Ivan quickly hid when he felt his presence.
‘This damned territory.’
The heavily guarded area had become even more intense.
However, there was a reason Ivan couldn't leave this place.
'If I fail this time, my master will never forgive me.'
The one who adopted Ivan, an orphan wandering the slums, and appointed him as an executive in a mercenary guild.
To Ivan, Reinhardt was like a ruler.
That's why he was determined to succeed in assassinating Damian.
Even if it meant burying his bones here.
'Good.
I will move closer to the palace and put myself in position.
Then I will take care of Duke Brant.'
“Xenon.”
Ivan looked back in surprise when he heard a cold voice right behind him.
He rose up.
'Duke Brant?'
Why is he here?
As that thought crossed his mind, Ivan had already gotten used to acting as Eric's assistant.
'True, the Duke doesn't know why I'm here.
So I'll pretend to be ignorant.
And…’
Ivan was hiding because he had a gun hidden in his clothes, and he was worried that if he was searched, he would be discovered.
However, if he entered the Count's residence with the Duke, they would obviously not conduct a physical search.
Then, he could assassinate the child and claim to have completed his mission by blaming the Duke.
This was Ivan's improvised plan.
“Your Highness, I am happy to see you here!
I was looking for you.”
At that, Eric raised the corners of his mouth.
“You were looking for me?
Why?”
"I am your assistant, after all.
But what brings you to this territory?"
“Ah, I was looking for my wife.
It turns out she’s still alive.”
Eric's expression as he spoke was truly happy.
Even though it was a disguise, his assistant Ivan cursed internally.
‘It was clear that she was dead… yet he insisted on finding her; He's definitely not in his right mind.'
However, with a goal in hand, he couldn't show his true feelings, so Ivan pretended to be happy and spoke.
“Congratulations!
It is truly a godsend that the Duchess is still alive.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Seeing the Duke in a good mood, Ivan smiled widely at the thought of going to the Count's residence together.
"I have to meet the Duchess soon too.
Where is she?"
“You already know, so why do you ask?”
"Yes?"
The moment he raised his stunned face, Ivan flinched.
Duke Brant was looking at him with murderous intent.
‘No, the Duke cannot know.
He wouldn't have seen anything from that distance.'
The distance between the palace and Ivan's hiding place was about one kilometer.
Even if the Duke was a transcendent being, it was impossible for him to recognize Ivan's face.
'He must be trying to test me since I suddenly appeared in Count Hurd's territory.'
Finally, Ivan feigned ignorance and said, “What do you mean by that?”
At that, Eric stared at his jacket with a murderous look.
“It would be wise to take the gun out of your pocket before I check it out myself.”
Hearing Eric's words, Evan could no longer deny it and had to accept the truth.
'Damn, I've been arrested!'
At the same time, Ivan pulled the gun from his coat and shot the Duke.
'Well, even if you're a sword master, you can't avoid a close-range shot…'
However, the Duke quickly dodged the bullet and grabbed Ivan by the neck.
“Gak!”
“Under whose direction would you do such a thing?”
Eric's blue eyes flashed with a strange light, as if they had been possessed by a demon.
“If you don't want all your tendons to be cut, you'd better speak up.”
An ordinary person would have been terrified, but Ivan was already overwhelmed by an even greater fear.
‘If I reveal anything to him, my master will see that I betrayed him and will kill my family.
If so...'
He would have preferred to endure torture and death at the hands of the Duke.
Evan made that decision.
'However, it would be better if I died quickly.'
He decided to provoke Eric.
“As expected of a human butcher!
It has been more than ten years since I was your deputy… but—”
Evan smiled as he looked at Eric.
“How much worse could he be than the one who drove his mother crazy?”
Ivan hoped that Eric would lose his composure and kill him.
But there was no trace of anger in Eric's blue eyes.
'Huh?'
At that moment, Eric's fingers, which had been holding Evan's neck, dug deeper into his skin.
It was a halo.
Aura flowed through Ivan's body.
He screamed in indescribable pain.
“Ghaaah!”
As Eric's assistant, he was well aware of his notoriety.
Anyone tortured by Duke Brant would end up begging for death.
He had secretly scoffed at those claims, but upon experiencing it himself, he felt like his mind was instantly evaporating.
"You idiot!
Stop!
Aaah!"
He swore through the pain.
"I'll tell you everything.
Please, have mercy on me, please!"
He begged, but the Duke did not stop the torture.
The pain was infinite; Ivan wanted nothing more than to escape this hell.
"I'll tell you everything!
Please, stop!"
“…….”
“Damn it!
You fake duke, you murderous fool!”
At that moment, a smile appeared on Eric's lips.
“It was you all along.
The one who manipulated the eldest lady from behind and embezzled the money.”
In an instant, the pain subsided enough for his mind to clear.
“How did you know...guh!”
“You don't have to know.
From now on, you'll be the one answering my questions.
If you want to be free from me.”
Only after hearing those words did Ivan finally realize his mistake.
'Ah, I shouldn't have come here in the first place.'
His life ended after he revealed some things that Eric was curious about.
'It turns out I didn't know as much as I thought.'
What Evan knew was mostly about schemes related to the Brant family.
'Even the reasons were ridiculous.'
“To bring down the Duke’s house and create an excuse to divorce you and the princess… ghah!”
Eric's eyes flashed with anger.
'However, I discovered Reinhardt's motive...'
Reinhardt's goal was to marry Cornelia, then assassinate Franz in order to inherit the throne.
In the process, his intention was to eliminate the child, who could become a potential liability.
'I need to tell her quickly.'
For a moment, he subconsciously tried to run, but looked at his blood-stained hands.
'I need to wash up first.
If she sees me like this...'
He knew she didn't really love him, but at least…
[This monster.]
He didn't want to see her afraid of him and running away, only to commit suicide, like in his dreams.
'Yes, at least I want to appear as a human in front of you.'
So, he will continue to hide his true nature from her, making sure she never finds out.
“Shouldn't you go back to the capital?”
“But back to the capital now...”
Having already been exposed to Eric, and with an unknown enemy targeting my child, I was very concerned about whether it would be wise to move to D.C. in this situation.
“I understand that Her Highness is in a difficult situation, but your condition is not good.”
After a sigh, Marquis Philippe spoke.
“I hope you decide soon, Princess Cornelia.”
As soon as the Marquis left the room, I sighed again.
'Yes, I need to go to the capital.'
But I could not leave my child behind in such a dangerous condition; I should have taken him with me.
To do this, I needed Eric's help.
First, I had to tell him not to reveal my identity to others, and I would need to apply for child protection in DC.
'Honestly, I don't want to depend on him.
But...'
The sound of the gunshot was still echoing in my mind, and I remembered how helpless I was, unable to do anything.
In that case, it was Eric who protected my child.
It was frustrating, but I couldn't deny his words.
Now, I had to swallow my pride and ask for his help.
'Yes, my child's life is in danger, so what does pride matter?'
But I wasn't sure if Eric would help me just because I swallowed my pride.
At that moment, other words he said echoed in my mind.
'True, since he said that, he should listen to me.'
With that thought, I went to the guest room where he was staying and burst through the door.
“Hey, I need to talk to you...”
At that moment, I couldn't help but look foolish when I saw him.
Did he just get out of the shower?
Eric Lennon Brant was standing there half naked.
Wearing only a bathrobe.
Through the open front of the robe, his toned body was visible.