Chapter 60

Johan ran frantically in the direction the constellations pointed.

Astell was slumped on the ground in a deserted back alley.

She was covered in blood. Johan’s face hardened.

“Lady Astell!”

“…”

“Are you alright? I heard you were injured!”

“No…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not me. The… the Duke was stabbed… I-I can’t tell exactly where he was hurt…”

Astell rambled, which was unlike her. She seemed utterly flustered.

“Is the Duke the only one injured?”

“…Only the Duke is hurt, only the Duke…”

Johan calmed his racing heart.

He couldn’t describe how startled he’d been, thinking Astell was the one who was hurt.

He had sprinted all the way here without even pausing to catch his breath.

It was a relief that Astell wasn’t in danger, but she didn’t look well.

Astell’s face was even paler than Duke Ruthius’s.

Conscious of her, he forced his expression into a calmer one.

Then he knelt and carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

“May I examine the Duke?”

“…”

“Lady Astell.”

“…Yes?”

“I need you to move your hands so I can check the Duke’s wound.”

“Ah…”

Astell moved her hands with a dazed expression.

Had she been pressing down the whole time? Her movements were stiff, as if her limbs had frozen.

She lowered her arms and looked down at Duke Ruthius.

At the Duke’s face, completely drained of color, as white as a corpse.

Her lips quivered.

“…I haven’t done it yet.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I haven’t done anything yet. I haven’t gotten my revenge, I haven’t become independent to spite them, I haven’t paid them back for what they did…”

“…”

“So he can’t die. You have to save him. You can save him, right? He’s not going to die like this, is he?”

Astell looked up, staring at Johan.

Her green eyes, moist like a rain-drenched forest, were filled with a deep plea.

Johan lowered his gaze.

For some reason, he couldn’t meet her eyes. His heart ached.

*I want to hold her.*

“…I will do my best.”

Johan placed his hand on Duke Ruthius’s back and focused his mind.

A pure white light emanated from his hand, transferring to the Duke’s back.

Though he couldn’t see it through the suit, he could feel the wound closing.

But this wasn’t enough.

In truth, the severe blood loss was a bigger problem for Duke Ruthius than the wound itself.

Even Johan couldn’t create blood that had already been lost.

“We need the High Priest’s divine power. We must move him to the Temple.”

“How will you move him?”

“I’ll carry him on my back.”

“What if the wound reopens?”

“…”

The wound was so deep that there was a real possibility it could tear open again if handled poorly.

Just as Johan bit his lip in frustration.

A desolate wind swept through the empty lot, carrying with it an alien energy.

It was the telltale mana fluctuation of someone using teleportation magic.

*Who is it?*

The moment Johan’s eyes widened, Kaiel appeared out of thin air.

“Princess!”

Beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

A result of using teleportation magic several times to pinpoint their exact location.

“What happened! Are you badly hurt?”

“It’s not me, it’s the Duke.”

Astell replied.

Her tone was much calmer than before.

*To regain her composure so quickly. Her mental fortitude is truly strong.*

Just as Johan thought this, she suddenly clasped her hands together.

“Whoever did this is completely insane. To dare harm a nobleman in the middle of the capital…”

Kaiel stopped mid-sentence.

It was because he had noticed Astell’s hands, clasped so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

Kaiel exchanged a look with Johan.

She hadn’t calmed down at all.

She was barely suppressing an overwhelming sense of anxiety.

Kaiel knelt before Astell.

Soon, a surprisingly gentle voice flowed from his cold lips.

“I’m relieved that you are unharmed, Princess. How is the Duke? It seems his wounds have been treated.”

When Astell didn’t answer, Johan spoke up.

“I’ve administered first aid, but it’s not a complete healing. A wound this severe requires either a top-grade potion made by the High Priest or the High Priest’s own power.”

“Then we must move him.”

“That’s what we were just discussing. I was worried the wound might reopen.”

“I will use teleportation magic to move the Duke to the Central Temple.”

“Ah! That will work! Magic doesn’t function inside the Temple, so please just take us to the vicinity of the Central Temple. From there, he can enter with me.”

“…In that case, the Princess cannot come with us. I don’t have enough mana left to teleport four people at once without a magic circle.”

Astell, who had been sitting there dazedly, spoke up.

“You two go on ahead. I’ll get there on my own.”

Kaiel and Johan turned to look at Astell.

Outwardly, she appeared composed. But they knew that appearances could be deceiving.

Astell, who always seemed stronger than anyone, now looked more fragile than anyone.

Like a dried flower petal that would crumble at the slightest touch.

Johan and Kaiel couldn’t bring themselves to leave her alone.

“Sir Johan, please stay with the Princess. I will take the Duke to the Temple and return.”

Just then, Astell stubbornly shook her head.

“I’m not a child who can’t find her own way. There’s no need for that. I’ll get there just fine, so don’t worry.”

“Princess.”

“I said I’m fine. Go quickly.”

She spoke nonchalantly.

It seemed she didn’t realize how much more worrying that made her appear.

Kaiel sighed, looking at Astell’s dry, pale lips.

*So stubborn…*

“There’s no other way, then. We will depart first. We’ll see you at the Temple. Paladin, would you carry the Duke on your back?”

“Yes, Sir Kaiel.”

Kaiel carefully lifted Duke Ruthius to help Johan get him onto his back.

Then, holding Johan’s arm, he began to chant the magic words.

Astell, who had been watching quietly, suddenly cried out.

“Wait!”

Kaiel and Johan stopped.

After a moment’s hesitation, Astell averted her trembling green eyes from Duke Ruthius.

“N-no, it’s nothing… Please, take good care of him.”

“Do not worry.”

“Lady Astell, leave it to us.”

Kaiel summoned his mana.

Then, the three of them vanished without a trace.

* * *

I stared down at my body.

My elegant dress was soaked in Duke Ruthius’s blood.

I swept back my disheveled hair and let out an empty laugh.

*What’s wrong with me…?*

My fingertips were trembling.

It might sound cold, but he was Astell’s father, not mine.

We had joined forces to face a common enemy, but he was still one of the targets of Astell’s revenge.

I had no intention of forgiving him, so why did I feel this way?

*Why? Because he got hurt trying to save me? Am I just shocked because someone close to me was injured?*

I had witnessed countless deaths in my past life.

Eventually, I became so inured to death that I couldn’t even shed tears. I wasn’t the kind of person to be shaken by something like this.

*Then why am I so pissed off?*

I lowered my head, mulling over the seething emotions.

The reason doesn’t matter. Whoever did this to Duke Ruthius…

“I will never let them get away with this.”

The culprit was someone with a reason to kidnap and confine the Duke and his daughter.

Someone arrogant and audacious enough to act on their desires without hesitation.

And at the same time, someone powerful enough to target a nobleman in the heart of the capital.

Someone who would take advantage of the Duke’s absence at war to go after his wife…

There was only one person in the empire like that.

*The Emperor! That son of a…*

Just then, a pair of unfamiliar black shoes entered my field of vision.

I slowly raised my head.

Someone cloaked in a robe from head to toe stood before me.

The stranger, who had been silently observing me, threw back their hood.

Lustrous black hair. A face as cold and sensual as the moon smiled down at me.

“Hello, Mad Princess.”

*Grind.*

The sound of my teeth grinding escaped my lips.