Lea was bedridden with a high fever for several days. If there was a flaw in the beautiful Grace, it was that her body was very weak.

Throughout her illness, she recalled memories of walking through vast grasslands.

After leaving the injured Terran in the cabin, Lea went out and recklessly searched for a village.

She had to do something, whether it was finding a horse or writing a letter to the duke’s residence.

‘Why can’t I see the village?’

Why was she just wandering endlessly through the grasslands? No matter how much she walked, no village appeared.

“Grace.”

Just then, an echo was heard. Lea now naturally responded when called ‘Grace’.

‘Duke Courtois?’

Following his voice coming from somewhere, Lea waved her hands. Then, as someone grabbed her hand, she opened her eyes wide.

“Are you alright?”

It was no longer an echo. As her blurry vision gradually brightened, she could clearly see Terran holding her hand.

“Duke Courtois!”

Lea sat up abruptly and saw him sitting on the edge of her bed. For a while, the two just looked at each other, holding hands.

“I’m… sorry, I was trying to go to the village to get a horse… no, I was going to write a letter to the duke’s residence. But it ended up like this.”

Lea, still bound by her dream, rambled on before finally bursting into tears.

“You must have been in… a lot of pain? I feel so pathetic for not being able to do anything.”

Lea covered her face with both hands and sobbed loudly.

She cried bitterly with guilt for not being able to complete her task.

“Shh! Stop crying, Grace.”

A large hand stroked her head. Only then did Lea realize it wasn’t a dream.

“We returned safely.”

Lea looked up at Terran.

He looked neat, but his right shoulder was still bandaged.

However, she couldn’t remember at all how they had returned to the duke’s residence.

“How…?”

“You went to the village and got a horse.”

Is that so? Why can’t she recall anything in her mind?

Terran couldn’t forget the bewilderment he felt when he opened his eyes in the cabin.

Grace, who had wrapped him in a blanket like a baby and disappeared. He wondered if she had been kidnapped by the bandits.

Hurriedly putting on his clothes and opening the door, he saw Grace in the distance, pulling a brown horse and climbing the hill diligently.

For a moment, time and space froze. The only thing moving was his heart. He still vividly remembered.

A woman with fever-flushed eyes, panting and gasping for breath.

Not realizing her own illness, waving her hand with a bright smile at the joy of getting a horse, her face looked like welcoming an unknown being.

‘Is that what an angel looks like?’

He thought he only saw the messengers of hell. He had seen countless departed souls beckoning from afar every time he narrowly escaped death on the battlefield.

But for the first time in his life, he saw an angel. The thrill he felt then was still present.

“Did I do it?”

Was wandering the grasslands just a dream?

Lea asked with her eyes wide open. Terran nodded in response.

“Thank goodness.”

Relieved, Lea smiled weakly and collapsed.

Terran’s shout for a doctor and Pauline’s crying as she ran in echoed in Lea’s ears.

* * *

Terran, Luke, and James were anxiously waiting for someone in the office. But there was no news, and it was frustrating.

“It’s an area between Bern and Basel, and there are many forests where escaped slaves hide and live.”

Luke had reported the bandits to the Lübeck police station.

“Whether they’re slaves or bandits, we need to root them out as soon as possible. Both of you could have been in big trouble.”

Butler James ranted. He went on a tirade about how it was wrong to leave with just the two of them without any escorts from the start, and that next time they should go with guards.

“By the way, I was surprised by Miss Grace once again. I guess you really don’t know a person until you’ve experienced them?”

Luke had doubted his ears when he heard from Terran about how Grace had acted at the time.

“I need to apologize for scolding her for throwing tantrums like a child.”

“But why is Doctor Wilson taking so long? I’ll go check.”

As the anxious James was about to leave the office, there was a knock and the door opened.

Doctor Wilson had returned after finishing Grace’s treatment. Only then did Terran’s eyes show a spark.

“How is Grace?”

“It’s pneumonia.”

Everyone was surprised and looked at Wilson. This was because Wilson’s complexion was very bad.

“Given her weak constitution, she overexerted herself and got caught in the rain a lot, which is the cause. It seems tonight will be critical.”

“Critical?”

Terran stood up abruptly. He roughly ran his hand through his hair, not knowing what to do. Luke and James were equally distressed.

“Use whatever means necessary to save her, Wilson.”

“I’ll do my best, Your Grace.”

“First Baron Aiden, and now Miss Grace. What a bolt from the blue is this?”

Luke said with a dazed expression.

There was a risk of Terran having to bear another unbearable burden.

At that moment, James noticed Wilson’s lips moving as if he had something to say.

“Doctor Wilson, do you have something to say?”

“I’m not sure if I should say this. But it’s the only sure method.”

“A sure method, what is it?”

Terran glared fiercely at Wilson.

“Do you know an organization called ‘Rapha’? It’s very famous even in Rebon City…”

“Isn’t that a violent organization?”

Luke asked dubiously.

They were originally of gypsy origin, but now they were famous for doing anything for money.

“Their leader deals with all kinds of medicines. Among them, there’s a pneumonia medicine smuggled from the Eastern Continent.”

“Is it opium?”

Terran couldn’t hide his suspicion. If it’s a medicine handled by a violent organization, it’s obvious.

“No. It’s said to be an herbal medicine from the Eastern Continent, and I’ve heard it’s very effective for pneumonia.”

At Wilson’s words, Terran immediately stood up. If there’s medicine, he should go get it. However, he could guess it wouldn’t be easy to obtain.

“But the problem is that even if you have money, they won’t easily give it to you. They say even if the Emperor of Lübeck came to get that medicine, he would have to bow his head to them.”

“What an ill-mannered thug.”

Terran responded coldly.

“By when do I need to get it?”

Terran glanced at the clock and asked Wilson.

“By five in the evening…”

“I’ll get it.”

As Terran was about to leave, Luke blocked his way.

Going to ‘Rapha’ with a gunshot wound on one shoulder.

Terran didn’t know the reality, but the Rapha organization members were unimaginably vicious people.

Even the police station didn’t dare touch that area.

“Luke, bring me my sword.”

“Your Grace!”

He tried to shout that it wasn’t allowed, but what came back was Terran’s cold gaze.

“I meant that I would go too.”

Luke lowered his tail like a scared puppy.

‘What’s this, why is the Duke’s daily life suddenly in such turmoil?’

After the war ended, Terran’s daily life was as calm as a lake surface without waves. It was lonely and boring, without any vitality.

It seemed the change began when Grace suddenly transformed into a different person. What was even more unbelievable was Terran’s attitude towards Grace.

‘They’ve both gone mad. Whirling−’

* * *

On the outskirts of Rebon, Terran and his soldiers were deployed in the Rapha district.

Terran let out a laugh at the luxurious building that didn’t fit in with the slums.

“Luke, what about the orders I gave?”

“All prepared. Just waiting for your signal.”

“Good.”

As Terran kicked open the door of the Rapha organization, the members came running with weapons.

“I am Duke Terran Courtois. Bring me your boss.”

At his command, the members stepped back instead. Some nobles had visited Rapha before, but no one had ever stormed in like this in broad daylight.

“I’ll give you 3 minutes. Bring the boss.”

At Terran’s threat, the members snickered and mocked him.

“If 3 minutes pass, your heads will be rolling on this stone floor.”

Only then did the men who had been laughing at Terran put on serious expressions.

Just then, there was a rustle among the members, and the densely packed people split into two, forming a path. An old man with a cane walked through.

“Oh my! To think that the war hero of Lübeck would visit such a humble place. I am Rapha.”

‘So that was the boss’s name.’

White hair, a deeply wrinkled face, a bent back – an unremarkable old man, but his eyes were sharp with intelligence.

Terran instinctively sensed that the old man was the leader of Rapha.

But he had a unique scent. It seemed like strong spices, or perhaps musk. Whether it was because of the scent or his eyes, he exuded an extraordinary atmosphere.

“I hear you have an instant cure for pneumonia?”

“So you’ve heard the rumors about the decoction?”

While smiling confidently, the old man’s gaze scrutinized Terran very closely.

Rapha had met all sorts of powerful figures in his life. Except for the emperor of this country and the Duke Courtois family. And now he was meeting one of them like this.

Indeed, he was no ordinary figure, as the rumors said.

‘This young lad has quite an extraordinary aura.’

Rapha clicked his tongue.

“I need the medicine.”

“Oh my! You see, it’s not easy to give that away.”

“I’ll pay whatever you ask. If you don’t like that, I could cut off your head. If you don’t like that either, I could erase this place from the map of Rebon City.”

At Terran’s words, Rapha laughed as if it was ridiculous. There’s a limit to coming here on youthful bravado and acting up.

“That’s not the attitude of someone in need, is it?”

“Do I need to bow my head to get the medicine?”

“Would you do that?”

The tense confrontation between the two men continued. Suddenly, Terran raised one corner of his mouth and smiled coldly.

“!?”

Rapha felt goosebumps all over his body at Terran’s smile. It was a sense of threat he had never felt in his life.

“I’ll ask one last time, will you give the medicine or not?”

“That’s… a bit…”

As Rapha shook his head, Terran immediately raised his left hand. At that moment, there was a tremendous explosion outside, and the ground shook, making the building tremble.

“Aah!”

The gathered men cried out in surprise.

“I told you, I could erase this area from Rebon City.”