BCDBS l CH 18

Chapter 18

The one radiating that murderous aura was, of course, Kain.

But the guest across from him was no pushover either.

“Haha, hardly. I may not be eager to live long, but I’m not eager to die today either.”

“I didn’t ask for your philosophy. Deafness isn’t something curable, it seems.”

“So now I must call you ‘Duke Kreutz’ instead of ‘Sir Kreutz’? Your tongue is still as sharp as ever. I suppose that can’t be cured either.”

The fact that someone could face Kain Kreutz without yielding even a single word was astonishing.

And more—

“This tea is excellent. I hear you’ve purchased lands in the south recently? Seems the rumors were true.”

He even sipped tea with an easy smile.

My curiosity flared hotter.

Who in the world is this man?!

Who else could dare match Kain Kreutz like this?

Determined to find out, I crept closer, silent as frost on glass. I pressed my face to the floorboards, peeking through a thin gap.

There—!

Golden hair that gleamed like sunlight.

Even seated, his bearing screamed high nobility.

And then—his head lifted.

Our eyes met.

Cold blue eyes locked directly onto my hiding place in the ceiling.

Did he… see me?!

The hairs on my neck bristled. Predator. A top predator.

At the same time, a shard of memory stabbed deep.

I’d seen those blue eyes before—three years ago, on the cliff where I lost everything.

* * *

The audience chamber chilled with tension.

“Lord Astrahan, have you finally gone mad?” Kain snapped.

The man, his golden hair nearly too bright to look at, was Erjin Astrahan.

If Kreutz ruled the north, Astrahan dominated the east.

“Fortunately, not yet,” Erjin replied, finally looking away from the ceiling.

His lips held a faint smile, as if joking, but his drooping eyes betrayed nothing.

That was typical of Erjin Astrahan.

Ten years ago, when Kain first visited the Astrahan estate, the boy already had those frozen-fish eyes.

Always smiling, always polite—but utterly hollow.

Even as a child, Kain often thought:

That blank stare… Astrahan is finished.

And he still thinks so now.

Power of a ducal house, responsibility of heir—none of it weighed on this languid, idle wastrel.

“What a pity,” Kain said flatly.

Truthfully, he couldn’t care less about Erjin Astrahan’s mental state.

“Your concern is touching. I suppose it pays to live long enough,” Erjin murmured.

“Enough chatter. Why are you in my fortress?”

Kain cut straight to the point. His mana surged, filling the chamber like stormclouds.

Outside, guards collapsed one after another, crushed by the killing intent.

Even Erjin—heir to the only mana said to rival Kreutz—wasn’t unscathed.

He tugged at his cravat with a grimace, breath heavy. Buttons popped loose under his rough hands, his once-elegant posture collapsing into disarray.

Yet his face, sharp and refined, remained composed.

“I didn’t come by choice,” he said.

From his coat, he produced a letter sealed in gold.

There could be only one source.

“The Imperial crest,” Kain sneered.

“The Emperor commands the formation of a joint investigation into the Baron massacre,” Erjin said.

“I heard no such decree.”

“Of course not.”

A thin smile tugged Erjin’s lips, even as he winced under the pressure.

He didn’t need to spell it out.

The capital’s nobles and the throne already considered Kain guilty.

But sending imperial investigators risked outright conflict with House Kreutz. So they sent a proxy.

Someone with legitimate standing in the investigation—yet enough ties to Kreutz to be tolerated.

The heir of Astrahan.

“The Emperor commanded I not return until your name is cleared, Duke Kreutz.”

Kain’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re here to watch me.”

“If that’s how you hear it, so be it.”

Erjin’s pale eyes curved faintly, as if smiling. For now, the matter was settled.

At least, for that day.

* * *

Lacking grounds to throw him out, Kain assigned Erjin a guest chamber.

Days passed.

Contrary to expectations, Erjin made no move to stir trouble.

Trying to lull us before a knife to the back?

I perched on my usual windowsill, tail twitching, eyes fixed on him.

Spying on him had become my daily routine.

And in truth, his days were easy to summarize: daydreaming or napping.

Look at him now—sprawled in the courtyard, lazing like a cat in the sun.

Brave, or simply foolish?

I clicked my tongue.

Then—

“Chrrt?!”

I ducked beneath the sill.

Erjin had suddenly sat upright, gaze fixed right at me.

Impossible. Did he sense me?

No. Couldn’t be.

Three years on the run had honed my stealth to perfection. No noble wastrel could pierce it.

Peeking again, I sighed in relief.

Not me—he was just shifting spots, lying back beneath a tree’s shade.

Still, from here I couldn’t watch any further.

“Chrrt.”

That was enough for today.

I brushed off my paws and hopped down.

“Quite the life you lead.”

A voice sighed above me.

Well, I can’t deny that.

“Don’t nod at me like that. I was talking about you, Lady Cherry.”

Gerard, hands on his hips, frowning down at me.

“Chrrt?”

Wait—you meant me?

“Do you realize how much work is piling up while you waste time like this?” he scolded. His tone was sharp, like a boss reprimanding an underling.

And behind him—

“Cherry.”

Kain, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

He didn’t need words. His expression said everything.

You like him?

His golden eyes narrowed. Dangerous.

Gerard, oblivious—or deliberately provocative—poured oil on the fire.

“I’ve suspected it for a while, but Lady Cherry clearly has an eye for beauty.”

What?!

I glared furiously, but he continued.

“She can’t look away from handsome knights. Sometimes she stares at you, my lord, when you’re working. Why, she’s even given me a few lingering looks.”

Absolute nonsense!

“And now—Lord Astrahan. The Empire’s most famous beauty, with golden hair and azure eyes. Who wouldn’t admire him?”

The longer Gerard spoke, the harder Kain’s face froze.

Until finally—

“Hah.”

A humorless laugh slipped from his lips.