IHDOE Ch 58
Her brow twitched at his provocation.
[Tyron] "If you had just asked me from the start, this wouldn't have happened. Why complicate things for no reason?"
[Satina] "They're not dead yet. Sreans store their prey instead of eating them immediately, so they must be alive."
He sneered, watching the corners of her eyes redden as if she were holding back frustration.
[Tyron] "Ask me for help."
[Satina] "..."
[Tyron] "Admit you were wrong and beg for my help. Then I'll assist you."
[Satina] "No."
[Tyron] "Then what? Abandon your knights to save yourself? Your father will be furious when he finds out."
[Satina] "I'm going to rescue them."
[Tyron] "You? Every bastard who knows how to swing a sword was captured. How do you plan to do that?"
[Satina] "Not everyone."
She shifted her gaze to Katan standing beside her. Tyron frowned at the gesture.
[Tyron] "That slave? Don't tell me you intend to dispatch all those beasts with just one slave?"
[Satina] "Yes."
[Tyron] "Are you insane? Do you think that's possible? Do you want to end up as beast food too?"
[Satina] "I'd rather be beast food than beg you for help."
He scoffed.
[Tyron] "Ha! Satina, do you think I don't know why you're being so stubborn? You're doing this just to draw His Highness' attention."
[Satina] "So what if I am?"
[Tyron] "Do you think His Highness will care if you die out there? Dying out there is nothing more than a meaningless death—!"
Satina cut him off coldly while slicing her steak.
[Satina] "That's none of your concern. Wouldn't my death benefit you anyway? You've always regarded my status as His Highness' fiancée as a thorn in your side."
[Satina] "Did you forget what you said on the day of my betrothal? You said you could never accept a woman like me as His Highness' fiancée."
[Tyron] "..."
[Satina] "And on the day I attended my first banquet with him, you sabotaged my carriage. You made me late and forced me into the mud, turning me into a laughingstock."
Satina knew he was loyal to his master, the Crown Prince. She understood why he viewed her as lacking compared to the Prince, which was why high society gossiped relentlessly about their engagement and maligned her.
Still, she had once believed Tyron might be different. Ever since she treated his injury during their childhood, they had often spoken at banquets, leading her to believe he didn't harbor hatred toward her.
Back then, mistreated by her family and ostracized by noble society, that small connection offered immense solace, a comfort Tyron could never comprehend. Yet, at some point, he had stepped forward to spearhead the criticism against her.
The sense of betrayal Satina felt was indescribable. She would have preferred him showing outright hatred from the beginning or declaring he couldn't stand the sight of her. Ignorant of his true feelings, she had foolishly considered him a friend and harbored pointless expectations.
Tyron froze as if struck by a bullet, unable to utter a word.
[Tyron] "I..."
[Satina] "So whether I die or not, don't concern yourself. Even the thought of you attending my funeral disgusts me."
He glared at her with bloodshot eyes. He stood up slowly.
[Tyron] "Yes, you're right. Whether you die or not is none of my business."
[Tyron] "It's for the best if you perish at the hands of beasts! Once you're dead, a far better woman can become His Highness' partner! Do whatever you want!"
He slammed the door as he stormed out, leaving it rattling violently against the wall.
Satina watched the swinging door, intending to finish her meal, when Katan gently grasped her hand.
[Katan] "It would be best to stop eating."
[Satina] "Why?"
[Katan] "Your hands are trembling. If you eat now, you will suffer from indigestion."
She looked down at her hands. Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
[Satina] "It's nothing."
It was indeed nothing. She was merely furious from recalling past events with Tyron.
She tried to move her fork with forced composure, but Katan stopped her hand.
[Satina] "You..."
[Katan] "Forgive my rudeness. But continuing your meal now will only upset your stomach."
[Satina] "I am fine."
[Katan] "I am worried."
[Satina] "Katan."
Katan pressed his lips against her fingertips.
[Katan] "If my actions displease you, you may blow my head to pieces as you mentioned. Otherwise, please heed my advice."
[Satina] "You've really... grown arrogant."
Could she actually kill him? Of course not.
[Katan] "As I said, I have grown strange because of you, My Lady."
[Satina] "..."
[Katan] "I will bring you warm soup. Please wait a moment."
He left the room.
Revealing his true thoughts, Katan was acting somewhat differently from her expectations.
Still, it's fine for now.
Satina cradled the hand he had just kissed. Unbeknownst to her, the trembling had ceased.
Returning to his office, Tyron unbuttoned his cuffs roughly.
[Tyron] "She has completely lost her mind!"
[Tyron] "What? Had she rather die than accept my help? Fine! Let's see if she still feels that way when facing death!"
Facing death, she would surely regret not bowing her head to him.
Pacing around his office like a madman, he shouted toward his subordinate.
[Tyron] "Aide! We should prepare a celebration! His Highness is finally freed from that leech Satina!"
The aide carefully read his mood.
[Aide] "S-Still, we suffer no loss. We know the cure's ingredient now, so even without Lady Satina, we can..."
A loud bang echoed as Tyron kicked the desk, instantly silencing his aide. He glared with terrifying eyes.
[Tyron] "What did you just say? Satina is going to die?"
[Aide] "Ah, no... That is..."
The aide clutched his pile of documents tightly.
Tyron had just been rejoicing over Satina's death, so why was he suddenly taking offense? As a subordinate, he knew better than to be stubborn.
[Aide] "I apologize. It was a slip of the tongue."
Tyron threw an arm around the aide's shoulders with forced familiarity.
[Tyron] "A slip of the tongue? No! You said nothing wrong!"
[Tyron] "Whether that creature dies or not is none of my business. Isn't that right? Hm? We just need to prepare to applaud at her funeral!"
[Aide] "Y-Yes... Then if we do nothing..."
Tyron's face scowled intensely. Seeing this, the aide quickly pivoted.
[Aide] "Doing nothing won't do... Should I prepare the troops?"
[Tyron] "Troops? Why prepare troops? That creature claimed she didn't need my help! She said she'd rather die than accept my assistance, so why prepare troops?!"
The aide felt like he was going out of his mind.
Normally, Tyron was not a difficult superior. Though he assigned heavy workloads, that was unavoidable in combat situations. Normally, he was considerate of his subordinates, overlooking minor slip-ups unless they touched on his bloodline.
Ever since Satina arrived, however, his mood swung hundreds of times a day, wildly like a restless dog. The aide knew they had bad blood, but he hadn't imagined it was this severe. He had no idea what answer Tyron wanted.
[Aide] "S-Still, it would be troublesome if Lady Satina were to perish... His Highness wouldn't want friction with House Bersabet over such a matter."
He offered the most fundamental reasoning. Fortunately, Tyron didn't explode like before.
[Tyron] "Is that so?"
[Aide] "O-Of course! Besides, as you said, who would want to die? Assisting Lady Satina will place her in your debt, and we must secure the ingredient for the cure quickly!"
Tyron nodded slowly, finding the logic appealing.
[Tyron] "That is true."
Right, I'm preparing troops not for Satina, but for the cure.
Saving her life in the process was merely for His Highness' sake. With that rationalization, his mind eased considerably.
[Tyron] "Listen. Assemble the troops immediately. Once she departs, follow her secretly."
The next morning, Satina headed into the beast-infested forest alongside Katan. Their destination was the habitat of the Sreans, where the knights had been taken.
Tyron and his knights followed them in secret.
Let's see if she can maintain that stiff posture once her precious slave dies and she's surrounded by beasts.
No matter how skilled that slave was, defeating dozens of beasts and rescuing the knights single-handedly was impossible.
A smirk escaped Tyron at the thought of Satina swallowing her pride and clinging to him.
He had hoped they wouldn't even reach the Srean habitat, but perhaps because the beasts had been cleared earlier, the two reached the inner Srean territory much more easily than expected.
Well, it doesn't matter. Sreans are no easy opponents. How could anyone handle dozens of them alone?
He pictured Satina entering the Srean habitat. He intended to wait a suitable amount of time and appear right as she fell into dire straits.
However, as always, his plans didn't go according to expectations.
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