Chapter 59
Karl
“Ch-Chief… just now… what…?”
Startled, Karl stammered. Martin gave him a cold, bitter smile.
“Didn’t you see? You just killed someone. Or, more accurately, you ‘killed a kidnapper.'”
Karl had been caught for secretly taking Yulia with Raymond.
Judging so, Karl immediately tried to escape using his spatial ability, but Martin acted faster.
“Maximilian. Stop him.”
“Yes, sir.”
Maximilian answered casually, yet his actions were swift.
He activated his ability just as Karl was about to use his spatial teleportation.
With his nullification ability, which could disable others’ powers for about five minutes, Karl’s escape attempt was foiled.
While Maximilian blocked Karl, Martin slowly approached him.
“You were thinking of escaping with your teleport just now?”
“……”
“And secretly taking Yulia with it?”
“I… don’t know what you mean. Taking the deputy… I think you must be misunderstanding—”
Karl’s words were interrupted as Martin pressed the sharp tip of his halberd against the base of Karl’s neck.
“Shut up. I already know everything you’ve done.”
Martin already knew.
That Yulia had not been swallowed whole by the monster.
That it was all a scheme by Karl and Raymond.
Yet Karl, even after witnessing Raymond’s death, refused to admit his guilt.
“I really don’t know what happened. Why would I kidnap the deputy? He has treated me so well.”
“Yes, Yulia cared a lot for you. That’s why your actions are even more disgusting.”
Martin’s golden eyes glowed fiercely, staring at Karl as if ready to consume him.
Under that gaze, Karl could not respond. Martin pressed the halberd even closer to his neck.
“I almost believed Yulia was dead too. If Oscar hadn’t seen you and Raymond sprinkling ‘fake traces’ in the snow.”
Martin let out a bitter laugh and continued.
“Did you realize how suspicious every single thing you did was?”
“……”
“You first said Yulia went east to gather firewood. But that didn’t make sense. There wasn’t a single tree, not even a patch of grass, in that direction. It’s not good for gathering firewood.”
“……”
“So why did you say she went east? Were you lying?”
Hearing Martin, Karl seemed to understand and nodded.
“So that’s why you ordered Oscar to keep a close watch on me.”
“Yes. You didn’t know, but Oscar was monitoring you with his ability. That’s when he caught you and Raymond creating false traces in the snow.”
“……”
“It was laughable. Watching you point to animal blood as if Yulia was eaten by the monster, lying so shamelessly.”
Martin pressed the halberd even closer to Karl’s neck. A shallow cut appeared, blood dripping down.
With a casual glance at the drops, Martin asked,
“Where did you kidnap Yulia? Did you use spatial ability?”
“…Aren’t you going to ask why I did this or under whose orders?”
“No need to ask. Your backer is obvious. Isn’t it Ehrhardt, my damned brother.”
Martin ground his teeth, the sound chilling, and glared at Karl.
“I don’t care why you took orders from him. There’s only one thing I want to know.”
“……”
“Yulia. Where did you hide her?”
Martin’s golden eyes radiated a murderous intent beyond anger.
Yet Karl slowly shook his head.
“I cannot tell you.”
“Then I will kill you. No joke.”
Karl knew Martin’s words were no joke. Martin’s eyes were those of a killer.
Having already dealt with Raymond, killing Karl would be easy.
Yet Karl still refused to answer.
“Something more precious than my life is at stake. I’m sorry.”
If Karl revealed Yulia’s location, Ehrhardt would immediately suspect him as the culprit.
Then he would punish him—and it wouldn’t end there.
After punishing Karl, Ehrhardt would reach for Karl’s beloved little sister.
The cruel emperor would not be satisfied with killing only the traitor.
So Karl could not speak and chose eternal silence.
“……!”
Seeing blood start to flow from Karl’s lips, Martin grabbed his collar and forced his mouth open.
He hadn’t bitten his tongue.
The conclusion was clear.
“Did you swallow poison? Spit it out—!”
Martin frantically tried to reach Karl’s throat with his fingers, but it was too late.
The poison Karl had secretly hidden behind his molars was already burning through his internal organs.
A mix of blood and vomit spilled from Karl’s mouth.
If he died now, Yulia’s whereabouts would remain unknown.
Martin hastily poured a potion down Karl’s throat—but—
“…He’s already dead.”
Karl’s life had already ended. No amount of potion could bring a dead man back.
Martin quietly lowered Karl’s bloodied body and stood up.
“…Chief.”
Maximilian, who had been observing, cautiously approached and called out.
He couldn’t touch Martin recklessly.
Martin’s eyes still radiated a deadly intent.
Exhaling a long sigh, Martin muttered,
“This just got troublesome.”
“What do we do now…?”
“First, we hunt the Winter Queen.”
The monsters spewing out of the cracks could not be left alone.
Martin looked toward the cliff where the queen’s castle stood.
“But the hunt must finish today. After that, we’ll immediately plan to find Yulia. We must mobilize the entire knight order. Because Yulia—”
Pausing to catch his breath, Martin spoke softly to himself.
“She’s indispensable. To everyone.”
The empire still had many unclosed cracks.
Many monsters were yet to be defeated.
To deal with them, they needed Knight Yulia.
Even if Yulia weren’t a knight, Martin would still want to save her.
Their bond had grown too deep to ignore.
“Let’s hurry.”
Saying so, Martin touched the cliff. Slowly, the ice covering it began to melt.
The villa Ehrhardt had prepared was well-stocked.
Especially the bedroom—almost nothing was missing.
A bed, wardrobe, even a vanity I didn’t need—everything was there.
The room reflected Ehrhardt’s meticulousness.
I sat by the window, looking west.
I had to go there before Ehrhardt arrived.
The soldier warned of danger to the west, but I suspected it was a lie.
Probably a ship used by soldiers when coming here was hidden there.
To prevent me from finding it, they lied about the danger.
I resolved to reach the west as quickly as possible.
“Lord Schnestern, I have something to deliver. May I enter?”
It was the voice of the soldier who had guided me here.
I think his name was Willich.
I asked him at the door:
“What if I say I don’t want you to come in?”
“I will enter anyway. It is His Majesty’s order.”
“……”
He had intended to enter anyway, so why ask for permission?
While I silently expressed my displeasure, Willich entered the bedroom.
In his hand was a familiar crystal orb—the reason he had come here.
“A communication item.”
Willich nodded.
“Yes. Through this, His Majesty will contact you shortly.”
I had used this item before to secretly communicate with Ehrhardt.
Expensive and rare, I recognized it immediately.
Soon the orb began to glow and vibrate.
Willich handed it to me and left the room.
Alone, I tapped the orb lightly and received Ehrhardt’s message.
Yulia, it’s me. Long time since we used this to contact each other, right?
“……”
How do you feel?
Hearing Ehrhardt’s brazen question, I couldn’t help but reply sharply.
“Are you asking how it feels to be kidnapped? It feels dirty… and wonderful.”
