Etienne felt as if his heart was being torn apart by Shioana's sobbing voice.
'I really hate it when she cries.'
It would have been better if he had died.
As he frowned, blood seeped out of the gaping wound.
He didn't really feel any pain.
The moment he shook his head to shake off the hazy feeling, the day Raul had visited not long ago came vividly to mind.
'I thought it was something Your Excellency absolutely needed to know.'
Etienne was able to remember a terrible name he had forgotten thanks to his words.
'...Pierre Noah '
The disgusting bastard who coveted Shioana came to Urcheka.
'It seems he is going around asking around, saying he is looking for his wife.'
'It's funny.'
He knew that Shioana had never been married to him.
'For now, it seems he is still unaware of Duchess Bernhard's true identity. However, I heard that he keeps recruiting mercenaries, as if he has no intention of giving up his search for his wife.'
Raul, who had been secretly keeping an eye on Count Noah, sought out the Duke because he had an ominous premonition that the situation would escalate.
'I heard that he searched District 5 like a rat hunt, wondering where he had seen the Duchess.'
'...'
Etienne could not contain his anger at Raul's words. Count Noah, who had been constantly tormenting Shioana, was also annoying, but.
'The most terrible one of them is me.'
Because it was he who failed to properly look after Shioana, blinded by revenge.
'If you let me know, I will lend a hand.'
Raul, who also had connections to the mercenary guild, gave off quite a fierce look.
A few days later, at night, Etienne, with a long sword strapped to his side, headed somewhere. His eyes gleamed sharply as he looked up at the luxury inn in District 3.
Etienne did not bring anyone today.
He did not inform Viscount Conrad, nor did he contact Raul.
R must solve this with his own hands.
Count Noah was the one who threatened Shioana to force her into marriage and spread false rumors to Regbell and Highbell.
'He is a despicable fellow who has disgraced our young lady.'
He felt as if his blood was boiling at the story Martha told him while crying.
It is said that the two of them fled at night to escape Count Noah. If they had not run away then, he would not have been able to meet Shioana again.
'I didn't know that, and I suspected that Harriet might be the child of Shioana and Count Noah.'
Even though he knew perfectly well that Shioana wasn't the kind of person to do such a thing, Etienne couldn't lift his head because he felt so pathetic about himself.
'Therefore, I will raise this sword to atone to you.'
And so, Etienne walked into the inn alone.
The first floor, which served as both a bar and a restaurant, was quite noisy.
'If I had won this time, I would have bought a ship.'
'Didn't they say that anyone can receive the blessing of the Goddess Diana?'
Etienne, seated at a table in the corner, glanced around. Most of the men drinking boisterously were armed. Just as Raul had said, they appeared to be mercenaries hired by Count Noah.
He carefully examined the weapons and physiques of those he had to face. There were too many for him to handle alone, and his hands were sweating profusely because they were not just a motley crew of mercenaries.
'Etienne, you must always be cautious in hunting or war. But you must never hesitate when swinging your sword.'
As he reflected on the advice his father gave him when he was young, his excitement subsided a little.
'If we don't get rid of that man now—'
Shioana is in danger.
As he thought that, he wasn't afraid of anything.
Furthermore, Etienne was already skilled enough in swordsmanship to defeat his older brothers by the age of eight.
He was waiting for the right moment to attack when the owner approached with a troubled look on his face.
'I'm sorry, but we don't think we can take your order today because someone already has a reservation here.'
'Bring me a drink.'
As Etienne ignored the owner's words and asked for a drink, the surroundings became a little quiet.
'Who is making so much noise?'
One drunk mercenary, seemingly annoyed by Etienne, spoke to him in a confrontational tone.
'We rented this place today, so can't you hear him telling you to go somewhere else?'
'Bring me a drink.'
As Etienne, with his face completely covered by a cloak, kept repeating the same thing, the other person took a dagger from their bosom and slammed it into the table.
'Looks like a kid who doesn't know who we are.'
The mercenaries, who had finally lowered their glasses at the man's provocation, glared at Etienne.
'We are nameless ones.'
'Do you intend to keep holding out there even in a situation like this?'
Etienne paid no heed to the threats coming from here and there.
'I have no interest in you.'
Etienne, who was not at all nervous about the mercenary group's name—which was so fearsome that it made a crying child stop crying—stimulated their competitive spirit.
'I’ll let you go without pain!'
Several men suddenly rushed toward Etienne.
Wow!
Etienne dodged their attack by tossing a table with one hand. Crouching low, he stepped onto a chair and jumped up, and the sword Etienne had drawn was immediately stained with blood.
Ugh! Argh!
Sturdy men collapsed one after another, leaving behind their dying screams.
'Save people!'
The innkeeper shouted and ran outside, and amidst the commotion, the man Etienne was looking for finally revealed himself.
'What's all this commotion?'
Pierre Noah, with his platinum blonde hair and slender face, glared at Etienne, who was standing on the mercenary's corpse.
'What on earth did you hold against me to harm my subordinate?'
At Count Noah's words, Etienne slowly lowered the cloak covering his face. Under the dim light of the inn, his blonde hair shone faintly, and his eyes, redder than blood, stood out.
'...No.'
Count Noah, flustered, stammered for a moment. It was certainly a face he knew well, but he hadn't looked like that back then.
'Were you someone I knew?'
'None of this matters; raise your sword.'
Two burly men who had blocked Pierre Noah ran down the stairs first toward Etienne.
A burly man who looked to be at least 2 meters tall swung something like a club, and every time they swung their arms, the walls and furniture swayed back and forth.
As Etienne nimbly darted from table to table, aiming for their heads, the fight ended anticlimactically.
'...Look, I don't know what's going on, but do it this way.'
With no mercenaries left to protect him, Pierre Noah tried to persuade Etienne.
'I have quite a bit of money. If you just let me go like this, I will give you the money. How about it?'
Etienne laughed heartily at Count Noah's words.
'What should I do? I probably have more money than someone like you.'
Count Noah, startled by Etienne's noble and cold voice, stealthily reached for the sword at his waist.
'If not money, I can give you other things. Things like a beautiful woman or drugs.'
In fact, even without a personal grudge, there were countless reasons to punish Count Noah. He had committed even filthier acts than Katrina to increase his wealth.
'It seems you deal in things like human trafficking and illegal drugs. That is why you are said to have a very notorious reputation over there.'
'If you hadn't touched my wife, I wouldn't have cared what you did.'
'...A wife?'
Count Noah possessed an exceptional aesthetic sense and was very picky about choosing a woman. Over the past few years, only one person had captured his eye.
'...No way.'
'I am Shioana Evgenia's husband.'
Etienne really wanted to let people know whose hand Pierre Noah would die at.
'Shioana, Shioana is mine.'
At the name Shioana, an aura that could be either madness or rage began to gleam in Count Noah's eyes. Etienne wiped his blood-stained sword on his trousers and assumed an attacking stance again.
'She is not a woman that someone like you would dare covet.'
'Where is that rat-like woman now?'
Pierre Noah had never missed out on anything he wanted in his entire life. Whether it was a person, a beast, or a valuable treasure, he had to possess it all to be satisfied. For him, coming here to find Shioana was like an extension of the hunt.
'So you're saying that if I kill you, I can have that woman?'
Count Noah, who had been muttering to himself, wore a wry smile. Then, he immediately reached into the tasseled pouch he was wearing at his side.
Etienne, who had been quietly watching Count Noah's strange behavior, quickly climbed the stairs.
It was then.
A strange powder flickered before his eyes, and soon everything turned pitch black. It seemed that what the Count had scattered was poisonous powder that blinded the eyes.
'Will you be able to fight as well as you did earlier, even in that state?'
In an instant, Count Noah kicked Etienne in the abdomen, and he tumbled down the stairs. It was difficult to breathe due to the poison that had entered his respiratory system.
'My sword...'
He had no idea where the sword he had dropped as he fell was. As he fumbled to stand up, bracing himself on the floor, a sharp sword struck Etienne's shoulder.
'I'll kill you slowly.'
The wound didn't hurt at all.
His only concern was that if he fell for such a shallow trick and died, Shioana would be in danger.
Etienne clutched the embedded sword tightly. The blood flowing down his hands emitted a metallic smell.
'What on earth are you doing?'
Count Noah, who had not anticipated such a response from Etienne, was flustered. Etienne drew his sword and attacked Count Noah's leg with his head.
Count Noah fell with a thud, and Etienne sat on top of him.
'Please, please spare my life.'
It seemed like he was pleading for something, but due to the heavy bleeding, only a buzzing sound reached Etienne's ears.
'This is Shioana's.'
Etienne, who had been muttering softly, quickly thrust his sword downwards.
'...Ugh.'
Count Noah let out a short scream, his limbs hanging limply. Etienne plunged his sword in once more.
'This is my share.'
Dark red blood flowed down the sleeves, soaking the corpse and the blade of the sword.
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