Chapter 100. Complete Destruction

My father seemed very surprised by my appearance. Well, of course.

He might have expected someone to chase him, but he would never have imagined it would be me…

“E-Ellen. How did you…?”

My father faltered and stepped back. He and the Atreos agent were being surrounded by knights who had been hiding in various places.

Realizing there was no escape, despair flickered in his eyes. My gun was still aimed at him, and I spoke with a warning tone, not taking my eyes off him for a second.

“Hand over the envelope. If you don’t hand it over by the count of ten, I’ll shoot your leg.”

“What? You… how dare you! To your own father!”

Bang!

Instead of responding, I fired a warning shot into the ground. My father’s eyes widened in shock as the bullet struck near his feet. His face turned pale, and he stammered.

“You, you, you…”

“The envelope, hand it over.”

“……!”

My father’s face, initially filled with shock, slowly turned to anger. Gritting his teeth, he roughly threw the envelope at me.

The knights growled in anger at his insolence, but I remained unaffected.

Still aiming my gun at my father, I slowly picked up the envelope from the ground. Meanwhile, I kept an eye on the Atreos agent.

If a fight broke out, I had to protect this envelope. I would need to withdraw from the battle.

Holding the envelope in my left hand and the gun in my right, I ordered the knights.

“Capture Victor Lopez. And that Atreos agent too.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Capturing my father wasn’t difficult, but the Atreos agent was a different story.

Despite being surrounded by knights, he watched me with a relaxed demeanor, which gave me an ominous feeling.

The Atreos agent moved just as the knights closed in to capture him.

“……!”

It happened in the blink of an eye.

No one could respond to the unexpected situation.

A strong wind blew, and the masked man was suddenly right in front of me. His eyes, visible through the mask’s eyeholes, were a strange reddish-brown.

A large, gloved hand gripped my wrist, causing me to drop the gun in pain.

A voice filled with amusement came from behind the mask.

“Interesting.”

“Your Highness!”

“That b*stard!”

“Let go of her hand!”

The knights’ shouts echoed loudly. One of them aimed precisely at the man’s head, but the bullet stopped just before reaching him, as if blocked by an invisible barrier, and fell to the ground.

…What was that?

I stared wide-eyed at the man in front of me. When our eyes met, his reddish-brown eyes gleamed mischievously.

What is he? Who is he?

‘…He’s using magic.’

And not just one spell. At least two or more.

The masked man whispered, seemingly amused.

“I’ll gladly invite you to Atreos, Grand Duchess of Bayern. I like your audacity. I’m quite fond of rebellion myself.”

At that moment, another gust of wind blew from behind.

Someone wrapped their arms around my shoulders, and the ground beneath the masked man suddenly spiked upward.

“……!”

The man dodged with unbelievable speed, just as he had before.

The knights aimed their guns at his head. I briefly glanced back at the person who had embraced my shoulders.

The scent of cold winter wind emanated from him.

The smell of air frozen with moisture on a snowy winter day.

When I looked up, silver hair fluttered like threads in the wind.

Then, I met his silver eyes.

“Ah…”

I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of admiration. The handsome man smiled, his eyes curving like a crescent moon.

“Hello, Grand Duchess.”

Don’t worry, I’m here to help you. His whisper was like the wind but carried a heavy, neutral tone.

“…A mage?”

The masked man muttered, standing still. The silver-haired man loosened his arm around my shoulders slightly and spoke.

“Yes. A much stronger mage than you, Navaroa.”

“Hmm…”

The masked man, called Navaroa, let out a low hum and muttered, “So they say?” as if he was speaking to someone beside him.

But there was no one beside him…

Only the knights of Bayern surrounding him.

However, what was more concerning than his odd behavior…

‘…Navaroa?’

Is that his name? But that name…

‘Isn’t that the name of the Atreos heir?’

Could this masked man be that Navaroa?

Impossible.

A member of the royal family, and the heir no less, acting as a spy…

“Unfortunately, I must retreat for now.”

“I told you, we should have escaped right after getting the information!”

“Your curiosity always gets us in trouble.”

“But it is intriguing… that woman…”

What is this…?

The eerie sight made my body freeze.

Different voices, as if spoken by different people, came from the man’s mouth. Each tone and manner of speaking was different, as if multiple personalities existed within one body.

The man, seemingly having made up his mind, turned to me and theatrically waved his arm.

“Can’t be helped. Until next time, Grand Duchess of Bayern.”

Though I couldn’t see his face behind the mask, I thought he might have smiled.

The man soon disappeared. Only a strong wind swirled where he had stood before vanishing.

Someone placed the gun back in my hand. It was the silver-haired man.

Meeting my gaze, he smiled and gently advised me.

“Be careful, Grand Duchess. It seems Navaroa has taken an interest in you…”

And before I could respond, he disappeared as well.

Once again, only an empty wind lingered in his place.

‘…What was that?’

The knights cautiously approached and began to check on me. My father was already handcuffed and lying on the ground, and the envelope containing the secret information was safely in my arms.

And nearby—

“…Ellen!”

A familiar voice called out to me.

Snapping back to reality, I quickly fastened the gun to my belt. Holding the envelope tightly, I ran towards him.

Enoch jumped down the riverbank and strode towards me.

He looked highly agitated, his dark hair disheveled by the night wind.

“Enoch—”

“Are you crazy?”

“What?”

He immediately yelled at me. His strong hands gripped my shoulders painfully. I asked, bewildered.

“What did I do?”

“What makes you think you can come to a place with an Atreos dog?”

“…Do you have to say I’m useless?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He ruffled his hair in frustration and suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace. Anger, irritation, and then an unexpected hug—it was hard to keep up with his unpredictable reactions.

“…I was worried.”

“……!”

“D*mn it, why do you have to be so brave when you’re so weak? I shouldn’t have taught you how to shoot.”

Enoch’s body trembled slightly as he held me. After a moment of silence, I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist. As I patted his back gently, his trembling gradually subsided.

Strangely, at that moment, this large man felt smaller than me.

“…I’m sorry.”

“……!”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know the spy was a mage.”

“A mage? I suspected as much.”

“Yes. It seemed like he had multiple spells…”

“Ha…”

Enoch buried his face in my shoulder and suddenly started cursing King Henry.

Why all of a sudden…?

As I stood there puzzled, he lifted his head and began to explain while looking into my eyes.

“It was a trap set by Henry to catch the traitor in the Foreign Ministry, that top-secret document.”

“…What?”

So, to summarize:
King Henry had discovered that one of the Foreign Ministry officials was colluding with an Atreos spy and set a trap to catch the traitor. My father had fallen right into that trap. Enoch only learned of Henry’s plan while searching the southern part of the capital…

“Henry Frederick, that b*stard… If he was going to do something against Atreos, shouldn’t he have discussed it with me?”

“……”

So… this top-secret document?

It couldn’t be fake, could it?

“Throw it away. It’s a forgery.”

Enoch snatched the envelope from my arms and threw it into the river with irritation.

Splash.

The river swallowed the fake top-secret document, causing a brief ripple before returning to its calm flow.

“……”

Feeling utterly empty, I stared blankly at the peaceful night scenery of the Reden River.

That was fake…

To protect that fake document… I…

“…Ellen?”

“Just a moment… I feel a headache coming on.”

For once, I deeply sympathized with Enoch. Why did King Henry try to handle such a serious matter on his own? Was it a matter of pride?

* * *

The incident was quickly resolved.

Victor Lopez was imprisoned without trial on charges of conspiracy to m*rder and high treason, under the authority of the king and the noble council. There were loud calls for his execution, so he was likely to be hanged.

As for the other three—Margot, Melissa, and the maid who was ordered to kill—they were awaiting trial. There was no need to worry about the trial’s outcome, all three were undoubtedly guilty.

I also recently heard news about Anthony and Helene, the remaining members of the Lopez family. Helene was expelled from the Palmen family and sent to a rural convent. As for Anthony… he was last seen gambling in a pub. No one has seen him since.

He might have drowned in the river, gone missing, or been captured by gamblers. It was likely one of the three.

I felt no sympathy.

For any of the Lopez family.

‘I thought there might be some lingering discomfort in my heart…’

Not at all.

I felt nothing but relief.

Their complete downfall brought me immense satisfaction.

“Did you pack everything?”

“Ah, yes.”

Starting today until Sunday, Enoch and I planned a short trip for about four days.

Our destination was the southern sea, following the lower reaches of the Reden River.

It was where my mother’s body was buried at sea.

“…You still have that mark on your wrist.”

“Oh…”

Enoch pointed to the purple bruise on my right wrist with his chin.

Remembering how terrifyingly he had reacted when he first saw it still makes my heart shrink. I was practically confined to the Winter Palace for several days…

“That damned crazy multi-personality b*stard… I should have arrived earlier.”

Enoch lifted my wrist and gently touched the bruise. His long fingers moved so softly that it didn’t hurt, it just tickled.

“I never imagined that the spy would be Navaroa himself. That cunning b*stard.”

Enoch seemed to genuinely hate him. And when he heard from the knights that Navaroa had tried to kidnap me, he went berserk. He ranted about finding Navaroa and putting a bullet in his head, causing King Henry considerable stress trying to calm him down…

Suddenly, with a fierce smile, Enoch asked,

“Choose, Ellen. Assassination, poisoning, or beheading. How should we kill him?”

“……”

Do I really have to choose?

Soon, all preparations for the trip were complete, and Enoch and I boarded the carriage.

The carriage would take us to a place south of Schleswig, where we could board a cruise ship on the lower Reden River.

The Reden River was wide enough to accommodate fairly large cruise ships.

“I’m really looking forward to this. It’s my first time on a cruise ship.”

“…There are still things you haven’t done?”

Enoch responded with a sour expression to my excited comment. Ignoring him, I cheerfully hummed a tune and looked out the window.

In the distance, the dock and the white cruise ship gradually came into view.

As I stared at the silvery hull under the pale morning sun, I suddenly remembered someone’s silver eyes.

“……”

That person…

‘I didn’t even get his name.’

The beautiful person who saved me from Navaroa, who could he have been?