Chapter 58 …………………………………………………
Eckhart cautiously began to speak.
“My lord, please eat first today. If you keep living like this, your health may suffer.”
“Get lost.”
Schwarz’s eyes shifted. Under that sharp gaze, Eckhart flinched.
But he couldn’t back down.
After hearing that Sonia had entered the hunting grounds, Eckhart investigated Duke Tigrow—the noble who usually associated with Shane—just in case.
The duke, who had returned from a long business trip, was summoned to the imperial palace before he could even recover from his fatigue.
Duke Tigrow and the prince together.
It was bad.
The duke enjoyed stimulating amusements.
Together with Shane, he often indulged in the long-banned practice of human hunting.
They would release people deep in debt into the hunting grounds, tempting them with the promise that their debts would be paid off if they survived.
How could someone with no martial training and no weapon possibly escape trained hunting dogs and knights?
They all ended up as miserable corpses.
‘This is really bad.’
Shane would see Sonia, who had entered his territory, as nothing more than prey.
If Sonia were to die, his lord wouldn’t just stare blankly into space—he might become a complete wreck.
As a retainer, Eckhart had to stop that before his master was ruined.
Having made his decision, Eckhart approached Schwarz.
“My lord, I have something to report. Priestess Sonia is in danger.”
At those words, life returned to Schwarz’s eyes.
“Report.”
Eckhart explained the contents of the letter sent by Sertina and what he had learned about Duke Tigrow’s whereabouts.
After hearing everything, Schwarz immediately prepared to leave.
Eckhart intended to follow—but not yet.
He blocked Schwarz’s path.
“I know your strength, my lord. But if your opponent is Prince Shane’s guard, you may be forced to use your ability.”
There was no omega in the world who could purify Schwarz’s curse.
Shane’s knights would deliberately provoke him into using his ability.
If he used it improperly, he could lose consciousness—or, in the worst case, go berserk.
“You can’t go alone. I’ve already issued a summons to the Black Phantoms, so please wait.”
“Move.”
Ignoring Eckhart’s words, Schwarz threw on his coat.
Eckhart refused to step aside.
At present, he was the only Black Phantom available; the others were all on external missions.
Since the summons had been issued, anyone in the imperial capital would gather within an hour.
“I cannot back down. This is for your sake, my lord.”
Schwarz grabbed Eckhart by the collar and slammed him into the wall.
Bang—Eckhart crashed against it, his head ringing so badly he couldn’t stand properly.
Blood ran down his head, but all he could think about was stopping his lord.
If he let him go alone like this, he might be gravely injured.
“My lord, you mustn’t—”
Schwarz kicked the door open and stormed out.
His mind was filled with worry for Sonia.
Sonia had gone to Shane’s hunting grounds.
Imagining her running from that hunter made the blood rush to his head, as if he might go mad.
‘Don’t get hurt.’
Repeating it over and over in his heart, he headed for Shane’s hunting grounds.
Using his ability to hide within the darkness, Schwarz slipped quietly into the imperial palace.
He planned to head straight for the hunting grounds without alerting anyone.
Thunk!
Suddenly, with a loud slicing sound through the air, a spear made of water stabbed into the ground at his feet.
His presence had been discovered; he had no choice but to release his ability.
The black mist surrounding his body scattered.
Schwarz glared at Cassius, who had thrown the spear.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“That’s my question, Grand Duke.”
Cassius released the ferocious pheromones of an enraged alpha.
Judging by how uncontrollably angry he was, it seemed he, too, had heard news about Sonia.
The imperial palace knights nearby recoiled in shock.
“Eek, the Grand Duke of Rundmere!”
“Isn’t His Grace supposed to be confined?!”
Instead of answering, Schwarz surveyed his surroundings.
Holy Knights and imperial palace knights were glaring at each other at the entrance to the hunting grounds.
Seeing how firmly Shane’s knights were blocking the way, it seemed they had anticipated the Holy Knights’ arrival and acted in advance.
If people from the Holy Kingdom forced their way in, it would escalate into a diplomatic incident.
That was why the Holy Knights hesitated at the entrance.
After roughly grasping the situation, Schwarz spoke.
“We could just knock them all down and go.”
At his mocking tone, Cassius’s face darkened.
He knew that a forced breakthrough was the correct answer, but one misstep could spark a clash between the two nations.
If that happened, the Empire might try to detain Sonia as the cause of the incident.
His status felt like an obstacle.
But if he did nothing and Sonia got hurt…
Even if it was only her outer shell, he had seen Sonia’s face twisted in pain during the process of subduing Minerva. He didn’t want her to suffer.
Cassius opened his ability.
He clenched his teeth against the pain of the spreading curse, but it didn’t matter. Releasing the power he normally suppressed allowed him to read the thoughts of those around him.
‘They say an escaped criminal ran into the forest—why is the Holy Kingdom getting involved?’
‘What if the Holy Knights attack us? They outnumber us… Why is the knight sent for reinforcements so late? Hurry up already!’
It seemed Shane’s knights would increase in number.
Schwarz’s thoughts also came through.
‘Only two of them—did they go to call reinforcements? I could just knock these knights out and get inside, but they’d chase me. Tch, annoying.’
Because of the curse tied to his ability, a stabbing pain bloomed in Cassius’s chest.
“Ugh.”
Letting out a short groan, Cassius clutched his chest and deactivated his ability.
Mental-type abilities were quickly consumed by the curse. Even opening a small amount put immediate strain on his heart.
Still, enduring the pain and reading those thoughts allowed him to see a single path forward.
He didn’t like it, but if it was a way to protect Sonia, he had to use it—whatever it was.
After steadying his breath, Cassius whispered to Rundmere.
“I’ll hold back the reinforcements. Deal with them.”
Schwarz’s eyes widened in surprise.
How did Cassius know my plan?
‘No—doesn’t matter.’
There was no need to wonder how he knew, nor time for it.
All Schwarz wanted was to save Sonia.
For that goal, he was willing to join hands even with the devil.
Gathering darkness, he struck down the two of Shane’s knights blocking the way. Thud—the armored knights collapsed without even managing a scream.
“Say that I took them down.”
“Of course.”
Without waiting for a response, Schwarz sped into the forest.
To search the vast woods quickly, he released snakes made of darkness. Before long, he caught the scent of blood.
Mixed with it was Sonia’s pheromone—the same scent he had smelled in the sanctuary.
His heart wavered.
The thought that she was injured made his vision threaten to flip.
I wish you’d stop shaking my heart like this.
‘If you keep provoking me, I might end up locking you in the safest place in the world—my estate.’
Meanwhile, Cassius watched Schwarz disappear into the forest and clenched his fist tightly.
This was the best option.
He knew it logically, but he couldn’t control his turbulent emotions.
Just this once.
Just this once, he would join hands for Sonia’s sake.
A Holy Knight beside Cassius gasped.
“Y-Your Majesty! Blood—!”
He had clenched his fist so hard that blood dripped steadily from his hand.
Cassius didn’t hear the worried voice of the Holy Knight, nor did he feel the pain in his bleeding hand.
His thoughts were consumed entirely by Sonia.
Since she had discovered his ability, it had been days since he’d last seen her.
He still hadn’t received her answer, but his own feelings were already settled.
It had only been a few days apart, yet not seeing her nearly drove him mad.
He couldn’t endure it any longer.
If someone tried to keep him from seeing her smile and hearing her voice, he felt like he might erase the Empire’s land entirely and fill it with water.
At Cassius’s gesture, Jurgen approached and bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Send a message to the Emperor. Tell him that if he doesn’t want the imperial palace turned into a sea, he’d better order the knights to stand aside immediately.”
If the Emperor issued orders to the prince, it wouldn’t escalate into a diplomatic issue.
But that wasn’t Cassius’s true intention.
Compared to the imperial knights, the Holy Knights were far fewer—but each wielded divine power of their respective attributes, giving them overwhelming firepower.
He was threatening the Emperor.
To clear a path so he could reach Sonia.
After fleeing desperately from Shane, I ended up at the top of a waterfall. Below was a sheer cliff plunging into dizzying depths.
‘Should I jump?’
While I was hesitating, not Shane but an unfamiliar knight came to capture me.
The stranger dismounted and approached with an arrogant posture.
Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, he didn’t look like someone who had come to help me.
‘That despicable prince!’
Running from a horse on foot was hard enough—now he’d even sent a knight?
Despicable and filthy.
“Come quietly while I’m being nice.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
I backed away from him.
“You don’t know?”
“No, I really don’t.”
Honestly.
“Tch. You don’t even know your own charges. Anyone who commits fraud against the imperial family is sentenced to hanging.”
I had tricked Shane with the northern white deer.
But that was because he had charged at me first, trying to kill me—I just used my head.
The knight folded his fingers one by one.
“Fraud, prison escape. And disguising yourself as a priest while the Holy Kingdom’s delegation was present. Orders have been given to execute you on sight.”
