Chapter 45: Honorary Count Deon Hart

“C-Count, are you alright?!”

Even in his flustered state, Lien swiftly dispatched the monster that could have posed a threat, then hurried to check on Deon.

The arrow had struck true, burying itself deep in his shoulder. Judging by the angle, it had come from behind.

Which meant it hadn’t been fired from the border…

Finishing his quick assessment, Lien called out to Deon again, pausing briefly at his reaction.

“Hah…”

“…Count?”

He flinched back, an involuntary step backward. A chilling sense of revulsion washed over him.

Was this the kind of feeling one might get from the combined aura of rampaging Killer Knight members?

The excitement and madness were undeniable in the slow exhale.

A sickening crunching sound made him glance down, just as Deon was clutching his own shoulder, practically tearing at it.

His sharp fingernails dug deeper into the wound, and the hand wrapped around his shoulder was soaked in blood.

Deon Hart was smiling.

“Sir Lien.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Cut it off.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Now.”

Lien hesitated, looking at the protruding arrow shaft that Deon indicated so urgently.

Judging by his tone, Deon wanted him to cut the visible part clean off. While that would be convenient in the short term, removing the arrowhead later would be a major pain.

Every movement would drive the arrowhead further in, requiring a deeper incision and more extensive damage to extract it.

Naturally, that would prolong the recovery time.

Considering Deon Hart was the Emperor’s sword, he should advise against it, but—

The moment he met those crimson eyes focusing on him, Lien drew his sword as if in a trance and swung.

The wobbly arrow shaft snapped off, and Deon smiled in satisfaction at the removal of the obstruction.

“Alright then, you lot.”

Clack.

As the horse took a step forward, Deon tilted his head slightly.

As if on cue, another arrow whizzed past his ear and thudded into the ground.

Ignoring the startled Lien, Deon pushed back the hood of his white robe with his bloodied hand and surveyed the members.

The early summer sun seemed harsh, making him squint, but the smile never left his lips.

“Time for your medicine.”

Battle! The members’ eyes changed.

Lien shuddered, feeling like these weren’t the same men he knew.

Deon slowly wiped his blood-soaked hand on the hem of his robe, casually waiting for them to prepare.

Meanwhile, the attackers, showing no intention of delaying, began their charge on horseback, but no one except Lien seemed flustered.

“Do you have any meds?”

“Just enough for me.”

“Damn it. Then Kleter, do you have any extra…”

“I only brought one, just in case. You didn’t bring any?”

“It was a monster subjugation. I didn’t expect to face people.”

Milan ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

He wasn’t the only one without medicine; several others were also going around asking for some.

Watching this, Deon pulled a pouch from inside his robes with his now-clean hand.

“Milan.”

“Yes? …Huh!”

Milan instinctively caught the object that was thrown his way, realizing it was a pouch and carefully checking its contents.

It was full of white pills.

Recognizing them instantly, Milan looked up at Deon with a questioning gaze.

“You usually manage fine without these, Count. Why do you have these…”

“Got them from some puffed-up drug addict when I went to carry out His Majesty’s orders.”

“Pardon? Ah… well, thank you for this.”

How one encountered a cocky drug addict while on a monster subjugation was a mystery, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Milan quickly popped a pill into his mouth.

His face immediately contorted in a grimace.

The pills were designed to dissolve instantly in liquids, like water.

In other words, they weren’t exactly top-quality. The easy consumption was a plus, if you looked at it optimistically…

‘These kinds of drugs usually have side effects…’

Even high-grade drugs were concerning, let alone cheap ones. If anyone other than the Count had offered these, he would have spat them out immediately.

‘Well… the Count wouldn’t give us anything problematic. The side effects can’t be that bad.’

Milan was about to swallow the pill that was rapidly dissolving on his tongue with a dubious expression, and just as others who had been searching for medicine came over to grab some,

“Oh, there are also sleeping pills and paralytics mixed in, so sort them out carefully.”

“…Ptooey!!”

“Thoo! Ptooey!”

The sound of people spitting echoed around them.

Some of those who had checked the damp pills in their palms by even smelling them put them back in their mouths with relief, while others tossed them onto the ground with a sour look.

A grumbling voice came from somewhere.

“Even with some tolerance, isn’t this a bit much?”

“Your fault for not being able to tell the difference.”

“Now that I look at it, the sleeping pills and paralytics seem to be the kind with really nasty side effects. Are you even human, Count?”

“Not anymore.”

“Ah.”

“Can’t be human for what we’re about to do.”

“Honestly…”

Witnessing the unbelievable scene unfold, Lien hesitantly spoke up.

“C-Count, what kind of… medicine is that…?”

“Drugs.”

“Cough— D-Drugs? Drugs are banned in the Empire! Even you, Count, are…!”

“We’ve got a tacit understanding about them in our division. Just don’t get caught red-handed.”

“That’s…”

“Aren’t you focused on the wrong thing right now?”

With that, Deon kicked off his saddle and leaped into the air.

Lightly vaulting over Lien, he twisted in mid-air, grabbed the neck of the attacker charging at Lien, and brought them both crashing to the ground.

Falling from a horse! That could lead to serious injury or even death!

Alarmed, Lien looked down, just as Deon skillfully used the attacker as a cushion, plunging daggers into both of the man’s shoulders, pinning him to the earth.

Shoulders, then hands. As the man thrashed in agony, Deon’s gaze slowly dropped.

“Should I do his legs too?”

…

The question was sincere.

Seeing the predatory gleam in his crimson eyes, the man froze.

Deon grinned at him and stood up.

If he had more daggers, he surely would have, but unfortunately, he only had two left.

He turned his gaze towards the members already engaged in combat, tossing a casual instruction to Lien, who stood ready with his sword drawn.

“Sir Lien.”

“Yes, Count.”

“Keep this one alive.”

“Understood.”

This side was taken care of now.

He watched the members fighting like madmen.

Every single one of them had a crazed look in their eyes. Any normal person would think they’d lost their minds…

Deon’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing?”

His voice was neither loud nor particularly emotional, yet everyone’s attention snapped to him.

Even if he disregarded the enemies’ gazes, the bloodshot eyes of his drugged-up men staring at him could be unsettling, but Deon remained unfazed.

Thump.

He slowly stepped into the dangerous territory between reason and instinct, where madness reigned.

Entering the thick of horses was practically suicide, but he showed no hesitation.

“Lost your touch because it’s been a while…”

…

“Or did becoming knights make you think it’s okay to fight like civilized people now?”

!

In a flash, he vanished, reappearing beside an enemy rider, stabbing the man’s thigh with a dagger. The unexpected pain threw him off balance, and Deon seized the opportunity, raking his nails across the wound as he yanked the man off his horse.

The sight of Deon mercilessly driving the dagger down as the man fell was enough to make even the members who were accustomed to such brutality, and even committed it themselves, avert their eyes.

Yes, that’s it.

They wouldn’t have looked away if they had truly lost their minds.

A sneer touched Deon’s lips.

“Why are you holding back the drugs’ effects?”

What was the point of taking drugs if they were just going to act the same as usual?

The members stared at him, their eyes wide with realization. Deon met their gazes one by one, a hint of disdain in his voice.

“You’re not that skilled yet.”

Not skilled enough to survive without being brutal.

But they weren’t immune to the cruel acts either. Nor the guilt for their victims.

That’s why they needed the drugs. To erase the memories.

“I’ve told you countless times.”

Thwack— A chilling sound echoed.

In the crescent of his eye, the crimson pupil shifted sideways.

Perhaps trying to take advantage of his distraction, a figure wielding a weapon stood there, his eyes wide with disbelief.

A dagger had pierced his heart. No one had seen Deon move.

He twisted the dagger as he pulled it out. Blood splattered, leaving red streaks on his white hair and cheek.

Deon didn’t stop there, grabbing the man’s hair, yanking his head back, and repeatedly plunging the dagger into his face.

Despite the brutal, almost crazed actions, his voice remained unnervingly calm.

“Reason is only needed to distinguish friend from foe.”

Blood that hadn’t soaked in yet trickled down his forehead and dripped onto the ground.

And the moment he met the matching crimson eyes hidden behind,

[Be consumed by madness.]

The words that had been burned into their minds seemed to resound again, making the members freeze.

***

While Deon and the Killer Knights were dealing with the sudden attackers, chaos erupted on the kingdom’s side of the border.

The commander in charge of border defense stared blankly, muttering in a daze.

Even as he spoke, disbelief colored his voice.

“That’s Deon Hart, right? The Empire’s hero.”

“Judging by the white hair, it seems so.”

“His fighting style matches too.”

“We can’t see his eye color from this distance, but his white uniform confirms it.”

“The uniforms of the others clearly belong to the Killer Knights. So it’s probably him.”

“Damn it.”

Why the hell was he here?

It felt too suspicious to be a simple monster subjugation.

Monster subjugations usually involved at least two knight orders. This was too small a group.

He was leaning more towards the theory that they were a small elite force sent for reconnaissance when an even bigger problem arose.

“What the hell is that?!”

An arrow suddenly struck the person who looked like Deon Hart in the shoulder.

Then, a new group of suspicious-looking individuals appeared, and another battle broke out.

Just as confused as the group on the other side was chaotic.

What was going on? To dare harm the Empire’s hero, the people behind this must be someone high up. Is there internal strife? Is the Empire experiencing severe internal conflict?

Or was this a show of force towards our kingdom? No, the arrow was lodged quite deep. He’ll likely have trouble using his arm for a while.

…Huh? For a while…?