Chapter 104

The emotions Camilla held for Raul were not something easily defined. They were built upon layers of countless past moments. How could one easily describe the color of such emotions, mixed with countless shades?

There was a friendship that transcended love. A camaraderie that went beyond that friendship. A heartbeat that surpassed that camaraderie. And a love that went beyond that heartbeat.

It was a chaotic yet beautiful emotion, like multiple snakes tangled together, tail to tail.

And now, there was someone trying to paint their own color over the object of those emotions.

“Rosie Nevermore. It would be best for you to back off while I’m still your sister’s friend.”

“Do I have any reason to obey your orders…?”

“No, you don’t. But don’t you have a reason to live?”

“Your provocation is crude.”

“I’ll make it a request, then. Just for today, let me be Raul. If you can’t do that…”

Camilla whispered in Rosie’s ear with a deadly voice.

“I might just kill you right here.”

“…I am a proper Family Head. Not someone you can just kill.”

“Hey, why do you think the hunting festival was held? So that anyone who dies can be disguised as an accident.”

Hearing that, Rosie froze.

Though Rosie had talent in martial arts, she couldn’t defeat Camilla, who not only had the greatest talent but also years of experience.

Rosie had worked hard, but heroes like Camilla had undergone physical modifications and taken various drugs since childhood, making them far beyond ordinary.

“…I’ll retreat for today.”

Rosie slipped the dagger she was holding back into her sleeve. It was something she had prepared to threaten Raul with if he refused to tell her the truth.

Meanwhile, Latri, who had been hiding and watching the scene, sheathed the sword she was holding. Seeing Rosie’s sleeve slightly bulging, she felt her efforts in tailing her had been wasted.

And Raul, with his sharp hearing, heard everything and let out a quiet sigh.

Now, this conflict just felt exhausting. Even the time he wanted to purely enjoy was tainted by worry and anxiety, making that wish completely out of reach.

“…Camilla.”

To clear away all these obstacles, a strong approach was needed.

He needed to show his former fiancée that he had severed all ties, and to his mother that he was no longer a person bound by her.

That’s why he chose Camilla.

“I have something to say to you. About our relationship.”

Raul used the hand signals they used during the war to convey his message to Camilla.

Seeing the message asking her to play along, Camilla smirked and responded.

“What is it this time? My Raul.”

“It’s about what happened last night.”

“Ah, that. It was intense.”

Though they had just sparred during training, it would sound completely different to those who didn’t know the truth.

“…What if something happens?”

Camilla was referring to the scar Raul got from falling, but to those unaware, it would sound like something else entirely.

“Well, that…”

Suddenly, Raul stopped and sharply turned his head.

Camilla, too, turned her gaze in the same direction with a twisted expression.

—

“Miss, if you run that fast, you’ll get hurt. If you trip over a tree root and fall…”

“Do I look that stupid to you?”

Kyle, who had been secretly exchanging signals with his subordinates while keeping an eye on the hunting grounds, felt a surge of irritation.

Being forced into a life of servitude, guarding the hunting grounds, and escorting a spoiled noble girl—he’d rather be fighting on the battlefield. That would be a hundred times more comfortable.

“…This is unbearable.”

Even though she was his life’s savior, this level of exploitation was beyond what he had imagined. Kyle lit a cigarette to relieve his stress, but Rizel accidentally shot an arrow that split the cigarette in half.

If the trajectory had been slightly off, it would have been a disaster.

“…Sorry.”

“That was my last one…”

Kyle desperately suppressed his anger as he looked at Rizel.

She was undoubtedly beautiful, with an extraordinary memory, and the current head of the Berze Family. But she was also oblivious, lacked judgment, and was smart in a useless way. To Kyle, she was just a fool with a good memory.

If he ever got married, he’d never want someone like her. A face might fade, but a brain lasts a lifetime.

“…I wonder who you’ll end up marrying, Miss.”

Kyle planned to hand the groom a lump of gold on the wedding day and mock him internally, saying, “Run, you idiot.”

“…This time, I’ll definitely marry someone my brother approves of. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Hearing that, Kyle bit his lower lip.

The Empress had told him to keep it a secret, but hiding it from this naive fool any longer felt wrong.

“Miss… actually, Raul is…”

Just as Kyle was about to explain Raul’s condition, he suddenly felt something and sharply turned his head.

—

“…Damn it, where did the Empress go?”

The Emperor, having sent off Raul and Camilla, decided to drown his loneliness in alcohol.

His partner, the Empress, had disappeared since dawn, leaving him feeling lonely.

He couldn’t go tease Raul, who was probably enjoying a date, as Camilla would surely kill him.

When bored, the Emperor usually played chess with the Empress or pushed her wheelchair at full speed, only to get hit. Without her, he couldn’t overcome his boredom.

“…Raul. Camilla. Penelope.”

Left alone, the Emperor gripped the hilt of his greatsword and called out his friends’ names.

“This time, I will definitely protect you all.”

There was a girl who had approached him when he was lost in despair after losing his mother, living like a pig in his room. That girl was now the Empress, suffering under various slanders.

There was his first same-sex friend and the most compatible comrade on the battlefield. That comrade had let go of everything in the face of death.

There was also a frustrating lady who loved that comrade. Having lost her once-rival friend, she had tried to give up but was now striving to burn everything.

And there was the kind friend who connected everyone. That friend was now buried in the cold ground, unguarded by him.

“No matter what happens.”

To achieve that, there was someone else he needed to deal with.

“I will definitely.”

And the Emperor, too, turned his gaze as he felt something.

“You’ve come.”

—

Raul, Camilla, Kyle, Emperor Asel, and even the hidden Empress Penelope.

They all felt the same thing.

A fear ingrained in their instincts.

A threatening aura reaching for their lives.

A fear of death that could come from anywhere, anytime.

They couldn’t help but look toward the source of such a powerful presence.

“The King of Specters.”

—

A man clad in ominous armor walked forward. The eerie, ominous aura seeping through the gaps in his armor was enough to make birds fall from the sky.

No flesh was visible. He looked like a creature made of metal, but there was no metallic shine.

The ancient armor was worn and scarred but showed no signs of rust.

As the armored hand moved, an ivory-colored arrow slipped through the gaps.

The man nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring to its limit, and squeezed out a voice filled with killing intent.

“How dare you.”

A red aura began to seep from the gaps in the helmet.

To anyone watching, it was clear that the source of that red aura was rage.

“How dare…”

His hand, which had never trembled when drawing the bowstring, shook with anger.

“How dare you… enjoy hunting on the soil of my nation… you imperial trash…?”

The King of Specters calmed his trembling hand and began to calmly assess the positions of his prey.

Among them were Raul, Camilla, Asel, and Kyle, along with some extraordinary prey. But most were nothing more than livestock-like trash.

“I’m somewhat relieved. You haven’t changed at all since those days. Or perhaps you’ve regressed. Or… you’ve become even more incompetent.”

The King of Specters aimed his bow at his target.

“For now, I’ll simply express my gratitude.”

The King of Specters didn’t know what the Empire was after.

“You, and I.”

But what he intended to do was extremely simple.

“Let the hunt begin.”

To shoot and kill every despicable human of the Empire.

—