MHHC Chapter 72

The Assailant

But Donovan scratched the back of his head with an indifferent face and continued.

"I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what excuse to give His Grace the Grand Duke for failing to stop Your Grace."

Adelheid let out a hollow laugh, momentarily forgetting her seriousness. Donovan continued with a sullen expression, insisting he was deadly serious, not joking.

"When it comes to anything related to Your Grace's safety, His Grace catches us like catching mice... You can laugh like that because you haven't witnessed those scenes. His Grace at those times is truly terrifying."

A terrifying Valentin.

Adelheid thought the arrangement of those words was strange, and was somewhat surprised at herself for thinking it strange.

Before she knew it, she'd moved beyond the stage of not being wary of Valentin, to regarding him as an entirely familiar and harmless presence.

Even more...

'Just thinking his name makes my heart race.'

As her magnolia-white cheeks flushed red in an instant, Donovan's expression immediately turned bizarre. He let out a grumbling complaint.

"Please don't make such an expression that shows just thinking about it makes you happy. Where can people without lovers live without feeling miserable, really."

...Had it shown that much? Adelheid awkwardly covered her heated neck and cheeks with her hands. The skin cooled by the wind somewhat quenched the sudden heat.

"I find it lovely to see. You're making pointless complaints, Sir Knight."

Margaret glared at Donovan while looking at Adelheid with satisfaction, as if encouraging her to continue.

"What could be more heartwarming to see than a married couple cherishing and loving each other."

"..."

"Since you're both still young and healthy, by the time this spring passes, good news will naturally arrive. Before then, enjoy your time together while it's just the two of you."

"G-good news. Margaret..."

All efforts to collect herself were in vain as her face immediately heated bright red.

As Adelheid trailed off in embarrassment, Margaret's smile deepened as if she knew everything. Adelheid coughed and averted her gaze.

Even knowing there was no malice in Margaret's meddling, it was sometimes simply too embarrassing.

A child between Valentin and herself in the first place...

'Would it even be possible?'

If such a thing truly happened by some chance, what would the child look like? Would it resemble 'Valentin'? Or would it have the black hair and golden eyes of the Grand Duke of Ansgar? Or golden hair like hers with green eyes? Unconsciously imagining the child's appearance, Adelheid pressed down on her pounding heart with her hand.

'I've really been strange lately.'

If her feelings for Valentin were purely love, why did she feel happy yet inescapably anxious every moment she thought of him? Though she'd denied it, was she inwardly concerned that he was a monster?

After the first contract ended, when she left Ansgar, how would their relationship change? Lovers? Or perhaps friends or companions? Or something else entirely—some other reason he must use her 'body'...

"This place seems safe."

Adelheid, who had been deeply lost in thought, snapped to attention at Donovan's words.

He surveyed various parts of the Shelter with sharp eyes and said.

"I've been observing carefully since entering the Shelter, and there's no presence watching us now. No matter how skilled someone might be, they couldn't penetrate the holy knights' security."

"That's truly fortunate."

"Still, we must stay alert since they could follow again at any time. What makes it more worrying is not knowing their purpose—why Your Grace specifically is the target."

He bit his lip as if wrestling with something intensely, then after alternately looking at Margaret, Adelheid, and the holy knights guarding the Shelter's main gate, opened his mouth as if having reached a decision.

"It seems we'll need to request support. I should send someone to our knights remaining at the palace, asking them to send personnel to the Shelter to guard Your Grace."

"Right now?"

"Yes. I noted an employment office on the way here. I can hire a messenger there. It's not far from here, so I'll return within twenty minutes or so."

Seeing Adelheid's anxious face, Donovan pointed out each location one by one.

"The central garden has many people watching, so it's fine, but don't go into the building interiors or toward the outer walls. Be careful of areas where trees are thick, as sight lines are blocked. Especially don't go near those shaded gazebos."

"Rather than that, why don't we just move together..."

"That would actually be more dangerous. If they're targeting Your Grace, there's no place safer than here. We don't know the enemy's skill or numbers, and even if I handle multiple opponents alone, there will inevitably be gaps in the guard."

That was true. Margaret had absolutely no combat ability, and if the enemy pressed with numbers, even Donovan would have no way to withstand them.

Margaret, who had been listening quietly, stepped forward with a pale face.

"Then rather, I'll go to the employment office, Your Grace."

"Absolutely not."

Donovan cut her off coldly.

"Margaret's face has already been exposed to them. If you go outside the Shelter alone, I can't guarantee your safety."

"..."

"My going is the best option."

He was right. Adelheid nodded with an anxious face, barely managing it.

In truth, she worried more about whether Donovan could return safely than about her own safety.

Donovan bowed briefly with a hardened face, as if guessing Adelheid's heart.

"I'll return as quickly as possible."

"Be careful."

Donovan kept looking back, as if not completely at ease.

Adelheid watched until Donovan's back completely disappeared from view, then turned toward Margaret.

More precisely, she tried to turn.

In that moment, someone who had approached close pressed a sharp blade against her waist from behind.

"Don't move."

The man growled his command. When Adelheid tried to turn her head, the blade pushed in closer, piercing through cloth.

Margaret looked deathly pale, as if barely restraining herself from screaming immediately.

The man's voice was familiar. She'd heard it at least once somewhere before. Could it really be Oskar?

"I'd advise you not to get any foolish ideas."

Adelheid squeezed her eyes shut. What would happen if she held out here? Donovan said he'd return within twenty minutes, so perhaps engaging in a struggle would be the better choice.

Then the holy knights would notice something was wrong...

As she showed no sign of moving, the blade penetrated her skin and dug in deeper.

At the eerie sensation of metal embedding in her body, her spine trembled involuntarily. The man in the pulled-down hood muttered.

"If you're uncooperative, I can't guarantee your life."

"F-follow him... Y-Your Grace..."

"..."

"Please... I'll do as you wish, just that blade..."

As Adelheid's clothes began to soak with blood, Margaret lost her composure instead and pleaded.

When Margaret's pleading grew slightly louder, the man snarled.

"If you want to save your mistress, shut your mouth."

Margaret covered her mouth with both hands and nodded. The eyes of the normally composed woman were stained with perfect terror.

Adelheid glanced desperately toward the holy knights, but none of them paid any attention this way.

They didn't seem to suspect in the slightest that a dangerous element was wandering inside the Shelter.

What to do? How exactly could she avoid this situation without anyone getting hurt...

'Most humans will faint when first exposed to unrefined magic. Better if it's a vital point.'

Ah, that gentle voice that suddenly surfaced.

'You just said this power hurts people. Just by touching them with it. Of course...'

'Well, that's what I taught you.'

Adelheid desperately tried to recall that conversation with Valentin.

'Let me be clear—that only happens when first exposed to high-purity magic. To use an analogy, it's like a fish living in warm water encountering cold water—the shock is severe.'

'...'

'They only lose consciousness briefly, so they won't even notice, but if you're really squeamish about it, have them hold a magic stone before casting healing magic.'

Absurdly, her determination never to use magic on people had already vanished without a trace.

The moment she realized she had means to defend herself, her unstably beating heart slowly regained its pace.

Adelheid fidgeted with the bracelet on her sleeve and nodded shallowly.

"...I'll follow."

"Move slowly. Don't attract unnecessary suspicion."

Adelheid walked as if being dragged, held by a strong hand, to a nearby building.

The assailant walked straight toward his destination without once losing his way.

As if he'd been coming and going from the Shelter for more than a day or two, he seemed extremely familiar with the layout of this place.

Eventually, the assailant stopped before an old building that appeared currently unused.

It was a small but clever choice. Even if she screamed here, it would be difficult to be discovered.

"...!"

The man shoved Adelheid toward the wall. Pushed unexpectedly, she lost her balance and crashed hard into the wall.

She barely swallowed the moan that trembled with pain on her tongue.