Chapter 73: The Night of Reckoning
The heavy silence inside Lady Luna’s study was suffocating. The last sparks from the deflected spear skittered across the polished wooden floor before fading into darkness, leaving only the soft crackle of the fireplace and the slow, rhythmic drip of blood onto marble.
A cold, frost-blue aura rippled around her like a winter storm held barely under control. Her knuckles had turned white around the shaft of her spear as her sharp gaze shifted from the blood-soaked young man standing before her to the two chained figures lying face-first across the marble floor.
Neither of them moved.
One wore the unmistakable armor of her Vanguard Commander.
The other...
Even without seeing his face clearly, the rugged armor and scarred physique were enough for Luna to recognize him as the elusive bandit leader responsible for years of raids along Bluewind’s trade routes.
Ethan stood quietly beneath her watchful gaze, blood seeping through the rents in his light armor before dripping steadily onto the marble beneath his boots. His breathing remained calm despite the wounds covering his body, while the small silver cub peeking from within his cloak watched the room with alert blue eyes, its ears twitching at every movement.
No one spoke. The silence stretched until it became almost tangible, each passing heartbeat tightening the invisible pressure weighing upon the room.
Finally...
Luna broke it.
"Who are you?"
Her voice remained steady, but beneath that calm lay unmistakable caution.
She had crossed blades with powerful knights, negotiated with hostile nobles, and stared down beasts without retreating.
Yet the young man before her unsettled her more than any of them.
Someone had infiltrated the Bluemoon Estate without alerting a single sentry and entered her private study without disturbing a single defensive formation.
He had subdued two Peak Knight Commanders, dragged them across the city in the dead of night, and walked into her private study bleeding from countless wounds as though none of it deserved acknowledgement.
Nothing about the young man before her fit within the bounds of reason.
Ethan’s lips curved into a faint smile, one so slight it almost disappeared beneath the candlelight.
Even with the tip of Luna’s spear hovering only a short distance from his throat, there wasn’t the slightest trace of nervousness in his eyes. He regarded her with the composed patience of someone who had already anticipated every possible reaction she might have.
Instead of answering immediately, his gaze drifted briefly toward the two unconscious prisoners lying on the floor.
Then it returned to Luna.
"Is that really the question you should be asking right now?"
His voice was calm and unhurried, carrying a quiet authority that felt strangely incompatible with his youthful appearance.
"I came to Bluewind intending to discuss a trade partnership... and an investment in House Bluemoon."
A brief silence followed.
His expression cooled.
"Instead..."
"...I found a house being devoured from within."
Luna’s brows drew together.
"An investment?"
Her eyes briefly swept across Ethan’s blood-soaked clothes once more.
Nothing about the young man standing before her resembled a merchant. If anything, he looked far more like a veteran returning from a battlefield than someone seeking a business partnership.
"We can discuss my purpose later," Ethan replied, cutting through her confusion before it could grow. "At the moment, your house has far greater problems than discussing business."
His eyes lowered toward the unconscious Vanguard Commander.
"I believe your commander owes you several explanations."
The tip of Luna’s spear hovered motionless in the air between them, her frost-tinged aura humming with restrained violence. She studied Ethan’s unblinking eyes for one long, silent breath before slowly lowering her weapon an inch, choosing, for the moment, to let the silence drag the truth to the surface.
Without another word, Ethan crouched beside Viren.
A faint current of aura gathered around the tips of his fingers before he pressed them lightly against the commander’s shoulder.
The next instant—
CRACK.
A violent surge of aura shot through Viren’s nervous system.
"AGHHH!"
His entire body convulsed violently. His eyes flew open as he sucked in a ragged breath, coughing uncontrollably while his vision struggled to focus.
At first there was only confusion.
Then panic.
Finally... recognition.
His gaze locked onto Ethan.
The memories returned all at once—the mountain pass, the slaughtered camp, the impossible swordsmanship, and the beast that tore through seasoned knights like paper.
He remembered Ethan’s sword.
He remembered the silver cub.
Most of all...
He remembered the absolute helplessness he had felt.
Then he noticed the mana-suppressing chains bound around his wrists, the familiar dark mahogany walls of the study, and Lady Luna standing above him with her spear drawn.
His breathing became ragged and erratic as every trace of color drained from his face.
For the first time in all the years she had known him...
...Luna saw genuine terror in Viren’s eyes.
Ethan looked down at him quietly, his expression carrying neither hatred nor satisfaction. Only cold indifference.
"Good," Ethan said. "You’re awake."
"My... My Lady..."
Viren’s voice trembled desperately.
Luna didn’t answer.
She simply continued watching him, her icy blue eyes revealing nothing. Years of commanding soldiers had taught her to distinguish fear from pain, and what she saw reflected in Viren’s expression wasn’t the fear of a wounded man.
It was the fear of someone whose secrets had finally caught up with him.
Ethan slowly rose to his feet before stepping away without another word, leaving Viren alone beneath Luna’s gaze.
"My Lady..." Viren repeated desperately. "You have to listen to me. I tracked the bandit leader to his hideout. I fought him... but before I could finish him, this man appeared from nowhere. He’s trying to frame me."
His breathing became increasingly frantic as the words tumbled out.
"Everything you see here is a misunderstanding. I was trying to protect Bluewind."
Luna remained silent.
She had expected confusion.
She had expected outrage.
Instead...
Viren was explaining himself before she had even accused him of anything.
A small crease formed between her brows.
"Frame you?" she asked quietly.
"What exactly is he framing you for?"
The question struck Viren like a hammer.
His mouth opened...
Then closed again.
For the first time since waking, he realized he had spoken too far ahead of his own lies.
"I... I have served House Bluemoon for nearly twenty years!" Viren stammered, the confidence completely drained from his voice. "I have defended these borders through countless battles! Why would I betray the very house I swore to protect?"
His voice echoed throughout the study before fading into another suffocating silence.
"And yet," Ethan noted softly, "you answered a question she never asked."
Luna’s expression remained unreadable.
She had known Viren since she was a little girl.
He had stood beside her father through countless campaigns, watched her grow from an inexperienced child into the Count of House Bluemoon, and remained one of the few veterans she had trusted without reservation. When her father died, she had never questioned whether Viren would continue protecting the family he had sworn to serve.
Yet the man kneeling before her now no longer resembled the loyal commander she remembered. The years of trust they had placed in him suddenly felt like little more than another weapon he had turned against House Bluemoon.
Everything in front of her urged caution.
Everything inside her instincts urged suspicion.
Neither emotion won.
Instead, she simply looked toward Ethan.
"You brought him here alive."
Her voice was calm once more.
"You must have had a reason."
"I did."
Ethan answered without hesitation.
"But I’d rather show you than explain."
Ethan’s gaze shifted away from Luna and settled upon the second prisoner lying motionless across the marble floor.
The bandit leader remained sprawled on his side, his broad frame bound tightly by mana-suppressing chains. Blood had dried across the scars covering his face, while his slow, steady breathing painted the picture of a man still lost in unconsciousness.
Ethan walked toward him without haste, crouching beside the bound outlaw. He grabbed a fistful of his tangled hair and hauled him upright.
"You can keep pretending," Ethan said quietly, "or you can open your eyes."
A thin trail of aura gathered along his fingertips—not the blunt force of a fist, but something sharp and precise, meant to target nerve endings directly. He pressed two fingers into the fractured ribs beneath the man’s armor.
The bandit leader’s spine arched violently off the floor. A raw, guttural scream tore free from his throat before he could stop it.
Ethan didn’t speak. He simply watched, waiting for the tremors to pass, then pressed a fraction deeper.
The second scream rang out even harsher, echoing against the high stone walls.
Viren’s chains rattled as he flinched, unable to look away.
Ethan withdrew his hand and rose without a word, letting the silence stretch until it became its own kind of pressure.
"So..."
"You are awake."
For several long seconds...
Neither man moved.
Then...
The bandit leader slowly opened his swollen, bloodshot eyes.
His gaze settled on Ethan first.
Then it drifted toward Viren.
Recognition immediately flashed across his bruised face.
A crooked smile slowly spread beneath the blood staining his lips.
"Well..."
He coughed roughly.
"...looks like your brilliant plan didn’t save you after all."
Viren’s face darkened instantly.
"You shut your mouth."
The bandit leader laughed, the sound rough and bitter.
"Still pretending?"
His eyes shifted toward Luna.
The bandit leader laughed hoarsely.
"Funny, isn’t it?"
"Every time your soldiers came looking for us..."
"...we already knew they were coming."
His grin widened.
"I wonder how that happened."
"You filthy dog!"
Viren roared.
"Everything coming out of your mouth is a lie!"
The bandit leader merely smiled through bloodstained teeth. There wasn’t a trace of fear left in his expression. Only bitter amusement.
"If I’m lying..."
"...why haven’t you denied knowing me?"
The question hung in the study like a drawn blade.
No one spoke.
Not even Viren.
For the first time...
Viren couldn’t answer immediately.
His expression stiffened.
His breathing faltered.
Luna’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
She hadn’t missed it.
Neither prisoner had questioned the other’s identity.
Neither had acted surprised to see the other.
Instead...
They weren’t speaking like enemies meeting for the first time.
They spoke like men who had worked together for years.
Ethan quietly observed the exchange without saying a single word.
Cornered men rarely protected each other.
More often than not...
They tore one another apart.
Only after allowing the silence to linger did he finally turn away.
With an effortless wave of his hand, spatial ripples spread quietly through the study.
Three massive ironbound chests materialized one after another before Luna’s desk.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
Even Rune instinctively lifted his head at the sound as the study floor trembled beneath the tremendous weight.
Dust drifted lazily from the ceiling beams as every eye in the room turned toward the heavy containers.
Even Viren’s breathing stopped.
Ethan walked forward without hurry.
He rested one hand upon the nearest chest before drawing the Eternal Sovereign Blade with the other. Rather than opening them one by one, he used the blade’s tip to slice through all three heavy iron padlocks in a single, fluid stroke.
CLANG.
With a swift flick of his boot, he kicked the lids open together.
Warm candlelight spilled across thousands of neatly stacked gold coins, their polished surfaces casting shimmering reflections across the walls of the study.
Luna recognized the engraved military seals immediately.
Every chest bore the crest of House Bluemoon’s treasury.
They weren’t merchant funds.
They weren’t spoils taken from passing caravans.
They were military reserve funds.
Funds that had supposedly vanished months ago without a trace.
"I found these beneath the command wagon inside the bandit encampment beyond your eastern fortress."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
"The same encampment your Vanguard Commander was returning from when I found him."
No accusation.
No dramatic declaration.
Only a single fact.
Yet that single sentence carried more weight than any argument Ethan could have made.
Luna’s gaze slowly shifted from the recovered military treasury...
...to Viren.
For the first time...
The Vanguard Commander lowered his head.
He no longer dared meet Luna’s eyes...