Steal the Heart (1)

"Adelaide Termine. That's my mother's name."

"???"

"You look just like my mother."

Gil-dong's face screamed, What the hell kind of pickup line is this? without saying a word.

She remembered Earth's common sense. That line—"Haven't we met somewhere before?"—was just a lame excuse guys used to hit on someone they were into.

But a northern grand duke pulling that crap? What an absurd situation.

"If that's some kind of magic mimicking my mother's appearance, I can't let you walk around with that face."

Wait, it wasn't a pickup line?

Kalcion's hand moved to his sword hilt. His legs shifted into a subtle stance, feet spread front and back—ready to draw at any moment.

Gil-dong's instincts screamed a warning. You can't let a swordmaster draw his blade.

"Picking a fight over a sudden makeover?"

"Gil-dong. You vanished beyond the Great Wall, then came back completely changed. Tell me. Did you make some deal with the demonkin? Did you steal my mother's appearance?"

Kalcion was dead serious. She'd thought it was a flirt, but it was an interrogation.

Gil-dong stammered a bit in confusion before explaining.

"First off, it's not related to any demonkin. Second, I didn't change on purpose."

"Then explain. Why did your appearance change?"

'Dug through ancient ruins and found the Rogue Master's Legacy.'

Gil-dong couldn't spit it out easily. Revealing she was the Rogue Master wouldn't do her any favors. Robbing western nobles, assassinating the emperor—she'd already pulled off some major jobs.

"It's from a magic item I found in some ruins. The guild's already spreading that story, right?"

"Not a very well-crafted scenario."

Kalcion's pressure bore down on her. A swordmaster's Intimidate could make a normal person piss themselves and collapse.

But Gil-dong hadn't lived weakly. Even now, far from her swordmaster teacher, she swung her blade every day.

"What a cocky bastard. You think you're hot shit with a sword? Come at me, asshole!"

Gil-dong hurled a throwing dagger. Then she melted into the shadows.

The shadow raced across the floor, lunging at Kalcion's back.

But Kalcion was a swordmaster—the ultimate realm that could slash mana and shadows alike. He cleaved the shadow, yanking Gil-dong out by force.

"Kyaaak!"

One arm flew off. Challenging a swordmaster came at a steep price.

But the cut was so clean, a quick surgery might reattach it. Find a skilled priest, and she could probably regrow it.

Kalcion, showing mercy to the defeated, said, "If you've realized the gap in our skills, surrender. Get treatment fast, and you might save that arm."

Words that fell on deaf ears for Gil-dong.

"What're you blabbering about, you idiot? That swordmaster title's wasted on you."

She stuck out her tongue in mockery—nyeh—casual as ever, even with a missing arm.

Only then did Kalcion sense something off. Her arm was gone, yet she was mocking him like she was fine? Was this woman insane?

Boom!

Gil-dong's body exploded. Not flesh and blood, but a fake conjured from mana.

Clone Technique—a secret art usable only by top rogues.

Kalcion realized the truth only after the clone burst, scanning for the real Gil-dong. But even spreading his mana to probe the area, he couldn't find her.

Gil-dong had activated her Stealth Skill the moment she made the clone and bolted with everything she had. She was long gone.

'As expected, the Rogue Master's escape skills are the world's best!'

The clone-stealth combo could fool even a swordmaster. Confirmed.

Running away was a bit humiliating, but she had no reason to risk her life against Kalcion.

The northern grand duke needed to keep guarding the Great Wall forever. She didn't want to see the empire turn into monster paradise without him.

'I was just gonna grab the legacy and bounce, but now I'm raiding your warehouse clean!'

Gil-dong's grudge against Kalcion shot up! Bad feelings accumulated!

"A villain who stole my mother's face... I won't forgive you."

Kalcion was pissed too. His heart throbbed painfully—the first emotional shake since his mother's funeral.

A total win for the unemployed with time to burn.

Kalcion Northwind was a workaholic. As northern supreme commander, he'd been clocking in nonstop lately to defend the rowdy Great Wall.

I bided my time carefully and cleaned out the northern grand duke's mansion.

Even a poor northern territory had plenty of treasures for a grand duke.

Of course, the real prize was the Rogue Master's Legacy. This one came as a cloak.

'Undetectable by anyone'—that had to include swordmasters, right? Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grand archmages or dragons couldn't spot it.

Plus, basic stealth's level and performance got a massive boost.

What a waste letting this rot in a warehouse!

Really, this was just social service—returning items to their rightful owner. Not theft.

And those gold coins and jewels gathering dust? I'd put them to good use!

After stripping the warehouse bare, I wandered the grand duke's castle checking for more loot.

I peeked into his private office and spotted an ominous report.

It detailed how an undead lord named Daemon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had appeared beyond the Great Wall.

The problem? The northern garrison had zero ways to land a fatal blow on him.

To beat Daemon, you needed either holy power bombs strong enough to melt an undead lord... or find and destroy all his scattered soul fragments.

'Why's this guy showing up already?'

The report mentioned requesting help from the palace saintess.

But the current palace saintess was a fake. The romance-fantasy cliché villainess lady antagonizing the heroine, Flor.

In the original plot, Daemon appeared after Flor grew up. Then, sub-male lead Kalcion and original heroine Flor teamed up to take him down.

'Can't just throw kid Flor at the north now.'

Flor was still a child. Unsure if she'd even awakened as saintess yet. No way to beg her to hunt an undead lord.

'Did assassinating the emperor mess up the timeline?'

That was the only big change I remembered.

Robbing western nobles' warehouses wouldn't summon an undead lord to the north, right?

'Hoping Kalcion handles it solo is too much, huh?'

He was meant to team up with the saintess heroine in the future. Facing it alone? Probably impossible.

If the Great Wall fell, the whole empire becomes a warzone.

And Daemon was strong enough to breach it.

No real saintess to fight him now.

"If I don't do it, who will? Tsk."

The conclusion was set from the start. I'd take down Daemon. No other choice.

"The enemy's tactics remain deceptive. Their endless resurrection is whittling down our forces."

Fighting undead without divine blessings was stupid. Especially against specials like Daemon.

They drew power from corpses and revived infinitely.

"The soldiers' morale is in shambles. Some of the enemies were our former comrades."

The reporting officer's face was purple, on the verge of puking and passing out.

Shadows carved deep lines on Kalcion's chiseled face. He looked grim.

"Daemon. Cowardly bastard."

High praise, like saying a gamer plays dirty.

Without Kalcion, the Great Wall would've fallen ages ago. The swordmaster had repelled Daemon multiple times.

But even he lacked a way to erase him for good.

Destroy Daemon's body completely, and he'd still revive as long as his soul fragments were stashed somewhere.

No leeway to hunt them all—the war favored the enemy.

'We'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dry up and die like this.'

Theirs: endless undead reinforcements.

Ours: humans turning undead on death. Supplies, troops, morale—all dwindling.

Was this the end for the northern Great Wall?

'Why isn't the saintess coming?'

The Elbita Empire was founded a millennium ago on a pact between emperor and goddess.

A saintess—god's proxy—could handle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that vile Daemon, right?

Yet the palace kept delaying her dispatch. Why?

'Trying to let the north fall on purpose? New emperor Leonhardt—what's he thinking?'

Clueless, Kalcion could only grit his teeth in frustration, desperately holding a wall that might crumble any second.

"What if we abandon the north and retreat now?"

Even officers were suggesting flight.

"Even if the gods abandon us, I won't abandon the north."

Kalcion stroked his scabbard, steeling his resolve.

If no other way... he'd burn his life to keep it.

He'd honor his promise to his mother.

No running away.