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

I frowned, studying the transparent liquid staining Hans’s side. A thick scent drifted from the substance—sickeningly sweet and unmistakable.

It was the same smell as the concoction my father often used when hunting monsters. Monster aphrodisiac.

Unlike the simple “monster lures” the personal guards carried, this was designed to induce a state of murderous frenzy.

The strategy became clear: use a lure to gather the monsters, then deploy the aphrodisiac to set their target. They must have assumed I wouldn’t be able to abandon Hans.

Or perhaps they didn’t care if I did. They could simply console themselves with the thought that they had enacted their petty revenge for the death of my comrade.

“How irritating,” I muttered, surveying the monster corpses strewn across the ground.

I hated all of it. Being dragged into their scheme. Giving them a reason to try it in the first place.

“Is something wrong?” Lancelot asked, moving to my side.

“It appears this was deliberate.”

“Huh? What was?”

“There are those among us who intend to kill us here.”

“What? Who would do that?”

“Likely one of the Duke’s personal guards. Other knights may be involved as well.”

My tone carried absolute conviction.

But it wasn’t Lancelot who answered me. “That’s impossible.”

Lea’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

She shook her head, her denial firm and immediate.

“What is?”

“The Knights of the North pulling a stunt like this in the Demonic Realm? There’s no way.”

“I can think of plenty of reasons.” I flicked my eyes toward Lancelot.

Lea seemed to understand my meaning. Her pupils trembled as she bit her lip, desperate not to accept what I was implying.

The knights of the north were her pride and lifelong protectors. How could they be responsible for something like this?

She wanted to believe it wasn’t true.

But Lea was no fool. On the contrary, she was quite sharp. Her clever mind would already be piecing together the current situation, inevitably arriving at the correct answer.

She just didn’t want to admit it.

I watched her with cold, steady eyes. Whether they were trying to kill me or Lancelot didn’t matter. The result was that they had endangered Lea as well.

Knights endangering their own liege was an unforgivable offense.

I met her gaze, my expression firm. “You find it hard to believe?”

“No. I trust them. They would never do such a thing.”

“You’re lying.”

Silence stretched between us like a drawn bowstring.

“Fine. Let’s do it this way. Lea, you will return and deliver a message. Tell them the unit was wiped out and that, besides you, only Kai survived.”

It would be more credible than claiming she was the sole survivor. Anyone who had seen Kai fight would have no choice but to believe it.

An assassin can erase his presence, after all, and for Kai, who was nearing the level of a Thief Master, they would have to accept it as fact.

“If they aren’t the culprits, they’ll try to find the cause. They’ll want a clear reason for what happened and why.”

“And if they are the culprits?”

“If they are... they’ll try to bury it, won’t they?”

If I were them, I would dispose of any trace of the aphrodisiac or the lure. After all, in a place like the Demonic Realm, the unexpected could happen at any moment.

They would likely chalk it up to a random Demonkin attack and close the matter.

The outcome was obvious. But it wasn’t their reaction I was curious about—it was Lea Praha. I wanted to see how she would react the moment she witnessed the true faces of those she had trusted her entire life.

What choice would she make?

Hoping she wouldn’t be too scarred by it, I spoke softly. “Then let’s begin at once. Point B, was it? Fortunately, it seems to be close by.”

I turned my head toward a distant mountain.

It was time for Lea to awaken from her sweet dream.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Lea and Kai headed for Point B...

“Who was it?”

The knight commander’s voice was ice incarnate as he addressed the men gathered at Point B. Just moments ago, he had been praying for their survival.

But now, seeing that Lady Lea had not returned, his stomach churned with rage.

“I asked who the hell brought the lure!” he roared.

The reason Lady Lea had not returned... it was all because one of his men had dropped a monster lure. The monsters drawn by it had swarmed Lady Lea’s position, and now her fate was unknown.

A disgrace to knighthood.

If anything had happened to Lady Lea, he was fully prepared to take his own life. A knight who abandoned his liege and survived alone? It was a tale worthy of the gallows.

I should have sent her back from the start...

The knight commander ground his teeth, glaring at the tight-lipped guards.

“I won’t investigate who brought it. However, if the young lady has come to harm, I will kill every last one of you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

The guards nodded, their faces pale with fear.

Watching them, the commander clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more than to storm over and strike their faces, but time was of the essence. He had to set aside his fury and begin the search.

Your Grace, Lady Lea... I pray you are all alive.

The knight commander let out a shallow breath and took a step forward.

A presence stirred in the bushes.

The commander swiftly drew his sword, his eyes locked on the thicket. He tensed, expecting Demonkin, but thankfully, the figure that emerged was not a monster.

It was the very person he had been waiting for.

“My lady!”

Lea Praha appeared, bearing numerous shallow cuts. The knight commander rushed to her side, supporting her weight.

“Are you all right?”

Even a quick glance revealed countless lacerations. The men who had escaped with her were nowhere to be seen; only the young assassin stood by her side.

“I’m fine.” Lea’s voice was low and heavy.

Looking at her, the commander understood what had happened. The men who had moved with the lady must all be dead.

For some strange reason, most of the monsters had converged on her party. Even for skilled warriors, fighting that many monsters in the Demonic Realm would have been impossible. Their only choice must have been to ensure Lady Lea’s escape.

So, Louis Berg is dead, it seems.

The commander’s expression was grim as he sank into thought. The benefits his presence would have brought to the North were immeasurable. He never imagined the man would die so easily.

Still, by protecting Lady Lea, he had more than fulfilled his duty. He was a true knight after all to protect his lady’s life over his own.

Such nobility. How honorable!

The commander offered a silent salute to the fallen Louis. He draped his own cloak over Lea’s shoulders and spoke softly.

“Come this way and catch your breath. We can hear what happened once you’ve had a moment to rest.”

Hearing a hero’s final moments was important, but his lady’s well-being came first. 

But contrary to his considerate gesture, the lady’s eyes were cold as she responded in a low voice. “I appreciate the thought, but there is something I must do first.”

“Something you must do?”

“Yes. It seems someone tried to kill me.”

“Who, my lady?” The commander’s brow furrowed.

Who in the North would dare try to kill her?

If it was true, he would crush the bastard’s skull with his own hands.

“I don’t know who. But I know they did something, and all the monsters swarmed us. As a result, the man who would have been my husband and the men accompanying me are dead.”

As Lea calmly explained, the commander’s mind raced.

She was right. He had found it strange himself. Though they had split into five groups, more than eighty percent of the monsters had charged Lady Lea’s party. 

Even with a monster lure, that was unnatural. Unless... unless they had also used an aphrodisiac.

An aphrodisiac?

An image crystallized in the commander’s mind. If bringing the lure wasn’t a mistake, if this was all planned... if someone wanted to assassinate Lady Lea and wipe out the rescue party... would they have used only a lure?

Of course not.

A lure and an aphrodisiac. They must have used both. If they had applied the aphrodisiac to the young lady and then used the lure to draw the monsters... it would explain everything.

“The filthy curs! How dare they!”

The commander’s eyes turned bloodshot as he radiated terrifying killing intent. 

According to Lady Lea, the only ones capable of such an act were his own guards. The very men sworn to protect the head of the house and his direct kin had dared to commit such an atrocity.

This was treason.

“Traitors, deserving of death! How dare you point your swords at the North!” he snarled, striding toward his men.

Just then, one of the knights stepped forward to address the commander.

He was Venom. The very same knight who had argued with Louis hours earlier.

“We can’t be certain, can we, Commander? The Demonic Realm is a place of infinite possibilities.”

“What?”

“We, too, regret Sir Louis’s death, but to disrupt our own ranks based on something that isn’t certain seems like a poor choice.”

Venom stared directly into the commander’s eyes as he continued.

“Besides, isn’t it possible the Demonkin are behind this? Sowing chaos among the rescue party… that could be exactly what they want.”

“He has a point.”

The other knights began to murmur in agreement. It wasn’t that they truly believed Venom’s words deep down. They simply sided with the explanation that was more convenient for them.

A rebel, or a knight deceived by Demonkin. Given the choice, any one of them would choose the latter.

“Sir Louis spoke of a liquid before his death,” Lea said. “Said there was something suspicious about a translucent substance.”

“Nonsense. It seems he was deceived by the Demonkin.”

“We can just investigate.”

“No. That would destroy the trust within the unit. And that is precisely what the Demonkin want,” Venom replied shamelessly.

Lea lowered her gaze. “Even though it is a simple investigation?”

“Yes. This is the Demonic Realm, and that is what the enemy desires.”

“I see.” Lea’s voice trembled.

“My lady.”

The commander, who had been seething with rage just a moment before, rushed to Lea’s side. He looked like a father trying to protect his wounded daughter.

But contrary to the commander's assumption, Lea didn't look hurt. She wore a rueful smile, steeped in disappointment and edged with murderous intent.

“So, you men really were behind it,” she murmured.

Frost began to bloom around Lea’s feet, spreading outward like crystallized fury.