Chapter 90
A few hours earlier.
Aiden exited the Duke’s mansion and made his way to the pond Raylenne had mentioned. As she had described, a horse was tied to a tree near the pond.
Aiden took the reins in hand.
The guards stationed at the gate of the mansion periodically checked his room, even at dawn. So they would soon realize that he was missing.
He needed to distance himself from the Duke’s mansion as quickly as possible before the guards noticed his escape.
Yet, for some reason, his steps felt unusually heavy.
He knew Raylenne had risked everything to prepare his escape to save him.
Aiden stared down at the reins in his hands.
‘…’
The anxiety he had been trying to ignore welled up within him. Duke Ergen was a man with grand ambitions. If he had decided to kill Aiden, he would be cornered both mentally and situationally.
But could Raylenne really handle the aftermath of his escape?
Certainly, she had a point.
[What can you do if you don’t leave now?]
[Face a death disguised as suicide that no one will ever notice?]
The overwhelming sense of helplessness gripped his throat.
‘Damn, what can I do?’
In moments like these, fate seemed bitterly resentful.
Aiden clenched his fists tightly.
Veins bulged on his tightly clenched hands.
At that moment, Aiden noticed something unusual in his field of vision.
‘…What is this?’
A dark substance swirled over the back of his hand. Along with it, a potent energy circulated through his body.
Aiden sensed the energy quietly, then suddenly drew his sword from his belt and swung it through the air.
It made no sense. The sword moved as if it were weightless, as if he were holding nothing at all.
Aiden moved his body around. His body felt light as if its weight had been reduced.
He intuitively understood.
The strange sensation enveloping his body was related to the lightness he now felt.
He didn’t know what was enveloping him, but what mattered right now was that his physical condition was at its peak.
No, it wasn’t just his physical state. It felt like anything was possible.
With his significantly enhanced physical abilities, Aiden re-tied the horse to the tree.
‘I can’t leave like this.’
He decided to return to the castle and check on Raylenne’s safety. With his current condition, scaling the high castle walls would not be difficult. Even a brief visit seemed feasible.
As evidence of this, Aiden returned to the Duke’s mansion at an unbelievable speed.
He sensed once again that this was beyond human capability.
‘I’ve run this fast before.’
Aiden had a strange sense of déjà vu regarding this ability.
Ah, when the wooden support collapsed over Raylenne’s head.
He had moved with the speed of teleportation to protect Raylenne.
Thinking this way, he suspected that the activation of this power was related to Raylenne.
It was fascinating but not surprising.
For her, his entire body’s senses had been on edge. Perhaps this ability arose in that context.
Though the connection was tenuous, Aiden thought so because it was Raylenne.
She was the only reason for his life.
Before scaling the walls, Aiden pressed his body flat against the wall. It was time to cross over.
Earlier, he had noticed that the castle grounds were empty at dawn. Only patrols roamed the grounds.
Nonetheless, Aiden pressed his ear to the wall to listen for any sounds from the other side. He heard no footsteps.
Judging that there was no one beyond the wall, Aiden reached out and grasped the brick gaps to climb up. Climbing such a narrow gap would normally be impossible, but it was achievable now.
Upon reaching the top, Aiden quickly jumped down.
Thud. Despite the height, there was no shock.
As Aiden hurried into the Duke’s mansion, he realized someone was watching him with a startled expression.
“…”
“…”
A single knight stood before him, holding a bucket of water.
“Who are you…?”
As the knight shouted, Aiden quickly approached and covered his mouth. A swift twist of the neck caused the knight to collapse.
The knight appeared to have fainted. Aiden dragged the unconscious knight behind a tree.
Staring down at the knight, Aiden removed his armor and helmet.
With this armor, he could move freely within the castle.
Having changed into the knight’s attire, Aiden wandered the castle grounds more comfortably.
Other knights were filling buckets with water and carrying them somewhere. In the distance, a charred building was visible.
‘It looks like Raylenne set a fire to distract the knights.’
Learning this fact, Aiden felt a tightness in his chest.
Despite her cold demeanor, Raylenne would do anything to help him in a crisis.
Yet, all he could do was escape from the castle.
Returning to the castle to check on Raylenne was indeed the right decision.
Not knowing what would happen to Raylenne after his escape, he realized that leaving irresponsibly and feeling the guilt of not returning would be worse than any torture.
The windows of the Duke’s mansion were now lit up. Shadows darted around inside.
‘They’ve realized I’ve escaped.’
The guards would now be actively searching for him.
Duke Ergen would be furious.
Aiden, standing outside, surveyed the interior of the mansion. Though he had entered recklessly, the mansion was too vast to know where to find Raylenne.
As he debated whether to ask someone while pretending to be a knight, a familiar silhouette passed by a window.
Though it was at quite a distance, Aiden recognized it instantly.
It was definitely Raylenne.
Aiden swiftly entered the building and ran in the direction Raylenne had gone.
But by then, she had already vanished.
Aiden scanned the surroundings.
‘Where did she go…?’
There were many doors in the corridor, and he couldn’t tell where she had disappeared.
In his moment of confusion, a faint voice came from beyond a greenish-brown door.
Aiden removed his helmet and pressed his ear against the door.
“Yes… Nadia… dead… person, right?”
Although he couldn’t hear clearly, it sounded like Duke Ergen’s voice. He was conversing with someone.
“…Be careful… she was… my mother.”
The responding voice was unmistakably Raylenne’s.
Relieved to have found her, Aiden was soon jolted by a scream-like voice from within.
“Let go of me!”
Raylenne…?
Aiden urgently turned the doorknob. But the door was firmly locked.
Determined not to fail, Aiden stepped back and kicked the door forcefully.
Bang—!
As the door fell out weakly, a chaotic scene came into view.
In one corner, Raylenne was gripped by Duke Ergen, her eyes filled with fear.
At that moment, a piercing sound echoed in his ears, and he felt something explode within him.
* * *
Raylenne couldn’t believe her eyes.
‘Why is Aiden here… ?’
But the person speaking instead of Raylenne was the surprised Duke Ergen.
“Why are you here… ?”
However, Aiden did not answer. He merely stared at Duke Ergen with a menacing expression.
Then, it happened.
Bang—!
The Duke was hurled backward by a massive gust of wind, crashing into the wall. Before he had a chance to react, he lay sprawled on the floor like a broken paper doll.
Aiden was before the fallen Duke in the blink of an eye.
“How dare you.”
Aiden grabbed the Duke by the throat.
“How dare you lay a hand on Raylenne?”
Even in his dazed state, the Duke trembled in fear.
Watching from the side, Raylenne realized that the Duke’s fear was not due to any physical pain but the overwhelming menace radiating from Aiden. The dark aura emanating from him was far more intense than what she had seen before.
Likewise, Raylenne found it difficult to speak due to the powerful presence surrounding her.
With all her strength, she managed to utter a few words.
“Aiden…”
Her dry lips trembled slightly.
“Stop.”
Even though the Duke deserved to die a thousand times over, this was not the way.
If Aiden killed Duke Ergen, he would be condemned to live his life in hiding, branded as a murderer.
That absolutely could not happen.
But Aiden seemed not to hear her, his gaze never leaving the Duke.
The dark aura around Aiden continued to swirl.
Losing his sanity, Aiden seemed ready to snap the Duke’s neck at any moment.
As Raylenne struggled against the oppressive force emanating from Aiden and tried to speak again, someone from behind shouted.
“Stop.”
The voice, which immediately brought relief, belonged to Caverion.
Raylenne exhaled with a sense of relief.
‘Ah… thank goodness.’
Seeing that Aiden did not respond, Caverion approached and grasaped Aiden’s hand that was clutching the Duke’s throat.
“I told you to stop.”
Aiden quickly turned his head to see who was interfering.
Upon recognizing Caverion, Aiden’s aura intensified even more. The two auras clashed in the air.
Caverion, straining to endure Aiden’s overwhelming presence, twisted his eyes and spoke.
“You fool. Acting like this will only put Raylenne in a difficult position.”
