Albrecht's purple eyes, which had always flashed with creepiness, were anticipatory this time as well.
This time, however, his gaze was not tainted with contempt.
Curiosity and excitement were evident deep in his eyes.
"How are you going to kill me?"
Albrecht smiled as if to tell me something, and I took half a step closer.
After that, I whispered secretly.
"The Grand Duke was anxious to kill you. If I, the Grand Duchess, hadn't stepped up to protect you, your head would have been removed from your body long ago. I left it to you because I had something to do with you... My patience isn't that deep."
I tapped his shoulder with my index finger as if to provoke him.
"If you keep bothering me, it's a deal. I'm going to throw you in front of him with my own hands."
So if you don't want to die, shut up and wait...
As I added the last words, Albrecht's loud mouth finally closed.
Instead of keeping his mouth shut, he opened his eyes wide and stared at me.
Then, suddenly, he stuck out his damp, bright red tongue and licked his lips seriously.
"Keep in mind, Your Highness the Grand Duchess."
I thought that since I had scratched his nerves on purpose, he would fight back in some way.
Contrary to expectations, Albrecht bowed his head quietly without offering any rebuttal.
Nevertheless, the moment I raised my head and made eye contact with him, I was overcome with a suffocating sense of discomfort.
For some reason, his gaze on me felt more persistent and explicit than usual.
Is it because of my mood?
No, it wasn't because of my mood.
Soon he grabbed my hand and pressed his lips against the back of my hand in obedience.
"You give me a different pleasure than when I deal with Her Highness the Princess."
"..."
"That contemptuous look In Your Highness's eyes... Isn't it a wonder that those eyes, which should be unpleasant, sometimes make my intimate desires boil over?"
Intimate desires.
The moment I heard that, I felt unbearably nauseous.
His hands holding my hand, his lips, and the look in his eyes felt unbearably unpleasant.
I quickly pulled his grip on my hand and turned around.
I wanted to get out of the place as quickly as possible.
Go back to my tent and wash my hands immediately.
The back of my hand was where my dirty lips touched.
"If you find out anything, please feel free to let me know. I also prepared to cut his throat, but... There may be a variable."
You have prepared to kill the Kishian?
I stopped for a moment at the sudden words, but I didn't stop as I was leaving.
It was likely that he was bluffing just to think about me.
He knows there's no way to kill the Kishian right now.
If I showed a fluctuating and worried look here, I risked losing all my plans.
To succeed in my plan, I had to trick Albrecht into pretending that I had no interest in Kishian. It was also very thorough.
"..."
I didn't even show any reaction but just walked away from the place.
I just hoped he didn't notice my nervousness.
***
The Grand Duchess left first, and then Albrecht disappeared somewhere.
There was no one there anymore.
It was only when he was so convinced that Walter leaned against the tree.
'I just said... What did I just hear?'
He didn't intend to eavesdrop.
While patrolling the tent where the Archduchess was resting to prevent suspicious people from approaching, Albrecht and the Archduchess suddenly appeared.
Even though he didn't know what was going on, Walter reflexively hid himself.
It was because the atmosphere between the two was unusual as if something important was going to be discussed.
The prediction was correct.
Albrecht and the Archduchess literally had a secret and horrible conversation.
Little did he imagine that Walter would be hiding behind a tree.
Walter overheard their secret conversation, and he grabbed his head and tried to guess what was going on.
'Albrecht... Was he a spy sent by the Emperor? Did the Grand Duchess decide to find out about the weakness of His Highness and pass it on to him?'
The conversation he overheard a while ago could only be interpreted that way, no matter how much he thought about it.
The Grand Duchess had betrayed her companion.
'After all...!'
Rather than feeling betrayed, Walter felt exhilarated.
When Walter criticized the Grand Duchess, the Archduke even pointed his sword at him to warn him.
He had been betrayed by the Grand Duchess once, and he had lost his mind and had passed over again, and he felt frustrated.
But in the end, Walter himself was right!
'She was a traitor! I wasn't wrong!"
To expose the identity of the Grand Duchess right away, he walked to a vacant lot where people were gathered.
However, it didn't take long for it to stop again.
'No, I can't move quickly. I don't have any clear evidence yet.'
Moreover, most of the other nobles, including the Cyslans, were keen on hunting.
It was not until sunset that everyone would return to the clearing with their tired bodies.
"There is no clear evidence, and it is not a suitable place to expose it."
The Grand Duchess was bold and cunning enough to dare to plan a betrayal.
Moreover, Kishian seemed to be infatuated with the Grand Duchess.
So if he acted rashly, he might face a backlash.
'...We'll have to wait until we get our hands on the evidence.'
With this determination, Walter clenched his fists.
He felt like he was on fire, but now he had to be calmer than ever.
***
The arrow hit the nape of the neck with precision, penetrating deeply.
Only after confirming that the Kishian had fallen to the end did the three assassins approach him.
As they approached, Kishian remained motionless, still alive with the arrow impaled.
One of the assassins who was watching spoke up after a long wait.
"This is definitely dead."
The other man standing beside him shook his head.
"But don't get too close. I heard that he has a peculiar constitution that heals wounds quickly."
"He tried to recover quickly, but he got pierced in the neck..."
"You never know."
As the assassin tiptoed his hand to touch Kishian's hand, the third one, who had been listening, made a trick.
"If you cut his throat with an axe, he won't survive. After all, he's not human."
Their employer, who had hired three famous assassins, was not relieved and urged them.
He doesn't die easily, so make sure his heart stops.
Their predecessor had only seen Kishian fall off the edge of a cliff after being impaled by an arrow, and he was quick to conclude that he was dead.
This put the Emperor in danger, and the Princess was eventually sold as the monster's wife.
Therefore, they told them over and over again that they had to check that Kidhian had lost his breath.
The assassin who first spoke snorted.
"I think he's already dead. I've killed many people, but I've never seen a human who survived a throat cut."
He then recalled the face of their employer, Albrecht.
When they were entrusted with the assassination commission, his face was colored with anger, flesh, and a little fear.
Isn't it really a trivial target for such a fuss-making request?
Doesn't it come to the eastern forest where there are no people to make it easier to kill, or does it obediently hit an arrow at the nape of the neck?
"But if you want to reassure your employer, you'd definitely better cut his neck and take it away."
The third assassin did not bend his argument and took out the axe he was wearing at his waistband.
It was a well-sharpened axe with a large blade that could split a thick log at once.
If he cut his throat, any monster would die.
The axe-wielding assassin took a position, and the other two assassins turned him upright to make it easier for him to strike his neck.
To keep his body from moving while striking his neck, one of them pressed his head and the other by his waist.
When Kishian's body was stationary, the axe-wielding assassin lifted it upwards.
He had just swung the thick weapon and slashed at Kishian's neck.
"...!"
Kishian who impaled his neck with an arrow, and they thought he was dead, suddenly pulled the assassin by the waist with a strong hand.
It happened in an instant.
The assassin was helplessly dragged to the front of the Kishian nose.
Hooked.
The axe swung to his throat and slid into the unfortunate assassin's back.
With this in his eyes, the Kishian used one of the assassins as a shield to protect his neck, and the other two stepped back at once.
"What! He's alive!"
"Retreat for the time being..."
Before the assassin could finish his words, the assassin was about to tell him to retreat, but the axe flew in and lodged in his forehead.
After pulling out the axe from the shielder's body and throwing it at him, finishing off the other two, the Kishian stared at the other one.
"Ugh, ugh!!"
Even in the shadow of the dark forest, the moment the eerily flashing golden eye came to him, the assassin immediately turned his back and fled.
The roles of hunter and prey were reversed, and the hunt continued.
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