Ansi straightened her back. Damion immediately hid himself where she couldn’t see. As soon as Ansi left the corridor, he took large strides.

What Ansi had hidden was a piece of paper.

He hurriedly picked up the paper and unfolded it.

11 o’clock, Capture of the Silver Lion

One of Damion’s eyebrows raised.

Capture of the Silver Lion, a meaningful phrase.

However, with just a little thought, anyone… could think of the beautiful silver-haired emperor.

What is this about?

Confusion filled Damion’s mind. He couldn’t imagine at all what his wife was up to now.

Damion hurriedly went outside and looked around. Ansi was heading towards the annex. He continued to secretly follow behind her.

The dark forest path leading to the annex.

Ansi was entering that forest path which he had given up to be with her.

Keeping his distance from Ansi, Damion left footprints on the forest path. His heart started beating as fast as her hurried steps.

Ansi’s destination was not the annex.

She headed towards the armory located behind the annex. It was Kardian’s armory, which even Damion had never entered before.

Ansi stopped in front of the armory. He also hid behind a tree and observed her.

The doors and windows of the armory would naturally be locked.

Such thoughts were brief, as Ansi took off the skirt that had reached down to her toes. Well-fitted hunting trousers were revealed. She put something around her neck.

‘…Dog tags?’

As if by magic, Ansi entered through an open window and came out with a gun. It was a gun that had caused quite a stir last year due to its beautiful appearance.

Ansi quickly passed through the small path with the gun.

Damion followed her while rationalizing countless times in his head.

Perhaps, even though Ansi said she was fine, she actually really wanted to participate in the hunting event. Knowing that only men participate in bird hunting, maybe she gave up and is secretly heading to the hunting grounds instead. Maybe ‘Silver Lion’ is actually a code word referring to birds…

He defended Ansi countless times with such nonsensical thoughts.

However, Ansi who had entered the forest showed no interest in birds at all. The birds chirping as if begging to be caught did not even exist in her field of vision.

That’s when Ansi noticed something and reacted.

Damion silently approached her. As he got closer, what was at the end of her gaze became clearer.

The emperor, Ludcaos.

Ansi raised her gun and aimed at him.

“Ansi!”

He snatched the gun from Ansi’s hand. Ansi’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Damion…?”

It was then.

As if sensing their presence, the emperor below turned his head and looked up in this direction.

Damion hugged Ansi and immediately pressed their bodies to the ground.

Their bodies were buried between the bushes.

Ansi’s face went blank at the unexpected appearance of the man.

Meanwhile, Ludcaos turned his head back and began to move.

Realizing this, Ansi struggled wildly to break free from Damion. She had to shoot the emperor before he got too far.

Her shirt was stained with grass, and small branches scratched her cheek, leaving a wound. Ignoring this, as she twisted her body, Damion trapped her between his arms from above, preventing her from moving.

“Let go…!”

Ansi struggled a few more times, but she couldn’t overcome Damion’s strength.

“What are you doing now, Ansi?”

The man’s voice, mixed with shock, was directed at her.

He was confused and distressed. He couldn’t understand why Ansi was trying to shoot the emperor.

But whatever the reason, the outcome was obvious.

Could she really avoid getting caught if she shot the emperor here?

No, she was bound to get caught.

The tea time she had missed alone. The clothes left in front of the armory. Hadn’t she left traces as if begging to be identified as the culprit?

Whatever the reason, Damion had to stop her. But Ansi struggled, glaring at him with fierce eyes.

“Let go.”

“I’m asking what you’re doing.”

“I’m trying to get revenge.”

“What…?”

“Don’t you understand? I used you. To get the name of Orphe. To throw Orphe into the abyss!”

Ansi’s large eyes flickered with anger. A huge wave washed over him. Damion’s face went blank as if bewitched. In an instant, the strength left his body.

Ansi didn’t miss this chance and escaped from Damion. She picked up the hunting rifle that had fallen to the ground and ran.

The emperor had stopped in the distance and was aiming at a bird. Ansi aimed her gun at the emperor.

“If you shoot now, you’ll die too.”

Damion spoke to try and stop Ansi.

“That’s what I want.”

She pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gun was fired.

“…”

Ansi’s eyes trembled.

At the same moment she pulled the trigger, Damion changed the direction of the gun. The bullet was fired towards him. With a short intake of breath, Damion’s face contorted in pain.

“Ah…”

A deflating sigh escaped from Ansi. She was so shocked that her thoughts stopped. Her numb ears couldn’t hear any sound. It felt as if time had stopped.

“It’s okay. It just grazed me.”

Seeing her expression, Damion took a step back. Ansi slowly lowered her gaze to Damion’s black vest.

An ominous feeling enveloped her.

She reached out her hand towards his vest. Damion stopped her hand. His neat brow furrowed in pain.

Ansi pulled her hand away and touched his vest.

“…!”

It was sticky and damp.

“No…”

Ansi slowly shook her head.

Damion exhaled painfully and leaned against a tree. He sat down, almost collapsing along the tree. Ansi put down the gun beside her and pressed on Damion’s wound. She had to stop the bleeding.

“Here! Someone please come! Over here!”

Ansi shouted frantically. Her voice trembled uncontrollably. Regardless, Ansi screamed as if possessed. Damion, who was breathing roughly, picked up the gun on the ground and said,

“Remember, Ansi. This was my mistake.”

The strength left his voice. That was so frightening that Ansi shook her head wildly while looking at the blood seeping from Damion’s wound with reddened eyes.

“Don’t, don’t speak.”

“Look at me, Ansi.”

Damion raised one hand to cup Ansi’s cheek. The man’s eyes facing her were resolute.

“You must say it like that. That I was trying to teach you about guns, and the gun went off accidentally. You must do that.”

“What are you…”

“Are you alright!”

“…!”

Servants shouted as they ran from the distance. Ansi yelled loudly towards them.

“Over here! Someone’s been shot!”

The servants hurriedly ran towards them. Damion smiled faintly at them, who were stained with shock, not knowing what had happened.

“…I made a mistake. The gun went off accidentally.”

He gripped the gun he was holding tightly. As if that gun had never left his hand from the beginning.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Several servants supported Damion to help him stand. Ansi said in a trembling voice,

“Damion, if you just hold on a little… Damion?”

He blinked slowly. Ansi’s face that came into his view turned pale. He wanted to cup and smooth out that face stained with fear, but no words came out. His eyes kept closing.

“Damion!”

With Ansi’s voice as the last thing he heard, he lost consciousness.

“We need to start the surgery immediately.”

While pushing the bed Damion was lying on and running down the corridor, the doctor said. Ansi, stiff, could only nod.

“The bleeding is severe. It will be a long surgery.”

Damion was lying on the bed with a face devoid of any color. It was better earlier. That appearance, as if he couldn’t even feel pain, was too frightening.

Damion was taken into the operating room.

The door closed in front of her. Ansi, standing blankly in front of it, stared at the operating room door without even blinking.

Suddenly, she realized.

That this was the moment she had seen in that dream.

His wound, the urgent situation, everything was exactly as in the premonitory dream.

Only then did Ansi understand why that dream had only shown the situation after everything had happened.

Because I was the one who fired the gun. Because it was caused by me.

Ansi lowered her gaze.

The blood Damion had shed was all over her white shirt and pants. On top of her father’s dog tags, another layer of blood was painted.

“Ah…”

Ansi’s whole body trembled.

She was gripped by the illusion that not only her clothes and pants, but also her hands, face, her entire body was drenched in his blood. She was wearing the blood he needed to live, which she had taken away.

“No, no…”

It was horrifying. She had to remove the blood covering her entire body. Ansi began to unbutton her shirt right there.

“Oh my goodness!”

“My lady!”

The female servants who had followed stopped her. They prevented her hands from trying to take off her clothes like a madwoman and shielded her so others couldn’t see.

“Let go!”

“Please calm down, my lady!”

Ansi flailed her hands several times, not even knowing what she was trying to do.

Her head felt tightly squeezed.

Her vision turned yellow.

She collapsed right there.