Chapter 66

I realized it immediately.

That wasn’t a smile.

It was a warning—I’m about to beat someone to a pulp.

If Lycian turned Raul into human dough, I’d probably feel a lot better….

‘There’s no need for that anymore.’

I grabbed his arm and shook my head firmly.

“It’s fine. I already hit him once.”

“That wasn’t hitting. That was Muriel’s delicate hand brushing past him.”

“I—I swung as hard as I could, okay?!”

Raul watched the two of us bickering with an odd look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Michelle was staring at Camilla with undisguised shock.

Did they know each other?

‘But if that were the case….’

Camilla didn’t look remotely surprised.

That was when Michelle’s voice cut through the silence.

“Camilla. I heard you joined the Veratis Guild….”

Camilla tilted her head to one side and answered lazily.

“That’s right. It’s been a while… unnie.”

‘…Unnie?!’

My eyes went wide.

There was no way they were actual sisters.

Camilla was an long-tailed tit beastkin, while Michelle was unmistakably human.

There was no way a beastkin and a human could be biological siblings.

Then what exactly was their relationship…?

“The Veratis Guild Master assigned you this escort mission?”

“Yes. I’m currently escorting Lady Muriel—”

Unlike Michel, whose gaze wavered precariously, Camilla looked completely at ease.

She idly twisted one of her snowy twin braids around her finger, almost as if she were bored.

Michelle stared at her for a long moment, then bit down hard on her lip and spoke in a cutting tone.

“With your skills, and you stooped to becoming nothing more than an adventurer…. Do you even realize who you’re escorting right now? You’re dragging our late master’s name through the mud.”

In an instant, Camilla’s relaxed expression froze over.

“Gasp….”

The shift was so abrupt it stole my breath.

I’d never seen her look like that before—her usual hazy expression replaced by something cold and sharp.

Camilla rolled her eyes once, then grabbed the shield and axe strapped to her back.

And in a low, chilling murmur, she said—

“Are you insane…? Still not fully cured, Michelle? Maybe I should chop off your arms and legs so you remember your place….”

The next second, she lunged and swung her axe in a wide arc.

Michelle barely dodged, but Camilla’s ferocious assault didn’t let up.

‘W-What the hell? Should I stop them?’

Even to my untrained eye, Michelle was being completely overwhelmed.

Camilla looked like she’d snapped—like she couldn’t see anything else.

‘What if she really cuts off Michelle’s limbs at this rate?!’

While I fidgeted anxiously, Lycian beside me remained perfectly calm.

“Let them handle their own fight. We’ll take care of what actually matters.”

“You’re not going to stop them?!”

“Even if we tried, she wouldn’t listen. Look at her eyes. That long-tailed tit beastkin’s lost it.”

“B-But…!”

“Hurry, Muriel. Let’s get this over with.”

I chewed my lip.

He wasn’t wrong….

Even if I intervened, would Camilla listen?

Letting out a heavy sigh, I pulled the divorce papers from my inventory.

‘What is this absolute mess of a situation?!’

I’ve really experienced it all at this point.

Then again, most of the Veratis Guild members were a little unhinged. Camilla was no exception.

‘Scary….’

Still, I thrust the papers straight at Raul.

Until then he’d looked somewhat dazed, but when he saw the document in my hand, his brows knit slightly.

“What is this?”

“Can’t you read? It says so right here. Di-vorce papers.”

I enunciated each syllable. Raul shot me a sharp, incredulous glare before snatching the document from my hand.

“…….”

He read it in silence, and gradually confusion flooded his face.

Arms crossed, I spoke evenly.

“I’ve filled out everything else, so you just need to sign. As for division of property, I’m not taking a single coin. That should satisfy you, right?”

“…Are you serious? You want a divorce?”

“What, does this look like a performance to you? All of this?”

My farm, my house, my people.

I spread my arms wide, gesturing to all of it.

Only then did something new flicker in Raul’s eyes.

A realization. Or perhaps suspicion.

He stared at me in silence, then his gaze slid toward Lycian.

“…….”

After a moment, he let out a low, mocking laugh.

“Ah. I see now.”

…He’d clearly come to some disgusting misunderstanding.

Sure enough, the next words out of his mouth were outrageous.

“I was wondering why you were farming in a place like this… so you’ve been fooling around with a lover. Looks like you’ve fallen head over heels for him. Enough to finally divorce the husband you used to cling to so desperately.”

“Ha….”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

I was just about to lose my temper and throw another punch—

THUD!!

“…!”

The sound that split the air was far heavier than when I’d hit him.

‘God, that sounded like he got punched with steel gloves.’

The terrifying force behind it belonged, of course, to Lycian.

Struck by that merciless blow, Raul staggered in place before collapsing to the ground.

His right cheek, the one he clutched with his hand, rapidly flushed crimson.

‘That looks like it really hurt….’

That was definitely going to bruise black and blue.

“You do love to run your mouth. If it weren’t for Muriel, you’d have been a corpse long ago.”

Lycian looked down at Raul and spoke coldly.

The sheer pressure radiating from him made my skin prickle.

Raul must have realized Lycian was no ordinary man; his eyes narrowed slightly, his expression turning grave.

In a guarded voice, he demanded of Lycian,

“Who are you?”

“No need for you to know that. You should be more concerned about your subordinate.”

A deeper crease formed between Raul’s brows.

Right then—

Thud.

Someone dropped to their knees.

Raul and I both turned toward the sound.

And what I saw made my heart lurch.

Camilla was raising her axe to bring it down on Michelle’s shoulder as Michelle knelt on the ground.

“Ah! Stop, Camilla! Lycian, stop her!”

At my command, Lycian moved instantly.

In the nick of time, his hand shot out and caught the axe handle.

The gleaming blade had been a breath away from cleaving into Michelle’s right shoulder.

With practiced ease, Lycian subdued Camilla and wrenched the axe from her grip.

Boom. Her shield hit the ground with a heavy crash.

Even disarmed, Camilla glared at Michelle with murderous eyes.

‘T-That shaved ten years off my life.’

We’d nearly witnessed an arm being cleanly severed.

Michelle, apparently with no intention of striking back, had dropped her sword and remained seated on the ground.

I gathered up the divorce papers Raul had dropped when he fell and hurried over.

Who knew when Camilla might snap again? Calming her down came first.

Pinned down by Lycian, Camilla was forced to her knees.

I crouched in front of her.

“Camilla. Can you hear me?”

“…Yes.”

Thankfully, she was responsive.

Careful not to scold her too harshly, I tried to guide her back to her senses.

“Camilla, I don’t know what happened between you two, but you can’t actually spill blood like this. If something serious happens, Dante and the rest of the guild will be dragged into it. Go home and talk it out properly, okay?”

“…….”

Her eyes were still frightening, but she gave a small nod.

After extracting a promise that she wouldn’t go berserk again, I glanced at Lycian.

Only then did he release her.

Camilla stood and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

And Michelle… Raul had somehow made his way over and was helping her up.

‘This is bad. She’s completely battered.’

She’d avoided losing an arm, but Michelle looked a wreck.

Cuts from the axe blade. Bruises that looked like they’d been slammed by the shield.

‘If she couldn’t win, why provoke Camilla in the first place…?’

The question flickered briefly through my mind, but treating the injured came first.

Letting out a long sigh, I pressed a hand to my forehead and spoke in an exasperated tone.

“Let’s go inside and finish this conversation. We need to treat Sir Michelle’s wounds.”

“…….”

Raul’s gaze fixed on me, his expression turning strangely complex.

As if he’d never expected I’d show them any kindness at all.