Chapter 40: How a Mercenary Deals with Suspicion (2)
Regina had been lightly shivering from the cold all night, so Valentin pulled her onto his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her. The whole time, Weyle stayed completely silent.
At the word “held in my arms,” both Thomas and Allan looked stunned. But no one was kind enough to explain or correct their assumptions in this tense atmosphere.
Valentin glanced at them briefly. He could see exactly what they were thinking.
The ones helping smuggle out women were clearly from Persona, the mercenaries. That meant it had to be one of their missions.
Then why did she sneak out in the middle of the night?
They had already agreed she could take on Persona requests while living in the estate.
Why hide this one?
And who was that woman she helped escape? There had to be a connection to the Empress Dowager.
“Master, Empress Dowager Elverva is a calculating woman. She spent years secretly threatening and manipulating my kin. She used us, destroyed us, and tossed us aside like trash,” Weyle said.
He had almost seen his whole people wiped out once already. He couldn’t bear the thought of repeating that same mistake.
“We have to consider every possibility.”
That led them to one conclusion: either Persona secretly accepted a job from Elverva, or there had been a connection from the beginning.
And if that theory was true… then Regina might just be a pawn, one even Count Lenzier didn’t know about—someone used and discarded by Elverva from the start.
“But if that were true,” Valentin said, “then Regina Lofman would’ve killed me the moment we were alone together.”
He still remembered the way she swung her sword, in her dress and broken heels. That image was burned into his memory.
Weyle hesitated at his master’s sharp reply, then gathered himself with a deep breath before answering.
“You know full well how cruel Elverva is. She will destroy someone’s soul if that’s what it takes.”
And the result of that cruelty was right in front of him now.
Weyle adjusted his glasses with a hand soaked in cold sweat. Behind the lenses, Valentin’s image quivered faintly.
In that moment, Allan saw the terrible burn scars on Valentin’s upper body—marks left behind by the fire that had once scorched his soul.
Weyle didn’t want to suspect Regina. Not really.
“But… it’s also hard to completely trust her,” he said.
Thomas, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up, surprising even Allan by defending Regina. Valentin turned to look at him as well.
“Ahem. I’m just saying we should keep all options open. That’s all. I’m not defending her, not at all.”
Feeling their stares, Thomas awkwardly cleared his throat. He was trying to sound reasonable, but his heart already seemed to be leaning toward her.
Valentin chuckled quietly.
That proud, naive knight had fallen for her—just like she planned.
But maybe it was inevitable, ever since that capable mercenary completely crushed him in a duel. So Valentin didn’t scold him for putting faith in her.
If she turned out to be a traitor, and his heart broke because of it—well, that would be Thomas’s own fault.
That’s what it meant to trust someone. To open yourself to hurt. That was the price.
And it was a price Valentin knew all too well.
He could almost taste iron in his mouth, as if it was blood instead of saliva.
“…I only said all that out of caution,” Weyle added. “I don’t want to doubt a lady who’s met my own people.”
Valentin stepped forward, the click of his shoes on the stone floor unusually heavy.
Allan and Weyle said nothing more. They were simply overwhelmed by the pressure Valentin gave off without even trying.
“If she is connected to the Empress Dowager… what will you do?” Allan finally asked, gathering some courage. “What if our request wasn’t the first she accepted?”
Valentin’s cold stare nearly crushed his throat. That was a foolish question—the answer was obvious.
All Allan had done was irritate him more.
“We need to find out exactly why she was there. And what kind of woman Elverva was after—enough to mobilize a merchant guild.”
It was both an order and a warning: bring back solid proof if you want to keep doubting.
Valentin picked up the cane he had left against the wall and tapped it on the ground.
That was the sign they were dismissed.
The three men bowed and quietly left the room.
Valentin didn’t even glance at their backs as they left. He just thought to himself.
Favors, honor, revenge, protection…
Find out what someone desperately wants, dangle it in front of them, and use it to seal a deal.
That was Valentin’s method—and his belief.
Allan, Thomas, even Weyle, who would follow him to hell if asked—they all had reasons for their loyalty.
Valentin didn’t think they were greedy. He simply acknowledged the power of human desperation.
But if any of them betrayed him in the end, they wouldn’t be the only ones paying the price. He would too. And the price would be their lives.
That included Regina, the woman he had made a deal with.
If it really came to that, he would end her life with his own hands. No matter how much it tore him apart inside.
“Valentin. Are you enjoying my sword practice?”
Regina approached him, her hair blowing gently in the wind like soft autumn reeds. The morning sun lit her face as she stepped out of the shadowy training yard.
She looked warm and bright.
The round, arched window framed her like a painting—one he couldn’t look away from.
He didn’t answer. He just kept watching.
Those lips that had mumbled in her sleep… What kind of dreams had tormented her?
And those blue eyes, which had stayed closed before, now looked directly at him with no filter, full of warmth.
“Valentin,” she said again, softly.
‘If this is all part of Elverva’s plan… I might actually lose my mind.’
Bitter nausea rose in Valentin’s throat. If this was all her trick from the start, it seemed to be working.
“Valentin.”
“Why have you been training so much lately?” he asked.
Regina, who had been leaning on the windowsill, was startled. She hadn’t expected the question.
It wasn’t exactly something she could brag about—getting beaten by a masked man on a secret mission and going wild because of it.
“I just realized… if I want to protect what I have, I need to be stronger.”
She put her hand on the sill again and lightly hopped over the low wall. Her hair bounced with the motion, and a faint scent from her passed beneath his nose.
“Then… am I included in that? The things you want to protect?”
There was something soft and uncertain in his voice. Regina definitely noticed it.
“Of course you are. Why ask something so obvious—with a face like that?”
Valentin touched his own face, as if checking what kind of expression he was making.
“…It’s just…”
After he brushed back his bangs, there was a slight shimmer in his clear amethyst eyes.
Regina, who never looked away from him, saw the change right away.
She stared at him more carefully, then spoke.
“You look like… someone who’s about to cry. Like something terrible just happened.”
“…Honestly, I’m just really hungry. My stomach hurts.”
That’s a hungry face?
It didn’t match his expression at all. Regina wouldn’t have believed him if she hadn’t heard his stomach rumble.
“Strangely, I got hungry the moment you came close.”
“But it’s too early for the kitchen fires to be lit.”
“Then I’ll just eat some raw vegetables… or maybe the person standing right in front of me.”
“…Am I supposed to laugh at that?”
She ended up laughing anyway, though just to ease his awkwardness. It wasn’t very funny.
Valentin lowered his head to her shoulder.
“I wasn’t joking. I really am starving.”
Then he started to nuzzle her like a cat.
His soft, silvery-blonde hair brushed against her neck, tickling her skin.
“Valentin, that tickles. And I’m sweaty. I probably smell.”
“Mm. You don’t. And I’m too tired to move.”
If you have the strength to talk, you can stand up! Regina tried to push him away, but he strangely resisted.
Just for a moment, she noticed how solid and firm his shoulders were.
And the scent—he smelled oddly familiar. Like something from a dream. Like cool night wind, morning dew, and something fresh all mixed together.
