Ch.11Moth (5)

Serin flew towards me with incredible momentum. I instinctively tried to catch her, but ended up hiding my blood-stained hand and supporting her with just my other arm.

“Wow, Rian, you’re so strong! Supporting me with just one hand.”

“How did you…”

How did she get here? How did she break in through the window? I had so many questions, but they all disappeared the moment I saw her bright smile.

Wondering if I was hallucinating, I glanced toward the window and saw a long rope swinging back and forth.

A chill ran down my spine.

“Serin… you didn’t…”

“Hey! Stop right there, Rian. It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s definitely not. You trust me, right?”

How could I possibly trust her?

I filtered through every word of Serin’s excuses.

The end of the rope must have been securely anchored to the outer wall with a hook, positioned right above my window.

This wasn’t something that could be prepared and executed in a short time. That meant Serin had completed all this work before the assassination threat even occurred.

‘Serin didn’t come here because of an assassination threat…’

The assassins must have been bewildered too. When they arrived at her room with knives ready, their target had already disappeared without a trace. Serin hadn’t foreseen the assassination, nor did she have particularly sensitive hearing.

She had simply… executed this dawn operation to see my bare face with her own eyes.

“Excuse me, but I’m experiencing fear for the first time in my life.”

“Oh come on! I told you it’s not like that. I came to rescue you, my little kitten.”

She declared in a deliberately lowered voice. The succession of statements that left me speechless turned my mind blank. She casually jumped to the floor, then stood in front of me to block the assassins.

“Step back. You’ll get hurt.”

“Who’s going to get hurt? Do you know whose daughter I am?”

“Serin.”

“I understand your concern since our first meeting was our first meeting, but if I hadn’t drunk that drugged alcohol, I wouldn’t have been caught so pathetically, you know?”

She took her stance. Without any weapons. It was a combat posture, with her weight on her back foot and her front knee slightly bent.

“Watch carefully, Rian. This is the content of the deal I wanted to show you.”

In an instant, she bounced like a wild horse and leaped with elasticity. Then Serin twisted her body in mid-air like a dancing performer. The violent momentum poured down on one assassin who was slow to react.

Whoosh!

A spinning kick that rotated like a top in mid-air hit precisely at the temple. The man who was attacked instantly slammed into the wall, drooling.

Thud!

“This is a 540-degree back kick, you know? What do you think? Are you going to mock this as vulgar too?”

“Aaaaargh!”

“Ah shit, you startled me.”

Crack!

Serin continued speaking as she drove her heel down onto the crown of another assassin who rushed at her.

“What’s with you? Just staring blankly. Is this too vulgar for you too? You’re really too much.”

“Beautiful. Extremely.”

“What?”

“…”

Immediately, Serin rushed toward me with a strange gait. Then she jumped up and down like a whining child, demanding an answer, creating a dissonance with the serious situation.

“Say it again, Rian. What am I like? Should I tell the truth, my little kitten?”

‘Is this… madness?’

If I had to describe it precisely, it was clear madness. What else could you call someone who frolicked through such a scene as if it were a children’s playground?

I’ve seen people who had unfortunate childhoods sometimes suffer from madness. Rodrick said the children I’d seen were quite common. She, who had been packaged as a delicacy in the imperial palace while doing menial tasks, must have nurtured the seeds of madness since childhood.

“Poor soul…”

“Excuse me?”

“…I’m sorry, Serin. I’ll leave this to you.”

Sob.

I didn’t want to show that I pitied Serin. If she found out, it was obvious she would feel uncomfortable. So I made a harsh decision.

“W-what did you say?”

“At dawn… again…!”

I ran. I ran endlessly, turning my back on Serin. I distanced myself so I wouldn’t have to face the madness born from her sadness.

“Riaaaaaaaan!!!”

I couldn’t hear her. I had to ignore it. All for her sake.

‘Condemn me as a coward if you must, I’ll gladly accept it.’

Far away, her anguished scream caught the back of my neck, but I deliberately shook it off heartlessly.

The sound of bones breaking. The wailing of assassins. Serin’s angry outbursts.

Never had I felt more pathetic than at this moment. My pathetic self who couldn’t fully accept her madness…

Nothing would change as long as I couldn’t remove this cumbersome mask.

“Was it that hard to say it one more time?!”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

◇

Currently, the air in the baron’s mansion was filled with humid heat. It was due to the men who blocked the corridors like statues, rushing at me with all their might and generating heat. I also found assassins coming out of Serin’s room after searching in vain.

“Damn it!”

“What the hell is this guy?”

“Urgh…”

It was actually somewhat unexpected. All of them, wearing uniforms provided by the baron’s mansion, were braver than I expected. The fact that they rushed in despite facing death was quite impressive. It was an unfamiliar experience to be momentarily held back.

No, that’s not it. I wasn’t held back; I was keeping them alive.

‘This is a strange feeling…’

Just from briefly meeting Serin, my will to kill had weakened. She might kill them in her madness… but at least I had developed a slight hesitation.

“Hyaaah!”

At the cross-shaped corridor leading to the stairs, a mercenary who had been lying in ambush at the corner shouted as he ambushed me.

Perfect timing. The blade that struck down at my crown gleamed with killing intent.

Swish…

Black clouds gathered above my head, carrying a faint physical force.

They slowed down the speed of the descending blade. While the man was confused by this unidentified ability, I kicked him in the groin with my boot.

Thwack!

“Arrrgh! You, damn son of a…!!!”

“You cruel bastard…!”

The men who strangely bent at the waist condemned me. But having heard all sorts of insults since childhood, it didn’t bother me at all.

As I smoothly navigated the stairs, a sharp spear flew through the air. I grabbed the spear that was stuck in the wall, still quivering, and returned it to its owner along the same trajectory. Piercing his groin was purely coincidental.

“Surround and catch him, you idiots!”

“Uooooooh!”

As soon as the order was given, burly mercenaries surrounded me in a circle. Heaving their shoulders and breathing heavily, they all rushed in at once and grabbed my arms and legs. The distorted faces of the men, intoxicated with a sense of achievement, changed in an instant.

“What kind of nonsense is this…!”

I lifted my right foot and kicked the wall with all my might. Without giving them time to react, I did the same with my left foot.

Thud, thud!

And for my arms, I didn’t even need to make an effort as I crushed whatever body parts I could reach with my grip.

“Arrrgh!”

“Damn… is this guy even human? This doesn’t make sense!”

Lamentations boiling with indignation echoed throughout the mansion.

With this much commotion, all the servants in the mansion must have noticed.

Yet the fact that they weren’t visible meant they had locked their doors and were praying for the situation to end. It was a wise choice, as those here were expendable pawns.

But the baron was different. While these men had little incentive to harass the well-hidden servants, the baron, as the center of the mansion, was worth the effort.

That was why I had been running through the mansion looking for the baron.

“You, what are you…! How could you take down all these men…!”

Child of the deposed emperor. Since I couldn’t give that answer, I broke through the last guard blocking the baron’s bedroom and opened the door.

Whoosh!

As soon as the door opened, a strong wind blew in through the wide-open window beyond.

Bang!

As the air circulated, the large door closed with an unnecessarily loud noise. Startled by the sound, a man who had suddenly revealed his bare face frowned. It might have been Rude’s attempt at intimidation. Regardless, I firmly locked the door.

Click.

The heavy metal sound broke the silence.

After that, I looked around the baron’s bedroom.

“You…!”

The baron called out to me. Behind her sorrowful gaze, a glimmer of hope flickered. Yet, as if embarrassed by her appearance, she immediately lowered her eyes.

“Ugh.”

The chemise dress torn irregularly by force and the purple bruise on her left cheek suggested what had happened. The reddish hand marks on her wrists and dried tear stains told the same story.

However, judging by Rude’s relatively intact clothing, it seemed she had barely avoided the worst situation.

“Ugh.”

Rude, who had taken his hands off the baron, groaned. He glared at me as if hostile, then suddenly changed his attitude and smiled broadly.

“Well, our entire mercenary group is here, and you broke through? You’re no ordinary guy, are you?”

He nodded as if expecting some kind of reaction from me. When I remained silent, Rude continued speaking as if making light of the situation.

“Let me make one proposal.”

Plop. He casually sat on the baron’s bed.

“Just look the other way this once. I’m not that greedy. 20%. Just 20% is enough. I’ll give you the other 80%.”

Rude’s eyes rolled toward the baron. It was a negotiation to plunder and divide her property.

“…!”

The baron’s shoulders rose as she heard everything as the person concerned. She suppressed her groans, choking as if her insides were being torn apart.

The property she had accumulated through frugality and diligence, overcoming numerous temptations. She must have felt devastated by Rude, who was negotiating her treasures as if they were his own.

Moreover, the person oppressing her was a man she had likely harbored feelings for over a long period.

It was natural for the baron to collapse.

“…”

I silently narrowed the gap. Rude seemed to take this as some kind of affirmation and let out a casual laugh. Conversely, the baron embraced her grief and curled up tightly like an armadillo.

“Haha… is the deal settled?”

He readily extended his hand.

Without hesitation, I grasped Rude’s hand in response to his tainted goodwill.

Crunch!

Firmly, with strength in my grip.

“Arrrrrgh!!!”

“Huh…?”

The reactions of Rude and the baron diverged.

The baron uncurled her body and raised her head, while Rude screamed on the baron’s bed, convulsing. Before his resounding scream ended, I grabbed his forearm and threw him off the bed.

“Kack, aah… urgh, ah…”

Rude looked up at me. Conversely, I looked down at Rude. A perfectly established position. From there, Rude, who had collapsed, shouted loudly.

“Damn it! What’s your problem! Just sleep with that woman once and everything becomes ours! You stupid idiot who can’t tell right from wrong!”

“…”

“What? Afraid she’ll report us? No, she absolutely can’t. She’s such an idiot that she wouldn’t even think of telling others if she was forcibly violated!”

“Rude, how could you do this to me…!”

“What the hell. Did I say something wrong?”

“I sincerely considered marriage. Even if I offended someone important, I couldn’t abandon my person. But how… how could you do this to me?”

The baron couldn’t continue and sobbed. A bit more silence was needed before her mouth could open again.

“How can you, and still call yourself human!!!”

“Screw this. Pretending now won’t help… enough, you empty-headed woman, what do you know.”

“Sob… I… really…”

Rude sighed. He turned his eyes to me with a sense of resignation.

“Haa, damn. The knight in shining armor has arrived. I was just trying to live a better life, but this world is cruel.”

I remember faces like this. Eyes that seemingly gave up on life. Yet behind that, a hidden yearning for life. And the will to climb harder than anyone if given a lifeline.

This was the type of person Rodrick would always kill.

But that was separate from me.

I got close to Rude and whispered quietly in his ear.

“Justice is too generous a compliment for me. If I were just, people wouldn’t curse me at every moment.”

“What?”

“I feel nothing about you trying to kill me. And while I pity the baron, it’s not enough to share in her grief.”

“What nonsense are you spouting…!”

“So I’ve been wondering. Why did I feel so uneasy?”

How nice it would have been if I could honestly be angry at Rude’s wrongdoing. But even when I followed Rodrick to crush the cartel, I didn’t feel disgust at their actions. Not because their criminal patterns were moderate, but purely because I felt nothing.

Compared to the cartel’s wrongdoings, what Rude was trying to do was just a cute prank of a child.

Yet why did I harbor a small spark in my heart?

The clue to the answer could be found at the moment the assassin infiltrated.

By her, who came flying like a crazed woman, riding the rope.

“I was a bit surprised.”

Crunch.

I collapsed Rude’s shoulder. Then I continued to knead the same area, scattering the bones inside like fragments.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

“I’m starting to understand. This must be what Rodrick told me not to keep bottled up.”

I easily broke Rude’s other shoulder too and tore at the wounds. The sound of bones breaking, “crack,” teased the quiet night. Rude’s brown hair, which had been neatly combed back, danced to the rhythm.

“Urgh, aaaaargh! Huff…!”

“Still, I don’t think this is normal.”

I feel like I wouldn’t have any regrets if someone insulted me or stabbed me. I’d just think, “So they make such sounds,” or “So this is how one dies,” and move on.

The reason why someone like me could hate Rude was because Serin had suffered hardship.

Ironically, the first time I hated someone was because of another person.

“Time’s up.”

I finished up to that point and distanced myself from Rude.

“Now I should leave it to someone with real hatred.”

I directed the baron’s gaze to Rude, making her aware of his condition. Then, a strange light appeared in the baron’s eyes. Her hesitant rising posture revealed a sense of emptiness. However, her tightly clenched fist was oozing with dark, tenacious hatred.

What followed was time for the parties at the center of the turmoil.

I willingly arranged a space for just the two of them by slipping out of the baron’s bedroom.

Not long after I left, I sensed a commotion in the corridor. It was a presence that had become familiar despite the journey being just a few days.

She came around the corner and smiled innocently.

“Rian!”

Only then did the dark emotion that had remained at the bottom of my heart, as small as a speck of dust, completely evaporate.

“You’re not hurt at all? As expected, the male lead is different.”

“I’m not alcohol.”

“Ahaha, well, that’s true. Ahem.”

She awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Hmm, more importantly. My room is still clean, would you like to go to my room first?”

“I will. I also want to hear about why Serin climbed down the rope.”

“Do you know about the right to remain silent, Rian?”

“…”

It was still quite some time before dawn.

It seemed we had quite a lot to talk about during that time.

Time remaining until the end of our journey.

Just two days.

Soon, the destination would be near.