Finally, finally!
His nephew, who had refused to die an easy death, had finally collapsed. And on his own birthday, the day he believed he had achieved victory, no less.
Henrik had been extremely curious about what his nephew must have been thinking the moment he realized he drank the poison.
“Hahaha….”
How much effort had he poured into preparing that poison? How long had he patiently waited?
The massive throne that should have naturally fallen into Henrik's hands finally felt within reach, albeit belatedly.
“Good work, Joel. Drop the tedious act now.”
Henrik looked at Joel, who stood like a ghost beside the bed.
Joel's face was excessively pale. Henrik assumed it was the fear of a man who had killed his master with his own hands.
“Thanks to you, I finished the job quite easily. Didn't even need to get a single drop of blood on my hands.”
The blood of Sonya splattered on the adjutant's hands was an exception. What was the big deal about stomping on a measly rat?
Joel, looking as though Henrik's praise meant nothing,
“Where is my daughter?”
He stepped closer, licking his dry lips out of anxiety.
“Please return Lina to me as promised…!”
Henrik paused for a moment at Joel's desperate question, then let out a scoff of disbelief.
Grab.
He put a friendly arm around Joel's shoulder and whispered low into his ear.
“Joel. Do you not understand a hunter's nature?”
“Pardon…?”
“The hunt is over. Why would I share the meat with the hounds?”
Joel's complexion instantly turned ash-grey. Henrik tapped Joel's cheek lightly and offered a chilling smile.
“Don't worry, your daughter is being well taken care of by my soldiers. Of course, that's assuming you continue to remain my faithful hound.”
“What do you mean…! You clearly said once this was over, you would let me see my daughter-”
“You misunderstood me. By finishing the job, I literally meant after I don the crown and purge all opposition.”
Henrik burst into hearty laughter.
“My nephew still draws breath. Isn't it too premature of you to expect a reward already?”
In truth, he had already given orders to his subordinates outside.
Once an hour passed after he entered the castle, they were to abandon the child in a remote forest. There was no need to keep a hostage that had outlived its usefulness.
“N-No…! No!”
Joel wailed, having instinctively realized the truth.
“Keuk…”
Henrik glanced at the pathetic sight and turned his back. At that moment, Joel's eyes became bloodshot.
“My daughter!”
Joel lost his reason and charged at Henrik.
“Give me back my daughter!”
The attack from a physician who had only held medicine bowls his whole life was merely brutish. It was more like the thrashing of a beast consumed by despair.
Smack!
Without batting an eye, Henrik swatted away Joel's wrist, then
Thwack!
viciously kicked Joel in the stomach.
“Keuheok…!”
Joel let out a choking gasp and rolled onto the floor.
“If you are a hound, you should be satisfied with the meat your master throws you.”
Henrik stepped in front of the gasping Joel.
Joel's face, contorted in pain and terror, reflected in his cold blue eyes.
“How dare you bare your teeth at your master?”
“You… demon, urgh!”
“I am simply a thorough pragmatist.”
Stab!
Henrik immediately drew the sword from his waist and stabbed it deeply into Joel's side.
“Keuk, heo-eok…!”
A groan that couldn't even form a scream burst from Joel's mouth.
When Henrik twisted and pulled out the sword, the recoil caused Joel to collapse limply to the floor. The fresh blood gushing from his side soaked into the bedroom carpet.
“You better hurry and follow her. That way, your daughter won't be lonely.”
“Kuh…”
Joel couldn't even muster a response, merely struggling to wrap his hands around his stomach.
Swipe.
Henrik wiped the bloodied blade on Joel's clothes. Then, he turned his gaze to Rose, who stood stiffly.
“Duchess Schmaichel.”
It was a title devoid of even an ounce of respect, sounding more like mockery.
“I should thank you as well, Madam. Thanks to you, getting in here was a breeze.”
“That wine. It was your doing.”
Rose watched Joel gasping on the floor. After a moment, she glared at Henrik, her shoulders trembling faintly.
“To use Joel to frame me as a poisoner.”
“That's a misunderstanding, Madam Schmaichel.”
Henrik smirked slyly. It was amusing to watch Rose desperately trying to hide her fear.
“That was entirely Joel's independent action. I simply instructed him to feed this wine to Dane.”
“You never had any intention of sparing our house from the start, did you?”
“You're quite sharp. Unlike your father.”
The smile lingering on Henrik's lips deepened.
“As expected, you're quite to my nephew's liking.”
He was very pleased with Rose's current expression. The thrill would only be greater when she soon crumbled into terror and despair.
Step.
The adjutant read Henrik's intent and moved behind Rose, standing at her back. Rose shot a glare at the adjutant before turning back to Henrik.
“What do you plan to do with me?”
Henrik smiled faintly at Rose's flat question.
“What do I plan to do? For a clever Magical Scholar, that's quite a tedious question.”
He looked her up and down, as if appraising a slave on an auction block.
“By tomorrow, all the domain's residents will know. That the Duchess had poisoned her husband and tried to usurp the house.”
“…….”
“You will be recorded as the vilest villainess in Schmaichel's history, and your head will be hung on the city gates. Your father and Vikander's family will follow soon after.”
Seeing Rose's pupils tremble slightly, Henrik lowered his voice even further.
“How about I shatter your pathetic pride before my nephew's breath completely gives out?”
“…What?”
“Wouldn't seeing his wife rolling beneath his uncle make my nephew's path to the afterlife all the more thrilling?”
Henrik stuck out his tongue slightly and licked his lips. A cruel desire swirled within his blue eyes.
“How about it, Duchess? I'll teach you what a real man's embrace feels like before you die.”
Henrik's hand slowly reached out toward Rose.
She was quite a decent-looking wench when she was well-dressed and dolled up. Imagining that haughty face distorting with shame and pain delighted him.
“You can scream as much as you want. The soldiers outside will just think you're being interrogated anyway.”
“You've gone mad, Henrik.”
The moment Rose twisted the corners of her lips upward, the air in the bedroom instantly froze.
“Your Excellency!”
The adjutant, who had been looking toward the bed, stiffened and stepped forward,
Clang-!
Something struck Henrik in the back.
Crash!
The ensuing noise revealed that it was a glass cup.
“What!”
Henrik hastily wrapped a hand around his back and turned around. And he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
“Henrik.”
Dane stood there, having risen from the bed at some point.
“Take your filthy hands off her this instant.”
Cold eyes, frozen like a silver snow mountain. In stark contrast to them was a blazing, intense killing intent.
Shing.
The sword held in Dane's hand let out a clear ring.
The sick man who had collapsed from poison was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a swordsman ready to cleave his enemy.
“H-How!”
Henrik froze as if struck by lightning. The sight of his nephew, who until just moments ago had awaited death, standing perfectly fine and glaring at him, felt surreal, beyond mere terror.
“This is impossible! Joel definitely…!”
Henrik's gaze shot toward Joel, who lay collapsed on the floor.
Every few weeks, Joel had sent Henrik evidence that he was faithfully poisoning Dane.
Not to mention the recent mining accident.
Henrik had obtained some credible testimony about what had happened there. Dane had certainly shown symptoms of mana backflow, a joint creation of him and Joel.
“Kuh, kuh-kuh….”
Joel forced his mouth open even as he made a sound like his intestines were snapping.
“You, stu... pid... fool...”
Joel's clouded eyes narrowed, capturing Henrik in their gaze.
“Your Ex... cel... len... cy... knew... all along...”
Only then did Henrik realize he had stepped into a massive trap. Cold sweat poured down his spine like a waterfall.
Thud.
Dane took a step closer to Henrik.
“Don't move!”
The adjutant shouted at Dane.
His hand roughly jerked Rose up. It was only possible because he had been standing right behind her.
Shing.
A blade radiating a chilling gleam touched Rose's neck.
“Ugh…!”
Rose let out a frail groan and grabbed the adjutant's arm. However, she couldn't move an inch against his immense strength.
“If you take even one step closer, this wench's life is forfeit.”
Dane's footsteps halted.
‘Got him.’
Henrik breathed a sigh of relief.
The chances of him winning in a direct clash against Dane were low anyway.
It seemed Dane still cared deeply for his wife, so if he just used the hostage as a shield to escape from here-
“Try it.”
Dane sneered and took another step forward.
“?!”
Henrik's thought process stopped, and the adjutant's hand flinched. It was not something a person being threatened should say.
“Did you not hear me? Do it.”
“O-One more step and I'll really kill her!”
The adjutant shouted viciously, but Dane merely kept a crooked smile.
“No one in this room is getting out alive today anyway.”
The killing intent radiating from Dane made their skin tingle. A chill ran down the back of their necks, as if their throats would be slit at any moment.
“I'll kill you even if I have to tear down this castle or burn the entire domain to the ground.”
“Dane, have you lost your mind?!”
Henrik screamed.
There was neither hesitation nor compromise in Dane's eyes. He truly intended to annihilate his enemies even if it meant burning down the world.
“Y-You…!”
The adjutant despaired upon realizing he had absolutely no chance of surviving.
“Kill that bitch!”
As the adjutant tried to apply force to his hand at Henrik's urging, a sharp smile flashed across Rose's lips.
Clutch.
Rose gripped the adjutant's thick forearm with both of her bound hands.
It looked like the frail grasp of someone clinging to life, but
Flash!
A pale purple light flashed from the inside of her fingers.
“Urk…!”
The adjutant froze in that exact position.
It was because his muscles expanded abnormally and stiffened rigidly. The moment the man, who couldn't move an inch, widened his eyes in dismay,
Slice!
A dagger suddenly shot out and deeply slit the adjutant's throat.
Spurt!
The fresh blood spurting from the adjutant's neck shot into the air.
“Gurgle….”
Instead of air, thick lumps of blood flooded through his torn windpipe.
The adjutant's pupils rapidly dilated and lost focus. He breathed his last in that exact posture, unable to even clutch his own neck.
“How boring.”
Helena, who appeared like a flash of lightning to slit the adjutant's carotid artery, smiled brightly.