Chapter 6
‘Where am I…’
The world spun dizzily, and Yulaina squeezed her eyes shut again. A heavy, vise-like pain clamped down on her head, making it hard to gather her thoughts.
She lay on the floor, her hands and feet bound. She must have been crushed there for so long—her cheek burned numbly, and she had no feeling below her knees.
Yulaina blinked, struggling to focus. It was a completely unfamiliar space. A large table, a map of the continent hanging on the wall…
When her gaze caught the large lamp in the corner and the massive banner of the Norden Empire, memories flooded back. Norden, and the archduke…
So this must be inside a large tent used by the soldiers.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped her lips unbidden, but Yulaina bit down on them to endure. She had to assess the situation as much as possible before anyone noticed.
‘Dad…?’
She twisted her body with effort, but she was alone in the tent. No villagers, no guarding soldiers—just her, lying there like discarded baggage.
The acrid, sticky smell of kerosene from the lamp weighed on her head. They must have pitched the tent and lit the lamp, which meant quite some time had passed.
Bang!
Yulaina flinched and curled up in shock. It was gunfire echoing from not far outside the tent.
Bang, bang, bang!
Before she could steady her startled heart, the shots rang out in succession, shaking the air.
Faint moans—uhh, uhh…—dragged on intermittently before gradually fading away.
“Uh… sob.”
Yulaina thrashed and sobbed like a trapped animal. But the more she struggled, the deeper the ropes dug into her skin.
‘What if Dad’s out there? What am I going to do…’
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheek, pressed against the floor. Collapsed there, Yulaina wept silently for a long time.
How much time had passed? Heavy footsteps approached from afar. They circled halfway around. The steps, having looped widely around the tent, stopped behind Yulaina.
“I’ll interrogate her alone, so go wait with Shevick.”
“Yes, sir!”
Someone whistled as they strode in confidently.
‘Is it that man?’
Exhausted to the point where she couldn’t even twitch a finger, Yulaina kept her eyes shut and pretended not to notice.
“Been well?”
As the heavy boot steps drew nearer, her heart pounded as if it might burst.
“I know you’re awake.”
His voice held a hint of suppressed laughter. Finally, Yulaina cracked her eyes open slightly. As if waiting for that, he lightly stepped over her head where she lay.
In an instant, the archduke’s boot filled her vision. The heel, soaked in dark red blood and caked with mud, left a thick smear on the floor right before her eyes.
“Mm…”
Tears burst forth at last. She clenched her teeth to hold them back, but once the floodgates opened, the sobs only grew uncontrollably.
“Ah, crying already? That’s a problem.”
Scattering a resonant chuckle, the archduke walked on and stopped abruptly in front of the large table. Now, even from where Yulaina lay, she could see Erich fully.
The archduke hummed a tune as he poured water into the basin on the table and rinsed his hands. His movements were leisurely as he swept back his disheveled hair and meticulously adjusted his attire.
Yulaina desperately swallowed her sobs. Crying wouldn’t yield answers. No matter what happened, as long as she kept her wits about her, she could survive—that’s what her father had always said…
“Ever heard of Marcus?”
The abrupt question caught her off guard, and Yulaina clamped her mouth shut. It was a name she’d never encountered.
“Oh dear, you don’t even know your father’s master’s name? Useless.”
Marcus? Master? None of it rang a bell. Yulaina shook her head in bewilderment, but he just muttered on, saying whatever he pleased.
“You must feel wronged. You could have slipped through the war unscathed, but now the enemy’s invaded your hideout.”
He snorted and added curtly,
“Well, it’s all self-inflicted.”
The archduke busied his hands with a towel and brush. He unlaced his boots entirely, scrubbing meticulously between every crease, all while murmuring incomprehensible things.
“Your father seems to have fallen out badly with Marcus. Hiding all the way across the border like that.”
Before long, the boots gleamed spotless, reflecting light as if they’d never been stained with anyone’s blood.
Satisfied, Erich examined the boots from every angle before his gaze shifted back to Yulaina. The moment their eyes met, she quickly averted hers.
“You stared just fine earlier.”
She’d looked away thinking it best not to provoke him, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Erich stood abruptly and approached, kneeling on one knee right in front of Yulaina.
“Truly Valter’s daughter. You must be like the princess of this backwater—dressed up so ostentatiously, it’s obvious at a glance.”
As he spoke, a sharp pocket knife glinted in the man’s hand. Startled, Yulaina shrank back like a caterpillar, prompting him to click his tongue in displeasure.
“Again, again. I’m not going to kill you.”
The keen blade sliced through the ropes binding her hands and feet. Yulaina barely managed to sit up.
“How rude of me to invade Her Highness’s kingdom without proper greeting…”
His clean-cut face, wearing a wry smile, thrust close to hers. Frozen and trembling at the shoulders, Yulaina heard a low whisper in her ear.
“Erich von Norhert, at your service. I came to meet the infamous Doctor Valter, but to encounter such a beautiful princess as well—it’s an honor.”
The mockery was blatant. Yulaina kept her eyes downcast in silence before gritting her teeth and glaring at him.
“That’s right, that’s the look.”
The archduke, peering at Yulaina, let out a faint smile. In his eyes, so close they nearly touched, a blue fury simmered.
“Now, you can’t pretend anymore, can you?”
Staring straight at her, Erich grinned.
Yulaina’s lips parted.
“I don’t know anyone named Valter. My father is Benjamin Heydenberg.”
“Ha,”
The amusement vanished from Erich’s face.
“Enough with the innocent act.”
The knife in his hand twirled like an acrobat on his palm before slamming down with a thud right beside Yulaina’s knee.
“Kyaa…!”
The blade struck mere inches from her knee—not even a finger’s breadth away. The hilt vibrated with a hum, leaving a chilling aftershock.
“Don’t mess around.”
Looking down at Yulaina, who bowed her head and sobbed, Erich spat coldly.
“You idiot. Your father’s been selling that drug right up until recently. How do you think I found him?”
‘…Drug?’
In that instant, a memory flashed like lightning through Yulaina’s mind.
“…It’s a medicine to give strength to the young men heading to the battlefield.”
‘Dad’s tonic business!’
Yulaina’s face paled. The new venture he’d started with the villagers must have gone wrong somehow.
‘There must be a misunderstanding. Did he use an alias for business? How on earth is he connected to the Norden archduke enough for him to come all this way?’
She had to stay calm. Squeezing out every bit of courage, Yulaina spoke in as steady a voice as she could muster.
“Th-that, I think I understand a little now. If you just let me see my father…, I could confirm it.”
Only then did a satisfied smile spread across his straight lips.
“Good. You should have come out with that sooner.”
***
A clattering noise erupted as the red-haired lieutenant colonel burst in. Releasing the gripped collar, the body that had been dangling from Shevick’s hand rolled roughly across the floor.
“The bastard colonel, delivered.”
“Dad!”
Yulaina screamed.
Her father, already unconscious, looked gravely ill at a glance. Blood from his nose and mouth had soaked his shirt collar, and his bruised, swollen face was barely recognizable.
“You’re not even human!”
Shevick grumbled.
“We found six more behind the manufacturing shed. Some were already dead, and we finished off the ones who weren’t.”
‘What?’
Yulaina’s eyes widened in shock as she overheard their conversation. Erich glanced at the stunned Yulaina and drawled leisurely,
“Why so surprised? Didn’t you hear the gunshots? Your father shot all his comrades dead.”
“No, that can’t be, you’re lying…”
Yulaina’s face turned ashen. But Benjamin, lost to unconsciousness, could offer his daughter no response.
“Anything else found?”
“They’d already cleaned up the scene before we arrived. We’ll have to check the house.”
Yulaina felt her mind going hazy.
‘Why would Dad? He treated the cooperative members like family?’
Stammering, Yulaina opened her mouth. All she could think was that she had to save her father somehow.
“If, if you’re trying to frame him, stop it. Because you couldn’t find Valter? Right? This is unfair—there should be some procedure, shouldn’t there? Give us a chance to, to explain ourselves…”
Erich and the red-haired lieutenant colonel raised their eyebrows and exchanged quick glances. Erich chuckled and muttered,
“See? I told you she’d do that.”
Shevick, who had laughed along with Erich at first, now scrutinized Yulaina closely.
“Wait, she might actually not know.”
Yulaina bit her lip hard. This was like talking to a wall. What was she supposed to do?
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, a groan came from her feet. Her father, who had been out cold, began to stir slowly, his body twitching.
“Gag the girl.”
The moment Erich whispered, Shevick jumped up and dragged Yulaina behind the desk. As he stuffed a gag in her mouth, Shevick murmured low,
“Mm!”
“Shh, let’s see how this plays out.”
With bloodshot eyes, Yulaina watched her father and Erich standing before him. Erich prodded Benjamin’s side with his foot and whispered,
“Wake up, Valter. Hurry. Marcus is after you.”
“Mar, Mar…cus,”
Benjamin twisted his body without even opening his eyes fully. He seemed utterly terrified of that name.
“He’ll arrive in an hour. Better hurry. The old man might skin you alive.”
“Huh, huhk! No, no, master, sir, dialogue, ne, negotiation!”
Yulaina stared blankly at her father. His arms, propping him up as he tried to rise, trembled violently with fear.
“Well? Still can’t believe it?”
Erich was looking her way. With a grin plastered across his face, as if he were having the time of his life.
