From a Broken Engagement to the Northern Grand Duke's Son-in-Law

Ahhhhh—!

I jolted awake to piercing screams echoing through the night.

“Captain! Outside—look outside!”

Lancelot burst through my door, panic written across his face.

What could possibly reduce him to such a state?

I rose and moved to the window, then froze.

The city burned beneath a sky filled with winged horrors. Below, chitinous creatures that resembled enormous cockroaches scuttled through the streets like a living carpet of nightmare.

The scene looked so much like illustrations of the Demonic Realm that I questioned my own eyes.

“Gather your weapons. Now.”

My voice remained steady as I addressed my men, then stepped into the chaos beyond.

Swisssssh—

I channeled Aura into my arrows, breathing life into the shafts of wood and steel.

This time, instead of manifesting my usual massive lesser dragon, I split the energy into hundreds of smaller snake constructs.

“Go. Protect the people,” I said to the others.

Then I sent my serpentine arrows slithering through the streets while I began tracking the aerial threats.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

My snake constructs tore through the chitinous invaders, their ethereal fangs crushing carapaces with satisfying efficiency.

While maintaining control over the ground-based arrows, I nocked fresh shafts and aimed skyward.

Skree!

Boom—!

A winged monstrosity plummeted to earth, its death cry echoing off the burning buildings.

I caught my breath as the creature’s body struck cobblestone.

This was becoming overwhelming.

Maintaining Divine Beast Invocation alone demanded enormous amounts of Aura, but fighting a two-front battle against both ground and air targets pushed me beyond comfortable limits.

For the first time since achieving Aura Master rank, I felt the familiar burn of energy depletion.

“Damn it. I need to find the source.”

I closed my eyes and began searching for the epicenter of demonic energy.

Whoosh—whooosh—

My Aura expanded in waves, scanning the city with increasing urgency.

The pulse swept across all of Diva before finally pinpointing the strongest concentration of malevolent force.

“There.”

I opened my eyes and set off at a run.

My men and the knights of Diva could handle the lesser monsters—insects and flyers, while dangerous, fell within their capabilities.

The logical course was to eliminate whatever had spawned this nightmare.

My urgent pace brought me to the heart of the demonic maelstrom.

“...Here?”

I stared at my destination with growing confusion.

A tavern. The same establishment I’d left the previous evening.

I rushed toward the entrance.

Bang!

The moment my fingers touched the door, an invisible force repelled my hand as if I’d struck solid stone.

Spark. Crackle.

Electricity danced across my fingertips while something foul and alien crawled up my palm.

I clicked my tongue and drew upon my Aura.

The scent of camellia blossomed in the air, instantly neutralizing the invasive energy.

My hand returned to normal.

Examining the barrier more carefully, I recognized the construction—pure demonic energy woven into an impenetrable wall.

This level of power suggested a full demonic outbreak...

Perhaps Lady Enoxia was already inside, fighting whatever had caused this catastrophe?

That would explain her absence. She was likely too occupied battling Demonkin to concern herself with the broader kingdom.

I nodded and reached toward the barrier again.

Crackle.

More sparks flew, more alien energy sought to consume me.

“...This won’t be simple.”

I dispersed the demonic intrusion with quiet efficiency.

With Lady Enoxia present, defeat was impossible. Even so, the fact that the situation remained unresolved troubled me deeply.

I recalled my dispersed arrow-snakes, gathering their energy back into a single point.

A massive, growling serpent-dragon materialized, coiling around me with fangs bared.

I guided the construct’s movements with meticulous precision, preparing for what came next.

BOOM—!

The dragon charged the barrier.

The resulting explosion shattered both the wall and my construct in a flash of brilliant light.

I walked through the smoking breach.

Inside, I found him.

An elderly man in noble’s attire—no, a Demonkin wearing the shape of nobility.

“Who are you?”

The Demonkin’s question hung in the air.

I didn’t waste words with a response.

Instead, I channeled Aura into a fresh arrow.

Power writhed around the shaft, taking the familiar form of my serpent-dragon.

“Die.”

The arrow flew true.

* * *

BOOM—!

An explosion sent Maon’s head tumbling across the floor while his body burst apart like overripe fruit.

Rolling to a stop against the far wall, the severed head let out a hollow laugh.

What manner of creature is this?

The Fear Marquis, Maon, studied the human through compound eyes that reflected fractured images of his attacker.

The raw power was staggering, but more concerning was how easily his barrier had been breached.

That wall had been his personal creation, designed to withstand anything short of Grand Master-level assault.

A Grand Master?

Maon’s insectoid pupils shifted as he considered the implications.

The barrier had been constructed specifically to resist that accursed woman’s attacks, yet this newcomer had shattered it with a single blow.

This was no ordinary human.

Maon reconnected his severed nerves and began regenerating his head.

“Ugh... this never feels pleasant, no matter how many times I endure it.”

“You—are you Demonkin?”

Maon answered with a predatory grin. “Ahaha... Asking such obvious questions seems rather pointless, don’t you think?”

The human seemed unaware of what had led him here—probably just stumbled upon the tavern by chance during his wanderings.

Maon nodded and allowed his compound eyes to return.

Coarse hair sprouted across his flesh as his form shifted into something disgustingly inhuman.

Now this fool would surely cry out in terror! That beautiful sound of mortal fear!

Maon gazed at Louis with anticipation.

But instead…

“Are you one of the Twelve Nobles?”

Maon’s eyes widened in shock.

What had this human just said? One of the Twelve Nobles?

How could a mere mortal possess such knowledge?

“How do you know about that?!”

“So I was right.”

No, this was...

When pressed for details, the human acted with complete certainty.

Information about the Twelve Nobles hadn’t leaked to the human realm. Which meant there was a traitor among their ranks.

The smile vanished from Maon’s features.

“...It seems we have much to discuss.”

“Indeed we do.”

Maon gathered his demonic energy as he studied Louis with new wariness.

Crack. Crrrack.

His body began its final transformation into full insectoid form.

Antennae sprouted from his skull while mandibles emerged around his mouth.

When the metamorphosis completed, Maon’s crimson compound eyes gleamed with malicious intelligence.

This human would provide valuable information—once properly interrogated.

* * *

I scowled as the Demonkin completed its grotesque transformation.

The Twelve Nobles of the Demonic Realm.

I’d learned about them from my master before the regression—a collective of former war Legion Commanders and newly integrated Demonkin who ruled the Demonic Realm’s military hierarchy.

This creature matched perfectly: the Fear Marquis, Maon.

The revolting insectoid form, the overwhelming demonic presence—exactly as my master had described.

But could I actually defeat one of the Twelve Nobles?

According to the Divine Archer, each Noble possessed unique and dangerous abilities.

The Fear Marquis specialized in perhaps the most insidious power of all: manipulating human terror itself.

I glanced toward Enoxia, who sat weeping in the corner.

She stared at the ceiling with vacant eyes, like someone struck by profound trauma.

Maon’s ability had already claimed her.

Flash—!

The moment I looked away, Maon raised his staff.

The crimson ruby embedded in its tip pulsed with malevolent light.

Massive waves of demonic energy crashed over me.

Whoosh—!

My vision plunged into absolute darkness.

Sound became a hollow ringing while my physical senses faded to nothing.

Flash!

A scene materialized before my eyes.

“...Damn it all.”

I found myself facing forward, bound by chains at neck and wrists.

Countless people stared up at me from below.

They hurled stones, rotten fruit, and curses. Spittle flew from their mouths as they bayed for blood.

I hung on the guillotine, moments from execution.

“Do you have any last words?” Duke Artezia—now Emperor—asked with a cruel smile twisting his features.

I released a bitter laugh.

How pathetic. I’d grown soft in recent months.

Though I’d sworn revenge, I’d been chasing happiness instead—allowing myself to forget the promise that should have driven every breath.

I hadn’t even begun my true vengeance.

“I will tear out your throat.”

I spoke quietly to the Emperor, letting killing intent saturate every word.

The guillotine blade fell.

Clang!

My head separated from my shoulders and consciousness flickered away.

When awareness returned, another scene had begun.

The fall of my House.

“...Haha.”

I swallowed rising fury and forced out another mirthless laugh.

Next came my father’s death.

Then my siblings, dying one by one in sequence.

After that, Lea’s final moments.

Each death played out in excruciating detail—every failure, every moment where I’d been powerless to change anything.

Crack.

Rage threatened to consume my very soul.

“...Thank you,” I whispered into the consuming void.

For reawakening my anger.

For reminding me what I truly had to accomplish.

Now I would repay the favor.

Whoosh—!

I drew upon my Aura.

Then I began crafting a new technique using the most delicate energy manipulation I could achieve.

The Fear Marquis Maon’s signature ability: Nightmare. A psychic assault that trapped victims in inescapable cycles of terror and despair.

My master had described the perfect counter for such techniques.

The ultimate expression of Aura manipulation—a technique that struck purely at the mind itself.

I turned this power inward.

Crack!

Every trace of demonic energy that had invaded my consciousness compressed and shattered like glass.

My vision began to brighten.

Light exploded across my awareness as I fought free from the nightmare’s grip.

Before I fully regained consciousness, I glared into the crumbling darkness, my eyes burning with cold fire.

He dared to make me relive such memories.

Now it was my turn to show him the meaning of hell.