Roxana
Chapter 67
Chapter 67
The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s
Older Brother
Chapter 67
* * *
“Damn it, why am I in such a wretched state…?”
Fontaine took advantage of the chaos to escape the dungeon.
After numerous struggles, once he succeeded in severing the chains, the rest went smoothly.
It was all thanks to Deon leaving both the iron bars and the dungeon door wide open, along with the complete absence of any guards posted out front.
As he climbed the underground stairs and stepped into the corridor, the intruder alarm blared even more deafeningly.
The noise threatened to rupture his eardrums.
Fontaine dragged his battered body forward, leaning heavily against the wall with nearly every step.
His body, having already clashed with both Deon and Lant, was a mangled wreck.
At the thought of his father, who had refused to treat him as a son to the very end, and Deon, who had acted so high and mighty before him until the last, a rage hot as molten lava surged within him once more.
Between the flickering images of those two faces, the figure of another person he had seen in the Room of Judgment surfaced in his mind.
“Rotten scoundrels, every last one of them.”
In that instant, his teeth ground together in fury. He swore he would exact vengeance on those who had reduced him to this state.
Lant was Lant, but Deon and Roxana, who had used him, were equally unforgivable.
Yes, to do that, he first had to get out of here and build his forces. And then…
“First, I’ll kill Father and Deon…”
And next, that wench who had dared to sit upon the throne he had coveted, looking down on him as if he were an insect…
“Roxana, I have to kill that bitch too—”
Squelch!
In that moment, a chilling sensation spread across his abdomen.
For an instant, Fontaine could not comprehend what had just happened to him.
Looking down, he saw a blade piercing entirely through his belly, slick with crimson blood that appeared to be his own.
“Ugh, cough…”
Just as abruptly as it had driven into his flesh, the cold steel was pulled free without warning.
Clutching his stomach as blood gushed out, Fontaine collapsed to the ground.
“You are not Lant Agriche.”
The low voice echoing from above did not belong to anyone Fontaine knew.
“I tracked the traces from the dungeon, but it seems I made a wasted trip.”
As if there had been no intention of killing him outright, the sword that drove into his abdomen had avoided his vitals.
Yet that did not mean the pain was any less excruciating.
Drenched in cold sweat, Fontaine raised his head to see who had attacked him.
Then, looking up at the man standing over him, he froze in silent shock.
Silver hair and golden eyes—those were unmistakably the traits of a Pedelian.
Then could it be that the intruder alarm blaring right now was also because of him?
Furthermore, did that face not bear an uncanny resemblance to the Young Lord of Blue, Cassis Pedelian?
Fontaine had seen Cassis’s face in the past at gatherings of the 5 Families.
Though he looked slightly older than in memory and his aura had drastically shifted, it was not a change that rendered him entirely unrecognizable.
Yet he had supposedly been killed by Roxana…
Just what in the world was going on?
However, there was no time to remain lost in confusion.
Cassis Pedelian looked down at Fontaine with chilled, indifferent eyes as he flicked the blood from his sword.
Swallowing a groan, Fontaine managed to force his mouth open.
“Lant Agriche… escaped first.”
“Is that so.”
Just now, Cassis had clearly said he attacked Fontaine mistaking him for Lant.
Which meant he might have no reason to kill Fontaine if he was not Lant.
Yes, that had to be it.
Even if he had crawled back here for revenge, the targets ought to be Lant and Roxana, shouldn’t they?
“Urgh… Just a moment ago, Deon came down to the dungeon looking for Lant.”
The wound throbbed so fiercely that uttering even a single word took immense effort.
He wanted nothing more than to tear Cassis Pedelian to shreds on the spot for striking him, but attacking now would surely leave him with not even his bones intact.
Hiding his bloodlust, Fontaine gave Cassis the whereabouts of the man he sought.
“If you follow his trail, you’ll find Lant. Roxana will be there too.”
At Fontaine’s words, Cassis fell silent for a moment.
“A moment ago, you said you were going to kill Roxana.”
He had indeed overheard the mutterings Fontaine had uttered moments before.
Fontaine put on an affirmative expression, trying to look as harmless as possible, as if to say, ‘I am on your side.’
“Y-Yes. I’m a victim too. Wrongfully harmed after being deceived by Father and that bitch…”
All the while, Fontaine waited for Cassis to quickly leave and kill those three wretches in his stead.
Yet Cassis’s ensuing reaction defied Fontaine’s expectations.
“Right. Then it seems best that I kill you now after all.”
Fontaine could not believe his ears.
He was going to kill him now, when he had done nothing wrong? Without a valid reason?
The only reason Cassis could have for killing Fontaine here was simply that he belonged to Agriche.
Because, he swore upon his life, he had never inflicted any harm upon Cassis.
Of course, seeing how he had infiltrated Agriche like this to kill Lant, the grudge burning in his heart had to be extraordinary.
Yet was he not a member of the noble Blue Pedelian, of all people?
The Richel and Cassis that Fontaine knew were never the sort of men to say such things.
Yet was he truly saying he would stain his hands with the blood of an innocent man against whom he had no direct grudge?
Moreover, Fontaine had clearly stated that he was a victim who held a grudge against Lant and Roxana as well.
“What kind of bullshit is…”
However, the moment Fontaine met Cassis’s eyes, words failed him entirely.
For within the glass-shard irises looking down at him, there was neither a speck of mercy nor compassion.
Not a single crack could be found where human warmth might seep through.
There was not even the slightest hint of guilt or sympathy for ending the life of an unrelated man with whom he shared no direct enmity.
A hollow laugh escaped Fontaine’s lips.
This was the righteous arbiter, Pedelian?
If anything was utter nonsense, this was it.
“Fuck…”
Soon, the man who held the grim reaper’s scythe to his throat drew closer.
Fontaine could not help but realize that this time, it was truly the end.
* * *
“This way.”
Sierra quickened her steps behind Emily.
Bess followed behind her. They were taking refuge in a safe place, just as Emily led them.
Clang!
From the distance, the clash of steel and noises bordering on shouts surged toward them.
Yet those sounds were swallowed and faded beneath the louder blare of the alarm.
The hallway they were currently traversing was deep within the mansion, and it seemed it would take time for intruders to reach this far.
Even so, Sierra set her face and bit her lip.
“Ma’am, please do not worry too much. We will be able to get out safely without running into the intruders.”
Bess, following behind, spoke in an attempt to reassure her.
Yet what Sierra worried about was not her own safety.
Roxana, whom she had failed to see today after all, weighed heavily on her mind even now.
Yet to go searching for her here and now was…
“If you truly care for me, do not create a situation where you become a burden rather than a help. Do not make me think of you as a hindrance, Mother.”
The moment that voice, still lodged deep in her heart, echoed in her mind, Sierra’s hand clutching her skirt tightened.
She squeezed her eyes shut and continued after Emily. Just then, an acrid scent brushed past the tip of her nose.
“What is this smell?”
Judging by the smell drifting into the corridor, a fire seemed to have broken out somewhere.
“It seems we must hurry.”
After saying so, Emily took the lead at an even faster pace than before.
Clatter! Crash!
“Kuh-agh!”
Right at that moment, someone came hurtling out, shattering the door ahead.
In the blink of an eye, he flew across their line of sight and slammed hard into the opposite wall.
A sickening crunch of breaking bones resounded, and an ornament hanging on the wall crashed to the floor, shattering to pieces.
“Step back.”
Emily stepped in front of Sierra, blocking her path.
Because it had all happened in a flash, Sierra could not tell who had plummeted to the floor.
Crash!
However, she could see the face of the person who darted out like an arrow from the shattered doorway right after.
He immediately raised his hand, aiming to drive his weapon into the person collapsed against the wall.
“Gasp…!”
At the sound of Bess’s sharp intake of breath, the man’s chilling gaze flicked toward them for a fraction of a second.
The moment Sierra’s blue eyes met the man’s red eyes lasted merely an instant.
Yet it was enough for her to grasp the reality before her.
The two men who had appeared in the hallway were Lant and Deon. And Deon was now attempting to stab his own father with the sword held in his hand.
At that exact moment, Lant, who had been collapsed on the floor, moved his hand.
Swish! Squelch!
In the next instant, crimson blood splattered before Sierra’s eyes.
