Chapter 74
Rixion sincerely hoped that Elizabeth would not check the aftermath of what he had done. He truly believed it would be better that way.
There was no need for Elizabeth to witness a scene drenched in blood, with corpses scattered everywhere—nor did he want her to feel disgust or rejection toward him after seeing it.
In the past, he had killed far more people than he had today.
Following the emperor’s orders, he had slaughtered countless individuals on the battlefield, never once feeling guilt or remorse over it.
But… he didn’t think she needed to know all of that.
So Rixion told Elizabeth only half the truth.
And from now on, he intended to keep the remaining half hidden from her forever.
He planned to show Elizabeth only the version of himself that was a well-trained, “ordinary” person.
Today, seeing the wound on her cheek in such an unexpected situation had briefly disrupted that plan. But from now on, he resolved to be careful with his words and actions, just as he always had, and make up for the mistake.
“As you can see, the carriage is in that state, so I’ve already summoned another one through my subordinates. We’ll have to wait a bit.”
Rixion hoped that the visibly shaken Elizabeth could regain her composure by staying beside him.
He spoke deliberately gently, as if this situation were nothing serious. Only then did the anxious golden eyes finally turn back toward him.
“…How long will it take?”
The question was serious—and completely unexpected.
Momentarily flustered, Rixion fell silent before pulling out his communicator.
“I’ll check with my adjutant once more.”
He infused mana into the device and turned away, deliberately putting some distance between himself and Elizabeth.
That was when—
“Eek!”
The sudden scream behind him made Rixion react instantly and turn around.
He had already confirmed that there was no one within a hundred rimen who could harm her, so he couldn’t understand what had happened.
When he hurried back toward Liz, what he saw was yet another situation that slightly defied his expectations.
Despite his warning not to look back, Elizabeth was staring straight at the corpses lying in the middle of a pool of blood—heads cleanly severed.
“…Damn it.”
Rixion’s expression hardened.
Elizabeth’s finger trembled as it pointed toward the bodies. Her eyes were shaking.
It was only natural. No matter how different her way of thinking and behavior might be from the noble ladies he had known, no one could remain unaffected after witnessing such a gruesome scene.
And naturally, there was a high chance she would feel fear or disgust toward the person who had created that sight—toward him.
That was only normal.
For once, Rixion approached her with a face full of anxiety that was unlike him.
“Liz.”
When he called her name and stepped closer, Elizabeth’s trembling gaze turned toward him.
Meeting those golden eyes, which looked especially fragile and delicate today, regret colored Rixion’s expression.
Instead of carelessly telling her not to look back, he should have hidden those things somewhere they couldn’t catch her eye.
Reproaching himself, he reached out toward her—
Just then, Elizabeth, who had briefly lowered her head, glared at him with eyes full of resentment.
“So you did kill them after all!”
I was anxious.
Based on all the data and experiences I had accumulated, the conclusion I reached pointed toward a fact that was anything but welcome.
When Rixion Luhanes stepped away to contact his adjutant—
I, who had been following his instructions like an idiot after my mental state briefly collapsed, suddenly snapped back to my senses.
‘Did Rixion Luhanes really not kill those masked men?’
Remembering his smiling face, which clearly looked like a lie to anyone, I trembled as unease flooded in.
‘He probably did kill them. But he shouldn’t have.’
I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and instead chewed anxiously on my innocent fingernails.
Should I look? Even for me, the courage to face corpses didn’t come easily.
After hesitating several times, I finally mustered up the courage when Rixion Luhanes moved a few steps away.
Damn it! I let out a sound that was half curse, half battle cry, and turned around.
The sight before my eyes left me speechless.
“Eek!”
I screamed reflexively, then startled myself and hurriedly covered my mouth.
Without realizing it, my other hand pointed toward the bodies—heads completely severed. Pathetically, my fingers were trembling.
“Liz.”
I could sense Rixion Luhanes approaching me after hearing my scream.
I weakly lowered my head, then snapped it back up and shouted at him, glaring with all the resentment I could muster.
“So you did kill them after all!”
As I shouted, filled with injustice and frustration, the man’s blue eyes were dyed with confusion.
Ignoring that, I stomped my feet and pointed at the corpses.
“How could you kill them?! We needed to capture them and interrogate them!”
“…Interrogate them? About what?”
Rixion Luhanes grabbed my pointing hand tightly.
The seriousness in his gaze, his blue eyes twisted as he stared straight into mine, made me suddenly come to my senses.
No—this wasn’t the place to blame him. I hadn’t even told him beforehand that he shouldn’t kill them.
He had saved my life, after all. Throwing a tantrum at my savior without even explaining the reason didn’t feel right.
Coming to my senses belatedly, I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“Well, actually… someone similar to them came earlier, too. This—this wound was caused by those guys earlier…”
“What you’re saying now—is that those people were targeting you, Liz?”
I was trying my best to explain calmly, but Rixion Luhanes cut me off with a sharp question, his face completely serious.
Facing that overly handsome man—even with his brows furrowed—I tilted my head in confusion.
“You killed them without even knowing who they were targeting?”
“……”
At my question, Rixion Luhanes hesitated for a moment.
Seeing confusion flash through his blue eyes again, I briefly explained what I had experienced.
“They suddenly attacked me in an alley on the outskirts of the plaza. They didn’t even give a reason—just said if I followed quietly, I wouldn’t get hurt. I knocked them out first, but I never expected them to follow me all the way here and even blow up the carriage.”
The more I spoke, the colder Rixion Luhanes’s gaze became.
“Anyway, if Your Grace hadn’t been there, I’d really be dead.”
The way he stared silently at my face made me a little uncomfortable. I scratched the back of my head and subtly avoided his gaze.
“Thank you so much. You saved my life.”
I was a bit bothered by the fact that I had gone out of my way to avoid him before—or that I had just glared at my lifesaver moments ago—but I hoped Rixion Luhanes wasn’t petty enough to dwell on such things.
In my lowered field of vision, I saw his hand slowly approaching.
What—?
In the next moment, his hands firmly grasped both my arms.
For a split second, I thought he looked exactly like my older brother right before launching into a lecture—grabbing me and shaking me lightly.
Then Rixion Luhanes pressed me with an urgent tone.
“They were targeting you. So why didn’t you tell me? Earlier, I asked how you got that wound.”
I reflexively raised my gaze to meet his.
His blue eyes were still filled with anger.
I wasn’t sure whether that anger was directed at me or at someone else—but it was there.
I stared blankly at his eyes before furrowing one eyebrow in genuine confusion.
“I really appreciate you saving me, but I don’t understand why I had to tell Your Grace about that.”
At my words, Rixion Luhanes froze again.
It looked as though he had something to say—his lips parted slightly, then pressed together as if he were forcing himself to hold back.
Just like that, we locked eyes in silence for a moment.
Once again, Rixion Luhanes was the first to look away.
“…You’re right.”
He lowered his head slightly and let out a faint sigh.
“I have no right to interfere in that. No matter what danger you’re in, or who you meet where I don’t know—I don’t have the right to worry or get angry about it. I’m neither your friend nor your family. To you, I’m nothing.”
He wasn’t scolding me or raising his voice like before—he was simply stating the facts in a calm tone.
And yet, strangely enough, his current expression bothered me more than when he was angry.
Behind those blue eyes, concealed beneath his blank expression, I felt suppressed emotions brush past—and that made my heart feel even more uncomfortable.
