"P-please," the man whimpered, his voice torn. "I… I won. You said…"
The blue flames around Leo faded slowly, turning his coat back to normal.
He didn't say a word, just pulled out a small pouch and tossed it lightly at the man's feet with a heavy clink of coins.
The survivor froze for a moment.
Then, with trembling hands, he opened it and found Gold coins inside. Not the coins of Vanelwood, but from the kingdom of Zerathune.
It was more money than he'd ever seen. Enough to buy a small farm, to change his name, to disappear and live a quiet life where no one knew his past.
"Yes," Leo said calmly. "You win."
Erin's genuine smile appeared slowly. "Don't you ever think about going back to this life," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "Find a peaceful village. Fall in love. Live quietly."
She snapped her fingers and in a swirl of violet mist, he vanished, sent far away to some peaceful village in Zerathune.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Corpses were scattered everywhere like broken dolls across the bloody floor.
Leo stood perfectly still.
He hadn't done any of this for the thrill of killing.
He has to do this no matter what.
Because these dark guilds were connected to every major incident in his life, always threatening the lives around him. Also they were also funded by Prince Cassian, creating a silent army for the coup in case throne succession goes wrong.
Leo would never wait for threats like this to strike first, like the hunting event.
The shadow wraiths appeared behind him.
"Search," Leo ordered. "Look for documents. Ledgers. Anything with a connection back to the prince."
The wraith gave a single nod and then walked toward a back hallway.
Erin leaned to him, her tone mischievous as always. "That was… surprisingly thoughtful of you. Showing mercy to a man who's probably done worse."
Leo glanced at her, face deadpan. "So what does that make me?"
Erin didn't answer her father's question. Of course she can't.
He used to be a hitman, shackled to a mafia boss like a chained dog. Every day had been a cycle of violence and regret—no different from the monsters dying around him.
His sins could've buried him six feet deep, twice over.
He let out a long, exhausted sigh and walked towards the guild's empty bar. He picked up the finest liquor he could see—an aged whiskey—and poured a glass.
"And I wasn't showing him mercy," he said, his voice low. "Leaving him alive like that was the worst punishment."
She tilted her head, her violet eyes showing real curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
She may be a clever and cunning goddess, but underneath it, she was still just a ten-year-old girl in a teenager's body.
Leo paused, the glass halfway to his lips. A memory flashed—Chloe's face, laughing in their apartment, then a bullet tore through her, taking away her life and their unborn child.
He drank the entire glass in one burning gulp, gasping as it hit his throat, and slammed the empty glass down on the desk.
"He'll have to live with the guilt," he said, his voice rough. "Every life he took for money, every friend he killed just to keep breathing—it'll rot him from the inside. Maybe he'll build a home. Maybe he'll find peace. Maybe he'll even try to be a better man. But the memories? Those will feast his heart every night. That's the sentence he earned."
Erin watched him, suddenly quiet.
She could see the old pain he carried inside him.
He blamed himself completely for Chloe's death, convinced it's his karma. He'd taken his revenge afterward, slaughtering his old crew in a rampage.
But the three empty months in that process?
They had been a hollow, silent agony, each day longer than the last. Until he earned his death.
He poured another drink slowly and took a small sip. Alcohol loosened the tight knot in his chest.
"But I'm thankful, too," he said, his voice softer now.
"Some miracle brought Chloe back as Rin. She has the same smile that lit up a room. The same spark. The same…" His voice dropped as he stared into the glass. "The same way of loving."
Erin giggled, trying not to laugh loudly.
Hearing her parents' old love story warmed her heart in a sweet way.
He didn't know she was their daughter. But she knew. And these little moments where she saw his true heart? She cherished them.
She leaned against the desk, close enough to nudge his arm playfully. "Hey, by the way… You forgot what's tomorrow, didn't you?"
Leo arched one eyebrow, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "Remind me."
She grinned with mischief. "You have to cheer for your wife—I mean, your girlfriend now—at the preliminaries. The first match tomorrow is hers. And here you are, drinking like a guy who lost his life."
Leo's eyes went wide, setting down the glass hard, the whiskey sloshing over.
He had completely forgotten. He has to wake up early tomorrow, and he was halfway across the kingdom.
♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢
Academy Boys' Dormitory
Liana walked down the quiet hallway in the morning light, humming softly, with joy radiating on her face.
How could she not be cheerful?
True, the tragedy at the Royal Hunt made her heart ache. But since then, her young master, Leonhardt, had changed. The heavy gloom that used to cling to him had lifted and he's smiling even more.
And the best part?
He had finally sorted things out with Rin Valerune. Not just sorted out—they were officially together, and both the Caulem and Valerune houses had agreed to an engagement.
It was like a dream to her.
Her steps were light as she reached his dorm room door. She raised her hand and knocked politely.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
No answer.
She waited a moment, then knocked again, a little firmer.
Still nothing.
A small concern began to weave through her good mood.
"Young master?" she called softly through the door.
Silence.
Her concern deepened, she carefully turned the handle and pushed the door open. "Young master Leo, I'm coming in to wake you for…"
Her words died in her throat. She froze in the doorway, her hand still on the knob.
The room was neat and still. The morning light from the window fell across the empty bed.
He wasn't there.