IDBWM 08

Chapter 8

About a year ago.

It was during the time when they had still been deeply in love.

“Frina, try some of this too.”

Every time they went on dates, Hugo remembered to bring the snacks she liked.

“Frina, it’s cold out.”

On chilly days, he would take off his own coat and drape it over her shoulders.

“Hold my hand, Frina.”

Whenever they walked through crowded places, he would reach for her first so she wouldn’t stumble.

He really was a kind and considerate man.

And yet…

Whenever Frina met Hugo, she would often feel an inexplicable chill.

Why?

Because Hugo kept too many secrets?

Of course, Frina had secrets too.

She intended to carry the truth that she was the illegitimate child of a great noble family to her grave.

No matter how close the other person was.

‘Even so, Hugo hides way too much! I only hid my background!’

Wasn’t it excessive that after more than half a year of dating, she still didn’t even know where he lived?

Whatever the reason, there were moments when a man with such gentle eyes became strangely frightening.

So she started reducing how often they met.

[Frina, is something wrong?]

[I miss you, Frina.]

Frina didn’t know how to reply.

She needed time to sort out her thoughts.

Not long after, winter arrived.

Yes, winter.

The season overflowing with delicious winter snacks.

‘Hehe, so good.’

That day, she had been happily strolling down the street while munching on warm seasonal treats.

When she blew on the hot food in her mouth, white breath drifted into the cold air.

She had been enjoying one of the rare moments of pure happiness when—

“…Khk.”

A groan echoed from somewhere nearby.

‘W-What was that?’

At first, she thought she imagined it.

She tried to walk past.

But then—

“S-save… me… khk.”

It was weak, almost like a dying gasp, but she heard it clearly.

A narrow alleyway where not a single ray of sunlight could enter.

It was so pitch-black that she couldn’t see what was happening inside.

‘Guards!’

Alarm bells rang in her head.

She couldn’t go in herself, so she needed to alert the city guards.

‘But those guards never do their jobs…’

The thought crossed her mind, but there was no other choice.

That was when it happened.

Tadadadadadadadadak!

Like a wild beast charging in for the kill, rapid and rhythmic sounds tore through the street.

She didn’t even need to see it.

Her instincts screamed a warning.

Something was rushing toward her at terrifying speed.

Frozen in fear, Frina couldn’t move.

But instinct shoved her body into action.

‘If I stay still, I’ll die!’

As if being chased, she threw herself away and hid before she could even realize where she had landed.

All her fingertips touched was flat, freezing metal.

The brutal winter cold numbed her joints, but she had no room to think.

She didn’t know who had come charging out.

She didn’t know the condition of the person groaning in the alley.

She truly knew nothing at all.

Frina held her breath for a long time.

Then—

“Frina.”

A familiar, low voice called her name.

Frina slowly lifted her head.

Under the cold winter light, sleek black hair cascaded down elegantly.

The red eyes meeting hers were as endlessly gentle as always.

But why, of all times and places, had he appeared here?

“What are you doing under the carriage?”

“……”

“You must be cold. Come out.”

Hugo was dressed impeccably.

Completely out of place in this damp, sinister alley—as though he had just stepped out from bright sunlight moments ago.

“I came because I missed you. Why are you hiding here?”

“……”

“Were you eating snacks here? Oh dear, you dropped them.”

“……”

Blankly, Frina stared at the snacks scattered on the ground.

“I saw a shop on the way here that looked like something you’d like. Let’s go together. I’ll buy you more.”

Hugo was unbelievably kind.

He gently helped the terror-frozen Frina to her feet, then personally brushed the dirt off her knees with his own hands.

Even though, because of his obsession with cleanliness, he hated touching dirty things.

“But why are your hands shaking? You must be really cold, Frina.”

His worried voice lingered by her ear, but Frina’s gaze remained fixed on the ground.

Between the heels of his polished shoes—

the same red, sticky liquid she had seen from beneath the carriage still clung wetly to them.

Even in the dead of winter cold enough to slice flesh apart, the sensation of cold sweat trickling down her spine felt disturbingly vivid.

The wind brushed against her cheek.

The unconscious workers still lay scattered throughout the black forest.

The same chill she had felt back then crept over her body once more.

How had she forgotten about that incident all this time?

As though the shock itself had erased her memory.

‘Could it be that Hugo really did…’

kill someone back then too?

Like today?

If so, then after killing someone, Hugo had calmly approached her as though nothing had happened…

…and bought her warm bread with a smile.

That day, Frina had practically stuffed bread into her mouth obsessively.

Because she felt like she’d lose her mind otherwise.

She desperately tried to suppress the dying screams echoing in her head, along with the suspicion of Hugo suddenly surging inside her.

But had Hugo really not noticed how she felt?

Watching her force food into her mouth miserably, he had laughed and said her cheeks looked puffed up like a squirrel’s.

He’d spent ages calling her adorable.

‘That psycho.’

The more she thought about it, the more horrifying it became.

…How could someone act so normal after killing a person?

Maybe it really would be best to part ways with Hugo forever like this.

She didn’t even feel like returning the ring anymore.

“H-Huugh!”

The collapsed workers suddenly regained consciousness.

“Ugh… where are we…?”

“Gah! I thought I was going to suffocate to death…!”

The workers, waking up together in the middle of the forest, looked utterly confused.

They didn’t even seem to realize they had been corrupted by demonic energy.

‘That’s probably for the best. It’ll become troublesome if they find out I purified them.’

She wondered whether she should make up an excuse about feeding them medicinal herbs for detoxification—

but it seemed unnecessary.

“…Are you all awake now?”

Only then did the workers notice Frina.

“D-Did the young lady save us?”

“I only gave you some water…”

“Oh, really? Young lady, thank you! Thank you so much!”

The awakened workers repeatedly thanked her.

Fortunately, everyone who had received Frina’s purification appeared unharmed.

Quietly, Frina tried to stand.

Spin—

‘Ugh. I used too much divine power.’

She had definitely overexerted herself with the tiny amount she possessed.

Dizziness crawled up the back of her neck.

It seemed best to return home and rest quickly.

“Let’s meet again sometime, Miss Renia.”

Suddenly, Hugo’s final words before leaving resurfaced in her mind.

‘We are absolutely never meeting again.’

She resolved never to set foot in the black forest again.

“I know the way out. Follow me.”

A dark encampment.

The moon shone brightly overhead.

“Your Grace, you’ve returned?”

The knights bowed in unison when they spotted Declan leisurely approaching the camp.

They were waiting for the upcoming victory celebration.

“There was an assassin after me.”

As soon as he entered the tent, Declan spoke casually to the aide following behind him.

“My deepest apologies. I should have dealt with him before he got close to you…”

“It’s fine. I handled it myself, so don’t worry.”

Since things had turned out this way anyway, he had lured the assassin into the black forest.

He planned to interrogate the mastermind quietly where no one else was around.

But apparently, no one else wasn’t entirely accurate.

When he entered the forest, he sensed several presences.

Yet judging by their fading breaths, they had already been corrupted by demonic energy and seemed close to death.

So he ignored them and continued the interrogation.

Then that woman appeared.

The woman with the disheveled pink hair, her red lips parting in shock.

For some reason, Declan suddenly didn’t want to show her an ugly sight.

So he killed the assassin cleanly.

‘Why did I bother going that far?’

It had been his own version of consideration for her.

Unfortunately, she clearly had no idea.

Instead, she merely trembled in terror and avoided his gaze.

‘Renia, was it?’

What a strange coincidence.

They kept meeting precisely whenever he was about to kill someone.

Ah, though one time she hadn’t noticed, so perhaps that didn’t count?

‘Renia…’

Declan repeated the woman’s name over and over.

Whenever he saw her, he had the odd sensation that he was forgetting something important.

Yet the memory, buried somewhere deep, never resurfaced.

Even though forgetting anything should have been impossible for him.

“…I’ll investigate the mastermind immediately.”

“There’s no need. I already found out.”

Declan pulled an old pocket watch from his coat and placed it down.

It was the item Count Seiton had given the assassin as collateral for the assassination request.

The count’s engraved insignia—proof of identity—remained clearly visible.

“It seems Count Seiton became very anxious after losing contact with his spies.”

“He must’ve wanted to kill me before the victory ceremony. Otherwise he’d be exposed as a traitor afterward.”

Count Seiton, who had planted spies, belonged to a branch family of House Caesar.

For a long time, he had resented Declan for seizing real power.

So while Declan was away at war, the count had plotted behind the scenes.

He embezzled war funds sent by the imperial family to House Caesar and falsified the ledgers to make it appear as though the money had secretly funded the Holy Order.

His intention was to ensure that the Emperor would eventually discover it and lose trust in Declan.

“Count Seiton isn’t yet old enough to be senile. Yet to make such foolish decisions…”

It had been a cunning scheme, but now that it had been exposed, the Seiton County would have to meet its end.

He should prepare his neck well—

and ready himself to mount the execution platform as a traitor.

“It would be best to finish this after the victory ceremony.”

“As you command.”

Declan gestured for the aide to leave.

Just as the man was about to exit the tent—

“Ah, wait. How many high-ranking purification priests are currently stationed in the camp?”

“About ten, Your Grace.”

“And among them, how many possess high-purity divine power?”

“…As Your Grace already knows, there are not many with truly pure divine power. Only three are currently in the camp.”

Traveling across countless battlefields, seeing lands rotting away from demonic energy and people consumed by it, was nothing unusual.

The greater the amount of divine power one possessed, the more corruption one could purify at once.

But there was one exception.

Simply possessing a large amount of divine power was not enough to purify a corrupted mind.

Only those with exceptionally pure divine power could do that.

“Why do you ask, Your Grace?”

“Check whether there’s someone named Renia Felt among the registered divine power users.”