Aaron glanced at the knights standing behind him and moved forward without delay.

Lucilia’s chest tightened with worry about whether the passing knights would look at her with contempt or resentment.

Having acted independently to move troops, Lucilia confessed before facing the aftermath.

“Young Master!”

Aaron slowly turned his head.

His eyes, gazing down from a few steps above, were filled with murderous intent.

Feeling his sharp gaze piercing her soul, she took a deep breath and moved her lips.

“I was at the south gate when the emergency occurred. So…”

“So you moved the soldiers and knights?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“We’ll discuss that later.”

It was like walking on thin ice.

Perhaps due to her extreme tension, the scenes of greeting Aaron were fragmented in her memory. All she could remember was Aaron’s expression, looking as if he could tear someone apart.

Lucilia lingered outside until he entered his office, then climbed the stairs.

She thought she should prepare some refreshments, even simple ones, for the emergency meeting with the knights.

She wanted to be of some help, but Karen had already taken care of it before she could give instructions to the servants.

It was the first time she envied Karen’s comprehensive management.

It was enough to give her a sense of deprivation—unable to properly understand even the internal affairs of the mansion, let alone act as its mistress.

* * *

Knights sat around the long table. Soon, the guard captain and Knight Joel, who had remained in Tudra to command the troops, entered the study.

Aaron pressed down on the two disciplined men with a fierce gaze and asked:

“Casualties?”

“Sixteen civilian deaths, twenty-three injured, and on our side, four deaths and twelve injured.”

At Joel’s answer, Aaron’s eyebrows curved with displeasure.

“So there weren’t that many of those Mrangel bastards.”

“Roughly less than twenty. But because they attacked on horseback, civilian casualties were high. If the young baron’s wife hadn’t gathered all the troops, our forces would have been scattered, resulting in even greater damage.”

There had never been such a provocation before. Not in Tudra, protected by Aaron Artnal, known as the ‘Black Fog.’

A mocking laugh escaped through Aaron’s clenched teeth.

“I hear they did this right in front of the south gate. If they were that close, why didn’t the soldiers guarding the walls notice their movements?”

“They disguised themselves as farmers and vagrants, attacking as they moved from the village toward the castle. We failed to notice due to negligence. We apologize.”

Opening trade routes to provide livelihoods for the villagers came with drawbacks. Even with strengthened security, there were limits to screening.

The guard captain and Joel bowed their heads, feeling as if they were crossing a precarious bridge.

They should have captured them alive, but the invaders skillfully rode their horses and escaped pursuit.

After they all fled, all that remained was a devastating defeat.

Aaron unclasped his hands and slowly tapped the table.

“What are these bastards planning…”

Not only did they cross the border, but they fearlessly attacked Tudra.

It was puzzling why those who had been raiding along Echorn, the southwestern border region, would suddenly target Tudra.

Although Tudra also bordered the frontier, its military strength wasn’t weak enough for them to casually encroach upon.

“Strengthen the border security and tell them to increase scouts in areas where our guards are stationed.”

“Understood.”

Rombon, who answered, signaled with his eyes for the guard captain and Joel to leave.

An uneasy silence descended in the office.

Everyone waited for Aaron to break the silence.

After organizing his thoughts, Aaron ordered them to disperse instead of continuing an unnecessary meeting.

Everyone rose with gloomy expressions, and Rombon and Aaron also left the stuffy study.

Lucilia didn’t go up to the second floor but continued waiting downstairs.

Perhaps because she had witnessed the attack with her own eyes, the brutal scene wouldn’t leave her mind.

She had things to say to Aaron and was curious about the extent of the damage, so she couldn’t leave her spot.

After waiting anxiously for a long time, the firmly closed study door opened.

Knights covered in anger emerged, followed by Aaron, wrapped in an even deeper layer of indignation. The gloomy atmosphere that had accumulated in the office poured out all at once, casting a shadow.

Unable to approach hastily, she was just about to catch the timing to speak when Hans suddenly stopped Aaron in his tracks.

She couldn’t hear exactly what they were discussing, but Aaron’s expression was rapidly hardening.

It seemed he hadn’t received urgent news about the greenhouse fire.

So the inevitable had finally come.

Just as she was sinking into the crisis of facing his unbearable anger, Aaron exploded with fury as expected.

“There was a fire in the greenhouse? Why on earth!”

When his thunderous voice struck, Lucilia shrank her shoulders.

The anger he directed at Hans seemed to transfer directly to her. Her muscles tensed as if struck by a whip, and her body hair stood on end.

“It seems the fire spread from the heating device. And… the pergola is completely burned, with only its frame remaining.”

Even Rombon, who was accompanying Aaron, couldn’t withstand the chilling aura emanating with frightening intensity and nervously bit his lips.

Hans, who oversaw the mansion, was no different from a criminal. His face drained of blood, fidgeting and looking only at the floor—it was pitiful.

“Punish the caretaker according to regulations.”

As he said this, Aaron looked at Lucilia.

She flinched preemptively and turned her body, while he signaled to Rombon and Hans to return to the study.

Left alone, Lucilia exhaled deeply with a miserable feeling.

The unbridgeable distance was embarrassing, and she was anxious about being pointed to as the cause of the disaster that had befallen Tudra.

What should she do if Aaron didn’t believe in her innocence?

Should she reveal the arsonist?

She would also need to tell him that she had been pretending to have lost her sacred power.

She had wanted to approach him as an ordinary human…

She needed to reflect on whether it had been a futile desire.

But thinking about it, the priest’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

Negative thoughts ultimately breed evil. So one must consciously distance oneself from dark thoughts.

“Right, there’s no need to worry about things that haven’t happened yet.”

If only Aaron didn’t suspect her, she might be able to use this opportunity to express her unjust treatment of being blamed as the source of misfortune.

It wouldn’t be too late to talk when he came up to the bedroom after handling urgent matters.

* * *

The murky atmosphere that had barely cleared revived again.

Aaron asked for Hans’s opinion.

“Of all places, it’s the greenhouse. Was the heating device managed so carelessly?”

“The greenhouse caretaker has raised questions as well. He checks it twice a day, and even that morning, there was no problem. But without evidence beyond the caretaker’s claim, we can’t be certain.”

“Is there a possibility that someone deliberately committed arson?”

“If so, they would have a purpose, but it’s vague as there’s no one particularly suspicious.”

“Secretly investigate everyone from the servants to outsiders who enter the mansion.”

Aaron paused briefly.

To control emotions, one must move one’s lips slowly. Unrefined language and sharp shouts were poison to his coolness.

Losing his self-control as soon as he heard the report of the fire was already enough.

Aaron, pressing his fatigue-laden brow, said quietly:

“The greenhouse… don’t restore it, including the pergola. Just close it as it is.”

“Don’t we need to investigate the greenhouse to catch the culprit?”

“They would have sneaked into the greenhouse when no one was around, so it’s clearly the work of someone familiar with the castle’s circumstances. The more quiet we are, the more anxious the culprit will become. Our goal is to find someone showing suspicious signs.”

“I will do so.”

“One more thing.”

“Please speak.”

“Hold funerals for the deceased and provide ample consolation money to each family. Compensate the injured as well.”

“Yes, I will follow your orders.”

Hans didn’t add anything more.

Normally, Aaron would have been the type to dismantle the greenhouse piece by piece to find the arsonist.

He knew Aaron was taking a long detour to protect the pergola, which barely had its frame left.

How could he give up the only remaining trace of his mother?

It was simply a matter of investigating diligently as Aaron had instructed.

After Hans left, Rombon carefully gauged his superior’s mood.

“If you’re tired, shall we look into it later?”

Aaron had called Rombon back because he had more instructions.

Piling up tasks that needed to be handled was unacceptable. Knowing Aaron’s temperament, Rombon was also prepared to move quickly.

Though it wasn’t urgent enough to compete for every second, he needed to deliver results first.

But wasn’t soothing his master’s complicated feelings more important than work?

“Ah… I’ll report to you tomorrow.”

Aaron simply pushed away Rombon’s loyalty.

“Go now.”