Chapter 74
The captain let out a low groan as he watched the man emerge from the darkness.
The man walked calmly forward, carrying a sword stained with blood.
Not once during that time had there been the sound of clashing blades or screams.
That could only mean one thing—the detachment had been struck down in a single blow, without even managing to raise their swords against the enemy.
Just as the man was about to step out from the shadow of the trees, the captain signaled to his hidden comrades.
Attack!
They sprang forward at once, surrounding the man. They were the elite of Raven Skull, men who had cut their way through countless battlefields. Their blades, sharp as fangs, rushed at him…
“…Huh?”
“Captain—!”
And then, all at once, they collapsed.
With an unreal slicing sound, they fell to the ground.
There had been five who charged, but each was struck fatally in the throat or chest, unable even to scream before their lives were extinguished.
Blood flowed slowly across the ground, and the man walked forward through it.
When his figure finally came into view beyond the shadows, it was… ordinary.
The captain, tense and wary, and Yulkes, who had been hiding behind a tree suppressing his own screams, both faltered at how plain the man looked.
A simple white tunic, long hair covering his eyes, tall and broad—but nothing else of note. He wasn’t even wearing armor.
Unable to guess the man’s identity, the captain frowned.
The man spoke in a dry voice.
“…Raven Skull, is it? I didn’t expect to run into such infamous mercenaries.”
“If you’re so curious, pay the admission fee. Otherwise, move along.”
“Leave Yulkes behind. I’ll spare your life.”
“Hah, you know our reputation, and yet you still say that?”
Each of them had dozens of murders to their name. The Raven Skull mercenaries were brutes who would even sell their own families if the price was right.
The captain bared his teeth in a threat, but the man only tilted his head slightly and said quietly:
“Then I suppose there’s no choice.”
“Fine then, let’s—”
Before he could finish, before he could throw the dagger hidden in his cloak, his head was severed.
It was a pathetically anticlimactic end for someone called the Raven Captain.
Even as he died, he never learned what had cut his throat.
“Hi-i-i-iik!”
Yulkes, pressed against the tree, bolted out in terror.
He had never intended to resist.
His legs gave way, and he crawled forward on all fours like a beast, when the man stepped in front of him.
“Hey.”
“S-sorry! Please, spare me—!”
“Stand up.”
The man seized Yulkes by the scruff of his neck and lifted him with ease, forcing Yulkes to look into his face.
“Wh-who… are you…”
“I leave for a short while, and this is what happens.”
Ignoring his question, the man forced Yulkes’ head up with a tightening grip.
“Khak!”
“Still, a favor must be repaid.”
He raised his other hand and pressed it over Yulkes’ face, covering it entirely.
“If you run away, the ending won’t be complete.”
“S-stop…”
“But if it’s revealed that I helped you, her plan will be tarnished.”
The man pressed his fingers down on Yulkes’ eyes.
When Yulkes tried to close them, the man pried his eyelids open and placed his fingertip directly against his pupils.
“AAAAAH!”
An unfamiliar, sinister magic flowed from his finger into Yulkes’ head.
The pain was as if a red-hot skewer were piercing through his eyes. Yulkes kicked and thrashed, but the man’s arm never wavered.
“This is a curse. Whenever you remember me, this agony will return.”
“Hurts—ahh! Please, please! I’ll do anything—anything!”
“Forget me. Repent. Only then, one day, I may release you from this torment.”
Though Yulkes screamed his agreement, the strange curse tormented him until it had etched itself deep into his mind.
At last, once it was branded into him, Yulkes fainted and hung limp over the man’s arm.
Calmly, the man slung Yulkes over his shoulder and walked out of the forest.
Though the ground was strewn with corpses, he muttered as though speaking to someone unseen.
“To think my employer would beat me to the prize. How disgraceful for a wolf.”
The man—Rohan—shook off the lingering traces of the curse from his hand.
For all his words, his steps were unusually light.
5. Spring, and a Vacation
Spring had come.
With the warmer days, I had grown so lethargic that I now insisted on taking a nap every afternoon.
When Anna’s face began to show concern at how lazy I was becoming, dozens of letters arrived at the estate.
They were invitations to the social gatherings that always began around this season.
So they’ve come, at last.
I had hoped Helene would keep them at bay, but the trouble I stirred at the last harvest festival still lingered.
Because of the impression I made back then, the noble families now bombarded me with invitations.
Even my family could not refuse them all. They sent word that it would be better for me to attend at least a few.
If I turned down everything, rumors would surely spread—that I was imprisoned, or under house arrest.
Not that my reputation is particularly good anyway.
Until last year, people thought of me as nothing more than “the stone that rolled in”—a newcomer, neither good nor bad.
The harvest festival had changed that somewhat. Ilina had even told me she was deeply moved by what her father had said about me then.
As a daughter-in-law, I had some image to maintain, and so attending a gathering seemed unavoidable.
But none of them appealed to me. Sports were too tiring, I had no interest in joining another book club, and what was left were tea parties or banquets…
“…Hm? What’s this?”
While sifting through the invitations, I found one sealed with a familiar crest.
It was Mikhail’s.
Opening it, I was greeted first with neatly written words of courtesy.
[Mother, I hope you are spending these warm spring days in comfort and happiness. As we have both been so occupied, there has been little chance to—]
The sentences dragged on, full of aristocratic flourishes. I skimmed them and went straight to the point.
[Would you like to go on a picnic together?]
“…No.”
Even knowing Mikhail wasn’t here, the word burst out of me instinctively.
Frowning deeply, I folded the letter again and set it back on the table, releasing a long sigh.
As she sorted the remaining letters, Anna looked at me worriedly.
“Madam? Was it something troublesome?”
“Yes. A letter I don’t want to answer.”
“Oh dear… shall I inform your family?”
“It is from the family.”
“…Ah.”
“Well, then there’s no helping it,” Anna said with a bitter smile.
It’s just like Mikhail to send a letter.
He must have thought it rude to merely send a servant with a verbal invitation.
The pink stationery, perfumed with rose oil in honor of spring, was certainly crafted with care.
And as always, his oblivious earnestness.
I sighed again at the “family” he intended to invite.
Not just Helene, but also his children—Minerva and Jeonil.
Clearly, he wanted to introduce them and enjoy some family time together.
It had already been more than half a year since I came to the ducal household. I had avoided every family gathering with excuses, but I was running out of reasons.
And Helene agreed to attend too.
I still couldn’t forget her expression when we had met in the garden.
Since then, we’d encountered each other several times, but never shared a proper conversation.
I couldn’t bring myself to raise the topic, and Helene acted as if nothing had ever happened.
If she was going, I couldn’t simply refuse without cause.
“So, a picnic, is it.”
“Oh my, you’re going on a picnic with the master’s family?” Anna asked.
“Yes, a stroll somewhere, perhaps by the lake.”
“Then you’ll go boating! There’ll be much to prepare.”
“…Prepare? What is there to prepare?”
When I tilted my head, not understanding, Anna blinked at me in surprise.
“Wait… in the capital, do people not often go boating?”
“They do. But I’ve never done it.”
I’d never even debuted into society.
As for my childhood outings—at most, I remembered gathering nectar with my nanny.
My family had been nobles only in title and in our estate. Otherwise, we had nothing.
The idea that all nobles lived wealthy lives had been crushed in this world.
