Episode 31
Three-Way Confrontation
“It’s a misunderstanding, Nicholas! This man saved me from the attackers yesterday! The real culprit is someone else.”
Nicholas shot his sister a displeased look, then grabbed the tied-up man by the collar and dragged him toward the lantern light.
The two men stared at each other for a moment, as if sizing each other up. The black-haired man spoke first.
“…Do you have something to say to me? Or are you planning to challenge me to a duel right here?”
Because he was tall, he looked down at Nicholas, and his tone was cold and annoyed. Nicholas scowled deeply.
‘This bastard. He should be begging for his life, but he dares look down at me?’
Black eyes. An earring in his ear. As Nicholas looked him over, an old memory suddenly came back to him.
He knew this man. Years ago, a newcomer to the capital’s jousting tournament who earned the nickname “The Brutal Cleaner”—a man called Daniel Soldier.
He was infamous for killing opponents even while wearing a visor helmet, and even causing chaos among the spectators. Very few people knew his real face, but Nicholas had seen it once.
“You—you’re…!”
Nicholas quickly let go of his collar in shock. He couldn’t understand why his missing sister was with someone so dangerous.
The man looked at Nicholas as if he were pathetic, then spoke.
“Your sister already told you. You’ve got the wrong person, young master.”
Nicholas narrowed his brown eyes at the man’s low, gravelly voice.
Daniel Soldier was skilled enough to reach second place in the tournament. But even if he was strong, Nicholas wasn’t intimidated—not when he had a full squad of knights with him.
Thinking that, Nicholas hid his uneasiness and smirked arrogantly.
‘I need to fix this bastard’s attitude.’
***
The night view of Kalt was beautiful. Under the starry sky, the dark-gray buildings glowed softly, and the cathedral bells rang to mark midnight.
But I couldn’t admire any of it—I was too distracted by what was happening.
Behind the wall of knights surrounding them, I glanced at the two men. Even though he’d just been grabbed by the collar, Devon stayed completely expressionless. He even raised his tied hands to straighten his wrinkled shirt.
He didn’t look like someone who’d been captured at all. And even though Devon’s hands were bound, his size alone seemed to pressure Nicholas.
Then Nicholas suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
“Daniel Soldier… You saved Natania? You’re just a servant’s son who doesn’t know what honor is. More likely, someone hired you.”
Daniel Soldier? A servant’s son?
I kept repeating the strange name in my mind—then remembered something Devon said at the general store:
‘I use different identities in every city. No one knows my real name.’
Since he was a guild member of the underworld, he must really have many identities. Nicholas must know one of them.
“Natania, where were you planning to take her? Were you the one who sent us the messenger bird?”
“…Messenger bird? I don’t know what you mean. I first saw the lady near the Kalt River. She asked me to guide her to an inn in the city. She said her family would find her there.”
Devon lifted his tied hands slightly.
“And is this how Meremandi treats someone who helped one of their own?”
His shamelessness was incredible. Maybe you needed that thick skin to be the leader of an underground guild team.
But Nicholas wasn’t someone who would lose in that area. With his newly cut hair, he pointed at me.
“If you knew she was a noble lady, why didn’t you report it to the city guards right away? You could’ve been misunderstood. Hard to believe your story.”
“Normally, I would refuse. But I couldn’t ignore a blind woman in trouble. And honestly, something else is hard to believe.”
“…What is?”
“How a noble lady could be kidnapped from a mansion like yours. Meremandi doesn’t seem short on guards.”
Devon glanced around at the knights. He was clearly mocking the family’s poor security. Nicholas clenched his teeth.
“Oh, don’t worry. We will certainly repay our ‘savior.’”
He gestured to Greg, and the knights began rearranging their formation, their horses stomping loud enough to shake the ground.
I raised my voice so I wouldn’t be drowned out.
“Nich! Do you know this person? What are you doing?!”
Nicholas shoved his hands into his pockets and looked Devon up and down with the expression he always used on people of lower status.
He answered me smugly,
“I told you—we’re going home, my dear sister. You won’t see Daniel again. He’s extremely dangerous.”
“D-Daniel will be released, right?”
“…Who knows? We’ll see if he’s really your savior. Your judgment might be wrong because you can’t see. Leave the rest to me.”
Most of the knights left except for one unit. A carriage stopped at the mouth of the alley, and several city guards stood beside it with ropes.
I could easily picture Devon being dragged away to the city hall, tortured under Nicholas’s orders. And if Devon truly had no honor—like Nicholas said—he might reveal my contract with Chris.
Panicking, I stepped forward, but a young knight approached me.
“My lady, please board the carriage. I’ll guide you.”
Devon’s expression finally cracked. He glared sharply, misunderstanding the situation—as if the knight would harm me.
I ignored the knight and shouted toward Nicholas.
“Nich!”
Nicholas stopped talking to the captain of the guards and turned around.
“I want to go with Daniel! He took good care of me while guiding me. If you don’t allow it, I’ll never talk to you again!”
Nicholas looked stunned. He clenched his fist, trying to calm his anger.
Devon stared at me with wide eyes—apparently surprised at my childish outburst.
Then Nicholas exploded again, swearing.
“You bastard—!”
The knights had to hold him back as he tried to punch Devon. But in the end, he couldn’t break my stubbornness.
And so, we ended up sitting side-by-side inside the narrow carriage.
***
‘I should have just left the lady behind after all…’
Accepting her request had been a mistake. His guild members would scream if they knew. Seven years ago, one guild member had been executed because of Prince Noah’s political conflict.
The knights loaded Devon’s longsword onto the horse’s saddle. Devon remembered the dagger hidden inside his leg armor. If he brought his hands behind his back, he could easily cut the rope.
There were about ten knights, and maybe three or four city guards. None were carrying bows.
‘I should strike a vital spot or cut their ankle tendons. With luck, I could escape before the other unit returns.’
He was calculating the whole escape route in his head—
When a silver-haired knight whispered something to the lady.
Devon instinctively moved his hand toward his dagger.
If the next words she spoke had been anything else, he might have drawn it.
“I want to go with Daniel!”
Devon’s stern expression completely collapsed. It was out of his control.
‘Was she worried I’d be executed in Kalt…?’
He didn’t even realize what expression he had now. Even when Nicholas tried to punch him again, he just stood there blankly.
All he could see was Natania in the distance, cheeks puffed out, pouting.
