#31. An Irreversible Mistake

No answer came from the empty darkness.

“Not coming out?”

I hadn’t exactly expected an immediate response, but I had no intention of continuing to be ignored like this.

“Fine, then……”

I grabbed the butter knife again. And just as I was about to stab it into my palm—

Snap!

Before the butter knife could touch my palm, my wrist was grabbed and pulled in the opposite direction, and the knife was taken away.

“What are you doing?!”

“Please stop this!”

Voices filled with shock and horror.

Different hands held my wrist and the knife. I looked at them calmly.

The shadows that operate in Dragonia’s darkness, Amyeong (Dark Shadows).

‘Yes, I knew these ones would be on standby.’

Siyeref had clearly acted as if he was leaving me alone, telling me to calm down. And the servants had also left immediately when I asked them to go.

‘But would Siyeref really leave me alone?’

That same Siyeref who showed extreme displeasure just at my holding a knife, and twisted my wrist to make me drop it and crushed it underfoot?

Being clever, he would have suspected that I might harm myself.

‘So he would have stationed Amyeong to watch me.’

It would be very troublesome if I were to die again.

And since the busy heir of Dragonia couldn’t personally monitor me, this was the natural result.

And this moment was exactly what I had been aiming for.

I stared at them steadily and said.

“I didn’t know Brother Siyeref had already inherited the Amyeong. How surprising.”

“……!”

The two Amyeong flinched.

For them, both appearing so suddenly and having their identities exposed before they could forcibly knock me unconscious must have been disconcerting.

But it was too late now to deny it or claim a misunderstanding.

“To think he would send you two, this matter must be quite urgent.”

I pressed them without giving them a chance to move.

‘What is this commotion.’

Clearly, Siyeref had appeared saying those words.

And the people of the Blue Brick Castle had reacted with surprise at his appearance, saying ‘When did you arrive?’

This meant Siyeref had returned suddenly.

‘And he quite noisily advised the Grand Duke of Dragonia as if picking a fight, and even made Taran shut up.’

Finally, after making me angry too, he concluded the situation by saying ‘I’ll do as you wish.’

Looking at it this way, it seemed like the eldest son had returned to the family home to resolve a family issue.

‘But that can’t be right.’

That Siyeref, who had lived his entire life to become the heir to the Grand Duke of Dragonia, would never return to Dragonia’s main castle, abandoning his duties in the imperial capital, just because of a half-baked lady.

‘Unless there was a reason he needed to return urgently, using my illness as an excuse.’

And there aren’t many matters that would require someone of Siyeref’s status to move personally.

“What exactly has happened in Dragonia?”

“Wh-what do you mean…… lady, please don’t say such things……”

“Has there been an intrusion?”

“!”

One of the clumsy Amyeong drew in a breath, and the other couldn’t answer immediately.

That’s the answer.

I delivered the finishing blow to prevent them from having time to think.

“Could it be from the Griffones imperial family?”

* * *

Exactly 24 hours before Partanie began interrogating the young Amyeong….

“Lu…… no, Your Highness!”

Jerman, frantically drawing a magic circle, almost called his master by his real name, Lukaris, but quickly corrected himself.

“Danger! Behind you……!”

But before answering, Lukaris the prince swung his sword toward Jerman.

Clang! The arrows approaching them were instantly cut in half and fell.

“Catch them!”

“Don’t let the intruders escape!”

“How dare they……!”

Though they had barely stopped the attack, the momentum of those targeting Prince Lukaris’s party showed no signs of weakening.

That was to be expected.

Prince Lukaris was currently in Sheren Grad, Dragonia’s second capital, located south of the Tukenia River.

Facing the territory of their archenemy, the Phoenix Duchy, this place had the most thorough defenses against intruders.

The entire castle fiercely pursued those who dared to invade.

“Move!”

A well-built young man darted through the gaps between the arrows.

It was Kalenso, the third son of Dragonia.

Fiercely shouting and kicking away obstacles, he swung the greatsword he was holding, his unique blue eyes flashing with a fierce light.

No, he threw it.

“Lord Kalenso?!”

The Sheren Grad soldiers following him were horrified to see Kalenso’s back and arm muscles bulge.

‘The first principle when discovering intruders is to capture them alive, not kill them!’

‘If they die instantly, we can’t uncover who’s behind this!’

Unfortunately or fortunately, their concerns didn’t become reality.

Prince Lukaris reached the magic circle Jerman was drawing before Kalenso’s greatsword arrived.

“No!”

Someone screamed. But before the words finished, light burst from the magic circle, and the two figures became blurry.

Clang!

Kalenso’s greatsword reached its destination around that time. But the thick blade didn’t harm its target and hit the wall instead.

“Damn it.”

Kalenso spat out bloody saliva with a ‘ptui.’

He had instinctively realized that these intruders couldn’t be captured safely and had intended to turn them into corpses to trace their origins.

But he had missed his chance because of incompetent fools who didn’t understand his intentions and got in his way.

“Useless things.”

Kalenso growled roughly, furious at losing his prey.

Thin smoke was rising from the magic circle the intruder had drawn.

Kalenso read the destination mark drawn on it and frowned.

“North?”

Directly above Sheren Grad was Dragonia’s capital, the Blue Brick Castle. Kalenso’s eyes widened as he wondered at the choice to enter right into enemy territory.

On the thick blade of the greatsword he had thrown at the spies, there remained a clear bloodstain.

* * *

Coincidentally, the Grand Duke of Dragonia received the report of this incident at exactly the same time Partanie was interrogating the Amyeong.

“Intruders appeared in Sheren Grad.”

Although Siyeref officially stated that he had suddenly returned to the Blue Brick Castle because he was ‘worried about his sick youngest sister,’ the Grand Duke, like Partanie, didn’t believe this.

If Siyeref came in person without even sending a message in advance, it meant the matter was that important and dangerous.

So the Grand Duke called for Siyeref in the middle of the night, away from prying eyes, and his eldest son dropped the bomb as expected.

“Yes. And the intruders are suspected to be from the Griffones imperial family.”

“……”

At the mention of the Griffones imperial family, rulers of the Hakan Empire, the Grand Duke of Dragonia’s eyes sank deeply. He opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Your saying this means you couldn’t catch the culprits.”

“……I apologize.”

Originally, guarding Dragonia’s second capital, Sheren Grad, during this season was the responsibility of the Grand Duke of Dragonia and his direct sons.

Sheren Grad, originally Phoenix territory, was subjugated by the great guardian of Dragonia and former Grand Duke, Lady Partilova.

Even though it had been Dragonia territory for decades, Phoenix spies still frequently appeared due to its roots.

For this reason, both the former Grand Duke of Dragonia and the current one, Garet, thoroughly defended the place, even personally going down there to station Wyvern brigades.

There were demonic beast problems too, but the main purpose was to prepare for Phoenix intrusions.

But this time, he had to leave urgently, and as substitutes, he called in his third son Kalenso and eldest son Siyeref, but…….

“It seems I expected too much from you.”

At the Grand Duke of Dragonia’s sigh, Siyeref gritted his teeth.

He was ashamed of his incompetence.

Although the incident occurred while he was briefly away, and those who dealt with the intruders were not his close associates but Kalenso’s forces…….

Nevertheless, Siyeref himself was the one responsible.

People from the Yerbazena faction, led by Kalenso, who had been eagerly eyeing his position, quickly retreated and blamed everything on Siyeref.

Siyeref acknowledged it.

‘I should have considered earlier that Kalenso is stupid.’

It was certainly his fault for not preparing for that.

His brothers each had their useful points, but their shortcomings were not insignificant.

For instance, Taran was somewhat clever and skilled, but he had a vulgar maternal family and tended to be swayed by them.

Even his attitude was so crude that it was hard to believe he was the second son of Dragonia. Thinking of his brother who never listened despite being nagged countless times to change gave him a headache.

The third son, Kalenso, couldn’t even do his job properly and had magnified the problem like this.

And the youngest, Partanie…….

‘No apology is needed.’

Recalling the youngest, that moment’s image spread again in Siyeref’s mind.

Her blue eyes with a purple tint were transparent like glass, but the shadows cast by her long eyelashes made it impossible to read her emotions.

However, seeing the tears rolling down from her reddened eyes and gaze, Siyeref momentarily froze, unable to breathe.

‘Why?’

It was strange. It wasn’t the first time he had seen that child cry…….

But why did that moment feel so painful, as if squeezing his heart?

As if he had committed some irreversible mistake.