Chapter 82
At that moment, in front of the Centaur habitat.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“If the Centaur habitat has also fallen to the monstrous transformation, then what happens now?”
While Deon and the other representatives of the races went through the secret passage to inspect the inside of the habitat, the rest remained waiting in front of the firmly closed main gate. But none of the races—including the centaurs—looked optimistic. The knights of the Southern Empire, caught in the middle, realized that the situation was growing more and more dire.
“What do you mean, ‘what’? For now, we wait for the Duke of Ermenst’s reply.”
“…And if they ignore us?”
One knight, watching his companion’s face grow paler by the moment, sighed exaggeratedly and tried to act as though nothing was wrong.
“Then we stick to the plan. But really, what’s there to worry about? On their side, they’ve only got a half-blood vampire. On ours, we have every race living in the neutral zone. The outcome’s already decided.”
“But they have those monsters, don’t they? I heard that even if he’s only a half-blood, a vampire has no heart, so even if bitten, he doesn’t turn into a monster.”
“Are you trying to ruin the mood right now?”
“I’m not ruining it, I’m just—”
Just then, as they were having this ominous conversation, a black shape appeared in the distance, cutting across the sky toward them. With beating wings, it circled above the gate, a note tied to its leg, before finally perching on the shoulder of a Southern Empire knight as though it had no other choice.
“This is…”
“A carrier pigeon. It might be the Duke of Ermenst’s reply. Clever bird, well done.”
The knight’s face lit up at the sight of the pigeon. Stroking it as if he had just been saved, he quickly untied the note and unfolded it. If Ermenst’s side wanted to negotiate, war could be avoided. No one wished for war badly enough to risk having their families turned into monsters.
“What does it say?”
A fellow knight craned his neck to peek, but the bright expression on the reader’s face quickly turned cold.
“…It says the Duke of Ermenst raided the Imperial underground prison.”
“What?”
“Fortunately, they only stirred up the prison and then disappeared, so things have settled down for now. But it’s caused chaos in the Empire. This is something we ought to report to the Captain.”
But the Captain was already inside the secret passage with the divine beast and the other races.
“We’ll just have to wait.”
They say those who once held hope fall deeper into despair than those who never had any. The knights, who had briefly expected salvation, now wore darker expressions than before as they waited for their absent leader. Then one of them frowned, having realized something.
“Wait a second.”
“Every time you say that, it scares me.”
“No, listen. If the Duke of Ermenst raided the underground prison and then disappeared, wouldn’t they return to their base? That would put them back in the neutral zone by now.”
The knight’s expression soured.
“That’s possible.”
“But Lady Lemoni is currently on her way to the Southern Empire, isn’t she?”
The other knight’s mouth fell open. It couldn’t be… but if Lemoni’s entourage crossed paths with the Ermenst group, it would be disastrous. Especially since she only had four escort knights with her.
“This is…”
“Damn it. The Captain or the divine beast need to come back right away.”
And the worst part was that, even after realizing this, there was nothing they could do. Silence settled over them. The knights swallowed hard, rubbing their faces slowly, their eyes fixed anxiously on the direction of the secret passage.
Troublesome.
“…I never knew Young Lord Ian was so close with Lady Lemoni,” someone remarked.
It seemed we had run into the Duke of Ermenst’s people. Of course, ever since Ian vanished from the prison, I had wondered where he’d gone, but knowing his impulsive, self-serving personality, I thought he’d simply lost interest in this whole affair.
“Hm? Lemoni, I’ll fix everything for you,” he had said back in Block C.
Those words still lingered in my mind. I had dared to hope that perhaps he’d changed a little. But if he was here with the Ermenst household, clearly he had not.
Frozen by the unexpected encounter, I stayed motionless for a while. The Ian I knew would rather speak directly than hide away. Yet if he had lost interest in me, he might play along briefly for old times’ sake, but not for long. Still, I couldn’t just cower inside the carriage forever.
“Yes. Our relationship in the prison was rather… secret, wasn’t it?”
“…What are you saying…!”
“It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
I didn’t even need to see him to imagine the smirk on Ian’s face as he toyed with their reactions. The Southern Empire knights fell silent, at a loss for words. Finally, Kais was the first to regain his composure and answered curtly.
“I don’t know what kind of relationship you claim to have with Lady Lemoni, but she isn’t here.”
“Really? Then I can just open the carriage and see, can’t I?”
His footsteps approached the carriage. Kais quickly blocked his path.
“I’m sorry, my lord, but even you cannot open the carriage without permission. Allow me to seek my lady’s approval first.”
“For even the reckless son of Ermenst to show such courtesy, she must be someone of quite high standing.”
“She is my master.”
“She’s not mine. So that means I can open it?”
“My lord, if you go any further—”
“And what will you do?”
Ian’s low chuckle dropped an octave, and an awkward silence fell. Even Kais, who had been firmly responding to each provocation, thought better of it and kept his mouth shut.
Please, Kais. Stay quiet. It’s better if I handle this. At least I wouldn’t die immediately.
I reached for my shotgun behind me, checking again that it was loaded—
“I will be forced to consider you a threat and use force against you—”
“Ian?”
The situation flipped in an instant. As Kais drew his sword, Ian’s hand clamped around his throat with terrifying strength. Kais let out a strangled groan as his breath was cut off. I flung the carriage door open and called his name before things went too far.
“…Lemoni.”
The corners of Ian’s lips curled upward slowly.
“So you were in the carriage after all. Did you just hear my voice?”
Thud. His hand released its grip, and Kais stumbled, barely catching himself as he fell to the ground. Coughing and clutching his throat, his despairing eyes turned to me.
“I was asleep, but I woke when I heard voices outside.”
“Sorry for waking you.”
Ignoring Kais’s gaze, I feigned ignorance with a straight face. Ian stepped closer, brushing back my tousled golden hair with the same hand that had been strangling Kais moments before. A chill ran down my spine, but I forced myself to stay calm. That was the only way to survive with Ian.
“I had some business to take care of, so I left for a while. But once it was over, I missed you, so I came to the Southern Empire. But you weren’t there.”
He whined like a child, pressing his forehead against my shoulder. I could feel the knights’ astonished stares.
“…Where have you been?”
His voice dropped into a low, heavy tone, full of hurt. Ian’s entire demeanor shifted depending on whether I was present or not. The good news: as long as I was here, he wouldn’t think of killing our people. The bad news: he was still utterly obsessed with me. I chose to focus on the good. If I could calm him, maybe I could even draw out information about the monstrous transformations.
“After escaping the prison, I returned to my homeland—the Christina Duchy of the Southern Empire.”
When I gently pushed at his shoulder, Ian obediently stepped back. His eerie golden eyes gleamed, but his expression was strangely docile.
“Then I heard news that monstrous transformations had spread in the dwarves’ habitat. That’s why I’m here now. Speaking of which, could we talk in private for a bit?”
I couldn’t afford to provoke him. Forcing a smile, I said,
“I’ve also been curious how you’ve been. Why don’t we go inside the carriage?”
“Sounds good.”
Just as I expected. At my interest, his lips curled in satisfaction.
“Kais. Stand by for now,” I ordered.
Leaving him behind, I went into the carriage with Ian. Alone with him, I actually felt a little less tense. Outside, surrounded by the Ermenst knights, the pressure had been suffocating. But here, with Ian as in the past, it was somehow easier.
“What happened? Why did you suddenly disappear?”
If I steered the conversation naturally, I could guide it toward the monstrous transformations and gather some information. I trusted Deon’s beast-like instincts—if I stalled long enough, he might hear something and come.
But my prediction was wrong. Completely wrong.
The moment we entered the carriage, I froze. From outside came the screams of knights and the clash of steel.
“Shall we depart now?”
As if everything had been planned, Ian listened calmly to the chaos outside, then turned to me with a smile.
