Chapter 29
Cheyton gazed at Roshanne, who was smiling as if she knew nothing, while tilting the torn parasol.
‘If it weren’t for this parasol…’
It was a fortunate coincidence with perfect timing.
If Roshanne hadn’t shielded him with the parasol, the incoming arrow would have pierced straight through his head.
His instincts, suppressed by the overwhelming pressure, had been dominated by fear, causing him to miss the obvious killing intent approaching from around them.
Cheyton looked back.
Assassins disguised as couples were approaching him on three ferries.
There were two per boat, totaling six.
“My lady.”
Cheyton gritted his teeth.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Muttering briefly, Cheyton grabbed Roshanne’s hand and pulled her into his broad embrace, as if to protect her.
Then, from his bosom, he drew a small knife and hurled it fiercely toward the assassin aiming a bow.
Whoosh-! Thud!
“Urk!”
The thrown knife embedded precisely into the heart of the assassin aiming the bow.
The gruesome sound of soft flesh tearing mingled with the gentle breeze, carrying the scent of blood.
Roshanne’s shoulders flinched in his embrace. Feeling that subtle movement, Cheyton clenched his teeth.
She probably had never been close to things like the smell of blood or assassinations, so today’s events might become a trauma for her.
And she likely wouldn’t suggest meeting again. Their encounters would end here.
Cheyton lowered his head. His hair softly fell and brushed against Roshanne’s shoulder.
Even with just this minimal contact, an electrifying chill spread throughout his body.
The thought that today might be the last stirred an urgent thirst.
To sink his teeth into that shoulder and chew it up, swallowing it down…
“Grand Duke.”
At Roshanne’s call, Cheyton snapped back to reality. What had he been thinking just now?
Cheyton blinked. The idea of sinking his teeth into a living person’s shoulder and chewing it up—had the madness taken hold?
“Um… my lady. I…”
It was the moment when Cheyton, unable to hide his confusion, was about to apologize to Roshanne.
“Hoo.”
Roshanne, nestled in his embrace, let out a sigh as if to say, what are you doing? Then, she pushed against Cheyton with her full body weight.
Thump!
“Ugh.”
Cheyton, who had been dazed, was pushed by Roshanne and toppled backward onto the ferry. Yet even as he fell, he didn’t release his arms holding her. Roshanne’s body overlapped onto Cheyton’s fallen form.
And then…
Whoosh! Swish!
Several more arrows flew over the bodies of the two who had fallen.
If Roshanne hadn’t pushed Cheyton, both would likely have been instantly killed by the incoming arrows.
“…My lady?”
“The boat rocked, and I lost my balance.”
Had the boat rocked? Cheyton stared blankly at Roshanne.
As Roshanne tried to rise unguardedly, another arrow whooshed in.
Cheyton quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her tightly into his embrace.
Fortunately, the ferry had depth, perfectly concealing the two from the arrows.
“My lady, listen carefully.”
Cheyton embraced Roshanne, who lay atop him, and opened his lips.
“There were no signs of being followed earlier, so they probably got information that I was here and sent assassins to kill me.”
Assassinations were routine for Cheyton. So, preparing for such dangers was also routine.
Lying on the ferry, the blue sky filled Cheyton’s view. It was a clear day.
Of all days, on such a clear and fine one.
“So…”
So, being with me is dangerous.
It was then, as Cheyton swallowed the words that wouldn’t leave his lips and furrowed his brow.
“Then.”
Roshanne, her face buried in Cheyton’s chest, murmured softly.
“Then, does that mean we can finish the rest of our conversation after dealing with them?”
“Huh?”
Cheyton, caught off guard by the unexpected words, asked back. He had assumed she’d naturally be terrified.
Assassins and the smell of blood should be worlds away from a lady like her?
But Roshanne was composed. She showed no signs of fear, and her hands weren’t even trembling.
No one wouldn’t be scared with arrows flying from all directions.
Even knights who had undergone countless trainings would often flee in tears of fear once they actually faced war.
‘Perhaps…’
Cheyton blinked.
‘Is she trusting that I’ll protect her?’
No other explanation made sense. Yes, that had to be it.
An indescribable, unfamiliar emotion spread through Cheyton’s entire body.
“Don’t you like it?”
“No.”
Cheyton answered Roshanne’s question without hesitation.
“Let’s finish the rest of our conversation after I deal with those over there, milady. Stay here for a moment.”
Cheyton carefully set Roshanne down from his arms and rose to his feet.
In the meantime, the assassins’ boats had drawn quite close.
Cheyton immediately drew his sword. The sharp blade gleamed, catching the light reflected off the lake.
Whoosh!
Another arrow came flying in. It moved at a speed so fast it was hard to track with the eyes, yet Cheyton precisely deflected the incoming arrow with his sword.
If he, the target, remained here, Roshanne beside him would be in danger too.
“Trying to kill me with just six? No, one is already dead, so five?”
Cheyton muttered. Then, at a speed utterly impossible for a human, he dodged the arrows and vanished from sight.
As the startled assassins floundered in confusion, Cheyton reappeared on the boat of the nearest one.
“Urk! Attach the boats!”
Another boat quickly pulled up alongside the one Cheyton had boarded. Then, they all drew their swords and surrounded him in unison.
In an instant, four assassins and Cheyton—one total of five—were aboard the boat.
On the small vessel that rocked with even the slightest movement, they darted about swiftly.
‘…He’s fast.’
And Roshanne was watching all of this unfold. With sharp eyes, she tracked Cheyton’s movements.
‘He wasn’t like this before.’
Agile, nimble, and precise. In that cruel sword slicing through people, there was no trace of mercy for his opponents.
It even seemed as if a faint sense of enjoyment emanated from the tip of the swinging blade.
That aura reminded her of someone.
‘…The Mad Dragon.’
From Cheyton’s overwhelming power and those movements that hardly seemed human, the aura of the Mad Dragon was radiating.
It must be due to the madness Cheyton was experiencing.
‘So that’s how he’s survived this long.’
She could imagine, even without witnessing it firsthand, the lengths to which the cruel emperor had gone to kill his nephew.
She had wondered how he managed to survive time and again in that brutal reality, and now it was starting to make sense.
Those assassins seemed quite capable in their own right, but they couldn’t even compare to Cheyton.
‘If I don’t help him, he’ll end up consumed by that madness and go berserk.’
Roshanne suddenly recalled the past, the time she had faced the Mad Dragon. That insolent lizard, driven mad by slaughter…
Splash.
“Hm?”
As Roshanne was lost in memories of the past, the boat suddenly rocked. Turning her head, she saw another of the assassins’ boats drawing close to hers.
“Be quiet. Scream, and I’ll kill you.”
The assassin who had climbed aboard Roshanne’s boat waved a sharp knife.
Lacking the confidence to face Cheyton head-on, he seemed intent on taking Roshanne hostage.
“Hmm.”
Not a wise choice.
Roshanne quietly twirled her parasol as she gazed at the approaching assassin.
Then, she calmly rose from her seat and walked toward him.
“That’s right. Shut up and come here… Huh?”
Thud.
It was a clean, unadorned motion.
On the lake, where even a slight loss of balance would send the boat rocking.
Yet the vessel remained perfectly still and serene.
“Shh.”
The pretty hairpin that had been adorning Roshanne’s hair was now sharply embedded in the assassin’s heart.
The assassin, unable to comprehend what had happened, stared blankly ahead with dazed eyes.
Soft hair fluttered in the breeze.
“Be quiet. If you scream… Oh, you’re going to die anyway.”
A chilling voice echoed softly. Then, with a smile on her face, Roshanne unfurled her parasol. Shielding the view like that, she yanked the hairpin from the assassin’s heart with force.
Spurt!
Red blood sprayed in droplets onto the lace parasol.
And just like that…
Splash!
With a loud noise, the surface of the lake heaved dramatically.
Cheyton, who had been dealing with the last assassin, was startled by the sound of something plunging into the lake and hurriedly turned his head.
“Milady…!”
But Roshanne was still sitting on the boat with a composed expression on her face.
Alone, just as she had been at the start.
“Just now, there was definitely a sound…”
“Oh. I accidentally dropped my parasol.”
Roshanne murmured calmly, as if nothing had happened.
So that sound was from dropping the parasol.
“More importantly, the remaining one was swimming away earlier.”
“…As long as you’re safe, milady, it doesn’t matter.”
Fortunately, Cheyton nodded without much suspicion and sheathed his sword. Then he returned to the boat where Roshanne was waiting.
“…Shall we head back now, milady?”
Roshanne nodded in agreement.
And so, Cheyton failed to notice that one of the hairpins that had been in Roshanne’s hair was now missing.
