‘Damn it. Not a medic but an assassin. Who ordered this?’

Tally firmly grasped Rudbeckia’s hands as they moved busily.

“Greg… took my daughter hostage… threatened me to kill Caleb. Keh, kugh!”

Greg!

Tally, realizing the poison was spreading through his throat, thought he needed to hurry and give Rudbeckia as much information as possible in the minute or second he had left.

“Rud. Not just me… all the next opponents are Sanders knights. Our families are being held hostage… He said he’d only release the family of the one who kills Caleb… ugh, cough cough!”

— Grrr

Rudbeckia ground her teeth. She thought she only needed to warn Caleb, but she never imagined such a trap, not even in her dreams. She was so stunned that tears wouldn’t even come.

“I heard defeat meant death… but I never thought… I’d face death like this… Tell them. That I died by poison. Rather than poison, I should have died honorably on the battlefield… ugh.”

She had only prepared plenty of handkerchiefs and gloves, thinking of blocking the poison in advance. Considering the possibility of being poisoned, she should have brought some medicine to slow its spread! She put her hand on her waist to check if she really had nothing.

But of course, a dress wouldn’t have pockets. Damn it!

“I understand. I understand, General. I will definitely relay your message.”

For knights, death by poison was the most disgraceful end. Being poisoned meant you had let your guard down. She firmly held both of Tally’s hands. His hands were already growing cold.

Biting her lips hard to hold back the curses that threatened to spill out, she swallowed hard.

“General… any last words for your family? I swear—I’ll save your daughter. You have my word.”

Both he and Rudbeckia already sensed that there was nothing they could do. She kept her breathing as quiet as possible so that Tally could leave his last words.

The viscount, who was raising a daughter around the same age as her, always bought two of everything when buying gifts for his daughter. Whenever he visited the Grand Duke’s residence, he would give the second one to Rudbeckia. He was a kind-hearted person.

“Tell her I’m sorry… that I love her……”

— Thud

Tally’s head, which had been looking into Rudbeckia’s eyes, fell to the side.

“General, General Tally. I will definitely rescue your daughter. Not just your daughter, but the families of all the other knights too. I will definitely rescue them all.”

So rest in peace. She firmly grasped the viscount’s hand, pressed it to her forehead, and murmured as if in prayer.

What an absurd situation. Once again, the final moments of someone she cared for were etched into her mind.

Her genius-level memory—she wanted to get rid of it even if she had to sell her soul to the devil.

Tally’s final moments would also be forever remembered along with the dark pool of blood. Even without closing her eyes, the image of her mother like a hedgehog and the vivid red blood appeared right before her as if happening right in front of her.

“Ha, really. Greg… every minute, every second he’s left alive is a waste.”

Was his goal to exterminate not just the direct and collateral lines of the Sanders family, but all the territory’s people as well? Uncontrollable anger prevented proper thinking. The next move. What would Greg’s next move be?

‘How can I warn the Sanders knights to be careful of poisoning? Think. Think. Think!’

While she was racking her brain, she heard movement outside the tent. Rudbeckia quickly hid behind a pile of stretchers in the corner.

Without needing to deduce, they were clearly coming to dispose of Tally’s body. What other business could there be in a tent with only stretchers and a corpse?

“He’s dead.”

“Let’s move him quickly.”

White clothes with white cloth covering their noses and mouths. But they weren’t in military uniforms.

‘They seem to be just people assigned to handle the body. I can’t see their eyes, but with blue hair, they’re likely from Sanders.’

Rudbeckia stood in front of them just as they were transferring Tally from the cot to a stretcher.

She pointed a dagger at the throat of the one closest to her. It happened in an instant, without a sound.

“You… you are—”

“Since you recognize me, you’re definitely from the Sanders grand duchy. Is that really Greg’s doing?”

She nodded toward Tally’s corpse.

“Th-that……”

“You don’t care that your comrade died?”

“If you cause a commotion here, it’ll be troublesome for you too.”

There was logic in his words. What if she were arrested for murder on the spot? What were the chances of a successful escape? How long would it take to make the murder scene look like it wasn’t her doing?

But she couldn’t retreat like this. Rudbeckia pushed the dagger in just a little deeper.

The man whose throat was caught let out a groan trapped in fear. He couldn’t even beg for his life, afraid that the movement of opening his mouth would cause the dagger to cut him.

“Why do you follow Greg? What are Greg’s intentions?”

“We must follow Greg to survive. If we don’t follow Greg, we’ll die like this man.”

“Why is Greg trying to kill Caleb?”

“We don’t know that either. We’re just doing what we’re told!”

A loud cheer came from the arena. Caleb had certainly appeared.

Rudbeckia withdrew the dagger from the man’s throat and threw it at his companion.

“Where are you taking him?”

At her question, they revealed the location of a hill where they were to bury the bodies. Though they had become Greg’s subordinates, they were still from Sanders. Unlike Greg, they retained a shred of conscience.

‘I can at least recover and bury him in a sunny place.’

Rudbeckia left the tent and ran toward the stands, but stopped abruptly in front of the stairs.

If she went in like this, all eyes would be on her. A noble lady would rather die than walk around in such a state. Drawing attention wasn’t good.

Her neatly braided hair had become disheveled from roughly pulling out the dagger.

She slowly climbed the stairs, loosened her hair completely, then neatly tied it up again and reinserted her hairpin. Smoothing her crumpled, dirt-stained dress, she headed toward where her companions were.

“Rud…?!”

Despite her best efforts to tidy up, the bloodstains on various parts of her crimson dress were clearly visible.

“It’s not my blood. Haah… where should I begin… I won’t have time to talk to Cal until the match ends, right?”

“Not except when he comes to give the ribbon.”

Rudbeckia stared at the arena with an expressionless face.

Her face without a smile was sometimes chilling. Her dense golden eyes that seemed to see through people and her high nose bridge were even intimidating.

“Rud, what happened?”

“Zeno… well……”

She whispered the news of General Tally’s death into Zeno’s ear so that Elfleda couldn’t hear.

In an instant, Zeno’s face also hardened.

Elfleda instinctively realized it was something related to the Sanders grand duchy. After all, only that border stood between them and her.

“Miss Daniella, can you use the wind to remove the opponent’s helmet?”

She nodded and mumbled something with her mouth open.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew off the helmet.

Seeing the face hidden under the removed helmet, Caleb’s eyes filled with bewilderment.

‘I definitely heard he lived with just his mother……”

Caleb glanced at the young man, recalling details about him.

The young man picked up his fallen helmet, put it back on as if nothing had happened, and went to the end of the tilt barrier to take his position.

‘Pierre! He volunteered as soon as the war broke out. To earn money for his mother’s treatment! Father even called a healing priest for him because of his skill and filial piety……”

Why? Why? Why?

While Caleb was pondering, the flag came down sharply, and the young man, Pierre, from the Sanders grand duchy charged with his thick lance held high. With an expression devoid of the slightest emotion, he struck the neck of Caleb’s beloved horse Renault.

— Neeeeeigh!

The horse buried its head straight into the ground. Then it only made wheezing sounds, unable to get up. A wave of sighs spread through the stands.

Since only the horse was incapacitated and Caleb hadn’t dismounted, the announcer suspended the match instead of declaring defeat. Grooms moved busily, and Caleb’s horse was taken out of the arena.

While a new horse was being prepared, the two men stood side by side at their original waiting place.

“Pierre. How……”

“Lord Caleb. The Sanders grand duchy is like hell right now. Greg has taken families hostage and sent knights here.”

Caleb turned his head in surprise. Pierre’s horse was blocking his view, but he could tell that Pierre was staring straight ahead with an unwavering, emotionless expression.

Following his gaze, Caleb looked straight ahead and slightly upward.

Greg and Baningo were looking down at them.

“He said he would only spare the family of the one who kills you.”

In a split second, dozens of thoughts raced through Caleb’s mind. Should he lose for Pierre’s sake? No, it’s not just defeat but death… His shoulders trembled with fury at Greg’s atrocity.

Pierre continued to spew words like a machine gun without pause.

“If I defeat you, I can only save myself and my mother. But if you stay alive, you can end this hell, right?”

He poured out his words like a waterfall, as if he had prepared this speech long ago. Without breath or pause, he rapidly spilled everything, afraid someone might hear or that he wouldn’t finish in time.

“Of course! I will reclaim the name and land of the Sanders grand duchy, everything. How many have come up to the capital?”