CH 100

“Whoa-“

Arista nervously rubbed her damp hands on her pants.

Next to her was Lucas. He was just as nervous as Arista.

They were currently on their way back from cleaning up the mess of the hunt and the orc corpses.

The total number of confirmed casualties from the hunt was thirteen, with two deaths.

The casualties were caused by two monsters, and the final one, looking for its young, could have been much worse.

It was a tragedy caused by an imperial court that ignored Herwin’s warnings to be careful of monsters and acted on its own.

They tried to blame Herwin for not catching the monster beforehand, but people weren’t stupid enough to fall for it.

Furthermore, Herwin hadn’t responded to them at all. If anything, Herwin’s anger was reaching a breaking point, and he was trying to calm it down.

Just a moment ago, the imperial courtier who came out of the room became contemplative and told them not to enter.

Arista wondered what the hell was going on, but then she realized that if it was Lucia’s business, Herwin had every right to be angry.

They could still see him slaying the orcs.

As soon as Herwin saw the orc holding Lucia, he cut off its right hand.

The severed hand naturally freed Lucia, and Herwin picked her up just before she hit the ground.

The scene that followed was gruesome to watch from afar. Beginning with the severed hand, Herwin effortlessly sliced off limb after limb of the orcs, killing them as quickly and painfully as possible.

Lucia, in Herwin’s arms, didn’t see it, but….…

‘I’m glad she didn’t.’

The sight was enough to make even the Sword Expert’s stomach churn, and there were quite a few commoners who had witnessed it, some of them gagging and others fainting.

Arista shook her head in disbelief, then regained her composure and raised her hands in the air.

She snapped.

“Herwin, we’re coming in.”

There was no answer, but Arista cautiously opened the door.

The sound of a ticking clock echoed in the room, and the silence was deafening. Turning her head, she saw Herwin sitting on the edge of the bed.

Arista and Lucas crept cautiously into the room, wary.

“Herwin, how is Lucia?”

Arista slowly approached Herwin, who remained as still as a ghost, and as she gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder, she paused at the sight of his eerily sunken red eyes.

Upon closer inspection, there were still faint traces of auror around his body.

She’d heard of auras rising and falling from the body of the Sword Master. 

She had seen them briefly during their time at the Academy, but never up close.

For a moment, though, her body responded to the auror of the Sword Master.

A cold sweat broke out, she couldn’t breathe properly, and the hairs on her body stood on end.

It was only Arista who remained tense and alert. The others hadn’t reached Arista’s level of awareness, so they were simply terrified of what was happening.

“What did the doctor say? Is everything okay?”

Lucas asked, breaking the dreadful atmosphere. He had already heard from the imperial physician, but the sight of Lucia lying there as if she were dead made him uneasy.

Herwin nodded, still staring at Lucia.

“Yes, she’s only temporarily unconscious, she’ll wake up soon.”

Haaah….…

A gasp of relief escaped Lucas. He patted his chest and looked at Herwin for a moment.

He was so grateful that he had saved his sister’s life, but now he felt terrified.

Then Herwin flinched and turned his head. His vibrant red eyes scanned the room, and he froze.

The red eyes stared at the figure behind Arista and Lucas.

“Marquis Casper.”

“……Phoenaeus.”

It was Bern. At his side was Celine. 

Unaware of what had happened between Bern and Lucia, Herwin’s anger surged at the sight of Bern.

Herwin jumped out of his seat and grabbed Bern by the collar at once.

“Where the hell has her fiancé been, and what has he been doing while Lucia was being held captive by orcs?!”

“Wait a minute, Herwin, calm down.”

“Let’s talk about this. Okay?”

Arista and Lucas tried to talk him down, but Herwin didn’t budge. Celine fidgeted with her hands over her mouth at the prospect.

Bern did not respond to Herwin’s anger but kept his mouth shut.

This only served to further inflame Herwin’s temper.

“If you don’t tell me now, I’ll make you like that orc.”

The joke was too murderous to be true. Arista and Lucas’ faces paled as they remembered the orc corpse, torn to pieces. 

Herwin’s eyebrows wriggled as Bern still bowed his head without making any excuses. When the hand gripped by Bern’s collar becomes more powerful–

“It’s because of me! Bern is not at fault!”

Celine grabbed Herwin’s arm.

It was too much for a woman to take, but Celine shuddered and looked directly into Herwin’s red eyes.

Herwin looked like he was about to explode with rage at any moment, but then he saw a familiar face and his temper slowly drained away.

“You are…….”

“I, uh, I’m Celine Jayson. I’m the ex-lover of the Marquis of Casper.”

Celine stammered, startling not only Herwin but also Arista and Lucas, who were nearby.

“It’s all my fault that Bern wasn’t with Lady Agnes because I told her to break up with the Marquis…….”

“Wait, Celine. Let me talk to him.”

Bern tried to step up late, but Celine still held Herwin’s arm and did not back down.

“The young lady knew the relationship between me and the Marquis. So she listened to me asking for a breakup of their engagement. She made room for me and Bern to talk, but that’s when the orc came…….”

This was the first time Arista and Lucas had heard of it. They took it all in and reflexively looked at Bern.

“The ……Marquis didn’t do anything wrong, if I hadn’t said those words, Lady Agnes wouldn’t have been in trouble, please blame me!”

The words were so absurd that no one else reacted.

Arista narrowed her eyes and sighed, and Lucas opened his mouth as if his jaw would fall off. Even Herwin’s hand slackened in its grip on the collar.

Taking advantage of the loosening of his grip, Celine hurriedly stepped in front of Bern, as if to protect him.

After a heavy silence, Herwin spoke.

“What do you mean, you’re the Marquis’ ex-lover, and Lucia knew about it? Does that mean that Lucia and the Marquis…….”

Herwin stammered and then realized that she was the woman who had danced with Bern yesterday. 

Turning his head in surprise, Bern spoke with a stern face.

“We broke up, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Bern made up for Celine’s rushed words and told him everything that had happened. Herwin was dumbfounded at first, but as the story progressed, his face grew stoic.

“I’m sorry, if it weren’t for my selfishness, Lucia wouldn’t have been captured by the orcs. …… That’s how it happened.”

Lucas and Arista were speechless. Sure, they were shocked by Bern’s words, but this was no one’s fault.

Lucia hadn’t expected an orc to show up out of nowhere.

Still, Bern felt guilty. If he hadn’t been so distracted by Celine, Lucia wouldn’t have been in danger.

“……ha, doesn’t that mean you’ve deceived Lucia all this time, and now you’ve gone for the girl you like?”

The words flew out of Herwin’s mouth. As bad as this was, Herwin was shocked that Bern had feelings for someone other than Lucia.

Lucia’s face flashed before his eyes, the woman who had trusted Bern more than anyone else.

It is said that Lucia forgave the two, but Herwin did not believe it.

He wondered if Lucia hadn’t been deeply hurt.

Herwin clenched his fists. He wanted to punch Bern’s brazen face right now, but he didn’t want to break Lucia’s heart when she opened her eyes.

Sensing Herwin’s anger, Celine spoke up cautiously.

“It was a mutually beneficial engagement in the first place.”

Herwin’s gaze snapped to Celine.

“The Marquis said he found a good spouse because he didn’t think he could connect with me, and that was true for the young lady as well.”

The fierce red eyes slowly widened and turned.

“I don’t know the details of her situation, but I can tell you this: she, like the Marquis, has someone else in mind.”

Arista’s and Lucas’ eyes naturally turned to Herwin. It was obvious who Lucia had in mind.

Herwin bit his lower lip, a strange expression of happiness and sadness on his face.

When Herwin couldn’t speak and looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment, Bern spoke up.

“I didn’t say it because it’s not my business, and I still don’t think it’s my business, but I have to say this.”

Lucia likes him.

Herwin clenched his fists involuntarily as Bern spoke to him.

“She thinks of you sometimes when she’s with me, and that’s why she planning to get engaged to me in the first place, to get over you.”

Suddenly, all of Lucia’s behavior, the way she’d been walling herself off, the way she’d seemed so unfamiliar, flooded back into Herwin’s head.

She had distanced herself from him, calling him a friend. The way she took care of him while he was sick. She asked him if he really liked her.

Herwin thought it was because she had closed her heart, but she still loves him. 

He was so happy and overwhelmed, but at the same time, he was sorry.

If he had been aware of his feelings from the beginning, they wouldn’t have come this far back, and he wouldn’t have hurt her.

Indescribable emotions swirled up to his chin. Herwin staggered wordlessly to Lucia’s side. 

The room fell silent as he knelt and pressed his forehead against Lucia’s hand.

Conscious people left one by one, and Lucas patted Herwin on the back.

He heard the door close behind him. Long after they had left, Herwin looked up.

The corners of his eyes were now red. He couldn’t believe Lucia still loved him after all he had done to her.

Herwin snorted involuntarily, and suddenly he looked at the handkerchief lying neatly on the table.

It was the handkerchief Lucia had clutched to the end.

The coat of arms of the Phoenaeus family, and the initials next to it, told him that Lucia had granted his request.

When he first saw it, he was stupidly happy that there was still hope for him. But now that he knew everything, he wondered how Lucia must have felt.

“Lucia.”

There were so many things he wanted to say to her. There were enough words to keep them up all night, but there was only one thing he wanted to say when she woke up.

“I love you.”

He said, stroking the tiny hand that fit in his own.

Herwin smiled gently and whispered the words over and over again.

He didn’t take his eyes off her for a second until Lucia woke up.