“My lord, it’s finished. We’ve prepared a carriage, so we’ll escort you.”
“This guy can’t walk.”
Cyrus got up on his own, lifting Isaac by the chin.
Noah lifted Isaac onto the horse and said, “I’ve prepared a carriage. We’ll take you there.”
“How did you know?”
“Not really… you were a bit late, and, um…”
Noah rolled his eyes. When Cyrus narrowed his gaze and glared at Noah, Noah awkwardly smiled and said, “I thought it might be a chance to show off the dignity of our Black Knights to your future wife. So I came out to greet her.”
“…”
“Originally, I planned to wait in a neat formation in front of the gorge, but when I came, I smelled blood. I thought it was a big deal, so I rushed here.”
Whatever the reason, Noah’s awkward personality saved their lives.
Cyrus patted Noah’s shoulder.
In response to Cyrus’s silent praise, Noah spoke with excitement.
“As expected, my lord and the future wife are truly meant for each other. If I hadn’t come out here thinking of welcoming the future wife, we would have been in real trouble.”
Seeing Cyrus lightly patting Noah on the back of his head, the knights who followed behind thought to themselves.
‘The deputy commander always has to add one more word.’
Isaac, who was riding in the carriage, drank another bottle of antidote and then went into treatment under Cyrus’s care. Cyrus took off his shirt, lay down in the carriage, and spoke.
“They knew for sure that we would use that road. They even knew that I would return around this time after going to the Empire.”
Isaac sighed.
“There still seems to be a spy inside.”
Cyrus closed his eyes.
His chest burned pitch black with anger and despair. Even after filtering and filtering, it never ended.
This time, who would it be again? Someone close or someone distant?
After hearing about his parents’ deaths, the relatives he trusted tried to kill Cyrus. Since then, Cyrus couldn’t have a peaceful moment.
Every day was a continuous cycle of doubt and vigilance. Just when he thought he had sorted things out, another disturbance arose, disturbing Cyrus’s peace of mind.
‘Andrei? Or Duke Hern? Marquis Brown?’
Every time he had to doubt those he wanted to believe, a sense of resentment welled up.
‘Louis? Noah? Benio? Chiba?’
Every time someone he thought would sacrifice their life for him turned out to be a betrayer, Cyrus felt the heart-wrenching pain. He had thought several times that it would be better to just die and find relief.
Was there a need to make such an effort? Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to let them have the Northern Regency if that’s what they wanted? Did he really need to insist on occupying the position of the Northern Regent? Perhaps they could lead the Northern Regency more peacefully than him?
Whenever his heart dulled like this, he thought of his parents.
[Dash]”Later, you’ll sit in this position and lead the Northern Regency. It’s a harsh land of ice, but you can handle it better than me.”Remembering his father’s eyes that had no suspicion, he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed. His father and mother believed that Cyrus would someday lead the Northern Regency, and they died.
He couldn’t betray their faith just because it was difficult and harsh.
He couldn’t end it by turning the misconception that they had colluded with Paganus and betrayed the Empire.
‘At least until I restore my parents’ honor.’
He endured with that determination each time. Every time his knees were about to break, he gritted his teeth and stood up.
He had to do it again this time.
[Dash]”My lord, you are truly dignified.”The rigid lips relaxed at the suddenly recalled voice.
Clear blue eyes that looked up at him were vividly drawn. Eyes like the sky on a very clear day. Eyes like the sea on a very good day.
Although those eyes were completely different in color from Cyrus’s, every time Cyrus saw those eyes, he thought of his own eyes.
Eyes marked with similar hatred, pain, and loneliness.
‘Ariana.’
Cyrus didn’t know Ariana well.
He observed her in the Holy Land and helped her in the Empire, but that was all.
They never faced enemies together, nor did they share daily life, having meals together. Compared to the numerous acquaintances that now made Cyrus suspicious, their relationship was merely a passing connection.
Yet, strangely, he felt comfortable being by her side.
In this moment, where despair engulfed his heart, he wished to be by her side. He longed for the times when they exchanged trivial conversations and shared small smiles.
Suppressing the urge to run to Ariana immediately, Cyrus asked Isaac.
“Isaac, have you informed anyone about our current situation?”
“Yeah, in the city we visited the day after I parted ways with the future wife. I sent a report to Andrei.”
Cyrus sighed in relief.
“Then, it’s not Andrei.”
“You doubted Andrei? If he finds out, he’ll cry.”
“They used ordinary forces.”
“Which means they couldn’t perform cannibalism. They knew we would pass through this road, but they didn’t know the exact timing, right?”
“Yeah. Andrei might have predicted the timing after receiving your report, but it didn’t leak from that guy’s mouth.”
While stitching Cyrus’s torn skin, Isaac frowned.
“If they attacked after cannibalism, it would have been really dangerous.”
Cannibalism. Paganus called it the ‘Authority of Amandal.’
The people of the Empire worshipped ‘Amandal,’ whom they called the devil. Paganus served Amandal as a god. By offering blood to the foundation of Amandal and swearing an oath of the soul, Paganus gained the talent of cannibalism.
If one ate the heart of a living being, they could instantly use the power of that being. It was the ‘Authority of Amandal’ and ‘Cannibalism.’
Eating the heart of a bear would grant the strength of the bear, and consuming the heart of a rabbit would give the speed of a rabbit.
If one of the Paganus who attacked Cyrus had consumed the heart of a bear or tiger living nearby, they might have died on the spot before Noah came to help.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
