The rough voice that burst out urgently made Noah tilt his head slightly and raise his eyebrows lightly.

“I had no intention of keeping her here anyway.”

At Noah’s calm yet deliberately provocative response, Xenon’s lips twisted slightly. Just as he considered grabbing Noah by the collar—

“But… what about the tavern? Will it be okay?”

Xenon was momentarily stunned by Rudis’s genuine concern.

“Is that really important right now?”

Xenon shook his head in disbelief and sighed. Rudis hesitated before asking again.

“Is it okay to leave it unattended for so long? Already because of me…”

“Nothing is more important to me than you right now.”

It was his typically glib response. Yet this time, it was a sincere sentiment that could no longer be brushed off playfully.

Rudis, who had been trying to change the subject, didn’t know how to react and remained silent with an awkward expression.

A subtle tension filled the room. Noah’s face was contorted, looking like he had heard something he shouldn’t have. Xenon glared at Noah with a challenging expression.

Rudis looked back and forth between the two men, feeling uncomfortable. In the suffocating tension, she struggled to speak.

“Well, shall we get going now?”

“Let’s do that.”

Perhaps sensing Rudis’s discomfort, Noah nodded gently and naturally guided her. Xenon followed with a displeased expression, but just before reaching the tower entrance, he called out urgently.

“Ah! That bastard will be outside.”

Rudis paused and looked at Xenon.

“…What bastard? Who are you talking about?”

Xenon hastily added:

“The beast bastard who made you like this.”

“Iska? Is there a problem with that?”

Surprised by Rudis’s calm reaction, Xenon raised his voice in bewilderment.

“What if he lunges at you!”

Before Xenon could finish, Noah interjected:

“Then we’ll just kill him, won’t we?”

His voice was so calm and matter-of-fact that it was chilling.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t do that.”

Rudis raised her voice firmly. Xenon looked at her with an expression of disbelief. His red eyes were filled with confusion, unable to understand.

“What? After he did this to you?!”

Xenon could no longer suppress his anger and raised his voice. Meanwhile, Noah maintained his calm demeanor. An ominous feeling brushed against Xenon. Noah’s gaze toward him was filled with arrogant composure mixed with mockery.

“I expected that. That’s the kind of person Lady Rudis is.”

Noah’s gentle voice was filled with the conviction that only he truly understood Rudis. Xenon felt a sense of crisis.

“But are you really coming with us? You’ve never left the tower before.”

Rudis carefully asked Noah before turning the doorknob.

“Yes. This time, I won’t leave you alone.”

His smile reached the corners of his eyes, clearly a ploy to enchant Rudis. Xenon, unable to hide his irritation, abruptly grabbed Rudis’s hand.

“I’m coming too.”

Rudis looked at Xenon, momentarily surprised, then answered with a bewildered expression.

“…Thank you.”

At that moment, Noah’s gaze shifted to Rudis and Xenon’s clasped hands. His already cold face froze even further.

Just as the uncomfortable tension began anew, making Rudis feel awkward—

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion shook the entire tower. Cracks began to form on the walls, spreading like lightning across the sky. The entire tower swayed precariously, threatening to collapse at any moment.

Rudis swallowed her scream. Xenon quickly swept her into his arms and leapt through the pile of debris.

“What in the world…”

Having escaped the tower, Rudis looked around. The scene before her eyes was shocking. Most of the tower had collapsed, transformed into nothing more than fragments of stone.

Even the entrance, which had barely been holding up, was on the verge of collapse.

Noah walked out slowly, parting the dust. His expression showed neither surprise nor bewilderment. Rather, his attitude suggested that this entire situation had been anticipated.

“My… there seems to have been an accident.”

How could anyone be so composed? Noah remained calm even in this situation. The entrance completely collapsed behind Noah after he exited the tower. Almost as though he had been holding everything together.

Looking around with a dazed expression, Rudis’s gaze fixed on one spot among the debris.

“…Iska?”

Her heart sank the moment she spotted the familiar figure. Iska was amid the rubble of the collapsed tower. His body was covered in blood, with flesh torn in several places.

Without hesitation, Rudis ran to embrace Iska.

“Lady Rudis.”

Iska was dying. His breathing was shallow, and his eyes were half-closed. Rudis knelt on the ground and desperately murmured with a trembling voice.

“Don’t speak. You’ll be alright. Everything will be fine.”

Xenon watched the scene from a distance. His gaze toward Rudis was filled with complexity. He found it difficult to understand Rudis’s sympathy for Iska. Every time he recalled the wounds the beast had inflicted on Rudis, anger welled up inside him.

Simultaneously, Iska’s miserable state stirred something deep in Xenon’s memory, his own childhood when he stood at death’s door.

Noah stood one step behind, observing the entire situation expressionlessly. His sharp, twitching gaze moved between Rudis and Iska. He seemed lost in deep thought, mulling over something.

Trapped in the debris, Iska barely moved his lips.

“I’m sorry… Please forgive me.”

Tears mixed with blood flowed down Iska’s pale face. His blurred eyes trembled, seemingly trying to grasp one last hope.

“Please don’t abandon me… You promised. Please…”

His hand, groping at empty air, fell limply. His breathing grew increasingly faint, foretelling Iska’s end.

“I understand, so don’t say anything!”

Rudis bit her lip and began clearing away the debris. She couldn’t stop even though her fingertips were torn and bleeding. But the debris was too heavy and solid. Desperation alone wasn’t enough to save Iska. Her breathing became rough, and her body began to tremble.

“Help me! Please help me!”

Rudis cried out desperately. But the answer she hoped for didn’t come. Instead, Noah looked down at Rudis with cold eyes.

“Always asking me for such things.”

Noah’s voice had sunk into coldness.

“So you’re going to repeat the past after all.”

Under his piercing gaze that stabbed like a dagger, Rudis pleaded again with a trembling voice.

“It won’t happen again! Please. I’m begging you!”

However, Noah’s face still showed no emotion. His cold eyes stared at her without wavering.

“I’ll do it.”

At that moment, Xenon approached, knelt beside Rudis, and began clearing the debris without hesitation. Noah watched Xenon for a moment, then with a deep sigh, extended his hand toward the pile of debris.

The massive stones began to scatter lightly, seemingly losing their weight.

When the large stones disappeared, what was revealed was a black choker around Iska’s neck. Rudis’s gaze wavered.

At that very moment, a system message appeared before Rudis’s eyes.

[Please name your pet.]

Confused by the sudden message, Rudis looked at Iska with a perplexed expression. Iska’s blurred eyes were focused on Rudis without clear direction.

“Iska… you…”

The moment Rudis realized the meaning of the choker, Iska continued speaking through sobs.

“It’s okay to treat me like livestock… I’ll do anything, just please… let me stay by your side… I know. I know how badly I’ve treated you, Lady Rudis. I regret it. So… if I can just stay by your side like this… Please make me your pet…”

Noah interrupted Iska’s words with a cold voice.

“Don’t trust him. Beast-people have no sincerity.”

His voice was sharp as a blade. Noah’s expression was frozen cold as ice. Yet simultaneously, his eyes burned like lava.

“Save that talk for later and help with this!”

Xenon shouted as he lifted the last massive stone. Rudis added her strength too. Together, they managed to pull Iska out from between the barely lifted stones.

Iska’s condition was even more serious. Deep wounds covered his entire body, and there wasn’t a single uninjured spot. The fact that he was still alive seemed miraculous. Rudis’s hands began to tremble.

“Still… potion…”

Rudis muttered with a desperate face, feeling for where her bag should have been. But she soon realized the bag was gone. Her gaze turned toward the collapsed tower.

As she moved toward the tower in a trance, Noah blocked her path.