“…..”

Raven’s quivering eyes remained fixated on Raymond. Likewise, Soldrake’s gaze was also drawn to the boy. He was the legitimate successor of the Pendragon family, and the one who would have contracted with her after Raven.

“Uh…”

Raven was puzzled. As soon as they discovered his true identity, the attitude of the two figures had changed rapidly.

However, he bit his lips and bowed his head. They were good people, and they had saved him, but they were the same as everyone else. Because of his status as the prince of the Pendragon Kingdom, these people were also…

“Your mother’s name… is Lindsay Conrad. Is that correct?”

“What? Ah, yes…”

Raven asked in a trembling voice, and Raymond nodded with surprise. It was a little strange. All of the castle’s personnel addressed his mother as Baroness Conrad. Rarely did anyone call her by her name.

“As expected… Yes, I see…”

Raven mumbled with a sigh while slowly scrutinizing Raymond’s face. Even though the child resembled himself as a child, he had clear, good eyes – just like Lindsay.

An intense surge of emotions overcame him when he thought of her. He unconscious reached out his hand towards his son.

“Uh, ah…”

However, Raymond was still young and unaware of Raven’s thoughts. He instinctively retreated. It would be strange for him to notice and recognize the fatherly love that Raven had.

Raven suddenly stopped.

‘That’s right…’

His son did not know of his identity. Moreover, even if he told the truth, the child would not believe it. Alan Pendragon was a dead man. In addition, his portraits depicted a completely different appearance from his current self.

“Phew…”

Raven calmed himself. His heart was still pounding, but he did his best to suppress it. Then he turned his deep blue eyes to the person who dared to kidnap his son. Flames blazed in his eyes.

“Hiek…!”

Berna shrieked after meeting his gaze. For some reason, the opponent was furious.

‘I, is he somehow related to the Pendragon royal family? A knight from the kingdom? N, no, but I’ve never heard of the Pendragon Kingdom possessing such a knight!’

If that was true, it was all over. Cold sweat formed on her forehead and her entire body trembled. She never even dreamt that the man was much more than a simple knight of the kingdom, that, in fact, he was the founding king. She spoke in a hurry.

“I, I only did as I was told! We had infiltrated the Pendragon Kingdom and were gathering information when we spotted the prince’s party! Please forgive me! Hick! Please, please forgive me!”

She begged, her face covered with tears and snot. She was feeling the looming threat of death, or extinction for the first time in her life.

“Forgive…?”

Raven muttered coldly.

Was there a father in the world who would forgive his child’s kidnapper?

There wasn't.

He was the same. He would tear her apart, cut her apart, chew her to pieces, burn her to ashes… He had an urgent desire to kill the vampire in the cruelest ways possible.

But fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, Raven was a man who knew how to control his anger. He could set up a dam of reason to suppress the anger. When it was the right time, he would express all of his anger.

“Where were you going to take this child?”

“W, we were headed to Edenfield! My superior is there!”

He was asking questions, which meant she was still worth something alive. Therefore, Berna answered as quickly as possible.

“Superior? Did they give you your orders? Are they an executive of the Shadow Brotherhood?”

“Yes! I do not know the name, but we call him Number 2! Number 2 is in charge of all commissions and requests taken in by our organization!”

“Number 2… Does that mean there is a Number 1 as well?”

“Yes!”

She nodded her head ferociously, and Raven continued with a frown.

“How about the members of the Shadow Brotherhood?”

“I, I do not know exactly how many members there are!”

“Hmm.”

When Raven grumbled with a frown, Berna felt a devastating sense of doom. She continued with haste.

“H, however, I know there are roughly about 30 members! No one uses their real name, but rather numbers!”

“I see. And what is your number? And what about the one that escaped yesterday?”

“I am Number 7, and my colleague from yesterday is Number 3!”

“Are the numbers based on skills?”

“Not necessarily, but it’s somewhat reflective!”

“Hmm. I see…”

Raven nodded. Berna was giving him answers easier than he had expected. If the vampire’s words were true, it meant that Number 2 and Number 1 were stronger than the man from yesterday.

’Is he on Killian’s level? No, seven years passed, so Killian should be stronger.’

Raven calculated the skills of Number 3, then asked again.

“The man from yesterday. It looked like he was injured. Who was responsible?”

“H, he was injured by Elkin Isla, the Knight King of Valvas!”

“…..!”

Raven’s eyebrows became slightly elevated with surprise, but he soon nodded with a calm expression.

‘If it’s Elkin, then…’

Among the knight of the Pendragon family, or rather, of all the knights he knew, Isla was the strongest. Even if the opponent was an assassin in possession of an irregular technique, they would be no match for Isla.

However…

‘They succeeded in kidnapping the child even with Elkin present? Hmm…’

“Tell me in detail where and when you saw the child, and how you kidnapped him. I will kill you immediately if you lie about anything.”

“Y, yes! So…”

Berna nodded crazily, then eagerly explained. In the first place, she was unable to lie after revealing her True Name. She began explaining the full story of how they kidnapped the Pendragon Kingdom’s prince.

*** 

“Ugh…”

The man opened his eyes.

“Keugh!”

As soon as he came to his senses, he clenched his teeth and instinctively looked over his body at a sharp sensation of pain. A large, terrible wound was covered with a dark red scab on his right arm, and a leg was missing from knee down. In addition, his body was bound to a chair by a thick, metal chain.

“You’re awake.”

“Keuhu…”

A cold voice greeted him, and he raised his head while emitting a strange sound.

“Heuk!”

Despite the pain, the man was startled. He felt suffocated as he faced the opponent’s eyes. They were glowing far more intense than the few torches lighting the room.

‘T, the Knight King of Valvas…’

He felt his hair standing on end as he trembled. As Number 8 of the Shadow Brotherhood, he was usually confident in his skills.

He always succeeded in killing or kidnapping his targets, even if they were surrounded by dozens of escorts or a reputable knight. Although he wasn’t as confident in a one-on-one, no one had avoided his ambush thus far.

Even in the brotherhood, which was crawling with true monsters, he was confident in eliminating those up to Number 4. As such, he never doubted his success, even with the presence of the Knight King of Valvas and the royal knights of the Pendragon family.

However, he had been greatly mistaken. He was facing an otherworldly monster. He felt as if the mere glare of the opponent caused his heart to stop. The man was on another level. Not only did the knight pierce his arm with a dagger thrown from an incredibly far distance, but the knight also nullified his illusion and severed his leg with a powerful sword strike.

‘Monster…’

No other word was suitable to describe the knight.

“From now on, you will only speak to answer my questions. If you say anything else…”

Slice!

“Kuaaaghhhh!”

A piercing scream resonated in the basement.

“I will cut off your joints one by one.”

Thud.

Isla spoke coldly, flicking his sword to remove a finger joint from the man’s bleeding hand.

“Kuaagh! Kehuuuu!”

Number 8 screamed with pain, then burst into a bizarre laugh.

“There’s no use. One of my colleagues is a master of torture. I am much more scared of him than I am of you. Kuaaghhhh!”

Thud.

The second joint of the index finger fell to the floor.

“There are three questions, but still 26 joints to… No.”

“Kuaaaghhhh! Heugh!”

Isla’s apathetic eyes slowly headed downwards, and the eyes of Number 8 quivered crazily. He felt an ominous, instinctive feeling.

“Including the toes, you still have 46 more.”

Regrettably, ominous, foreboding feelings always came true.

*** 

Thud.

“…..”

Isla opened the door and entered silently. The knights in the room hurriedly saluted. Although the building was well insulated, the terrible screams had pierced through the thick doors of the basement. Their expressions were pale after hearing the screams for several hours.

Nevertheless, the royal knights of the Pendragon Kingdom knew why such actions were necessary. They gulped and looked towards Isla, who wiped his face and hands clean of blood.

“We will be going to Edenfield. From now on, I will personally escort Princess Mia. Prepare for departure.”

“Yes!”

Although they had many curiosities, they stood at attention and immediately carried out his orders. Isla narrowed his eyes after completely cleansing himself of the bloodstains.

‘They aren’t ordinary by any means. Should I count myself lucky for getting an answer for one of the three questions…?’

Isla was born in Valvas. Men of Valvas were born fighting.

However, even though he utilized the cruelest and most painful torture he knew of, the man in the basement only answered a single question – where their destination was.

Of course, Isla still had a few more methods up his sleeve, further torture was meaningless. The man kept his mouth shut even after having all of his fingers and toes cut off. He would not spill anything else even with further torture.

Even the single answer was obtained by luck. The man had unknowingly slipped his destination in a half-dazed state.

‘I will take back the prince in Edenfield. And… I will kill every single one of them.’

The Knight King took a step after grabbing Thorca, which was wrapped in a red cloth.

Knock knock.

“Yes…”

Mia answered helplessly while turning around.

“It’s time to go, Princess.”

Isla spoke in an even colder voice than usual. Mia nodded and picked up her luggage.

“Let me.”

He approached her and quickly took her bag.

A bloody stench erupted.

“Hmm. I apologize.”

Isla bowed his head while hurriedly stepping aside, recalling that he had cut all the joints of a person’s limbs not too long ago.

“No, it’s okay.”

However, Mia did not frown or turn her head. Although she was a woman, she also inherited the blood of Pendragon. Although she could not take up arms for her family, she would never turn a blind eye to the knight who saw blood for her kidnapped nephew.

“Where are we going?”

“We will be heading to Edenfield. The men who kidnapped Prince Raymond are headed there.”

“I see…”

Mia mumbled quietly, then raised her head. She continued with a confident look. No trace of fear or concern could be found in her eyes.

“Will we be able to find him? Safely?”

“I swear it on my life.”

An indifferent statement. However, Mia knew the weight of his words. Even though her nephew was kidnapped, she could let out a sigh of relief.