Chapter 93

The moment Linus left the Lindquist mansion, Laila lifted the curse she had placed on Lucas.

“Without that woman, does that man turn into half a fool?”

It was almost laughable how easily Linus had been cut away from the Lindquists. Florence had assured her that the Lindquists wouldn’t bother protecting Linus, but Laila had expected it to be more difficult.

Lucas, as the heir and as his brother, hadn’t wanted to abandon him. Laila was honestly surprised—such loyalty was too precious for a man like Linus.

But kindness only held value for those who deserved it. She hadn’t imagined Linus would kick it away with his own feet.

“More than that, I think he never saw anything beyond himself in the first place.”

At Laila’s biting sarcasm, Keith answered coldly. No matter how much a man loved his wife, there were duties to his elders that he could not shirk. Linus had treated those responsibilities lightly, throwing away obligations equal to the power he enjoyed.

Then again, what did duties matter compared to the tragedy of his beloved returning to her own world?

But the world could not be made of romance alone.

“Seems the Lindquists liked Florence more after all.”

Keith gave a hollow laugh.

Linus had allowed Jang Hyunji to live exactly as she pleased.

He had separated House Baldwin from the Lindquists so that Hyunji wouldn’t have to interact with the family that disapproved of her. He let a top-class spirit do nothing more than run errands for her, because she feared fighting. And he had been content that she drew no attention from other men.

They had lived in a world of just the two of them.

Even Laila herself had been part of the wall Linus built around Hyunji.

Laila murmured,

“I almost thought no one in this world existed except people who loved her.”

“As if. He only kept around people who whispered sweet words to her.”

“…Right. Of course.”

Even if Hyunji had become the protagonist instead of Laila, she could never have been loved by everyone. Even Laila, who had once been called the true heroine, had barely survived under endless envy and jealousy. She couldn’t deny she’d been lucky many times, but that didn’t mean her life had been good. If someone asked whether she’d trade it all for a normal life, Laila would have thrown everything away without hesitation.

“Maybe I should have learned curses instead of healing magic.”

Keith muttered awkwardly. Compared to Laila’s curses and Enoch’s work, he felt he had done almost nothing—other than retrieving evidence Rishi had hidden and pretending to threaten people. Laila shook her head.

“You couldn’t have. It doesn’t suit you.”

“Why not? I was a top student, you know.”

“In healing magic only.”

“…You’ve always looked down on me, haven’t you?”

“Not at all. Breaking through the barrier of 7th class isn’t easy. I think that’s amazing.”

Laila smirked impishly, shrugging.

“But curses don’t suit a softhearted man like you. At best, curses just make people uncomfortable. Look at the commander—he’s living fine even after my curse. Same for the little Lindquist lord. My curses are tricks, nothing more. I doubt the commander even considers it a big deal.”

But at least she had succeeded in severing Linus from the Lindquists.

A wall that had seemed impossibly solid, unbreakable—up close, its shell was surprisingly fragile.

“Few people will devote themselves to a selfish man.”

“Except for a handful of fanatics.”

“Ugh… They’re disgusting. Revolting.”

Laila shuddered.

“If they don’t change even after knowing the truth, maybe that’s… I don’t know, true love?”

“See? Curses don’t suit you. You always try to find the positive side.”

“….”

“That’s a compliment.”

Keith scratched his head with a sour face. Laila’s compliments were deep—and not at all pleasant.

Gerard was in shock. He felt as if the heavens had turned upside down.

The very afternoon the young Lindquist lord had taken Linus away, accusations against the Marquis of Baldwin’s corruption flooded in.

It began with an article about Kenneth’s death and the culprit, then countless other buried victims came pouring out like a dam had burst.

The victims were, almost without exception, attractive men who had crossed paths with Florence Love Lindquist.

It was revealed that, under the guise of protecting his wife who claimed to be abused, Linus had obsessively used the Knight Order—an official military force—to commit crimes.

And it wasn’t as if Florence had done anything gravely wrong. Just a casual word, a lingering gaze, a kind smile—that was enough.

Everyone already knew Linus loved his wife excessively. But the reality, now exposed, horrified the public.

Those who had hesitated to criticize him directly suddenly changed their tune when news spread that the Lindquists had severed ties with Baldwin.

At the center of the accusations stood the Haines Merchant Guild, which announced it would officially support the victims’ families. Its master, Enoch Haines, declared that he had worked for free for five years at the Seymour estate out of pity for Florence—and had been forced to flee abroad under constant assassination attempts orchestrated by Linus.

All of this happened in a single day.

Some thought it a deliberate smear campaign against Linus. Others, if it was all true, didn’t know what to do. Gerard wanted to believe in Linus—but after ten years at his side, the man he’d watched…

…was entirely capable of it.

Blind devotion, in any form, was terrifying. Blindness meant one couldn’t see reason.

“I have to ask the commander about this.”

“Ask him about what?”

Jule, one of the knights, looked puzzled. Gerard couldn’t even understand why he’d ask such a thing.

“What do you mean, what? About all of this, of course!”

“Even if it’s all true—what changes?”

“…What?”

“I don’t see what the commander did wrong. At all.”

“Jule, think logically—”

“They lusted after the marquis’s wife. They deserved death. The commander showed them mercy, if anything. If he hadn’t, more women might have suffered.”

“…Are you serious, Jule?”

“I don’t understand you, Sir Gerard. This is a baseless slander, an insult. The commander did nothing wrong. This was all fabricated by that Enoch Haines out of envy and jealousy. As members of Blue Dawn, shouldn’t we be outraged? Instead of questioning the commander, we should already be on our way to punish that man!”

“….”

Gerard stared at Jule as if seeing a stranger. The boy, barely twenty, had been his protégé since his squire days. Cheerful, justice-loving. He had often spoken of his admiration for Linus—but Gerard had never realized that admiration had become near-worship. In Jule’s light brown eyes, madness gleamed.

“Sir Gerard… Are you, perhaps, siding with that Enoch Haines?”

“….”

The boy looked ready to stab him on the spot if he said yes.

At that moment, Linus entered the Knight Order headquarters. Jule shot up like an arrow, while Gerard froze where he stood.

“Commander! Welcome back!”

“Are we prepared?”

“Perfectly. We’ve already surrounded the merchant guild’s headquarters.”

“Don’t let a single one escape. Use any means necessary.”

“…Any means, sir?”

Jule asked carefully. Linus replied without the slightest change in expression:

“I’ll take responsibility. Do whatever it takes—just don’t let them slip away.”

The Haines Merchant Guild stood in the heart of Redamas’s busiest district, surrounded by civilian homes. The blood drained from Gerard’s face.

When they had burned the slums, Gerard had believed Linus when he said it was part of an urban renewal project. Most residents had been evacuated beforehand, and the knights had only moved in to drive out the last few holdouts.

But this was different.

Something was terribly, horribly wrong.

This wasn’t a knight order anymore.

It was a cult.