Chapter 148
He lifted Sia into his arms again and stepped out of the cabin. He had no choice but to head toward his estate, but when he sensed a presence approaching from afar, he let out a low curse.
“Ha, f**k. That persistent wolf bastard.”
He had deliberately sent Marcel ahead toward the direction of the territory, but James had not been fooled and had followed Aesir’s presence instead. The way nothing was going right for him was almost laughable.
“Fine. Let’s see who wins.”
In any case, the human was in his arms. So he had no intention of letting her be taken. Unlike before, when he had been running at a controlled pace for Sia’s sake, Aesir now began to run with all his strength.
He cut almost diagonally across the mountain range, descending steep slopes without hesitation. Sometimes his speed slowed as he took care to keep Sia from catching on tree branches, but even so, he was extremely fast.
And yet James did not fall behind. Sensing him gradually drawing closer, Aesir broke into a sweat and deliberately passed through more complicated mountain paths.
As Aesir and Sia moved while hiding below a cliff, a loud voice rang out from above.
“Human! I didn’t kill Duke Blois!”
“…That damn bastard.”
“Hey, you sneaky bastard! This pisses me off, but in terms of swordsmanship, I’m a level below Duke Blois!”
Drenched in sweat, James squeezed out the last of his strength and shouted at the top of his lungs. He had a feeling that if not now, he would never again have a chance to clear up the misunderstanding.
They were above and below the cliff, so he could chase if he wanted to, but the distance had never been this close before, and he didn’t want to miss the opportunity.
At that moment, Sia’s body stirred. Even in her fevered, hazy state, she had heard clearly. At the words that Nox was not dead, the corners of her lips lifted faintly.
It was a lie after all…
That’s right, there’s no way Nox would leave me behind and go first. He’s far too persistent a man. It was something she had come to know after spending several nights with him. She knew it from the way he looked at her every day.
His obsession directed at her…
“Cough…”
Instead of answering, Sia coughed, and finally let her fading consciousness slip away. Hearing that he was alive had relieved her so much that the tension left her body.
* * *
Just as Nox was about to leave the battlefield, a messenger sent by Cedric arrived.
“Your Grace! The Head Butler sent an urgent missive!”
He jumped down from his exhausted horse and ran forward, quickly pulling the envelope from his chest and handing it to Nox. Without a word, Nox opened it and checked the contents.
Inside was information that Cedric had persuaded the High Priest once more and learned the direction in which Sia had disappeared, and that knights had been dispatched to that area. Nox silently crumpled the letter.
He felt a shallow sense of relief that there was still a vassal who properly did his duty, but he had no intention of ending this with mere damage control. His anger had gone beyond boiling and turned cold as he gave an order to Dennis.
“This will be your last chance to prove your ability as Knight Commander.”
“…Yes.”
“Immediately gather all guards and soldiers stationed along the border and attack the Becker territory and the Kris territory.”
“At your will!”
He intended to use this opportunity to make an example of the two territories bordering Blois so that they would never again dare to covet what was his. Nox took out a fresh sheet of paper and quickly wrote on it. Handing it to the messenger who had just arrived, he ordered,
“I will give you only five minutes to rest. After that, take a fresh horse and deliver this letter to His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
Radiating pressure and killing intent, Nox cast a cold gaze over the subordinates gathered around him and spoke in a low voice.
“Those who fail to prove their ability will not return to Blois. If you disobey my orders, I will personally cut off your heads.”
“…Yes!”
“A-At your will!”
Seeing this dark side of him for the first time in their lives, his subordinates were seized with fear.
Crushed under the overwhelming aura of a dominant male, they could not even make a sound. All they could think about was surviving by carrying out their leader’s orders with everything they had.
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