The soldiers were clearly confused by Eric's sudden change in attitude, but they quickly raised their voices.
“Mr.
Chester, what are you doing now?”
“Do you think the lady will stay calm if she hears about this?
This might escalate into a war between the regions!”
At the soldiers' words, Eric raised the corners of his mouth into a mocking smile.
“Yes, there could be a regional war.
If I hand over the child to you.”
“What are you talking about...”
“The soldiers here carefully checked not only my ID but also my face.
But you only quickly verified my ID without checking my face.
It’s as if you were curious about who the witness was.”
However, Eric studied them with sharp eyes.
They were mid-level aura users, yet they were just soldiers, despite having skills that would be welcomed as knights in any family.
It was a situation that anyone would find suspicious.
“Just before entering this territory, I saw hooded individuals chasing Countess Heard’s carriage.
Perhaps they are your agents?”
The moment those words left his mouth, the soldier's demeanor changed.
“Unbelievable, a knight from a noble family is trying to kidnap Young Master...”
“Mr.
Chester, you will have to die here.”
As soon as that was said, they raised their spears and launched an attack on Eric.
However, even while holding the child in one arm, Eric nimbly dodged the attacks and then easily broke the two spears with his bare hands.
“Well, it seems that you two still lack the skill to kill me.”
The soldiers frowned, then nodded to each other and whistled.
Whoosh-!
At the same time, the hidden assassins revealed themselves and rushed towards Eric.
'Five fairly skilled swordsmen, two of whom are novice aura users.'
For an ordinary swordsman, using bare hands against an Aura user would be a suicidal act.
The blades imbued with aura were sharp enough to cut through rocks.
However, Eric was unwavering, and blocked those swords with his bare hands.
The result...
“Argh!”
The broken sword lodged neatly in the chest of one of the assassins.
“What the…!”
The soldier trembled after a moment of shock.
“Move, and I'll break your neck.”
In that brief moment, Eric killed one soldier and moved behind another, grabbing his neck.
He was the leader of this assassination group.
“W-what do you want?”
When asked, Eric laughed.
"No.
I'm the one who should ask.
What are you after—to go after this child?"
“That...”
At that moment, Eric hit the soldier's head on the ground.
“Argh!”
With the sudden shock, the soldier felt dizzy in his vision.
In that case, he did not have the mental capacity to swallow any poison.
Eric inserted his hand into the soldier's mouth, pulling out the molar to which the poison was stuck.
“Aaargh!”
Seeing the soldier in pain, Eric said calmly, "I won't let you commit suicide until I know what I want to know.
So, if you want to die comfortably, you'd better cooperate."
He always believed that failure in his mission would lead to death.
But to think that even death wasn't under his control—there was no life more terrifying than that.
The killer disguised as a soldier, who felt fear for the first time, confessed everything.
“The Marquis of Argens planned to threaten Countess Heard for control of the mine and attempted to kidnap the child.”
Eric smiled wryly at the familiar name coming out of the killer.
'Ah, so that was his purpose in investigating Countess Heard.'
Then he broke the killer's neck, killing him, and turned to look at the child.
'He's deep asleep, unaware of everything.'
Of course, try to deal with the situation as calmly as possible, for fear that the child will wake up.
Even though he used magic and had many suspicious aspects, he was still a child.
'At this point, I'm starting to wonder what kind of people his parents are.'
At that moment, the baby stirred and let out a small moan.
“Umm...”
Eric looked around and quickly moved away from the spot.
'Not a proper sight for a child to see.'
If the child wakes up, he will certainly cause another noise.
Finally, as he approached the palace, he saw the chaotic scene unfolding.
“Young Master!”
Servants, knights, soldiers, and even townsfolk were searching around the palace for the child.
The child was loved by everyone.
Eric caressed the baby's soft cheek with a bitter expression.
'It's really time to say goodbye now.'
After spending barely half a day together, he felt a deep affection for the child.
He was afraid that if he stayed longer, he wouldn't really want to part.
As Eric was about to approach the others—
Whoosh-!
He quickly ducked and dodged the blade that quickly approached from behind.
'Were there more killers?'
With that thought, Eric turned around, his eyes widening.
“Put down Young Master, now!”
A man with grayish-brown hair and gray eyes, with a generally monochromatic appearance.
It was a face Eric knew well.
“Sardine, are you… alive?”
Despite the obvious shock in Eric's voice, Sardine didn't respond.
Instead, with an angry face, he pointed his sword at him.
“Put down Young Master, immediately!”
Sardine, as he said this, was dressed as a knight.
Eric's gaze hardened.
It was natural; His wife's slave, who he thought was dead, was not only alive, he had erased his past and was living a new life as a knight in another noble family.
Eric couldn't help but draw an obvious conclusion from this.
In a fit of rage, Eric drew his sword and pointed it at Sardin.
“What did you do to my wife?”
At Eric's threatening and ferocious demeanor, Sardin tightened his grip on the sword's hilt.
'The Duke is strong.
But...'
Sardine's gaze turned to Damien, carried in Eric's arms.
He had carefully brought up the child for years, and who, though possessed of enormous strength, amply extended to him tolerance.
Before he was his young master, he was just a child.
He was a precious child that he embraced even though he knew he was cheating on them.
He was a lovely and friendly little gentleman.
'To think that my young master is like this...'
Sardine had witnessed the gradual decline of the proud Cornelia.
The miserable character, blinded by love and begging for affection, slowly withered away.
Its downfall was that damned idiot, Eric Lennon Brant.
‘Yes, I can’t let the Duke take Young Master.
He will destroy my lady as he did.'
So, he must protect him.
To repay the trust of his young lady and master.
Sardine quickly raised his sword and charged at the Duke, launching a powerful attack.
Thunk-!
It was a massive and precise attack, from an aura user to a sword master.
And yet, Eric stood there, alarmingly calm and collected, without the slightest disturbance.
His blue eyes sparkled ominously.
“Tell me.
What happened to my wife?”
Sardin realized that no matter how hard he fought, he would not be able to defeat the Duke or even touch the hem of his robe.
'I knew it would end like this.'
If he couldn't defeat the Duke, there was only one option left.
And that was…
“She's dead.”
Lying to the Duke, dying at his angry hands, burying the truth forever.
‘If I do this, he will at least think that neither Mrs. nor Young Master has anything to do with me and leave, right?’
Finally, Sardin opened his mouth again to provoke Eric.
“Yes, after that woman died, I thought I was finally free.”
"silent."
"Why should I shut up?
Is it a crime for me to enter this territory and act like a knight with my skills?"
At those words, Eric wore a crazy smile.
“If you want to die, I will grant you that.”
Eric's body rushed forward like a beam of light.
Sardine tried to block his sword, but it cut his shoulder.
"Yes!"
As Sardine groaned, Eric struck again.
He barely managed to block the powerful attack, but the impact sent Sardine flying several meters into the wall.
“Argh!”
As Sardine groaned in pain, Eric looked at him as if he were an insect.
"You should have protected her as her guardian.
Even if it meant your death!"
As Eric raised his sword to strike Sardin's neck—
“Dad?”
The little boy in his arms opened his eyes.
The child trembled and raised his voice.
"Daddy, no!
Don't kill Sadie!"
He was just someone else's child.
Therefore, it was right to ignore him and behead the slave who abandoned Cornelia and escaped.
However, Eric found himself unable to move his arm, as if it had turned to stone at the child's contact.
'What right do you have to make me...'
As Eric looked at the child, he dropped his sword.
Klang-!
“Your eyes...”
The violet eyes he saw in a dream mean that the child is of royal blood.
Eric stared at Sardin.
“You, could it be...”
At that moment-
Bang-!
The sound of a bullet tearing through the air made Eric turn his head.
There, he saw...
“Eric Lennon Brant!”
The woman, who had raised her gun in the air, was now aiming at him.
Her golden hair, spreading in the air, began to take on the color of the night sky that spread across the world.
Her blue eyes turned violet.
As if the spell had been broken, the woman, who had changed from Countess Hurd to Cornelia, screamed in a voice full of anger.
"Stay away from my child!
You idiot!"