The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 159

The moment I heard the name Dunkeld, I froze.

“You…”

I stared at Lenny with wide eyes.

Lenny misinterpreted the meaning of my reaction.

“It’s been a while, Isabella.”

“……”

“Do you know how shocked I was when I first saw you at the inn?”

“Lies. You didn’t recognize me.”

“Well, I can’t deny that. In truth, I didn’t recognize you. You acted far too differently from the Isabella I once knew.”

Lenny gave a dry laugh before asking me, “So. Aren’t you glad to see me?”

Apparently, he thought I had recognized him. But that was impossible.

“…What exactly is our relationship?”

Instead of answering his greeting, I threw the question back at him.

At that, Lenny awkwardly scratched his cheek a few times before speaking again.

“Well, we weren’t close or anything. But since our families knew each other, we knew each other’s faces. You could say we were acquaintances at most.”

Fortunately, it seemed the real Isabella hadn’t had a deep connection with Lenny.

But more importantly—

Leonard Dunkeld.

So this man was the ancestor of the Duke and Gabby?

Somehow.

The way he spoke faintly reminded me of Gabby.

I had thought Gabby’s rough speech came from Daphne’s bloodline, but now it seemed there was no shortage of unruly ancestors on his father’s side as well.

To think I would meet Gabby’s ancestor in this time period. A strange feeling washed over me.

But why was a nobleman playing at being a mercenary?

When I asked Lenny, he simply shrugged and replied, “I ran away from home. You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t.”

“It was a pretty famous incident. You really had no interest in what was happening around you, huh?”

“No.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. It’s not like your circumstances were good enough for you to care about others.”

Accepting my words, Lenny gave me a brief explanation.

“There was some fighting over who would inherit the family. In truth, it turned into such a massive brawl that the whole mansion nearly collapsed, and in anger, I ran away. Then I met Gray and Jerry, and that’s how I started my life as a mercenary.”

So being on bad terms with one’s father was the tradition of that family?

Anyway.

I recalled what had happened earlier with Belial.

Silia had said that everything I did in the past would already be reflected in the present.

Just as she said, Belial had tried to kill me—and failed.

Exactly as the Belial of the present had told me.

My mood suddenly felt strange.

I glanced at Leonard and asked, “What do you think of the name Gabby?”

“Out of nowhere? And Gabby? That sounds weird.”

“In the future, one of your descendants will be given that name. What do you think of it?”

“Come on. You’re terrible at naming. If it were Gabriel maybe, but Gabby just sounds shabby. It lacks dignity.”

“…Forget it.”

Even I wasn’t sure what I had tried to test just now. As if the name Gabby could be changed at this point.

Anyway.

I returned to the point.

“The fact that you’re a noble. Gray and Jerry don’t seem to believe it.”

“Well, there’s a story behind that…”

To summarize what Lenny told me—

After he ran away from home, he spent all his money and lived like a beggar. Gray and Jerry were the ones who took him in.

So no matter how often Lenny claimed he was a noble, no one believed him because of the strong first impression he had left.

“And honestly, if they did believe me now, it would just be awkward. I don’t want things to get weird.”

Along with that, Lenny asked me not to reveal his identity to Gray and Jerry.

It wasn’t a difficult request, and I lost nothing by keeping it, so I nodded.

Lenny gave me a once-over, then tilted his head. “By the way, were you always like this? Even though we weren’t close, I saw you a few times when we were younger. The you I remember was fairly quiet.”

“……”

Too many things struck a nerve, so I stayed silent.

“Personality changes depending on one’s environment.”

“Well, that’s not wrong. And your parents did pass away suddenly.”

When I muttered my excuse, Lenny nodded in agreement.

A simple-minded one. Maybe I should be glad for that.

“But is it really fine for you to call me Hyungnim? Even if you’re playing at being a mercenary, you’re still a noble.”

I asked him. Since his true identity was that of a noble, I wondered if he felt uncomfortable using such a title for me.

Among commoners and nobles, respectful titles were one thing, but it was another matter entirely between nobles themselves.

Of course, even if he did feel uncomfortable, refusing wasn’t an option for him.

“Huh? Well, somehow it just fits you, you know? Rolls right off the tongue…”

Lenny spoke carelessly, as if he didn’t care in the least.

At that moment.

Noise erupted from the entrance of the barracks.

Turning my head, I saw Gray and Jerry rushing in, their faces urgent.

“Miss Bella!”

“Hyungnim.”

“…Hyungnim. The deputy commander is looking for you right now.”

Gray hurriedly spoke to me.

I reacted indifferently.

The deputy commander no longer held any meaning for me.

My original goal had been to gain recognition as an archangel with the deputy commander’s help.

But after my encounter with Belial, that purpose had completely vanished.

‘Since he discovered the truth about the archangel impostor.’

I had wondered what kind of reckless fool would commit such blasphemy, and it turned out that fool was me.

It was a shame I couldn’t continue my blasphemy.

Still, I had to set aside those grand ambitions for now and go find Zachary.

There was no reason to waste any more time here.

Unaware of my thoughts, Gray continued, “Right now, a squad went out on reconnaissance and hasn’t returned. The deputy commander is asking for Hyungnim’s help in the search.”

“Hm.”

I gave a lukewarm response.

Then.

I recalled something Kayden had once told me.

“I have met Archangel Isabella before.”

That was right. And the way Kayden had described that meeting.

During a war with heretics, Archangel Isabella had saved his life as he lay dying.

A strange feeling swept over me.

The Silveron army was treating Serenia’s side as heretics.

That was… very similar to the current situation, wasn’t it?

I frowned slightly. I could dismiss it as a coincidence, but a corner of my heart urged me to confirm it.

Better not to leave doubts lingering.

“For now… I’ll help with the search,” I said to Gray.

***

Though I wanted to start searching immediately, it was a moonless, dark night, so we had no choice but to wait until morning.

At sunrise, we set out for the forest where the squad had disappeared.

The deputy commander had suggested assigning other soldiers to aid in the search, but I refused.

I was aware enough to know I was far from the image of the angel humans imagined.

So it was better not to interact with Silveron soldiers more than necessary. Best to reduce every possible cause for suspicion.

“The stench of blood is heavy.”

The words left my lips the moment we reached the forest entrance.

So strong it felt like it was burning my nose.

For the smell to be this pungent, mere bleeding wounds wouldn’t be enough.

That missing squad. If my guess was right, many of them were already dead.

“Hyungnim, are you really a dog or something? I don’t smell anything at all.”

At Lenny’s words, I stomped down hard on his foot.

Leaving him writhing in pain, I strode quickly into the forest.

The morning dew on the leaves spread a fresh scent throughout the woods. But it couldn’t cover the stench of blood. It reminded me of home. In the Demon Realm, this had been everyday life.

For a moment, I let myself think something so frivolous.

I headed toward the direction where the blood scent was strongest.

How long did I walk?

At some point, I realized the ground’s dampness was no longer from dew.

I stopped in place.

At the same time, the mercenaries following behind me sucked in sharp breaths.

Three soldiers lay sprawled face down on the ground. They showed no sign of life.

Just looking at the blood pooled beneath them made it obvious. After losing that much blood, they couldn’t still be alive.

“Looks like… they were killed.”

Gray’s voice was heavy with emotion.

Even though he didn’t know those soldiers personally, I could feel his voice trembling.

It wasn’t a pleasant sight.

The soldiers wore armor bearing the Silveron crest. There was no need to guess who had killed them.

I turned over their bodies to check their faces.

Though I had no concrete evidence, I was certain just from their faces whether one of them was Zachary’s reincarnation or not.

After checking all three, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I said to the mercenaries, “For now, call in the deputy commander’s men to collect the bodies.”

And then.

My ears picked up the hurried sound of someone moving in the distance.

***

The man didn’t stop running. As time passed, his breaths grew heavier.

With his deepening breaths, his steps grew sluggish.

At this rate, he would soon be caught by the enemy.

In the end, the man tripped and fell. Almost at the same time, the sounds of his pursuers drew closer.

He still had some strength left to resist. But after such a long chase, his exhausted body felt unbearably heavy.

What meaning was there in struggling further?

The man gave up moving. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come.

And then.

“How dare you!”

I grabbed the collar of the man with the familiar face lying on the ground and shouted.

The Serenia soldier who had tried to kill the man was already collapsed on the ground. He wasn’t dead, but he wouldn’t be moving for a while.

“Hyungnim! Are you crazy right now? He’s clearly injured, how can you treat him like that!”

From behind, I heard Lenny shouting at me. But my ears, consumed by rage, couldn’t take in Lenny’s voice properly.

“How dare you throw your life away? Trying to die so easily?” I shouted at the man, my voice filled with fury.