Who? Wait wha...

Right after Serena finished writing, she stood up, went toward the window, and snapped her finger. A man disguised in black clothes suddenly appeared and kneeled before her.

"Your orders, milady."

He was a ninja-like guy wearing black clothes.

"Take this to the Duke as soon as possible."

She handed the letter to the disguised man. After which, he quickly replied.

"As you wish."

The man disappeared as fast as he came. Then, Serena closed the door and put Ragnar in a pulled out a knife from the basket of fruits. She looked at the knife and licked it quite interestingly. Then, with a swift cut on her palm, the blood splattered all across the floor.

『Gate』

After she omitted the chant, green glittery energy revolved around her which disappeared after a distortion similar to the one the blonde guy made opened up.

***

'Why is my left eye throbbing?.. Wait, what is that green energy coming out of her?'

Although his future was uncertain, Ragnar analyzed everything his mother did. His eyes stopped blinking and his face resembled a statue. She went inside the portal. Glancing back at Ragnar, she said,

"I'll spare you just because you are my son. And I don't want 'Raphael' to hunt me down..."

She made a bitter expression and continued, "Goodbye, son. I hope you can forgive me."

'I hope you can forgive me as well.'

Ragnar replied in his mind and her figure faded inside the portal which disappeared five seconds later.

*Around 10 PM*

"MY LADY. PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR. ARE YOU THERE? PLEASE ANSWER."

An unknown woman was shouting and violently knocking on the door for a while. Which didn't help much as Ragnar had fallen asleep and the lady she was searching for was long gone. After a while, the door shook even more violently as the voice of another man could be heard. It didn't take long till the door was opened. Hearing the door break down, Ragnar woke up. The sound was so loud that even the indifferent Ragnar teared up.

The woman in the maid dress carried Ragnar and calmed him down. She was covered in sweat so Ragnar tried to push her instinctively. The man who was a knight looked for Serena and seeing her absence, he ran off as fast as possible without uttering a single word. Assessing the situation while calming down, Ragnar thought,

'That bitch is going to pay for this but... what will happen to me now?'

***

***

***

***

*In a jungle far away at midnight*

Surrounded by the forest, there were a couple of camps where many knights drank alcohol, and danced which was akin to a victory party. In midst of all this, a man was staying inside a camp that was classier than the rest. He had golden eyes, black hair, and a build that could rival the likes of gigachad. He took the bottle, poured the wine, and drank it to his heart's content.

"As expected, nothing beats a glass of wine after such a long expedition."

He poured once more but was interrupted by a man outside of the tent.

"Duke Kingsword, the second lady has sent you a letter."

Hearing him, Raphael maintained a calm composure and made his eyes look emotionless. It didn't help much as he was half naked.

"You may come in."

"Yes."

The man entered and kneeled in front of Raphael. He approached the man and took the letter.

"You may leave."

The man disappeared in plain sight again.

"This late... What could it be?"

Although he knew that the letter had nothing resembling good news, he didn't expect the situation was much worse than his imagination. Raphael opened the letter and read its contents. His hands and legs shook and immediately, he collapsed to the ground, his emotionless face had turned pale and the rainwater was dripping on the ground.

"But why? Everything I did..."

***

***

*The next morning*

"My lord. we have to depart soon."

A man who had a militaristic haircut called out to Raphael waiting for a response.

"..."

He waited for a minute or so and called out his master several times.

'This silent treatment is unlike him. On top of that, he has never been late at waking up. Then, there is only one possibility.

"Please excuse my rudeness."

The man entered the tent and saw no one. Panicked, he called out to all the soldiers.

"What is it, Patrick?"

The soldiers all came to the campfire area and made a circle. Patrick took a deep breath, looked at everyone with a slight worry on his face, and said,

"The lord... is not here."

Everyone: "...Shit."

The panic spread like wildfire. Everyone wore their armor, took their belongings, and hasted toward the Kingsword duchy. This act could've been treason but...

'He has most probably headed back home. It was so the last time as well. The third child had born yesterday so he must've gone out first. I hope.'

Although he had a 'Just why?' expression, Patrick swiftly crossed the huge forest along with the soldiers.

***

***

*Outside the Kingsword mansion*

Raphael, holding his newborn child, was walking around the garden. The temperature was mild, the smell of flowers only supporting the grace of the garden. But, the expression on his face remained unchanged. He strolled, took a few glances at Ragnar, and strolled again. It was as if he wanted to talk to Ragnar but couldn't do it. About an hour later, he took Ragnar to the maids and asked them to feed him. The maids all stayed quiet and nervous since the news had traveled fast. This worsened Raphael's expression even more as the shame of having your wife stolen, as a Duke, is not something anyone can handle.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU FREELOADERS DOING?"

A woman dressed in a cream-colored kimono showed up. There was a small boy behind her who also had a nervous expression.

"Shizue?"

Raphael looked at the wild woman in shock.

"When did you..."

As he was talking, she ran up to him and kicked him in the head. Although it did little to no damage, it did have some effect...

'There are pantsu in this world?'

The kimono must've been made out of steel as it didn't tear even after that. The duke's face had a bruise to complement his pale white look. Looking at him, the woman spits on the floor and then took Ragnar.

"Look at you. Sho kyute~. And, there is this dumb shit who keeps making sad faces. What are you, a 14-year-old whose crush talked with another guy? Retard."

The room became silent so the maids cooked the food as fast as possible and excused themselves.

"...I'll raise this child."

Raphael stayed quiet even now. His eyes had no life and his head was parallel to the ground.

"Sigh. Look here."

Shizue raised Raphael's head and looked at him with pity.

"You are a Duke, Raphael. Remember that. Your actions not only affect you but those around you as well. Even though she left, this boy is still here."

The times he had spent with Serena in his younger days, the times they argued, and the times they compromised and stayed together. All of them flashed in his eyes. And then, he saw the personification of their love. All the emotions that he was holding back came out. His crying sound reverberated throughout the mansion. Acknowledging his painful cries, some knights cried as well.

Looking at the floor, Raphael said,

"The mansion must be getting old."