The enemies were now leisurely forming ranks and blocking the escape route. Behind them, Lars could see Quido bent over in pain, groaning with his face deeply cut. Kirhin raised the corner of his mouth.

“At least that guy, will be easy to recognize from now on. I’ve, given him a face, that suits him…… Cough.”

“Shut up, Kirhin!”

Blood clots spurted through Kirhin’s teeth. Lars pressed the wound with more force, but it was futile.

His gasping breath quickened. Kirhin’s life was endlessly slipping through the gaps between his fingers.

“Take, take good care of Lucy. Keep her, safe. Since I, I dragged her into this.”

His beautiful blue eyes flickered dimly. Kirhin raised his trembling hand and placed it on Lars’s hand as if making a request. His low voice came out in fragments.

“Still, tell her I was, really happy because she was there……”

His pale face dropped without finishing his words. His elegant yet flamboyant purple velvet jacket was completely soaked with blood.

Lars’s lips began to tremble as he gripped Kirhin’s hand, which still retained its warmth. The enemies’ voices echoed.

“Kill him!”

Lars gritted his teeth as he swung his sword at the opponents rushing toward him. Quido’s injury from Kirhin seemed deep, as he couldn’t move easily now, but once he rejoined, there would truly be no chance.

Reason was screaming that he should open an escape route, but his eyes reflexively turned toward Quido, who was clutching his face in agony. He felt he couldn’t bear it if he didn’t kill him right here.

“Yaaah!”

The sword blade, charged with a terrifying force, cut down the enemies, but there were too many of them. Those who had finished dealing with the situation outside were gathering one by one toward them.

Strength kept draining from his injured shoulder. As he adjusted his grip on the sword and corrected his stance with his throbbing hand, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.

“Commander!”

With a thud, the man standing at the outermost position collapsed. The sound of clashing blades echoed loudly. Spotting Yanken’s face beyond the enemies’ shoulders, Lars gritted his teeth and raised his sword again.

“This way, quickly!”

Hardy and Rafkin gestured. The number of men gathered outside the storage room was gradually decreasing. As he knocked down the attacking enemies and ran toward Yanken, acrid smoke enveloped him. The upper floor was an inferno.

“Quido, I have to kill Quido.”

“No, there’s no time. We need to escape first!”

“The flames have almost blocked the entrance! We must leave now, Commander!”

The heat from the flickering flames felt like it would burn his entire body. Lars, gripping his sword firmly, looked toward the back of the storage room. Beyond the people, he could see Quido’s deeply torn face as he staggered and raised his head. Blood was heavily splattered on what had been a clean face, creating a horrifying sight.

“Hurry!”

Rafkin kicked away a persistent attacker with all his might, clearing a path. The flames were burning his hair and collar as he broke through the front. If they delayed any longer, Rafkin would be the first to become a lump of charcoal. Lars, looking back at the storage room, gritted his teeth and turned his body.

The roof began to collapse due to the enormously growing flames. The desperate screams of dying people echoed terribly amid the chaos.

* * *

Suddenly feeling like I heard something, I raised my head. But the darkness outside the window was only eerily quiet. As if she had been waiting, Maya approached and carefully asked.

“Miss, how about having dinner first? It seems the master’s business is running late. And we have guests too.”

“We’re fine.”

The guards, who had been stealing glances at my face without uttering a word, shyly waved their hands. Nix also nodded. He maintained his usual impassive expression, but I could read a subtle tension in his stiffened shoulders.

“I know it’s impolite to keep invited guests waiting, but let’s wait a little longer.”

At my words, the maids awkwardly positioned themselves near the kitchen again. I picked up my teacup. The tea had long gone cold, but I didn’t want to ask for a fresh cup. Silence descended.

With the guards present, it was awkward to chat about merchant group business, and Nix was not someone who could be described as sociable even with polite small talk.

I was trying hard to suppress my anxiety. After all, Kirhin, who had suggested we have dinner together, had been missing for hours, and instead, five strong men had shown up.

Nix had simply said that Kirhin “received an urgent message and went somewhere, telling us to go to the mansion first.” My first thought was of his numerous lovers, but I couldn’t understand why he would send Nix and the guards.

What could have happened?

……Could the Count have done something again?

I lowered my eyes. My chest felt tight.

Recently, as I had been engrossed in merchant group work, Kirhin, unable to stand it any longer, had headed to the merchant group today in my place, insisting that I should rest. Unable to tell him that not going would actually help me, I went to see him off, and he poked my cheek.

‘Today, read all the books you like. You haven’t been able to visit the library at all because you’ve been working.’

‘It’s fine……’

‘I know you’ve been piling up books on the table in front of the library to read when you have time. You need to read all of them. And when I return, talk to me all through dinner. Understood?’

There were more than ten books piled up—how was I supposed to read them all today?

But I didn’t complain. Since things had turned out this way, I thought it would be nice to rest for a day and read books. Of course, I’d have to spend another day fixing the ledgers Kirhin had messed with.

So I sent him off and spent a leisurely day reading books. But now.

“This is strange.”

I muttered quietly as I got up from the sofa. He was late, too late. Even the servant sent to find out what was happening in town should have returned by now. Feeling an odd chill on my shoulders, I rubbed my arms.

“Perhaps he’s meeting a lover? He’s been so busy lately that if someone spotted him, they wouldn’t let him go easily.”

Maya, quick to notice, brought a blanket and draped it over my shoulders as she spoke. I turned to look at Nix.

“Do you really not know where he went?”

“No. He only said he had urgent business.”

Nix’s answer was stiff, but I didn’t miss him glancing at the guards. He clearly knew something more but couldn’t talk about it in front of others. That was frustrating, but it made it difficult to press further.

Leaving the guests once again in awkward silence, I walked to the window and quietly gazed outside.

The wind must be blowing, as the bare branches swayed in a desolate manner. The window was vibrating slightly. Feeling an ominous sense that a demon reeking of blood might burst in at any moment, I frowned. The unpleasant face that had once exuded the smell of real blood came to mind.

Just recalling that memory made my palms sweat. It was the first time in my life I had ever been so tense. He was born cruel. A man with the eyes of a beast.

……Will he be alright?

As I gazed deeply into the darkness, the fear in my heart spread beautiful green eyes before me. I slowly traced my thoughts.

Merchant groups inevitably circulated all sorts of rumors. To buy and sell goods smoothly, the members of the merchant group all kept their ears open and collected every piece of news. And among the news they brought, some caught my interest.

I had heard that Prince Pelowic was planning to leave for Freemont to attend the wedding ceremony of the legitimate prince of the Duchy of Freemont.

The people were very interested in the relationship with the duchy. Since Freemont was originally Edmus territory, there were often debates between the radical faction who believed they should invade and take it back and the moderate faction who prioritized peace, having had enough of war.

Prince Pelowic was known for his gentle nature and his emphasis on the nation’s peace. His anecdote of personally visiting the frontline camp in the final stages of the war with Askun was also famous.

The fact that the prince of Freemont had invited him, and that he was attending, meant their relationship wasn’t bad. The moderate faction was enthusiastically supporting Prince Pelowic’s decision.

Given the timing, Lars’s reason for going to Freemont must be related to Prince Pelowic.

Considering that he had influenced the late Baron Bickman, chosen to create a merchant group to oppose Count Balshwin, and emphasized the succession of the title to Kirhin, this thought carried even more weight.

Perhaps it will become more dangerous from now on.

That man’s visit to this mansion was just the beginning. He wouldn’t stand by forever watching the Nix merchant group make a lot of money.

Well.

“What does it matter if dangerous days come?”

Dangers lie like pebbles on the path of all who wish to live. Having realized early through my father’s death that people can die unexpectedly at any time, I knew that all we could do was endure until Death’s blade struck our necks.

So living each day doing what we wanted was the best approach.

“……If we keep enduring like this, maybe someday we can go on a journey.”

I smiled as I muttered quietly.

How wonderful would that be? I could almost vividly picture Lars smiling back at me amidst amazingly beautiful, unfamiliar landscapes, with Kirhin following behind, complaining. Nothing could be happier than that.

Such imagination seemed to ease my tension a bit, and as I let out a faint sigh, I suddenly spotted a light flickering in the distance. It looked like the carriage sent to bring my brother.

“Maya, prepare the food. My brother is here. Sofia, bring out warm towels, and Brook, please open the door.”

At my cheerful voice, the servants who had been standing blankly began to move busily, as if they had been waiting for this. Nix and the guards hurriedly rose from their seats. I stood beside Brook, who was rushing to fling open the door, holding the hem of my dress.

Kirhin particularly enjoyed my welcome, so I had to do it on a day like today.

“It’s snowing.”

Seeing white snowflakes falling in dots, I looked up. Snow was falling beautifully, fluttering as if someone in the sky was sprinkling it down. My white breath was drawing distinct shapes through it in the darkness.

Kirhin would surely make a fuss about why he was late as soon as he got out of the carriage. Then I would wipe his hands with a warm towel while primly complaining, and we would sit at the table and have a late dinner with our guests.

While everyone was busy satisfying their hunger, he would listen to my stories about the books I had read and laugh, and our evening would flow peacefully. With the guards present, playing card games would be fun too. I could almost hear the boisterous sounds already.

I smiled as I watched the approaching carriage. The end of a day no different from usual was leisurely approaching.