Lena of the Madarin Barony
"Cut out the nonsense and start thinking about how we’re going to finish this purge."
Conrad tossed the words at the noisy knights and turned on his heel.
It was nearly four years now, and every time he heard them arguing over the same damned problem, all he could feel was a weary sigh rising in his chest.
Swallowing back his irritation, Conrad left the tent with nothing but his sword in hand. He needed to move, to work off the tension in his body before it curdled into something worse.
With a heavy crash, he watched a hulking monster collapse to the ground, then flicked his blade clean. The flesh clinging to the edge refused to come off easily.
Monster blood corroded steel on contact, so it was best to wipe it away quickly. Thinking that far, Conrad glanced toward the lake and gauged the distance.
As he cut down the charging beasts one by one on the way to the water, he caught sight of something strange.
The Izels, which never traveled in packs, were crowding beneath a single tree.
There’s nothing under it, so why are they—
He lifted his gaze a little higher, and there, half-hidden by the branches, was someone.
He couldn’t see her face clearly, but the red hair spilling beneath the leaves caught the moonlight and struck him with startling force.
What an almost unnaturally beautiful color.
It was such a deep, vivid red that no one could look at it and not be entranced.
Conrad studied the figure in the tree more carefully, then, seeing the ragged clothes she wore, moved at once.
One swift swing of his sword later, he caught the woman as she slipped from the branches like a falling leaf.
The look in her eyes before she lost consciousness stayed lodged in his mind.
In that fleeting instant, Conrad had seen an unyielding will to live, and his hand tightened around the woman in his arms.
Judging by how the monsters were rampaging, she’s definitely a mage.
He had no idea why a precious mage who should have been on the Ferman side was wandering around the monster zone in Fredericks territory, but that was beside the point.
If he left her there, her blood would only keep exciting the monsters and hinder the purge.
"If she’s a spy, I can just deal with her right away."
With that indifferent conclusion, Conrad carried Regina back toward the camp.
***
When Regina opened her eyes, she was in an unfamiliar tent.
It was a facility she’d seen every time she went out to suppress monsters, but its style was different from the tents used by the Ferman Empire.
As she took in the pointed ceiling rising overhead, Regina caught a stranger’s presence approaching and hurriedly pushed herself up.
"You’re awake."
The man who greeted her politely was a face she’d never seen before.
Regina remained wary and formed a hand sign, but her mana didn’t move.
Ah, right.
Her mana had been sealed.
Even though several days had passed since her sentence, she still hadn’t grown used to this helplessness.
Watching the man keep his distance as much as possible, Regina bit down on her lip.
Seeing her tense, he spoke first.
"You seem startled by the unfamiliar surroundings. This is the imperial army’s camp."
"The imperial army?"
Regina looked around and then widened her eyes when she saw the flag bearing the crest of the Fredericks Empire.
"The commander rescued you after you were surrounded by monsters," the man said, still as courteous as ever.
Only then did Regina notice the white coat he wore. It was the garment of a military physician.
The Ferman Empire had healing magic, so there was no need for doctors. But in the Fredericks Empire, mages were extremely scarce.
Because of that, ordinary medicine had developed there instead, and she had heard that a military physician was always stationed within the army.
So she was inside the camp of an old enemy, right in the middle of it.
Realizing that, Regina swallowed hard.
And yet, for someone meeting an unknown person, he’s awfully polite.
It puzzled her. If he was a military physician, he would naturally be a noble, yet there was no reason for him to speak to her so respectfully when he didn’t even know who she was.
Studying him closely, Regina recalled what he had just said.
He definitely said “the commander,” didn’t he?
It seemed the man who had saved her held a rather high rank. Maybe that was why the physician was being so careful.
After reaching her conclusion, Regina let out a quiet sigh inwardly. The ill fate tangled up with Fredericks came to mind.
Still unable to hide the guarded look on her face, Regina heard the physician ask, "I’ve treated all the visible wounds, but if anything else hurts, please tell me."
"I’m fine."
Even if she was in pain somewhere, she couldn’t possibly take her clothes off.
Regina’s hand drifted to cover the mark of mana suppression above her collarbone. Since it was the brand worn by exiled mages, someone from Fredericks might recognize it.
If they found out she was a convicted traitor from Ferman, she didn’t know what would happen.
"How did you come to be here, anyway?"
The physician’s scrutinizing gaze landed on Regina. His eyes swept slowly over her from head to toe, and she swallowed again, dry-mouthed.
If they discovered she had once led the mage corps of the Ferman Empire, she might be killed on the spot.
Regina gathered her thoughts for a moment, then opened her mouth calmly.
"I was moving because of a matter involving my family, and I lost consciousness."
"Your family?"
"I’m Lena of the Madarin Barony."
Regina placed a hand over her chest and lowered her head politely.
The Madarin Barony was a cover family she had created ten years ago when she infiltrated Fredericks.
If everything had gone well, it would have remained nothing more than a minor provincial house.
Regina held her breath, hoping her subordinate had handled things properly. In front of her, the physician touched his chin as though searching his memory.
"The Madarin Barony…"
"It’s such a small house that I’m sure you wouldn’t know it."
"No, it’s the one said to have only one young lady left."
Unfortunately, the physician did know about the Madarin Barony.
How does he know that?
To keep her identity hidden, she had even let the trade company run at a loss and made sure her holdings looked almost nonexistent.
She had gone to such lengths to remain invisible among the countless baronies.
And yet this physician knew the Madarin Barony.
Still, Regina kept her smile in place and slowly opened her lips. "Yes. I am Lena Madarin."
She introduced herself again on purpose, a subtle reproach to the physician who had heard her name but still hadn’t revealed his own identity.
Catching onto that, the physician hurriedly spoke. "Oh, Lady Madarin. I’ve been rude. I am—"
He was just about to state his name when the entrance to the tent flew open.
Two heavy sets of footsteps strode closer, and the physician started so violently that he bent at once in a bow.
"Greetings, Commander."
"Stand up."
The man who had entered waved a hand dismissively. At his glance, the physician hurried out without another word.
Regina couldn’t tear her eyes away from the man dragging a chair roughly into place before her and sitting down.
The sheer pressure radiating from his large, solid frame made the fine hair on Regina’s body stand on end. It was a presence so intense that it stirred her instincts on its own.
He was definitely a knight who had awakened Aura.
He looks familiar somehow.
Blowing out a slow breath, Regina blinked at the man’s face and frowned faintly at the strange sense of recognition.
Before she could chase after the fleeting image, his clear blue gaze pinned her in place as if it could see straight through her.
"You sure are comfortable, aren’t you? Thanks to you stirring up those monsters, things became a royal pain on our side."
At the sharpness of his voice, Regina straightened her back at once. He pressed in without giving her a moment to recover.
"From the fact that you were being chased by the Izels, you must be a mage. So why was a mage in Fredericks territory—more importantly, in the monster zone?"
He went straight to the point, and Regina drew in a careful breath.
Trying not to lose her composure, she steadied herself and answered, "I’m Lena of the Madarin house."
"That isn’t what I asked."
"The Madarin house traces its roots to Ferman, and the blood of mages has flowed through it for generations. Perhaps that blood happened to stir the Izels and I was chased."
"Doesn’t sound very convincing."
The man propped his chin on his hand with an indifferent look, and Regina lowered her brows into a deliberately pitiful expression.
"But I don’t remember why I was in the monster zone."
"You don’t remember?"
"That’s right."
"How insolent!"
Another man, who had been standing silently behind him the whole time, barked out the words.
"A subject of the Fredericks Empire dares give the Emperor no proper answer to his question!"
The Emperor of the Fredericks Empire, Conrad Fredericks?
Regina’s eyes flew wide open in shock.