Episode 81

Aiden’s sword struck the iron bars once more, echoing with a resounding crash that made my heart tremble.

This time, I didn’t scream.

I stared at Aiden, who was desperately trying to close the distance between us.

Finally, when his sword began to saw through the thick iron bars, Lian let out a dry laugh.

“Ha, this madman. Cutting through that with a sword.”

Four bars had already been severed at his eye level, and Aiden was now crouched, swinging his sword at the lower bars.

Once those lower bars were cut, nothing would remain to separate Aiden and Lian.

But Lian, still composed, turned his gaze to me with a calm expression.

“My lady, isn’t it dangerous to keep such a vicious dog?”

His face, as usual, wore a habitual smile when our eyes met.

For so long, I’d tried to find fragments of truth in the liar’s face.

I tried not to be deceived by him and, at times, to deceive him instead.

I thought I had to, to confront the inscrutable serpent, but it was only too late that I realized he couldn’t be read that way.

As Lian stared straight at me, his pupils began to elongate vertically.

I thought I might know what he was about to do—or that I might never know.

“Lian,” I called his name softly.

By then, his eyes had fully transformed into those of a snake. Strange, unfamiliar, terrifying—and unbearably sorrowful.

“Don’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“What you’re about to do.”

“How can you know what I’ll do?”

“Whatever it is, don’t.”

Clang!

The sharp clash of metal striking iron cut through the air between Lian and me once more.

Gritting his teeth, Aiden raised his sword. In the next moment, the bars would be broken.

This was the final moment.

But I decided I wouldn’t accept an ending like this.

“Please.”

Lian’s elongated pupils quivered slightly.

The snake, perhaps for the first time in his life, was shaken by someone’s plea. His eyes, trembling like his heart, gazed at me before gradually closing.

When they reopened, they were the vivid violet of a jewel once again.

At the same moment, a cacophony of metal resounded. The fully severed bars crashed to the ground.

Through the opening he had created, Aiden stepped over to this side.

His glowing red eyes scanned me for safety before locking onto Lian.

“Aiden, stop.”

Aiden tilted his head at me, still holding his sword poised to strike.

His eyes burned with an impatience to cut down Lian, the enemy before him.

“Not here, not like this. Stop, Aiden.”

The beast, with its prey right in front of its nose, struggled between instinct and command.

While he didn’t swing his sword, he couldn’t sheath it either, his heavy breaths the only sound filling the space.

Lian, standing as still as a statue, continued to look at me. He didn’t even glance at the sword poised just a breath away.

I met his inscrutable gaze for a moment before stepping to Aiden’s side.

When I clasped his left hand tightly and looked up at him, his right hand, the one holding the sword, fell reluctantly.

The obedient dog, his eyes swirling with emotions, met my gaze.

Relief, joy, and a still-unresolved fury burned red in his eyes. His face twisted as though he might cry, and slowly, he rested his forehead against my shoulder.

I patted his bloodied shoulder and turned back to Lian.

The black-haired serpent, his false smile now gone, stared at me as though frozen.

“Commander! Your Majesty!”

Voices echoed from a distance. It seemed to be Aiden’s men, who had followed after him.

The three of us waited silently as their voices drew closer.

Six members of White Shadow peered through the gap in the iron gate, taking in the carnage of the entrance hall.

Even after seeing us standing wordlessly, they hesitated to speak. Instead of addressing their clearly mad commander, they turned to me.

“Y-Your Majesty. Are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine.”

Hearing my voice alive and well, the members of White Shadow let out sighs of relief as Lian turned away.

As Lian moved, Aiden reflexively raised his sword and shielded me behind him.

Unfazed, Lian pulled on a lamp hook attached to the wall.

With a rumble, the iron bars rolled up into the ceiling.

Only then could the members of White Shadow enter, though they hesitated as they watched Aiden, whose eyes still glowed red. Finally, they arrested Lian. A few remaining members of his faction were captured as well.

Once I confirmed that all those who had threatened my safety were subdued, Aiden, who had stood protectively in front of me until then, collapsed forward.

* * *

Not long after, more members of White Shadow arrived at the castle alongside the guards from the Summer Palace.

Among them were the palace maid and chamberlain who had discovered the milk bottle I had thrown.

Everyone was horrified at the gruesome scene in the entrance hall, but the situation was quickly brought under control.

Aiden, who had fainted while gripping my hand tightly, was moved to my room and laid on the bed.

Even in deep slumber, his fingers twitched as if searching for something, a sight that tugged at my heart.

Letting go of his hand, I turned to the maid standing behind me.

“Could you bring some water and a towel?”

I wanted to clean his bloodied face, so I asked. The maid soon returned with warm water and a towel.

“Thank you.”

“Please let me know if you need anything else.”

The maid bowed hastily, but I had one more thing to thank her for, so I spoke again.

“They said it was you who found the milk bottle and delivered it to Aiden. Thanks to you, I was able to return to the palace. Thank you.”

“I am deeply sorry I couldn’t come for you sooner.”

“It’s fine. I know how hard everyone worked.”

“I’m so relieved you are safe, Your Majesty.”

Hearing her words made me realize the ordeal was truly over.

Was it really a relief?

I was safe, but not everyone was.

Suppressing a sigh, I soaked the towel in the warm water and wrung it out.

The maid offered to take over, but I wanted to do it myself, so I waved her off.

Even after wiping away all the blood, Aiden’s face was still a mess.

His cheeks and the area around his eyes were sunken, his lips cracked and split, bleeding at the slightest touch.

It had only been about fifteen days since my abduction, but how could a person deteriorate so much in such a short time?

Though I had been confined, I had eaten and slept well, yet Aiden looked far worse than I did.

Sighing heavily, I stood, suddenly worried about Amy.

With the maid accompanying me, I went downstairs to look for Amy. I heard she was in the kitchen and was about to head there when a commotion erupted upstairs.

Voices rang out, one of them like a White Shadow member’s scream.

“Ah! C-Commander!”

“Get out of the way! Retreat!”

Curious about the commotion, I turned to look down the second-floor corridor. Members of White Shadow were running down the stairs as if they’d seen a ghost.

“Your Majesty, you must get to safety!”

Behind the panicked soldier shouting at me, I saw Aiden. His crimson eyes gleamed with a menacing light.

They say when the Empire’s dog goes mad, it doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe, except for its master. True to that saying, every soldier was running for their lives without looking back.

When they saw me standing in the middle of the path, the fleeing members of White Shadow gritted their teeth and crowded around me.

“Protect Her Majesty!”

“Lure the Commander outside the castle!”

Their loyalty, even at the risk of their lives, was touching, but my dog wasn’t one to attack just anyone.

“It’s fine. Stand down.”

“B-but, Your Majesty!”

“It’s fine. Don’t provoke him unnecessarily. Stand down.”

When I spoke firmly, the White Shadow members reluctantly stepped aside, still unsure.

Aiden, who had been glancing around like a lost puppy, spotted me and dashed over.

“Your Majesty!”

His voice was still hoarse, but his speech was noticeably clearer.

He circled me, inspecting me from head to toe to ensure I was unharmed, before pouting and asking,

“Where are you going?”

“To the child you saved.”

“I’ll come with you.”

His declaration was firm, powerful, and earnest.

When I chuckled softly and nodded, his face lit up instantly.

Seeing him smile again made me feel like he was back to his old self, but I asked to be sure.

“Are you alright now?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Your eyes are still…”

When I pointed to his eyes, still glowing ominously, Aiden rubbed them with the back of his hand and replied,

“There’s one condition I haven’t fulfilled yet. It’ll return to normal soon.”

“Condition?”

“You ordered me not to kill him.”

“Ah…”

To protect me, rescue Amy, and kill Lian—that must have been the list he had given himself before losing control.

It seemed those self-imposed conditions had acted as a way to keep himself in check.