Camila, who was thinking about what happened in the morning, leaned back and laughed at Elrose, who was unconscious.

One of the guild’s employees was a drug handler. He definitely didn’t lie when he said a person would lose their mind if they were only stabbed once. Camila then spoke to the mercenaries who were standing next to her to listen.

“Gee, I’m going to have to take you back to relax. You’re too weak. Guys, help me.”

A mercenary who stood on the other side of Camila then supported Elrose.

‘I can’t hear your voice!’

Elrose somehow tried to say something, but her body staggered as if it were wet cotton. At first glance, it looked like she was naturally leaning on the person next to her, so the passbyers who turned their eyes in her direction would look at her for a split second and then turn away.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

Seeing how Camila led her into the alley, she didn’t think Camila would try to kill her beautifully. Who would know if she died here? Was there anyone who could even find her when she disappeared?

There was one person who came into her mind while she was in an increasingly blurry spirit.

‘Lakshan!’

Come think of it, there was one person. If she was not where she was supposed to be today, he would be the only person who might come and find her.

‘If I knew this was going to happen, I should’ve asked for him to meet me earlier.’

Then she would’ve been able to divorce quickly without any problems. If she died, the divorce would be more difficult, and it was clear that he would be charged.

‘What should I do?’

She felt sorry to force him into this, but she didn’t expect things to turn out this way.

“Even if you’re drugged, you’ll wake up with your hands and feet cut off. Let’s try it out.”

Camila chewed as she lifted Elrose’s chin. Her eyes gradually closed even at Camila’s sharp voice.

As soon as her view became dark and the sounds disappeared, a voice could then be heard.

“Let go of her.”

It was a cold and heavy voice that left chills by just hearing it.

Somehow, Elrose thought it was similar to Lakshan’s voice.

~*~

“Ugh…”

Lakshan left the palace and groaned with his hood pressed down.

‘I’m in trouble.’

His face felt white under the hood.

“What the hell was I supposed to say! Why did I say that!”

As Lakshan shouted, people who were passing by said ‘he must be crazy’, but that was invisible in his eyes. Lakshan walked down the street and recalled what he had said.

“In fact, I have someone I consider to be my companion.”

It was a lie.

A lie that he uttered to get away from a series of meetings. No matter how much the emperor clung to his brother’s marriage, he couldn’t just say, ‘then break up with her and meet someone here!’.

And like Lakshan thought, the emperor had his eyes wide open and said nothing. After a long time, he finally opened his mouth and stuttered.

“Well… you never told me that before, did you?”

Somehow, seeing the emperor who seemed to be falsely accused, Lakshan replied naturally.

“That’s why if I told you there was someone like that, you would ask me to bring her in right away.”

“Of course!”

“So I couldn’t say. We’re meeting seriously. But wouldn’t it be a lot of pressure to come to the palace and meet you?”

The emperor’s expression hardened from what Lakshan had said, and he continued to speak.

“No matter what Your Majesty says, but I am from the north. Didn’t you know that northerners don’t see other people until they die? What if my person is unable to overcome the burden and leaves?”

If his colleagues were there, it would’ve backfired because they would say ‘don’t sell the northerner’s honor to such false words!’.

But they were not there anyways.

The emperor opened his mouth when Lakshan was admiring himself for the flowing lies.

“Okay. What’s the other person’s name?”

“What?”

“Can you at least tell me the name?”

“Uh, it’s…”

The emperor’s eyes narrowed at Lakshan’s hesitant attitude, so he hurriedly replied.

“It’s Elrose, Elrose!”

Lakshan had unknowingly said Elrose’s name.

The emperor’s question did not stop there. He wanted to know when, where, how, why, and what Elrose looked like. His questions continued to pour out. At that time, it was fortunate the servants came, for they were saying someone was waiting for him.

The emperor regrettingly got up from his seat.

“Like you said, if I call her to the Imperial Palace, she’ll be surprised. So, I will meet you outside. Let’s talk again sometime.”

The emperor said that and then left the room.

“What do I do…”

Lakshan held his head and groaned again. When the emperor poured out questions, he answered them using Elrose as a model. So, he would need a shiny blonde, green-eyed woman named Elrose to meet the emperor while pretending to be his companion!

After thinking for a long time, Lakshan concluded.

‘Let’s run.’

As expected, that was the only answer.

There was nothing more for him to do here anyways. The only thing that kept him here was the emperor’s request. The war was over now and the capital had regained stability.

‘Go back.’

Lakshan recalled his northern hometown where his colleagues would go. He was told the war left it completely devastated. Now that they have driven out all the Suin people, they need to restore the place to its old self.

When he received a letter from his colleagues, he found out the house where he lived with his father was somewhat repaired.

He remembered his childhood memories. Rich fields and mountains full of flowers.

Lakshan hurried towards the government office. He was going to be there earlier than he promised Elrose, but it didn’t matter. He could just wait.

‘I’m sorry.’

He couldn’t believe he used her as a model for his lies.

Lakshan, who sighed again, stopped walking. Before he knew it, he arrived at the government office.

‘Should I sit nearby?’

There were sparkles in Lakshan’s eyes, who looked around while thinking so. But, a woman entering an alley surrounded by several people caught his eyes.

Her long, golden hair swayed under the sun. The hair he thought he wanted to see one day was clear. His vision definitely wasn’t wrong. It was Elrose for sure.

Lakshan, who found her, immediately noticed a problem.

Elrose was not walking, she was being dragged. Moreover, the woman next to her looked familiar. It was Camila.

Lakshan quietly followed suit. It was easy to notice Elrose’s condition when he saw her movements.

‘You’re drugged.’

Lakshan gritted his teeth. Meanwhile, Camila grabbed Elrose by her chin. The moment he saw that, Lakshan spoke without realizing it.

“Let go of her.”

The others standing looked at him in surprise. There were two mercenaries with ragged swords, one skinny-bodied guy who appeared to have used drugs, and Camila.

“Oh my god, you showed up in person. I was going to catch you too. Do you think you’re a mercenary or something?”

Camila did not back down even though Lakshan appeared. The mercenaries on the sideline were those who had been hired for quite a lot of money. Their opponent was Lakshan. Besides, he didn’t even have a sword.

“Get him first!”

As if waiting for Camila’s orders, the mercenaries rushed toward Lakshan.

Bang!

A sound rang through the alley. A few moments later, a mercenary plopped down at Lakshan in front of Camila.

“…!”

He then murmured in front of Camila and the other mercenaries, who were hardened with astonishment.

“Imitation.”

Lakshan’s eyes flashed.

“That’s what I’m best at.”

The mercenaries suddenly felt the change in atmosphere of Lakshan and recoiled by taking steps back. Camila then shouted at them.

“It’s all on you! Get him now!”

At their employer’s comment, the mercenaries came to their senses and took out their weapons. There were three on one side and one on the other. In addition, the two swordsmen were the ones lying on the ground.

Even if their opponent was a man with a good body, he still didn’t have any weapons.

‘It’s easy.’

One of the mercenaries with a sword whistled and thought. No matter how good he was, a fist cannot beat a sword.

‘I think he’s stupid, so it’ll be very easy.’

The mercenary thought of Lakshan as a man who only burned with a sense of justice.

“This is a little different. You said we only needed to catch the girl… Shouldn’t we get extra allowance?”

The mercenary who approached the front with the sword grinned at Camila. Her eyes went up at the sight.

“I’ll give it to you when you get back, just grab him.”

“Now, how am I supposed to believe that? You’re no longer the countess anymore. I received the money that came here, but you might not be able to give me additional allowance, right? It’s so hard to trust others these days…”

The mercenary glanced at Camila’s hand while saying so.

Camila’s wearing a jeweled ring in her hand, which she desperately picked up as she walked out of the mansion. She then realized the mercenary’s gaze, and thought.

‘These leeches.’

She couldn’t believe he wanted the jeweled ring in return for taking care of another guy. There was no such profiteering.

‘However…’

If she didn’t give it to him now, the mercenaries would let him go. Elrose was already unconscious, but she couldn’t carry her alone. It would become a big deal if the man who claimed to be Elrose’s husband went out to the main street and called in security forces.

Camila gritted her teeth, pulled out the ring, and threw it into the corner of the alley.

“Get rid of him and pick her up.”

“Well madam. You’ve got a crazy personality. Let’s do that then.”

The mercenary spat on the floor and looked at Lakshan. He then immediately ran towards him with his sword. But, Lakshan moved before the man could even swing his sword properly.

Bang!

The sound of something hard colliding into something harder rang through the alley.

“Huh…?”

The mercenary who attacked Lakshan saw stars in the sky, and the world felt like it was shaking.

Flop.

His eyes rolled back and he collapsed.