Leon was a bit surprised but asked without showing it.

“Where?”

“It was dark and I swung in a hurry so I couldn’t see clearly, but I think there were wounds on the right cheek and right arm.”

She was recounting it as if it was nothing, but Leon could see her complexion turning pale again.

She was the one who asked to send the man-eating bear to its death without suffering at the hunting competition. There was no way she could be fine after cutting a person with her own hands.

“That man seemed flustered. First, at the fact that I wasn’t Eve… And then, he was hit by the magical tool and suddenly got cut by a knife too. But soon, as if coming to his senses… he twisted my arm to make me drop the knife, and right then the guard knocked on the door from outside. That’s when he got startled and ran away…. I chased after him right away.”

Leon frowned.

“That was a dangerous move.”

“But, I had to catch him no matter what… That man.”

She sighed with genuine regret.

“On the balcony… I tried to catch him as he jumped off, but instead he… pushed me off. Luckily I fell into a bush so I wasn’t hurt. But he got away in the meantime.”

So she fell off the balcony because that man pushed her.

Leon felt dizzy at the realization.

Realizing that Kasha could have really gotten hurt, his complexion rapidly worsened this time. Dark fury toward the unknown assailant clouded his eyes.

Not noticing his state, Kasha continued explaining with a serious face.

“But I… I saw that man’s face.”

“You saw his face?”

Leon looked at her in surprise.

Kasha slowly nodded, her eyes shining.

“Who the hell was it? What kind of bastard?”

Leon cried out tensely.

If he could just find out that bastard’s identity, he would make him suffer ten, twenty times the pain Kasha experienced. He would make him beg to be killed instead.

While such unchivalrous vows were being made inside him, Kasha was deep in thought with a grave expression.

“Kasha?”

“It was… someone I know.”

Leon’s handsome face hardened seriously.

“Someone you know? Who the hell is that?”

“I ran into him on the first day I arrived here too.”

“First day…?”

Repeating her words, Leon suddenly realized what she was referring to.

The first day she arrived was when they encountered the crown prince’s group at the beach.

“Don’t tell me there’s a culprit among the crown prince’s party?”

“Yes.”

Her answer instantly threw Leon’s mind into disarray.

‘Does this mean… the crown prince has reached out to even Eve?’

Chilling anger surged up to his stomach, but Leon calmed himself for now.

‘Just because it’s the crown prince’s party doesn’t necessarily mean the crown prince ordered this.’

Leon asked cautiously.

“Who is it?”

The moment Kasha’s lips parted to answer his question-

Bang bang.

Someone pounded on the door of Leon’s bedroom as if to break it down.

Who dared to knock so violently on the grand duke’s door in this situation?

Kasha and Leon’s eyes met. They could read that each other was gripped by an ominous premonition.

Leon quickly got up from his seat.

“Who is it!”

“Brother!”

At the voice coming from outside the door, Leon flinched.

“Anthony?”

Click.

Then, without his permission, the door opened.

As expected, his younger brother Anthony was standing outside the door. His silver hair, soaked with the chilly dawn air, was completely drenched.

Not only his hair, but the robe he was wearing was also soaked through, and he was panting as if he had been running for a while. His eyes were fiery as if excited.

“Brother. What is all this about?”

“You… What the hell happened to you? You’re still weak-”

Leon reflexively reached out to take Anthony’s wet robe, but Anthony visibly avoided his touch.

“Brother. This isn’t the time to worry about that. There was an intruder at dawn?”

“Yes. Fortunately no one was hurt, but we need to clearly find out the situation. We have to catch the culprit too. But how did you hear the news and come?”

“Yesterday, I heard father was causing a scene. I had asked the butler to contact me right away if something like that happened.”

Anthony had been receiving treatment at a temple about half a day’s distance from the villa. According to the original plan, he was scheduled to arrive at the villa in two days, but it seemed he had left early after receiving the butler’s contact.

…Even so, his arrival felt too early.

“I see. Come into the room for now. Even if it’s dawn, you shouldn’t have pushed yourself like this to leave.”

Knowing Anthony’s weak body well, Leon hurriedly led him to the front of the fireplace. It was warm there as a fire had been lit weakly to warm Kasha’s body.

However, Anthony shook off his hand as if frustrated. His strength was considerable unlike before.

To the point it wouldn’t lose out to a typical man his age. Leon felt a bit relieved realizing his brother’s health had improved noticeably.

Meanwhile, Anthony began speaking while glancing at Kasha.

“I was originally planning to leave in the morning. But a terrible incident happened in the village. How could I stay still feeling anxious after seeing that?”

“A terrible incident…?”

Leon, who had been heading to the sofa, stopped in his tracks. At the same time, Kasha, who had been sitting there, also stared at Anthony with puzzled eyes.

Focusing his gaze on her, Anthony replied slowly as if on purpose.

“A person was found dead. In the village where I was staying.”

The ominous premonition became reality.

“Who the hell was it?”

“Who was it?”

Leon and Kasha asked simultaneously. Looking at their faces in turn as if confirming something, Anthony replied.

“It was a nobleman. Marquis Namjak.”

“Marquis Namjak?”

At the unexpected name, Leon tilted his head.

‘Wait. Come to think of it…’

That’s when Kasha, who was sitting on the sofa, exclaimed in a choked voice as if being strangled.

“Marquis Namjak… is dead?”

“Yes. That’s what they said. They said he had large wounds on his right arm and face.”

‘Arm and face…?’

Repeating that strangely bothering fact, Leon suddenly looked at Kasha and was startled.

Her face had turned pale white.

“How could he… But why…”

As if the stability she had barely found was for naught, she seemed to fall into confusion again. Leon swiftly approached and knelt in front of her, looking at her face.

“Kasha, are you alright?”

“It’s strange. It can’t be. Something… is wrong.”

“What the hell is it?”

Leon patted her shoulder as if to soothe her.

“It’s alright. Please speak slowly since it’s fine.”

Then, after moving her lips for a long time, she finally answered.

“It’s Marquis Namjak.”

“Marquis Namjak? What about him?”

“Yesterday, the intruder who broke into Eve’s room. It was him. The one I attacked with the magical tool and chased away.”

At the unexpected words, Leon froze for a moment.

“Are you sure…? Was it really Marquis Namjak?”

“Yes. I know his face… very well. Moreover… we ran into him on the first day here too. That face, it was undoubtedly him.”

Hearing that, Leon was gripped by confusion as if hit on the back of his head.

Her words were right.

They had encountered Marquis Namjak on the first day Kasha arrived at the Elor Bay.

Because he was among none other than Crown Prince Nigel’s party.

Leon also recalled that brief encounter from that day the moment that name popped out of Anthony’s mouth.

Marquis Namjak.

He thought the man particularly stood out in Nigel’s party.

Since childhood, Nigel had a developed aesthetic sense and clear likes and dislikes. He only wanted to keep the most beautiful and best things by his side.

It was the same for the people he associated with. Many flocked around him as the crown prince, but he mostly kept close those who had both outstanding looks and powerful family backgrounds.

‘But that man clearly didn’t fit that criteria.’

Despite only glancing in passing as he had no reason to be interested in Nigel’s party, that man’s presence grated on him. Like an ugly rocky protrusion jutting out on the golden sand.

A bloodlessly pale complexion like a corpse, a hooked nose, dark and cowardly eyes.

He seemed to recall rumors that the man was the organizer of the secret debauchery parties that were briefly in vogue in high society. There was also talk of him being a notorious gambler.

In short, he had not a single aspect, in both appearance and character, that fit Nigel’s standards.

Rather, that’s why the man’s existence left more of an impression.

And that man was the intruder who put Kasha in danger by breaking into Eve’s room just now.

Not only that, this time he was found dead in a village half a day’s distance away.

Given that the wounds Kasha testified to inflicting on the intruder were in the exact same places, it was clear that man was the intruder.

‘But… why on earth?’

No matter how vicious, he was a proper nobleman. Even if he was a nobleman in name only who didn’t give a damn about honor, he was still a ‘have’ with things to protect.

Yet such a man tried to harm the grand duke’s daughter.

And as soon as he failed at that, he was found dead.

What did those facts imply?

Leon rubbed his face and tousled his hair in irritation.

That’s when Anthony, who had been silently watching the two, opened his mouth.

“What are you saying? Marquis Namjak is the intruder? Don’t tell me, the one who broke into Eve’s room?”

“That’s right. It was him.”

Leon answered for Kasha who was deep in thought.

“But, you’re saying Lady Kasha attacked him with a magical tool?”

“…Yes. It was self-defense against the intrusion.”

“Ah. Of course that would be the case. But the problem is… he ended up dead.”

At Anthony’s serious muttering, the room fell into silence. The one to break that silence first was Leon.

“Lady Kasha did nothing wrong. Moreover, all she used was a magical tool that temporarily paralyzes the body and a small knife. It doesn’t make sense for those wounds to lead to death. The guard even witnessed him running away just fine.”

At Leon’s somewhat strong reaction, Anthony took a step back and raised both hands as if to say calm down.

“Of course, I think so too. It’s hard to believe a delicate person like Lady Kasha inflicted a fatal wound on a sturdy man. But that magical tool you said Lady Kasha used… Has its safety been thoroughly verified?”

“That’s…”

Leon hesitated for a moment. Of course, having been the test subject for the magical tool himself, he knew well it wasn’t dangerous.

However, it was true that since Kasha had completed the magical tool right before the trip, there hadn’t been enough leeway to carry out verification on a sufficient sample size.

As if hearing the unspoken answer, Anthony spoke worriedly.

“I’m concerned. Was there anyone hurt from Marquis Namjak’s intrusion?”

“No, but the fact that he intruded into Eve’s bedroom and ran away can’t be denied. He even pushed Kasha off the balcony.”

“That may be so, but in a situation where he didn’t cause physical harm, it was Marquis Namjak who was attacked. To the point he died from that attack.”

“……”

“Moreover, he was a nobleman… If it becomes known that he died from injuries inflicted by Lady Kasha, her position will become very difficult.”