~Chapter 35~
The Attacker and the Grand Duke
Eleanor stabbed the man’s foot without hesitation.
When the knife wouldn’t come out easily, she left it there and quickly stood up.
“Let’s go, Hilda!”
“Y-Yes!”
There was no time to delay. She could hear unfamiliar footsteps coming from nearby.
It couldn’t be Ernst. He wouldn’t be back this soon. Most likely, it was another thug looking for her after hearing the man’s voice.
Eleanor picked up the wooden club the attacker had thrown and started moving again.
“Ugh…!”
She let out a groan. She must have twisted her ankle when she fell—it throbbed painfully. That wasn’t a good sign.
She pushed herself to run despite the pain, but naturally, her speed slowed down.
“Miss, are you okay?”
Hilda, who had been running ahead, noticed Eleanor falling behind and stopped.
At that same moment, another attacker appeared nearby.
“There they are!”
How many thugs did Nora even hire?
Eleanor clicked her tongue in annoyance but couldn’t help being impressed by Nora’s preparation.
Even though the attacker was still a bit away, they would be caught soon at this rate. They needed another plan.
“Hilda, this way!”
Eleanor led Hilda into a dark alley. It wasn’t the way to the carriage, but that didn’t matter anymore.
She quickly looked around and spotted a good hiding spot—piles of stacked building materials.
Gripping the club tightly, Eleanor hid behind the pile.
“Miss? That’s dangerous…!”
“Keep running and make noise!”
There wasn’t time to explain, so her order might’ve sounded strange. But Hilda, as always, understood quickly.
She nodded and ran deeper into the alley, leaving Eleanor behind.
Her pace was slower, but her footsteps were heavier and louder, echoing off the walls.
Soon enough, the attacker chasing them followed the loud footsteps into the alley.
As he passed Eleanor’s hiding spot, she didn’t miss her chance.
Smack—!
“Ugh…!”
The wooden club slammed into the back of the man’s head with full force.
A loud cracking sound echoed through the alley, and his body collapsed with a thud.
Thump! His heavy body hit the ground, and bright red blood quickly pooled around him.
“Haah… Haa…”
Eleanor panted, staring at the blood that stained the tips of her shoes.
“Is he dead?”
It had to be. She had clearly heard the sound of his skull breaking.
Her hands trembled without her realizing.
Her heart was pounding in her chest.
This was the first time she had ever killed someone.
She had prepared herself for revenge, told herself she’d kill if it meant surviving.
But taking someone’s life with her own hands—it was far more intense and shocking than she had imagined.
“No time for emotions. Leave the body. Keep moving.”
If she stood there hesitating, she would be the next to die.
No—in Nora’s case, she’d probably suffer something worse than death.
Nora would definitely want to leave a scar that would never fade.
Eleanor bit her lip so hard it bled and forced herself to look away from the body.
Just as she was about to run again, she realized she hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings while lost in thought.
Tap-tap-tap!
Someone was running into the alley where she was.
She hoped it was Ernst. But if it were him, he would’ve called her name by now.
It was already too late to run on her injured ankle.
Eleanor made her decision and gripped the club once more.
“Three.”
Exhale. She took a deep breath and focused on the footsteps, ready to kill again if she had to.
“Two…”
As she counted in her head, a tall, shadowy figure appeared at the entrance of the alley.
“One.”
Eleanor didn’t hesitate. She swung the club with all her strength.
Whack—!
But something unexpected happened.
The man blocked her surprise attack.
With just one hand. As if it was nothing.
But that wasn’t why Eleanor was shocked—
It wasn’t just because of his incredible reflexes.
“…The Duke of Royster?”
Eleanor couldn’t believe her eyes.
There was no way the Duke of Royster would suddenly appear in a place like this.
It made more sense to think she was hallucinating.
But no matter how many times she blinked and opened her eyes again, the man standing before her didn’t change.
His smooth, pale forehead, thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, sharply raised nose, and red eyes that sparkled like glass…
Even after looking him over carefully, there was no doubt.
There was only one man with such a face and body.
“How are you here…?” Eleanor asked, catching her breath.
Every time she’d run into him—at the Lambert estate garden, at the masquerade hosted by the Marquis of Reeve, or at Chiara’s dinner party—she had been caught off guard.
But nothing had been as confusing as this moment.
Karsian didn’t answer right away. Instead, he slowly looked down at the man lying on the ground, bleeding.
Realizing what he was looking at, Eleanor began to stammer without meaning to.
“Ah, th-this is…”
This was someone she had attacked. Someone who deserved it.
A thousand thoughts swirled in her head, but none of them came out. They just stayed stuck at the tip of her tongue.
Seeing the pool of blood around the body brought back all the fear she had just barely managed to suppress. Her grip on the club weakened, and her legs began to shake.
Just then, a low, calm voice floated over on the breeze.
“He’s not dead.”
Eleanor’s violet eyes, which had been darting around, settled on him.
To prove his words, Karsian casually stepped forward and crushed the man’s hand beneath his black boot.
CRACK!
The harsh sound made Eleanor flinch and gasp.
“As you can see, he’s still alive.”
Just like he said, a faint groan came from under the mask, and the man slowly opened his eyes.
He must’ve come to his senses from the pain.
He really wasn’t dead.
Realizing that, Eleanor finally felt like she could breathe again.
“Even if he had died, it would’ve been his own fault. You have no blame, no responsibility. So don’t torment yourself over trash like this.”
Her fear-clouded vision slowly became clear again.
Only then did she notice Hilda standing nearby, her expression serious and protective as she stood between Eleanor and the unfamiliar man.
Behind Karsian stood knights who looked like they belonged to his household. They weren’t quite as striking as him, but they were all tall, strong, and more intimidating than the knights of Astria.
If I hadn’t turned against him, then these men would have been clearly here to help.
“We have to help Sir Ernst—my bodyguard!”
Now that she could think clearly, her mind jumped to Ernst, who was surely still fighting somewhere.
He was skilled, but with so many enemies, she couldn’t be sure he was safe.
“I already sent men that way. Things should be under control by now.”
Eleanor let out a relieved sigh.
If Royster’s knights had gone to help, then she could relax a bit.
“I’ll take care of this one.”
Karsian lightly kicked the fallen attacker.
The man didn’t fight back, clearly too stunned from the blow to his head.
When Karsian gestured, a knight behind him stepped forward and lifted the attacker over his shoulder.
Seeing that, Eleanor blurted out without thinking, “Are you going to kill him?”
Maybe she was too relaxed now—her thoughts slipped out before she could stop them.
She quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. Karsian had already heard.
“…No. I’ll keep him alive.”
Thankfully, he didn’t seem angry at her rude question.
In fact, his voice sounded almost gentle as he spoke about sparing the man.
Eleanor started to think maybe Karsian was kinder than he seemed.
She forgot for a moment how casually he had just crushed someone’s fingers.
But that illusion didn’t last.
“If he’s alive, he can be punished properly.”
He added coldly, “We can’t just let him die so easily, can we?”
“I’ll treat his wounds just enough to keep him alive. Then I’ll hand him over to you once he’s obedient. He can be formally interrogated in Astria.”
“…Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. Once his wounds are treated, I’ll take him myself.”
She clearly refused.
Hilda gave her a sharp look, as if asking why she’d pass up such help, but Eleanor didn’t change her mind.
Yes, Karsian had helped her greatly—but getting more involved with him was dangerous.
‘It’s suspicious that he showed up so conveniently in the first place.’
There were too many questions. She braced her foot to confront him properly.
But pain shot up her ankle the moment she put pressure on it.
“Ugh.”
She grimaced, remembering she had twisted her ankle earlier.
“Are you hurt?”
His calm voice suddenly sounded urgent.
His usually calm face also changed for the first time—his brows knit together, and his eyes sharpened.
He hadn’t gotten upset even when she thought he might kill someone, but now—just hearing her in pain—he looked furious.
He took a big step toward her. Eleanor instinctively flinched and stepped back.
At that, Karsian abruptly stopped.
His body, strong and sleek like a panther, froze in place, as if time had stopped.
Eleanor was confused by his reaction, but just as she was wondering why, he spoke again.
“…When you said you’d use me however you needed… Was that just something you said to get out of trouble?”
“Ah, that was…”
“You don’t want my help because of my blood, don’t you?”
She hadn’t expected that at all. Her eyes widened in confusion.
“Because of my low and filthy background… am I a burden to you, too?”
