Chapter 13
Don't Test My Patience Further
Liana froze on the spot.
"How did you get here...!"
Her mind went blank.
She hadn't told anyone her destination, yet he was here, in this remote place, specifically Brillon.
For a fleeting moment, she hoped it was a hallucination, but with each step he took closer, he became clearer.
Liana backed away from him as he approached.
She had to run. She couldn't be caught like this.
Regaining her senses, she turned and fled instinctively.
She had to get away from the flames that seemed to engulf the harbor.
Shed watched the small figure running away into the distance.
"Ha..."
Shed ran a hand through his hair in annoyance, watching her desperately trying to escape.
Even after coming all this way, she dared to think of getting away.
She probably knew that she couldn't escape him with such a sprint.
Yet, the sight of her struggling to escape was quite... unpleasant.
Her desperate flight scratched at something deep within him.
Fine. Struggle all you want.
His large strides, as if piercing through space, followed behind.
Liana fled with all her might.
Her breath grew ragged, and the acrid air filled her lungs.
But it was only a matter of moments before he caught up to Liana.
"Stop wasting time."
A large hand grabbed her, and Liana stumbled.
At the same time, a sharp gust of wind grazed her cheek.
Thwack! The sound of a blade embedding itself echoed in her ears.
"Don't test my patience further."
Shed, holding the hilt of the knife, looked down at her with cold eyes.
The silver blade was embedded next to her face.
Liana, gasping for breath, met the man's gaze.
The air was thick with the reek of burning, and a hot wind blew.
The voices of those desperately trying to put out the fire could be heard in the distance.
Liana felt as if the air around her was trapping her.
The corners of her pale lips trembled slightly.
"...Why are you going this far?"
She couldn't understand.
Liana was a fallen woman.
An insignificant woman in everyone's eyes.
A woman who would live a miserable and pathetic life on her own if left alone.
Yet, he had burned all the ships just to catch her.
Moreover, this was the Marlheine Territory, not Shed Lester's territory.
The Marquess of Marlheine would not let this pass.
It was something only a madman would do.
But Shed looked at Liana as if it were nothing.
"Thanks to setting fire to the rat hole, the rat came out herself."
"There's no need to drag people who have nothing to do with this into it!"
Liana shouted, pointing to the burning harbor.
The owners of those ships, the sailors preparing to set sail tomorrow, the fishermen, and their families.
They had lost everything because of Liana alone.
But Shed looked down at her with indifferent eyes.
"Why? Do you feel sorry for them? Do you feel bad for those who were caught up in this without knowing why?"
His brow furrowed in annoyance.
"Did you have any compassion or conscience?"
He grabbed Liana's wrist and slammed it against the wall, pinning her down.
Her wrist felt like it would break at any moment.
"You shouldn't be saying those words. Don't you think?"
Shed's words were like a dagger to Liana's heart.
She was running away from the sins she had committed.
Hiding her strength for fear of judgment, changing her name and living in hiding, feigning death for fear of past sins.
Yet, now she was shamelessly questioning Shed's sins with her shallow compassion and guilt.
The one who committed the greater sin was Luise Ideana, herself.
"You will eventually go to Ideana."
Shed said as if prophesying.
"Feel free to run away again. I'll burn this entire land to find you then."
A flicker of madness flashed in his eyes as he warned her in a low voice.
His warning was by no means an exaggeration.
He was prepared to do anything to find her. And Luise Ideana would bear more sins on that name.
"When you pass through the deepest night, I will be there."
Shed promised.
Liana saw the flames in his eyes, as if they would devour everything.
Liana realized that there was nowhere left to run.
Now that Shed Lester knew of Luise Ideana's survival, the tenacious hunter would chase his prey to the end and bite its neck.
"Duke Leicester, who rushed out at dawn yesterday, still hasn't returned?"
Eclaus frowned as he read the daily report from the Merchant Group while drinking tea.
He was supposed to leave for Ideana yesterday morning, but Shed Lester had disappeared like a ghost and hadn't returned.
A full day had passed.
"He went out to find that maid?"
Eclaus reiterated the fact that he had confirmed several times.
"Rumor has it that he even went over to the Marlheine Territory."
"Crazy bastard. I've seen it all."
Eclaus cursed at Shed Lester in the empty air.
"It's not like Shed Lester to act like this."
"It's certainly unusual."
"I hate people who are inconsistent..."
Eclaus put down the report he was reading on the table and fiddled with the coin in his pocket.
It was a habit he had when he was deep in thought or scheming.
'This all happened after that maid appeared.'
Eclaus recalled the dirty woman Shed Lester had brought in on the first day.
Come to think of it, he had even brought that woman into his bedroom on the first day.
It didn't seem like it had turned out well...
"Was that maid's name Liana?"
"Liana Serpens."
His attendant, Bannon, dutifully told him her name.
Eclaus recalled her face.
It was a strangely unique face.
A face that vaguely reminded him of someone.
Those pretty features and those verdant eyes...
'She resembles Luise Ideana.'
He recalled a young lady he had met a long time ago.
He had only met her once, but Eclaus couldn't forget her face.
He was good at remembering people's faces and information in the first place.
But Luise was special among them.
How could he forget that beautiful appearance?
Besides, the day he first and last met her was an unforgettable day in his life.
'Because it was the day history changed.'
Eight years ago, when he followed his father to the Ideana County to do business, he met Luise Ideana for the first time.
Luise was the first to propose a deal directly to the Vittel Merchant Group that day.
Surprisingly, the deal proposed by the well-bred young lady of the County was a slave, Shed Lupus.
Eight years ago, the Vittel family was just a merchant family that had not received a title.
His father, Willard Vittel, was currently enjoying a leisurely life in Sizzleon, entrusting all authority to his son, but he was a naturally talented businessman and a shrewd person.
For Willard, the Ideana County, an Elector Family, was an indispensable trading partner.
At the time, Eclaus, who was eighteen years old, was following his father, learning about the Merchant Group's business, and making acquaintances with nobles.
That day was the first day he followed his father to the Ideana County to do business.
Count Felix Ideana was a gentle and dignified nobleman.
But somehow, he felt uneasy.
Later, after hearing the news of the Count of Ideana's rebellion, he realized the origin of the strange discomfort he had felt.
In any case, until then, no one had imagined the Count's rebellion.
That day, Eclaus was uneasy about the details of the deal, so he was discussing the deal with his father on the way out after talking to the Count.
"...Are you going to continue trading Lectar, Father?"
As Eclaus asked worriedly, his father, Willard Vittel, raised his eyebrows once, looking around.
He was trying to be careful with his words since he was still inside the Ideana County.
As they were about to leave the County residence, someone suddenly blocked their path.
It was Luise Ideana, who was fifteen years old.
The small and sickly girl stood before them with a dark expression.
"Lady Luise, how have you been?"
Eclaus's father, Willard Vittel, skillfully greeted her first, and Luise lowered her eyes and nodded before opening her mouth.
"...Vittel. Can you spare me some time?"
Willard blinked at Luise's request.
It was the first time Luise had asked him for time separately.
"Of course."
There was no reason to refuse, and Vittel, intrigued, readily nodded.
Eclaus also followed Luise with his father.
Luise took the two to a room without any explanation.
When they arrived, the County's knights were guarding a large wooden box.
Luise stopped in front of the box.
"I want to sell this."
Luise pointed to the box.
"What is this...?"
The moment the head of the Vittel Merchant Group asked, the large box shook with a thud.
Startled, the two stepped back.
Luise bit her lip and gestured to the knights.
The knights used a lever to open the lid of the box, which had been tightly closed.
And inside was...
"T, this is..."
Lupus was inside, covered in blood and chained all over his body.
His condition was so terrible that Eclaus felt like he was going to throw up.
Only then did he realize that the dark substance at the bottom of the box was blood that had leaked out.
Clang!
As the box opened, Lupus's body inside moved violently as if resisting.
A strangely sweet scent mixed with the stench of blood rose from inside the box.
It was the first meeting with Shed, who would later become Duke Leicester.
