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Chapter: 10
Amid the pouring rain, Gilliard stared silently in their direction.
When the raindrops that had pooled along his jaw finally fell—drip, drip—the man who had been sprawled on the ground suddenly sprang to his feet.
“You bastard…! I’ll kill you!”
The axe in his hand sliced through the air.
Gilliard immediately drew his sword from his waist.
The blade cleaved through the rain and collided with the axe, producing a harsh screech of metal grinding against metal.
It was a royal sword, its grip set with a blue gemstone.
A symbol bestowed in recognition of merit earned in war, the blade traced a clean arc, moving as naturally as if it were an extension of Gilliard himself.
Before even a few exchanges had passed, the outcome was already clear.
The one-eyed man was no match for Gilliard.
He swung down with brute force alone, but even that strength failed to withstand the counterblows, forcing him steadily backward.
The assailant, straining with all his might, suddenly roared in rage.
“You screwed me over the exact same way back then! Feeding me false information and ambushing me—are you pulling that same cowardly trick again?!”
“Blame your own stupidity for falling for that ‘cowardly trick’ twice,” Gilliard replied coldly. “And it wasn’t me who lured you here today. It was that family.”
The clash reignited.
The attacker pressed desperately forward, while the man before him never once let his breathing falter.
Sia stood frozen, staring blankly at their fight.
Though the conversation made no sense to her and left her mind in turmoil, the violent exchange of blades continued.
At last, driven all the way back to the fence, the assailant’s body trembled as he lifted his head.
His gaze slipped past Gilliard’s shoulder—to Sia standing behind him.
“Gilliard! If I gouge out the eyes of that thing you treasure so dearly, do you think you’ll still look so damn smug?!”
With that shout, the man charged straight at Sia.
The sound of mud splashing underfoot and Gilliard shouting her name swirled into her ears.
In an instant, the distance closed, and the axe swung toward her.
She barely twisted aside.
Then someone shouted—
“Sia! Catch!”
The object thrown by the voice skidded across the rain-soaked ground toward her.
Instinctively, Sia flicked her foot, sending the sheathed sword into the air.
As naturally as flowing water, she drew the blade and stepped forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With every clash between sword and axe, something unfamiliar awakened within Sia.
Strength beyond what her muscles remembered.
Speed beyond what her legs recalled.
And when she struck down with technique beyond what her hands had ever known, the man’s large hands began to tremble under the strain.
“You… damn brat!”
The man shouted in fury as he failed again to counter—
And then—
Fwoosh!
Blue flames erupted along Sia’s blade.
The same flames she had seen during her sparring with Gilliard flared once more, and in that moment, Sia was certain.
This power was not human.
And in this life, she would be pulled forward by this unknown force, whether she wished it or not.
Sia poured all her strength into the sword and swung.
“Aaaaargh!”
The flames and blade struck true, cutting into the assailant’s body.
Rain poured down, blood blooming through it.
When the man collapsed to the ground, the blue flames scattered as if breaking apart.
Gravely wounded, the assailant did not rise again.
Sia panted heavily and looked around.
That was when her eyes met Gilliard’s, who stood a short distance away.
Through the heavy rain that blurred her vision, their gazes locked, taut and unyielding.
“Duke! Sia!”
Someone rushed between them.
Kador glanced between Sia and Gilliard before kicking the fallen man with his foot.
“The knights have arrived, my lord! We’ll take care of the rest from here.”
“Knights…? What is this? What’s going on?” Sia asked.
Before she could finish speaking, more than a dozen knights surrounded the brick house.
Seeing the rose-shaped brooches on their uniforms, Sia realized they were private soldiers of House Ligrus.
Soon, the Harrington family was dragged out of the house.
Mr. Harrington screamed as his arms were restrained.
“Let go! What did I even do?!”
“F-father…! We didn’t do anything wrong! Why are you doing this?!”
As the three Harringtons were bound, Gilliard strode toward them.
He spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
“You are under arrest for human trafficking. The state will conduct the trial. Follow orders.”
“You bastard Duke—! You’re the one who dangled the bait! We’re innocent! We didn’t do anything!”
“Take them away.”
“S-Sia…! No, wait—! You won’t abandon us like this, will you? Please, save us, please…!”
Despite the woman’s desperate cries, Sia could not bring herself to speak.
Her mind reeled in shock.
The knights dragged them away along with the one-eyed man and loaded them onto a wagon.
Even after the wagon departed, their screams lingered for a while before fading into silence.
Through it all, the rain continued to fall endlessly.
She was so drenched that it hardly felt different from being submerged in water.
Sia slowly walked toward her guardian.
Gilliard, equally soaked, looked at her and spoke first.
“Do you have something to say?”
At that moment, Sia was certain.
His sudden arrival six years ago to take her away—
And his appearance today, at such a precise and cruel moment—
She recalled the woman’s words.
“You’re the one who threw out the bait! We’re innocent!”
What did that bait mean?
She already knew the answer.
But asking it aloud was not easy.
Only after a long pause did Sia manage to speak.
“Did you… leak information about human trafficking? So they’d kidnap me and sell me?”
“Yes.”
He answered too easily.
Sia forced out another question.
“…Why?”
“They demanded money endlessly, so I tested them. To see whether they would still take care of you even when tempting information reached them. Around the end of the war, I spread rumors of my death along with word of an eccentric collector near the border who sought eyes of unusual color. They acted immediately.”
She could have ignored the fact that they demanded money.
But that they had been willing to abandon her so mercilessly—
To sell her eyes for profit—
That truth was unbearable.
Ignoring Sia’s shock, Gilliard continued.
“Out of consideration for the years they raised you, I didn’t throw them in prison at first. But time passed, they fell back into gambling, and needed money again. And you, foolishly, walked straight into the trap.”
“No… that can’t be…”
“When you’re young, ignorance is an excuse. Not now, Ermodian. You’re nothing more than a fool who would give up everything—heart and soul—just because someone once treated you kindly. Do you understand?”
“Treated me kindly…?”
At those words, rage ignited.
That Gilliard Ligrus was the one saying them was unbearable.
Sia flung the sword she was holding at his feet.
“If you had treated me like a human being—even a little—I wouldn’t have given up everything like that!”
Her voice rang out thunderously through the rain.
Thankfully, no one else was nearby except Kador, who was finishing up.
Startled, he dropped what he was holding and rushed toward her.
“Sia, calm down first—”
“Why did you go to such lengths to take me away?! You could’ve just given them money and let me live there! You hate me anyway!”
“No matter the reason, once you were tied to House Ligrus, I couldn’t leave you be. If your eyes had been taken and you died, it would stain the family’s name.”
“So it’s because you stirred them up with that information—!”
“Ermodian. You already know this. If they were decent people, no matter how tempting the bait, they would have ignored it and raised you properly. As family. With affection.”
She was grateful it was raining.
It hid the tears streaming down her face.
Sia stared straight at Gilliard.
She refused to let him know she was crying.
“What you know may not be the whole truth. Learn everything first. Then decide.”
It was something she already understood—having lived to twenty-seven once.
She blamed Gilliard out of denial, but even she knew the truth now.
Step.
Gilliard approached.
He bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Then he leaned in close, his face inches from hers.
A faint, cruel smile curved his lips.
Sia could only stare at it helplessly.
“Congratulations, Ermodian—on being abandoned by your parents twice.”
