Their eyes met.
“You ungrateful wretch!”
Smack!
The sharp sound echoed through the bleak room.
Caught completely off guard, Evelyn's head snapped helplessly to the side.
Louise grabbed Evelyn by the collar and yanked her to her feet, glaring at her with cold, sharp eyes.
“So you've finally decided to disgrace this family? What were you thinking, throwing yourself at a man? What if the Viscount hears about this?”
As if her palm still stung, Louise clenched and unclenched her fist before lifting Evelyn's chin with her fingertips.
Her gaze slowly traveled over Evelyn's brilliant green eyes, straight nose, and lips as clear as glass before stopping at the slender neck beneath them.
“Hah!”
Using her fingernail, Louise scratched across the reddish bruise blooming on Evelyn's neck. The corners of her lips twisted strangely.
“They say blood never lies... Even your foolishness, your inability to see what's right in front of you, is exactly like your mother's. So you thought you'd change your fate by using a man?”
Louise let out a slow breath, trying to suppress her anger, then leaned in closer.
“But you'd better stop dreaming that the Grand Duke will show you mercy. Noblemen are all—”
“How strange.”
Before Louise could finish, Evelyn interrupted.
Looking at the woman whose brows twitched in irritation, Evelyn continued.
“Didn't you always tell me that I should make myself useful to repay you for raising me? That only if this family prospered could my mother live?”
Instead of crying or begging as usual, Evelyn met her gaze without backing down.
Louise stared at her in disbelief.
A faint smile appeared on Evelyn's lips.
“So I simply made myself useful. Rather than being sold to a Viscount known as a murderer, wouldn't it benefit this family more if I earned the Grand Duke's favor?”
“W-What are you...!”
Louise had been on the verge of grabbing Evelyn by the hair, but suddenly paused as a chill ran down her spine.
The Evelyn she remembered had been overly kind, timid in both body and spirit.
But the woman staring back at her now was nothing like that girl.
She was no longer the fool who constantly worried whether the treatment fees for her sick mother would be paid on time.
...
For a brief moment, Evelyn silently watched Louise's darting eyes.
Seeing her so unusually flustered only deepened Evelyn's suspicions.
Now it was time to ask the question she had wanted answered the most.
“What are you so afraid of? Is there some reason I must not be with His Grace the Grand Duke?”
It was a question she had carried since her previous life.
Instead of celebrating her marriage to the Grand Duke, Louise had cursed her, saying it would offend the Viscount.
That wasn't all.
She had done everything possible to interfere between them, demanding an absurd dowry as well as the money the Viscount had promised her.
She had even insisted that Evelyn be sent back to her family home once every fifteen days.
It was far from a normal reaction, so Kallian had ignored the request.
There's definitely something in my blood...
Evelyn quietly watched Louise's face flush red and pale by turns.
“What? Afraid?”
Louise let out a disbelieving laugh, pressed a hand to her forehead, and exploded in anger.
“What a shameless girl! Are you planning to break the promise made with Viscount Fairfield? Do you think agreements between noble families are something to laugh at? The moment that stubborn old man hears about this, your value will plummet!”
“That's exactly what I want.”
Those calm words brought down a silence as heavy as thunder.
“...What?”
“I'm saying I'll yield that place to Erze. If this alliance with such a prestigious family is truly that precious, then the eldest daughter, Erze, should marry him—not an illegitimate child like me.”
Smack!
Louise struck her again.
Her fingernails scraped across Evelyn's cheek, leaving a long scratch.
The palm that raked across her face burned like the hand of a demon emerging from hellfire.
And from countless past experiences, Evelyn recognized it immediately.
“I can't believe it. You, who always obediently did everything I said... Why have you suddenly changed so much?”
The narrowed eyes and raised chin—
That expression meant Louise was truly furious.
“It seems some wicked spirit has possessed your body. We cannot allow filthy blood to taint the noble lineage of a family of Holy Knights...”
Making the sign of the cross with practiced ease, Louise uncorked a glass bottle engraved with a strange symbol and poured its contents over Evelyn's head.
“But it's all right. Once you repent, your sins will be washed away completely.”
At the same time—
Ferum Forest at Twilight.
Bathed in crimson moonlight, the forest was as lush and beautiful as a page from a bloody fairy tale.
The knights, whose bodies bore countless large and small scars earned in battle against monsters like medals of honor, had already been stationed there for twenty hours.
They had barely recovered from the battle in the Kairos Desert before receiving another order.
Even the Blackwood Knights, renowned as they were, found it unbearable to remain in one place for so long without knowing why.
“I'd rather spend days fighting monsters than sitting around like this. Back then I could even go without food or water. But this...”
As one senior knight grumbled while clutching his empty stomach, complaints rose from every direction.
Normally, Vice Commander Max would have immediately restored discipline.
But this time, he silently agreed.
Chewing on medicinal herbs he had picked somewhere nearby to relieve his boredom, Dwayne casually asked,
“Max, have you heard the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
After spitting out the herbs, Dwayne glanced around to make sure no one was listening before lowering his voice.
“They say some physician entered our lord's residence last night.”
“So?”
“What do you mean, 'so'? The physician went in... but never came back out.”
“Perhaps His Grace assigned a secret mission.”
“It wasn't a man—it was a woman! You know how our lord feels about women...”
Just then, the scouts hidden in the darkness signaled a warning with a sharp whistle.
At the same time, the flow of the forest changed.
The beautiful scenery began twisting unnaturally, as though a sheet of paper were being crumpled.
“Quiet!”
Rumble—!
The trembling of the earth grew steadily closer.
The sand and pebbles covering the ground swirled upward into the air.
“What the...? What's happening?”
“Why is everything shaking? Even the weather suddenly turned bad.”
The Blackwood Knights' banner whipped violently in the wind.
Startled horses neighed throughout the forest.
An ominous tension settled over the camp.
“It's wind attribute!”
Watching the situation carefully, Max suddenly shouted,
“Defensive formation! Move!”
The knights hurriedly reorganized their ranks.
Then, all at once—
An eerie silence descended.
“Huh? It's gone quiet.”
“The vortex has completely settled...”
Just then—
“AAAGH!”
Knights with bodies as sturdy as centuries-old trees were suddenly dragged through the air by an invisible force.
“Vice Commander! Look! Above the lake!”
At the heart of the silent forest, a gigantic whirlpool resembling a bottomless abyss had appeared over the lake.
“It's a Gate! Grab onto the rocks and trees! Hold your ground!”
A violent gale swept through the area.
The knights desperately clung to firmly planted barricades, resisting the merciless pull.
The Blackwood Knights were the strongest warriors on the continent.
Even as the Vice Commander and the senior knights released fierce sword aura, the vortex showed no sign of weakening.
“Send a signal to His Grace immediately!”
Without the power of darkness, destroying a Gate was impossible for them.
Their mission was simply to prevent the monsters pouring out of it from reaching nearby villages.
As they tightened their grips on their swords and stared at the vortex—
Whoosh—!
A curtain of black aura descended from the sky.
It transformed into the shape of a gigantic serpent that circled the Gate.
The flying monsters emerging from the Gate were swallowed whole by the serpent's gaping jaws.
The lake surged upward like a waterfall flowing in reverse.
At that exact moment, someone leaped from a galloping horse.
“Your Grace!”
Drawing his demonic sword, Kallian slammed it into the ground.
An overwhelming black aura erupted from the blade like an explosion.
Boom!
A circular wave of energy swept across the area in an instant.
A deafening roar echoed.
The dark sky flashed as though lights had suddenly been lit across it.
Then, leaving only a cloud of dust behind—
Everything fell silent.
...
In the suffocating stillness that followed, eyes accustomed to darkness hurriedly searched their surroundings.
The Gate covering the lake—
And the countless monsters pouring out of it—
Had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“...!”
The knights bowed respectfully as their lord approached, his black cloak fluttering behind him.
Though they had witnessed this sight many times before, it never ceased to amaze them.
Overwhelmed by his darkness, they even forgot to cheer.
“Your Grace!”
Max dropped to one knee before Kallian.
His eyes shone with admiration.
But the man who had effortlessly restored order looked utterly indifferent.
“Casualties?”
“None of the monsters made it beyond the barricades.”
“The injured?”
“Only minor injuries. Everyone is safe. The winds were too powerful, so we intended to maintain a defensive formation until we could properly reorganize.”
“A wise decision. Well done.”
“Not at all! It's only thanks to Your Grace's incredible foresight in predicting where the next Gate would appear!”
Only then did thunderous cheers erupt across the battlefield.
As though he had merely done what was expected, Kallian walked past them without a trace of emotion.
His thoughts, however, were anything but calm.
If they had discovered the Gate any later, the nearby villages would have suffered devastating losses.
Flying monsters were highly mobile and always traveled in groups.
'By the time you realize what I told you is true... I'll already be gone.'
What exactly does that woman want?
Retracing his path, Kallian mounted his horse.
Heavy raindrops landed on his shoulders.
His golden eyes glowed brilliantly as he looked toward the direction of the Lawrence Estate.
Heavy rain poured from the dark, cloud-covered sky.
“So this is where you were.”
Jumping down from his horse, Kallian let out a deep sigh before the eastern tower, located on the opposite side of the residence where he was staying.
A cold wind blew through the area.
Before them stood a massive stone door, solid enough that even a battering ram could not break it.
Black smoke seeped out from beneath it.
Watching the shadow-like trail left behind, memories of the early morning resurfaced.
When Kallian ordered her to tell nothing but the truth, Leah, the assistant to the estate physician, burst into tears and knelt before him.
'The truth is... Lady Evelyn begged me because she urgently needed to visit the tower...'
'Evelyn.'
'Yes... the Count's illegitimate daughter.'
As far as Kallian knew, Count Lawrence was a deeply devout man who had neither a mistress nor any illegitimate children.
Which meant she was someone who did not even belong in the family register.
Then why did such a woman know about the Gate?
Why had she pledged her loyalty to him?
Those were questions he absolutely had to answer.
'Keep everything we discussed here a secret. But spread a rumor that I am searching for a mysterious woman with silver hair and emerald-green eyes.'
Kallian entrusted Leah with that important task.
And once the Lawrence estate learned that an unknown woman had boldly infiltrated the Grand Duke's residence—
The entire estate was thrown into chaos.
