The news of the victory of the Flügel Knights led by Jurgen seemed all too natural in this northern region.

The vassals of Rivadel Castle, including the people of the territory, welcomed the returning knights with familiarity.

A simple victory celebration was held, but Vanessa did not attend. It was clear that she, who was like a rolling stone that had come in, would only dampen the mood.

The vassals of Rivadel Castle were perplexed by Vanessa’s sudden appearance, and Vanessa understood them. They were equally uncomfortable with each other.

The queen of a fallen country, suddenly captured as the Duke’s prisoner, and eventually becoming his fiancée.

An ominous princess rumored to bring misfortune.

Someone they’d rather not get close to, yet couldn’t be rude to.

That was exactly Vanessa’s position in this Rivadel Castle.

✦ ✦ ✦

The road from the north to the capital was a smooth highway with few stumbling blocks.

The weather was clear, and even the biting wind that usually cut to the bone wasn’t blowing today. The large four-wheeled carriage for travel advanced leisurely on the flat dirt road. It was undoubtedly an easy journey.

However, for Vanessa, it was unfortunately like sitting on pins and needles. Because she had to ride in the carriage with Jurgen. Being in the same space with him for a long time was not good for her mental health in many ways.

The distance from Drake’s duchy to the capital was about four days. During that time, Vanessa had to endure and tolerate Jurgen, even though she was scared and uncomfortable. The letter hidden secretly in her bosom must absolutely not be discovered.

Fortunately, Jurgen didn’t make any unnecessary contact, so it seemed unlikely that the letter would be discovered. As usual, he just quietly observed her while keeping a strange distance from her.

Vanessa felt like she was suffocating under his gaze, but she tried not to show it. Her plan to act affectionately towards him to make him let his guard down was still in place.

So when their eyes met, she would put on a kind smile or pretend to be harmless while watching his reactions.

Jurgen sneered at such behavior, as if he saw right through her intentions.

Turning her head away from Jurgen’s sharp gaze, Vanessa looked out the window. The scenery of the vast plains passed by quickly. The red reed fields dyed by the sunset… like a sea of blood.

Absorbed in those colors, Vanessa suddenly remembered a story she had heard from Garcia.

[Ah, and this is just a minor addition… Our Duke, when he was young, had red eyes. But don’t mention this in front of him. He doesn’t like to hear about it.]

Red eyes when he was young…

And a color as vivid as blood at that. It wasn’t something common. She seemed to have read somewhere about the ancestors of the Drake family having blood-red eyes, but she couldn’t remember the details.

‘Come to think of it…’

Vanessa suddenly recalled a dream from a few days ago.

A dream she had while unconscious after being kidnapped by Escal.

A boy with red eyes. A promise to never abandon.

What was that dream about?

I don’t have such a memory…

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

“……!”

Startled by Jurgen’s sudden voice, Vanessa flinched greatly. Hurriedly shaking off her thoughts, she stammered with a bewildered expression.

“How unusual for you to speak, Duke.”

“……”

He didn’t engage in unnecessary small talk with her. He mostly gave orders or reprimands, and until now, their conversations hadn’t progressed much beyond that.

A one-sided relationship where one side oppresses, and the other cowers. That was all it was.

“It’s annoying if you’re having unnecessary thoughts.”

Jurgen said in a cold tone, as if he had no other intention.

Vanessa, who had something to feel guilty about, was about to flinch again but barely suppressed her body’s reaction. Then, trying to maintain a composed attitude, she carefully spoke up.

“Actually, I heard a little about your past from Sir Garcia…”

At this, Jurgen, unusually, showed a reaction by twitching his eyebrow. Seeing the man who seemed like he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed show even a slight agitation, Vanessa looked at Jurgen with surprise.

One corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and then a distinctly sarcastic voice came.

“…So? Did you feel sympathy? Or did you come to despise me?”

Vanessa, taken aback, blinked with a rather dumbfounded feeling. Jurgen’s words continued with a fierce intensity.

“You must have heard about the previous duchess and my half-brother too. A ruthless bastard who kills even his own blood without hesitation, a revenge-crazed madman obsessed with blood — you must think of me that way too, don’t you?”

Unable to understand Jurgen’s sudden hostility, Vanessa could only gape blankly.

She only said that she heard about his past from Garcia… Why did the conversation jump to that point? He really was a strange man.

“…I think you’re misunderstanding something, Duke. I’ve never thought of you that way—”

It was then.

Screech!

The carriage suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Vanessa, who almost fell forward and planted her face on the floor, was quickly caught by Jurgen.

Raising her head from his arms, Vanessa looked up at him in bewilderment. Jurgen’s gaze was directed not at her, but outside the window.

Following his gaze as she turned her head, Vanessa muttered blankly.

“What…? What’s happening all of a sudden…”

“You stay here quietly. Don’t come out of the carriage under any circumstances.”

After seating Vanessa, Jurgen covered her from head to toe with a blanket and rushed outside.

Vanessa, perplexed and wondering what on earth was going on, carefully crawled to the window to look outside.

The shouts of knights could be heard through the walls and windows of the carriage, and for some reason, a sensation similar to the rumbling of the earth could be felt.

‘What is it? What’s…’

Just as Vanessa was about to slightly open the window…

A large eyeball with vertically slit pupils suddenly intruded into her field of vision.

“Eek!”

Vanessa fell back from the window, startled enough to have a seizure. Her head was spinning, almost in a state of panic. What was that? Could it be—

“Don’t let the demonic beasts approach the carriage!”

At that moment, Jurgen’s command struck her eardrums, and Vanessa snapped back to her senses.

Demonic beasts!

So, their party was currently under attack by demonic beasts.

‘How could demonic beasts appear on the main road?’

Demonic beasts, animals transformed by the influence of natural mana, usually inhabited deep forests, mountains, or swamps.

She had never heard of demonic beasts appearing on a main road alongside such a wide plain. What on earth was going on in this situation?

Vanessa tightly gripped the blanket with both hands, listening to her own pounding heartbeat.

The demonic beast that had been clinging to the window disappeared from view, spraying blood, presumably dealt with by one of the knights. Vanessa stared blankly at the blood-splattered window, listening to the noise penetrating her ears.

The sound of blades clashing against something hard, the impatient cries of knights, bizarre howls and roars she had never heard before…

It felt unreal. A truly extraordinary situation. For Vanessa, who was witnessing demonic beasts for the first time, it was inevitably terrifying.

Thinking it might be better to just close her eyes and cover her ears, Vanessa curled up, covering her ears with both hands and tightly shutting her eyes. Just wishing for this situation to end soon.

However, her innate misfortune wouldn’t leave Vanessa alone so easily. The carriage suddenly shook, and the ceiling seemed about to collapse.

“Kyaa!”

Vanessa let out a shrill scream and rolled her body to avoid the collapsing ceiling structure. A large stone was crushing a wooden plank that had fallen from the sky.

Realizing she had nearly been crushed to death there, Vanessa’s face turned pale.

‘I knew it. Nothing ever goes smoothly. This cursed misfortune…’

Vanessa crawled towards the carriage door, shedding a few tears. Though she was more than accustomed to her abnormal misfortune by now, when death came so close, she couldn’t help but feel resentful.

After wiping her tears with trembling hands and taking a deep breath, Vanessa grasped the door handle. The remaining half of the ceiling was also about to collapse. To avoid being crushed by the debris, she had no choice but to get out of here.

Crack– Just as the thick wooden planks were splitting and the ceiling was about to collapse, Vanessa hurriedly opened the door and jumped outside.

No sooner had she done so than the ceiling came crashing down with a rumble, and the carriage sank in on itself.

Vanessa, her legs giving way, plopped down on the ground and stared blankly at the wreckage of the destroyed carriage. If she had been trapped under there, she wouldn’t have even left bones behind.

‘Thank goodness I escaped… I really almost died.’

After letting out a brief sigh of relief, she looked around with evident tension. The horde of demonic beasts and the knights were engaged in a chaotic battle.

Amidst that melee, Jurgen alone was displaying inhuman prowess.

Vanessa stared blankly at the stigmata that had appeared in his brightly shining eyes. A geometric pattern of several lines undulating like waves. So that was the stigmata of Vüs, the god of wisdom and madness…

“Your Highness!”

Someone’s voice, filled with shock, was heard. Vanessa, startled by a loud thud nearby, turned to look in that direction.

A massive demonic beast — which looks like a mix between an eagle and a snake — had landed on the debris of the wrecked carriage and was glaring at Vanessa with its bright yellow eyes.