Chapter 66. The Cruise Operation

“Not follow? Then what? Get killed by my mother?”

Helen trembled but seemed to swallow her tears with effort. Her determined glare was surprising. She continued speaking.

“I’m not an idiot. If Sezad escapes, my mother will suspect me first. Did you think I came to you without any resolve?”

Helen was right. Since she had come to me asking to save Sezad, she was practically an accomplice.

Isabelle would interrogate Helen in some way. But since she was Isabelle’s biological daughter, she wouldn’t be treated too harshly.

But Helen seemed certain that Isabelle would kill her.

“To my mother, Paris is the only child that matters.”

“……”

“It’s been that way since forever. No matter what, I was always secondary, and she only cared for Paris.”

Helen’s resentful words silenced everyone. To an outsider, it might sound like the spoiled complaints of a noble lady, but living in the Blanche household, I understood her.

Helen was like the ugly duckling of the Blanche family. To the conservative Duke Blanche, a daughter was just a tool for marriage alliances.

Moreover, since Helen lacked exceptional abilities, she focused only on maintaining her appearance. It was well-known that she had multiple lovers to fill the void of unreturned affection.

And the result of her reckless life was marrying while pregnant with another man’s child. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“So, I’m justified. I’m just taking the trust fund that was supposed to be my dowry.”

Helen seemed to be trying to rationalize the situation.

I just smiled. What would she do if she realized later that she wasn’t just taking the trust fund?

“Take care.”

With those words, Helen and Sezad boarded Aster’s black carriage. Following that, Aster and I, dressed in Helen and Sezad’s clothes, boarded the wedding carriage.

The wedding carriage headed to Port 1 as planned. Shortly after, figures presumed to be from the Black Shadow came into view.

* * *

Among the crowd boarding the ship, men in black moved busily. The wing-shaped bow tattoo on their wrists confirmed they were from the Black Shadow.

They usually only took orders from Duke Blanche, but occasionally responded to the Duchess’s summons.

The special summoning device gifted by the Duke allowed only three communications with them. Orders received through this device didn’t require the Duke’s approval.

Their active hours were mostly at night. The target’s location was already confirmed. By now, they were probably enjoying a hot honeymoon.

‘Capture my daughter alive. Kill the man and throw him into the sea.’

Isabelle was as ruthless as Duke Blanche. She gave such an order as casually as if she were taking a stroll.

Of course, the Black Shadow only needed to follow orders. The cruise was already sailing in the middle of the sea.

As night deepened, the bustling hall quieted down, and the chandelier lights were turned off, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

The Black Shadow closed in on their target. Soon, they entered the room with daggers in hand.

“!”

But the bed was empty. Just as they were about to chase after the target they had missed.

Fwoosh–!

Fire suddenly blazed in the dark room. The room, which had been silent, lit up, revealing a silver-haired man sitting on the bed, waiting for them.

Sezad Vaikan, their target, was nowhere to be seen. Helen Blanche was also missing.

While they were flustered, flames surrounded the Black Shadow. Normally, they would have killed the assassins in one strike, but capturing them alive was the priority.

Blanche’s unique fire attribute ability drove the Black Shadow. The floor showed no signs of scorching, but the flames were a threat to the Black Shadow alone. Several of them were already groaning from burns.

Aster scanned the masked group. Seeing no familiar faces, it seemed they had sent the lower ranks of the Black Shadow. After all, the leader wouldn’t move on Isabelle’s orders.

‘We must capture the one who looks like the leader. He’ll know the most.’

Recalling Camilla’s instructions, Aster remained vigilant. Their opponents were specialized assassins. Capturing them alive was no easy task.

Just then, the one who seemed to be the leader drew his sword and asked.

“Where is Sezad Vaikan?”

“Who knows.”

Aster replied shortly and stood up. At that moment, Aster’s ability was forcibly nullified.

“!”

Without time to be surprised, the Black Shadow began attacking him. Aster drew his sword from his waist and faced the charging group.

Clang—!

Sword energy flowed between the clashing swords. With various sword energies colliding, it was only a matter of time before the surroundings were devastated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Camilla was observing the situation from a place with a good view of Aster’s room. Francis’s knights were guarding her.

Although she had joined the Blanche family, she still retained her authority as the young duke of Francis. These were elite knights who moved according to her orders.

“Young duke.”

A knight who confirmed the Black Shadow was approaching Aster’s room quietly called Camilla.

She signaled them to wait and watched the corridor. The Black Shadow might have dispersed their forces to prepare for various situations.

Even if not, it was important to block their escape routes and isolate them. Being in the middle of the sea posed a risk for the Black Shadow as well.

Soon, the Black Shadow infiltrated Aster’s room. As expected, some didn’t enter but headed elsewhere, and Camilla ordered the knights to follow them.

The knights moved swiftly to capture any stragglers. Camilla worried about Aster, who was likely facing the Black Shadow alone in the room.

Although she had heard from Brix that Aster was a magic swordsman, she had never seen his skills, which made her even more anxious.

She was about to move with a few knights to help Aster when an explosion sounded, and flames erupted from Aster’s room.

* * *

“Aster!”

Seeing the flames, I ignored the knights calling from behind and rushed to the room. My heart pounded at the thought that something might have happened to Aster.

Running down the corridor, I reached the door, and the situation was even more dire. The door was practically blown off, and the room was filled with thick smoke.

I covered my nose with a handkerchief and called out desperately for Aster as I entered the room.

“Aster! Cough, cough!”

The acrid smell of gunpowder filled my mouth, making my throat scratchy. Judging by the strong smell, it seemed the enemy had attempted a suicide bombing.

The room was silent. I couldn’t see anything due to the smoke, which made it hard to gauge the situation.

Someone grabbed my arm forcefully.

Bang—!

With a loud noise, the person who tried to attack me was pinned against the wall, groaning.

“Cough!”

Surprised by the sudden attack, the knight who had followed me surrounded my attacker.

I could easily guess who saved me. The moment I was held in those broad arms, I knew who it was.

“Aster, are you alright?”

“…Why did you come when I told you not to?”

Fortunately, Aster’s voice seemed fine. As the smoke began to clear, the surroundings gradually became visible.

In Aster’s arms, I saw the bodies sprawled on the floor and gasped.

“Huh!”

The bodies were unrecognizable, torn apart by the explosion. The lingering killing intent felt like it was piercing my skin like a mirage.

Frowning at the gruesome sight, I held my breath, and Aster covered my eyes with his hand.

“Don’t look.”

“…Are you sure you’re okay?”

At first glance, it was a gruesome scene. Aster, who had been with me, must have been caught in the explosion as well.

I fidgeted to check his condition, but Aster didn’t let go of me.

“We failed to capture the one who seemed to be the leader. I didn’t expect him to have implanted a self-destruct spell….”

“Is capturing him important right now? Let me go.”

I sharply retorted and pulled myself roughly out of his embrace. Even through the thick smoke, I could tell he wasn’t in good shape.

Seeing his tattered sleeve made my anger flare up. Maybe he noticed, as Aster smiled slightly.

“I’m fine.”

“Fine? What do you mean fine!”

Tears welled up. In my distress, I unintentionally blamed him.

“I heard you were a magic swordsman! You said you could handle it on your own, so why did you get hurt!”

“I’m sorry.”

Aster apologized without even making an excuse. It seemed we needed to check his wounds properly in a brighter place.

I hadn’t expected him to be so reckless. If I had known, I would have insisted on keeping a knight by his side, even if he protested.

While I was scolding Aster, the Francis knights checked the state of the Black Shadow members lying around.

“They’re all dead.”

It seemed the one who attacked me last had also died. Aster must have used excessive force while trying to protect me unconsciously. Aster looked troubled at the knight’s report.

“What should we do now?”

“We’re not done yet. The Francis knights are chasing the remaining assassins, so we just have to wait.”

“We’ll go check.”

When the knights moved, I grabbed Aster’s hand.

“Come with me.”

Aster followed me without a word, sensing the severity of the situation.