Vol. 1 - Ch. 25
In the midst of her blurry vision, Daphne tightly closed her eyes. She lifted her face and her vision cleared.
His jet-black hair and eyes that seemed to hold the stars within them. A man, drawn with graceful yet delicate lines, he was as dazzlingly beautiful and perfect as ever.
His lineage as a Duke, title as a war hero and status as a protector of the empire.
A cold-blooded man, devoid of emotion. A demon.
And yet, she had loved him to the point of cursing her own fate. Ever since the moment they first met.
Her chest throbbed as if she had, without realizing it, allowed herself to hope. But Edmund hadn’t come for her. She wasn’t his goal.
Daphne struggled to steady her ragged breathes, parting her lips to speak.
“Edmund, listen carefully. This child...” She was about to continue when her surroundings abruptly shifted.
Edmund, sensing a sudden murderous intent, grabbed her and rolled to the ground, holding her close. A finely honed dagger was now embedded in the spot where they had been standing moments ago.
“Your Excellency!”
She could hear Eugene’s shout, mixed with the cries of the crowd. It wasn’t too far off.
‘Why did I only sense the killing intent now?’
Edmund was puzzled, realizing too late that danger had crept up on him. At the same time, he looked down in a hurry, checking Daphne. Other than being startled by the sudden situation, she was unharmed.
Edmund stood up quickly before another assassin could charge at them, forcibly pulling Daphne to her feet by the shoulders.
“If you run straight ahead, my men will be there.”
“…”
“Daphne.”
He shook her shoulders again, and finally, her eyes regained focus.
“Run.”
Edmund pushed her in the direction of Eugene.
Then, he scanned the surroundings swiftly. There were three of them in total. Too few and too weak to pose a serious threat to someone like Edmund. He drew his sword as he waited for the crowd to disperse.
‘Who sent them?’
Edmund thought back to those with the intent to send assassins his way, recalling their faces one by one.
But none of them would be foolish enough to send only three to face him.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. As the crowd cleared, Edmund moved first, slashing the neck of the nearest assassin. It was too easy. The assassin had been glancing around, seemingly caught off guard, and fell without resistance.
‘Red eyes?’
The moment he saw the strange, red eyes peeking out from the covering on the assassin’s face, the memory of Bled’s lackeys came flooding back.
“!”
As if the final puzzle piece had fallen into place, Edmund’s body moved on its own.
The assassin’s numbers, far too few to challenge him, the attack as if they had been waiting for him to lower his guard. And at his side, there was Daphne.
The real target was not Edmund, but Daphne.
Realizing this too late, Edmund frantically searched for her.
“Daphne!” At his shout, Daphne turned just as the assassin threw a dagger.