“You will be punished for disgracing the family, Claudel.”
The Duke of Vermont, whom I saw for the first time in months, had changed completely. Even when he had subdued the drunken sleeper on the battlefield, his skin was glossy and smooth, and he had the noble air of a nobleman.
“I will not forgive you for harming my Vermont!”
Now, his face suddenly looked old and wrinkled, and he looked much thinner, like old, dusty firewood.
This was an event held on a wide, natural ice surface.
In case someone slipped, they could all fall down and get hurt, so everyone on the ice, except for the crowd around them, was seated.
Thanks to this, he seemed to have made a surprise attack and reached the middle deck in no time.
“Claudel!”
Kaian suddenly stood up from his seat and put his hand on his waist.
However, this was not a battlefield.
It was a festival where the two families settled their long-standing grudge and opened a new era of harmony.
Since carrying weapons was strictly prohibited in preparation for an unexpected event, Kaian had not brought a sword either.
The guards standing nearby were flustered and confused.
The one who attacked them and caused a commotion was none other than the Duke of Vermont.
It had been announced that the Northern King who had been ruling the territory had stepped down due to health issues including mental reasons, but they had no idea what to do with him who had appeared in front of them.
At least in the land of Valmonde, the Duke of Vermont had more authority than anyone else.
His power had been solidly built up over many years, so the guards could not move.
“Bring in the former Duke!”
Irena, who was preparing to enter, shouted, and Kaian snatched the spear from the guard who was standing blankly almost at the same time.
“Stop!”
But when the Duke of Vermont closed the distance between him and Claudel and aimed his sword at her, everyone froze in place as if their feet were frozen in ice.
Claudel slowly descended the remaining two steps and stood face-to-face with the Duke of Vermont on the deck below the platform.
“I brought disgrace upon the family?”
“I should not have allowed you to be named after Vermont.”
The Duke of Vermont’s eyes shook unsteadily as if he had lost his mind.
“You brought disaster!”
He spouted out absurd words without any reason.
“If only you were gone, everything would be fine. Valmonde is my soul. I cannot lose it like this because of a worthless girl like you. I will kill you. The spirits of my ancestors are moving me.”
“...”
Claudel did not scream or panic.
To those present, her face was slightly stiff, but her expression was strangely calm.
“What did I do wrong?”
“What did you do wrong? Don’t you know that!”
The Duke of Vermont spoke in a furious tone.
“You should live for the benefit of your family. Didn’t you collude with your enemy and cause great harm to Vermont?”
“I colluded with my family’s enemy?”
She asked back.
“It was my uncle’s will to marry me off to Temnes.”
“Who told you to live! You’re having a child with your enemy in the place where you were sent to die?”
“Ah. You’re saying that the problem is that I’m still alive and not dead.”
When Claudel smiled faintly, the Duke of Vermont lashed out like someone who had been stabbed with a skewer.
“Are you laughing? Are you making fun of me right now?”
“That’s funny. You’re saying that I've caused great harm to Vermont. Aren’t there people in the territory who are starving to death survive because of me?”
She looked at the Duke of Vermont as if he were a pitiful person.
“Who really caused the trouble for our family? You were the one who sided with the King and took advantage of him, but you put the lives of the people of the territory at risk by sending soldiers to the civil war. It's you, uncle.”
“You should have taken the Queen’s seat!”
Claudel shrugged her shoulders, looking at the Duke of Vermont, who was not understanding.
“Who could have harmed the family? I don’t think the ‘Duke of Vermont’ thinks it’s me.”
She emphasized her words, deliberately calling Irena the ‘Duke of Vermont.’ The Duke of Vermont, who was obsessed with that name, exploded with anger.
“Shut up. Do you think I can just let you get away with this?”
The Duke of Vermont said, trembling like a madman.
“I will punish you even if it means giving up my life to protect Vermont.”
The ice square was filled with suffocating tension.
“Honey. Do something about it.”
Leonie held Julien and stamped her feet.
But even for Evan, there was no way.
There was some distance between the chair and the center.
If anyone moved to save Claudel and attack the Duke of Vermont, the sword of his brother threatening his daughter would have a higher chance of bleeding.
That’s why Irena, the guards, and even Kaian, who was holding the spear tightly, were all hesitant to move.
“Take my sword.”
At the Duke of Vermont’s words, Claudel moved.
However, her actions were unexpected by anyone. She stood facing him boldly as if she were going to compete with him, and she held the unlit torch she had been holding in her hands with both hands and aimed it at the Duke of Vermont.
“...Claudel.”
Kaian muttered her name quietly at the unexpected sight. Almost at the same time, the quiet crowd began to stir.
The sight of a small woman dressed in northern attire not avoiding a man with a sword struck a chord with the people in a strange way.
'Attacks are coming at once.'
A secret signal was sent between Evan, Irena, and Kaian.
It was as they prepared their positions.
"How funny. Do you think you can go against my will?"
The Duke of Vermont taunted Claudel, who stood facing him as if she would fight him to the end.
"All those who dare point their swords at me will be punished by heaven."
The Duke of Vermont's sword, which had been pointed at Claudel, suddenly changed direction and headed toward the ground.
"Die!"
Clang. The frozen lake shook the moment the sword struck the floor of the round wooden deck.
Rumble.
The sound and vibration as if a monster sleeping under the ice was writhing, were transmitted to their ears and body almost simultaneously.
"W-what is this?"
"Gyaaaa."
The creepy sensation that stimulated their instincts made the crowd around the lake and those who had been sitting down forget the control that had been telling them to stay still just a moment ago and stand up one by one.
The Duke of Vermont laughed bitterly.
“I will take all those who clipped my wings to the afterlife.”
“What did you...?”
As Claudel was about to ask in bewilderment, the deck she was standing on began to shake uncontrollably.
“Claudel!”
Kaian ran towards her at a crazy speed.
“Come here!”
“Kaian!”
But at that moment, an explosion rang out.
Boom! Kwaaang!
With a loud noise, sharp pieces of broken ice and water spray flew up like crazy.
Ohhhhh!
Kwaaahh!
People started to run away screaming. Behind the people who were being pushed and shoved, the sound of explosives exploding could be heard in succession.
Boom. Kwaa Kwaa Kwaa.
Kaian, who had instinctively crouched down and covered his eyes and face with his arms, looked up and saw an unbelievable sight.
The deck in the middle of the frozen slab was sinking into the lake.
“Claudel!”
Crunch.
As he tried to move his feet from where he was standing, there were successive explosions and cracks in the ice surface.
“...”
For a moment, his eyes met with Claudel’s, who was struggling in the water.
‘Run away.’
She didn’t want him to save her.
The next moment, the platform gurgled and sank beneath the water, disappearing along with her figure.
“Claudel!”
Evan was about to run forward at the shocking sight.
“Eh, Evan! Ugh!”
He turned his head and saw Leonie, who was holding Julien tightly in her arms and falling after bumping into the armor of the escort soldiers who were marching in line.
“Leoni!”
“Julien. We have to take Julien.”
Leonie’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ah. Aah...”
To see her daughter drowning before her eyes.
An indescribable pain pierced her heart, but Leonie, holding the grandson her daughter had entrusted to her, could not turn toward the lake.
“We have to escape immediately.”
It was a detonator.
The frozen ground was full of treasures if you dug underground.
If anyone was after Valmonde, it was made to lure the enemy and drown them all at once.
For some ridiculous reason, the thick rope hanging over the lake contained explosives wrapped in oiled paper.
The explosion that started in the middle of the Duke of Vermont's sword continued through the rope.
Kkwang!
An explosion was heard nearby, and a piece of ice flew past and grazed his face.
Evan, who wiped the blood flowing out thinly with his palm, picked up a shield that the guard had thrown away and covered Leonie with it before getting out of the way.
Fragments of memories were circling in Kaian’s head in confusion.
“What is this?”
How did this happen?
He thought he couldn’t let his guard down like that, but in the end, his heart became weak only for Claudel.
“The mistake was made by that trashy old fox, so why does Claudel have to pay for it?”
If there was a rule that governed the world, it was a very wrong one.
In the meantime, the ice of the lake that had swallowed Claudel was sticking together, sticking out in a jagged manner, and freezing again.
“No.”
As he headed toward the center of the lake, the ice broke and his legs sank up to his knees.
“My lord. You have to go.”
“Let go!”
The elite knights of Temnes, who had rushed in during the danger, caught him.
“We can’t leave Claudel behind.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Three or four of them clung to Kaian, trying to forcibly drag him out of the unstable ice.
Then someone shouted in a sharp voice.
“Hey, there’s someone here!”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
A faint red light shone down the ice quite a distance from the center.
“Lady Claudel!”
Kaian shook off the hands that were holding him and ran.
“...Claudel.”
She was alive. She was still holding on to her life.
However, she seemed to be trapped under the ice, clutching at the rope that had burst out of the cold water, not knowing what to do.
Like a small insect that had been dropped into the water, fluttering.
It seemed as if her red hair, fluttering and reflecting under the hazy ice, would disappear at any moment.
Kaian looked around.
“The Duke of Temnes! This!”
Irena rode her horse and charged with the sword of Vermont that she had prepared for the event.
Every time her horse spurred, the unstable ice made a crackling sound, and then they clung to each other and froze again in an instant.
“I can do it.”
Kaien, who had received the sword, sharpened his senses.
Kkwang.
The moment the explosive exploded, the ice rink shook.
“Euaaaahhh!”
He raised the sword high in its scabbard and stabbed the frozen lake’s heart.
“I will not forgive you for harming my Vermont!”
Now, his face suddenly looked old and wrinkled, and he looked much thinner, like old, dusty firewood.
This was an event held on a wide, natural ice surface.
In case someone slipped, they could all fall down and get hurt, so everyone on the ice, except for the crowd around them, was seated.
Thanks to this, he seemed to have made a surprise attack and reached the middle deck in no time.
“Claudel!”
Kaian suddenly stood up from his seat and put his hand on his waist.
However, this was not a battlefield.
It was a festival where the two families settled their long-standing grudge and opened a new era of harmony.
Since carrying weapons was strictly prohibited in preparation for an unexpected event, Kaian had not brought a sword either.
The guards standing nearby were flustered and confused.
The one who attacked them and caused a commotion was none other than the Duke of Vermont.
It had been announced that the Northern King who had been ruling the territory had stepped down due to health issues including mental reasons, but they had no idea what to do with him who had appeared in front of them.
At least in the land of Valmonde, the Duke of Vermont had more authority than anyone else.
His power had been solidly built up over many years, so the guards could not move.
“Bring in the former Duke!”
Irena, who was preparing to enter, shouted, and Kaian snatched the spear from the guard who was standing blankly almost at the same time.
“Stop!”
But when the Duke of Vermont closed the distance between him and Claudel and aimed his sword at her, everyone froze in place as if their feet were frozen in ice.
Claudel slowly descended the remaining two steps and stood face-to-face with the Duke of Vermont on the deck below the platform.
“I brought disgrace upon the family?”
“I should not have allowed you to be named after Vermont.”
The Duke of Vermont’s eyes shook unsteadily as if he had lost his mind.
“You brought disaster!”
He spouted out absurd words without any reason.
“If only you were gone, everything would be fine. Valmonde is my soul. I cannot lose it like this because of a worthless girl like you. I will kill you. The spirits of my ancestors are moving me.”
“...”
Claudel did not scream or panic.
To those present, her face was slightly stiff, but her expression was strangely calm.
“What did I do wrong?”
“What did you do wrong? Don’t you know that!”
The Duke of Vermont spoke in a furious tone.
“You should live for the benefit of your family. Didn’t you collude with your enemy and cause great harm to Vermont?”
“I colluded with my family’s enemy?”
She asked back.
“It was my uncle’s will to marry me off to Temnes.”
“Who told you to live! You’re having a child with your enemy in the place where you were sent to die?”
“Ah. You’re saying that the problem is that I’m still alive and not dead.”
When Claudel smiled faintly, the Duke of Vermont lashed out like someone who had been stabbed with a skewer.
“Are you laughing? Are you making fun of me right now?”
“That’s funny. You’re saying that I've caused great harm to Vermont. Aren’t there people in the territory who are starving to death survive because of me?”
She looked at the Duke of Vermont as if he were a pitiful person.
“Who really caused the trouble for our family? You were the one who sided with the King and took advantage of him, but you put the lives of the people of the territory at risk by sending soldiers to the civil war. It's you, uncle.”
“You should have taken the Queen’s seat!”
Claudel shrugged her shoulders, looking at the Duke of Vermont, who was not understanding.
“Who could have harmed the family? I don’t think the ‘Duke of Vermont’ thinks it’s me.”
She emphasized her words, deliberately calling Irena the ‘Duke of Vermont.’ The Duke of Vermont, who was obsessed with that name, exploded with anger.
“Shut up. Do you think I can just let you get away with this?”
The Duke of Vermont said, trembling like a madman.
“I will punish you even if it means giving up my life to protect Vermont.”
The ice square was filled with suffocating tension.
“Honey. Do something about it.”
Leonie held Julien and stamped her feet.
But even for Evan, there was no way.
There was some distance between the chair and the center.
If anyone moved to save Claudel and attack the Duke of Vermont, the sword of his brother threatening his daughter would have a higher chance of bleeding.
That’s why Irena, the guards, and even Kaian, who was holding the spear tightly, were all hesitant to move.
“Take my sword.”
At the Duke of Vermont’s words, Claudel moved.
However, her actions were unexpected by anyone. She stood facing him boldly as if she were going to compete with him, and she held the unlit torch she had been holding in her hands with both hands and aimed it at the Duke of Vermont.
“...Claudel.”
Kaian muttered her name quietly at the unexpected sight. Almost at the same time, the quiet crowd began to stir.
The sight of a small woman dressed in northern attire not avoiding a man with a sword struck a chord with the people in a strange way.
'Attacks are coming at once.'
A secret signal was sent between Evan, Irena, and Kaian.
It was as they prepared their positions.
"How funny. Do you think you can go against my will?"
The Duke of Vermont taunted Claudel, who stood facing him as if she would fight him to the end.
"All those who dare point their swords at me will be punished by heaven."
The Duke of Vermont's sword, which had been pointed at Claudel, suddenly changed direction and headed toward the ground.
"Die!"
Clang. The frozen lake shook the moment the sword struck the floor of the round wooden deck.
Rumble.
The sound and vibration as if a monster sleeping under the ice was writhing, were transmitted to their ears and body almost simultaneously.
"W-what is this?"
"Gyaaaa."
The creepy sensation that stimulated their instincts made the crowd around the lake and those who had been sitting down forget the control that had been telling them to stay still just a moment ago and stand up one by one.
The Duke of Vermont laughed bitterly.
“I will take all those who clipped my wings to the afterlife.”
“What did you...?”
As Claudel was about to ask in bewilderment, the deck she was standing on began to shake uncontrollably.
“Claudel!”
Kaian ran towards her at a crazy speed.
“Come here!”
“Kaian!”
But at that moment, an explosion rang out.
Boom! Kwaaang!
With a loud noise, sharp pieces of broken ice and water spray flew up like crazy.
Ohhhhh!
Kwaaahh!
People started to run away screaming. Behind the people who were being pushed and shoved, the sound of explosives exploding could be heard in succession.
Boom. Kwaa Kwaa Kwaa.
Kaian, who had instinctively crouched down and covered his eyes and face with his arms, looked up and saw an unbelievable sight.
The deck in the middle of the frozen slab was sinking into the lake.
“Claudel!”
Crunch.
As he tried to move his feet from where he was standing, there were successive explosions and cracks in the ice surface.
“...”
For a moment, his eyes met with Claudel’s, who was struggling in the water.
‘Run away.’
She didn’t want him to save her.
The next moment, the platform gurgled and sank beneath the water, disappearing along with her figure.
“Claudel!”
Evan was about to run forward at the shocking sight.
“Eh, Evan! Ugh!”
He turned his head and saw Leonie, who was holding Julien tightly in her arms and falling after bumping into the armor of the escort soldiers who were marching in line.
“Leoni!”
“Julien. We have to take Julien.”
Leonie’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ah. Aah...”
To see her daughter drowning before her eyes.
An indescribable pain pierced her heart, but Leonie, holding the grandson her daughter had entrusted to her, could not turn toward the lake.
“We have to escape immediately.”
It was a detonator.
The frozen ground was full of treasures if you dug underground.
If anyone was after Valmonde, it was made to lure the enemy and drown them all at once.
For some ridiculous reason, the thick rope hanging over the lake contained explosives wrapped in oiled paper.
The explosion that started in the middle of the Duke of Vermont's sword continued through the rope.
Kkwang!
An explosion was heard nearby, and a piece of ice flew past and grazed his face.
Evan, who wiped the blood flowing out thinly with his palm, picked up a shield that the guard had thrown away and covered Leonie with it before getting out of the way.
Fragments of memories were circling in Kaian’s head in confusion.
“What is this?”
How did this happen?
He thought he couldn’t let his guard down like that, but in the end, his heart became weak only for Claudel.
“The mistake was made by that trashy old fox, so why does Claudel have to pay for it?”
If there was a rule that governed the world, it was a very wrong one.
In the meantime, the ice of the lake that had swallowed Claudel was sticking together, sticking out in a jagged manner, and freezing again.
“No.”
As he headed toward the center of the lake, the ice broke and his legs sank up to his knees.
“My lord. You have to go.”
“Let go!”
The elite knights of Temnes, who had rushed in during the danger, caught him.
“We can’t leave Claudel behind.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Three or four of them clung to Kaian, trying to forcibly drag him out of the unstable ice.
Then someone shouted in a sharp voice.
“Hey, there’s someone here!”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
A faint red light shone down the ice quite a distance from the center.
“Lady Claudel!”
Kaian shook off the hands that were holding him and ran.
“...Claudel.”
She was alive. She was still holding on to her life.
However, she seemed to be trapped under the ice, clutching at the rope that had burst out of the cold water, not knowing what to do.
Like a small insect that had been dropped into the water, fluttering.
It seemed as if her red hair, fluttering and reflecting under the hazy ice, would disappear at any moment.
Kaian looked around.
“The Duke of Temnes! This!”
Irena rode her horse and charged with the sword of Vermont that she had prepared for the event.
Every time her horse spurred, the unstable ice made a crackling sound, and then they clung to each other and froze again in an instant.
“I can do it.”
Kaien, who had received the sword, sharpened his senses.
Kkwang.
The moment the explosive exploded, the ice rink shook.
“Euaaaahhh!”
He raised the sword high in its scabbard and stabbed the frozen lake’s heart.
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