The knights who had been waiting for their duke’s return from the forest were left speechless. It was because there was a woman slung over Shed Lester’s shoulder, like a freshly killed deer.

“Master! Who is that woman—?”

“…Prey.”

“P-pardon? You mean… a person?”

If anyone else had said it, it would have sounded like a joke. But because it was Shed Lester, none of the knights could take it that way.

Whether he knew of their bewilderment or not, Shed dropped the woman he’d hunted in the forest onto a supply cart.

The petite woman, dressed in bloodstained clothes, curled up and trembled. The knights thought to themselves,

‘He didn’t kill his prey, after all.’

It was a relief. But that didn’t mean this situation was fortunate for the woman herself.

The blood splattered on her clothes stood out starkly—

“Duke Lester! You didn’t actually… hunt a person, did you?”

A knight’s eyes widened when he saw the woman’s calf. So that’s where all the blood came from—it was clearly her leg.

The wound was a bloody mess, making it hard to see the injury itself, but the bleeding hadn’t stopped.

“Even if you just returned from the battlefield, this is—”

“Hedrick.”

After putting the woman down, she glanced sideways at the knight. Hedrick fell silent at once. Whatever had happened, it was clear that their lord was not to be questioned.

“Get the medicine.”

Shed gave the terse order. Hedrick immediately dashed off to fetch the supplies.

While the knight was gone, Shed turned his attention back to Liana.

He bent down, reaching for her wounded leg, but the small body recoiled, flinching away from his touch.

How pathetic, he thought.

Where did she think she could run?

“It would be wise to stay still.”

Shed grabbed her trembling leg without mercy. Then, ignoring any sense of shame she might have felt, he tore away the long stockings that covered her knees in a single motion.

“Ah—”

Her face twisted in pain as the blood-soaked fabric peeled away, exposing the deep bite marks left by the beast.

“…Luise.”

“…Liana.”

When he called her by name, she corrected him.

“Liana Serpens…”

Her small fist clenched tightly around the filthy maid’s dress, her face filled with fear. Stubborn terror flickered in her green eyes.

“…Fine. It doesn’t matter what name you use; it changes nothing.”

Shed tore the hem of his white shirt, twisting the fabric into a makeshift bandage. He wound it tightly above her bloodied knee, and Liana recoiled as if in protest.

“I’m fine…”

Liana shook her head and tried to pull away from his grasp. She didn’t want to rely on him for treatment. In fact, she didn’t want anything to do with him. He was a reminder of a past she had struggled desperately to leave behind. She would rather be hunted by wild dogs again.

At that moment, his violet eyes, hidden beneath long lashes, lifted and landed on her. Just meeting his gaze made her heart plummet.

“…I see. You look fine enough. With any luck, you’ll only lose the leg.”

His voice was so flat, Liana couldn’t even tell if he was mocking her.

Shed rose without a word and fetched a water jug hanging from the side of the supply cart. Once again, his large hand seized her ankle.

“Bear it.”

After the short warning, clean water poured over her wound. Liana bit down hard on her lip, her body curling from the pain that threatened to steal her breath.

“Ahh…!”

As the water dug into her injury, the pain only grew sharper. Liana squeezed her eyes shut, stifling her cries between her teeth.

As the blood washed away, the deep bite marks left by the beast stood out starkly on her pale calf. Should she be thankful that her flesh hadn’t been torn away entirely?

It was a wound so severe that even a trained knight would have cried out, yet Liana did not let out a single scream.

Shed stopped pouring water and looked at her again. Blood was seeping from the lips she had bitten to endure the pain.

“…You still have that habit of biting your lips.”

His low voice sent her heart plummeting. He remembered a habit even Liana herself hadn’t noticed.

“You should break that habit. Unless you expect me to treat your lips every time.”

There was a hint of irritation at the end of Shed’s words.

Just then, Hedrick returned with a box of medical supplies.

“I brought them, my lord. Should I—”

“I’ll do it.”

When Shed held out his hand, Hedrick hesitated briefly, but then obediently handed over the box. It was stocked with medicine, bandages, and other necessities for the long journey.

Shed dismissed the knight and knelt on one knee. He pulled Liana’s injured leg onto his own knee.

Because the bleeding still hadn’t stopped, blood began to soak into his trousers.

Shed didn’t hesitate, beginning to apply ointment directly to the torn flesh. The moment his ointment-covered fingers touched her leg, Liana’s body jolted reflexively.

“Ah…!”

“I told you not to bite your lips.”

He frowned when he saw Liana bite her lip again, unconsciously.

She hated the fact that he could see through habits she wasn’t even aware of. But what she hated even more was the thought of appearing weak or complaining of pain in front of him.

She tried to endure the pain without biting her lip, but each time his fingers brushed her wound, she had to stifle a moan.

With every effort to hold it back, her trembling lips curled inwards almost of their own accord.

Then, his long fingers gently brushed her bloodied lips. Unlike his blunt, cold words, his touch was unexpectedly gentle as it skimmed her sensitive skin.

“Hnn…”

A hot breath escaped from between her parted lips. Startled by the sound she had made, Liana quickly turned away, dodging his hand in the process.

His hand lingered in the air for a moment before dropping as if nothing had happened. Liana pressed the back of her hand firmly against her lips.

Meanwhile, Shed finished bandaging her leg with practised skill. Liana was confused by his touch.

Even as she contemplated her resentment, her heart ached from its unexpected gentleness.

“Stop…”

Her voice trembled as she spoke. The man paused in the middle of tying off the bandage at this.

Seizing the opportunity, Liana pushed herself up from the supply cart she had been sitting on.

“I’ll be on my way, then.”

She turned to leave, almost fleeing, when a cold voice halted her in her tracks.

“You should pay the price for being saved.”

Her limping steps came to a sudden stop, as if something had caught her by the chin.

He had rescued her from the hounds and even treated her wounds. It was only right that she show her gratitude.

“…Thank you very much.”

She finally fished some crumpled bills from her pocket and offered them to Shed. All she wanted was to pay her debt and sever any tie with him.

Shed glanced at the worn-out notes and scoffed.

“Three della? That’s all?”

He stood and looked down at her, his height—far greater than she remembered—felt overwhelming, almost oppressive.

“Do you really think this pitiful amount will settle things?”

A cold sneer crept across Shed’s face as she offered him money that didn’t even cover a single meal for him.

He was a grand noble of the empire, master of vast lands.

Liana’s face flushed red with shame.

Three della was all she had in the world.

Helplessly, she realized she had no way to repay her debt to Shed Lester.

“But…”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t take payment.”

He cut her off before she could explain further, tossing the leftover bandage back into the medical box with a flick.

“I intend to collect it—properly.”

Shed reached inside his jacket and drew out a locket pendant.

Click—

He opened it, revealing an old scrap of paper folded inside. It was a newspaper clipping, so worn that the ink had faded and flaked away in places over the years.

Though the letters had blurred, Shed could still read the headline he’d looked at countless times.

The Extinction of the Ideana Family: Brought to an End by the Inquisition!’

Below the bold headline was a row of etched portraits, the Ideana family rendered in crude print.

In the center, a young girl’s face stared blankly straight ahead. Beneath her portrait, her name was written in tiny letters:

Luise Ideana

‘As I thought… there’s no resemblance at all.’

Even when the article was published years ago, he’d thought the print was poorly made and clumsy.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of his usually dry lips.

Click—

The locket snapped shut in his hand.

Among what people believe to be truth, there is often a measure of falsehood mixed in.

And for a long time, Shed had believed that lie.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Luise Ideana—no, Liana—was loaded onto the supply wagon like a piece of luggage.

With the tarp pulled fully over the cart, she couldn’t see outside. All she could sense was the endless jostling of the wheels as the cart rolled on.

Liana clutched her collar with trembling hands and curled herself up tight.

‘…Why did he have to be there, of all places?’

She’d always been wary of how close the Lester duchy was, and planned to leave quickly as soon as she found what she was looking for.

But fate, as if mocking her efforts, dragged her straight to him and offered her up like a sacrifice.

Liana hugged her arms around herself and shrank further.

Just then, the cart stopped.

“Get out.”

The canvas at the entrance was drawn aside, and a tall shadow appeared, his back to the light.

Within that shadow, violet eyes gleamed, watching her as if keeping guard.

Beyond his back, she saw a familiar estate.

The Godwin barony.

Once the grand residence of the baron who had served as director of the Dynaemes Library—the greatest cathedral archive in the world—now it stood as the stark reality she was forced to accept.

‘We’re at the baron’s estate…?’

A strange sense of relief, mixed with uneasy suspicion and nameless anxiety, swept over her.

Just then, Liana’s body was suddenly lifted into the air. Her old shoe, which she’d been wearing on just one foot, slipped off and fell to the ground.

“P-put me down…!”

Liana found herself slung over Shed’s shoulder.

“With that leg, you can’t walk inside on your own, can you?”

“I can walk…!”

But Shed paid her protests no mind and strode forward.
Carrying Liana over his shoulder like a sack of luggage, he headed for the main gate of the Godwin estate.

A guard stepped in to block his way.

“Who goes there?”

The young guard looked at Shed nervously. There was something about this unfamiliar visitor that was intimidating — he was clearly no ordinary criminal, just from the way he carried himself. But it was the colour of his eyes that truly stood out…

“I have something to deliver to Baron Godwin.”

“To the master…?”

“Tell him that Duke Shed Lester has come to call.”

At the mention of his name, the guard’s eyes widened in shock.