“Lord... Lord Ivan... but why?” the squire muttered in agony, his voice trembling in the thick smoke.
“Get your release, Reafel,” Ivan replied, his tone dripping with pure, biting sarcasm.
As the squire struggled weakly against his chains, Ivan leaned closer, his golden eyes flashing with disgust. “Did you honestly believe I would ever protect a vile child predator like you? The only reason I went through the trouble of securing your legal pardon back then was to use you as a disposable tool for a moment exactly like this.”
Ivan ruthlessly drove the dagger upward inside his torso. Blood gushed violently from the wound as the sheer pain became unbearable for the dying squire.
“If anything... I wanted to execute this punishment myself,” Ivan added with a cold smirk. He swiftly yanked the blood-soaked blade out of the abdomen.
Chained to the wall, Reafel could only let out desperate, choking sounds. “Grh...! Grh...”
Ivan turned his back on the dying man, stepping calmly into the swirling white smoke as Reafel's final shriek echoed weakly behind him.
Moving through the dark passage, Ivan thoroughly wiped his stained hands with his silk handkerchief before tossing the ruined cloth casually onto the dungeon floor. Relying on his specialized lenses, he easily dodged the incoming, disoriented guards. He carefully wrapped the bloodied dagger in a thick scrap of cloth and tucked it securely into his deep back pocket just as he stepped back out into the main castle corridor.
Inside the grand assembly hall, the heavy white smoke was finally beginning to disperse. Ivan slipped back into the room unnoticed, blending into the crowd near the back corner exit.
“I believe I have found the source, my Lord!” one of the castle maids called out, pointing toward a crisply burned, incense device hidden directly under the central table.
By this point, the irritating smoke had completely vanished from the air. The panicked nobles and vassals were slowly calming down, drinking glasses of water provided by the staff to clear their throats. Miller was kneeling down directly beside Francesca’s chair, gently helping her stabilize herself while holding a glass of fresh water to her lips.
Taking a final sip, Francesca breathed a sigh of relief. “I am fine, Miller. You need to address the room...”
Miller nodded firmly, standing up to his full height. He was just about to step into the center of the hall to control the panic when a breathless guard rushed into the room, leaning in to whisper an urgent message directly into his ear.
The moment the words were delivered, Miller’s red eyes widened with sudden fury. He instantly bellowed a commanding order that echoed off the stone walls. “Nobody leaves this room! Lock down all the gates and block every single exit immediately!”
At that exact moment, Jeckson and Kenny just happened to return into the hall through the back corner doors. Ivan quickly shot them a brief glance, putting on a perfectly puzzled expression as he stepped forward. “What exactly is the meaning of this sudden hostility, Lord Miller?”
Miller turned around slowly. His polite, noble facade was completely gone, replaced by a dark, terrifying demeanor exuding the aura of a war monster. “Someone managed to enter our secure dungeon facility and brutally murder a prisoner under our watch! So, I suggest every single person in this room cooperates fully with my next orders.”
His spoken words were formally polite, but the oppressive, bloodthirsty aura radiating off his body was far more suffocating than the thick smoke that had just passed through the hall.
“The murderer couldn’t have possibly escaped the castle perimeter... and they wouldn’t have had the necessary time to properly dispose of the murder weapon, either,” Captain Kory announced, marching into the hall with a heavily armed squad of elite troops. “We should check every individual present in this hall for any hidden weapon.”
The vassals instantly opened their mouths to protest the invasive search, but one look at Miller's murderous, stone-cold expression immediately shut them up. The room fell into a tense silence.
One by one, the armed knights and mercenaries began systematically searching each noble and servant standing in the hall. Watching two knights systematically moving down the rows, currently only a few people away from his position, Ivan clicked his tongue in irritation.
Damn it... I thought I would have much more time to execute the last part of my plan before they could even react. I guess he isn't hailed as a legendary war hero for nothing, Ivan thought rapidly, his mind calculating his dwindling options.
He glanced sideways at Kenny, who was standing a few steps right beside him, completely focused on the guards' search.
I originally planned to plant the bloody evidence much more meticulously later on... but since the guards are moving too fast, I have no choice but to rush the play right now.
“Man... if they were going to have the mercenary troops search us, they really should have let that girl Stella join the inspection team too,” Ivan mused out loud with a provocative smirk, his voice carrying just enough to reach Kenny. “Her hands touching my body up and down, while I get to admire hers from a front-row seat... now that truly would have been something special, wouldn't it?”
Kenny snapped his head toward Ivan, his eyes flashing with a deadly, murderous glare.
Ivan merely chuckled, unfazed. “What?! Did I say something wrong, Mister Kenny?” He stepped a fraction closer, the smug smirk widening across his face. “Look, I get it. She is your girlfriend and all... but can you honestly blame me? At the end of the day, she is still just a lowborn orphan commoner girl who happens to possess such a voluptuous, slutty bo—”
Bak!
A brutal punch resounded sharply through the grand hall, connecting squarely with Ivan’s jaw. The sheer force of the blow staggered the silver-haired nobleman backward. But even as Ivan was still trying to stabilize his footing, a second clenched fist immediately materialized in his peripheral vision. Ivan simply closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.
“Calm yourself, Mister Kenny!” Jeckson yelled, lunging forward and throwing his entire weight into holding Kenny back.
“I don’t care if you are a high-ranking noble from the Capital...” Kenny snarled, his voice trembling with a terrifying, unbridled rage as he struggled against Jeckson's grip. “There are lines in this world that you must never cross!”
“Please, calm down, Mister Kenny! You can raise a formal complaint directly to His Lordship himself about this matter once the current chaos is over,” Jeckson urged frantically, doing his absolute best to de-escalate the situation. “A single punch is enough for now. Isn't it? The current chaos in this room is already more than enough as it is, right?”
Breathing heavily, Kenny finally forced his exploding emotions into a tight lockdown. He let out a harsh huff, bitterly crossing his arms over his chest as he stepped back.
“Are you alright, Lord Ivan?” Jeckson asked, turning to help the young lord steady himself.
Ivan simply scoffed, brushing Jeckson's hand away as he wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip. “A pathetic punch like that is nothing but child’s play to me. I am far tougher than that.”
Standing up straight and adjusting his rumpled collar, Ivan’s lips slowly curled into a victorious smile. He casually slipped his hand into his back pocket. It was completely empty.
Turning his sharp gaze toward Kenny, Ivan smirked.
“Let’s continue the search, if you please...” the guard who had just arrived to inspect their row said nervously, stepping directly in front of Kenny.
The knight began the process, starting pocket by pocket to ensure no weapon was hidden. First, he patted down the sides of Kenny’s formal jacket. Nothing. Then, he moved down to the outer coat pockets, sliding his hands inside. Still nothing.
Throughout the slow, agonizing inspection, Kenny found the unyielding smirk on Ivan’s face to be incredibly odd. It sent a sudden, freezing chill straight down his spine: a violent, instinctive premonition screaming at him that something terrible was about to unfold.
The knight’s hand slid deep into the front pocket of Kenny’s trousers.
“There is something here!” the knight called out sharply, his fingers wrapping around an object.
Every single pair of eyes in the silent hall instantly locked onto the guard's hand as he pulled the hidden item out into the light.
“It’s... a small velvet box. Containing a ring,” the knight commented, holding up what was clearly a marriage proposal ring.
A collective wave of relief passed through the room as the immediate suspicion lifted from the Lord's right-hand man. But before Kenny could even process the embarrassment of his private romantic plans being exposed to the entire nobility, a chaotic shout shattered the temporary calm.
“Ah! The murder dagger! I found it over here!”
The second knight, who had been thoroughly checking Jeckson Libert’s uniform, yelled out at the top of his lungs. Without a moment's delay, he ruthlessly wrestled the young noble's arms behind his back, restraining him.
“W-Wait! This is a mistake! I have no idea how that could have possibly gotten into my—” Jeckson cried out in panic, but a third guard slammed him firmly against a nearby stone pillar, locking him in place.
Ivan’s smirk remained perfectly fixed as he stood in the center of the room, his golden eyes completely locked onto a stunned Kenny. Amusing himself inside.
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