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chapter 48
July 17, 2021
Viktor grabbed his dangling right arm. Pain like fire shot up his shoulder blade — it felt as if the bone had been yanked clean out. Cold sweat streamed down his back once more.
Where did I get caught?
He had moved through the knights’ headquarters without leaving a trace. Even when his superior pressed him, he had acted unconcerned — but this mission was crucial. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a chance to earn his trust, climb higher, and obtain greater power. Yet at this very moment, Tessia and the Valkyrie Knights stood blocking his path.
First, I need to get out of here.
Keeping a wary eye on Tessia, Viktor glanced at the wide-open window beside him. If he could just find one opening, he could escape. The problem was — how to make that opening.
“I can practically hear your brain turning,” Tessia said, her voice chillingly low. Her lips were smiling, but her eyes were cold as ice.
“You dare to plan a kidnapping — in the capital of the Empire I protect?”
The Tessia Viktor had known until now was nothing more than a hot-blooded young commander. She might have been called a butcher on the battlefield, but really? He’d always doubted that. Yet now, all that seemed like a lie — the air around her radiated a deadly cold. Viktor’s body trembled against his will. As a swordsman, he instinctively knew — the person before him was on another level entirely. Like an animal sensing its predator, he could do nothing but shrink back.
“K-kidnapping? What do you mean, Commander?”
Tessia let out a short, disbelieving laugh. Viktor, undaunted, pressed on.
“If this is because I’m from Tiranavan, I swear you’re mistaken! I swear on my name, Viktor Erkin — I have nothing to do with any kidnappings!”
“The name you should be swearing on… isn’t that one.”
“…What?”
“Viktor Erkin — no, I shouldn’t call you that. You’re just a criminal who stole Viktor Erkin’s name.”
Shock flickered across Viktor’s eyes. How did Tessia know about the real Viktor Erkin?
“I hereby place you under arrest for the kidnapping during the recent festival.”
“W-wait, Commander—”
“Take him.”
“W-wait! Prince Lowenhart! You can’t do this to me, Your Highness!”
As the knights began dragging him away, Viktor shouted desperately, invoking Lowenhart’s name. Tessia’s body stiffened for an instant. Seizing the moment, Viktor screamed louder:
“I only did what I was told! The Prince himself said it! That if I wanted to rise in rank, I should obey his orders!”
Redford, Alex, and the knights behind them all turned toward Lowenhart. Their eyes were filled with disbelief — but also suspicion. It couldn’t be true… could it?
After all, it was Prince Lowenhart who had provided the tip about Viktor — that he was an impostor and the mastermind behind the kidnappings. But if Viktor was right… if all this had been orchestrated by Lowenhart, and Viktor was just the scapegoat?
The air in the room turned razor-thin, like walking on black ice. Feeling their stares, Lowenhart’s expression twisted. Did they really believe that absurd claim? It was laughable — yet the sting of always being treated like a scapegoat made bitterness rise in his chest.
Then—
“Urgh—!”
“Don’t you dare drag Hart into your mess.”
Tessia tightened her grip on Viktor’s bound arm. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she growled:
“I’ll personally vouch for Lowenhart’s innocence.”
“Ugh—”
“How dare you lay a hand on my fiancé. You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.”
Lowenhart’s eyes widened. Until now, he had been the one struggling to become her fiancé — pretending to be affectionate for the sake of their mutual contract. But this was the first time Tessia had ever publicly called him her fiancé.
Viktor’s face twisted in dismay.
Damn it.
The conviction burning in Tessia’s eyes as she defended Lowenhart told him everything. They’d formed a bond stronger than he had anticipated.
So much for dragging them both down together.
He could already imagine his superior’s mocking face — “Is this all you’re capable of?”
Grinding his teeth, Viktor glared up as Tessia declared firmly:
“I’ll hear the rest of your story in prison. Take him away!”
“Yes, Commander!”
At her command, the knights moved in perfect formation. Alex and Redford stepped forward first, seizing Viktor. He seemed to submit meekly now that his crimes were exposed — but the moment Alex deliberately loosened his grip, Viktor drove his elbow into Alex’s stomach and rolled away.
“Ugh!”
“He’s escaping! Catch him!” Tessia shouted.
As the knights lunged, Viktor sprinted toward the open window — but it was a feint. Just as their hands reached for him, he stopped and pulled a magic scroll from his waistband, ripping it in half. Tessia’s eyes widened.
“No—!”
With a sharp snap, the teleportation spell activated, and Viktor vanished before their eyes. A heavy silence filled the room. Some Valkyrie knights looked stricken, glancing nervously at their commander. Losing an enemy right in front of her — surely they’d all be punished.
But contrary to their fears, Tessia smiled faintly. Alex sighed heavily and stepped forward.
“Well, that’s a first. I’ve never actually hoped a criminal would run.”
“Redford,” Tessia said calmly, “the tracking spell on Viktor’s clothes — it’s still active, right?”
“Yeah. I checked again when I grabbed him earlier.”
Redford brushed off his uniform where Viktor had tugged it. For security’s sake, only a handful of people — including Tessia — knew of their hidden plan. Tessia nodded, commending her knights before turning. She found herself face-to-face with Lowenhart, who looked like he had something to say but couldn’t find the words.
“Tessia.”
She bit her lip. She still hadn’t sorted out her feelings — and yet, moments ago, she had called him her fiancé without hesitation. As if it had always been that way.
No. Not yet.
Right now, capturing Viktor came first. Everything else was proceeding according to plan. All they had to do was track where the rat they’d “accidentally” let loose would run.
The place Viktor’s teleport scroll brought him to was the same abandoned building he used for meetings with his master.
“Urgh…”
He groaned. His dislocated shoulder throbbed with blinding pain. He had always looked down on Tessia, flattering her only when necessary. Sure, she had some sword skill, but compared to a male knight, she was small, her arms slender. How strong could she really be? He had learned the hard way.
“They call her the Butcher of the Battlefield, huh…”
He could still see her face smiling sweetly as she tore his arm out of its socket — the effortless strength that had pinned him down. She was a monster.
“Haa…”
Letting out a breath, Viktor glanced at his shoulder. He needed to stabilize it, at least temporarily. He looked around, but there was nothing useful in the decrepit ruin. With no other choice, he tore the hem of his pants into strips, wrapping it tightly around his arm. Crude, but functional. Then he sank into a chair with a heavy sigh.
“I’m exhausted.”
Through the broken window, the morning sun was already rising. But he couldn’t afford to rest. His identity as Viktor Erkin had been exposed — despite all his precautions. His master wouldn’t know yet, so he had to report it quickly. He needed to find out how much had been discovered — and if their new base had been compromised. Worst case, even the hidden bodies might have been found.
If he failed again, not even he could withstand his master’s wrath.
Viktor reached into his pocket and pulled out a smaller scroll — an emergency communication device. Without hesitation, he tore it. A red light flared, burned brightly, then vanished. Having sent the signal, Viktor stood up with a groan. His arm was useless, but his legs still worked.
He cleared the table, rolling up the worn carpet underneath. Beneath it was a wooden trapdoor. Unlocking it, he descended into the underground passage.
The damp tunnel was dimly lit by a single torch, the air heavy with the smell of groundwater seeping through weak walls. Viktor walked for nearly ten minutes before a sharp voice echoed through the darkness.
“What’s with the sudden summons?”
Standing in a small clearing of the tunnel was his master — cloaked in a dark crimson robe.
“I told you not to contact me unless it was urgent. I’ve already had to deal with drunk fools barging into the trading post today.”
“Sorry about that.”
“What the hell happened to your arm? Did you trip and fall like an idiot?”
Viktor sighed, his face shadowed.
“I was discovered.”
“…What?”
“The new base, the kidnappings, even my Viktor Erkin identity — the Valkyrie Knights found out everything.”
“What did you say?!”
Her furious shout cracked like thunder. Striding forward, she seized Viktor by the arm. He clenched his jaw in pain as she examined the crude bandage around his shoulder. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed faint traces of a magic circle burned into the fabric of his clothes.
“What did you bring back with you, you fool?”
A feral growl rumbled from her throat.
