Chapter 53

“Huh…?”

In the blink of an eye, everything turned red. The duke’s son, who had been pinning her down, suddenly jolted back, springing away from her.

Spatter.

Thick, warm blood rained onto her face. As the sharp, metallic scent hit her nose, the weight of reality slammed into her.

“Ugh, aaaargh!”

The scream of Young Lord Kavert echoed across the garden.

Between the howling wind and the ear-splitting shrieks, her eyes flew wide in shock. The young lord, struggling to lift himself, clutched at his ear and thrashed violently, howling in pain. The blood soaking his hands was more than enough to stain his uniform and color the grass beneath him.

“This is why I hate fragrant flowers. They always draw in the pests.”

There wasn’t a hint of emotion in the way he casually flicked the blood from his sword.

Bianca slowly pushed herself to her feet. She spared a glance at the young lord, who was sobbing and writhing on the grass with his head down, before turning her gaze away.

A polished pair of leather shoes caught her eye, leading up to sharply creased trousers, and a crimson cloak fluttering behind them. The blade of the sharp sword caught the moonlight and gleamed coldly. At the tip, thick drops of blood clung before falling heavily to the ground.

“Aaagh, my ear! My ear!”

“Oh, turns out it was a person. Here I thought some animal in heat had snuck into my garden.”

“Krk, gaaah! Y-Your Highness, the Crown Prince. If my family finds out about this… ngh, they won’t just stand by. Over a mere lowborn woman, ugh…”

“You’re not even human. Looks like it’s an animal wearing the skin of a young lord. Lancelot, the sound of an animal howling is unpleasant.”

“Urgh, Your Highness!”

“Ugh, Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

The young lord clutched his bleeding ear, pressing it roughly with his clothes, and cried out. However, Dexter acted as if he hadn’t heard a word. From the shadows, Lancelot suddenly emerged. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed the thrashing man before pulling out a handkerchief from his chest and shoving it into the young lord’s mouth.

Dexter handed his sword to the knight and strode toward Bianca. He wiped the blood from his hand with a handkerchief and tossed it aside onto the ground.

“Lady Astri, are you alright?”

“…Yes. I’m fine.”

Are you really?

“If you’re going to say you’re fine when you’re not, that’s enough.”

“….”

Bianca gazed up at Dexter with a dazed expression. His usually composed eyebrows were drawn into a tight frown. When she followed his gaze downward, she realized the front of her dress was slightly torn.

“This is, um…”

“Why are you making excuses when it’s not your fault?”

“Ah…”

As Dexter took the cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around Bianca, a shudder ran through her as relief crashed into her. He gently lifted her into his arms.

“Young Lord Kavert, I was only trying to kill the animal that was rampaging out of concern for others getting hurt. It’s hard to see in the darkness, isn’t it?”

There was no way he could have mistaken a human for an animal. Nonetheless, Dexter continued speaking as if it didn’t matter.

“Why would you lay your hands on something in my garden without thinking? Did you even know what you were touching?”

Even faced with Dexter’s cold, sharp voice, Young Lord Kavert thrashed and wept. Dexter clicked his tongue in disgust at the sight.

Bianca, still held in his arms, turned her head away.

‘I want to get out of here.’

Bianca clutched tightly at Dexter’s collar. His gaze flicked down at her for a brief moment before turning away again.

“Mmgh, mmph!”

“Do you feel wronged? What exactly are you crying about? Lancelot.”

“Guhk, hah!”

It seemed Lancelot had removed the handkerchief that had been covering his mouth, and he gasped for breath like a drowning man.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince! Why are you treating me like this?!”

Young Lord Kavert spoke with a look that clearly expressed his confusion about the situation.

“When you see a beautiful flower, you ought to think twice about why it’s there. Everything in this garden belongs to me. Even if you want to pull a weed, you would still need my permission. Am I wrong?”

Young Lord Kavert shook his head frantically.

“B-But that woman…”

“Not ‘that woman.’ Her name is Bianca Astri, the young lady of the House of Astri.”

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Ah, Lord Gasil. And isn’t that Sir Ian as well?”

“…Your Highness.”

Bianca turned at the sound of the voices she had heard earlier beyond the bushes. Seeing their calm demeanor, she pressed her lips together tightly.

“You were there with him, so I assume you know exactly what happened.”

Lord Gasil nodded silently. His eyes swept over the disgraceful sight of Young Lord Kavert, his face openly filled with disdain.

“While we were strolling through the garden, Young Lord Kavert suddenly said he had dropped something and went back alone. We waited near the entrance, but he never returned. Just as we were about to go back to find him, we heard the scream.”