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Amidst the sounds of slaughter, one lone man wailed helplessly. The man was an earl by the name of Ian, one of the more prominent attendees of the ill-fated meeting. The earl’s cries suddenly came to a halt as he trembled in fear at the figure before his eyes. He was witnessing a devil in the flesh striding towards him with glowing, blood-red irises. Earl Ian wanted to run away, but he could not find the strength to move his feet. He couldn’t even lift his hand. The pressure in the air weighed heavily upon his body, paralyzing him. He was truly cornered.

Whatever strength he had in his legs quickly dissipated, and he sank to the floor. When he looked up again, he saw blood dripping from the devil’s white face. In just a few seconds, the perpetrator of the calamity surrounding them now stood before him. The earl shrunk under the frigid glare of Kyle Romani, the Archduke of the North.

“Sa… Save me, please…!”

Earl Ian whimpered and shouted the only thing that came to mind. All he could think about was his desperate desire to live. Kyle laughed at him.

“Save me?” the Archduke found his remark funny. “Aren’t you the ones who pulled out their swords first?”

Most of the northern areas were lands belonging to the Romanis, but the north was too wide and too vast to be managed as one territory. As a result, lesser nobles were given rule over some of the north, but with their newfound power came a slew of corruption scandals. Through the feudal system, the northern aristocrats enriched themselves and left naught for the peasants, causing the disparity between the two classes to worsen after each generation.

Upon assuming the title of Archduke, Kyle immediately set about eliminating all the corruption plaguing the north and implemented a new salary system in place of the archaic feudal system. Instead of obtaining their fortunes through taxing and exploiting their tenants, the region’s finances would be carefully audited and the aristocracy was to be given a stipend proportional to their needs. The amount was sufficient for them to maintain their dignity, and the leftover was meant to be invested in their lands, as Kyle commanded.

The new system enriched both the public and the nobility since the common folk was now free from subjective tariffs and the nobles had enough to continue living comfortably so long as they managed their finances and their territories well. Therefore, the aristocracy had no reason to complain about the new system.

However, covetous of the power they once held, the nobles began to rebel against Kyle’s authority. The corruption scandals occurred again, and this time more than one party wished to be free from the Archduke’s rule. Both the lords who ruled over the northern and southern territories began raising forces behind Kyle’s back. They all feared Kyle, but their desire to be rid of him fueled their treason.

“Elvin, prepare a meeting with each region.”

But Kyle was not unaware of their treachery. He had planned to confront them; however, something strange had occurred before he even got the chance. The nobles had decided to strike first. They believed that Kyle had grown weak since becoming afflicted with the dragon’s curse. If they were able to eliminate the Lord of the North, then they could keep the north under their control and drive their profits as high as they wished. Their arrogance had blinded them to the foolishness of their decision.

Unfortunately for them, Kyle’s military prowess had not become any weaker. In fact, his thirst for blood had grown immensely. The ambush failed, and all the soldiers and assassins the nobles had hired now rolled onto the floor in pieces. So did the nobles. Now, the remaining conspirator had the gall to ask Kyle to save him after betraying him. Kyle felt like he was in the midst of a comedy.

“I… I didn’t know anything about this,” Earl Ian stuttered. “I really didn’t know anything. Please believe me… Please…”

The earl’s woeful protests seemed like they would never end. So Kyle cut off his head.

“I’ll take care of the rest,” Kyle replied coldly. His words implied that the family, aides, and relatives of all those who were involved would be put to death as well.

Elvin came to stand next to Kyle and noticed something that surprised him.

“Pardon me, Your Excellency, but why did you let them hurt your shoulders?” Elvin politely asked.

He was one of the very few people who could talk freely to the Archduke when his eyes were red. However, even Elvin usually refrained from talking to Kyle as much as possible when his eyes were in such a state, but he just couldn’t understand Kyle’s behavior from before.

His shoulder had been wounded by a random soldier’s blade, even though Elvin knew the Archduke had been fully capable of avoiding the attack. It seemed he just stood there and let it happen.

Why on earth did he do that? For what reason?

Kyle didn’t answer Elvin’s question. Rather, he just touched his shoulder, which was bleeding profusely. He then silently walked forward, and Elvin started questioning him again.

“Your Excellency, where are you going?”

“I’m going to return to the mansion.”

His statement surprised the aide since this was earlier than scheduled. They rejoined the rest of the knights, and Kyle paused.

“I should buy some flowers.”

The knights doubted their ears at first. They knew that the flowers were for the Archduchess because they remembered him asking her what she wanted before they departed, but they hadn’t expected that he would be thinking about that after slaughtering an entire room full of nobles, mercenaries, and soldiers.

The current Kyle was not the same as the usual Kyle. At the moment, he was an extremely dangerous and unpredictable man. Even though the crimson coloration in his eyes was slowly fading in intensity, they were still red. The bloodlust was still fresh in his veins. One could tell from the grievous condition of the corpses littering the palace that Kyle was in not his right state of mind. It wasn’t like he wasn’t usually this dangerous, but his aura felt very different in an inexplicable and unsettling way.

He wants to search for flowers in that condition?

Besides his altered mindset, there was another problem with him going out in such a state: Kyle’s pristine armor was now soaked from head to toe in dark, red blood.

But he wants to give the Archduchess flowers looking like that…?

The knights had no idea what Kyle planned to do or how the situation would fare if he was allowed to continue. They had met Riddel before and thought her to be kind, but now they were suddenly frightened for their mistress. The knights hoped that the relationship between the Archduke and Archduchess wouldn’t worsen, and despite their apprehensions regarding allowing Kyle to greet her while in his violent state, they decided to remain silent because they also feared his fury. Elvin shut his mouth as well, even though he was interested in knowing the reason behind Kyle’s eccentric behavior.

“Elvin, what were those letters you delivered in the morning?”

Kyle, who had seemed to be thinking about something else, suddenly asked about the messages that were delivered to Her Highness, Riddel Spencer.

“They were letters from Viscount Spencer and Her Highness’ former fiancé, Doman Woodhill.”

“Former fiancé?”

Elvin always told his master the truth, but this time his instincts told him that he had made a very grievous error. Kyle’s voice took on a viciously sharp edge, and his eyes were indescribably hideous.

I remember him telling me it didn’t matter if Riddel Spencer still wanted to play around with her ex-fiancé. He had said her actions didn’t matter to him and he wasn’t at all bothered by it.

Elvin wondered why Kyle’s attitude had changed so dramatically from before. He looked to be in such a dreadful hurry. Even if they were to start heading back now, they wouldn’t arrive at the mansion until very late at night.