As he asked, he remembered the vow he had made to Alana. “Be sure to kill me. But please do not kill anyone in Armenia other than me. If you have any ambitions in this country, please abandon them all. I want you to leave my country alone.”

He had believed she had forbidden him to kill Armenia because she wanted to protect Callisto and the people. However, this also included the lives of the very enemies who were after her own life.

Initially, he knew he was told to abandon his ambitions for the country, but what she wanted, was Luciano’s non-interference. In any case, she made her death absolute. There was no way that Alana, who wanted to die in the first place, would refuse to be poisoned. However, there were some things he could not figure out.

She seemed to know that the scent of roses was poisonous at that time. From the beginning, she knew.

“Hey, don’t look at me, brother. You want another arm?　Damn it, … I can say that Miss isn’t in an environment where she’s happy. She doesn’t care for herself, wants to die. But I don’t know why. I’d like to know. Well, I can say that she isn’t in an environment where she feels happy. She’s weak and handicapped. And she has bad eyesight. Oh, and don’t tell anyone of her poor eyesight, okay? It’s information that only I know. If you want to know more about the girl, ask her or Callisto.” Benito suddenly stomped on the carpet, “Legit, don’t get the wrong impression.”

“Brother, who are you? I don’t think it’s you’re just an assassin. You’re young, but what’s with the calmness and intimidation? You’re not just some nobleman. It should be quite high…royalty?”

As he pondered, the man sighed through his nose.

“I’m the replacement for Gustavo, who was the Miss’s secret agent. You killed Gustavo once, just like you shot me, didn’t you?　I’ve been in her service in the last two years, when the King and Prince of Armenia both died at the same time. It seems Gustavo found his way to you before his last breath. How do I know this? Because I buried Gustavo, at her request. Or, more correctly, I sunk him in the lake. They say it’s an honour to bury a corpse in a lake in Armenia, don’t they? She’s an idiot to give a knighthood to a bunch of lowlifes like us.”

It was only after Benito had left that Luciano’s expression faltered. He put his hand on the bed sheet and turned his head. His mind drifted to the soaked road; a road completely pelted with rain. The day he had killed Alana’s father and brother. In front of a total of five corpses, Luciano had sheathed his sword and commanded.

Leandro confidently assured him that he would “clean up” as soon as possible.　It was not long after Luciano had calmed himself down by embracing an unfamiliar woman at the inn that Leandro reported to him. He knelt down in front of Luciano. “Punish me please.”

“I deeply apologise. I was too careless to think that my actions had inflicted a fatal wound. The man fell into the river, but I did not confirm his corpse.”

“It’s fine.” Luciano at that time had forgiven him. After all, no one had ever been able to survive Leandro’s sword before.

He slid his finger across Alana’s cheek. If the man Leandro said he had failed to kill was Gustavo, Alana’s secret agent – she would know the man who had killed her father and brother.　He closed his eyes. That was not all she knew. She knew that Luciano has had many women in his arms. She knew that Luciano had made them crawl on all fours and treated them like trash.

When he finished caressing her, he put his ear to her chest and heard the regular beat of her heart. He had no regrets about killing Armenia’s royal family and the king and prince. The same went for killing the royal family of Teges. He did not feel an ounce of guilt. He still believed that the blood of filth should be destroyed. The decision to exterminate such filth with my own hands was irrevocable. Then, what about the last of the Armenian royal family, Alana was──.

Eventually, he felt a softness. He did not know it, but his eyes welled up. It was invalid because the other person was asleep, but it was true for him. It was his first eternal vow. Strictly speaking, it had been stolen from him by the women when he was raped, but it was still a first. This was a curse. You will be held captive by me for the rest of your life. Shackles* that would last for eternity.

── In this life. You are my captive.*

*The word used here, 枷,is a double entendre. It means both iron shackles, but also metaphorically, an eternal tie to bind someone in a relationship.