming up in the distance.
He had joined the war as Etias’s vice-commander with the Montella forces, and as Etias requested, he had been staying near me for protection—except during sudden moments like earlier.
‘Now that I think of it…’
In Piyo’s inventory, I still had something I hadn’t pulled out in a long time.
Something I had once received from him.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”
With Etias’s permission, I walked over to Lancelot.
He straightened, then gave me a faint smile.
“Good morning, Duke Elemore.”
I nodded slightly and said:
“There’s something I need your help with, Your Grace.”
One day earlier, at the Elemore mansion.
A deep sigh escaped from Agnès’s lips.
“Haah… Will the young lady be alright?”
A member of the Scavengers was binding her arm with splints and bandages.
Even though her arm had been fractured by a flying vase, her only concern was Katrin, who had gone to war.
Meanwhile, Heros, who had arrived at the mansion with his men, looked around the wrecked Elemore estate, his expression hardened.
“Devastating.”
“It’s still fortunate, though. If the young lady had been here, she would’ve been caught without a doubt.”
Remembering the chaos of the previous night, Agnès shivered.
“Our wise young lady…”
Then, as if giving thanks for her absence, she clasped her hands together.
“Dear God, please protect the young lady.”
Heros, his face grim as he surveyed the surroundings, let out a small sigh before moving toward the door.
“Master—no, Captain, what will you do now?”
“I have to go.”
He had planned to finish his work on weapon-related pharmaceuticals and then immediately follow Katrin. But she had asked him to urgently investigate something, which kept him from going with her.
“To the young lady?”
“….”
Heros gave no answer as he left, and Agnès let out a small sigh with a faint smile as she watched his back.
‘Day and night, all he thinks about is the young lady.’
Not long after Heros departed, someone came rushing in, breathless.
“Miss Agnès!”
It was none other than Karon Fernar.
“Are you alright? Did you get hurt—what in the world!”
He saw the bandage wrapped around Agnès’s arm, and immediately lowered himself to one knee before her, carefully examining it.
“M-My lord.”
As his hand gently held her injured arm, Agnès’s cheeks flushed red.
When she tried to pull away slightly, Karon held her firmly, not allowing her to move.
“Don’t move.”
At his kind voice, Agnès’s heart pounded loudly.
“…I should have been the one to protect you.”
His voice carried guilt as he spoke.
“No, it’s fine. Just the fact that you came here means so much to me.”
Since the victory ball, their relationship had grown closer, and new feelings were quietly beginning to blossom between them.
