The wolf cubs were all brown like their parents, but one had a different color. The small gray wolf, as if lacking pigment, was trembling alone in a separate spot, unable to mingle with its siblings. Even the wolf parents ignored it.

Roxiana unconsciously tried to move towards the cage, but was led away by Floyd’s hand. She barely managed to tear her gaze away, trying to erase the pitiful gray wolf from her mind.

There was a long line at the entrance of the tent with someone taking tickets. People entered after handing over their tickets in turn, and Floyd also gave two tickets to the person.

Floyd and Roxiana entered the tent, but Hexten was blocked.

“My lord, what about mine?”

“There are only two tickets.”

Floyd said coldly without even looking back. Hexten grinned.

“How stingy.”

He quickly took out coins and handed them to the ticket inspector, then hurriedly followed the two inside.

Small chairs were arranged in a semicircle around the central stage. They rose tier by tier towards the back, allowing even those seated at the rear to comfortably view the stage.

Floyd and Roxiana sat side by side somewhere in the middle, while Hexten sat behind them.

“You’ll go bald if you keep being so stingy.”

As Hexten grumbled with his chin on Floyd’s shoulder, Floyd pushed his forehead away with his hand and said,

“Forgot? You’re an uninvited guest.”

The empty seats were suddenly filled. With only the stage brightly lit, it was difficult to see what kind of people were sitting in the audience.

It was noisy with chatter until the circus began, but when the host announced the start of the circus on stage, it quieted down.

The first to appear was a man who ate fire.

As the man who had been waving a rod with burning fire at its end brought the flame to his mouth, gasps were heard from here and there. And when the man swallowed the flame, people clapped and cheered.

Floyd watched the scene as if it was very amusing and laughable, while pondering how to tell Roxiana about the series of events that occurred in Kanta.

‘The princess probably doesn’t know exactly what happened in her country.’

At first, he had intended not to tell Roxiana anything. He thought that since Roxiana would roughly guess anyway, there was no need to inform her of the methods Lucas used and make her dwell on her situation again.

‘But I can’t hide it forever.’

Someday, it might reach Roxiana’s ears through someone else’s mouth. Rather than that, it would be better if he told her himself. He wanted to be by her side when she fell into shock and suffered.

Floyd knew very well that loneliness when no one understands or stays by your side as you struggle in despair.

‘That bastard.’

The irritation that welled up whenever he thought of Lucas was particularly sharp today. If Roxiana hadn’t been beside him, an uncontrollable fire would have burned down this tent.

Floyd glanced at Roxiana. She was fixated on the circus stage, but her eyes were so indifferent that it was impossible to tell if she was enjoying it or bored.

‘If only the princess were an easier woman to understand.’

He wondered if he would even be able to tell when she fell into despair after learning the truth about the fall of the Kanta Kingdom.

While Floyd was looking at Roxiana with inner turmoil, Roxiana was recalling the small gray wolf while keeping her gaze on the stage. The pitiful gray wolf born alone ashen among brown parents and siblings, unable to fit in.

Its situation felt just like her own.

Roxiana Evelyn Franche, who survived alone, unable to die together.

‘If I say I want to bring that child… would he allow it?’

When Roxiana glanced slightly at Floyd, he was looking at the stage.

‘He probably would. Even if he doesn’t allow me to do something, he allows me to have things I want.’

But thinking about it again, she wasn’t sure if it was even possible to bring and raise someone when she couldn’t even take proper care of herself. After tending to her family’s bodies and confirming their return to God’s embrace, Roxiana had planned to follow them.

If she couldn’t take it with her then, it would be better not to bring and raise it from the start. There’s nothing crueler than taking in a life without the responsibility to care for it until the end.

While Floyd and Roxiana were lost in different thoughts watching the stage, the circus moved from juggling to trapeze acts, and then to knife throwing.

A blonde woman wearing clothes that revealed more than they covered stood in front of a round board with her arms spread. An apple was placed on top of her head, and one on each of her hands.

And quite far from the woman, a man was performing tricks with several knives.

‘Is he going to hit those apples with the knives? Seems too far…’

Roxiana focused on the performance for the first time. Since a woman’s life was at stake, she couldn’t just watch half-heartedly like before.

‘What if he misses? Isn’t that woman scared?’

At that moment, as soon as the man caught the knife he had thrown in the air, he hurled it towards the woman.

Swish-!

The knife that cut through the air stuck precisely into the apple on the woman’s right hand.

“Wow!”

The people who had been watching with bated breath burst into cheers and applause.

At the same time, the man threw another knife. This time it stuck into the apple on her left hand. And the third knife sliced through the air.

Not towards the target apple, but towards the audience.

The audience didn’t know what was happening.

-Watch out, Roxy.

An urgent voice was heard.

But before that, Floyd’s arm moved. He firmly pressed down on Roxiana’s shoulder while slightly tilting his own head to the side.

The knife aimed at his brow grazed past his temple. The one who caught the knife that hadn’t lost its speed was Hexten, sitting right behind.

“How cruel. You knew I was behind you.”

Hexten grumbled as he leapt into the air, kicking off from the audience seats. Only then did the audience realize the situation, screaming and scattering in all directions.

Amidst the audience members struggling to escape first, Roxiana sat still with her shoulder pressed down by Floyd.

‘What just happened?’

The woman on stage was flustered, and the man who had been throwing knives had vanished. Hexten could be seen cutting through the tent beyond the stage with his sword and going out.

“Occasionally there are fellows like this who are obsessed with my life. This time they seem to have disguised themselves as circus members. To even learn knife-throwing skills for that purpose. Isn’t that passionate dedication?”

His voice sounded particularly monotonous amidst the sounds of chairs moving, screams, and people’s urgent footsteps. Despite his life being targeted, he seemed relaxed.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“They were aiming for Your Highness.”

“The guy lacked skill, so I was worried you might get hurt, Princess.”

He must not have dodged perfectly, as blood was trickling down his temple. Yet he was only worried about Roxiana despite being injured himself.

Roxiana unconsciously reached out towards his temple. Her white thumb gently wiped away the blood flowing down his cheek.

“You’re hurt.”

“This much will heal if I lick it.”

Was he asking her to lick it?

While Roxiana was conflicted, he added,

“Ah, I’m not asking the princess to lick it.”

He grinned and wiped away the flowing blood with the back of his hand. By then, the tent had fallen silent as all the audience members had evacuated.

Only then did he take out a small whistle from his bosom and blow it hard.

Peeeeee-

The sharp sound pierced through the tent and flowed out.

He stood up and looked down at Roxiana, asking,

“Can you stand?”

“Yes.”

Roxiana took a slow deep breath before standing up to face him. Then she took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped away the blood that had started flowing again from his wound.

“You need to get treatment.”

“If I lick it…”

“You can’t lick that area yourself. Are you going to ask Sir Leonard to lick it for you?”

Floyd recoiled as if horrified.

“Princess, you say terrible things so casually.”

“That’s why you should get treatment…”

“Look, Princess.”

Floyd took the handkerchief from Roxiana’s hand and roughly rubbed his own wound. Roxiana was startled and grabbed his arm tightly, but she couldn’t overcome his strength.

By the time the white handkerchief was stained red, the bleeding had stopped.

“It’s not bleeding anymore, right?”

Roxiana blinked her eyes.

How could he be so rough? Doesn’t it hurt?

“The knights have arrived. Let’s go out.”

As Floyd said, the knights had arrived at the circus grounds. All the knights were wearing black uniforms with white badges.

The audience members who had rushed out of the tent screaming were caught and gathered on one side, and people who seemed to be circus members were held on another side. A man wearing a long hat, who appeared to be the ringmaster, could be seen pleading with a knight with a desperate expression.

Hexten, who spotted Floyd, came running.

“It seems they escaped on horses hidden outside. The knights went after them, so they won’t be able to pass through the city gates and will be caught. Ah, and the ringmaster probably doesn’t know anything. The guy had been coming and going steadily for 5 years.”

“It could have been planned from 5 years ago, so investigate properly.”

“Yes sir!”

After Floyd left the circus grounds with Roxiana, Hexten scratched his head and looked around. The animals that had been preparing for performances were back in their cages. They seemed to sense the strange atmosphere and were crying sadly or scratching their cages.

‘The princess has been looking at the wolf cage since earlier…’

Hexten went to the wolf cage and peered inside.

Among the brown wolves, there was one noticeable gray wolf. It was smaller than its siblings, seemingly not having been fed properly.

‘Was she looking at this one?’

Hexten turned to look at the circus ringmaster who was being held by the knights.

“Hey! I’m taking one wolf cub!”

“Yes, yes! As many as you like. You can take them all!”

“I don’t need all of them, just one.”

Hexten took out a silver coin from his pocket and threw it towards the ringmaster. The flying coin landed precisely on top of the ringmaster’s head.

Hexten fearlessly reached his hand into the cage. The adult wolves that had been growling stopped caring when Hexten grabbed the gray wolf by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up. The gray wolf yelped for a moment before giving up its resistance and quietly allowed itself to be taken out of the cage by Hexten.

Hexten, who had put the small wolf inside his uniform, moved around with the knights for a while to assess the situation. The circus ringmaster, who had been detained and interrogated for a long time before being released without charges, muttered while absent-mindedly checking the wolf cage,

“What on earth did that knight take earlier? All three cubs are still here…”