The Dragon's Shadow
My breath caught in my throat, and my lungs felt like they were about to burst.
“Hah… hah!”
The ragged gasps I exhaled froze white in the frigid northern air, leaving faint trails behind me in the dark forest.
“Haah… damn it all.”
The world spun before my eyes, forcing me to stop running.
I had no choice but to lean my back against a massive tree. The sweat that soaked my entire body began to cool rapidly, turning icy against my skin.
My luck had run out.
On my way out of the mansion, I’d run straight into several elite squads.
They were the ones who had gone out on an external inspection with Edward.
Shaking them off had cost me precious time, and as a result, the wound on my shoulder had torn wider, bleeding even more heavily.
“Huu…”
I let out a long sigh and lowered my head. In my blurred vision, I caught sight of my jet-black hair, crudely hacked short.
“It’s… finally over.”
Exactly one month had passed since the day my entire family was slaughtered.
On that day, I had cast aside my noble identity as Helena Morton and slipped into the lowest rungs of the Wickers organization to exact my revenge.
Starting as a common street pickpocket, it had taken me a full thirteen years to climb the ladder of power.
And in the end, I had completed my vengeance.
Boom! Bang!
A tremendous explosion echoed from far away.
The Wickers mansion, now nothing more than a tiny speck in the distance, was once again engulfed in massive flames.
It seemed the fire started by the mana bombs had successfully spread to the gunpowder traps I had planted in advance.
“Haa…”
Where should I go now?
I, who had once been a Wickers assassin and the head of their intelligence division, had now become a fugitive hunted by them.
“For the time being, I should be fine…”
Edward would be busy inheriting the boss’s seat and cleaning up the fractured Wickers family that I had spent years carefully tearing apart.
Chasing after a traitor would come after that.
Then, the words Edward had spat right before the mana bomb detonated flashed through my mind.
“I will find you, Helena. You will eventually return to the Wickers. And when that happens…”
The rest had been swallowed by the explosion, but I had read his lips clearly enough.
Edward was more than capable of doing exactly that.
It would be a fate worse than death.
“I need to run far away.”
Just like I had thirteen years ago, I would change my appearance once more.
So that no one could ever find me.
But safe havens untouched by the Wickers’ far-reaching influence across the continent were extremely rare.
A place where I could hide from the Wickers, and one that I knew inside and out.
“If it’s that place…”
A single name flickered through my mind. Or rather, the name of a single faction.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard without realizing it.
It was a name that sent chills down my spine just thinking about it. I couldn’t help it.
“Ugh…”
A low groan slipped between my tightly pressed lips.
Suddenly, the wound on my shoulder seemed to throb even worse.
Run to that organization?
If someone had asked me a few days ago—no, just a few hours ago—I would have laughed bitterly at the idea.
If you want to die that badly, just find a nicer way to die quietly. That’s what I would have said.
To earn Benedict Wickers’ trust, I had created the intelligence division and worked as one of its executives. In doing so, I had earned that organization far too much enmity.
In short, if my identity were discovered, it would be extremely problematic.
“But if I want to truly hide my body, there’s no better place than there.”
No matter who it was, they would never imagine that I had taken refuge with the Wickers’ greatest rival.
And not just any rival—the most infamous one of all.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the best option.
“Anyway… as long as I don’t get caught by that man, it should be fine, right?”
My hesitation didn’t last long.
The Knox family was stronger than the Wickers.
No matter how bold Edward might be, even he couldn’t storm the Knox estate at will.
Now that I had become a fugitive chased by the Wickers, there was no safer place than the Knox Duchy.
I took one last look at the Wickers mansion.
“It’s burning nicely.”
The mana bombs I had gone through such trouble to obtain from an unknown workshop were doing their job perfectly.
It was a shame I couldn’t watch the special flames—impossible to extinguish with water—devour the centuries-old estate like dry kindling from up close.
Without a shred of lingering attachment, I turned my back and began walking through the forest once more.
First, I had to cross the border.
Chapter 1
One year later.
Lautern, the capital of the Bernheim Empire, which occupied half of the vast Eastern Continent.
The Knox Duchy was the sole ducal house in the entire Bernheim Empire.
The private lands of the ducal family, located on the outskirts of Lautern, were as magnificent as their status suggested.
It looked less like a noble’s mansion and more like an independent town—or perhaps a fortress.
A colossal castle that only came into view after riding a carriage down the main road for quite some time.
More than a dozen separate residences for the Knox Duchy’s vassals surrounding it, along with numerous other large and small buildings serving various purposes.
Everyone who visited the Knox Duchy for the first time couldn’t help but gasp in awe at the sight.
Which meant someone had to guard the one and only main gate of that impressive estate.
“We will conduct a brief inspection.”
The voice was mechanical, clearly annoyed, yet still carried a hint of youth.
A staff member from the Kelita Trading Company—one of dozens that delivered daily necessities to the Knox Duchy—glanced at the approaching Knox guard.
It was a beautiful boy with straw-colored blond hair and hazy sky-blue eyes.
He looked like he had only just become an adult. The mark of the Knox Duchy’s lowest-ranking action squad was pinned to his chest.
“Kid, make sure you inspect thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir.”
The boy answered his senior’s nagging in a lifeless voice. His height was noticeably smaller than the other well-built members of the action squad.
Yet the slightly upturned corners of his eyes and his indifferent expression suggested his personality was anything but easygoing.
“Please show me your identification.”
“Ah, yes. Here it is.”
The Kelita Trading Company employee, who usually adored small animals and cute dolls, stared blankly at the boy for a moment before belatedly handing over her ID.
The boy compared the identification she offered against some list, then nodded.
“Miss Ilise from the Kelita Trading Company. Confirmed. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Um…”
“Yes?”
“May I ask your name?”
“My name?”
Caught off guard by her sudden question, the boy widened his already large eyes in surprise.
“It’s Runelk Eins. Why do you ask?”
“No reason… I just wanted to know… Th-thank you for your service!”
The Kelita employee, now thoroughly embarrassed, flushed bright red and quickly climbed back onto the cargo wagon.
Runelk’s sky-blue eyes watched the Kelita Trading Company carriage as it slowly—but somewhat hurriedly—drove away.
“What? Did you spot something suspicious?”
Jake, his direct senior in the action squad, clapped a hand on Runelk’s shoulder and asked.
“…No. It’s nothing like that.”
“What is it then? If something’s off, tell me right away. I’ll stop them. With your sharp eyes, Rookie, we can trust you.”
Although he was a rookie who had been with them for less than a year, the newcomer’s uncanny observational skills had already made him famous within the action squad.
“It’s nothing. Really.”
Runelk shook his head, then narrowed his sharp eyes at Jake and added,
“And I’m not a rookie. I have a perfectly fine name—Runelk. Please use it properly, senior.”
“Pfft. Why? Rookie suits you perfectly. Rookie the Rookie.”
“Haa… Yes, do as you please.”
“But was that trading company really clean earlier? If something goes wrong later, it’ll be a headache.”
“No, the cargo was fine, but the employee was a bit…”
“What about the employee?”
“She suddenly asked for my name. I wondered if she knew me…”
“Aah, I see. Rookie, that’s because—!”
“Because…?”
“I’m not telling you, idiot! If you don’t know, just stay ignorant forever!”
Jake shook with laughter, then shouted something like “Solo heaven! Couple hell!” as he returned to the shaded guard post.
Leaving his junior standing out in the blazing sun all by himself.
The small guard post attached to the towering outer wall of the Knox Duchy.
Inside, seasoned action squad members like Jake—who knew exactly how to slack off—were lounging around in droves.
Runelk glared at their irritating figures with narrowed eyes, then let out a deep sigh and muttered,
“Ha… Living in hiding is seriously exhausting.”