Chapter 166
Tracking Sylvia without Kuinan noticing had been far harder than expected. More than twenty monsters had already been lost inside the borderlands because of it. Some had been killed by patrol units. Others, fearing they might be discovered by Kuinan, had failed to close the distance and returned empty-handed to the swamp.
When Sylvia remained inside the Grand Duke’s castle, they did not dare approach at all. Only when she ventured out did they manage, about once every fortnight, to shadow her movements.
Lately, she had been visiting the imperial palace particularly often. They could not follow her that far, but they saw imperial knights come directly to escort her from the Grand Duke’s castle and guessed the rest. It wasn’t difficult for them to conclude that something significant was about to happen.
They were not entirely comfortable cornering one of their own—someone who had risked his life to destroy the deadly poison for the sake of their entire kind. But they could no longer afford to sit idle.
Unaware that Kuinan had already completed his mission at the palace and escaped, the monsters shouted at him in agitation.
[Didn’t I tell you? I’d make you regret this!]
Led by the one-eyed monster, several powerful males—nearly as strong as the red-haired one—berated and mocked Kuinan until their neck veins bulged.
[Go storm the imperial palace today and finish your task! Do that, and we’ll hand your woman back. You have until midnight.]
Had he listened sooner, they might not have resorted to such underhanded methods. Even monsters showed a measure of respect to their leader. But Kuinan had openly slighted them, siding with a human woman over his own kind. Being treated like this was something he could hardly protest.
Throughout their shouting, Kuinan kept his gaze fixed solely on the woman in the red-haired monster’s grasp. At last, he ground his teeth and said,
[I was a fool. To do all that… for the likes of you.]
Even while pierced by arrows laced with poison, bleeding from multiple wounds, he had completed the mission they demanded. Mid-sentence, blood surged up and spilled from his mouth. He had taken a vicious strike just before escaping.
For a moment he swayed, then forced his legs steady. This was no time to show weakness.
[What?]
The one-eyed monster barked. Kuinan answered in a voice on the brink of collapse.
[I wiped them out. All of it. I’ve already done what you asked.]
The arrow lodged cleanly in his shoulder sent waves of searing pain through his body. Blood dripped steadily as he spoke. The monsters watching him showed no flicker of emotion at his suffering.
[So give her back.]
He pointed to the red-haired monster directly. If that insolent bastard relented, the others would follow. After all, it had been that same red-haired monster who declared he would kidnap Sylvia because he doubted Kuinan would complete the mission.
His vision blurred, but he forced himself upright and extended his hand without wavering. At least, that was how it felt to him. In reality, his hand trembled visibly.
The red-haired monster narrowed his eyes at the sight.
[…Hm.]
The low, thoughtful hum grated sharply against Kuinan’s nerves.
Sylvia, who had only just regained consciousness from the crushing pain around her throat, stared in shock at the standoff between the monsters—and at the false husband she had sworn never to see again.
What… was happening?
She could not comprehend why she was in the grasp of this unknown monster, nor how Kuinan had found her here.
The sister and parents she had thought of throughout her journey were momentarily erased from her mind.
[Proof?]
[Would I lie about something like this? Send your fastest runners to confirm. Thanks to me, the palace is in chaos right now. A monster could fly across the sky and no one would even know who came or went.]
There was arrogance in his tone—but also a surprisingly solid logic. Perhaps he truly had completed the mission before coming here.
Murmurs of awe rippled through the gathered monsters.
The red-haired monster alone remained displeased. He didn’t know why—he simply found the entire situation irritating.
[So you finished it today. That’s… very convenient. Hm. Even so…]
At the faint sound of Sylvia’s strained groan, Kuinan reacted instantly.
He withdrew the hand he had extended.
Because he understood, at last, that the red-haired monster had no intention of surrendering her willingly.
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