Inside the hall, all the furniture had been completely destroyed. A cloud of dust surged and spread through the wide space, making everything hazy.
The house had already become dilapidated beyond repair. Several cracked wooden boards were on the verge of collapsing, and the fireplace had been smashed apart, scattered across the floor, with the charcoal inside blown to pieces and flung everywhere.
Viktor straightened his trench coat, and standing before him was Angus, who had already removed his armor.
His eyes were empty. He was kneeling on the ground, his gaze incomparably murky, as if he had witnessed an unspeakably terrifying existence. His expression had become extremely dazed.
As though stripped of all sensation, his eyes sank into darkness, and he couldn't even sense the howling wind and snow raging behind his ears.
The raging snow kept scraping across his body. Even though his body was frozen stiff from the cold, he felt no temperature at all at this moment.
Viktor stood silently at his side, and the raven perched on his shoulder as if nothing had happened.
Hearing the thunderous explosion, everyone hurriedly rushed over. Viktor turned his head and saw Kefra stumbling toward him.
Following behind her was a thin, frail young man.
Then came a group of knights dragging their heavy armor as they hurried in.
Seeing the ruins before them and Angus kneeling numbly on the ground, everyone froze.
'What… happened here?'
Angus's body was covered in wounds. The bright red blood hadn't yet solidified in the extreme cold. Mixed with the cold water formed by melted snow, the blood slowly flowed from the wounds.
This clearly showed that he had just experienced a battle.
Kefra stood blankly, slowly lifting her head to look at Viktor's expressionless face.
"This is what you meant by… talking things out calmly?"
At this point, she could no longer imagine what Viktor and her father had gone through, or why the two had ended up fighting.
What she found even harder to accept was, Viktor was actually the one standing there unharmed in the end?
'Was he already strong enough to face an Imperial Grand Knight head-on?'
Right now, Kefra's feelings were incredibly complicated.
No matter how dissatisfied she was with Angus's actions, he was still her father.
Jashu saw his father kneeling on the ground in a daze, and he didn't seem surprised at all.
He simply lifted his head again and looked coldly at Viktor.
"Viktor Clavenna is suspected of assaulting the head of House Delin, Count Angus."
"In the name of Jashu Delin, descendant of Count Angus, I request the mobilization of all Northern knights to apprehend Viktor Clavenna."
"This matter is to be reported to the capital immediately."
Hearing this, Kefra looked at Jashu in disbelief.
"Jashu, what are you..."
"The facts are right in front of you. No matter what state Father is in now, Viktor attacked him."
There were countless knights present who could testify to it, and Kefra was fully aware of that.
Jashu's eyes did not move away from Viktor for even a second. He coldly stated, "I know you are strong. You could kill any one of us."
"The strongest person here has already been defeated by you. Right now, no one can stop you."
"But even if you kill all of us, you won't be able to stop this news from reaching the capital."
Jashu's words entered Kefra's ears, and a bone-chilling cold suddenly swept through her whole body.
At this moment, Kefra felt her own family had become so unfamiliar.
From the very beginning, when they invited Viktor, they had already been planning this.
Angus would definitely attack Viktor. At that time, regardless of whether both sides were injured or evenly matched.
The battle between Viktor and Angus would be reported back to the capital and reach the emperor's ears.
But most importantly, it would reach Gwen.
Wasn't Gwen supposed to have lost her Heart of Justice?
Fine, then.
When Viktor, who had killed her family, stood before her…
What would Gwen choose?
The answer was obvious.
Stubborn as she was, she would only see Viktor as a criminal.
Even if Viktor hadn't done anything like that.
No explanation would clear his name, unless Gwen's Heart of Justice recovered and her ability to distinguish truth from falsehood returned.
But if that happened…
Gwen would once again become the stubborn, justice-bound knight.
Which happened to perfectly align with Angus's plan.
In that instant, Kefra understood everything.
Jashu wasn't forcing Viktor to choose. He was forcing Gwen to make a choice.
Either Viktor was guilty.
Or Gwen's ability returned.
Only one of the two could be chosen.
Kefra's voice trembled violently.
"Jashu…"
"You… feel like a stranger to me."
Hearing Kefra's disbelief, Jashu ignored her and continued staring at Viktor.
He didn't even make a defensive stance; he simply stood there.
In the very next second, Viktor only needed to raise a hand to easily kill him.
He had no fear of death. Perhaps he even believed that his own sacrifice would make the plan more perfect.
Thus, Viktor moved.
"Not a bad little scheme."
He looked directly at Jashu, his eyes filled with his own unique arrogance.
"Maybe I should admit it, you did pose a threat I hadn't considered."
"But don't you think you're underestimating me a bit too much?"
A burst of flames suddenly ignited in front of Jashu. In the next second, Viktor transformed into a mass of elemental fire, leaving only his head exposed as he hovered in the air looking down at the frail young man.
The terrifying heat made it hard for Jashu to breathe, but he showed no panic, even as he stared straight at death.
"Master Jashu!"
Seeing this scene, the knights instantly raised their silver shields, drew their long swords, and rushed to stand in front of Jashu.
But they could only stand there guarding him; the overwhelming fear locked their legs in place, making them unable to take a single step forward.
The terrifying heat continued to spread, undiminished even under the heavy snowfall. The blizzard surged frantically toward the room, and the moment the snowflakes touched the ground, they evaporated into faint white smoke.
Even though they were clearly at a distance, the heat felt like standing at the mouth of a volcano.
Kefra was equally shaken. Standing near Viktor, she looked at him almost pleadingly.
"Viktor, don't…"
But Viktor ignored her plea. Maintaining his blazing form, he stared at Jashu with cold indifference.
"What gave you the illusion that you could control me?"
"You think you're qualified to threaten me?"
Behind his flaming body, a colossal hand formed from burning fire that seemed capable of consuming the sky. It reached out and grasped Jashu's frail frame.
The violent burning sensation ate away at Jashu. The surrounding air was completely consumed, and the lack of oxygen made his lungs cry out desperately, but he was powerless.
The fear of death seeped into every bone of his body.
In Viktor's eyes, Jashu's health bar was quickly reaching its limit.
Just a few more seconds, and he would become experience points contributed to Viktor.
Swish! Swish!
Two silver daggers suddenly pierced into the space between the two of them, as if cutting off the flow of magic. The spell instantly became unstable.
Kefra's figure flashed by at extreme speed, snatching Jashu away.
Viktor, still in his flaming body, did not try to stop her.
He simply watched coldly, his icy gaze not even acknowledging Kefra.
Kefra rescued Jashu, but under the scorching heat, he had already slipped into unconsciousness, half-burned.
She laid Jashu on the ground, then faced her brother-in-law, who seemed wrapped in fury, lowered her head, and said, "Viktor… I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
The colder Viktor's voice grew, the more violent the flames became.
"You think their actions made me angry?"
Kefra stayed silent. She lowered her head, unsure what expression she should wear when facing Viktor.
Perhaps he had once come here with expectations, accepting the invitation to her home…
Only to face such schemes.
She didn't know what emotions Viktor had now, but he must be displeased.
The flames before her gradually died down. The wind and snow lashed Kefra like whips, and the cold once again took over her entire body.
Viktor stood firmly in the snow, wearing the familiar trench coat.
The blizzard still roared, and the sound of his coat flapping had long been swallowed by the wind.
The red flicker of the coat slowly faded into the deep snow. A faint light emerged gently.
"Tell Gwen to come find me in the Extreme North."
Kefra watched Viktor's figure gradually disappear into the blowing snow.
Unknowingly, she seemed to notice the raven on his shoulder.
In its eyes was a glint full of calculation.
In the end, Viktor vanished completely into the storm, leaving behind only a drifting sentence carried away by the wind.
"My grudge with your Delin family, from this moment on..."
"Has only just begun."
Whoosh!
The vast, cold wind swallowed everything whole, burying it in the Extreme North.
Kefra let the icy wind pour into her clothes as she weakly knelt on the ground.
The hollow-eyed Angus and the unconscious Jashu were on either side of her.
But she could only watch this tragedy unfold before her eyes.
Powerless.
———
[The Capital, Delin Estate]
Gwen abruptly woke up.
She felt the soft bed beneath her, held her head, and furrowed her brows.
"That strange dream again."
In the dream, Gwen always saw a golden scale floating in the air, and she would stand not far away staring at that bizarre scale.
A faint, eerie voice would gradually seep into her ears, always tempting her to reach out and touch it.
What Gwen found strange was that whenever she couldn't resist and reached forward, Viktor would appear in her dream, pull her extended hand into his arms,
And at that moment, Gwen would wake up.
Her face flushed red, utterly confused.
Why did she keep dreaming about Viktor?
Perhaps it was because Viktor had been training with her every morning lately.
Or maybe it was because people kept mentioning Viktor in front of her recently, often saying things like the two of them were a perfect match.
Shaking her head, Gwen tried her best not to think about these things.
She wondered how Viktor was doing.
She stubbornly refused to go home, but she knew Viktor had accepted her father's invitation and gone to her home.
With her sister there to support him, surely nothing would go wrong.
Thinking this, Gwen lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
Ten minutes later, neatly prepared, Gwen stood in the training yard, ready to begin her morning practice.
Just as she drew her sword, she saw a servant running toward her with an extremely grave expression.
"Lady Gwen…"
"Hm?"
Gwen was a little surprised.
'What could be so urgent first thing in the morning?'
The servant stammered as he delivered the message.
"Lady Kefra sent a reply. S-she said…"
"Your father and your brother… were beaten by your fiancé."
Gwen, "?"