Chapter 14
A pristine white shirt was completely soaked in blood. And it wasn’t just the shirt. His hands… even his face were splattered with it. The Duke of Arteum, without bothering to wipe the blood from his hands, casually brushed his hair back. Dark red blood clung thickly to his hair, glistening as if it were shining.
The duke… killed someone?
Unable even to stand, Rose was crawling backward when the duke approached her. He quietly reached a hand toward her. The massive hand came closer, as though it might swallow her whole. The hand that looked as if it would seize her throat at any moment stopped in midair. A heavy stench of blood wafted to her nose from his hand.
Rose was terrified. She thought she would be brutally killed as well, just like the person who had been screaming in agony under the duke’s hand.
“My. Extending a bloodstained hand to a lady is hardly proper etiquette.”
Without taking his eyes off Rose, the Duke of Arteum withdrew his hand. He roughly wiped it on his shirt, then reached out again.
Grab.
He didn’t wait for Rose to take his hand—he pulled her up himself. Startled nearly to the point of fainting, Rose couldn’t even let out a scream as she was hauled to her feet.
What is this man trying to do?
Deathly pale, Rose swallowed hard, unable to grasp his intentions.
“What a mess. Your dress is ruined.”
Her sky-blue dress was caked with dirt and completely disheveled. Despite his words, Rose had no presence of mind to look at her dress. She couldn’t afford to lower her guard in front of the duke. All her senses were focused on him.
What is he going to do to me?
There was no way he didn’t know she had been near the scene of the killing. The place where she’d heard the man’s screams and where she herself had been were only a few steps apart.
…Is he this calm because he plans to kill me too anyway?
Rose desperately thought about what she should say to preserve her life.
Should I beg? Say I didn’t see anything… plead like that?
Who knew? If she begged earnestly enough, maybe she could at least survive. Trembling violently, Rose hesitated for a long moment before lifting her shaking gaze to the duke. Then she made up her mind.
She decided to gamble—on the Duke of Arteum.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
Instead of groveling for her life, Rose chose a direct approach. At her words, a strange, unreadable smile appeared on the duke’s face. He could plainly see how terrified she was—so what was this bold attitude toward him?
“What do you mean?”
He casually wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand and asked.
“I mean I’ll overlook the fact that you murdered someone, Your Grace.”
She tried to sound calm, but she couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice. The duke stared at her silently. Even in a situation like this, instead of begging for her life, she dared to speak to him like that.
“Murder…”
The Duke of Arteum trailed off, narrowing his eyes. Then he bent slightly toward her and murmured in a low voice.
“Madam… you think I killed someone?”
Rose flinched, struck right at the core.
“Well… of course…”
She was at a loss for words at his question, which seemed so obvious to her. When Rose couldn’t continue, flustered, the duke spoke again.
“Did you see it?”
“…Pardon?”
“Did you see me kill someone?”
“…No.
I didn’t see it, but I heard someone screaming… and then you appeared covered in blood. And… there was a bloodstained sword at your waist.”
Given the circumstances, it was only natural to conclude that the duke had killed someone.
“You saw nothing, yet you think I killed a man. Just what kind of person do you take me for?”
She thought, a bloodless, tearless mad duke, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud. When Rose fell silent like someone struck dumb, the duke shrugged as if he were used to it.
“Well, I suppose my current appearance could lead to misunderstandings.”
“…Yes?”
So… was he saying she was completely mistaken?
“Come.”
He gestured to the dazed Rose and calmly started walking. After standing there blankly, Rose hurried after him. His strides weren’t large, so she quickly caught up—if anything, he was walking unusually slowly. She walked beside him.
They hadn’t gone more than a few steps when they rounded a corner and an even stronger stench of blood hit her. It was enough to make her frown reflexively. Covering her nose with one hand, Rose looked around. There was nothing in the grass—not even a body.
I definitely heard someone’s voice.
There was no way she could have misheard such a clear, agonized sound. And it seemed she wasn’t the only one who found this strange.
“…It’s gone.”
Rose heard the duke mutter as he scanned the empty surroundings.
“…What happened, Your Grace?”
“Marquis Bled was being attacked by a monster, so I merely saved him.”
“Then that blood is…?”
At Rose’s question, the duke glanced down at himself and spoke quietly.
“It must be from when I checked whether the marquis was still breathing after he collapsed. And that’s when I heard your footsteps.”
He said he’d approached in case there was another victim.
Then… was this really all just a misunderstanding?
There were still parts that felt suspicious, but Rose nodded and replied,
“…I see.”
Just then, they heard people running toward them.
“There—over there!”
“Arrest the duke at once!”
Armed knights rushed toward the duke and Rose at full speed, quickly surrounding the Duke of Arteum.
“As expected, you were the culprit, Duke of Arteum.”
A greasy voice came from behind the knights. A man pushed his way forward with a triumphant expression.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The duke, unfazed by the knights encircling him, stared straight at the man before him.
“Duke of Arteum. You still seem incapable of reading the situation.”
The middle-aged man, unable to hide his sneer, was Duke Flitche—one of the emperor’s closest confidants and the central figure of the faction determined to see the Duke of Arteum executed.
“Marquis Bled is dead.”
Marquis Bled… the man the duke said he helped?
Rose stared at the duke with wide eyes. Only then did he seem to grasp what was happening—that he had fallen into an inescapable trap. The Duke of Arteum clenched his fist as he looked at the duke who was pressing him.
“I don’t need an explanation to understand the situation.”
The vanished marquis and the monster’s corpse—it was clear they’d conspired to frame him as a murderer. People standing behind Duke Flitche began to chime in one by one.
“To kill someone and still act shameless.”
“How long did you think His Majesty would keep turning a blind eye to your actions?”
They hurled accusations at him while cowardly hiding behind the knights, never daring to face him directly.
“I did not kill Marquis Bled.”
“Absurd. Your very appearance is proof—proof that you killed him!”
Pointing at the blood-soaked duke, Duke Flitche spoke with overwhelming force. Rose didn’t yet know who the duke was, but she could feel that he was no ordinary man. Still, the Duke of Arteum was no less formidable. He advanced toward Duke Flitche without yielding an inch.
The knights, as if determined not to let him get any closer to their master, drew their swords and aimed them at him. The blades all pointed at the Duke of Arteum’s throat.
Surrounded, the duke showed no fear despite the swords at his neck. If anything, it was the knights who faltered.
“To dare point a blade at my throat. Are you that eager to die?”
Anyone who harmed a member of the imperial family was executed without exception. No matter how grave the crime, the sins of royalty were judged under imperial law. When the Duke of Arteum took a single step forward, the knights flinched and retreated in unison. They had drawn their swords trusting in Duke Flitche—but they could not inflict even a scratch on the duke.
“Lower your swords.”
A normal person would crumble when a blade was held to their throat. Frustrated that things weren’t going according to plan, Duke Flitche retreated a step. The Duke of Arteum walked slowly toward him.
“I stepped out for a short walk and found Marquis Bled being attacked by a monster. I merely helped him. This blood is from checking whether he was still alive.”
“A monster? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Duke Flitche let out a hollow laugh at the duke’s words.
“You expect us to believe Marquis Bled was bested by a mere monster?”
“He was so drunk he couldn’t even stand properly.”
“Drunk or not, he was a member of the Imperial Knights. You expect us to believe a monster could overpower him?”
“It wasn’t an ordinary monster. I’d never seen anything like it before.”
The duke recalled the enormous monster that had infiltrated his estate—razor-sharp claws and fangs that looked capable of tearing a man’s head off in an instant, and strange wings sprouting from its back.
Like a wolf… but with wyvern wings.
It wasn’t just its appearance—it possessed tremendous strength. Even he, skilled in swordsmanship, had failed to evade its claws and had his hand scratched. The duke looked at the vivid wound on the back of his hand and recalled the monster that had vanished without a trace.
“Then tell me—where is this ‘monster’ you speak of?”
Stepping forward arrogantly, Duke Flitche pressed him.
“When I returned, it was gone.”
At the duke’s reply, snickers broke out here and there.
“Our duke’s finally lost his mind, it seems.”
Duke Flitche slapped a hand onto the duke’s shoulder and continued,
“You should have known who not to mess with. Why Marquis Bled? My close friend—and His Majesty’s cherished right hand.”
Was it Rose’s imagination, or did the man claiming his friend had died look strangely elated? Wearing a greasy smile, he gripped the duke’s shoulder tightly.
“Didn’t His Majesty say this last time? One more incident, and there would be no more mercy for you.”
The duke closed his mouth, staring at the man tightening his grip.
So they laid the trap deliberately.
He had said he’d live quietly in the north, like a dead mouse—but—
This time, there’s no escaping, Duke.
Duke Flitche glared at him with madness in his eyes. This round was his victory. He had left the duke with no way out.
Cornered, the Duke of Arteum racked his brain for an escape. But aside from his final resort—that—nothing came to mind.
Do I have to reveal everything here?
One should never show all their cards…
It was then—just as he was agonizing—that an unexpected person stepped in.
“I saw everything.”
At the clear, ringing voice, everyone turned to look at Rose. Standing there was Rose herself, her expression resolute and solemn. With all eyes focused on the duke, no one had even realized she was there. They looked genuinely startled by her presence. Until now, Rose’s existence had been no more than dust floating in the air.
“What did you see? And when were you even here?”
Duke Flitche cast her a hostile glare.
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
Feeling all eyes turn to her, Rose drew in a deep breath to steady herself. Then she spoke in a calm voice.
“I saw the duke rescue Marquis Bled and fight the monster.”
At her words, the man who had been smiling just moments ago twisted his face in fury. He’d thought the game was already won…!
The Duke of Arteum stared at Rose, standing at the center of everyone’s gaze, with a strange look in his eyes. Just moments ago, she had believed him to be a murderer—he had never imagined she would help him.
