Vol. 1 - Ch. 50
The Fake Madam DisappearedThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
T/N: Why did she go to Edmund? Ahh… I’m a little disappointed…
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
T/N: Why did she go to Edmund? Ahh… I’m a little disappointed…
Chapter 50
“Ahhh!”
A piercing scream echoed through the tranquil forest, accompanied by the splatter of hot blood.
Edmund swiftly dodged the blood flying toward his face and stepped back. Approaching him was Alec, who had just finished slitting the throats of the assassins.
“Is that the last of them?”
Instead of replying, Edmund drove his sword into the writhing body before him.
“Hah…”
He scrutinized the upturned whites of the dying man’s eyes closely. They weren’t red.
Edmund straightened his back but winced at the persistent pain in his shoulder, his brow furrowing. His right hand, which held the sword, was trembling ever so slightly.
Unaware of this, Alec drew closer to Edmund. Sensing his approach, Edmund clenched his hand tightly to conceal the shaking.
“None of them have red eyes.”
Edmund surveyed their surroundings. The assassins who now lay lifeless at their feet had appeared shortly after Carlito’s disappearance. Yet, something about them felt off.
First, these assassins were poorly trained. Though clearly killers, they lacked the skill to pose any real threat to Edmund. It was suspiciously similar to an earlier incident that he couldn’t dismiss from his mind.
“Nick was right.”
Everything had unfolded just as Nick had warned. Nick had shared with them what he had learned of the emperor and Sergei’s plans.
First, a swarm of assassins would attack. Then, once Edmund was sufficiently weakened, they would use a drug designed to send a Sword Master into a frenzy. In this state, Edmund would lose his rationality and unleash uncontrollable aura, resulting in massive casualties.
The Emperor intended to exploit this chaos to stage a situation where he would be forced to “reluctantly” kill Edmund.
“If you had followed Nick’s advice and pretended to propose to the Princess, this might not have happened.”
“And since I have no intention of actually marrying the Princess, they’ll keep trying this until they get what they want.”
The Emperor wouldn’t stop until Edmund married the Princess and fathered a child. If a child who could inherit the Winter Duke’s lineage were born, the Emperor would have no qualms about disposing of Edmund once he was no longer useful.
But regardless of the circumstances, Edmund couldn’t bring himself to fake a proposal to the Princess. Suddenly, he recalled what had happened at breakfast.
[“He promised to gift me all the animals he catches today.”]
Edmund, startled by Elizabeth’s abrupt action, didn’t immediately think about how to extricate himself from the situation. Instead, his first thought was:
‘What kind of expression did Daphne make?’
Did Daphne furrowed her brow at the sight of him with the Princess? Or perhaps bite her lip, clenching her fists so tightly her nails left marks on her palms?
When he glanced at Daphne, seated beside him, she was expressionless. While Edmund couldn’t discern her feelings, he was certain of one thing: Daphne cared. His sharp, persistent observation confirmed it when he noticed the faint trembling of her fingertips.
Rustle.
A sound snapped Edmund back to the present. He gripped his sword and focused on the source.
“!”
From the thicket emerged an unexpected figure, leaving Edmund no choice but to lower his blade.
“…Daphne?”
Daphne stood before him, panting heavily. Her gaze quickly scanned him, lingering with a peculiar weight, as if unable to touch but unwilling to look away.
“What are you doing here?”
“Is something wrong…?”
Stepping out of the undergrowth, Daphne’s eyes widened at the sight of the assassins strewn across the ground. Having sprinted so hard her lungs burned, she hadn’t yet noticed the scent of blood. But now, it struck her, making her flinch.
Still, she staggered forward, unsteadily stepping over the corpses, her movements hurried and anxious.
Noticing her trembling shoulders, Edmund sheathed his bloodied sword and approached her.
“What’s the matter…?”
“You haven’t been affected by any drug, have you?”
The mention of a drug made Edmund narrow his eyes.
“How do you know about that?”
“You’re okay, right? Tell me you’re okay.”
Daphne moved closer, her hands fluttering in hesitation as her gaze darted across him.
“Hah…”
Seeing that Edmund was unharmed, Daphne pressed her trembling hand against her lips, trying to stifle her relief. Edmund glanced behind her, searching for anyone else, but neither Chris nor any other ally was in sight.
“What exactly happened?
“Madam, how do you know about the drug?”
Alec, also sensing something amiss, approached them.
“My brother… he told me.”
Daphne explained how she had recklessly run through the forest in the direction Sergei had indicated, only to find Edmund much sooner than expected. It was as if Sergei had known Edmund’s exact location.
Daphne breathed heavily.
[“The father of the child in your womb, or the son you’ve spent five years raising at the cost of your own life.”]
At the same moment Daphne lifted her head, her eyes met Edmund’s. Daphne murmured absentmindedly.
“Damian.”“…Damian?”Repeating Daphne’s words, Edmund quickly realized something.
“Alec! Head out of the forest immediately!”“Yes, sir!”As the men moved swiftly, Daphne snapped back to her senses.
“Damian went to the entrance of the Black Forest!”“Why on earth would he…”“I think my brother used information about Damian’s birth mother against him.”At the mention of ‘birth mother,’ Daphne didn’t notice Edmund flinch. She stepped closer to him.
“I… I’ll go with you.”
“No, you won’t.”Without a second of hesitation, Edmund rejected Daphne’s request.
“It’s too dangerous. We have no idea what might happen there. I can’t guarantee your safety.”His gaze fell to the lifeless bodies scattered on the ground. But Daphne was undeterred.
“I don’t care.”“Daphne.”Edmund mounted his horse, looking down at her. Under a gloomy sky, heavy with the promise of rain, his face was cast in shadow.
“Don’t forget… you’re carrying my child.”Daphne froze at his words. After a moment, Edmund turned his horse.
“Alec, you inform the others. I’ll go on ahead and find Damian…”“Take me with you!”A piercing cry made Edmund and Alec turn, their eyes wide with shock.
“!”Daphne stood there, having picked up a sword from the ground, the blade pointed at her own body, specifically, her flat stomach. Her trembling hands caused the sword to waver unsteadily, as if she might harm herself at any moment.
“You don’t… want to lose the baby, do you? Please, take me with you.”Alec whispered under his breath, too quiet for Daphne to hear.
“I’ll approach and disarm her.”“…No.”Edmund dismounted. As he moved closer, Daphne’s trembling grew more pronounced.
“Don’t come any cl– Ah!”In an instant, the sword flew out of her hand, and despair washed over Daphne’s face. But before she could react, Edmund slipped his hands under her arms and hoisted her onto his horse.
“I can’t afford to worry about you, too. Stay still and don’t move. Understood?”Suddenly elevated, Daphne found herself looking down at Edmund, her expression startled. She nodded slowly.
Edmund climbed up behind her and grabbed the reins. Daphne was now securely enclosed in his firm embrace.
“Alec, follow me.”“…Understood.”Alec remounted his horse and followed closely behind.
— — —
The path grew rougher, and the jolts became harsher. With little experience riding horses, Daphne bounced violently each time they hit an uneven patch. If not for Edmund’s hold, she might have been thrown off long ago.
Watching her struggle, Edmund glanced down at his hands gripping the reins. For a moment, his fingers twitched, but then Daphne reached out toward the sky.
“…Rain.”Raindrops began to fall. Following her gaze, Edmund looked up at the darkening sky. Rain had just begun to pour.
“Ahhh!”A young voice screamed, breaking through the sound of the rain. A young page tumbled to the ground in front of Alex’s horse.
“…That’s Damian’s attendant,” Daphne said.Edmund turned his horse toward the trembling boy.
“Are you Damian’s attendant?”“Y-Yes, sir.”“Where is Damian?”“That’s….”The boy trembled violently, as if he’d seen a ghost.
“His Excelllency is asking you,” Alec barked.Shaking all over, the young page pointed toward the path he had come from, but quickly dropped his hand, realizing something.
“No, you can’t go! You mustn’t!”“Why not?”“A m-monster came out of the Black Forest! A huge, black monster… I’ve never seen anything like it! It’ll eat us all alive! We need to run!”The boy screamed incoherently before dashing into the forest.
Edmund furrowed his brow, trying to suppress his growing unease. But the more he resisted, the stronger his instincts became.
“Your Excellency, you don’t think…”Instead of replying, Edmund spurred his horse forward. Alec followed without hesitation. They passed Damian’s horse, tied to a tree, and pressed on.
The atmosphere of the forest grew heavier with every step, and the faint sound of something unknown echoed around them. Daphne swallowed hard. Finally, they reached a clearing.
“Damian!”There he was, surrounded by monsters.