Chapter 153

Come to think of it, Shinwoo had always been quietly behind me in my past life.

He never forced his feelings on me, nor did he beg me to love him. He just watched me in silence.

On the other hand, Cha Dohwan was the one who actively expressed his feelings to me.

I felt it keenly during our first dinner together. It was as if he was desperate to show his affection in any way he could.

“Phew, my heart is pounding. I’ve actually been a fan of yours, Hunter Ryu.”

Cha Dohwan said as he poured me some wine.

He seemed accustomed to it on the surface, but perhaps he was truly nervous, as he made a mistake while pouring. He was mortified.

“Ah, what’s wrong with me today… I’m so sorry. I’ll reimburse you as soon as I return to the country.”

“It’s alright. It’s barely noticeable. I can just wear it.”

“Please, let me reimburse you. It’s the only excuse I’ll have to see you again, Hunter Ryu.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, Hunter Ryu.”

“…Why?”

“Because I like you. That’s why I want to keep seeing you.”

Cha Dohwan confessed to me during our very first meal and even gently took my hand.

‘What was I thinking back then?’

Well, I don’t think I was displeased. I had admired Cha Dohwan, and his very existence had been a comfort to me.

But it wasn’t exactly pleasant, either. His body heat felt foreign.

To me, accustomed to Shinwoo’s lower-than-average body temperature, his higher-than-average warmth felt a bit… unsettling.

I even had the fleeting thought, ‘Why is he holding someone’s hand without permission?’

Most importantly, my heart didn’t stir. Even after being confessed to, I felt nothing. In fact, my heart had pounded more when I was secretly a fan of his.

But when Shinwoo confessed while crying, my chest had ached as if hydrochloric acid had been poured on it, a painful and sorrowful feeling.

“Lady Astell? What are you thinking about?”

My mind, which had been wandering through a moment in the past, was yanked back to the present. I shrugged.

“Just some old memories.”

“You must eat. Allow me to escort you to the dining room.”

“Thank you.”

I headed to the dining room with Johan.

The atmosphere in the dining room was not good.

Kaiel, who had been exuding a dark aura all this time, was practically gleaming today, so he couldn’t be the problem…

‘Dante is the problem.’

I thought he would at least pretend to be jealous when I appeared with Johan, but Dante didn’t even glance my way, simply staring out the window with darkened eyes.

‘Is he still upset?’

His face, as beautiful as a doll crafted by a master artisan, was frozen like a midwinter lake. His downcast eyes betrayed a suppressed anxiety.

As I took my seat, pretending not to notice, Alex, who had been stealing glances at Dante, whispered.

“It’s about His Highness. He still seems to be in a bad mood.”

“Really?”

“Honestly, what His Highness said yesterday was right. We shouldn’t take your injuries for granted… I guess even I had started to think it was unavoidable. And me, your older brother.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Just, try talking to His Highness later. He seems anxious about you getting hurt.”

“You were just telling me to break up with him immediately.”

“Well… I’m not saying you shouldn’t break up…”

Alex mumbled, looking sheepish.

‘I’ll have to talk to him after the meal.’

As I took my seat, Alex, who had been stealing glances at Dante, whispered.

“…Did you fight with His Highness?”

“No.”

“Then why is he acting like that?”

“I don’t know. Why didn’t you ask him?”

“Look at that face. Who knows what kind of trouble I’d get into if I asked…”

Alex grumbled. It seemed he was curious about why Dante was acting that way but was too scared to ask.

‘I’ll have to ask him after the meal.’

Just then, Suren and a maid began to set the table. They were making more mistakes than usual today, a sign of their unease.

“Suren, what’s the situation with the gate?”

“Ah… I heard it’s still in the process of being conquered.”

“It’s been two days since the gate opened, and it’s still not done?”

As my eyes widened in surprise, Suren bit her lip.

“Um… Guild Master.”

“Is there something you want to say?”

“After your meal… if you have time, would you be able to help us?”

“Help with what?”

“Th-the gate conquest…”

It seemed the elders, having figured out how to defeat the Dark Knights, had pressured Suren to drag me into the gate.

Two days ago, they had come first thing in the morning, causing a scene and demanding Kaiel, so now their pride must be too hurt to ask me directly.

“I’m afraid that will be difficult, as I plan to depart for Taikan immediately after the meal.”

“Y-you’re just going back?”

“Wasn’t the promised duration of my stay in Akron one week in the first place?”

“You can’t! We need you, Guild Master!”

I stared at Suren sharply.

“I gave you two days. But not a single elder came to see me. Naturally, no one apologized either. So why should I help you?”

“They must have wanted to come and apologize. But the situation was too urgent…”

“What’s so urgent about a mere standoff? I don’t know how little you must think of me to act this way.”

“N-no! It’s not that we’re disrespecting you, Guild Master…”

As Suren rambled on with her excuses.

“What did you say?”

Alex suddenly shouted, bolting to his feet. Startled, I looked at him.

“Alex, what’s wrong?”

His face was deathly pale, his lips moving without a sound as he looked at me.

“Astell…”

“What is it?”

“The Constellations are saying… th-there was a fire at the mansion last night.”

For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend. A fire? A fire at the mansion?

The image of Duke Ruthius flashed through my mind, which had stalled like a broken machine. The image of him leaning on his cane due to his bad leg.

“The Duke.”

“The staff all escaped, but F-Father…”

A tear dropped from Alex’s green eyes.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

It felt like Alex was saying something, but I couldn’t hear him clearly over the pounding in my ears.

“Say that again. What did you say?”

“Father… he couldn’t evacuate…”

“……!”

A terrible silence fell over the dining room.

He couldn’t evacuate.

He couldn’t evacuate.

He couldn’t evacuate.

I stood there stunned for a long moment before my lips parted.

“Sir Kaiel, we need to go back… now. I need to see it with my own eyes.”

“I will prepare the magic circle.”

“G-Guild Master, just a moment…”

Suren stood before us, flustered as we prepared to leave, but she couldn’t stop us.

I turned a cold shoulder to her and stepped onto the magic circle.

Since we didn’t use the magic circle provided by Akron, I didn’t feel motion sick like on the way there. It seemed Kaiel had taken special care to prevent it.

Thanks to that, Kaiel had to endure a mana shortage. Fortunately, with the help of Johan’s special ability to replenish mana, we were able to cross over to Taikan without any issues.

By the time we arrived at the Ruthius estate, it was past noon. We walked quickly. The closer we got to the main building, the stronger the smell of soot became.

When we finally reached it, Johan covered his mouth and gasped.

“How could this be…”

The main building was nothing but a grotesque skeleton. The elegant and classical beauty of its former self was nowhere to be found.

The ground was a muddy mess everywhere, a testament to the efforts to extinguish the fire.

The servants, sitting dazedly with soot on their faces, spotted us and slowly pushed themselves to their feet.

“P-Princess? The Princess is here!”

“And the Young Duke, too!”

“Princess, what do we do… *sob*!”

The servants shed tears as they looked at me.

“All of you, stop! What is this disgraceful behavior!”

Frank pushed through the servants and approached us. His hands and arms were thickly wrapped in bandages, and he was limping, likely injured while fighting the fire.

“Princess, welcome… back.”

“The Duke.”

“……”

Frank bowed his head. I asked again, my voice steady.

“Butler, where is the Duke? I need to see him, so take me to him.”

Frank closed his bloodshot eyes and dropped to his knees with a thud.

“…I am sorry.”

“Who asked for an apology? I’m asking you where the Duke is!”

Tears dripped from the old butler’s bowed head. I squeezed my eyes shut.

In that moment, I knew. Duke Ruthius was nowhere to be found.

A cracked voice clawed its way up my throat.

“What happened? Explain.”

“In the early morning… we suddenly heard an explosion. We thought a gate had opened somewhere. Then, we heard another explosion.”

Frank squeezed his eyes shut with a pained expression.

“The Duke’s bedroom was already engulfed in flames. We frantically tried to open his door, but for some reason… it wouldn’t open. We tried to break it down, but it was no use. It wouldn’t budge, as if it were blocked by a boulder.”

“Did you check the terrace?”

“The first place we saw the fire was the third-floor terrace. A massive blaze was shooting out from it. So even if the terrace had been open… it would have been difficult for him to escape that way.”

Even if he had managed to get through the flames, he wouldn’t have been able to jump. Not with Duke Ruthius’s bad leg.

‘Duke Ruthius… is dead?’

It didn’t feel real at all.

How could this be? Just a week ago, he had given me a scroll and wished me a safe trip. He had patted my shoulder and smiled.

‘That person is dead?’

My lifelong revenge was so close to completion, and it ends like this? So easily? So emptily?