“Hmmm~”
Unable to contain his joy, Raphel hummed a little tune.
Carrying his beloved star-shaped bag on his back while holding hands with both his uncle and Lizelle filled his small body with happiness.
Raphel was very happy at that moment.
Lizelle, Chase, and the star bag were right by his side.
His tiny steps were light as if he were walking on clouds, and every sight he took in seemed bright and joyful.
That was, until he encountered it.
Raphel spotted a spider crawling on the ground.
The spider, roughly the size of a baby’s fist, had a black body and legs.
In an instant, a strange memory flickered through Raphel’s mind.
A black spider with four legs on each side, its red eyes glaring menacingly at him.
And then, the spider rushed toward him with a large hand.
“Hah…!”
Raphel froze in place. The bright smile that lit up his face hardened in an instant.
“Raphel? What’s wrong?”
Lizelle, noticing that Raphel suddenly stopped walking, asked in confusion.
Raphel’s face was rapidly turning pale.
The spider had been strangling him.
He struggled, biting it hard to escape, only for it to furiously chase after him.
“Hah, hah…”
Raphel’s tiny body began trembling violently as though an earthquake were shaking him.
“Raphel? Raphel!”
“Raphelion!”
Alarmed by Raphel’s sudden strange behavior, Lizelle and Chase both called out to him.
They crouched to examine the boy’s condition, their faces filled with worry.
“Raphel! Raphel! Are you okay? Snap out of it!”
No matter how Lizelle shouted, it was as though her voice couldn’t reach him. Raphel remained frozen like a statue, his breathing shallow and labored, his eyes about to roll back into his head.
“What do we do?”
Seeing Raphel foaming at the mouth and on the verge of collapsing, Lizelle was at a loss, stamping her feet in panic.
She hurriedly pulled the trembling boy into her arms.
His body was so cold it was hard to believe it was human.
“He’s freezing… We need to get him to a physician immediately…!”
Tears welled up in Lizelle’s wide, terrified eyes.
He had been perfectly fine just moments ago after finishing a good meal he was holding their hands and walking happily beside them.
He’d even been humming a tune with a smile.
There had been no warning signs…
It had to be her fault for not paying closer attention.
“Raphelion! Can you hear me?”
Chase, just as alarmed, tried to call out to the boy.
Despite their concern, Raphel continued to gasp for breath, trembling violently.
Chase reached out, preparing to lift the boy and take him to the nearest physician.
Then…
Out of nowhere, a dagger flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground near them.
It was as if someone had been waiting for them to enter the secluded carriage area.
“What… What is this? Raphel!”
Too stunned to scream, Lizelle instinctively shielded Raphel.
Her eyes were wide as she checked to ensure he hadn’t been hurt by the sudden attack.
Fortunately, the weapon missed and they were all unharmed.
“Who dares…?”
Chase shielded both Lizelle and Raphel with his body, his face full of fury as he scanned their surroundings.
“My lord!”
Knights stationed at a distance rushed toward them.
“Are you alright? Are you safe?”
“We apologize, sir. We failed to detect the attack in time.”
The guards swiftly formed a protective perimeter around the three, carefully surveying the area.
The situation was not good.
More weapons could come flying at any moment, and Raphel’s condition was bad.
Chase calmly analyzed the situation, taking a sword from the belt of one of the knights.
“Max stays behind. The rest of you, escort the lady and Raphel to a physician.”
There were eight guards in total. Ensuring Lizelle and Raphel’s safety took precedence, no matter what.
“Are you certain, my lord?”
Raymond, the vice commander, spoke with concern.
Max was the weakest of the guards present.
Chase’s order essentially meant that he intended to handle the situation on his own.
“Yes. Ensure neither of them comes to harm.”
“What’s going on here?”
Overhearing their conversation, Lizelle interrupted.
She could sense the severity of the situation but couldn’t accept that Chase intended to stay behind.
“My lady, take Raphel and head straight to the physician.”
“And leave you here? Absolutely not!”
Lizelle raised her voice in protest.
With Raphel in critical condition, the idea of leaving Chase behind was too much to bear.
She couldn’t think straight at the moment.
The surprise attack, Raphel’s condition, everything was so sudden and overwhelming that she was scared and uncertain.
“I’ll follow shortly.”
Chase gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before gesturing to the guards.
One of the guards picked up the trembling Raphel, and another gently but firmly led Lizelle away.
“No! We have to go together!”
Lizelle clung to Chase’s hand desperately.
She was scared something would go wrong with Raphel, and without Chase…
“Don’t worry.”
Chase gave her a faint, reassuring smile before gently prying her fingers loose.
As much as he wanted to stay by her side, there was no time to lose.
“Let’s go.”
Vice commander Raymond took charge, guiding Lizelle forward.
“We can’t leave him! What if something happens to him?”
Lizelle struggled against their grip, shouting in panic, but the guards held firm.
Even with all her strength, she couldn’t break free.
“My lady, our priority is getting Raphelion to a physician.”
Raymond spoke calmly, trying to steady her nerves.
Just then, several masked men appeared, blocking their path.
It became clear that their target had never been Chase alone—it had also been Raphel.
The masked attackers drew their long swords, advancing toward them with malicious intent.
There were roughly the same number of attackers as there were knights.
Lizelle’s face turned pale as she quickly glanced back at Chase.
He was already engaging the attackers, fighting them off.
“I’m going with the lady and the child! The rest of you, eliminate them and regroup with us later!”
Raymond shouted as he took Raphel from a knight and cradled him protectively.
The knights drew the swords and rushed at the masked men without hesitation.
The sound of clashing blades echoed through the area.
“For now, just focus on Raphelion.”
Raymond led the trembling Lizelle away from the group of men who were aiming their swords at one another in a desperate attempt to kill each other.
“Raphel… It’s going to be okay. You’ll be alright.”
With a pale face, Lizelle clutched Raphel’s hand as he was held in Raymond’s arms.
‘Yeah, now is not the time to be so foolish.’
She had to focus on Raphel.
Although it wasn’t as serious as before, Raphel’s small body was still trembling.
His eyes were empty making it impossible to tell where he was looking, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lips were blue.
Lizelle walked with Raymond to the clinic on trembling legs.
All she could do was hope that both Chase and Raphelion would make it through safely.
* * *
Chase swiftly cut down an assassin charging toward him and then barked an order at Max.
“Find the one throwing daggers and eliminate them.”
“Yes, understood!”
The reason Chase left one knight behind was for this purpose.
He couldn’t catch the one who was throwing daggers from afar while fighting off those rushing at him.
Just then, another dagger flew through the air and lodged itself into a tree behind Chase.
This time, it didn’t miss entirely.
Chase’s face had a shallow cut from the passing blade.
He casually wiped away the blood trickling down his cheek, his expression cold as ice.
The number of assassins attacking him directly wasn’t overwhelming.
In fact, the knights protecting Lizelle and Raphel were the ones struggling against a greater number of assassins.
‘So, they’re targeting not just me but Raphel as well.’
Targeting Raphel? That meant these attackers were almost certainly connected to the culprits behind the carriage accident.
“Die!”
Another assassin lunged at him.
Chase deflected the assassin’s sword, then stabbed him in the back with his own.
“Ugh!”
With a wet, sickening sound, the blade sank deep into the assassin’s body.
Chase withdrew his sword without a flicker of hesitation.
Blood gushed out, soaking his jacket.
He didn’t spare a glance at his bloodstained clothing. Instead, he grabbed the assassin by the throat, ignoring their desperate gasps for air.
