A Moth to the Flame (5)
Serin flew into the room with astonishing momentum. Caught completely off guard, I scrambled to catch her, carefully tucking away my blood-stained hand while sweeping her up into the crook of my other arm.
"Whoa, Rian, you're absurdly strong. You can hold me up with just one arm?"
"How on earth did you..."
How did she get here? How did she break through the window? A torrent of questions rushed to my lips, but the moment I saw her radiant, beaming smile, every word evaporated.
Wondering if I was merely hallucinating, I glanced toward the window. There, dangling outside against the night sky, a long rope swayed in a slow, rhythmic dance.
An instant chill crept up my spine.
"Serin... don't tell me."
"Whoa! Stop right there, Rian. It's totally not what you're thinking. Seriously, it's not. You trust me, right?"
How could I possibly trust her?
I filtered out every single word of Serin's excuses.
At the top of that rope, a grapple hook was undoubtedly secured to the exterior masonry—anchored right above the window to my room.
Setting up and executing an operation like that was impossible on short notice. That meant, by inescapable logic, Serin had completed the entire setup long before any assassins had targeted her.
She didn't run here because she was under attack...
Even the assassins must have been utterly bewildered. When they sharpened their blades and slipped into her bedroom, their target had already vanished into the shadows. Serin hadn't anticipated an assassination, nor did she possess exceptionally keen hearing.
She had launched a dawn raid for one singular purpose: to lay her eyes upon my bare face.
"Pardon me, but for the first time in my life, I am experiencing genuine terror."
"Oh, come on! I told you, it's not like that. I came to rescue you, my baby cat."
She declared it in a comically forced, sultry baritone. Stunned by the relentless barrage of baffling remarks, my mind went completely blank. She casually dropped down to the floor, spun around, and planted herself squarely between the assassins and me.
"Stand back. You will be hurt."
"Who's getting hurt? Do you even know whose daughter I am?"
"Serin."
"I know our first impression wasn't the greatest, so I get why you're worried. But if they hadn't spiked my drink with drugs back then, there's no way I would've been taken down so pathetically, okay?"
She dropped into a stance. Completely unarmed, she shifted her weight onto her back foot and bent her front knee slightly—a clean, disciplined fighting posture.
"Watch closely, Rian. This is what I was trying to show you during our deal."
In a split second, her legs coiled like springs before she launched skyward with explosive power. Twisting through the air like a tempestuous dancer, she unleashed a devastating momentum upon the slowest-reacting assassin.
Whoosh!
Her spinning kick tore through the air like a top, striking the man square in the temple with brutal precision. Caught completely off guard, the assassin slammed into the wall, drooling uncontrollably as his eyes rolled back.
Crash!
"That was a 540-degree Back Whip Kick! Well? Are you gonna make fun of me and call it vulgar again?"
"Graaaagh!"
"Oh, shit, you scared me!"
Crunch!
An axe kick from her heel drove directly into the skull of the next charging assassin, smashing him into the floorboards. Without missing a beat, she carried on talking.
"What's with the blank stare? Is this vulgar too? Wow, you're really being unfair right now."
"It is beautiful. Very."
"Huh?"
"..."
Serin instantly broke into a bizarre shuffle, sprinting right up to me. She bounced up and down like an impatient toddler demanding an answer, a scene completely unhinged from the lethal bloodbath around us.
"Say that again, Rian! What was it? Why don't you tell me the honest truth, my baby cat?"
Is this... madness?
If I had to describe it, it was undeniably madness. What else could you call someone who treated a life-or-death battlefield like a playground?
I had seen people who suffered through miserable childhoods succumb to lunacy before. Roderick had told me that the broken children I had encountered were actually quite common. Having spent her youth in the Imperial Palace, forced into menial labor while raw fish was served to her disguised as a delicacy, the seeds of madness must have taken root long ago.
"You poor soul..."
"Excuse me?"
"...I am sorry, Serin. I leave this place in your capable hands."
I bit back a grimace.
I did not want to let on that I pitied her. If she realized it, she would undoubtedly feel uncomfortable and humiliated. And so, I steeled my resolve.
"Wh-what did you just say?!"
"When dawn breaks... we shall meet again...!"
I turned and ran. I ran endlessly, leaving Serin behind, putting distance between us so I would not have to look upon the tragic madness born of her sorrow.
"RIAAAAAAAAN!!!"
I cannot hear her. I must look away. For her sake alone.
Even if you brand me a coward, I will gladly accept it.
Her anguished shriek seemed to claw at the nape of my neck from down the hall, but I forced myself to shake it off cold-heartedly.
Behind me echoed the sickening crunch of shattering bones, the wails of dying assassins, and Serin's furious roar.
Never had I felt so utterly pathetic. So helpless, unable to shoulder the full weight of her madness...
As long as I remained bound to this cumbersome mask, nothing would ever change.
"WAS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO SAY IT JUST ONE MORE TIIIIIME?!"
I shut my eyes tight and quickened my pace.
The air inside the mansion was thick and sweltering with humidity. Men stood like statues throughout the corridors, throwing themselves into battle with desperate ferocity and radiating heat. Along the way, I even ran into the assassins who had come away empty-handed from Serin's room.
"Fuck!"
"What the hell is that guy?!"
"Urgh..."
Truthfully, it was somewhat surprising. Clad uniformly in the livery provided by the estate, they were far braver than expected. Their willingness to charge in defiance of death was rather impressive. Having my progress momentarily stalled was a novel experience as well.
No, that was inaccurate. I was not being held back; I was merely allowing them to live.
It feels strange...
After just a brief encounter with Serin, my will to kill had waned. Though she, swallowed by her own madness, might slaughter them without hesitation... a faint reluctance had taken root within me.
"Hraaaaah!"
At an intersection leading toward the grand staircase, a mercenary ambushing from the blind spot lunged with a deafening war cry.
The timing was impeccable. The blade aiming for the crown of my head gleamed with murderous intent.
Shhh...
Poh gathered above my head.
The swirling black mist, carrying a faint physical weight, dampened the velocity of the descending steel. While the man froze in shock at the unfathomable ability, I drove the hard sole of my boot straight into his groin.
Smack!
"Gaaahhhk! F-fuck... you bastard...!"
"You sadistic freak...!"
The surrounding men instinctively hunched over, hurling curses at me. Having grown up listening to every foul word imaginable since early childhood, their insults rolled off me without leaving a scratch.
As I smoothly descended the stairs, a sharp javelin cut through the air. Catching the vibrating shaft right where it embedded into the wall, I reversed its trajectory and hurled it straight back at its owner. Piercing him through the groin was purely coincidental.
"Surround him and take him down, you idiots!"
"Waaaaagh!"
The moment the order dropped, burly mercenaries encircled me in a tight ring. Panting heavily with heaving shoulders, they lunged in unison, seizing my limbs. But the smug satisfaction on their faces shattered in an instant.
"What kind of ridiculous monster—?!"
Lifting my right leg, I kicked the adjacent wall with all my might. Before they could register what had happened, my left foot followed suit.
Thoom! Bang!
As for my arms, I did not even need to swing them; the sheer grip strength in my hands crushed whatever body parts they made contact with.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Shit... Is that bastard even human?! This makes no fucking sense!"
Wails of sheer, bitter grievance echoed down the estate's halls.
With a commotion of this scale, the household servants must have realized what was happening long ago.
The fact that none were in sight meant they had barricaded their doors, praying for the storm to pass. Given that desperate men with nothing to lose were running amok, it was a wise decision.
The Baroness, however, was another matter entirely. Those thugs had little incentive to drag out hiding servants, but the master of the estate was a prize well worth the effort.
That was why I had sprinted across the manor to find her.
"Wh-what are you...?! How did you get through all those men...?!"
The Child of the Deposed Emperor. Unable to give him that answer, I crippled the final guard standing before the master bedroom and pushed the double doors open.
Whoosh!
The moment the doors swung wide, a gust of brisk night wind swept in through the open window.
Slam!
Caught in the draft, the heavy doors shut behind me with an exaggerated bang. Startled by the sudden noise, the man who had cast aside his gentlemanly mask overnight furrowed his brows. Perhaps it was his own meager attempt at intimidation. Regardless, I turned the latch and locked the door tight.
Click.
The heavy metallic snap shattered the silence.
Only then did I take in the state of the Baroness's bedchamber.
"You...!"
The Baroness called out to me. Beneath her sorrowful gaze flickered a fragile ember of hope. Yet, ashamed of her disheveled appearance, she immediately cast her eyes downward.
"Ugh."
Her chemise dress, torn jaggedly by brute force, and the dark purple bruise on her left cheek told the story of what had transpired. The angry red handprints around her wrists and the dried tear tracks down her face spoke volumes.
However, seeing that Lude's attire was relatively undisturbed, it seemed she had narrowly avoided the worst-case scenario.
"Tch."
Pulling his hands off the Baroness, Lude let out a low groan. He glared at me with clear hostility for a brief second before his expression abruptly shifted into a broad, easy smile.
"Well, well. My entire mercenary band is stationed here, and you broke right through them? You're no ordinary bastard, are you?"
He tilted his head, seemingly expecting some sort of reaction. When I met him only with dead silence, he carried on with breezy nonchalance.
"Let me make you an offer."
He casually sank down onto the edge of the Baroness's bed.
"Just look the other way this once. I'm not a greedy guy. Twenty percent. Twenty percent is all I need. I'll hand over the other eighty to you."
Lude's eyes rolled toward the Baroness. He was proposing to plunder her fortune and split the spoils.
"...!"
Hearing every word spoken in plain daylight, the Baroness's shoulders hitched violently. She let out muffled, broken sobs, barely holding back her agony.
A fortune painstakingly built through thrift and discipline, resisting countless temptations. Hearing Lude barter away her life's treasure as if it were his own must have torn her heart to pieces.
Worse still, the man tormenting her was the very one she had held genuine affections for over so many years.
It was only natural that she crumbled.
"..."
Without a word, I closed the distance between us. Taking my silence as assent, Lude let out a hearty chuckle. The Baroness, overwhelmed by despair, curled into herself like an armadillo.
"Haha... Do we have a deal?"
He readily extended his hand.
Meeting his tainted goodwill, I took Lude's hand without a moment's hesitation.
Crack-crack-crunch!
And then, with deliberate precision, I poured my strength into my grip.
"AARRRRGGHHH!"
"Huh...?"
The two reacted in stark contrast.
The Baroness uncurled her trembling body and raised her head, while Lude began convulsing on the mattress, screeching at the top of his lungs. Before his piercing wail could fade, I seized him by the forearm and hurled him violently off the bed.
"Guh... aaagh... damn it... ugh..."
Lude looked up at me from the floor. I looked down at him. The hierarchy had been decisively established. Sprawled helplessly on the carpet, Lude screamed at the top of his lungs.
"You fucking piece of shit! What the hell is your problem?! Sleep with this bitch just once and everything she owns is ours! You brainless, miserable idiot!"
"..."
"What? Worried she'll report us? Her? She never fucking will! She's such a pathetic coward that even if she gets forced, she wouldn't dare breathe a word to anyone!"
"Lude, how could you... to me...!"
"Shut the fuck up, you bitch! Did I say anything that wasn't true?!"
"I truly... I truly intended to marry you. Even if it meant falling out of favor with the higher nobility, I couldn't abandon my own person. And yet... how could you do this to me? How could you?!"
Choked by tears, the Baroness could no longer speak. A heavy silence stretched before she found her voice again.
"Are you even human?!"
"Fuck off. Acting all high and mighty now... Whatever, what would an empty-headed bitch like you know anyway?"
"Sob... I... I really..."
Lude let out an exasperated sigh. Resigned to his fate, he turned his eyes toward me.
"Haah, shit. Look at the apostle of justice over here. Just when I thought I might finally live well for once... what a dog-shit world."
I recognized that expression. An outward look of despair, masking a desperate, covert hunger for survival underneath. Give him a single fraying lifeline, and he would scramble up faster than anyone else.
He was the exact archetype of man Roderick made sure to slaughter without fail.
Yet, that had nothing to do with me.
I leaned in close to Lude and whispered softly into his ear.
"Justice is far too generous a compliment for me. If I were righteous, people wouldn't have greeted me with curses at every moment of my life."
"What?"
"I feel nothing about your men trying to kill me. And while I pity the Baroness, I don't feel enough sorrow to weep alongside her."
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling...!"
"That is why I have been pondering it this whole time. Why I felt this strange tightness in my chest."
How wonderful would it be if I could feel honest rage at Lude's misdeeds? Yet, even when I trampled syndicates under Roderick's command, their depravity had never sickened me. It wasn't because their crimes were mild; I simply possessed no capacity to feel anything at all.
Compared to the atrocities committed by those cartels, what Lude attempted here was nothing more than a child's petty mischief.
So why had a tiny spark caught fire in my chest?
The clue to that riddle had presented itself the moment the assassins breached my room.
Delivered by a madwoman swinging through the night on a rope.
"I was... slightly startled."
Snap.
I caved in Lude's shoulder. Continuing to knead the joint with my bare fingers, I pulverized the underlying bone into fragments.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
"I am beginning to understand. This must be the feeling Roderick told me never to let fester."
Casually shattering Lude's remaining shoulder, I dug deeper into the ruined joint. The crisp, wet snapping of splintering bone tormented the quiet night. The brown hair he had combed back so neatly thrashed in rhythm with his agony.
"Aaargh! Fuck, stop! Graaagh...!"
"Even so, I suppose I am still far from normal."
Even if someone were to disgrace me and plunge a blade into my flesh, I doubt I would hold a grudge. I would likely dismiss it passively, thinking, So people say things like that, or So this is how I die.
The only reason someone like me could despise Lude was because Serin had been placed in hardship.
How absurd it was that the very first time I learned to hate another human being was on behalf of someone else.
"Time is up."
Having done what was necessary, I took several steps back from Lude.
"From here, it should be entrusted to someone whose hatred runs far deeper."
I guided the Baroness's gaze toward Lude, making her fully aware of his broken state. A strange light flickered in her eyes. As she rose unsteadily to her feet, a profound sense of emptiness hung over her. Yet, within her tightly clenched fists, a dark, viscous hatred churned relentlessly.
What followed belonged solely to the two souls at the center of this storm.
Stepping quietly out of the master bedroom, I gladly granted them their privacy.
Not long after I stepped into the hall, I sensed a bustling presence approaching. Though we had traveled together for only a handful of days, it was a presence I had grown intimately familiar with.
Turning the corner, she beamed with innocent, cheerful radiance.
"Rian!"
Only then did the last speck of dark sediment resting at the bottom of my heart evaporate entirely.
"You're not hurt at all! I knew the male lead was built different."
"I am not an alcoholic beverage."
"Aha, right, of course. Ahem."
She cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Anyway! My room is still totally clean. Do you want to head over there for now?"
"I would like that. There are several things I wish to ask regarding what you were aiming to achieve by rappelling down that rope."
"Say, Rian, have you ever heard of the right to remain silent?"
"..."
Considerable time remained before the break of dawn.
It seemed we had quite a lot to discuss.
Time remaining until the final period was placed on our journey:
A mere two days.
Our destination was nearly in sight.
