“You… sigh…” Watching his younger brother turn and run, Jerros let out a slow sigh.
Regarding this ‘Miss Ileya’ that Father had written about in his letter,
Jerros had investigated far more thoroughly and carefully than his younger brother.
But the result was the same… no! It was even more ruthless than the rumors suggested.
For example… she had ordered the decapitation, in public, of her own half-brother—by the hands of a low-ranked Noble Houses’ scion.
He… was the future Duke. What he wanted was a virtuous wife, someone who could share his burdens, a lady who could help make the Duke’s Estate a better place together.
Not this sort of… ill-tempered princess who would shout for blood at the slightest provocation.
Even if she was the only daughter of the [immensely wealthy] Eastern Marquis, with the distance between the East County and the Southwestern Territory stretching almost across the entire kingdom, they could barely even meet.
Let alone minerals—even if they brought nothing at all, a one-way trip by carriage would take nearly half a year.
So… he would absolutely never marry this so-called ‘Eastern District Jewel’.
Sigh… Father really has given him a wonderful job this time…
The night deepened…
But for Franlot, this day had only just begun~
There would be a great show to watch at tonight’s party~
The eldest daughters of both the Viscount Mashur Family and the Viscount Redi Family, they both liked him—this, Franlot knew well.
But just like he’d said earlier… he truly enjoyed watching two women fight over him~
Not only did it delight him, but it greatly satisfied his pride~
“Sigh~ but the daughter of a viscount… being a fourth wife… well, that would barely do~”
He muttered to himself, twirling a dagger inlaid with countless gems and gold in his hand.
Maybe he’d been too kind to them lately~ They actually dared dream of becoming the first wife, ha…
Muttering so, the Duke’s second son shook his head with a wry smile. He’d need to find an opportunity to give these women a proper lesson.
Or perhaps… this was a task assigned to them by their own families?
Whatever, who cares~
“As long as I’m having fun~”
As he spoke, he casually tossed the dagger into the air…
Whoosh!!
But before he could reach out to catch it again…
A sudden gust of wind swept in from behind!
Thud!!
With a dull thud, the care-free smile on the second young master’s face froze instantly…
His last thought was… dismissing all his guards just to toy with those women… what an idiot he was…
Thump!
He collapsed forward, face first!
“You scum! Scum!!”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! More blows landed on the fallen Franlot, each making a heavy sound.
“Miss Lisi likes you so much! She even wanted to hang herself for your sake… Yet here you are, thinking of such things!”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“You deserve to die… You really deserve to die!!”
The attacker’s eyes were bloodshot, clearly consumed by rage!
But…
After venting his fury, the attacker’s eyes gradually cleared… Looking down at Franlot, whose skull now seemed sunken at the back, his legs buckled beneath him!
He… had only wanted to teach this guy a lesson, never to kill him.
What should he do… what should he do?
The attacker’s mind whirled furiously…
No, no, no!!
He absolutely could not be exposed… If the crime of murdering a Duke’s child was pinned on him,
not just himself, but his entire family would be doomed…
“Huff… huff… huff…”
He quickly rose, knowing now was not the time to hesitate… So he wrapped Franlot’s head with his own coat, then swiftly cleaned up the blood on the ground.
He looked around the area cautiously. Fortunately, whatever Franlot had planned was nothing decent, so… at this moment, the road was deserted and no one had seen his actions.
Phew! He hurriedly hoisted the body onto his shoulder and ran toward the woods at the side…
Tap tap tap…
The carriage traveled down a forest path bathed in moonlight.
Just then, the surrounding bushes suddenly rustled
Swish!
Five or six dark figures leapt out!
“Oooh…”
Pale purple moonlight shone upon the highwaymen… They were Forest Wolves, each nearly a meter long.
Clearly… they had their eyes on the carriage horses, ready for a feast.
Huff… At the front, Amisa bent down, ready to act… but was stopped by Ileya behind her…
“Amisa, leave these to us for practice. Just cover us from the side.”
“Yes, Lady.”
Step!
Ileya and Reliel jumped down from the carriage, followed by Holly from the rear coach.
“Want to see who can kill faster?”
The Lady raised an eyebrow, glancing at her convenient little sister beside her…
Whoosh!
Reliel said nothing, but drew her sword and charged first!
The rapier traced a dazzling arc of silver in the dark night, thrusting straight into the eye of the lead Forest Wolf!
The beast let out a tragic howl, trying to fight back, but in the next instant the rapier buried in its eye flicked sharply upward!
Thud… The wolf collapsed instantly, lifeless.
Swish! Pulling out her blade, Reliel looked up, ready to strike the next, but found that the other five wolves had already fallen.
And Ileya was sitting cross-legged atop the last wolf’s corpse, eyes locked in a crisscrossed gaze.
Those black claws—now razor-sharp and slender—dripped with blood.
“Aiya~ Looks like I’ve won again~”
The Lady’s red eyes narrowed with delight as she saw Reliel unconsciously tighten her grip on her sword hilt, her mood quite pleased~
[Soul Intimidation] plus [Touch of Death]…
Cleaning up small fry is truly quick~
Or perhaps the power of death itself is just… terribly unfriendly to small fry~
Gulp…
“Hm?” At that moment, Amisa frowned slightly, eyes darting to the side… to a tree.
“Lady, there’s one more on the tree to your right.”
“Huh?”
Wolves climb trees?
Ileya paused, tilting her head, only to see—a black, tentacled form, with fish-scale-like appendages, was already coiling down from the treetop toward her!
“Ileya!” Reliel had no time to dwell on her defeat!
Seeing the white-haired girl about to be ambushed, for some reason her heart was seized with an unprecedented tension!
That tentacle… was it a spawn of some kind?!
Whoosh… Bang!
But… before she could rush over, a hand encased in black armor snatched the tentacle less than a meter from Ileya’s nose!
“Ugh… ugh ah!!”
Whoosh—!
In the next instant, Insmaus Tela roared and swung the tentacle, smashing it into the woods behind Ileya like a flail.
Boom!!
The Lady remained seated cross-legged, her expression unchanged.
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