Chapter 7 (Part 3)

‘Why is he here?’

Where was the Duke, who was supposed to have headed to the harbor? And what on earth was happening here?

As Therese pondered, the fight resumed.

The monster closed in on the Night Wolf, tightening its encirclement.

The Night Wolf displayed astonishingly precise swordsmanship, but the problem was that his opponents weren’t human.

No matter how many times he cut them down, the monsters kept getting back up.

‘If we stay here, we’ll only get caught up in unnecessary trouble.’

Therese and her subordinates had little chance of defeating an enemy that even the Night Wolf struggled against.

‘I can’t let another tragedy like last time happen.’

Crouching low, Therese turned to her subordinates, who were on high alert behind her.

“Leave this place immediately and inform Roshan that there are monsters here.”

“The Captain entrusted us with your protection, Guild Leader. We can’t leave you.”

The determination in her masked subordinates’ eyes was evident, but staying would only result in needless deaths. The best course of action was to retreat. Without looking back, Therese gave her command.

“That’s an order.”

“Understood.”

Without further protest, they retreated behind the wooden crates. Watching them disappear safely, Therese straightened her posture.

‘Monsters? Running away is the best option.’  

Even though leaving the Night Wolf, who was fighting with all his might, behind weighed on her mind.  

‘In any case, I wouldn’t be of much help to him.’  

As she gripped her dagger tightly and turned to leave, one of the monsters staggered toward the wooden crate where Therese was hiding.  

“…Damn it.”  

Holding her breath, she crouched low as the shadow of the monster loomed over the crate.  

‘Please, just go away.’  

Therese silently prayed, and soon the surroundings became quiet.  

‘Is it gone now?’  

She might have been lucky enough to avoid danger. As she cautiously raised her head, something sticky dripped onto her forehead. Then, a sharp hook glinted above her wide-open eyes.  

…Growl.  

The monster moved its hook as if it was about to pierce her eyes, and Therese screamed.  

“Ahhh!”  

At the sound of a woman’s scream, Jeremy’s body reacted instinctively.  

Throwing aside the monster he was fighting, he dashed out of the tent and leaped onto the crate. In one swift motion, he swung his sword, slicing the monster that had been attacking the woman into two.  

As yellow, sticky fluid splattered everywhere, Jeremy saw the woman crouched with her hands covering her head.  

“……”  

When their eyes met, Jeremy quickly turned his head away.  

‘Why is she here?’  

Although she was dressed as a man, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize Therese.  

‘In such a dangerous place.’  

In the tense situation, Jeremy’s heart grew restless.  

As he turned his back, Therese, having wiped off the sticky substance, hurriedly expressed her gratitude.  

“Th-thank you.”  

Jeremy knew he first needed to get her to safety. Without a word, he gestured with his eyes, and Therese moved quickly.  

When she pressed close to his back, holding her dagger, the monsters outside began tightening their encirclement.  

The salty sea breeze mixed with the stench of the monsters’ decay, making it nearly impossible to breathe in the area.  

“…Ha.”  

Both of them sighed at the same time.  

Dozens of hooks swung by the monsters gleamed before their eyes, and the ground became slick with saliva dripping from their jaws.  

Then, a flaming arrow flew in from somewhere, hitting one of the monsters, which twisted its body and roared in pain.  

‘Could it be His Grace, Duke Richard?’  

Feeling hopeful, Therese turned her head, only to see figures surrounding the monsters and the Night Wolf, revealing their identities.  

“By the Emperor’s command, capture the Night Wolf alive!”  

“Kill all the monsters!”  

With the sound of trumpets, the Emperor’s Imperial Knights appeared. Their presence as enemies, not allies of the Night Wolf, left Therese in a dilemma.  

‘What should I do?’  

If she stayed with the Night Wolf, she might be mistaken as his accomplice and attacked.  

But abandoning the man who had saved her life didn’t sit well with her either.  

…Growl.  

Therese stabbed a monster crawling like a centipede at her feet with her dagger, while the Night Wolf, deflecting the rain of flaming arrows, shouted urgently.  

“It’s dangerous! Run away!”  

“B-but…”  

“Go!”  

Amid the chaos, he lightly pushed Therese on her back, directing her toward the stacked crates. However, as she moved, Therese couldn’t shake her doubts.  

‘I’ve never seen this man before.’  

Strangely, the voice of the so-called Night Wolf felt familiar.  

Therese stopped in her tracks and turned her head. At that moment, she caught a glimpse of golden hair peeking out between the torn mask and hat.  

‘No, it couldn’t be.’  

The unease that had been weighing on Therese since earlier grew like a snowball.  

Surrounded by even more enemies, the Night Wolf was struggling. It was already difficult enough to deal with the monsters, but now the Emperor’s knights had joined in.  

‘He has no chance of winning like this.’  

Despite the situation, the Night Wolf showed no signs of surrender.  

For some reason, as he swung his sword, he turned his body, almost as if to check whether Therese was safe.  

Standing frozen in place, Therese locked eyes with the Night Wolf.  

In the moonlight breaking through the clouds, his familiar eyes were revealed, and the shocked Therese nearly dropped the dagger in her hand.  

“…Your Grace.”  

The Night Wolf was Duke Richard.  

Realizing his identity, Therese raised her hand to cover her mouth.  

As the two stared at each other briefly, a dark shadow loomed behind the Duke.  

“No!”  

With Therese’s scream, the monster’s hook dug deeply into his shoulder.  

The Duke immediately swung his sword, severing the monster’s arm with the hook and slashing its neck. The once-quiet harbor turned into a blazing inferno as monsters and flaming arrows swarmed the area.  

Therese, standing in a pool of monster blood, covered her nose with her hand to block out the acrid stench.  

“This is hell itself.”  

Amid the fierce attacks, the Duke’s hat had fallen off at some point. His golden hair shimmered in the firelight.  

As Therese hastily tied back her silver hair, which had become a nuisance, she locked eyes with the Duke once more.  

With his gaze, he urged her to run away.  

Even while confronting the monsters with a burning shoulder, he was still worried about her.  

“…Why?”  

Was he trying to fulfill his responsibilities as the head of the family, even in the face of death?  

Standing behind the wooden crates, unable to move forward or retreat, she hesitated as the infantry, armed with shields, closed in on the Night Wolf to capture him.  

‘At this rate, he’ll be caught.’  

Then she remembered what the newspapers had said.  

If they captured the heinous criminal, the Night Wolf, he would be publicly executed in the square.  

The Emperor himself had announced that he would preside over the event.  

Imagining Duke Richard’s body drenched in blood under the executioner’s gleaming blade made Therese almost scream.  

“No!”  

She didn’t want to see Duke Richard die.  

With her chest tightening, Therese came to a realization.  

‘I still love him.’  

She could no longer deny the feelings she had suppressed since her return.  

Perhaps she had come here not by coincidence but to protect the Duke.  

As the clanging sounds of spears and shields grew closer and the Duke’s exhaustion became more apparent, Therese clenched her fists.  

“I can’t just stand here.”  

As she prepared to run toward the blazing tent, someone grabbed her waist. The familiar scent made her quickly look into the person’s eyes.  

“…Roshan!”  

At a moment when she desperately needed help, she couldn’t scold Roshan for coming to such a dangerous place.  

“Master, I’ll hold them off here. Please take him and flee.”  

As always, Roshan already knew what she wanted.  

“But it’s too dangerous here.”  

“I’ll cover you and escape shortly after.”  

Roshan’s eyes were determined as he drew his sharp, blue-tinged shamshir.  

In this situation, Therese could only trust Roshan.  

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”  

Thanks to Roshan’s cover, she was able to approach the Duke.  

“Huff, huff.”  

Beneath the blood-soaked mask, red liquid dripped onto the ground, and the Duke leaned on his sword, barely standing.  

“Hold on to me.”  

The Duke, with his half-closed eyes, struggled to focus on Therese. He looked as though he might collapse at any moment.  

“…Quickly.”

Despite her urging, the Duke still did not move.  

From somewhere, the archers planted by Roshan began shooting longbows. The powerful arrows, capable of instantly shattering wooden shields, caused the Emperor’s knights and infantry to waver.  

“Master, now is the time!”  

At Roshan’s signal, Therese grabbed the Duke and began running forward without looking back.  

The area around the harbor was a chaotic mess, filled with flaming arrows pouring down like rain, longbows, the screams of monsters, and the sound of swords clashing.  

She couldn’t even think about looking back, biting her lips in frustration.  

‘Roshan. I’m sorry.’  

Leaving him behind, with his back injury not yet fully healed, and fleeing was not something she could easily come to terms with.  

Without even having time to wipe away her flowing tears, she ran frantically, only to be stopped by a black horse that appeared in front of her.  

“Are you the Duke’s horse?”  

Therese asked, but the horse only snorted in response.  

There was no time to question the horse’s owner, so she first helped the Duke onto it.