Cheolkaeng.
Behind him, knights lined up in a row.
Matthias's armor, like the knights', was already soaked in red. Whose blood it was would soon become clear.
Teong!
It was because the knights had thrown something they were holding onto the floor.
"…!"
Henrik's face turned ashen.
They were the insignias of the private soldiers he had ambushed, along with broken swords.
"There were rats hiding all over the place, so we did some cleaning."
Matthias chuckled and kicked one of the insignias at his feet.
"One of them told us this. He asked why the guards are here right now."
Matthias tilted his head slightly to the side.
"As if he knew exactly where the guards were patrolling."
He slowly raised his head and stared at Henrik on the stairs.
There was no respect in his eyes. Without even a trace of pity, there was only cold fury.
"Henrik, how far do you plan to run?"
Henrik stood frozen on the stairs. A despair greater than the pain of his severed fingers washed over his entire body.
Ttuk, ttuk.
He stared with hollow eyes at the drops of blood falling onto the floor.
He had always lived deceiving others and digging pits. He thought disposing of the prey caught in his traps was solely his to claim.
But in the end, he had trapped himself in the massive pit he had dug.
Jeobeok.
Matthias began to slowly climb the stairs with his sword in hand.
Jeobeok, jeobeok.
Behind him, Dane's shadow stretched long and covered the stairs. The approaching footsteps sounded like those of the grim reaper.
"Ha, haha…."
Henrik let out a crazed laugh.
He wanted to avoid this moment at all costs.
The moment he lost in a fair fight against Dane, he would have to admit his own inferiority forever.
But... the moment he could no longer avoid had come.
A bizarre light slowly pooled in Henrik's eyes. It was a demonic fighting spirit that transcended fear.
"…Hahaha!"
Henrik burst into a maddened laugh and slowly turned his body. He drew the sword from his waist with his left hand, covered in blood.
He had lost the fingers on his right hand, but for a veteran knight who had wielded a sword his entire life, using one with his left hand was not a difficult task.
"Draw your sword, nephew."
Henrik pointed his blade at Dane and took a step forward.
His eyes burned with pure hatred directed at Dane—no, hatred that had continued all the way from his older brother.
"Let's finish this right here!"
Dane's eyes narrowed. He stopped walking and gripped his sword tighter.
Kkatdak.
As Dane nodded as if telling him to bring it on,
Tat!
Henrik kicked off the ground and bounded forward. His veteran swordsmanship rushed toward Dane's heart.
Chaeng! Chaechaeng!
A sharp metallic sound echoed through the hallway.
Henrik pressed his sword forward, aiming for the most lethal strikes possible. But Dane parried them effortlessly, as if he had anticipated even this.
'A monster.'
The thought that he shouldn't have taught his nephew the sword had come to him the moment he was certain the boy would surpass him.
One who has immersed themselves in the way of the sword knows.
How far the opponent in front of them will reach, and exactly what heights they will eventually attain.
The moment he saw that, Henrik had to feel an unbearable fear and jealousy.
Kakang!
Henrik had also learned Schmaichel's swordsmanship and passed parts of it down to Dane.
He regretted it immediately afterwards.
Kkaeng!
The product of that regret was right here.
A swordsmanship far more advanced than what he had taught, and far more lethal and sharper.
What was displayed at the tip of Dane's sword was a realm Henrik could never surpass.
"Kkeuk!"
Due to losing his fingers, he couldn't perform as well as usual.
Henrik converted that pain into anger and moved. It was the death throes of a man facing death.
Pababat!
Dane's sword slid along Henrik's blade, scattering sparks.
He was being pushed back in both skill and strength. Completely.
Dane didn't use any mana at all, as if he intended to win with pure swordsmanship alone. That further poured fuel on Henrik's pride.
"Keuheu!"
Henrik gritted his teeth and smiled.
As expected... it was just as he had foreseen.
The miserable and desperate moment of self-realization he never wanted to see was right before his eyes.
'Before that!'
There was an exclusive technique of Henrik's that he hadn't taught Dane.
Henrik focused his entire mind, waiting for a chance to use that technique. It was foolish to broadcast his intention to use a crucial skill.
Quietly, and meticulously closing the distance,
Tadat!
At the last moment, he thrust straight at Dane, as fast as a phantom.
"-!"
The sword rushed in from an unbelievable distance, and Henrik was certain he would slice off Dane's arm.
However.
Kkagak!
Dane dodged it with a movement that could be considered almost instinctive.
After deflecting Henrik's blade with his own,
Ppak!
He kicked Henrik in the side.
"Kkeok!"
Henrik crashed to the floor in the direction he was kicked. His internal organs vibrated for a moment, and something rushed up.
"Weeok!"
After spitting out the bitter fluid rushing up,
"Kkeok, hak…."
Henrik gagged, exhaling breath mixed with a foul odor. His stomach churned, and his vision turned yellow.
"Henrik."
Dane stood before him like a massive shadow.
Despairingly, Dane's breathing was incredibly stable, unlike his own.
He had completely surpassed his uncle.
No, perhaps... he had been from the very beginning. Henrik had just refused to admit it.
"Keu, keuk…."
Every time he moved, his broken bones rattled, causing terrible pain.
Despite that, Henrik smiled.
It was over now. Everything.
"……."
The surroundings were quiet.
Everyone in the castle held their breath, waiting for Henrik's end. It felt like a crowd gathered to watch Henrik's execution.
Seuk.
Dane's blade extended and touched Henrik's neck. Henrik instinctively turned his head to avoid the sword.
But that only exposed his neck perfectly for a beheading. Feeling this, Henrik's lips trembled.
"Dane, you-"
Dane didn't even give Henrik the chance to finish his words.
Seogeok!
Dane's sword dug cleanly into Henrik's neck.
Even though he had the muscular strength to decapitate him in one swing, he intentionally only dug halfway into Henrik's neck.
"Keu, heuk……!"
A sound of air escaping rather than a scream leaked from Henrik's neck.
With his half-severed neck bent bizarrely, Henrik convulsed, his eyes rolling back in shock and pain.
"Leave your last words for hell."
Dane muttered low and moved his hand.
Jeujeujuk, pat-!
Along with a sickening friction sound, the sword withdrew.
Henrik's half-attached head drooped toward the floor. He was still breathing, but it was merely an extension of pain worse than hell.
"……."
Henrik felt his consciousness thinning as if it were about to snap.
To meet such a miserable end at the hands of his nephew....
"I apologize to my father."
Dane raised his sword one last time.
The next moment,
Udeudeuk-!
Dane's sword crushed the bones and severed the tough ligaments, finally cleaving through the air.
Teolssak.
Henrik's body collapsed helplessly to the floor.
For a brief moment, Henrik thought his vision was tumbling wildly up and down.
The severed head rolled a few times on the marble floor before stopping. At the same time, his thoughts ceased.
It was the ugly end of a man who had tenaciously coveted Schmaichel.
"……."
Dane looked down for a moment at Henrik's blood-drenched corpse.
Along with the relief of finally putting an end to it, an unpleasant sensation lingered at his fingertips.
Seureung.
Dane lowered his blood-stained sword to the floor and raised his head.
The servants and the head maid, Selma, who had been holding their breath behind the pillars at the corner of the hallway, watching the scene.
Matthias and the knights standing in silence while blocking the first-floor stairs, Fabri and the guards looking down from the second floor, and the butler, Bill, and Helena.
Lastly, he took in the sight of Rose standing far away.
"Hear me, members of the Schmaichel family."
Dane spoke in a low, dignified voice without even glancing at Henrik's severed head.
"As of today, the family's disgrace has been washed away. The rat is dead, and the master of the castle remains unchanged."
Dane added as he shook off the drops of blood pooled at the tip of his sword.
"Do not waver, and return to your respective posts. By tomorrow morning, all traces of the rebel must disappear completely from this castle. That is the loyalty you must show me."
"……!"
Only then did the servants exhale the breath they had been holding and bowed in unison. The relief of confirming a perfect victory quickly spread throughout the entire castle.
Jeobeok.
Eventually, he walked indifferently past Henrik's head rolling on the floor.
And then, he motioned with his chin toward Matthias.
"Clean it up, Matthias. It's the family's shame, so burn it."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
Matthias bowed his head deeply and then picked up Henrik's head.
Jeobeok, jeobeok.
Dane walked as he felt the people's gazes following him. He stepped over the bodies of Henrik's private soldiers lined up in the hallway and headed back to the bedroom.
Jeobeok, jeobeok.
He walked into the room.
Dane's footsteps passed over a puddle of blood on the floor and stopped in front of Joel, who lay collapsed next to the bed.
"Your... Excellency..."
The stab wound Joel had sustained in his abdomen was irreversibly deep. His pale blue face indicated that he didn't have much time left.
"I'm... sorry..."
Tears welled up in Joel's clouding eyes.
Even while feeling his life fading, he had held on until now just to leave one last word to Dane.
"I'm... sor... ry..."
Finally, Joel's lips stopped moving. Joel breathed his last without even being able to close his eyes.
"……."
Dane finally looked away only after Joel's breathing stopped completely.
He felt like an executioner cleaning up the family's trash. The premature end that came only after taking countless lives was far too dry.
"Dane."
At that moment, Rose's voice came from behind him.
"Rose."
Dane turned around.
Rose was standing in front of the bedroom door. Completely unharmed, without a single hair out of place.
Rose slowly approached him. Then, she willingly buried herself into his embrace.
For a moment, Dane hesitated as he was conscious of the blood on his hands and clothes,
"It's alright."
Rose smiled brightly and buried her face in Dane's chest.
"This is the mark of victory."
"Right."
Dane smiled faintly and pulled Rose into a tight embrace.
He had endured the arduous years just to feel this warmth, just to be with this smile.
At the end he had finally reached, he momentarily felt a sense of emptiness, but...
"Congratulations, Dane."
Rose's voice covered all of that emptiness and brought him complete solace.
Jeobeok.
Eventually, the two naturally shifted their steps as if they had made a promise to each other. Their destination was the castle wall, where they could overlook the entire fief at a glance.
The residents of the fief were living their daily lives as usual, and the square in front of the castle gates had already been neatly organized under Matthias's command.
"……."
Dane said nothing.
He simply kept his arm wrapped around Rose's shoulders and silently gazed at the sun hanging high, shining down on the fief.
Then, his lips moved.
"Everything upon this land is yours."
It was what he had wanted to say at the Kalmar Mine before, but couldn't bring himself to honestly spit out.
That he wanted to give all of his achievements to her, that if she stayed here, all of this could be hers.
He finally whispered those words into Rose's ear.
"……."
Rose raised her head and looked at him.
The cheering crowd below the castle wall, the relief that everything had ended safely—none of it mattered now.
Only this man, who looked at no one else but her, was everything to Rose.
"No, Dane. All of this is yours."
Rose smiled as she wrapped her arms around Dane's neck.
"And you are mine."
The moment he saw the intense possessiveness in Rose's eyes, Dane felt a shudder far more intense than when he had slit Henrik's throat.
"Rose."
Dane devoured Rose's lips.
Under the sun, their shadows stretched long across the castle wall and merged into one.
"Haa…."
The kiss, laced with the remnants of victory, was rough and desperate.
Dane pulled Rose in roughly, hugging her waist tightly enough to break it. Rose, in turn, wrapped her arms around his neck and surrendered to the sweet pleasure.
It was a perfect moment. A moment where only the two of them existed, one that no one else could intrude upon.
That was when it happened.
"Uyuk…!"
Rose suddenly pushed Dane's chest away and turned her head.
"…Rose?"
Dane's eyes shook violently. He was so surprised that he just stared at Rose blankly.
Suddenly feeling nauseous in the middle of a kiss.
Was the blood on his body that repulsive? All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind.
"Uuyuk!"
Rose violently dry-heaved while gripping the wall's railing with a pale face.
"Rose! What's wrong?"
Dane hastily grabbed Rose's shoulder and examined her.
Did he miss something? Did something she used to subdue the enemies earlier have a negative effect on her?
In his complexly tangled mind, only one thing clearly surfaced.
"Doctor! Bring a doctor immediately! Bill!"
Dane's shout shook the entire castle wall. He needed to fetch a doctor right away to examine Rose.
"……."
Rose couldn't even answer, covering her mouth and trembling.
The faint scent of blood mixed with Dane's scent, which she usually loved, now felt like a horrific stench turning her stomach upside down.
"W-Wait a moment. Dane, wait... a moment."
Eventually, Rose pressed her hand against her heaving chest.
Color was slowly returning to her once pale face. A slow but massive realization brushed across Rose's face.
"What's wrong? Rose, please."
Dane held onto Rose's body and looked at her frantically. His hands, which had remained steady even when cutting Henrik's throat, were noticeably trembling.
"Dane, this is…."
Eventually, Rose slowly curled the corners of her mouth.
"It's the brand you left on me."
"…What?"
"Don't be surprised, Dane. Now you can never escape me, even if you die."
A radiant smile broke across Rose's bright face.
"Because half of you has taken root inside me."