Tamed Monster - Chapter 164

“While I was sparring… ah, I shouldn’t have done that. Without thinking, I reverted my right arm to its original form. The Emperor saw it. But he looked so calm that I thought he hadn’t noticed.”

But that hadn’t been the case.

“After the spar, I followed the Emperor out. He said he had something important to discuss. There were an absurd number of elite soldiers waiting there.”

Only then did Sylvia realize just how drenched in blood he was. Blood speckled his cheek, his jaw, beneath his chin, his neck, his hands. He told her that the Emperor must have already discovered that the two of them were in league—and that she needed to get out immediately.

“They could storm this place any moment. I killed everyone I saw, but…”

There had been one he couldn’t kill—the Emperor.

At the very moment he tried, the arrow that had grazed his shoulder took effect. His vision had gone black in an instant. Even now, his words slurred slightly. To be brought this low by nothing more than a glancing hit—it stung his pride.

“…The Emperor lost consciousness, though. Everyone else nearby is dead, so it’ll take time before the humans realize what happened in the palace.”

Breathing hard, he pointed toward the exit. Sylvia was about to say she didn’t know the way—then she followed his finger to the floor and let out a small gasp.

Drops of his blood, scattered like breadcrumbs, marked the path she needed to take.

“Go.”

He gave the command curtly.

“Get out, hide, and wait for me.”

What if the treasury doors closed in the meantime? What if he ended up trapped inside like a rat in a corner? And yet he spoke with unwavering confidence. Sylvia opened her mouth to protest—but the desperate look in his eyes made her swallow her words again and again.

“….”

“Sylvia. My wife. You’ll do this for me, won’t you?”

Truly reluctantly, Sylvia nodded.

The monster didn’t look back as he limped deeper into the treasury. She watched his retreating figure for several long seconds before finally turning away, following the trail of blood.

For the first time, the sight of spilled blood reassured her.

What if someone was already waiting at the exit? What if the doors were already closing?

The creeping dread made her steps quicken. Soon she was running down the stairs as if chased, and when she spotted the heavy iron doors still open, she pushed herself to her limit.

Beyond the five soldiers who had followed her in, more than a dozen guards who had been stationed at the entrance lay sprawled lifelessly across the ground.

Passing through the doorway, she witnessed yet another horrific scene. A sob broke from her throat as she ran blindly toward the light.

When she burst out into the open air, everything was as quiet and peaceful as ever. Bathed in sunlight, Sylvia came to a halt and turned back to look at the underground passage she had just escaped.

‘The Emperor… is unconscious.’

That’s what the monster had said.

Which meant this was her chance.

If not now, she would never escape the monster’s grasp.

As if struck by lightning, instinct seized her—and her body moved. Perhaps the guards at the gates still didn’t know. Not about the Grand Duke being a monster. Not about the Grand Duchess being his accomplice.

Sensing people nearby, Sylvia quickly straightened her clothes. After several deep breaths, her breathing steadied, and she walked calmly into view.

No one stopped her. The palace attendants simply went about their duties as she passed among them.

She headed straight for the exit.

She called for a carriage, climbed in, and even as it passed through the gates, no one obstructed her.

Only then did she let out a long breath of relief. Just once, she leaned out the carriage window and looked back at the palace, now steeped in quiet.

‘Goodbye.’

In the end, she hadn’t said a single word.

She had wanted, at least in that final moment, to say something kind.

Not knowing whether he would live or die, Sylvia left with a heart weighed down by something unbearably heavy.

The carriage horses clattered along, their hooves ringing out. After sitting still with her eyes closed for a long time, Sylvia finally opened them once they had left the capital. She changed into plain clothes, then ordered the carriage to stop.