CHAPTER 041
Same time. The Count of Korald's mansion.
“Father!”
Count Korald looked through his monocle at his son who burst into the study without knocking.
Timothy, who had rushed up the three flights of stairs in one breath, stood in front of his father, catching his breath. His cheeks, flushed red, showed how excited he was.
“I finally found her. I met her today!”
His honest green eyes, unable to hide his joy, sparkled like jewels in the lamplight.
“Who did you find?”
Count Korald, who had been comparing ancient words from a notebook found in a cave with the oldest language books in the empire, rose from his desk and asked.
“I went to the plaza today… and I met Lady Arabelle!”
At Timothy’s answer, Count Korald’s expression also brightened with unexpected joy.
It was two years ago when he was chasing a horned beast that had crossed into the human realm from the Eter River boundary in the Hampfrt Mountains of the southern region.
In an empire where ancient idol worship had vanished, mythical creatures were no longer discovered. However, occasionally, lower-grade beasts and monsters would break through the barriers and cause trouble in the human realm.
Count Korald was the most renowned monster hunter not only in the empire but on the entire continent, and his only son, Timothy, was being trained as his successor, assisting him.
Timothy, who had been an exemplary student since childhood, had mastered all the methods of monster hunting by diligently studying books and materials, but actual combat, risking life and death, was very different.
Having lost his wife and raising his son alone, Count Korald sometimes secretly blamed himself for raising his son in a sheltered environment.
However, seeing his pure and upright son, unlike other boys his age, always brought a natural smile to his face.
When Timothy, separated from his father in the deep mountains, was accidentally infected by a scorpion mushroom, Count Korald found him only after the poison had spread to more than a third of his body.
The scorpion mushroom had twenty times the lethal toxin of ordinary mountain mushrooms, paralyzing limbs with just a whiff.
Count Korald moved Timothy to the castle of Baron Kender, the nearest place to Hampfrt Mountain, but that night he sensed that his son would leave his side.
There was no proper physician in the abandoned territory, and a man who introduced himself as a healer, eyeing the valuable emerald ring of the Korald family, tried to cure Timothy with his two daughters, using nonsensical chants and gestures to no avail.
As Count Korald held his son's hand, trembling in despair, a girl burst into their room.
She had her apron full of rough red roots. She was the small girl he had glimpsed when entering Baron Kender’s castle.
Thought to be a maid, the girl, Arabelle, was the healer’s daughter, returning from the mountains while her father and sisters performed their fruitless rituals with Timothy.
‘What do you know!’
‘How dare you offer such dubious herbs to Lord Korald’s son!’
As her family blocked Arabelle, Count Korald gestured for them to step aside.
His primary reason was the desperate need to save his dying son, willing to grasp at any straw, but he also felt trust in her large, honest eyes.
“This is Cheongmirae vine root and Manggana tree root. My mother once saved a dying boar poisoned by a scorpion mushroom with these.”
As Arabelle explained hesitantly, her family, thinking it absurd, rebuked her for treating Timothy like a boar, eyeing Count Korald for his reaction.
Ignoring them, Count Korald nodded and asked Arabelle for help. She hurriedly ground the herb roots and carefully administered them to Timothy. The small, slender savior saved Count Korald’s son that night.
Arabelle stayed with Count Korald, assisting in Timothy’s care throughout the night, and by dawn, Timothy opened his eyes. The first person his revived green eyes saw was Arabelle.
Count Korald and Timothy instantly knew that this kind and upright girl was too good for the people she lived with.
Count Korald especially wanted to take Arabelle to the capital to educate her due to her vast knowledge and wisdom about the wild, but Arabelle was not yet of age.
Three days later, when the Count and his son were leaving the Kender territory, he gave her the address of their mansion in the capital and asked her to come whenever she wished, but she only smiled faintly.
Had Arabelle pleaded to go with them, he might have taken her, but she seemed uninterested in the reward for saving the heir of a noble family.
Unlike Arabelle, her family’s eyes glinted with greed when they saw the chest of gold bars the Count had brought from his vault.
Although Count Korald handed over the chest, saying it was to support Arabelle’s education and living expenses, he knew they wouldn’t spend a penny on her.
As they bid farewell, Timothy secretly slipped the family’s ring into Arabelle’s hand.
Trying to return the priceless jewel, Arabelle heard Timothy say, “If you want to return it, come to the capital when you come of age and give it back in person.”
As soon as they returned to the capital, Timothy left to study abroad in the Semper Kingdom. He sent numerous letters to Arabelle but never received a reply. Only letters from her sisters and cousins piled up.
When Timothy finished his studies and visited the Kender territory with Count Korald,
‘The lord’s family fled overnight. A new lord chosen by His Majesty is expected, so we have some hope,’ said the few remaining villagers.
Since then, Count Korald and Timothy had been searching for Arabelle but to no avail.
“It’s amazing you found Lady Arabelle in the middle of the plaza, standing next to His Majesty. Ha, ha.”
Count Korald chuckled in amazement.
He had a faint inkling that his son, who showed no interest in romance, harbored feelings for Arabelle. Knowing how he had been silently suffering over her sudden disappearance, the news was a welcome relief.
“Whatever the reason, I’ll go to the palace tomorrow and ask His Majesty for permission to meet Lady Arabelle. You’ve waited this long, one more night won’t hurt, right?”
Count Korald’s playful comment made Timothy’s face burn even more brightly.
The Count, uninterested in royal politics, and his son burst into laughter, unable to imagine that the eleventh candidate the Emperor had personally brought in was Arabelle.
***
Capital Plaza Cafe Flower Shop.
Just four words.
"Do not come closer!"
"If you come any closer, I will kill one by one!"
"If you don't let us go, not a single mouse will survive!"
"Fine, I'll show you another example!"
The rough shouts of the traffickers pierced through the sound of breaking pots and porcelain and the sobs of terror from inside the flower shop.
And then came silence.
Just as the traffickers had threatened, the place was as still as if not a single mouse had survived. Fear and shock paralyzed the tongues of those who had collapsed on the floor, their mouths moving soundlessly.
Drops of dark red blood were visible on the faces and clothes of the six or seven young men and women held hostage, but none of them were wounded.
The dark red liquid that began to soak the floor came from the motionless bodies of about a dozen people lying there.
The living, the dead, and those in between were suffocated by the aura of death.
The hostages knew they should be grateful to their rescuer, but the bloody terror he exuded kept them from meeting his eyes.
The handsome man who had just shown a thrilling, romantic scene now made their hearts pound for a different reason.
With the tip of his long sword touching the floor, the man held a small young lady in his arms like a princess. He looked more like a god from the underworld than a savior from heaven.
When the traffickers, chased by soldiers, suddenly rushed into the shop and took people hostage, the soldiers in the front row stepped closer despite the threats.
‘Ugh.’
The woman held by one of the traffickers let out a faint groan, then her body fell to the floor.
Waving his weapon, the trafficker raged.
"If you don't let us go, not a single mouse will survive!"
If caught here, it was over. The Empire's punishments were harsher and longer than those of any kingdom. The strict system made it impossible to bribe officials or prison guards, no matter how much money you had.
It was all because of that damned Emperor. If they could escape with the hostages and reach the river, they might survive. Their comrades would be waiting with a boat. They could dispose of the hostages or sell them later.
The trafficker leader, looking down at the small, slender girl he held, thought maliciously.
When the soldiers didn't retreat, the leader, pressed for time, brought his blade to Arabelle's throat.
"Fine, I'll show you another example!"
As the sharp blade approached, Arabelle squeezed her eyes shut...
Thud.
With a dull sound, the rough grip on her shoulder loosened, and Arabelle was free.
Swish. The sound of a sharp blade.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Slash. Thud. Swish. The cold wind created by the sword swept over Arabelle's face as she stood with her eyes closed, trying to steady her trembling legs.
Suddenly, her feet lifted off the ground, and strong arms embraced her. She knew without opening her eyes who was holding and protecting her.
Just hearing his heartbeat reassured her, and tears began to flow. Arabelle buried her face in his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on tightly.
"Your Majesty!"
Commander Jacob ran into the shop and knelt before the Emperor. The eyes of the people, who had been trembling in fear, widened as they looked at their blood-stained rescuer.
As the accompanying guards greeted the Emperor with formal bows, the others began to come to their senses and bow as well.
The Emperor handed his bloodstained sword to a soldier, unable to clean it himself while holding Arabelle. The guards watched in silence.
Especially the young soldiers who had not fought alongside the Emperor before looked at him with awe, having witnessed his swordsmanship up close.
"When the cleanup is finished, return to the palace."
Commander Jacob bowed his head and asked quietly.
"Will you be returning with us?"
The Emperor glanced down at the small head in his arms and replied in a low, firm voice.
"I will go to the villa in the capital. No one is to follow."
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