He saw that Damia was very clever, but nonetheless, she was a feeble noblewoman. If she was exposed to a dangerous situation, there was no way she could protect herself.

Because of that, he handed her a bottle of sleeping gas, but would that be enough? Heinrich couldn’t be sure.

‘It’s better to be prepared than sorry.’

Recalling the saying of the great old king, Heinrich got up. And roughly explained everything to Akkard.

“… … So maybe, she’ll need your help.”

“Damn it,”

Akkard sighed briefly. And he immediately stormed out of the palace.

Naturally, the first place he ran to was Damia’s mansion. As he urged on his horse in haste, he pleaded and prayed that her event would not be today.

‘Why didn’t you ask me for help?’

Akkard was amazed. She was trying to accomplish such a dangerous job alone with such a vulnerable body.

Of course, it was easier for Damia to steal from her family’s caravan alone. The guild wouldn’t even suspect her.

However, crossing the High Temple was not for the faint of heart. Since it was a matter of importing essential items from the distant Bedan Kingdom, it was likely that the temple planted spies in the caravan.

On top of that, Cesare was particularly dangerous to Damia and was currently missing.

‘The black perfume is crucial evidence. There is no way the High Temple has no safeguards.’

Heinrich’s words kept ringing in his ears. He had an ominous sense of foreboding.

At the same time, Akkard was plagued with frantic anxiety and despair. Yet, even while facing such peril, Damia had neither asked for assistance nor consultation.

She didn’t trust him. That fact sharply struck and pained his heart.

‘Do you hate me… … that much?’

That she’d rather choose to risk it alone, putting herself in jeopardy.

But now was not the time to despair. If anything happened to Damia, then he would see the very bottom of true despair.

Arriving at Damia’s mansion, he hurriedly knocked on the door. But unfortunately, she was not at her estate.

“The lady went out during the day, and she hasn’t come back yet.”

The maid who remembered the uninvited responded with a stiff and cool expression. Akkard looked up at the upstairs balcony to see if she was telling the truth.

He wished she had been lying, but she was being honest this time. Even as the sun set, Damia’s room was dark, without any sense of presence.

The moment he saw her empty room, Akkard realized by intuition. Damia had already left.

“… … let me be blunt.”

A dark smirk appeared on Akkard’s face as he lowered his threatening gaze. The other day he tolerated the servants’ negligence because of the look in Damia’s eyes, but now is not the time for that.

“Where did Dami go?”

The maid, who met his fearsome eyes, turned white and gasped. Akkard’s threatening intimidation, which changed in just a few seconds, was terrifying.

In the first place, the reason Akkard Valerian was known as the capital’s greatest firebrand troublemaker was not just because of his many messy relationships with women. Rather, it was much more due to his outrageous, wild, and unbridled personality.

“I won’t ask again.”

The bloody voice emanating from his enormous body resembled more beast than human.

So what could she do? The weak had no choice but to succumb at his feet.

“Ah, the lady now… … .”

After pressing her almost fainting maid, Akkard got an answer, jumped back on his horse, and sprinted off in a frenzy.

He ran so fast that his horse was foaming with pearly sweat from his body. So, naturally, Akkard riding was also out of breath.

‘There’s no time to delay.’

He clenched his teeth and jumped off, immediately rushing into the inn. And he started looking for Damia in a thunderous voice.

Surprised by his storm-like tyranny, the inn staff rushed out. Akkard drove them all away and started searching for Damia’s whereabouts.

Fortunately, there were a few of them who remembered the striking beauty. So he ran towards the inn warehouse they unanimously pointed to and stopped in his tracks.

‘The scent of blood.’

With his beast-like sense, Akkard found a puddle of blood pooling on the ground. He followed the trail of blood to the bushes

Two cleverly hidden corpses were found.

Akkard saw this and closed his eyes tightly without realizing it. And he pleaded and prayed earnestly inwardly.

‘Goddess, please.’

May none of them be Damia.