Chapter 13

“Doesn’t it smell divine, Master Squirrel?”

“Chrrrt…”

Ahh, bliss.

There I was, soaking in a half-bath filled with the West Mountains’ finest rosewater—luxury at its peak—when peace shattered.

“This… this is… AARGH!”

Gerard, seated at the table with his weekly paper, suddenly cried out.

“Gerard! Keep your voice down! Can’t you see Master Squirrel is recuperating, regrowing his patchy fur?!”

Ria hurled an empty rosewater bottle at his head. But her twin brother couldn’t tear his eyes from the paper.

“Chrrt?”

What now? What could possibly be this dramatic?

I slipped into the custom silk robe crafted by the fortress’ master tailor and padded over.

“Even his tiny footprints are adorable,” Ria whispered, face red as she gazed at the damp prints I left on the table.

Pitter-pat, pitter-pat.

Hopping up onto the table, I peered down at the spread-out paper—

And froze.

“Chrrrt-chrrrt?!!”

I nearly squeaked myself hoarse.

For plastered across the center page was none other than Kain Kreutz’s face.

It wasn’t a portrait, but a composite sketch pieced together from witness accounts. Still, the resemblance was undeniable:

Ebony-black hair. Eyes like molten gold.

Not even the crude drawing could hide it—there was no one else in the empire with such features.

***

[The Truth Behind the Serial Massacres Revealed?]

My eyes darted down the article.

The headline spoke of the long-feared “Noble House Serial Murders.”

The crime scene: Baron’s domain, a poor little county with no industry, no attractions.

And yet—the Baron family and nearly the entire populace had been slaughtered.

And the alleged culprit… was him?

I barked a laugh of disbelief.

True, this empire was riddled with massacres—noble houses wiped out overnight, like my own Eymond line.

Years of turmoil had sharpened rivalries, nobles squabbling beneath a faltering crown.

Which houses fell? Always the gentle ones. Herbivorous beast clans. Weak in might, rich in resources.

And once gone, their lands, estates, and mines were auctioned off to circling predators.

An unseen cabal fattening itself on ruin.

But Kreutz? A duke with wealth rivaling the crown itself?

What need had he of some impoverished county’s scraps?

“Chrrrt.”

I shook my head firmly. Nonsense.

Yet Gerard’s face said otherwise.

“One week ago…?” he muttered, repeating it like a curse. His hand raked down his pale face.

Of course he’d panic. The Baron domain lay at the edge of Kreutz’s northern territory—right beside Bear Mountain.

…Bear Mountain.

Something prickled in my mind. That sketch of an arrow on the page—it looked… familiar.

Wait.

Narrowing my eyes, I studied it closely—then it hit me.

It was the same kind of arrow Kain had ripped from his body when I found him bleeding on Bear Mountain.

And the timing matches exactly.

One week ago—the very day I stumbled on him.

His black uniform soaked in blood—too much blood to be his alone.

His greatsword lay discarded nearby, scarred from battle.

If you add all this together…

Then the prime suspect of this grotesque massacre might be sitting just down the hall.

…What?!

A cold shiver ran the length of my spine.

The Kain Kreutz I knew—stern, brooding, meticulous—didn’t seem the type.

And yet… suspicion gnawed at me.

For the Kreutz line carried a curse: the Madness.

Infinite mana—their greatest gift, and their doom.

Unreleased, it built and built, until it burst forth in destructive frenzy.

One episode of Madness could burn everything nearby, until both mana and life itself were drained.

What if Kain had succumbed?

But innocent commoners…? No. That would be unforgivable.

Had I really attached myself to a monster?

One who pampered me so tenderly, too!

I gnawed my claws in despair, mirroring Gerard, when the devil himself arrived.

Boots thudded in unison outside. The heavy doors groaned open.

In strode the suspect himself.

“Your Grace!”

Gerard leapt up, clutching the paper in his trembling hands.

Kain glanced once at Gerard, once at the crumpled paper—then sighed.

As though remembering something he’d almost forgotten.

“Uncharacteristic of you, my lord, to leave evidence,” Gerard said coldly, trailing him like an interrogator.

Evidence?

My jaw dropped. That’s the problem? Not the slaughtered innocents?

These fortress beastmen… sometimes they miss the forest for the trees.

“An example had to be made.”

Kain sank onto the sofa, pressing his temples. Fatigue lined his face.

“An… example? Your complexion is pale. Is it your condition again? The physician fretted about your shortened excursion last week.”

Gerard, who’d served since Kain’s boyhood, picked up on his state immediately.

“It’s nothing. Just a headache.”

“Shall I fetch the physician?”

“No. More importantly…”

His gaze slid to the table. To me.

I, who had been edging away inch by inch.

He reached out his hand, palm open.

An invitation.

Why…?

Fear prickled through me. No matter how calm he seemed, what if he snapped?

I flinched back.

And at that, Kain’s expression cracked.

He let his hand fall with a bitter laugh.

The look on his face—like a man betrayed by his dearest companion.

“Traitor,” he whispered.

“Chrrrt…?”

What?!

His wounded look pierced me with guilt.

Had I misjudged him?

He’d never admitted to the massacre—just said he made an “example.”

Maybe I’d been too quick to condemn him.

But my sympathy lasted all of three seconds.

“Gerard. Whatever became of that taxidermist I asked you to find?”

“Chrrt?!”

This lizard again?!

Still on about taxidermy?!

I shot Gerard a pleading look. But the man was Kreutz’s number one sycophant.

“A taxidermist, my lord? Why, yes—you did request that. I’m inquiring after the best in the North as we speak.”

And with barely a pause, he added smoothly:

“I’ve also located a fine accessory shop for display ornaments.”

“Well done.”

Kain’s lips curved in satisfaction as his golden eyes pinned me.

Scammer duo, the both of them.

“Chrrrrt!”

Damn reptiles.