“Are you not hearing me?! Move! I said move!!”

Reginald screamed.

But the soldiers only shifted uneasily in place.

“M-my lord......”

It was no wonder.

In their eyes, the barrier surrounding Agavert and Adeline looked far too solid.

And not only that.

“Th-that red mist......”

The red mist that had begun slowly crawling out ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) of the barn was another problem.

Several knights were already lying around it.

As though its very touch warned of danger.

“U-useless vermin!”

Reginald snapped in fury.

He seized a sword lying on the ground and slashed the nearest soldier.

The wounded man groaned and collapsed, while the others stared at him with pale faces.

“I am your master! I am the lord of Kaldenwein Ridge! Whoever disobeys will lose his head!”

At his rage-filled voice, the soldiers, after hesitating, tightened their grips on their swords again.

Their hands trembled, but there was nowhere to retreat.

They knew Reginald’s cruelty better than anyone—they had witnessed it up close for years.

“F-forward—!”

At last, a senior soldier squeezed his eyes shut and shouted:

“Bind the wretches who attacked my lord!”

All at once, the soldiers charged toward the barn.

Losses were heavy, but hope still remained.

Against only a handful from Agavert, Reginald’s soldiers still held numerical superiority.

Grasping that hope, Reginald burst into manic laughter.

“That’s right! Kill them all and seize the will—!”

He could not finish.

His bloodshot eyes lost focus.

The charging soldiers slowed, then stopped.

“U-uaaak—!”

Broken screams rang out from all directions.

Something was bursting from the ground—and the soldiers fell one after another.

“M-mercy!”

“My lord—! Save, sa— ugh—!”

Reginald froze.

The sword in his hand trembled like an aspen leaf.

Right before him, the green grass covering the rear courtyard blackened within moments.

As though some inevitable force were draining its life.

Through the dried stalks emerged grotesque, never-before-seen forms.

“W-what is this......”

Dust rose into the air.

Clouds thickened overhead, and the damp smell stung the nostrils.

“T-the dead—!”

The soldiers fled in panic.

Reginald stared blankly as they ran past him toward the opposite side of the castle.

But they could not go far.

The only path of retreat was already blocked.

The sword slipped from Reginald’s hand.

Mounds of earth rose everywhere—higher than a man.

The surface of the soil stirred, and bones began to emerge.

Skeletons eaten through as though corroded by stone, riddled with holes.

“...Mercy.”

The soldier standing at the front collapsed unconscious.

But the twisted bones moved as if alive and drove a rusted sword into his chest.

Earth spilled from between skeletal fingers.

“U-uaaah...!”

And that was not all.

As the skeletons tightened the circle, the soldiers dropped their weapons one after another.

The temperature plummeted sharply, icy cold piercing the air.

Reginald still stood, as though frozen stiff.

“It weighs on my heart to think of my daughter, my wife, and the people who will remain without me.”

A voice behind him read aloud.

Reginald could not believe his ears and turned.

Before the barn.

That blond girl held the former lord’s will in her hands.

“Even after my departure, the glory of Kaldenwein must continue... Reginald Kaldenwein shall assume protection of the lineage and governance of the estate.”

Suddenly the child, who had been clearly reading the will, fell silent.

She slowly lifted her head and looked at Reginald.

“...Until my heir, Adeline Kaldenwein, reaches adulthood.”

His throat went dry.

“Uncle.”

The girl took a step forward.

The bone army covering the courtyard obediently parted.

A straight path formed between them.

Breathing heavily, Reginald stepped back.

“Do you know the story about the greedy little mouse?”

Just a child.

Yet he did not understand why he was retreating.

Unlike him, there was not a trace of fear on the girl’s face.

“The mouse snuck into his friend’s pantry and ate candy until he was caught.”

She approached step by step.

As the distance shrank, Reginald frantically looked around.

But there was no one left to help him.

A dead man’s blade rested at every soldier’s neck.

Recia was gone.

“D-don’t come closer!”

In haste, Reginald picked up the dropped sword.

However—

“...Where.”

Basto, who had approached, roughly seized his arm.

Reginald swallowed convulsively.

The girl now stood directly before him.

“The mouse stole too much candy. And when he was caught, he tried to run.”

A shadow of contempt flickered in her innocent green eyes.

“But he couldn’t run away. Do you know why?”

“W-what nonsense are you spouting!”

The girl let out a heavy sigh.

“His belly was too big. He got stuck in the hole. If you are too greedy, that is what happens. That is what the book says.”

Reginald’s face twisted.

But the girl looked completely serious.

“Do not steal what belongs to others. Do not lie. Guard your conscience. Even the toddlers in the Ladybug class know that.”

“...Ha, ha.”

An empty laugh escaped his lips.

Reginald clenched his teeth with all his strength.

“And what are you going to do with me?”

The last embers of pride flared in his eyes.

“I am the lord of Kaldenwein Ridge! Everything you are doing is treason!”

The girl frowned and covered her ears.

But Reginald shouted even more furiously:

“If this reaches His Imperial Majesty’s ears! Do you think he will let you go?!”

He glared viciously at the rest of the squad.

“You will all be executed! Pitiful mercenaries who live by hunting monsters! How dare you, commoners, dare to oppose me, your lord—!”

[The traitor here is not them. It is you, Reginald.]

In that instant, a blue vision flashed before his eyes.

Reginald’s eyes widened.

“H-how can you......”

Before him stood Stasia.

His brother’s wife. The woman he had poisoned with his own hands.

Stasia seized his throat roughly with her pale hand.

And white frost began spreading across his skin.