95.

“Count, we’ve received word that ‘the incident’ has occurred at the academy.”

The subordinate reported cautiously.

Benedict showed no surprise at all.

Instead, he maintained a calm demeanor, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

“And the security and fire brigades?”

“They’ve already been notified. They should be arriving on the scene shortly.”

“Very well. Ensure that there are no casualties.”

Benedict nodded and leisurely stood up.

The subordinate looked at Benedict with a puzzled expression.

“Count? Where are you going?”

“I have an appointment.”

A deep smile appeared on Benedict’s lips.

“I’m going to meet with a client.”

* * *

Not long after Elze’s carriage departed for the city, another carriage sped towards the Rose Cross Academy.

Screech—!

It was moving so fast that the wheels of an oncoming carriage spun wildly.

Moments later.

The carriage came to a rough stop in front of the academy.

Dante jumped out, a look of disbelief on his face.

“Ha…”

The academy was in utter chaos.

“If the organizations were to clash, it wouldn’t end up like this.”

Dante had deliberately left Liam by Elze’s side before heading south.

The fact that Liam, despite being at the academy, had neglected the situation meant…

‘It indicates that they had no capacity to control the current situation.’

Dante gritted his teeth.

‘What on earth happened?’

The first possibility that came to his mind was an attack by another organization.

But the current underworld had long been swallowed up by Dante.

While there were a few small-time players left, their abilities were not enough to launch such a direct assault on the academy.

‘Then, political rivals?’

But Dante had never been interested in the political infighting among nobles.

He found such political squabbles tedious, and the more involved he became, the closer he would be to the imperial family.

So while the nobles tried to subtly pull him into their side, Dante had cut them off like a knife.

Before he knew it, Dante had become the leader of the neutral nobles.

Of course, Dante hadn’t done anything since then…

‘But none of that matters right now.’

Dante shook his head and focused sharply with his eyes.

‘Where is she?’

The fact that Elze was not in his sight made his nerves tense.

Like a sheep gnawing on a taut thread with a sharp stone.

It felt like his nerves were on the brink of snapping at any moment.

‘Is she alright?’

If it were the usual Elze, she wouldn’t just stand by and watch the academy fall apart like this.

Was she injured?

Why isn’t she appearing before me?

His mind was overwhelmed with worry and concern.

Normally, Dante would have first gone to find Liam.

After all, he needed to manage the collapsing academy.

Just like when Elze had captured Viktor before.

He had dealt with Viktor first instead of rushing to see Elze.

But now…

“Elze!”

Before he knew it.

Dante was running madly through the burning academy.

Boom!

The door to Elze’s bedroom burst open with a crash.

Dante stormed into the room, his eyes darting around in frantic search.

“……”

The neatly organized bedroom looked just as he remembered.

But there was one thing missing.

Elze.

‘Could she have been kidnapped?’

But the room was too clean to suggest a kidnapping.

Moreover, Dante had received no communication about Elze’s whereabouts.

If she had been abducted, he would have expected some kind of ransom demand…

“Damn it.”

Dante cursed under his breath.

He felt like if he waited here for a moment longer, she would return to him.

[My lord.]

The sweet voice that usually called him.

[……Dante.]

The suppressed voice whispering on the night of fireworks.

…Both voices echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

At that moment, Dante’s gaze fell upon a jewelry box on the vanity.

He walked toward the vanity as if in a trance.

He reached out.

Click.

The lid of the jewelry box opened.

Inside lay every piece of jewelry Dante had given Elze.

Among them, the citrine necklace he had bought for her at the debutante party stood out conspicuously.

The dazzling light reflecting off the jewels seemed to mock him.

Bang!

Dante slammed the jewelry box down and gritted his teeth as he yanked open the wardrobe.

The dresses he had purchased for Elze were neatly hung.

Below them was a shoebox.

While other shoes were stored in separate compartments, this pair seemed to have been personally and carefully maintained by Elze.

Dante impatiently pulled out the box.

Opening it, he found a single pair of black high heels neatly placed inside.

“……”

In an instant, Dante’s mind flashed back to the past.

The shoes he had picked out personally from Madame Tilda’s boutique.

[They look great on you. Do you want to try them on?]

It had been a simple suggestion.

Elze had smiled as if she had received everything in the world.

[Of course. I’m really happy that you chose them for me.]

Just those words had made him willingly kneel before her.

He had thought her small, white feet encased in black heels were adorable.

[They suit you well.]

He had said this while tenderly caressing her foot.

At that moment, Dante realized with a jolt.

Elze had left him forever.

Everything he had given her seemed worthless now.

All discarded and thrown away.

“Why?”

…His vision turned red with rage.

“Why the hell…?”

Dante squeezed the words out like a groan.

“Why did she run away?”

Had she deceived him?

Had she always planned to leave him from the start?

A whirlwind of emotions and questions tangled in his mind.

Honestly, at first, he had picked her up like a toy.

When Elze had summoned the courage to speak to him one day,

[Dante, would you spend a little time with me?]

[Me? Why?]

It was an invitation he could have easily dismissed with a scoff.

But at some point, Elze had changed.

[Please forgive my presumptuous behavior. I sincerely regret begging you to let me call you by name.]

Dante had welcomed this change.

He thought Elze had matured, and he found it not so bad that she wasn’t bothering him.

But that was short-lived.

She had started to distance herself from him.

When she showed no reaction to the insults directed at her,

[Are you saying I should have remained silent while watching you be insulted?]

…He had begun to be irritated by this.

He no longer wanted to see her being disregarded.

Thus, he wanted to solidify her position even more.

And that line.

[Then, why don’t you tell me you love me now?]

In a drunken haze, he had asked her.

Dante remembered the moment when Elze had cautiously nestled into his arms.

[I love you.]

Just that one phrase had made him forget any doubts about her.

Suspicious behaviors related to the auction house.

The suddenly acquired pigeons.

Her bright, clear smile and refusal to cling to him as before.

As if her love had no value to him.

And how she no longer begged for his love.

Yes, despite so many suspicious signs…

‘Why did I think Elze loved me?’

A woman who was nothing more than a toy had subtly inflated her presence in his heart.

Before he knew it, she had devoured his entire heart.

So… he had blindly trusted her.

‘I was a fool.’

Dante clenched his teeth.

Amidst the storm of doubt, anger, despair, frustration, and seething betrayal…

And despite his overwhelming love that he could never let go of.

All these emotions tangled and surged within him, filling his entire being.

Yet, among all these negative feelings, there was one thing Dante lacked.

That was resignation.

No matter how hard he struggled.

…He could not give her up.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

He muttered, as if in a trance.

Slowly, a smile spread across Dante’s lips.

That smile resembled a demonic entity crawling from the very edge of hell.

“Do you think I’ll just let you go?”

Why Elze had left his side.

Whether she had found another or was simply playing with him.

That no longer mattered.

He would find her and ask.

So…

“……I’ll chase you to the ends of hell.”

Dante’s smile deepened.

He gripped the high heels tightly in his hand.

Somehow, he would capture her.

And lock her away in a secret place only Dante could see.

So that no one else could approach her.

So she would live forever looking only at him.

With that thought in mind.

Thump!

Dante threw the crumpled heels onto the floor and rose from his seat.

TL/N: Should I or Should I not upload the other 5 chapters? hmm….