Noel smiled broadly when she saw two people holding hands in the entrance hall to meet them.

‘You two are getting along well!’

It was a result of hard work, so I was proud.

“Mom!”

On top of that, Leah ran to her and her happiness reached its peak.

“Leah, I missed you!”

She hugged her daughter and kissed her softly on the cheek. Feeling tickled, Leah laughed.

“Did you get along well with your father?”

“Absolutely!”

Noel turned her head toward her husband.

When his eyes met hers, Rupert felt like he had to say something.

But he was not used to this kind of situation, so he couldn’t think of an appropriate word.

“Welcome back, Noel.” In the end, he only gave her a short, awkward greeting.

She opened her eyes wide in surprise and smiled broadly.

“I’m back!”

“.. .. .”

His heart tickled when he saw her bright smile.

“Marquis.”

But he didn’t have long to admire it.

Rupert received a report from Ordin and went to the place where the criminal was.

The carriage carrying the criminal stopped in front of the entrance to the dungeon. Soldiers are pulling out a young man wearing a restraint from a small carriage.

‘Is that Joan?’

I heard that Noel set a trap and caught him.

‘She said it wasn’t dangerous, huh?’

She herself acted dangerously and caught the culprit. Thank you for catching the real culprit, but apart from that, I’ll say more later.

“Stop.”

At Rupert’s command, the soldiers holding the prisoner stopped.

“Is the magic sealed properly?”

“Yes.”

Joan was limp. Either he was frustrated with this situation or he was sick.

‘It’s a problem if he dies before being interrogated.’

“Was he tortured before coming?”

“No, we did a light interrogation, but we never did any physical harm.”

“Let him go for a while.”

The soldiers let go of Joan’s arms and backed away a little.

Rupert walked over to Joan.

He staggered when he was released, but there was no response. His head was down, so his condition couldn’t be seen properly.

“Hey, raise your head―”

He reached out and grabbed Joan’s shoulder lightly.

In an instant, a stinging pain spread through his entire body, starting from the hand that touched him. His back was burning.

Feeling strange, he hurriedly backed away and shouted.

“Stand back!”

At the same time, there was the sound of a large balloon popping.

pugh.

In an instant, the whole area was dyed red.

Joan’s body exploded.

His shattered body is spread all around. It was hard to tell if it was originally a human.

“.. .. .”

Rupert, who was right in front of him, was also covered in blood.

He stiffened for a moment, unable to do anything.

He’s not surprised by the sudden brutality. He just can’t move because of the smell of blood all around him.

More precisely, the smell of blood is sweet enough to paralyze his sense of smell.

Much more than usual.

He almost raised the corners of his mouth.

A man was brutally killed right before his eyes.

‘Dammit.’

When he came to his senses a beat late, he hurriedly covered his nose and mouth.

He hadn’t killed someone in a long time, so the reaction had become too great.

His heart was beating fast and his senses were too sensitive.

Information coming through sight, smell, and hearing was mixed together and confused.

Blood smells good, I’m happy, no, why, someone died, I’m happy, stop!

It feels like his head is being soaked in boiling water and ice water alternately.

“What’s going on?”

Then, Noel’s voice was heard.

“Don’t come!”

It’s too late. She fell silent when she saw the terrible scene.

“What the hell is this.. .. .”

And she found him covered in blood.

“Rupert, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, go back.”

He was trying to answer in a calm tone. But Noel didn’t look very good.

‘I don’t think she knows.’

Unlike usual, the expression on her face is all revealed.

Fear, frustration, confusion, anger.. .. .

His red eyes fluttered and his breath was wheezing wildly.

Now he was unstable like a lost child.

“I, I don’t think you’re all right.”

Frankly, he needed to calm down. Noel approached him carefully.

Rupert gave a warning in a low voice.

“Don’t come near me.”

Without hesitating, she slowly covered his blood-splattered cheek.

“Calm down.”

“.. .. .”

“It’s okay,” she whispered lowly. “Don’t focus on the sensations you feel. The more you do that, the harder it will be. Instead, think of something else.”

When he felt the body temperature on his cheek and heard the calm voice, strangely, little by little, he calmed down.

“Fun or pleasant memories.. memories that put you at ease.”

“.. .. .”

Rupert closed his eyes, seeking a peaceful memory. The first time he felt at peace in his life was when he was eight years old.

After his mother died, he vaguely realized his future and attempted suicide.

Then, he met someone.

As he focused his attention elsewhere, his panting breathing became more and more regular.

“Are you feeling better?”

He opened his eyes.

“A lot.”

Noel looked relieved.

He gently grabbed her hand that was touching his cheek, then put it down.

It was sad to see the warmth away, but he couldn’t stay like this.

“Noel, go back to the mansion and reassure the workers. Don’t make them come near here. I’ll clean up here with the soldiers.”

“Alright.”

She wanted to ask what the hell happened, but she held it back.

She hid her doubts and turned around.

***

Things settled down to some extent, and night has come. It was then that Noel was able to hear a rough story from Ordin.

Fortunately, no one was dead except for Joan. People around them were also unharmed.

“The scene was brutal because only the body exploded.”

After hearing Ordin’s words, Noel asked, “Why did it suddenly happen?”

“I do not know. There’s no body left, so we can’t investigate.. .. .”

She also has a complicated expression.

“It’s speculation, but it seems that someone has put some magic into him so that it happens when the Marquis touches him.”

“Did he aim for Rupert?”

“It is very likely, but.. .”

There is no confirmation.

“Anyway, there’s definitely a threat. I think you’d better be careful for the time being. Please be sure to have an escort when you go.”

“Alright.”

After saying that, Noel stopped walking on the way to her room.

‘Is Rupert okay?’

She was worried as she remembered what she saw before. She wanted to check on him once before going to bed, just in case.

Noel knocked on her husband’s room.

“Rupert?”

The lights weren’t off, but there was no answer. She tilted her head and carefully opened the door.

“Are you here?”

The lights are on and the windows are open. The curtains fluttered in the night breeze.

Noel walked to the window to close the door. And she found a familiar silhouette in the garden below.

‘Rupert?’

She saw him in the garden.

Is he taking a walk?

‘Don’t tell me you jumped right out of the window because you were lazy to go out the door.’

Then the situation in which the windows are open like this is explained.

Still worried about him, Noel went out through the door into the garden.

“What are you doing here?”

Rupert is still there. He is, to be exact, sitting on a large stone in the garden.

He wasn’t surprised to see her.

“Noel, you haven’t slept yet?”

“That’s what I’m going to ask. You didn’t jump straight out of the window here, did you?”

“I did.”

“.. .. .”

Rupert’s room is on the third floor.

“Go through the door, it’s dangerous!”

“I’ll be careful.”

He nodded lightly and slightly shook his head to the side. That means he asked her to sit down.

She sat down next to him without hesitation.

“Come to think of it, Noel, I heard you did something quite dangerous last time.”

“Dangerous thing?”

“You became bait to bring the suspects into the warehouse.”

Noel lightly clicked her tongue. So Ordin already told him!

“I wasn’t the bait, I was the one setting the trap. It was an operation worthy of admiration. I even hired a talented person.”

“I know, Ordin told me. He complimented you.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“Still, don’t do that again in the future. It’s dangerous.”

“I can’t promise that.” She shrugged.

Besides, in the end, didn’t the culprit who was caught through my hard work die? I was disappointed in myself.

Noel hesitated, thinking about the previous scene, and then she asked, “Rupert, are you okay now? You didn’t look good before.”

“Thanks to you, I feel much better. How did you notice I was weird earlier?”

“Anyone who knows you will notice it. You looked very confused.”

“.. .. is that so?”

“You suddenly saw such a situation right in front of you, and it’s not unreasonable not to panic. If it were me, I would have passed out.”

Rupert was relieved to hear Noel’s words.

He was not exactly aware of his own condition at the time.

He was shocked by the momentary rapture he felt when he saw the prisoner die, and his sensitive senses were aroused.

“It was amazing, the moment your hand touched me, my mind miraculously stabilized.”

Noel reached out her hand.