Chapter 29
After Medilliane finished speaking, the two of them fell into silence for a while.
Winter’s mind was in turmoil.
She had anticipated it to some extent, but she never imagined they were truly assassins.
“No… who? Why on earth…?”
“I suppose it’s someone who doesn’t want you to return to your family, milady.”
Who could it possibly be?
The two began to theorize.
The first person Winter suspected was Jeonseogu.
“Could someone have intercepted it along the way?”
“If that were the case, Their Excellencies would have noticed Jeonseogu’s absence and sent the knights themselves.”
“Oh, that’s true.”
The first hypothesis was immediately dismissed.
At first, she had only thought the constant attacks by the bandits were strange, but now she realized there were more than a few anomalies.
Whether bandits or assassins, neither the secret guard nor Winter were ever genuinely threatened, which had prevented her from suspecting anything.
From the very beginning, it didn’t make sense that Duke Vladimir remained quiet.
After all, when it came to his daughter, no one could surpass Duke Vladimir in love and protectiveness.
“Then, could it be that someone… took the letter that Jeonseogu was carrying?”
Winter stopped herself mid-sentence and shook her head.
“…No, that couldn’t be.”
The second hypothesis was discarded before it was even fully formed.
Who would dare meddle with a letter sent by the secret guard to the Duke?
It was now certain that Duke Vladimir had no knowledge of Winter’s current situation.
If the Duke did know everything…
“If it were Their Excellency, the Duke would have sent every knight he had and then some.”
“That’s right.”
Winter nodded slightly.
Soon, their eyes met.
“That means….”
Someone who knew exactly when, where, and how Winter and her group would move; someone who could orchestrate an ambush by bandits and still conceal it properly in reports.
Someone for whom using Jeonseogu would feel natural and who could easily deceive the Duke with falsified reports.
“…Hirkan.”
The name slipped out naturally, and Winter flinched, biting her lip in surprise.
It was a name she had hoped never to say, yet Medilliane seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion.
Seeing Medilliane nod, Winter forced herself to suppress a rising sigh.
“It’s an honor to serve you, milady. I am Hirkan.”
“I must say, you are quite formidable. I didn’t expect someone with such skills.”
“Avoid me, milady!”
The voice she had heard before falling off the cliff still echoed vividly in her mind.
“On the outside, you never look like it at all.”
Although they hadn’t spoken much, Winter had thought of him as a diligent man who took his duties seriously—but now she was completely at a loss.
“You seemed really close with him too.”
Medilliane scowled, clearly displeased.
“This is our first mission together.”
“…Oh, really?”
Hirkan was now at the top of their suspect list, but how would they catch him?
Winter’s thoughts were interrupted as she suddenly looked up in alarm.
“Mei.”
“Yes, milady?”
“If Hirkan is truly the mastermind behind this… wouldn’t Deborah be in danger?”
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
Deborah nervously chewed on her lip.
At first, it had been a simple matter—she just wanted Winter to realize her own helplessness and step back.
Pretending to help the lady change her clothes, she had secretly swiped her magical tool without difficulty.
Of course, in case any danger arose, the tool she had taken was never far from Deborah’s waist.
If something truly threatening happened, she could claim she had just picked it up again, return it, or, if necessary, rush in and heroically save Winter.
Seeing Winter’s skill, Deborah had assumed her confidence would easily suppress Winter’s overbearing energy.
But what a surprise. Winter had far exceeded Deborah’s expectations.
Without using the magical tool, which Deborah had assumed amplified Winter’s power, Winter emitted magic far beyond its normal limit and wiped out the bandits in an instant.
Thinking of those eyes even now sent chills down Deborah’s spine.
The merciless, icy gaze that swept enemies aside had struck Deborah’s heart.
It seemed… she had fallen for her.
“What… no! It’s not like that!”
Deborah quickly shook her head, trying to suppress the natural thought that had come to her.
Yet the image of Winter repeatedly plunging ice spears into the ground kept replaying in her mind.
No matter how she thought about it, he had been amazing. She was clearly captivated.
“No, it’s not like that!”
Deborah puffed her cheeks in frustration, imagining she was fighting an invisible enemy.
This was no time to be fawning or distracted.
The lady, who had intended to easily suppress Deborah’s pride, had instead completely crushed it—and had been caught in an unexpected accident, plunging to the abyss below.
Deborah had fallen along with her future master, Medilliane.
And somehow, Winter’s magical tool, which she had slyly taken, had disappeared.
“I’m doomed, doomed.”
Deborah felt like crying, having failed to properly serve her lady and ended up lost over a cliff.
Nothing had gone the way she had hoped. Everything was a mess.
“Where on earth did she go….”
Her voice trembled with anxiety.
Dodging among the corpses of frozen bandits, Deborah searched desperately for the lost magical tool.
Meanwhile, Hirkan was busy sending Jeonseogu.
Apparently, he intended to report Winter’s disappearance and request reinforcements.
Since neither Hirkan nor Deborah were skilled trackers, they clearly needed more manpower.
“I’m dead, absolutely dead.”
Not only had she failed to properly serve her lady, but she had also gone missing after falling off the cliff—Deborah could find no words to defend herself.
The mere thought of Duke Vladimir’s terrifying gaze made her shiver uncontrollably.
Actually, there was no need to even think of the Duke.
Even if only Nyla, the head of the guards, learned of this, Deborah’s neck and body would likely be separated instantly.
Deborah’s face grew pale as she slowly realized the recklessness and absurdity of what she had done.
“Please… let me find the magical tool at least!”
It seemed someone had heard Deborah’s prayers.
Deep inside one of the two carriages containing the lady’s belongings and jewelry, she found the magical tool.
“Found it!”
Her joy was brief.
Deborah had a foreboding sense.
The magical tool should have been at her waist, so why was it here?
“Does it have legs or something?”
She imagined the absurd, turning the tool over in her hands.
Her gaze drifted to the luggage where the tool had been.
“…This belongs to Hirkan, doesn’t it?”
Winter’s magical tool had ended up in Hirkan’s luggage.
Even more, this was the tool Deborah had once taken herself.
And now the lady was missing.
The fragmented facts swirled chaotically in Deborah’s mind.
Though she wasn’t particularly smart, Deborah had excellent intuition.
It seemed her current situation was extremely unfavorable.
“What are you doing there?”
“…!”
Startled, Deborah whipped her head around.
Hirkan stood blocking the entrance to the carriage.
“Oh, just… looking for something.”
Deborah quickly slipped Winter’s magical tool back to her waist and answered naturally.
Hirkan studied her carefully, then chuckled and stepped aside.
“The search party will arrive soon. Get down.”
“Uh, okay.”
Deborah slowly climbed down from the carriage.
All around, there was a heavy silence.
She felt cold sweat slowly trickling down her back.
In a blink, there was a sharp clang!—a sudden explosive sound.
Reflexively, she blocked the flying blade and widened her eyes.
“Not bad, you’ve got good reflexes.”
Hirkan chuckled, pressing his weight into the strike.
“Are you crazy? What do you think you’re doing right now?”
“Unfortunately, you’re about to be annihilated because of the bandits.”
“Huh? By who?”
“Everyone except me.”
His face wore a friendly smile, yet the blade he wielded looked like it could cut her down in an instant.
Deborah dodged, rolling across the ground, narrowly avoiding fatal strikes.
Hirkan whistled, impressed.
“Phew, impressive, Deborah. But how about you stop struggling and surrender now?”
“Ha! And just let you do as you please?!”
Deborah shouted, pressing on her left shoulder, which had been wounded earlier.
“…Damn. No wonder my luck’s been rotten.”
Even cornered like this, Deborah had no intention of giving in to Hirkan.
Even if her neck were about to be severed, she intended to make sure she left a mark with her teeth.
Her eyes flashed sharply.
“Hah!”
With a short kiai, Deborah launched herself forward.
Her small, light body moved with acrobatic grace, evading the heavy attacks.
Using her sword to push off the ground, she barely maintained her stance, then struck back swiftly.
However, as time passed, it became clear who held the advantage.
“Haah… haah.”
Deborah panted heavily, standing with her sword braced on the ground, while Hirkan, though clearly fatigued, showed no trouble maintaining his stance.
“You’re really troublesome.”
Despite appearing on the verge of death, Deborah had miraculously avoided fatal wounds, leaving her battered but still alive.
Hirkan’s face grew increasingly irritated at the delay.
“Let’s end this now, Deborah.”
“Who… do you think you are…?”
Deborah’s eyes, burning with defiance, faltered for a moment.
It was Hirkan’s magical bomb.
“Huh… I didn’t think I’d have to take this out, but with this, I can crush you without a trace.”
With a flick, Hirkan removed the seal on the bomb and hurled it at Deborah.
Bang! The explosion shook the ground.
Through the cloud of dust, Hirkan spoke words he should never have said:
“…Is she… finished?”
