Chapter 41
Well, modern women are more familiar with guns than bows, after all.
Hael was genuinely impressed—though now nearly creeped out—by Hyperion’s heartbreakingly sincere feelings.
True love, huh? And to use such a priceless heirloom for something like… well, not just anything, but still. To fully modify it for this purpose?
“…No. It was modified a while ago.”
But at Hyperion’s unexpected reply, Hael stopped brooding and looked at him.
He wore an expression that was hard to describe with words.
“When? Are you saying there was something important enough before to warrant modifying the sacred weapon of the great Emperor himself?”
Of course, she didn’t believe this was his first love—he had lived far too long for that.
But this was a man who treated everything else like weeds, and yet whenever he spoke of the Emperor, his eyes sparkled like a normal human’s, ending with a trace of longing he couldn’t quite hide. Could it be that there had already been someone important enough in the past to justify modifying that priceless relic?
“You talk nonsense.”
Hyperion muttered in a strangely hollow voice.
“Stop chatting and go prepare for the ritual.”
He turned cold and didn’t spare her even a glance.
“…Yes, understood.”
He acted as if he had nothing to hide, yet there were times when Hael couldn’t understand him at all.
Biting her lip, Hael exited the Tower Master’s chambers.
The forest at night was nothing short of eerie.
Screeeeech!
Flap.
A flock of black birds cried out like human screams and burst from the bushes.
…What the hell is this?
Maia paused in her steps and let out a shallow breath.
Under the pretext of searching for Elise Adeline Keppel, she had entered a forest teeming with monsters—at night.
Even now, the situation felt deeply unpleasant.
She clutched the cold metal of her gun for comfort.
“Gasp!”
One of the knights, sweating heavily and so tense that even nearby observers felt suffocated, suddenly inhaled sharply and pointed his spear in a direction.
“What is it?”
Count Polaris asked calmly.
“It’s just… I heard a beast growling. Did no one else hear it?”
The surrounding knights, who had been nervously watching the surroundings, began to look around in unease.
A beast’s growl?
Maia quietly stared into the dark underbrush.
Nothing was visible.
…Or so she thought.
Raaaargh!
Scream!
Something the size of a house suddenly burst from the darkness, and a knight was instantly devoured by razor-sharp teeth.
Maia stepped back, face gone pale.
“S-Scream!”
“It’s—It’s a Rekasa!”
A Rekasa had appeared.
Lights from magical devices flared all around, and knights, drenched in sweat, swung their weapons.
Grrrrrrrr…
Was that the signal? From the black forest, monsters continued to emerge.
There were at least a dozen. The group was in shock.
But something strange stood out.
The Rekasa that had devoured the first knight didn’t continue the slaughter.
“…!”
Their long, torn black pupils were fixed solely on Maia.
“Duchess of Western, get back! They seem to be targeting you—!”
Just as a mage tried to warn Maia after noticing their gaze—
“Everyone, fall back.”
Count Polaris, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“…What?”
The entire group, Maia included, froze in confusion.
…What is he doing?
Maia glanced at Count Polaris with unease.
All eyes were on him as he calmly raised his gun.
And then—he aimed it at the head of the mage who had just spoken.
Bang—!
“…Huh?”
With the clear sound of a gunshot, the mage collapsed, blood splattering everywhere.
“U-ugh!”
Unbelievable murder. Of an ally. A fellow member of their group?
The shock was so immense that Maia momentarily lost her grip on reality.
“C-Count…?”
…She thought he was someone who valued life.
Maia immediately assumed a shooting stance and aimed her gun at him.
Count Polaris showed no reaction at all.
Despite the reeking stench of blood, the Rekasas didn’t move an inch.
…They weren’t even excited.
Something was very wrong.
“Kill them all.”
That one sentence from Count Polaris explained everything.
Screams!
“Count Polaris—How could you?!”
Everyone except Maia was overwhelmed by betrayal and horror as the Rekasas tore into them.
“…!”
Maia forced strength into her trembling wrist.
“What… What are you doing?”
She faced Count Polaris, voice quivering with fury.
So this was why he insisted on entering the forest?
What was his goal? Had even the monster attack been part of his plan?
“Ah, I suppose I owe you an explanation.”
Count Polaris turned to her, entirely calm amidst the carnage.
His tone shifted smoothly into a casual, almost mocking one.
“You’re curious, right? I’ll explain. All of this… was to kill you.”
Maia had sensed it vaguely, but hearing it made her breath catch.
“Her Majesty the Empress summoned the Rekasa and marked you as their target. I dismantled the protective barrier around the camp. Quite the spectacle, wouldn’t you say?”
He spoke proudly, raising both hands in a dramatic flourish.
“I loved it. The fierce bloodlust—it’s been a long time since I felt something like that!”
All the while, the sound of Rekasas chewing on flesh filled the forest.
He’s insane.
So high and mighty… yet beneath it all, this is what you are—cruel, vile.
Maia clenched her teeth audibly, overwhelmed with fury.
“I’ve waited to see you die. From the moment I first saw you, I’ve been burning with the desire to kill you.”
Count Polaris shoved the barrel of his gun in Maia’s face, grinning wickedly.
“You probably want to ask if I’m afraid of being exposed. But I’m not. Even if I die, I’ll have no regrets. In the afterlife, my glorious princess will surely reward my service! Now, die here! You stole her rightful place—you deserve this death!”
As he screamed, the Rekasas who had devoured the rest began to close in.
Maia’s fingers grew cold. Her body froze.
She couldn’t even part her lips, paralyzed by a fear she had never known.
And then she thought, numbly:
Rivka Calastia Adelstein.
What kind of person were you, that everyone connected to you hated me enough to want me dead?
The head maid. Elise Keppel. Count Polaris.
And… the Empress.
Count Polaris had said the Empress summoned the Rekasa and marked Maia.
Maia remembered—
“There was pressure from the Imperial family. If I’d shown even a hint of my feelings for you, the Empress would’ve struck without hesitation!”
That desperate cry—Weston Duke’s voice.
…Was he truly pushing her away so coldly to protect her?
She could see him again in her mind, shouting like he was coughing up blood.
Maybe she should’ve listened more.
Maybe the only reason she was able to live in peace, unaware of this vicious hatred, was because of his fierce struggle behind the scenes—struggles she couldn’t even imagine.
“Close your eyes.”
Suddenly, from behind her, a voice spoke—not the cold, composed cry she remembered, but a voice thick with restrained fury.
Rihi?
Before she could even turn around, something soft and silky like velvet covered her eyes.
BOOM—!
Screams!
Blinding light flooded the dark forest like a burst of daylight, even seeping between the fingers that covered her eyes.
She shut them tight against the brilliance.
How much time passed?
Eventually, the false daylight faded.
The hand covering her eyes gently withdrew. Maia opened them in a daze.
“Rihi…?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
With a soft affirmation, his arms pulled her into a firm embrace around her waist and shoulders, his gentle touch soothing her.
…How? Why is he here?
Maia thought to turn around, but a bloodcurdling scream from in front cut her off.
“You…! You!”
She immediately looked forward.
There was Count Polaris—gone was the arrogant butcher, now a broken wreck collapsed in the dirt, panting and staring up at Rihi.
“I… I’ve seen you before, yes! It was decades ago—when I killed that bastard Erion and reclaimed my marquisate… you were there! Holding a dead woman in your arms… with the same face you have now…”
What?
Maia gaped at the shocking revelation.
Count Polaris had seen Rihi before?
Now that she thought about it, Count Polaris hadn’t attended the banquet where the Crown Prince’s impotence was revealed.
So this would be her first time seeing Rihi’s face.
“Enough talk.”
Rihi’s voice was merciless.
“Aaaaagh!”
Polaris’s tongue was cut.
Maia trembled violently at the gruesome sight.
“…Yes. I remember now. Thanks to you.”
Rihi whispered coldly.
“A memory I had erased—something not even worth remembering—has come back because of you.”
