“Ugh, I can’t stand it. I can’t listen.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I almost had a heart attack because of what happened when Ruela fainted earlier. I can’t bear it if such a thing happens again, and I’m saying that.”

At Hazen’s words, the footsteps of the three people stopped. Rafael, as if he couldn’t believe it, shivered all over and asked.

“Surely, Kite didn’t say those things, did he?”

“Why wouldn’t he? Of course, it was Kite who said that.”

“Ugh, how did you manage not to hit him?”

“I could endure it because Ruela warned not to make cringeworthy sounds.”

In response to Hazen’s answer, Rafael, Mitchell, and Tien burst into laughter.

“We were worrying about nothing. It’s about Ruela, who isn’t just anyone.”

Mitchell said with a smile, making Hazen smirk.

“What are you talking about?”

“No, after things settle here, I was worried about what would happen to their relationship. Even if they like each other, it’s not an easy thing. There’s also the Duke Patre issue.”

At Mitchell’s words, Hazen let out a snort.

“Worry about the ones who need to be worried about. If it’s Ruela, she would blow away Duke Patre with a single blow, saying, ‘How dare you interfere with what I’m trying to do. Taste this potion.’ Something like that.”

“Tien, when your level goes up, you said you could make attack potions, right?”

At Rafael’s question, Tien nodded.

“Yes. What did you call it, a bomb? I’m not sure, but I can make potions that help with attacks and weapons for direct attacks.”

“Suddenly, I’m starting to worry about Duke Patre’s future.”

As Rafael sighed, Mitchell spoke firmly.

“Still, I’m on Ruela’s side. No matter what others do, we have to stand by Ruela.”

Tien also quickly agreed.

“Me too. I will support Ruela no matter what. Ruela will never do anything bad to us.”

With the strong opinions of the two, Rafael also jumped up and said.

“Hey, if you say that so passionately, I feel left out. I’m also unequivocally on Ruela’s side. Hazen, what about you?”

“Are you asking me to say something? We are comrades facing this difficult situation together. No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, I’m on Ruela’s side.”

“Hasn’t the report come in yet!”

Looking at the vividly blossoming red flowers in a corner of the gray garden, Duke Kuran shouted. Red, the color that should never be seen in his garden.

The duke’s fist trembled as he saw even the small wildflowers surrounding the red flower taking on its color.

It was the first time in the 15 years since his territory became solely his that something like this had happened.

“Vincenti is in trouble…”
Vincenti, a man in his twenties, was someone he cherished. He was a handsome and gentle young man known for his beautiful piano playing, considered a divine performance.

When he had to be confined here to manage the boundaries of the kingdom recently conquered and control the monsters, his music became the only solace in the monotonous life.

‘Youthful passion…’

He, too, had a time when he wanted to burn everything for the sake of love.

The problem was that the scarlet fever of such emotions came to Vincenti particularly strongly. The tragedy unfolded when his younger brother’s new concubine, ‘Clare,’ became the issue. The young and beautiful concubine of the king fell in love with the handsome artist Vincenti.

Although she loved another man, Clare, who did not want to give up wealth and power, tried to assassinate the king, but her attempt failed.

The mistake Clare made was not knowing that the king’s brother was not an ordinary human.

Despite disliking his brother, he was a necessary tool for him, so killing him would be inconvenient. Therefore, he had no choice but to intervene.

Exposed to the conspiracy and facing imminent danger of death, Clare blamed everything on Vincenti, turning her sins onto him. She tearfully appealed, claiming that she loved the king and begged for her life.

Gedis found all these events enjoyable at that time. Still, since Vincenti’s talent was precious, he decided to spare him.

However, Vincenti committed suicide in prison. This was manipulated by the wicked Clare, who feared that the truth would come out of her lover’s mouth.

The cause of Vincenti’s suicide was the death of his beloved ‘Clare.’ To ensure that the news of Clare’s suicide reached Vincenti, who was imprisoned, she did this.

The emotionally rich artist Vincenti, upon hearing the news that the woman he loved took her own life to protect their love, decided to follow her by hanging himself.

However, what he saw just before he died was Clare, who was supposed to be dead. She had dressed up elegantly and come down to the prison to confirm Vincenti’s death.

Wicked Clare. Vincenti’s beloved Clare.

She survived the incident by faking her death and was now the queen of the Kuran Kingdom.

Duke Kuran knew all the facts but covered up Clare’s sin. It was a perfect shackle for his rebellious younger brother, who opposed everything despite becoming king through his consideration.

Still, Vincenti’s death was regrettable, so Duke Kuran infused magic into the ring that Clare had given to Vincenti during his lifetime, turning it into the first guardian protecting his kingdom.

However, that Vincenti became the victim.

“Still no news…”

Gedis stopped shouting as he saw Viscount Galt rushing in.

“What happened?”

“…I’m sorry. We couldn’t catch him.”

Viscount Galt quickly knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“Couldn’t prevent them from killing Vincenti? And they escaped? Are they that strong? Who are they?”

Viscount Galt raised his head.

“When we entered the cave, we clearly heard voices from inside. However, when we arrived at Vincenti’s hideout, they were already gone and nowhere to be found.”

“Gone? What do you mean?”

“Just before we checked Your Excellency’s signal, Camun and the expedition departed. We sealed off all the paths they could take, but we encountered no one.”

This was the report from Galt, the viscount whom Kuran trusted the most.

A few days ago, there were strange occurrences at the southern monster habitat where Vincenti was located. When the defense force hurriedly went to check, they found an excited Vincenti outside the habitat, shouting at the entrance leading to Orwoll.

Due to this incident, Viscount Galt had been waiting in Camun since then. So, when he confirmed the signal today, he immediately set off for Vincenti’s hideout.

“It took less than an hour to eliminate Vincenti and his subordinates? And they disappeared effortlessly?”

“It’s unimaginable.”

Duke Kuran stumbled and walked to the sofa in the reception room.

Who could it be?

Low-level monsters could be dealt with by knights with a bit of magic power, but not Vincenti. Only those with exceptional ‘divine lineage’ like the direct royal family members of three countries could defeat a monster like Vincenti.

Thinking along these lines, the person who had recently destroyed the monster habitat suddenly came to mind.

“Where is Duke Fairmont now?”

At the unexpected question, an expression of confusion appeared on Viscount Galt’s face.

“Do you mean Duke Fairmont?”

“The ones currently slaughtering monsters in Kuran are only them, right? I thought of them only as knights boasting about their mediocre sense of justice, but it seems I might be wrong. If they killed Vincenti, they must have some purpose for entering Kuran, so we must eliminate them immediately.”

Viscount Galt hesitated before answering.

“But Duke Fairmont is at his mansion.”

“What? That can’t be! Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. I saw it myself. They were arguing with Lord Balder’s subordinates in front of the iron gate. It seemed they were quarreling due to the blocking of incoming carriages, causing a commotion.”

“Since you had time to return to the capital, they might have just arrived. Go and bring the ones guarding Duke Fairmont.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”