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Chapter 263: Rinella’s Destiny is Her Own (56)

The chilly weather turned into the fierce cold of midwinter.

Those preparing to leave began to move their hands more busily.

The fact that the weather was getting colder also meant that the descent of the "Corpse Giant" was imminent.

The Demon Realm, where the Evil God’s underlings reside was a frozen land where snowstorms raged year-round. As the connection with the Demon Realm grew stronger, this world too inevitably began to be affected by its climate.

The snowflakes falling since noon were proof of it.

There was no time left. If everyone didn\'t hurry, they would be in danger.

Facing the cold wind, I suddenly missed Senior Neris.

Senior Neris, who was part of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, was skilled at gathering information.Had I only asked, she might have been able to gather more detailed information about the \'Corpse Giant.\'

However, I couldn\'t call for Senior Neris.

It was because I lost contact with her.

I guessed she might have received some instructions from my future self.

Anyway, we would see each other once I returned to the academy. Besides that, it was hard to find a reasonable reason for her to leave my side.

I did not know the details of those instructions, but I could only hope they would offer a chance to save the territory.

Although the likelihood of that was slim.

My future self repeatedly emphasised that the territory must be abandoned. If there had been any way to save the territory, he would have already hinted at it.

But no one, including myself, had ever heard such a thing.

Overall, the outlook was bleak.

Moreover, discovering that Ria was not actually my younger sister was testing my mental endurance even further.

I should have pressed my Father for more details at that time, but I couldn\'t bring myself to.

Ria was right there.

No matter how indifferent Ria seemed, she couldn\'t have been unaffected. Delving into her sad past would only hurt her more.

Yes, that must have been the case.

Even though Ria seemed very happy, that’s what I chose to believe..

That\'s how the conversation between me and Father was left unresolved.

Instead, he promised to tell me the secret once the situation was settled. The day when I would learn about the family\'s secret was not far off.

After several incidents, it was already around noon.

Before I knew it, I was standing before the manor\'s main gates.

It was because there was someone who had to leave first.

I came to see them off.

Of course, I wasn\'t the only one there to say goodbye.

Many retainers were also there, talking to her.

The protagonist of this small farewell ceremony was Seria, my junior and an illegitimate daughter of the Yurdina family.

She had originally come to Percus territory under Senior Delphine\'s orders.

Since her duty was to lead the Yurdina family\'s private soldiers, it was only natural for her to leave in order to fulfil that responsibility.

However, Seria declared she would lead the soldiers and join the evacuation procession soon. Since Senior Delphine also instructed her to assist me, this decision did not go against the family\'s wishes.

As for me, I was simply grateful.

In any case, it was a brief farewell following a brief encounter.

Anyway, by tomorrow, the Yurdina family\'s private soldiers led by Seria would be rushing over. Despite this, many people were reluctant to see her go.

Especially Aaron Hyung, who once again handed her a ruby gemstone.

And left me with a single remark as he returned to the manor.

“...Take good care of my sister in law.”

She\'s not your sister in law.

However, since he\'s not the type who would listen even if I said it, I just let out a deep sigh.

It wasn\'t that I couldn\'t understand my brother\'s feelings.

Aaron Hyung was a taciturn man and Seria, being shy, found it difficult to express herself.

It seemed he was cheering for Seria out of sympathy for that.

Though I couldn\'t fathom what misunderstanding led to him misinterpreting the relationship between me and Seria.

Seria, who had already received three ruby gemstones, could only muster an awkward smile.

Finally, it was my turn, and, as the last person, I stood in front of Seria.

The smell of the alcohol I drank in the morning still lingered.

I had to muster an embarrassed smile, knowing I didn\'t look like someone sending off a cherished junior.

"…Sorry, Seria. I’m having a bit of a hard time."

"I understand, Senior Ian."

Kind Seria nodded gently, despite seeing my sorry state.

Instead, she looked me over with a worried gaze.

"I\'ll be back soon. So that we can protect as many of the territory\'s residents as possible."

I almost said thank you, but stopped myself.

I had said it several times already.

Instead, I decided to make a joke to Seria for the first time in a while.

"Do you think Sir Alex will willingly cooperate?"

"Hehe, who knows… being a knight from the North, he might insist on not turning his back on the enemy."

Her words made me recall the old knight who had tightly gripped my hand on our first meeting.

And during our second meeting, had he not called me the \'Lunatic Young Master\'?

He was a rather eccentric old man.

It seemed entirely possible he would indeed behave that way, so I chuckled softly.

Only then did Seria show a gentle smile.

The cold, aloof expression she had when we first met was now no longer there.

For that, I was deeply grateful.

It seemed that the girl, who once appeared lonely and isolated, finally regained her warmth.

"See you tomorrow, Senior Ian... A-And be careful!"

"Sure, don\'t worry."

What’s even there to be careful about when we’re just fleeing?

With such complacent thoughts, I bid Seria farewell.

And that night,

In my drowsy state, I felt strange sensations.

The sweet scent of skin.

The soft touch of lips.

A girl with a gentle smile pressing down her pointed hat and even the blazing glow of sunset.

The ending of all those dreams was always the same.

A burning Great Forest.

I drifted through the disjointed scenes.

Just as my intoxicated body was about to sink into those murky memories.

Thud! A loud knock echoed through the door.

I immediately jolted up and grabbed the sword I kept by my bedside.

It was a swordsman’s instinct.

Holding my breath, I surveyed my surroundings, but the knock that woke me up happened only once.

There was no second knock.

Feeling puzzled, I got down from the bed.

A strange hue caught my eye.

It was blood-red.

Blood flowed from under the door.

Without hesitation I flung the door open, and there laid a servant bleeding on the ground.

The maid that took care of me since my childhood was writhing desperately.

As if in a final effort, she squeezed out her last words.

"R-run away…."

And then, with a final thud, her head slumped.

I could no longer feel her breath.

A curse slipped from my mouth.

"Fuck."

Simultaneously, screams echoed throughout the manor.

After closing the wide open lifeless eyes of the maid, I immediately headed to the lobby on the first floor.

Chaos had already erupted there.

Several of the manor\'s servants were attacking others at random.

The beastly howls emitted by them were something I had heard before.

Mitram\'s test subjects.

Though Mitram was dead, it seemed his test subjects had survived.

I had never imagined that test subjects were planted in the Percus manor as well.

Fortunately, they seemed to be few in numbers. .

There were only two in the first-floor lobby, but then again, there weren\'t many servants staying at the manor to begin with.

I threw a sword and it pierced through the crown of one test subject\'s head.

It seemed that with Mitram gone , so was their immortal-like regeneration ability.

Embodying the Principles of the Movement Within Stillness, another silver trajectory was drawn.

The two test subjects attacking the servants in the first-floor lobby died just like that.

The servants who had been targeted by the test subjects were just trembling in fear, not understanding what had happened.

"Y-Young master… Wh-Why was Hans…."

"It’s the work of the Dark Order."

With those words, I gritted my teeth and returned to my room.

Just to be sure, I checked the rooms of my family members, but fortunately, there seemed to be no issues.

However, there was no sign of life in Ria\'s room.

It seemed she was out, and naturally, my heart grew anxious.

After quickly arming myself and heading out, I found the group already gathered on the first floor.

Thanks to the many incidents we\'d been through, no one seemed to be overly panicked.

They were merely waiting for my words with subdued nervousness.

"…Does anyone know what\'s going on?"

At my question, Yuren raised his hand.

"It seems that the Dark Priest inserted some strange spell into the ritual."

All eyes turned to him, demanding an explanation.

As if he had anticipated this, Yuren continued without hesitating..

"In other words, something to trigger the test subjects into a frenzy was incorporated into the summoning ritual… to cause even more chaos when the arrival of the underling is imminent."

"Then what about the village right now?"

"It must be in complete chaos."

The splitting headache wasn\'t solely due to the hangover.

I staggered, clutching my forehead, then suddenly voiced a question that came to mind.

"…What about Ria?"

Those involved with the Dark Order were not limited to just the test subjects.

It was certain that Ria had some connection too.

Celine tilted her head at my question.

"Is she not in her room?"

I exhaled deeply and barely managed to calm my ragged breathing.

"First, let\'s wake up my parents and then head into the village to deal with any test subjects we see. We might have to move up the evacuation schedule…."

It was then that a piercing scream was heard from somewhere.

"Kyaaaaaaack!"

"…Ria!"

I recognized the voice in an instant.

My mind went blank, and before I knew it, I was running towards the source of the scream.

There, as expected, was Ria, about to be attacked by a test subject.

Seeing Ria trembling on the ground made my vision go red.

I threw the hatchet at the test subject lunging at Ria with a kitchen knife.

Thwack, the hatchet severed its arm, causing the test subject to howl even louder.

The kitchen knife it was holding pathetically clattered on the ground.

Using the momentum of my sprint, I kicked the test subject.

With a sickening crunch, the sensation of bones shattering accompanied the sight of its body flying far away.

The body rolled and bounced on the ground several times, indicating the immensity of the impact that was delivered

That test subject would likely be unable to get up again.

Blood sprayed from its severed arm and some of it spattered on Ria’s face.

In a state of panic, Ria was shaking uncontrollably.

She desperately scooted back on the ground, looking pitiful.

I immediately hugged Ria.

"It\'s okay, Ria… I\'ll take care of everything now."

"O-O-O-Oppa…"

Ria stammered as she clung to me, crying.

Her voice was soaked with tears.

I tightened my arms around her.

"Don\'t worry, I will protect you. So just wait calmly in the manor… alright?"

"Y-Yes… heuk, hik, huwuung…"

The shock must have been overwhelming, as Ria finally burst into tears.

I held her in my arms for a long time, trying to reassure her.

A few minutes later, she seemed to calm down a bit and loosened her grip on me.

In fact, Ria seemed to be handling it better than I was.

The suddenness of the event still left me feeling confused.

Especially since I had fallen asleep after drinking the night before.

That\'s why I didn\'t notice.

Ria still had her face buried in my chest.

If she had tried to pull away from me, there was no way such a position would have been maintained.

Her hand fumbled on the ground, and then suddenly,

Puuhk, a sharp pain pierced my abdomen.

Surprised, I looked down.

Before I knew it, Ria was holding a knife.

The same kitchen knife the test subject had dropped.

My eyes stared blankly at Ria.

Even Ria couldn’t believe what she had done; her eyes were wide open in shock.

For a moment, my thoughts detached from reality.

What brought my floating consciousness back was the sickening sound I heard again.

Puuhkk, the knife plunged into my abdomen again.

No, was it higher this time?

Blood welled up in my mouth.

Ria spoke in a trembling voice.

"N-No…"

I carefully grasped Ria\'s arm.

The strength I felt from her was far greater than I had imagined.

It wasn’t the kind of strength that frail Ria could muster.

Ah, come to think of it, she used to get especially strong whenever she was shovelling...

What a damn foreshadowing that was.

That\'s why I couldn’t prevent the knife from stabbing into me again with a Puhkkk.

"No, no, no… M-Me hurting O-O-Oppa…c-can\'t be possible . No, no, noooooooo!"

Listening to her anguished screams, I barely managed to pull myself away and fell heavily to the floor.

My vision blurred.

Is it because I\'m not entirely sober?

At least I could see my companions rushing towards us from afar in panic.

I muttered as I looked at them.

"R-Ria…"

Please, just don\'t hurt her.

With that scene as my last, my consciousness was suddenly cut off.

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