“Tsk. Unfortunately, my son’s body is not well today, so I have to send you back now.”

As Genovefa, who had grasped the situation at some point, gestured to summon the knights, they surrounded Rude as if following a predetermined procedure.

Rude, engulfed in a terrible sense of helplessness, was pushed away by their strong hands without even thinking of resisting.

At the same time, knights appeared around Merche and dragged her away.

She also did not resist and obediently surrendered herself to their hands.

The two people disappeared quietly so that no one would know.

The lively atmosphere of the banquet continued throughout the night without anyone noticing their absence.

Rude realized. Time passes too easily.

Even knowing that Merche was trapped below, in the dungeon of this castle, breathing as if dead, he could do nothing.

Days passed with such a persistent sense of powerlessness.

“He turned away the woman as soon as he saw her today as well.”

Was it the ninth time today?

The number of times Genovefa sent a woman and Rude turned her away.

Since the announcement ceremony, Genovefa had been sending a different woman to Rude every day as if possessed.

However, despite her efforts, there were no results.

His companion? Marking? It all sounded like a dream.

As if his soul had leaked out of his body, recently, Rude had lost even the sharp energy that used to remind him of his former rogue self.

“Don’t you know that the more you act like this, the fewer days Merche has to live? If you’re pretending not to know despite being aware, it’s an incredibly stupid thing to do. Do you think I’ll put up with you forever, son?”

Genovefa shouted at Rude, who was sitting on a chair as if lying down, tilting a glass of alcohol.

“Do I have to bring Merche directly in front of you and kill her for you to come to your senses?”

“…Yes. Kill her.”

“What?”

“I said kill her. Go ahead and try to kill her. See what happens to me.”

“I told you not to act stupidly. You’re not thinking of making some useless threat that if she dies, you’ll die too, are you?”

Tak. The sound of the glass hitting the table resonated loudly, grating on the ears.

Rude tilted his chin and leaned back even more indulgently, then let out an incomprehensible sneer and opened his mouth.

“Companion, you say. Do you know what happens when the bloodline of Lupinus loses their companion?”

Genovefa frowned at the sudden interruption of the flow.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say. Stop with the miscellaneous talk and get to the point.”

“Yes. This is the point right now. So just answer me. What happens when that great Lupinus bloodline loses their companion, no, when their companion dies before them?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

It was a subject that he had already made Rude aware of to the point of being sick of it.

If the bloodline of Lupinus loses their companion, that Lupinus loses their sanity and goes mad.

Just like the family’s sacred beast, the black wolf, the unique characteristic of the Lupinus family that exists to share their life with their companion, and also the family’s most fatal weakness, was precisely that.

It would be fortunate if they just went mad.

The chronic illness of the Lupinus bloodline did not end with just that.

Not human, but a beast. A literal beast that has lost all judgment, common sense, and even intelligence.

Falling to the position of that beast is the end for a wolf who has lost their companion.

There was always one Lupinus per generation who took their own life, unable to bear the loss of their companion.

Among the past several dozens of family heads, a staggering 70% of them had given up on life after losing their companion.

Could he really avoid adding to that 70%? Rude himself, no one else, the prospect of him being able to stay sane after losing Merche.

Does such a thing even exist?

Just imagining it was so ridiculous that Rude laughed as if he were giggling.

Genovefa frowned at the blatant mocking laughter, but he continued to scratch her insides, laughing heartily without regard.

“Yes. I’ll become a madman. But do you know what that means?”

Shall I really piss her off? He was certain that the old man in front of him would not remain sane after hearing the next words.

He licked his parched lips in anticipation.

His tongue, which had become as flashy as a snake, moved smoothly as if oiled.

“The moment you kill Merche, it means the end of the Lupinus family and everything else. You stupid old fool.”

“…You’re talking nonsense. Are you trying to claim that Merche is your companion? And you believe I’ll fall for such a sloppy false act?”

“Why are you yapping so much? If you can’t believe it, then instead of blabbering, go ahead and do it. I’m telling you to kill Merche? Then you’ll have your answer. Whether I’m lying or telling the truth.”

“Merche’s eyes are not purple. If she were your companion, her eyes would have turned purple long ago. Are you daring to try to deceive me with your insolence?”

“That’s why I’m telling you to kill her! Why? Are you afraid that if you kill her, I might really die with her? Are you trembling in fear that I might die!”

Rude, who slammed the armrest hard enough to break it, abruptly stood up from his chair.

As if his behavior of living like a dead mouse had been a pretense, his suddenly revealed anger was not just rough, but violent.

He strode up to Genovefa and glared at her fiercely.

“Kill her. Go and kill her right now.”

If Merche dies, he dies too anyway.

Merche, the woman who returned to this castle on her own feet because she hated being by his side more than dying, what can be done now?

Come to think of it, perhaps it would be best for both of them to die.

…No. Is that really the best?

Just as he felt relieved by the conclusion that it would be better to disappear and die if she couldn’t be his, the thought of Merche dying made him feel like he was going crazy, and laughter burst out.

He laughed out loud as if the situation was funny.

Genovefa’s face stiffened and she was at a loss for words at the sight of him laughing like a deranged madman.

Ominous. And an inexplicable, chilling sensation.

Instinct belatedly rang the bell frantically, but sharp intuition whispered that even that was a step too late.

Lies. It must all be lies.

Believing that he was just putting on airs, she stared at her son’s face, searching thoroughly.

But there was nothing she was looking for.

In her son, who was as transparent as a young child, inside and out, there was not a trace of any falsehood.

On the face that smiled and tilted back as if truly pleased, only the undeniable traces were distinct.

Truth. Truth again.

No matter how much she shook her head violently and rummaged through several times, there was only the truth.

A distant horror and anxiety swept over her as if trapped in a terrible nightmare.

Genovefa, with bloodshot eyes, could no longer endure and turned her steps urgently.

At the sound of hurried footsteps coming down the stairs, the group of soldiers gathered together stiffened their bodies.

Why now of all times? Damn it. Luck is really terrible. The whispering voices disappeared in an instant.

It was the moment when Genovefa, with her sharp purple eyes, set foot in front of them.

Underlings, mere objects that had only dominated since birth.

Genovefa, who had never shown any signs of impatience in front of them, spoke fiercely with strangely glowing eyes.

“Christine? Where is she now?”

“…Pardon?”

“Useless thing. Do I have to ask twice? Christine. Christine Ashtad! That blind wench, where is she now!”

The soldiers stiffened even more at the angry voice and stern order they heard for the first time.

But they only cowered, and no one opened their mouth to answer Genovefa’s question.

A strangely chaotic atmosphere. Soldiers who closed their mouths heavily like prisoners waiting for execution.

Genovefa, who grasped the surroundings in a short gap, trembled with an ominous uneasiness that grated on her nerves.

Just then, a knight who had spotted him and ran over stood in front, and Genovefa’s voice became even rougher.

“Christine Ashtad. Where is she now?”

“…I’m sorry, Lord. The hostage has escaped.”

Thwack!

As soon as he heard the answer, the knight who was kicked in the abdomen crumpled to the ground.

Gasping for breath, the knight still crawled and prostrated himself in front of Genovefa.

It was a signal that there was still a report left.

“…Lord. Merche Ashtad has also disappeared with her.”

A chilling silence fell. Even though he had clearly heard the report, Genovefa showed no movement or reaction.

“I’m sorry, Lord…”

Before the knight could finish his words, his head was grabbed.

He couldn’t even close his eyes in the face of the overwhelming strength in the hand.

That fleeting memory became the knight’s last memory in his life.

Genovefa, who had casually killed a subordinate he had kept by his side for decades, slowly turned around.

The gazes of the soldiers, who were too frightened to even breathe, were all focused on him.

“Find them. Bring those things and place them in front of me right now.”

If you can’t… The ominous, clouded words did not finish. Nevertheless, the meaning he wanted to convey was clear.

The murderous gaze dripping with blood and the sight unfolding before their eyes.

The soldiers, who quickly grasped the situation for survival, scattered like a swarm of underground insects that had seen the light.

Merche. Open your eyes. A soft voice tickled her ears.

As if enchanted, she lifted her heavy eyelids and groped the cold floor to raise her upper body.

A prison? …Yes. Of course it would be. So are they going to drag me away and kill me now?

Resigning herself and trying to submit to death, her mind became terrifyingly clear.

No. This place is not a prison.

The damp air of the underground, the dirty water that should have been pooled at her feet, none of it existed.

Slowly lifting her head to confirm the face of the person who had called her, at that moment.

Merche froze, unable to say a word.