Chapter 5
“Ugh…”
A small hand stealthily tugged at the Grand Duke’s trouser leg.
Turning around, the Grand Duke noticed the child approaching again, seemingly desperate to stop him, and his expression hardened.
“Waaah!”
Finally, Nuen burst into loud sobs. The Grand Duke, looking flustered, cleared his throat awkwardly before lifting the child into his arms to soothe her.
“I’m sorry, stop crying now.”
His hand reached toward his waist, pulling a clean handkerchief from the pocket on the side where his holster hung.
As he gently wiped the child’s face, Erich murmured.
“Just like before… I only meant to wipe your face, that’s all.”
The tender gaze reserved solely for the child soon turned icy, piercing down at Yulaina, who still hadn’t risen from the ground.
“How many fools there are, spouting whatever nonsense suits them.”
Softening his expression once more, the Grand Duke lightly kissed the child’s forehead.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The atmosphere was utterly unpredictable. People were exhausted just from watching him, gripped by fear.
“Ah, ahh…!”
Finally, Nuen’s grandmother clutched her chest and collapsed in a heap.
“Grandma…”
Nuen, cradled in the Grand Duke’s arms, began to sob even harder. Holding the child close, Erich scanned the crowd with a sneer.
“What exactly do you all expect from me to make such a fuss? Should I just wipe you all out?”
He snorted and muttered dismissively.
“Remember this well, everyone. Erich the Grand Duke, collector of Luar fingers, has come to write a new history.”
The blazing torches cast eerie shadows across his face. At last, he spat out coldly.
“Your kingdom, Luar, has fallen.”
A sudden silence descended. As the shocked people slowly grasped the reality, Erich continued deliberately.
“Just the other day, the final battle took place in Beden. After seeing not even a single rat survive, your king came out waving the white flag.”
Groans and cries erupted from all around. Mothers slumped to the ground, beating their chests, calling out the names of sons who wouldn’t return, people tearing at their hair in sobs…
Amid the chaos, only Erich remained utterly composed. He hugged Nuen tightly and whispered affectionately.
“Everyone’s just crying… But you, you’ll be happy, right? You don’t have to go to war anymore. I saved you.”
Gazing intently at the tearful child, the Grand Duke whispered tenderly.
“Little one, from now on…”
His large hand descended over the child’s eyes, as if to erase her expression, covering her eyelids.
“Smile.”
***
“You crazy bastards! You sons of bitches!”
A few men, still drunk and wild-eyed, lost control. Spitting and stripping off their shirts, they lunged bare-chested at the soldiers.
The Norden soldiers gripped their bayonets tighter, glancing at the Grand Duke, but he merely watched the scene coldly, as if the time wasn’t right yet.
“Get out of Luar!”
“Devil! Murderer scum!”
After observing for a moment, the Grand Duke finally released Nuen from his arms. The old woman hurriedly enveloped the child and vanished into the murmuring crowd.
“Tie them all up.”
The shouting men, the weeping mothers—all were bound one by one and led away by the soldiers. Erich strolled leisurely among them, chuckling softly.
“The countryside has its charms. Getting to see how people really live, up close.”
Scanning the scattered tables, he picked up a piece of biscuit and beckoned a nearby soldier.
“Is Valter here yet?”
“I’ll go check with the lieutenant colonel, sir.”
Nodding lightly, he bit into the biscuit, only to grimace on his handsome face and toss it away.
“Worse than rations.”
The biscuit rolled from Erich’s hand, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop right at the toe of a small brown shoe.
“Ah.”
Yulaina flinched in surprise, looking down at her own feet. She’d been darting through the crowd, desperately searching for her father.
“Stop! Line up single file!”
The crying, shouting, excited people gradually fell silent. Those with their arms bound helplessly were handed over to the soldiers and disappeared one by one down the hill.
Nuen and her grandmother were among them. The old woman, clutching Nuen tightly, staggered as soldiers seized her arms.
‘What will happen now?’
The crowd was thinning, yet her father still hadn’t appeared, making Yulaina’s heart race with growing anxiety.
It felt just like being punished.
The fights with her father over not being allowed outside the village, the complaints about how lackluster the festival was…
Wiping away her tears, Yulaina glanced around restlessly. And then, her eyes met his again.
“…”
The Grand Duke stood motionless, hands thrust into his pockets, staring her way. Beside the roaring torches, he cast a long, dark shadow stretching in the opposite direction.
Now, just the sight of those piercing blue eyes sent chills down her spine. Yulaina pretended not to notice, turning her head while stealing glances at him.
His face, which had held a faint smile until moments ago, now seemed stripped of expression—dry and emotionless.
It looked like he was lost in other thoughts, or perhaps detached from worldly affairs, with that vacant gaze.
Unconsciously studying his face, Yulaina startled at the sound of gunfire that followed, her shoulders hunching in shock.
Bang bang bang!
Then, a long scream echoed through the night sky, and Yulaina’s heart pounded fiercely.
‘Dad…!’
***
The red-haired Lieutenant Colonel Shevik returned, leading his soldiers. Right behind him, a man with bound hands shuffled along limply.
“Valter, found him.”
Shevik grabbed the man’s nape and flung him before Erich. The man tumbled weakly onto the dirt without even a scream.
“Ah! Valter. Let me see your face.”
With a pleased smile, Erich nudged the man’s head with his boot. As the body slid, revealing his face, someone being dragged away recognized him and cried out.
“Doctor Benjamin!”
“Benjamin?”
Erich’s eyebrow twitched. Shevik shrugged and gave the man a casual kick.
“Funny, right? He insists he’s not Valter, no matter what. But we know better. Says his name’s ‘Benjamin Heidenberg.'”
“Pfft.”
Erich burst into laughter. Shevik smirked bitterly.
“Claims he’s been living quietly in this village, raising his daughter, or something like that.”
Looking down at the groaning doctor at his feet, Erich chuckled again.
“We came knowing everything, and he still dares. Talk about shameless—face like iron.”
“Exactly.”
“Dad!”
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out, and a small shadow burst from behind.
“Dad, Dad…!”
The woman shoved past the soldiers and threw herself over the doctor’s body, sobbing.
“Dad! Wake up, please!”
…Dad?
Erich recognized the blonde woman instantly. Ah, that girl. The one who stood out like a flashy peacock among the ordinary ones.
Those bold eyes that had stared him down defiantly. Recalling that expression, Erich’s lips twisted slightly.
With a chin jerk toward Yulaina, Erich asked.
“So, this is Valter’s daughter?”
“Seems so.”
Unable to pull the wailing woman away, Shevik grumbled with an awkward expression.
“You’re mistaken!”
At that, Yulaina lifted her head sharply. Her tear-streaked face brimmed with rage.
“Mistaken?”
Erich narrowed his eyes. Was she really clueless, or just as shameless as her father?
If the latter, it was impressive acting.
“Our father’s name is Benjamin, Benjamin Heidenberg. We don’t know who this Valter is or what he does!”
Gritting her teeth, she snapped back fiercely, the red marks Erich had left on her neck standing out vividly.
“Look at her, yapping away without fear.”
Erich muttered low, and the puzzled Shevik glanced between the woman and Erich.
“You know her?”
“We met briefly earlier.”
Erich smiled wryly. He’d thought she was just odd, but to learn she was none other than Valter’s daughter.
Suddenly, his blood surged with excitement. This would make prying open Valter’s mouth much easier.
“It’s true, we don’t know who Valter is…”
“Who are you fooling? Don’t get cocky.”
Mercilessly kicking Valter’s head, Erich nodded at Shevik.
“Tie up the rest and send them out, then search the village.”
Pulling a cigar from his inner pocket, Erich turned away, but the woman’s desperate cry from behind tugged at him.
“Listen when someone speaks! It’s not him! It’s unfair, I tell you, unfair…”
He paused. Stopping in his tracks, Erich slowly turned and glared at her fiercely. His eyes, devoid of any warmth, brimmed with pure killing intent.
“No! No! We don’t know who Valter is! Let go!”
Yulaina thrashed as soldiers grabbed her arms.
Even as they thrust bayonets and barked threats, she ignored them, screaming.
“Stop grabbing innocent people, please!”
“That little…”
Grinding his teeth, Erich strode over, roughly shoving the soldiers’ shoulders aside and seizing Yulaina’s chin.
“I think I warned you enough earlier.”
Truly a rare stubborn one. Yulaina trembled all over but glared back at Erich with bloodshot eyes.
“You’re… wrong…”
“What?”
Fire sparked in Erich’s eyes. As pressure built in the hand gripping her chin, Yulaina gasped for breath.
“We, we…”
Hot tears streaming down, yet words of denial spilled from her lips to the end.
“Don’t know… who… Valter… is.”
Yulaina’s eyes rolled back, her head drooping limply.
Erich shook off his hand and stared down at the woman at his feet, then lit his cigar.
A scoff escaped through his teeth.
“What a piece of garbage scum.”
It was directed at Valter.
