Constantine held her tightly, like he wanted to feel her alive again. As their cheeks touched and her warmth transferred, Caligo’s voice faded away again.

“…Rest.”

Though his voice was low like a whisper, to Saena, it sounded firm and trustworthy.

“But…”

As the extreme tension released, strength left her body.

As her body collapsed limply, he whispered again while supporting her.

“You’re safe now.”

Nothing would harm her now. She could rest assured. Like that.

Perhaps because of that trust,

Saena collapsed immediately as soon as she felt relief, as if she had barely been holding on until now. As he caught her drooping body, Constantine’s face turned cold.

“Your Grace.”

“Sir.”

“Due to my inadequacy… the Madam was put in danger.”

“How could it be only your fault that Castle Cream lacks knights capable of closely attending to Saena.”

Constantine added while holding out Saena in his arms to Rupert.

“Take good care of your master and go down.”

There was no more time to waste.

“Yes.”

“Call a doctor as soon as you get down, and send up the knights.”

“Understood.”

“Go quickly.”

Constantine drew his ink sword and took his stance. He felt them moving away behind his back.

Facing forward, Constantine assessed the demonic beast’s identity.

The black-skinned demonic beast was indeed not a species that normally appeared in this region. It was even less the kind that Rupert, who had just started training against demonic beasts, could handle.

Then this was surely the prince’s doing.

‘I’ll make you regret choosing this territory to cross into.’

Though he wasn’t sure how someone who wasn’t even an Oathkeeper managed to arrive in the northeastern territory at what seemed like the speed on a warp gate, if the imperial family had ancient items like sealing vessels, they likely had other ancient items too.

Then they probably had one or two items that aided movement.

That made the most sense.

The black demonic beast was now within reach.

The beast let out an eerie howl while drooling between its dense fangs. Then it charged with its mouth wide open.

Slash!

Constantine nimbly moved behind the charging beast while swinging his ink sword. The sound was different from when Rupert had blocked the beast.

This was both because Constantine knew that the weakest point of this beast’s skin was below the calf, and because he wasn’t just using the power of a normal sword but overlaying Caligo’s power on the blade.

Slash! Scrape!

Constantine repeatedly struck the same spot in a hit-and-run pattern.

Grrrraah!

Though the beast went wild, raising its claws even higher in anger from the pain, he who had spent well over ten years just hunting demonic beasts wasn’t fazed at all.

Dealing with just one beast, not even multiple opponents, wasn’t really even work for him.

He was just not killing it quickly because it was a beast that had troubled Saena.

—Kuhahaha! Dieeee!

Only Caligo was excited and going wild.

Scra-ape!

Finally, the black beast’s leg lost strength from another sword strike. With a thud! sound, its massive body collapsed to the ground.

Grrrr! Even when lying on the ground, the beast struggled to raise its upper body with its arms, desperately trying to attack the human, but it was just that—struggling. A beast that had lost mobility was just food for Caligo.

Constantine looked down at the beast with an emotionless, even cold gaze as he let his shadow flow. Soon the beast was enveloped in black darkness and began to be devoured with chilling sounds.

—Oh, this is a taste I’ve rarely had lately. Back in the previous previous master’s time when we cooperated a lot with the neighboring area…

The critique that Caligo started spewing wasn’t something he wanted to hear. He was tired of this situation.

Using all his effort to block out Caligo’s voice as much as possible, he shook off the beast’s blood and fl*ids from his ink sword.

‘Next…’

He looked up at the mountain ridge with coldly sunken eyes.

* * *

—Hey. Wake up. Are you okay?

Saena frowned at the voice trying to wake her and briefly opened her eyes.

Her stiff eyeballs made her vision hazy. She slowly focused while blinking several more times.

“…Yuri?”

“Saya?!”

And an urgent voice broke through the momentary gap.

“Mmm…”

“Are you conscious? Saya!”

“…Con…stantine?”

Constantine was looking down at her with a complexion that seemed even whiter than hers.

“……”

Where was this? Ah, Castle Cream’s bedroom.

“What about the demonic beast? The poisoned fish…”

Saena asked, recalling her last memory.

“I caught them all. Don’t worry.”

“What about the poison…?”

Even if they caught the poisoned fish, what about the poison? The toxins released into the upstream water source would still remain.

“For now, we’ve evacuated the villagers and closed off the water source.”

“Ah, then I should be able to purify it.”

When Saena tried to get up while answering, Constantine stopped her.

“No. You need to rest more. Stability comes first.”

“……? But I’m fine.”

“Hah…. Do you even know how many days you’ve been unconscious?”

Come to think of it, the dark circles under Constantine’s eyes looked suspicious.

“How many days was it?”

“Three days.”

“…What?”

“You didn’t wake up for three days.”

Do you have any idea how I felt during that time?

Constantine buried his forehead in the hollow space between her neck and shoulder while muttering.

Three days…. Why had she slept for so long?

Of course, her body had been very tense from the life-threatening situation, and she felt her whole body creaking from the great shock of the black demonic beast’s strike (though the bracelet had blocked it), but…

Still, to sleep for three days…

“—Miss!”

Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud commotion from outside.

“Move aside! I must see with my own eyes!”

Saena opened her eyes wide and stared at the door.

“…What’s going on?”

That voice sounds familiar?

“I’ll go check.”

Constantine got up.

“Our Miss couldn’t have died!”

Miss–! Waaah!

The habitual cry of “Miss” followed by heart-wrenching sobs.

‘…Sir Rupert?’

It was definitely his voice.

But why was Sir Rupert crying so bitterly about my death?

As soon as Constantine approached and opened the door, a large figure tumbled inside like a giant doll. Several knights who had tried to stop him also fell inside with him, causing Constantine’s expression to turn cold.

“Are you aware this is the Duchess’s bedroom?”

“We-we’re sorry, Your Grace!”

The knights quickly got up and apologized. Though they apologized to Saena too, they raised their voices while looking in the opposite direction.

Though they had crashed in while trying to stop Rupert, they seemed determined not to look toward the bed.

“Mi-Miss! You’re, you’re alive! Huwaaaaah!”

However, Rupert’s concerns were completely different.

Unlike the other knights, he crawled toward the foot of the bed while streaming tears.

“Si-Sir? Wh-what’s wrong?”

“I knew you were alive! I never believed it! That you had passed away! These rotten rumors!”

Despite his mountain-like build, Rupert looked up at her from below the bed while continuously crying.

“There were… rumors that I died?”

Why would that be? Was it because I came down the mountain unconscious?

“Ye-yes…. I naturally thought it was just a false rumor, but when no one saw you for days, everyone said it must be true…. Huwaaaaah!”

He was so shocked that he kept crying even while rambling about what had happened. Saena felt both dumbfounded and touched by this completely new side of the usually mischievous Sir Rupert.

Who would have thought she’d grow so attached to the guard knight Sage had assigned her.

“If you’re done confirming, you can leave now.”

However, there was someone particularly short on patience—Constantine.

While draping a large shawl over Saena’s shoulders, who was wearing just a thin sleeping garment, Constantine ordered mercilessly. His tone was full of irritation.

“Come to think of it…”

Saena pulled Constantine, who was standing close while putting the shawl around her, even closer and whispered in his ear.

“What about the prince? Did you catch him?”

Constantine shook his head briefly.

How capable he is. One can’t help but admire the prince’s escape abilities with each passing day.

“If rumors spread like that, he might think I’m dead too.”

The thought of him probably rejoicing right now somehow made her feel bad.

“Hmm…?”

But at her words, Constantine’s eyebrows twitched, and he seemed to think about something for a moment.

“Perhaps…”

And added in a low voice.

“He might be somewhere nearby.”

Usually, people of that nature tend to want to see the suffering of their victims firsthand…

“Wait, you.”

Constantine stopped Sir Rupert, who was about to leave with a normal face after wiping his tears.

“Yes?”

“You need to cry a bit more.”

“…Pardon?”

“Don’t clarify the rumors, and keep acting depressed.”

A confused face wondering what this was all about. Rupert hoped for a slightly more detailed explanation.

“If you can’t do that, don’t come out of your room for a few days.”

“……”

Though he was harshly criticized,

Rupert glanced at Saena as if in last hope. She smiled at him.

‘Do as he says.’

When she mouthed these words, he nodded in understanding, though he didn’t know why.

“And call Sir Wesley.”

“Yes!”

This order was easy. Rupert left the room while transforming his expression into a gloomy one.

Meanwhile, Constantine sank into serious thought.

He’s managed to run away quite well until now, hasn’t he?

A crooked smile appeared on Constantine’s lips.

‘…Finally.’

It’s time to hunt.

Now that Saena had awakened, nothing would hold him back.