“When did these guys arrive?”

“Yesterday.”

“Good thing we sent them ahead.”

They almost ran into trouble by just a day.

Luca clicked his tongue and approached, observing them closely.

‘Isn’t there any way to sense the power of White Noise?’

White Noise hidden within a human body.

He’d heard that unless it was a special magic or highly tuned awareness, it was impossible to find.

‘I can tell apart the devil’s power, but it’s hard to distinguish White Noise.’

Just having fought Montana once wasn’t enough to distinguish White Noise perfectly.

Just then, Whistle swooped down and whispered to him.

“You could find it if you use the power of lightning.”

“The power of lightning?”

At the mention of the power of lightning, Luca suddenly recalled the first time he had used lightning while fighting Kryphi.

‘Certainly, when I used the power of lightning, everything looked so vivid.’

Back then, he hadn’t been able to control the power of lightning very well and had simply cloaked himself in it.

Ironically, thanks to that, lightning had imbued even his eyes, making everything clear.

Though, it hadn’t helped much at the time.

‘Since I synchronized, I’ve been able to control lightning pretty well, so I haven’t been cloaking my whole body in it.’

He usually used it by infusing it in his sword or calling down lightning from the sky.

‘Let’s try it.’

Crackle!

Lightning flashed within Luca’s eyes.

Once again, the world came into sharp focus.

At the same time, he could see a faint something within the bodies of Montana’s subordinates.

“Oh…”

If he hadn’t known to look, he probably would have missed the faint glow altogether.

But, thanks to the clear display of White Noise by Montana, he could distinguish it.

‘If I absorb this…….’

Luca was itching to immediately test the power of space.

‘No, not yet.’

But he shook his head right away.

If he absorbed it here, they would catch on too quickly.

That Luca was their natural enemy.

‘I can’t just waste this double experience event.’

He had to strike when they didn’t know he was their natural enemy, when they still thought Montana simply lost out of carelessness.

That was the time to act.

“Bella. Have you found these guys’ hideout?”

“No. But reinforcements should be coming from Albino.”

“Why?”

Luca looked puzzled, and Bella pointed at the now-ruined Bizen.

“Thanks to big young master going wild here, Albino’s members who were trying to set up a base here also died. So I think reinforcements will be coming soon.”

“Hah.”

Luca quickly understood, but then cocked his head.

“But Bella, don’t you usually call my brother ‘Young Lord’? Why are you calling him ‘big young master’?”

“Hm? Ah~”

At Luca’s question, Bella gave a small chuckle.

“Let’s just call it a whim.”

* * *

Two days earlier.

“Oh my, what in the world happened here…?”

Arriving earlier than Luca and his group, Bella was surprised for two reasons.

First, at the sight of Bizen turned into a battlefield.

Second, to unexpectedly find Wylde running rampant there.

‘Why is that man here?’

Bella didn’t like Wylde.

He was, after all, the one who gave Luca his trauma.

On top of that, he’d attended the Academy but never once approached her first, which was another point against him.

‘Is there something going on with the family that I don’t know?’

Bella couldn’t imagine Wylde coming for Luca’s sake.

So, she concluded Wylde came as the next head of the Traverse family to carry out some business.

‘What a coincidence…’

Amazed by the coincidence, Bella tried to leave quietly, hiding her presence.

She had no desire to run into him.

All she wanted was to follow Luca’s orders and catch Montana’s fleeing remnants.

“Huh? Little Traverse’s handmaiden?”

“……”

But Mika spotted her.

Seeing Mika suddenly appear, Bella gave a little sigh and bowed her head slightly.

“Nice to see you, noble one.”

“Talk comfortably. I’m not even a real Watcher yet.”

“… Then, Lord Young Master’s friend. What brings you here?”

She thought only Wylde was here, but with Mika showing up too, Bella was bewildered.

Of course, she knew Wylde and Mika were friends.

But she didn’t think Wylde would involve a friend in family matters.

“Came because of Wylde. He says he needs someone to keep an eye on Luca, or whatever.”

“… Excuse me?”

Bella’s eyes widened in surprise at Mika’s unexpected answer.

‘Keep an eye on Luca? Wylde Traverse?’

The Wylde Traverse she knew was not that kind of person.

A man who cared only about moving forward, relying on his outstanding talent.

A man who always wore a stoic face, revealing nothing inside.

A man who had no interest at all in what went on in the mind of his trailing brother.

That was Bella’s image of Wylde Traverse.

‘Now he’s acting like this?’

Frankly, that was all she could think.

He’d never shown the slightest hint of care before, and now he suddenly wanted someone to look after Luca?

To Bella, it simply felt like a whim.

“It’s really a pain, you know. He didn’t see him at the entrance ceremony and asked me to keep an eye on him, and now I’ve had to come all the way to the ends of the earth to track him down.”

“…!”

It was something she hadn’t even imagined.

‘Mika Welch is friends with the young master, but it was actually at Wylde Traverse’s request…!’

She’d simply thought it was out of Mika’s curiosity.

They were both from the Traverse family, and Luca was quite famous.

“In any case, if you’re here, then Luca must be nearby. Where is he?”

“The young master is…”

Bella hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should mention Luca’s whereabouts.

But just then, Wylde approached, and she held her tongue.

“Bella. If you’re here, then Luca must be close by. Where is he?”

“Wylde, I was asking that first!”

Mika grumbled at having his line taken, but Wylde was unruffled.

“I don’t sense Luca’s presence nearby. Where is he?”

“Oh dear, young lord. The young master is elsewhere. I can’t say where, though.”

Bella smiled sweetly.

What Wylde really thought didn’t matter much.

What mattered was that right now, she didn’t feel like telling Wylde where Luca was.

‘Not like I have an obligation.’

Bella belonged to Luca.

She had no duty to obey Wylde’s commands.

‘And since I haven’t figured out the situation yet, it’s dangerous to reveal the young master’s location.’

It may sound like an excuse, but it could just as easily be a well-staged play.

At the very least, unless she fully understood why Wylde was here, Bella had no intention of telling him where Luca was.

Wylde spoke, his tone flat.

“You’ve left Luca’s side?”

“Yes.”

“Then who’s protecting Luca?”

A low, pressured voice.

Eyes that seemed to glow with suppressed force.

An icy, intense anger could be felt.

‘At times like this, you can really tell they’re brothers.’

That chilling killing intent.

It was similar to when Luca was angry.

But because of that, Bella wasn’t frightened at all.

Because it was just like Luca.

For someone who’d always watched him, it was a familiar feeling.

“If the young master commands, I obey. No matter how unreasonable the order.”

Bella replied with her usual perfect smile.

“And the young master is strong enough not to need me to protect him. If you came because you’re worried, young lord, you might as well just go back.”

“….”

Wylde stared at her in silence for a few seconds.

Then he turned his back.

“I’ve come this far, so I’ll at least see Luca’s face before I go.”

“As you wish.”

“And…”

Wylde walked off toward the members of the crime guild he’d left in his friends’ care and spoke.

“The head of the Traverse family has not been decided yet. Not even the gods know who will win the contest. So watch your tongue.”

At his words, Bella’s eyes opened slightly, but she then smiled brightly and bowed.

“Yes, big young master.”

* * *

Count Lubak’s family.

One of the three families managing the southern region, famous for their light-armored knights, well-adapted to the southern heat.

Count Lubak had one daughter, Tron Lubak, whose gentle nature and beauty drew suitors not only from neighboring territories but even from distant provinces.

But one day Tron Lubak fell ill with a rare disease and became bedridden, unable to leave her bed.

Count Lubak promised he’d allow anyone who could cure his daughter to marry her.

People came from everywhere to heal her, but no one succeeded.

Her once-beautiful appearance withered like a fading flower.

Count Lubak despaired and prayed desperately to God for her recovery.

Then, a young girl appeared before him and whispered,

—I’ll heal her. But her appearance might change a little. Is that all right?

Desperate, Count Lubak begged, saying it didn’t matter how she looked, as long as she lived.

So the girl kissed Tron Lubak.

Amazingly, Tron recovered from her illness and regained her health and former beauty.

But her hair turned white, her skin became pale, and her eyes turned crimson.

Still, Count Lubak was happy.

His daughter was well again.

But once healthy, his daughter began to behave strangely.

She started associating with people who resembled her.

Worried, Count Lubak said,

—Daughter, I am grateful to those who cured you, but you are the precious daughter of the Count Lubak family. You should keep your distance from them.

To that, Tron Lubak replied,

—Father, you said you’d give me to my healer, so how can you say such a thing? I already belong to them.

Shocked by that, Count Lubak secluded himself, and the management of Lubak’s domain fell to Tron Lubak.

Or so the public rumor goes.

Of course, about half of it is a lie.

The current Count Lubak, his wife, and their other children are all dead.

But their corpses are well-preserved, so that they can be moved and used when needed with the power of ‘White Noise’.

And Count Lubak’s daughter, Tron Lubak, at the heart of the rumors, became ‘Tron Way’, an officer of Albino.

“Tron! Something terrible’s happened!”

Inside Lubak Castle, Tron Way was processing paperwork.

A boy with half-white hair ran up to her in a panic.

Tron Way sighed.

“What is it, Bray? If it’s nothing, I’ll split you in half, so think carefully before you speak.”

“Th-th-the thing is…”

At her words, the boy called Bray turned as pale as she was.

Tron chuckled and put down her pen.

“I’m kidding. What is it, to make you rush in like that?”

“The, the ones sent to Hephville territory… almost all of them died fighting someone!”

“What? They died in a fight?”

Bray was so shocked his vocabulary faltered.

Tron frowned and scanned the documents at her side.

“Montana went with them, didn’t he? And the ones setting up the branch got attacked?”

“Sir Montana went off on his own…”

“Haaa. Of course.”

Tron massaged her forehead.

“Of all times, lady Ravinia leaves to receive a new avatar from White Noise and isn’t around…”

“Wh-what should we do?”

Bray’s face was anxious.

Tron stared at nothing for a moment, then pulled out a blank sheet, wrote something, and handed it to Bray.

“Bray. Tell Okota and Vasco to head to Hephville territory immediately, sort things out, and bring me Montana.”

Vasco Way and Okota Way.

Two of Albino’s officers set out for Hephville territory.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep