My Ruin to You - Chapter 96

His appearance, glimpsed through the flickering flames—his appearance, again and again—was neither mercenary nor lord. His imposing frame alone was rare, but the jet-black hair? That was unmistakable. It marked him as Imperial royalty.

The bandit leader scrambled off his donkey, pressing his forehead to the ground.

“Y-Your Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke!”

His voice was loud, but no presence stirred beyond the darkness. Only his own men stared, wide-eyed.

“Shut it.”

Merrick stepped forward, pressing his blade to the bandit leader’s throat. At the cold, deadly touch of steel, the man flinched—then bowed even lower.

“Forgive us! We didn’t recognize Your Highness and acted with disgrace! We were commoners under Viscount Brunn’s domain, but after the war, we lost everything. With no way to survive, we turned to banditry in the mountains!”

He strained his ears for any sign of movement in the distance, but no footsteps approached. The desperate pleas had failed to sway the imperial prince’s resolve. Meanwhile, his subordinates were surrendering one by one, dropping their weapons. The merciless blade bit deeper into the thick flesh of his neck, drawing blood.

As the metallic scent spread, the infected—who had been cowering from the flames—suddenly twitched, their eyes rolling back as they sniffed the air hungrily. W-why is this happening?! Even his comrade’s panicked voice couldn’t spur him to move.

“If—if you kill us, you’ll never find the young lady!”

The bandit leader’s voice rose in desperation as his life hung by a thread. Thud. Merrick sheathed his sword and delivered a brutal kick, sending the bandit sprawling with a pained groan as he clutched his shoulder.

“Speak properly—”

“Leave this one. Dispose of the rest.”

Valen emerged from the shadows, cutting off Merrick as he slowly drew his sword.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

With a curt nod, Merrick turned away. As the infected were beheaded one after another, the bandits scattered in terror—but crimson magic coiled around their ankles like chains, yanking them back.

Horrified screams echoed through the forest, the stench of blood carried by the wind. The bandit leader, curled up with his hands over his head, trembled like a leaf. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He’d planned to negotiate—trade the noble girl’s location for his life and some coin. Just moments ago, they’d been snickering over their brilliant scheme. Now, his laughing comrades were nothing but cold corpses. H-how do I survive this? How…?!

“Ghk—!”

A sudden scream tore from his lips as he was yanked forward by his wrist, rolling in the dirt. His thumb had been cleanly severed.

“I’ll ask again. Where is the young lady?”

“G-guh—AAAH!”

The Grand Duke didn’t wait long. When the bandit writhed in too much pain to answer, Valen sliced off his right thumb without hesitation. Blood gushed from the stumps, soaking his clothes, and the bandit choked back sobs, on the verge of passing out.

“Now. Where is she?”

“Sh-she’s… in a h-hideout… ngh…!”

“Where.”

“A cabin… down the slope… kgh—!”

“I can’t hear you. Bring him closer.”

Valen irritably swept back his hair and gestured toward something – the chains around the infected’s necks. As Merrick removed the chains from the infected corpses and began fastening them around the bandit’s neck, knights arrived upon hearing the commotion. Their expressions hardened as they surveyed the gruesome scene. They could guess the situation from the Grand Duke’s unusually sharp demeanor and Roseline’s conspicuous absence.

“Ghk…”

Valen took a step toward the bandit who was struggling to rise while yielding his neck to the chain. Wiping his bloodied sword on the bandit’s clothes, he whispered quietly.

“If the path you lead us to isn’t the hideout, or if my woman isn’t there…”

“…”

“You’ll beg me to kill you.”

The terror was so overwhelming it made him forget the pain of his severed fingers. Raven-black hair cast deeper shadows, and piercing blue eyes bore down on him as if seeing straight through him. The bandit found himself nodding unconsciously, his back trembling. The young lady had to be in the hideout. She had to be.

But when the knights broke down the hideout door, all that greeted them inside the old storage shed was a chilling silence.