Chapter: 202
In order to prepare for a potential rescue of Lian, the Duke quickly sent Lian’s portrait to the Empire. It was a request that if anyone found a man who looked like this, they must protect him.
The Empire wasn’t likely to pay attention to the search for a commoner, so the Duke subtly spread the lie that Lian was his son.
If that were the only thing they had to go by, there would be no reason for them to raise their voices to curse Lian as a traitor. After all, that could risk their standing with the Duke’s family.
Yet, their furious reactions were entirely due to Noah.
She ignored any insults thrown at herself, but when it came to dismissals of Lian, she couldn’t hold back. Naturally, this led to her opponents harboring grievances against Lian and hurling all sorts of insults at him.
…However, after nearly getting killed by Noah, they stopped cursing Lian, but their anger still simmered.
The fact that the White Mask was actually ‘Lian,’ whom Noah had been chasing so persistently, was something that could easily bring down Noah, who had been perfectly dominating the battlefield.
The nobles eagerly raised their voices to undermine Noah.
“Let’s hang his head up!”
“Oh! That’s a good idea. It will demoralize the enemy!”
They gleefully discussed the gruesome idea of beheading Lian and displaying it somewhere visible to the enemy.
Not everyone agreed with such extreme opinions.
“He might have been under the influence of dark magic. Just like the enemy troops.”
“Let’s not risk angering the Duke. We shouldn’t forget that she could come here at any moment.”
Some suggested that Lian could be an innocent victim, while others worried about the crazed Duke’s family. The nobles then cleared their throats and changed the subject.
The Commander quietly observed the rambling nobles before speaking heavily.
“There’s nothing we can ascertain right now, so let’s start with an investigation.”
Faced with the Commander’s serious gaze, the nobles murmured a few words before reluctantly nodding.
At that moment, just as their meeting was coming to an end, Noah looked down at Lian’s lifeless body with a blank expression. Then she abruptly turned to the person beside her.
Filling her view was the black-haired Lian, gazing down at his own unmoving body with a serious face.
Noah reached out her trembling hand and gently covered the back of Lian’s hand. At that moment, Lian’s gaze, which had been focused on his own body, softened as it turned towards her.
Lian blushed from the unfamiliar skinship and timidly grabbed Noah’s hand. He didn’t have the courage yet to interlock their fingers.
“You’ll be back to normal soon. Don’t worry.”
“…Yeah…”
Though the atmosphere and expressions were different, the intonations and little habits of the Lian Noah knew were right there in front of her. The anxiety hadn’t completely faded, but she wasn’t drowning in despair.
Noah looked down at the hand Lian was holding and wiggled her empty fingers. Unconsciously, she stared intently at Lian’s wrist.
Images of cuffs covered in soft fur floated around her mind. Noah, lost in thought, seemed rather stable, prompting Lian to turn his gaze back to his own body.
With his original body right before him, one might wonder why he felt so troubled, yet a subtle unease held him back, preventing any attempts to return to his original form.
It felt like being lost in a dense fog. Everything felt familiar yet strange, and with each step, dread tightened around her chest, making her fear that she would be sucked deeper into the fog.
‘Why is this happening?’
She tried to retrace her thoughts to uncover the source of her fear but couldn’t find a single clue.
Just then, as Lian was lost in thought, the sound of rustling and the flaps of a tent being pushed aside reached his ears.
Turning her gaze, Noah saw a swath of white fabric entering her view. The individuals who strode into her quarters were priests dressed in pristine white robes.
They stepped in as if this were their territory, casting glances at Lian and Noah.
“Everyone, please exit.”
As soon as the blonde priest leading them spoke, the three priests behind him quickly approached Lian’s pale body.
“..! What are you trying to do right now?!”
As they attempted to take Lian’s body, Noah stood her ground with a fierce expression as if she were about to draw her sword. Lian could only roll his eyes, bewildered by the situation.
“I’ll explain that.”
Stepping forward was someone who had previously shouted accusations of betrayal at Noah—a nobleman.
“From now on, the body of the White Mask will be handled by the Substitute Priest of the Temple of Light, so do not come near this area.”
“What do you mean…”
Noah tried to argue immediately, but the noble cut her off dismissively.
“Though he is dead, he’s presumed to be one of the executives of the Demon Lord’s Army. He might have disguised his death with wicked dark magic, hence it is only right for the Substitute Priest to manage him.”
He continued on with a sneer.
“This isn’t a recommendation; it’s an order. If you approach the White Mask without the Substitute Priest’s permission, you’ll be treated the same as him.”
His gaze fell upon Lian’s body, the White Mask.
“If you don’t want to be labeled as a ‘traitor’ who abandoned humanity to side with the Demon Lord, you’d best be careful.”
“..! Lian is not a traitor..!”
“Eh? Are you seriously defending the White Mask, who slaughtered Imperial soldiers?”
Thanks to the lingering “gag filter,” the so-called Lian had only inflicted superficial, seemingly painful wounds on the soldiers; there were no casualties among them.
For some reason, the information circulating upwards was that the White Mask did not commit “murder.”
Had Noah known this fact, she could have confidently argued back, but as a commoner, she lacked the information.
While she intellectually understood that defending the White Mask could easily lead to being called a ‘betrayer of humanity,’ emotionally, she couldn’t accept it.
As anger surged to her head, Noah felt deeply indignant.
Just as she was about to react and show her anger, Lian stepped in front of her.
“I understand. I’ll be careful.”
“Huh?”
The nobleman, who had completely disregarded Lian, finally recognized the black-haired figure with black eyes.
Lian, exuding a decadent yet dangerous aura, appeared closer to ‘evil’ than to ‘justice,’ causing the nobleman to shudder. He soon muttered a curse quietly, averting his gaze from Lian as if he had seen something filthy.
Lian immediately grabbed Noah’s hand and pulled her out of the tent.
“Wait..! Lian!”
She tried to call him back, but he firmly dragged her away. Gritting her teeth, she kept glancing back. By then, two paladins stood with cold expressions at the entrance of the tent.
Suspicious gazes followed Lian; they were wary of him solely because he was a “black-haired” individual, despite having done nothing wrong.
Realizing this quickly, Noah felt a surge of impulse to draw her sword.
Creak.
A firm yet warm grip held her hand tightly, as if trying to comfort her or stop her. The gentle caressing of her palm jolted Noah’s anger-filled mind back to focus.
A chilling yet ticklish sensation left her mind blank.
Lian led her away to a spot unseen by others.
*
After walking for about ten minutes, Lian’s steps halted at a location slightly distanced from the Imperial Army’s encampment. Noah, having held back her question for so long, finally spoke up.
“Lian, how—”
Before she could finish her sentence,
Thud!
The sound of footsteps hitting the ground echoed, and something red shot out, tackling Lian.
“Ugh…!”
Due to her fragile physique, Lian was toppled backward by Jess’s enthusiastic body slam, as if she had just reunited with her master after a week.
Fortunately, Noah, who was standing behind, managed to catch Lian’s falling body.
“Hehehe!”
Jess giggled adorably as she nuzzled Lian’s neck. Realizing how potent pheromones could be, Lian had eliminated the pheromone-producing organ while being transported in the palanquin.
Thus, while there was no scent emanating from his neck, Jess habitually rubbed her cheek against the spot where pheromones used to flow.
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