Golden eyes filled with rage.

Kedilen felt like he had seen a ghost. The man he thought was dead appeared before his eyes.

How? He had watched him die after being shot. Questions arose, but there was no time to think about such things now.

Feeling like that man might devour him at any moment, Kedilen hastily backed away and stood up.

“It, it’s because of you!”

“…”

“This happened because you, Duke, took Ludmila away! If you hadn’t stolen her, Ludmila wouldn’t have grown distant from me and wouldn’t have hated me. If she had just remained an obedient wife, a doll-like wife who only listened to me, there wouldn’t have been any problem…!”

“Now you’re saying such…”

Kedilen’s mouth, which had been shouting hysterically, stopped the moment Aden approached in an instant and grabbed his collar.

“Is that what you call an excuse now?”

“I, I’m telling the truth…”

“Truth? Marquis Erdi, everything about you is a lie. The clothes you wear, the hat you put on, even your words full of dignity and refinement. It’s all made up. Yet, you dare to claim the truth?”

The golden eyes were steeped in madness. The beast was trying to hunt him.

Kedilen tried to push him away forcefully, feeling helpless after being reduced to mere prey, but the firm arm didn’t move, still gripping his collar.

“Pl-please spare me, Duke!”

It was in a moment that Kedilen’s attitude changed, realizing the gap between this man and himself.

As the beast was about to tear his throat, Kedilen came to his senses and bent his knees.

The pride he had thrown away countless times was difficult to find value in the face of mortal danger.

Just a longing for salvation.

The hand gestures for forgiveness were nothing compared to the humiliation they would bring later.

He could do anything if only he could escape from this man.

But Aden didn’t seem to have any intention of forgiving him.

Still gripping his collar, Aden swung his fist at Kedilen’s cheek, and a dull sound followed by a rough impact was felt on his face.

His body was about to collapse, but the firm arm didn’t allow even that.

The taste of blood in his mouth, and pain becoming meaningless in the face of the fear of death.

Kedilen just repeated the plea to be spared, seeking forgiveness and mercy from this man.

But Aden’s fist finally struck his abdomen, and Kedilen fell to the floor with bloody foam in his mouth.

It’s painful. If only this were the end, but Aden didn’t seem to think of forgiving him with just this.

Groaning and backing away, Kedilen tried to distance himself from Aden. But the sound of Aden’s shoes approaching step by step grew close enough to make such efforts futile.

The golden eyes were those of a demon.

The demon’s eyes about to devour him. Kedilen shook his head and begged desperately.

“Please, please spare me… Duke. I was wrong. This will never happen again.”

“Of course it won’t. Marquis, once you’re dead, such things can’t be repeated.”

“Please… please spare me…!”

Even at the cry close to a wail, Aden looked at him with dry eyes.

He tightly gripped the poker he had brought from the fireplace.

This is the end. The moment Aden’s hand rose high, Kedilen, realizing his fate, shut his eyes tightly.

“…Aden-.”

It was then that the voice of salvation was heard.

A thin voice tearing through the commotion and the muffled ears.

Opening his eyes slowly to a voice so small it could be thought a hallucination or an auditory illusion, Kedilen saw Aden looking not at him but behind.

Aden was staring blankly towards Ludmila. Kedilen’s gaze also shifted following him.

There was Ludmila, sitting up with her arms supporting her upper body, half-risen from her position.

She hadn’t died.

The relief that came with the sight of Ludmila alive was not joy that she hadn’t died, but the expectation that he might now be saved.

“Stop… stop it, Aden.”

The moment the strained voice quietly echoed through the room, the poker in Aden’s hand fell to the floor with a thud.

At the loud sound of the powerlessly rolling poker, Kedilen, coming to his senses, hurriedly turned his body to try to escape.

But Aden’s hand, having regained consciousness, chased after and grabbed his nape, and Kedilen could only reflexively shout.

“Lu, Ludmila! Stop this man! Hurry-!”

“…”

“This crazy duke is trying to kill me! Hurry and stop him, hurry!”

At the scream close to a shriek, the corners of Aden’s mouth twisted in bewilderment.

Aden frowned at the shameless sight of a man who couldn’t even remember what he had done to Ludmila.

Aden covered Kedilen’s mouth with his palm and raised his fist high.

“I’ll smash it so that mouth can’t open again.”

“Aden…!”

But that fist was not to be planted in Kedilen.

At the rough voice that seemed strained, Aden raised his head. Ludmila was shaking her head slightly.

“Please… Aden.”

It was the second time he faced Ludmila trying to save Kedilen by blocking his way.

However, unlike before, he didn’t feel betrayed or angry.

Because her efforts to clear up the misunderstanding had borne fruit. But even so, Aden had no intention of stopping.

“If I stop here, this man will chase you. And then he’ll chase me. Before, everything ended peacefully because he thought I was dead, but what about this time.”

Someone has to die. Whether wanted or not. In the end, the same situation as a month ago unfolded.

Ludmila tried to stop him, and Aden tried to kill Kedilen.

The only difference was that this was not a remote hunting ground with no one around, but the Imperial Palace. And it was where a charity event was being held.

It was dangerous to drag this out any longer in a situation where there might already be people rushing here.

It can’t be helped.

As before, Aden’s choice was firm in the end.

It was a decision made from the moment he opened the door here and faced what Kedilen had done.

He knew what Ludmila wanted to say, but even so, there was no other way.

Ludmila. Even if you hate me, this man must die. With that firm belief, Aden clenched his fist and raised it into the air.

Bang bang bang-!

It was then that the rough sound of knocking on the door was heard.

Aden, coming to his senses, looked towards the door. The doorknob was repeatedly turning roughly and stopping, locked at some point.

“Open the door! What’s going on in there!?”

Shouts poured in from outside. It was a voice as if they had sensed that some problem had occurred. It couldn’t be helped. He had lost his reason, and Kedilen had screamed for his life.

It would be more strange if that sound hadn’t been heard outside.

Only then realizing who had locked the door, Aden looked at Ludmila.

Silently staring at her neck full of red marks, Aden bit his lip and glared at Kedilen.

This man must die. That determination didn’t waver, but the timing was not good this time either.

Aden clenched his fist and struck Kedilen’s face. As Ludmila’s surprised scream was heard, Aden dropped Kedilen, whom he was holding, to the floor.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him. I just knocked him out.”

“Thank goodness…”

“More importantly.”

Approaching Ludmila, who was sighing in relief, Aden grabbed both her shoulders.

As Ludmila, whose words were cut off, looked up with wide eyes, Aden recited his plan.

“This is all my doing.”

“…Aden?”

“You have to say that I left the scars on your neck, and I’m the one who made Kedilen like this. There was a problem between the three of us at the hunting competition, and because of that day, I harbored resentment and tried to harm you two. If you testify like that, there won’t be any problem for you.”

He couldn’t know what Ludmila had done. But Kedilen had said that Ludmila had tried to kill him, and that was probably poisoning.

If that fact comes to light, Ludmila will be in danger.

Above all, Ludmila had to be an innocent victim. That’s the only way she can stay here.

“I’m going to tie your hands, so even if it hurts, just a little…”

“Aden, why are you taking on such responsibility?”

“Ludmila. Now is not the time to argue about that.”

“No, we have to argue.”

Even in this situation, Ludmila didn’t forget her calculations, just like when she came back to me to discuss the contract.

She argued that Aden’s decision was unfair and that all this was her doing, so she should face the consequences.

It was admirable how she made calculations even in this dire crisis, but on the other hand, it was frustrating. There was no time to persuade Ludmila.

If the person who opens that door sees this devastation, Kedilen, having regained consciousness, might reveal that Ludmila had tried to poison him because she didn’t take his side just now.

For that not to happen, Ludmila had to become the victim.

The Erdi Marquis couple attacked by a beast-like barbarian.

Kedilen values image and wants Ludmila, so he was likely to hide the truth according to the situation he had created.

It’s not that he didn’t know what damage Habertz might suffer, but Aden couldn’t become such a calculating person in the first place.

Just as he turned back time for her, this time too, it was just to get what he wanted.

Admitting that he couldn’t be a merchant, Aden shook his head firmly.

“Lu…”

“There’s a small window in the refreshment room connected to the lounge. It’s on the second floor, but you should be able to jump down, right?”

“What?”

But Ludmila, one step ahead of him, grabbed Aden’s hand and turned around, leading him.

Not with strong force, but the large body of Aden moved at the pull drawing him.

Until she opened the door of the refreshment room and locked it again, Ludmila remained silent as she opened the window.

“Go quickly. I’ll take care of things here.”

“Ludmila.”

“There might be some commotion, but if I make a deal with Kedilen, there won’t be much problem. So hurry. Leave before more people come. Quickly!”

Seeing Ludmila speaking resolutely, Aden bit his lip.

Deal. Ludmila wrapped it in a rational word, but it was a word that could be understood even if translated as sacrifice.

Kedilen wants Ludmila. And Ludmila knows that well.

It’s unclear what she will trade with that man, but it was clear that it’s something Ludmila dislikes.

Shackles that would bind her to Kedilen’s side for life.

As that thought reached him, Aden remembered how Ludmila had falsely announced news of infertility to escape from this man, and he could grasp her plan.

“Hurry, Aden. Quickly…”

“Let’s go together, Ludmila.”

As if she had already anticipated his words, Ludmila shook her head.

“That’s not possible. I can’t cause you harm again. So… Aden?!”

Aden roughly embraced Ludmila, who was politely refusing, and easily lifted her up.

Aden smiled quietly at Ludmila, who was looking up at him with surprised eyes, and jerked his chin.

“I’m not making a suggestion. I’m notifying you.”

“Aden…?”

“And you’re still the victim. Because what I’m doing now is kidnapping. So scream if you want to scream.”

Aden, who had put his foot on the window, looked down at Ludmila and twisted the corners of his mouth.

“That is, if you want everyone to know that you’re being kidnapped.”