‘Maybe I should tie my hair up once in a while.’
A girl walking through the middle of a forest, where the sounds of insects echoed, casually lifted her hair behind her head.
After living so many years following a similar pattern, it was natural to think of trying small deviations.
She liked how her abundant hair covered her body, giving her the appearance of a slightly frail girl, but showing a livelier side from ti to ti was also part of a person’s varied charm.
The girl walking out of the forest with such trivial thoughts was a great 6-star mage whose na would not be strange to leave engraved in history.
Fina Raffaella Tigris, daughter of a baron, was quietly leaving the Beltus estate without anyone noticing.
The sun had already set. For her, who could hide among the shadows, leaving the place unseen was as easy as breathing.
She turned and silently looked at the mansion standing on the hill.
Within the burning grounds, nurous soldiers ran toward their own goals.
What rose toward the sky were spirits materialized by necromancy. The chaos and confusion pouring out of that cursed mansion were so satisfying that, for this girl made of pure wickedness, they were a spectacle more thrilling than any other.
‘lverot and Drest won’t stay still.’
The 6-star mages who despised chaos would probably frown upon Fina’s actions.
However, Fina was soone who would use any thod to fulfill her purpose.
‘Even if lverot doesn’t understand, Drest will. After all, tis change.’
As she walked through the forest, a damp wind blew.
The forest’s breeze, tinged with the scent of grass, remained the sa despite the passage of ti, but people always changed.
The young heir of Duplain, Leigh, was regaining consciousness and rising to his feet.
He would resolve all the regrets of what he had lost and, with the help of Aiselin and Diella, attempt to rebuild his family’s prestige.
The next heir of Belmierd, Ellen, already had a reputation that reached the heavens.
She would beco a symbol of power, wield enormous influence over the southwest of the continent, and even attempt to swallow the social circles of Ebelstein.
The next heir of Beltus, Robenalt, was still going through growing pains.
It was uncertain whether he could beco a proper lord, but at least his ntal fortitude was firm. In any case, he was soone who would surely be eliminated if things continued as they were, so Beltus’s future was uncertain as well.
In the end, generations change, and she had rely given them a small push.
Fina smiled faintly as she walked deeper into the forest.
Tis change. What can the old do?
In the anti, take everything you can.
The only thing those old foxes could do, at most, was that.
A halo of light rose from the mansion’s main building.
What filled the sky was the form of a demon summoned by Grand Duke Beltus, master of summoning magic.
Indeed, being originally of 5-star class, even the newly infused necromancy had a considerably high level.
*
Crash! Crash!
Breaking through the roof of the mansion’s main building, a gigantic demon revealed itself.
That demon, with the head of a bull, had huge horns jutting out from its temples, and its rough, muscular body was covered in heavy armor.
Among the forbidden spells of necromancy, the most evil were those that manipulated demons from hell.
Of the many mages who had fallen under the vile aura of necromancy, it was especially the experts in summoning magic who handled such spells.
And when one spoke of summoning magic, the na that ca to mind was undoubtedly Grand Duke Beltus.
If anyone could summon a demon of that magnitude, it was him.
Bang! Bang!
– Rooaar.
The enormous demon, half-erged through the mansion’s roof, let out a sound.
Its scale was so imnse that it sounded more like the horn of a massive ship than a roar.
Everyone around the mansion had to cover their ears, their faces contorted in pain.
Taking advantage of the mont, nurous bat-like monsters began swarming out from the broken roof of the mansion. The horde was so vast it could be considered an army.
The demon had arrived.
Who controlled that demon? Everyone could only answer in unison.
It was undoubtedly Grand Duke Beltus.
“Has the tower’s protective magic not been withdrawn yet?”
Rodelia, advancing with a detachnt toward the main building, cut down monsters in her path.
Dereck had gone alone to destroy the magic tower. Leading an army would only provoke the defensive forces to appear, so it had been decided that infiltrating alone amid the chaos caused by the monsters was the best course.
Thus, Rodelia advanced by herself toward the main building to subdue Grand Duke Beltus himself.
However, the protective magic deployed atop the eastern tower showed no sign of fading.
Unless that enormous battle formation was completely neutralized, entering the main building was far too risky.
As Rodelia clenched her teeth, staring at the tower—
Flash!
Bang!
The size of the magic circle blooming at the top of the tower began to shrink little by little until it finally lost all light and vanished.
Dereck had indeed managed to infiltrate alone and resolve the situation.
No matter how chaotic the area around the tower was, or how urgent the situation, it was an incredible feat.
‘Wasn’t he a forr rcenary? It seems he possesses exceptional experience in these guerrilla operations.’
He was a veteran who had repeatedly infiltrated labyrinths and hunted monsters in small groups, accumulating abundant real combat experience.
‘Steady, experienced, and mature, yet young. If possible, I’d like to have him under my command.’
But those who saw Dereck usually thought the sa. He would be a useful talent as an officer, but he wasn’t the type to easily submit to anyone.
The only person he even pretended to respect was lverot, who had reached the rank of 6-star mage. Competing with such a monster was impossible.
‘Rather, if I could bind him through marriage…’
But he was already married, and even if his marriage were annulled or he took a second wife, it was unlikely that he would be paired with her fierce daughter Trisha. In any case, it wouldn’t be easy to have Dereck under her wing.
‘…’
Setting that aside, the path was already open, and the task was clear.
Rodelia drew her sacred blood sword and raised it high, shouting to her detachnt,
“The path to the main house is clear! Capture the master of that vile necromancy and report to Emperor Guttrel that we have resolved this disaster!”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go!”
Tap, tap, tap.
Even within the hill where the mansion grounds lay, the main house of Duke Beltus stood at the highest point.
They were going to storm that nest of evil, where all kinds of monsters raged and vengeful spirits erged, and bring the situation to an end.
Emperor Guttrel, who abhorred necromancy, would surely recognize their rit.
Soldiers are always thirsty for honor.
Many mbers of the detachnt following Rodelia cheered. They were veterans among veterans, having conquered Rodentz Island at her side.
As they advanced toward the main entrance, Rodelia’s army arrived at the scene.
– Grooooh.
The main house of the mansion no longer belonged to Duke Beltus.
When the enormous doors of the main hall opened, an Archlich floating in the air awaited them.
They saw pods spewing swarms of vengeful spirits and monsters.
The monster that had nested in that mansion had no intention of allowing intruders.
A monster summoned through advanced 5-star-level necromancy or higher.
Seeing that gigantic creature—sothing they hadn’t even encountered on Rodentz Island—the expressions of Rodelia’s detachnt hardened instantly.
*
Thud! Thud!
Grrr!
Denise ran out of the main house and down the northern hill.
The Rodelia army was approaching from the south.
Although the mansion grounds were filled with monsters, excluding those inside the main house, their level was not particularly impressive.
Goblins and trolls with corpse-like appearances — their looks were grotesque and terrifying, but since their movents were slow, one could escape from them simply by running at full speed.
Their endurance was also diocre, so well-trained soldiers or mages capable of using even level 1 magic could handle them without much difficulty.
Even though the urgency of the mont and their horrifying appearance were unsettling, as long as one remained calm, surviving wasn’t too difficult.
However, soone had to deal with the disaster at the main house, block the armies advancing toward the Beltus mansion, and at the sa ti protect the servants and retainers.
The ones responsible for those tasks were already decided.
They were the Orel rcenaries, who had protected the territory under contract with Grand Duke Beltus for many years.
They had maintained such a special relationship that they even had their own barracks within the Beltus mansion grounds. Now was the ti to show their full strength.
At that mont, Denise was heading to the western barracks to resolve the anomaly at the main house together with the Orel rcenaries and sohow block the incoming armies.
It seed like an overwhelming task, but Orel, the group’s leader, had served as commander of the royal guard for a long ti. Without a doubt, he had survived countless crises like this one.
That was why Denise’s destination was the Orel rcenaries’ barracks.
But even as she hurried her steps, Denise couldn’t help but hold her breath.
‘If everything gets resolved… what will happen to …? And to the servants who followed ? And my personal maid, Bella? No… what will happen to our family…?’
She pushed aside those negative thoughts. Do what you can right now.
Even though she repeated that to herself several tis, the anxiety boiling in her chest wouldn’t subside.
Especially because she herself had made an enemy of Baron Dereck Lydorf Ravenclaw.
That fact alone was like a thorn lodged in her heart, tornting her without end.
Now, she and Dereck were enemies.
Even if the situation were resolved, Dereck would treat her with hostility.
Sotis she rembered Dereck’s cold gaze — those sharp eyes, the sa ones he showed when facing monsters he had to kill or enemies he had to subdue. They were completely opposite to his usual calm and serious deanor.
Now, the target of that gaze was Denise.
And the reason wasn’t even deep — it was simply because she belonged to the Beltus family.
She had been used as a chess piece under the cruel Grand Duke Beltus, contributing to the family and living under his shadow for a long ti.
Now the ti had co to pay for those sins.
Tap, tap.
Denise’s hurried steps began to slow.
Soon, she leaned one shoulder against a tree in a corner of the garden, grabbed a handful of her ssy hair, and tried to catch her breath.
She had run too long with a fragile body. To save her strength, she breathed shallowly and soon pressed her forehead tightly, feeling as if she were about to cry.
‘Even though I lived pretending to be rational and intelligent… now that everything’s fallen apart, I’m nothing more than just another daughter…’
A hollow laugh escaped her. While suppressing the tickle in her nose, Denise mocked herself.
‘Don’t cry. Crying won’t change anything. Letting emotions take over in this situation will only hasten my death. I have to judge everything calmly.’
The Orel rcenaries must have already begun to move. They would be eliminating the monsters around the barracks and preparing to clear the main base where the demon had appeared.
If she headed toward the western barracks, she would surely find them.
If she moved west, maybe she could save her life.
Just as Denise finished catching her breath and stood up—
The heavens abandoned her.
Soone appeared from within the forest.
A man covered in monsters’ blood erged from the bushes.
Soone she should never have encountered at that mont was there, walking with a deadly stride, drenched in blood.
His eyes still glead with a chilling red hue. Though he was covered in dust, his pure white hair shone under the moonlight as always.
He was carrying soone unconscious over his shoulder.
It was obvious who it was — the sa silver-ash hair as Denise’s, a fragile noble.
The one who had been guarding the magic tower.
Her older brother, Robenalt.
A timid man, without great ambition or notable achievents. But if he had dared to face Dereck, the result was clear — he had been brutally beaten, his face swollen, hanging limply from Dereck’s shoulder.
Was he dead? No, it seed he was still breathing.
But the murderous look in Dereck’s eyes as he carried him—
As they said, the gods had abandoned Denise.
In a place where there was no one left to protect her, she was now face to face with the very core of the enemy.
Robenalt, completely subdued and unconscious, was proof enough.
Dereck was a man filled with hatred toward the Beltus family and would never treat kindly anyone who had lived as one of its representatives.
What should she do? Resist?
Would there be any point in opposing soone whose magical ability surpassed hers by several ranks?
Should she throw dirt in his eyes, scratch him, and run?
For soone as weak as her, resisting such a formidable man was futile.
So Denise let herself fall against the tree and ended up sitting on the ground.
Dust clung to her expensive dress, and pieces of bark tangled in her ssy ash-colored hair.
“Yes… Dereck, it was you after all.”
In that final instant, Denise managed to force a smile full of fake courage.
No matter the crisis, she always had to smile and never stop thinking rationally.
Even if she were to die the next mont, she wouldn’t lose that composure.
That was the attitude she had always lived with — as if it were her destiny.
She recalled her private residence in Ebelstein.
She rembered the mont in the underground art storage, when Dereck had consoled her as she lanted her frail life.
Rembering that, Denise thought,
If the blood of Beltus didn’t run through my veins… could I have gotten along with this man?
Like Aiselin and Ellen? Could I have relied on him, shared my worries, faced dangers together, and sohow lived happily?
Suddenly, she recalled the presumptuous Lord Robain.
When he wrote about that foolish noble who lost Tracy because he was dominated by differences in status and family duty… perhaps he had hidden a bit of mockery toward himself.
On a moonlit night, sitting at his desk with a pen in hand, maybe he had hoped soone would understand his inner emptiness.
Now it no longer mattered.
But she never imagined that the arrogant Lord Robain would beco her final work. If she had known, perhaps she would have put in more effort — such thoughts crossed her mind.
And so, when Denise gently closed her eyes, that was when she let everything go.
Step, step.
Thud!
Dereck approached Denise with heavy steps and laid the body of Robenalt, whom he had carried until now, beside her.
Robenalt, leaning against a tree stump, was breathing heavily, completely unconscious.
He was a pathetic brother, yes, but at least he had been sincere toward his family.
“He tried to stop
to the very end. Knowing what Grand Duke Beltus is like, and still remaining loyal… it seems he believes his duty is to be honest with the place he belongs to.”
Dereck’s voice was much gentler than Denise had imagined.
He no longer had the fierce appearance of the bloodstained rcenary who hunted monsters, but rather that of the gentle instructor who had once stayed in the mansion and taught her magic.
Denise held her breath.
“D-Der… Dereck…?”
“His loyalty was simply misplaced. If the Beltus family sets itself straight, Young Master Robenalt will be a great asset to it. In the end, what remains is not soone loyal to a person, but soone loyal to his family.”
“You… you are…”
Denise lifted her trembling eyes to look at him.
Under the moonlight, Dereck’s calm eyes lacked the ferocity she had expected.
In fact, they were exactly as she rembered them.
“You… didn’t co to capture …?”
Dereck brushed the dust off his neck and answered with a puzzled expression.
“…?”
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