There’s Something Special About Her Chapter 6

Chapter 2

Dupont Clansher, one of the Seven Executives and Killian Knox’s proud right-hand man, tilted his head.

“That’s strange. I’m pretty sure I was just explaining how impossible it is to find Helena Morton?”

Did I accidentally say, “Finding Morton will be a piece of cake” instead?

He had been working without sleep for ten straight days. Maybe he was finally starting to lose it.

No, there was no way I’d have said something like that.

A cold voice cut through his thoughts.

“Dupont.”

“Yes?”

“Find her. Bring her to me.”

Ah.

So I hadn’t misspoken.

It simply didn’t matter to His Grace.

Although Dupont still thought it was the tenth day without sleep, midnight had already passed. It was now the eleventh day, and even someone as meticulous as Dupont Clansher was beginning to crack.

“I want to find her too. But it’s as if she vanished into the ground—or flew into the sky. We confirmed she reached the border town, but after that, there hasn’t been a single trace.”

“So you’re taking a very long time to tell me that one of Knox’s executives is less competent than Helena Morton.”

“But—”

“You’re talking too much.”

Dupont immediately shut his mouth.

He still valued having a tongue.

Keeping his head lowered so he wouldn’t accidentally meet Killian’s eyes, he desperately began considering every possible way to locate Helena Morton.

Then, at last, his exhausted mind made a mistake.

“Ah… Now that I think about it, Cain should still be around that area. If you permit it, I’ll have Cain investigate Helena Morton’s whereabouts—”

…Damn.

Dupont snapped his mouth shut again.

He shouldn’t have mentioned Cain.

This time, he was genuinely worried about keeping his tongue.

 

***

 

 

Cain Degrave.

Commander of the Royal Guard—the elite force—and the shadow who remained closest to Killian at all times.

But the outside world knew him by another name.

Killian Knox’s hunting dog.

Every executive in Knox was loyal to Killian.

Cain was different.

If Killian gave the order, Cain Degrave would slit his own throat without the slightest hesitation.

That was why no one had expected him to leave behind nothing but a brief letter before crossing into the Kingdom of Krollin.

As expected, the faint softness that had appeared on Killian’s face instantly disappeared.

Apparently Cain still hadn’t sent even a single letter to His Grace.

“Has that idiot really lost his mind?” Dupont thought.

Cain was one of the very few people strong enough to cross blades with Killian, so he probably wasn’t dead somewhere.

Then again…

Perhaps it would be better if he were dead.

“Cain must have had a good reason for suddenly crossing the border. He’s not the type to leave Your Grace’s side without cause—”

“He’d better.”

Killian cut him off with those cryptic words.

Then he rose from the bath.

Water carrying a sharp herbal scent rippled violently before spilling over the edge of the tub.

Dupont stepped back at exactly the right moment and handed him a robe.

Loosely draping it over himself, Killian walked out of the bathroom.

 

****

 

 

 

 

 

The hundreds of subordinates who had filled the mansion earlier were already gone.

Only silence remained.

His wet footprints echoed through the corridors.

Downward.

Further down.

Until he reached the underground prison.

“Y-Your Grace!”

The guards at the entrance jumped in surprise, but the silent glance Dupont gave them stopped them from making any more noise.

Just open the door.

Clang!

The iron gate swung open.

Killian entered with slow, unhurried steps.

Tap.

Tap.

He made no effort to hide his footsteps.

The prisoners who had been groaning in agony all day instantly fell silent.

After walking for some time, Killian finally stopped before a single cell.

Inside was the man who had accepted money to smuggle the spy—the one Killian had torn in half—into Knox.

“U-Ugh…”

Unable to scream properly, the man desperately crawled backward until the stone wall blocked his escape.

Realizing there was nowhere left to run, his terrified eyes shifted to the prison bars.

Ironically, the same bars that had imprisoned him now seemed like his only protection.

His hope didn’t last long.

Crack.

The iron lock snapped apart the moment Killian touched it.

“Hh…”

Pure terror spread across the prisoner’s face.

Killian watched him without emotion before stepping inside the cell.

Dupont remained outside.

Standing with his hands behind his back, he calmly watched flesh tear and bones shatter.

“The Eclipse must be approaching.”

So that was why His Grace had personally dealt with the spy.

He clicked his tongue at his own failure to realize it sooner.

 

***

 

 

Killian Knox’s Dragon Eyes were proof of an extraordinarily pure dragon bloodline.

Throughout the generations, members of House Knox had occasionally been born with the golden eyes of a dragon.

None had survived to adulthood.

A human body was simply too fragile to contain a dragon’s power.

Yet Killian Knox had lived.

No one knew why.

At some point, he simply learned to wield the dragon’s power at will.

But that control was incomplete.

Sometimes…

The dragon blood consumed him instead.

Whenever that happened, the sleeping instincts of the dragon awakened.

Killian became even crueler.

He craved blood.

He surrendered himself to the urge to kill.

Only a handful of his closest confidants knew of this period.

They called it…

The Eclipse.

The moon—the symbol of House Knox and the Duke himself—was swallowed by darkness.

And judging by recent events…

The next Eclipse was approaching.

Crunch!

Killian tore one of the prisoner’s limbs clean off before casually tossing it onto the floor.

“Dupont.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Bring me Helena Morton.”

Even now…?

He was bringing up Helena Morton again?

For the first time, Dupont actually felt sorry for the woman whose whereabouts remained completely unknown.

“As you command, Your Grace.”

After hearing his loyal subordinate’s answer, Killian left the prison.

His bloody footprints stained the dark stone floor behind him.

As he walked, he became aware of the thick smell of blood clinging to his body.

Naturally…

He remembered the sharp herbal scent filling the bathtub.

Cheap floral perfumes could never cover the smell of blood.

They only made it worse.

Among the countless bath oils, that young guard had immediately chosen Geltus oil, the one thing that actually removed the scent.

Killian recalled the small, rather ordinary-looking member of the Action Squad.

“Seems there are quite a few little rats in this mansion.”

Throughout his walk toward the forest lake to cool the dragon blood raging inside him…

Killian found himself thinking about that “little rat” for quite some time.

***

 

 

 

The morning after the midnight commotion…

I headed toward my guard post as usual.

For some reason, I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Ah… What nice weather.”

After unexpectedly running into Killian Knox last night…

I’d been half out of my mind.

I’d heard about Killian countless times through rumors and intelligence reports while working for Wickers.

But standing before him in the flesh…

That was something else entirely.

For a moment, I had almost forgotten I was undercover and nearly released my killing intent out of instinct.

The head of Knox was terrifying.

“Ugh…”

Even remembering it made me shudder.

But once I’d calmed down…

A different thought occurred to me.

“He was terrifying… but I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

I carefully touched my neck.

Still attached.

“We even looked each other directly in the eyes.”

He had stared at me…

Yet showed no sign of suspecting anything.

If he’d realized I was hiding my true identity…

There was no way I’d still be alive.

Even if he hadn’t killed me on the spot…

At the very least, I should have been dragged to the underground prison.

Who are you?

Why did you infiltrate the estate?

Interrogation.

Then torture.

That would’ve been the natural sequence.

But nothing happened.

The only thing Killian Knox had said after looking me straight in the eyes was—

“Add the bath oil.”

That was it.

Which naturally led me to another conclusion.

“Maybe Killian Knox didn’t find anything suspicious about me after all.”

When you thought about it…

Killian Knox was famous for exposing infiltrators and traitors.

“But I’m neither.”

I wasn’t a spy.

I had no intention of betraying Knox.

So naturally, his legendary Dragon Eyes shouldn’t work on me.

My disguise was perfect.

I’d secured a place in the Action Squad.

I didn’t have to fear being exposed anymore.

I’m invincible now.

“Hehe.”

Even as the checkpoint came into view, I couldn’t stop smiling.

“I’ve got a good feeling about today.”

Maybe there wouldn’t be many visitors.

Maybe the kitchen maids would bring leftover desserts again.

They sometimes stopped by with sweets.

Come to think of it…

It had been a while since they’d visited.

Maybe today would be the day.

Lost in those pleasant thoughts, I cheerfully walked toward the checkpoint.

Then—

A man stepping down from a carriage for inspection caught my eye.

More precisely…

His walk did.

Step.

Step…

His left and right footsteps were ever so slightly uneven.

So subtle that an ordinary person would never notice.

But all the sharpened instincts that had finally gone dormant after my peaceful life in Knox were forced awake again.

I grimaced.

“There goes my good feeling.”