“Yes. Uh… Never mind.”
The subordinate swallowed the question that had almost slipped out: Are we bringing the civilian along? Instead, he led the way without another word.
As Aiger moved to follow, he instinctively reached out toward Raylin, but she shook her head.
With her lips firmly pressed together, she pointed insistently at her feet with her index finger as if to say, I can walk alone.
Since she was adamant, Aiger didn’t insist on carrying her for safety. Instead, he positioned her between himself and his subordinate, ensuring she was shielded from both front and back.
For a while, the three of them walked in silence.
Perhaps because Aiger and his subordinate were flanking her, even in this rough alleyway—where only the most seasoned criminals lurked—no one dared to approach, let alone attempt anything.
Creak, creak.
The damp ground, now so waterlogged that it groaned with each step, stretched for who knows how long.
“We’re here.”
The subordinate, having already received Aiger’s warning and a fair dose of his killing intent, didn’t spare the woman even a glance.
That didn’t mean he ignored her presence entirely.
On the contrary, he was hyper-aware of her every movement.
And how could he not be?
Has anyone ever seen His Highness take care of someone like this before?
Never. Not once.
To begin with, he had no close relationships.
He had many subordinates but no family to rely on, no friends, and no romantic interests.
Even when his men returned battered and bloodied, he would only give them a detached glance before moving on.
He was an ordinary citizen, not someone from the back alleys.
‘…And yet, you accompanied someone like that all the way here?’
Who is she? Could he be a long-lost family member?
No, that couldn’t be it.
The subordinate immediately discarded his first hypothesis, recalling the emperor—who, despite being the crown prince’s biological father, was obsessed with killing him.
Then, was she a newly recruited subordinate? Perhaps one who excelled not in physical combat but in intellect?
Even if that were the case, there was no reason for such a reaction… Wait. Could it be?
The subordinate squinted at Aiger, sneaking glances at him.
“Take care of your eyeballs before I rip them out.”
Aiger’s chilling warning was spoken in a voice so low that the woman accompanying them wouldn’t hear it. The subordinate obediently lowered his gaze.
However, his eyes gleamed with a mischievous and knowing glint.
‘They say assumptions can be deadly! My god, could it be that His Highness has someone in his heart?!’
Although he had jumped to a hasty conclusion without knowing the circumstances, the fact that he had come so close to the truth proved how sharp someone from the backstreets could be.
Noticing the insolence in his subordinate’s expression, Aiger twisted the corner of his mouth and added,
“Don’t speak to her. Don’t go near her. No, just don’t even look at her.”
“Ah, of course, of course,” the subordinate replied with a smirk, staring off into the distance while miming sewing his lips shut.
Though he acted cheeky, he wasn’t one to disobey orders, so Aiger let it slide.
Still, the fact that he even felt the need to say all that out loud was somewhat amusing to him.
Well, Duke Greuga’s daughter was precious enough for him not to mind putting her in his eyes, and even if it was only nominal, she was also his fiancée. So wasn’t this level of treatment only natural?
His emotions flickered and shifted rapidly, but Raylin—who was too busy scanning the building where Kertan’s sister was supposedly being held—noticed nothing.
“There are some thugs loitering inside. It looks like they’re trying to do something now that someone has come sniffing around, even if it’s just discarded goods. What should we do?”
Aiger glanced up at the building and replied in an indifferent tone.
“Get rid of them all.”
It was as casual as commenting on the warm weather.
His subordinate smirked at the decree that so effortlessly determined the fate of the scoundrels inside.
“As you command.”
His sharp, narrow eyes glinted with murderous intent.
He had already planned to slaughter them all, so a direct order like this was a welcome excuse.
“Kertan? That stiff new guy? And you want me to find his sister? Why should I… Ah.”
He trailed off as he realized the implications of the task, scratching the back of his head.
“Man, some things never change, huh? A famous novelist once said that all happy families are alike, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its way. But why is my misfortune overlapping with his? This is uncomfortable.”
After grumbling, he asked,
“But since you want her found, she’s still alive, right? Oh, I see. So he’s not exactly like me… No, wait! I’m not saying I want him to be! I’m not that insane! Ah, look at the time. I’d better get to work!”
With that, he returned to the back alleys—a place that was technically his hometown but would never feel like home.
Before long, he found Kertan’s sister.
“These damn bastards. They haven’t changed their methods in ten years.”
Looking at Kertan’s sister, whose broken body was teetering on the brink of death, he saw the shadow of his mother—who had been sacrificed in the same way long ago.
Clank. Creeeak.
A shrill, unsettling noise echoed from the rusted, decaying hinges. The stagnant air inside reeked of dampness and decay, spreading outward in a nauseating wave.
Even with his nose covered, the stench stabbed at him with sickening intensity.
Yet without hesitation, he stepped inside with a bright, open-mouthed grin.
Raylin, surveying the dim interior of the building—its windows either missing or crudely boarded up—asked,
“Should I come in too?”
“That would be best.”
Aiger nodded, taking a step forward before suddenly pausing.
“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
Raylin, whose hand was naturally intertwined with his, also halted. She blinked rapidly in confusion.
Sensing his tension, she instinctively tried to turn her head to scan their surroundings, but Aiger’s grip subtly tightened, keeping her from moving.
When she squeezed his hand in reassurance, his gaze slowly dropped to their joined hands.
Her hand, smaller and much softer than his, was also noticeably warmer—as if it were a lifeline keeping him tethered.
Had he ever unknowingly touched someone like this before?
“My prince.”
Not since he was a child when the empress would take his hand.
No—there was another time.
“You dare… How dare you…! How dare you…! How dare you…! How dare you!”
The day the perfectly sober emperor strangled him—the same day he became the crown prince.
Since Aiger did not respond, Raylin looked up at him. Although it should have been impossible to meet his gaze beneath the deeply pulled hood, their eyes met at that moment.
His verdant eyes showed no trace of anxiety, fear, or hesitation.
Those intensely clear and unwavering eyes held nothing but trust and curiosity toward him.
Their eye contact was brief.
Aiger was the first to look away, adjusting his grip on her hand.
Raylin, now unexpectedly interlacing fingers with him, was bewildered.
She had reached for his hand without much thought, simply to avoid separating from him as they entered the darkened place…
Yet, his slightly cooler, much rougher, and significantly larger hand gripped hers tightly as if anchoring her in place.
The pronounced knuckles pressed firmly, but not painfully, fitting their hands together like perfectly matched puzzle pieces.
This is a bit…
But before she could fully grasp what felt “a bit” off, she had to adjust her pace to match his long strides heading inside.
The first floor of the three-story building was empty.
No—more precisely, there had been people, but now they were gone.
Whatever Aiger’s subordinate, who had entered first, had done, the few people who had been there were now sprawled lifelessly in various states of death.
Due to the lack of proper lighting, Raylin did not see them, and since Aiger maneuvered carefully around the bodies, she remained completely unaware of their presence as she passed through.
When they were halfway up the creaky, decaying staircase leading to the second floor—
Bang! Crack!
“Kill him!”
“You lunatic! Don’t swing your blade at me!”
“Where the hell did this slippery bastard come from—gahk!”
“Aaaargh!”
A cacophony of shattering, splintering sounds erupted, followed by curses and screams.
The explosion of noise, shaking the entire building, felt even more jarring after the previous silence.
Without needing to exchange words, Aiger and Raylin bolted up the stairs in unison.
“Catch him! Just grab the bastard first!”
“If you think you can—”
Shhhhk.
“Ughhh!”
Raylin saw a man’s arm sever cleanly before her eyes, but she did not witness the grisly scene that followed.
That was because Aiger immediately stepped before her and deflected whatever was flying toward her.
The interior, though damaged and partially collapsed, was still dimly lit.
Frowning, Raylin narrowed her eyes and peeked out from behind Aiger’s arm, attempting to grasp the situation.
However, she could only make out occasional sparks flashing between clashing blades and dark, shifting figures crumbling and being thrown aside.
Aiger covered her eyes with his palm and gently pushed her back, whispering,
“Stay here.”
“Alright.”