The beast has fallen.

Upon receiving the report, Jeffrey turned around with a satisfied smile.

It was time to wrap up the hunting competition that had stretched late into the night. Kedilen ordered the surrounding nobles to return.

Although they unfortunately failed to catch the brown bear this time, they had caught something even better, so it was a great success.

However, it was regrettable that they didn’t deal with those who were there together, but they couldn’t kill someone who might be useful to him while their identity was unknown, so he had to be content with that.

Jeffrey, who had returned to the starting point, took his seat amidst the welcome of the nobles gathered in chatter.

It was amusing to see them each boasting about what they had caught, but it didn’t matter.

No matter what anyone said, he was the one who had caught the biggest game.

“Your Majesty.”

As those who had been buzzing around him like flies retreated, a man with a calm expression entered.

It was Dennis, neatly dressed. Jeffrey glanced at the man who seemed to be waiting for a report, then turned his gaze forward.

“Tell them not to worry, the hunt has ended safely.”

“Understood. Then, have a good night.”

With that brief exchange of greetings, Dennis withdrew.

Jeffrey, with a refreshing smile on his lips, closed his eyes tightly and sank into his chair, as if savoring the commotion to come. He wished this hunting competition would come to a close soon.

Time passed excruciatingly slowly.

“Let go of me!”

It was just as they emerged from the forest path that Ludmila shook off Kedilen’s arm.

After alternating between struggling and giving up, Ludmila finally broke free from her husband.

It was possible because Kedilen, who no longer had the strength to hold her, let her go as she wished.

Her face, ruined by tears, was flushed red. Was Aden’s death such a sorrowful event?

Kedilen couldn’t understand at all, but at the same time, he could. It had been over two months.

How many would believe that Ludmila, who had entrusted herself to Aden with no prior connection, had no physical contact with him?

Objectively speaking, Ludmila was a beauty.

The reason he hadn’t touched her was solely because it wasn’t worth spending time on her. Marital relationships always involve troublesome conversations.

His sexual desires were satisfied by courtesans, and his affection was fulfilled by madams, so that was enough.

He had rarely felt lust for Ludmila who stayed in the same bed.

But would that beast-like man be the same? He seemed like the type to pant like a dog in heat at every waking moment.

He didn’t need to think deeply about how he might have handled Ludmila when she was left alone.

As his thoughts reached that point, Kedilen’s face scrunched up.

Why was he so angry and irritated? He didn’t love Ludmila, so it wasn’t his business who she associated with.

But seeing her cry for Aden now made him feel like a loser, further fueling his anger.

“Don’t cry, Ludmila.”

I must have her. Kedilen, consumed by anger and desire, approached the crying Ludmila and tried to embrace her.

But all he received was a cold gaze and hands pushing him away.

Feeling humiliated by the rejection, Kedilen tried more forcefully to claim her lips, but in the end, it all ended as a mere incident when Ludmila’s legs gave way and she collapsed.

Breathing heavily as he looked down at her, Kedilen ran his hand through his hair.

Why did this happen? As he pondered the reason, what he ultimately arrived at was Ludmila.

It was all because of her.

“Stop crying, Ludmila. You know it’s all because of you, and crying like that won’t do any good.”

He knew that saying such things to her now was meaningless and that he shouldn’t do it.

In the midst of trying to turn Ludmila’s heart and make her stay by his side, such a sharp response was of no help.

But the habit of shifting blame to Ludmila throughout their married life hadn’t changed.

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but it was already too late.

“…Why did you run away then? If you had just opened up to me, none of this would have happened.”

Once spoken, why stop at one? At these continued words, Ludmila’s eyes widened before she lowered her head.

“Because of me…”

“Yes, it’s all because of you. The Erdi Marquis family being ruined like that, my reputation hitting rock bottom. Even that stupid duke trying to kill me. And! Him getting shot and dying while trying to kill me−!”

His voice, gradually rising, had now turned into a shout that bore down on Ludmila.

“It’s all your doing. You understand? It’s all your fault.”

“My fault… I… Aden…”

“What’s more? You asked him to kill me? If everything that man said is true, you’re a terribly filthy woman. Asking someone to kill your own husband, of all people. Ha, and the fact that you didn’t do it yourself but commissioned a proxy murder… I can understand why the duke took the bullet instead.”

Ludmila bit her lip at the voice pouring down on her head.

Yes, it all stemmed from there after all.

The moment she first set foot in that place, everything had begun. When she asked Kedilen to be killed, Aden’s death had been foretold.

After returning to the past, she should have thought about why Aden helped her without reason, why his attitude had changed.

She thought it was a relationship based on money as a pretext and contract, but she knew.

Aden was doing more for her than he showed.

‘Why on earth!’

Aden’s voice echoed in her ears as a scream.

It was the cry of a betrayed person. She had never once betrayed Aden, but in the end, she had done just that.

It was just a wish that the man wouldn’t become dangerous by killing Kedilen.

Before she could even convey that wish, Aden had fallen.

Tears settle layer by layer on top of the sediment of regret piled up like dust. Aden is dead.

‘I hope you don’t get hurt.’

The unfulfilled wish tore her heart to shreds.

It was an abyss.

In the nightmare that came as always, I was only wandering at the bottom.

After walking around for a while as if searching for someone, I found a child in suspenders. Red eyes and flowing platinum hair, clear even in the deep abyss.

That child was quietly dying in the abyss.

Seeing the pale appearance, I hurriedly embraced the child and tried to rise to the surface, violently tearing through the water.

But no matter how much I struggled, the surface didn’t get any closer.

The moon was clearly shining on the water far away, but that light only remained distant, showing no signs of getting closer.

I have to save you, I can’t let you go like this.

In the midst of emotional turmoil echoing with desperation, I kicked my feet violently.

When I finally reached the surface, a hand breaking through the quiet moonlight took away the red-eyed girl.

I smile with relief, but my body sinks again. In the end, I die suffocating and sink deeply.

With bubbles rising, I slowly crumble into the deep darkness.

Into the memory that was scary because it was quiet and vivid because it was scary.

Into the eternal sleep that would disappear when I fall asleep.

In the midst of silence, Aden’s eyelids slowly lifted.

As the darkness receded, a soft orange light flooded his pupils beyond his blurred vision.

As Aden’s eyes, which had been frowning, slowly regained their light, a person’s face suddenly approached.

“You’re awake.”

“Ben…jamin.”

A labored name flowed between rough and cracked lips.

Benjamin, relieved to confirm that there was no problem with his memory, let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Aden frowned and tried to sit up, but Benjamin, who had anticipated this, gently pressed down on his shoulder.

“Stay still. It’s only been a day since the surgery ended, so you shouldn’t get up yet. They said to lie down for about two days, so bear with it even if it’s uncomfortable.”

His arm, which he would have easily brushed off normally, felt as heavy as iron.

Finally giving up on trying to sit up, Aden sighed and turned his head.

“Where is this?”

“My room. It was the only safe place to move you to.”

“…I see.”

Benjamin, who had been silently looking at his face as he murmured quietly, brought a chair over and briefly explained what had happened.

Starting from how Hernen, the viscount that Emma had planted at Ludmila’s request, had witnessed the entire situation, to how Hernen had coincidentally found him and requested help after Ludmila and Kedilen disappeared.

It had been an extremely dangerous situation, but fortunately, the surgery had gone well and there was no danger to his life. Aden, who had remained silent until the story reached this point, threw out a plain comment.

“What about Ludmila?”

“…Are you sure you heard everything I just said?”

Normally, when people hear such things, they would express gratitude or fear or some such emotion, but even at this point, he’s still going on about that woman.

Benjamin sighed at the gaze staring intently at him.

“I don’t know the details. After Kedilen took Ludmila away that day, we tried to figure out what happened, but there’s no information so far. However, since the Erdi Marquis family has banned outside visitors for the time being, there’s a high probability he took her there.”

“…”

“More importantly, there was quite a commotion after the hunting competition ended. When you didn’t return, the concerned officials wondered what had happened and searched frantically. You could have been attacked by a beast like a bear. So even now, there are many people in the capital looking for you.”

Benjamin, who had been speaking monotonously, ran his hand through his hair and placed his hand on his waist.

“It seems the assassins didn’t intend to kill you and then recover your body, so I left a few traces. I put your bloodstained and torn clothes on a corpse and left it in the forest. There was one among the men who attacked Emma before who had a similar build to you. I mutilated the body quite a bit, so they won’t immediately recognize it as you, but it won’t last long since I had to do it in a hurry and it’s crude.”

Aden said nothing at the perfect handling of the situation.

As one concern disappeared, Aden immediately moved on to the next.

“The culprit?”

“It’s still a mystery. We’re sending people to raid nearby guilds, so information might come out. It might not, but…”

It was an incident that occurred during a hunting competition hosted by the imperial family.

Since it was a place where an assassin couldn’t be inserted without considerable power, there was a high chance they wouldn’t find anything.

However, Benjamin swallowed his words, as there was no need to say that explicitly.

“More importantly, we should let Ludmila know that you’re alive. If we push a bit and plant someone, we should be able to contact her soon…”

“There’s no need for that.”

“What?”

Benjamin, who was about to get up and try to summarize the situation, turned his head at the voice interrupting him.