MHR 23

Chapter 23

“Is the place that smells like blood far from here?”

At my question, the wolf opened its mouth wide in a yawn before answering.

“It’s not that far. That’s why I came to warn you. There are only men there.”

So it really must be a place where they were experimenting on the surviving bloodline of the Rochenka from the North.

If it were far away, I could’ve made an excuse to put it off for later—but since it was nearby, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to check it out.

If I got lucky, I might even obtain the Magic Tome.

To both Duke Racton and Damon, the Magic Tome was extremely important. If things ever turned against me, I could use it as a trump card.

And honestly, it didn’t sit right with me to ignore innocent people being used as experimental subjects and then sold off as slaves.

Without the Magic Tome, they wouldn’t be able to continue those experiments.

Fine! I’ll just become the owner of the Magic Tome myself!

In the end, I decided to obtain the Magic Tome—an item that could drastically change the original storyline.

“Can you take me to the place that smells like blood?”

“If that’s what you want. But you must not go too close. It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll decide that when I see it. Just show me the way.”

“Follow me.”

The wolf turned sharply.

Not wanting to lose it, I struggled to keep up as it headed deeper into the forest, where there wasn’t even a proper path.

“Wow… it’s beautiful.”

When we emerged from the dense forest, a wide green field stretched before us, filled with countless white flowers.

The wildflowers had formed a natural colony, yet they looked as beautiful as a carefully maintained garden.

The blossoms were slightly larger than baby’s breath, with red stamens. The contrast of white and red made them look even more unusual.

As I stepped closer to smell them, the wolf suddenly blocked my way.

“Human! Those flowers are dangerous. If a deer eats them, it dies. And if we eat that deer, we die too.”

“So they’re poisonous… Are these Tara flowers?”

Tara flowers were highly toxic and often used for poison arrows.

Come to think of it, the area around the flowers was eerily silent. There wasn’t a single insect or bird in sight.

“There was one of Duke Racton’s sons who killed people with poison arrows…”

I shuddered as I recalled Ingis Racton from the original novel.

Ingis had a crooked nose and protruding teeth, making him the least attractive among the Duke’s children.

Fully aware of that himself, he openly committed evil acts and earned everyone’s hatred. However, he was incredibly skilled with a bow—arguably the best archer in the empire.

He especially enjoyed shooting poison arrows at people indiscriminately. Since poisonous plants grew everywhere in the duchy, it was easy for him to obtain toxins.

At that moment, the wolf growled.

“Human. Someone is coming. They reek of blood.”

There were many people in the Racton territory who carried the scent of blood—but today was Aileen’s engagement ceremony.

On such an important day, why would anyone skip the celebration to come here?

Something was clearly off.

More importantly, as someone who had just become the owner of the Magic Blade, there was absolutely no benefit in encountering members of the ducal family right now.

“Really? Then let’s hide.”

“There are two of them. Shall I deal with them?”

“No. It’s better to hide.”

As if it had been waiting for those words, the wolf immediately darted behind a rock.

Its behavior was oddly cute, and I stifled a laugh as I hurried to the same hiding spot and lay flat on the ground.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves approached and stopped right near where we were hiding.

“I just wanted to enjoy the party, and now I’m stuck doing this annoying task.”

“Father said we absolutely must not cause trouble at Aileen’s engagement. I feel like I’m the only one who’ll get scolded.”

“You idiot! Do arrows have names written on them? As long as you don’t aim for something obvious like the heart, no one will know it was you, Ingis.”

The moment I heard the name Ingis Racton, chills ran down my spine.

On Aileen’s engagement day… they’re planning an assassination with poison arrows?!

It seemed Ingis wasn’t enthusiastic about it, but he must have received an order he couldn’t refuse.

“If we’re killing Damon Craig anyway, wouldn’t it be better to aim for his handsome face?”

“You moron! It’s harder to hit the face than the heart! There aren’t any trees near the Rite River, so you’d have to shoot from across the river. Do you even know how far that is?”

“Not for me. I never miss.”

“That’s exactly the problem—you’d be advertising that it was you!”

The one scolding Ingis was his fraternal twin brother, Croter.

The eldest sons—Frederick, Croter, and Ingis—were all born to the same mother, which was probably why they stuck together.

“Even if you hit the elbow or thigh, the poison will spread quickly and kill him. Just avoid the face. Don’t make it obvious it’s you. Got it?”

“I could do that with my eyes closed.”

The only person who could’ve given them such an order was their eldest brother, Frederick.

But in the original story, Damon was never hit by a poison arrow!

Still lying flat, my body trembled uncontrollably.

I might not even get a divorce before becoming a widow.

The image of Damon lying inside a coffin flashed through my mind, making my chest tighten.

I couldn’t breathe. My fists clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

Flash! The Magic Blade tried to manifest, and I immediately clasped my hands together.

Not now!

“—Not even now?”

The blade’s voice echoed inside my head.

Yes, not now. Please stay quiet.

Sweat trickled down as I lowered my head.

Meanwhile, Croter and Ingis had gathered a large number of Tara flowers.

“That should be enough. This much could kill ten bulls.”

“Father said we must keep it a secret that the poison comes from Tara flowers. We need to hurry and kill Damon before the sap turns red.”

“I’m more of an expert on poison than you, you know? It won’t turn red in just an hour or two. Once it mixes with blood, there won’t be any trace of Tara left anyway.”

Smirking, Ingis stuffed a handful of flowers into a leather pouch and mounted his horse.

Croter followed suit, and with a sharp kick, the two horses sped off like mad.

Only after the sound of hooves completely disappeared did I finally get up.

“Wolf… we should visit that place with the strange smell another time.”

I couldn’t just let Damon die.

I hated him. I despised him. Thinking about everything he had done to me made my blood boil—but still…

He shouldn’t die like this.

Even if he hated me, treated me like a burden, was unbearably arrogant, especially cold toward me, indifferent to the household, and an utterly terrible husband—

Even so… this isn’t right.

I only wanted to divorce him while he was alive—not become a widow because he died from a poison arrow.

And we didn’t even have an heir.

Since Damon’s adoptive father, Murray Craig, was officially considered dead, if Damon died, the family headship would pass to a collateral relative.

But would that really happen?

Duke Racton would definitely step in as Damon’s guardian and swallow all the assets.

And then he’d throw me to Frederick.

I didn’t want Damon to die—but I definitely didn’t want to become Frederick’s mistress.

Thinking of it as giving my awful husband one last favor—a “divorce gift”—I decided I had to save him.

Only then could I live comfortably and peacefully afterward.

“Wolf. I need to return to the estate immediately—as fast as possible. Do you know a shortcut?”

“I wanted to protect your waist… but if you’re in a hurry… climb on.”

The wolf lowered its body in front of me.

“Can I really ride you?”

“I promised to repay you. Climb on.”

It was as large as a grown man, so I wouldn’t break its back—but it still felt like a lot to ask.

“I’ll repay you too. Please go as fast as you can.”

The wolf took off at a terrifying speed with me on its back.

Later…

After arriving near the Merciem estate, I parted ways with the wolf and ran like crazy.

Just as I reached the front, Miranda stepped down from a carriage.

“My lady? Why are you coming from the forest—and your clothes! What happened? I was just returning from Middletown with clothes for you!”

“Pant… pant… Miranda!”

“Is something chasing you? Why are you so frightened?”

“There’s no time to explain. We need to head to the Rite River where the engagement party is being held—now!”

“In that state? Your dress is covered in thorn flowers!”

Those floating thorn seeds stuck to dresses during walks in the forest—and wearing them at outdoor parties often led to teasing rumors.

“This isn’t about my dress. Ben! Drive as fast as you can. My husband is in danger.”

“What? What do you mean—?”

“He might be hit by a poison arrow. You have to drive like your life depends on it. Got it?”

“…Understood!”

As soon as I climbed in, Ben whipped the horses, and the carriage surged forward at full speed.

A Few Hours Earlier…

After briefly appearing at Valentine and Aileen’s engagement ceremony, Damon headed toward the Racton ducal estate, which he expected to be empty.

Leaving the engagement was a serious breach of etiquette, and time was tight.

After the ceremony, he was supposed to assist Valentine at the Rite River in a ritual to pray for the goddess’s blessing.

With less than an hour, finding the Magic Tome at the ducal estate wouldn’t be easy.

But if not now, he might never get another chance.

Since the Racton bloodline could detect magic even through concealment, he had to act while they were all away.

He searched everywhere—the Duke’s bedroom, study, even the armory—but the Magic Tome was gone.

“It was definitely in the Duke’s bedroom just yesterday…!”

It must have been moved overnight.

“Damn it!”

Mounting his horse, Damon cursed bitterly, regretting his decision to abandon the Magic Tome the previous day to save Clarissa.

He shouldn’t have cared whether a worthless woman humiliated herself under the influence of a stimulant.

What’s so special about that woman anyway?!

Clarissa had stolen the Magic Blade, demanded a divorce, and even used his money to build her own wealth.

All the while pretending to love him, she had secretly conspired with Valentine to deceive him.

“…Should I just go through with the divorce?”