Hethon’s corpse lay completely motionless on the hard dirt.
Dark blood stained the corner of his lips, while his lifeless eyes remained frozen wide open in perpetual shock.
Gerald Hill slowly lifted his heavy gaze from the body toward the young man standing nearby.
The man was handsome and sharp-featured, dressed in sleek dark leather armour with thick cloth tightly wrapped around both of his palms.
Hidden beneath those heavy cloth wrappings were dense metal plates specially fitted around his fists and palms, allowing his physical strikes to become devastatingly lethal within the same rank.
In a surprise ambush, Finn could kill almost anyone instantly.
If Finn had already broken through and reached the official Knight Rank, Gerald would never have been able to keep a man of his calibre merely as a personal bodyguard.
Gerald stared down at the fresh corpse for several quiet moments before speaking.
“Finn,” he asked slowly, his voice raspy.
“Are you certain he is the one who killed my son?”
Nearby, Veronica glared at Hethon’s body with naked, trembling hatred.
Finn answered calmly, his expression unreadable.
“His real name was Hethon.”
“One year ago, during a drunken brawl in a tavern, he accidentally killed Thomas Hill.”
“After failing to locate him during the initial manhunt, Tobias retaliated by quietly killing Hethon’s wife.”
Finn paused briefly, letting the weight of the words settle.
“She was eight months pregnant with their child.”
Gerald’s face instantly darkened, a vein pulsing on his forehead.
“What?” he shouted, his voice echoing off the stone.
“Why am I only hearing about this rot now?”
Finn remained completely calm under the outburst.
“Because the death was officially ruled a domestic accident by the local guards.”
Gerald’s expression became significantly uglier.
“Then why didn’t you recognise his face earlier when we rounded everyone up?”
Finn reached into his leather pocket and calmly pulled out a thin, realistic skin mask.
“He wore this disguise.”
“In town, he lived under the name Ethan.”
Gerald slowly nodded, the puzzle pieces clicking together perfectly in his mind.
“So this really was an act of revenge…”
Finn nodded once in agreement.
“He likely followed Young Master Shawn into the forest yesterday and waited patiently for an isolated opportunity to strike.”
Veronica’s eyes immediately filled with a venomous, unhinged fury.
Miriam.
That bitch is dead.
The murderous, chaotic thought screamed through her frantic mind instantly.
Gerald exhaled heavily, rubbing his temples before speaking again.
“Bury the body outside the perimeter.”
“And prepare a carriage.”
“I’m returning to town immediately.”
Hearing this, Veronica instantly exploded into hysterics.
“Bury him?!”
“He murdered my only son, and you only want to give him a burial?!”
Gerald rolled his eyes irritably before turning his full, cold attention toward her.
“What exactly do you expect me to do to a corpse, Veronica?”
Veronica pointed furiously toward the bloodied body.
“Someone brutally murdered your son!”
“And you’re acting as if nothing happened!”
Gerald suddenly shouted back, his voice completely overpowering hers.
“I would’ve killed him myself if I had discovered what Shawn was doing out there!”
His face twisted with absolute disgust and political frustration.
“Forcing innocent common girls…” he muttered coldly under his breath.
“He was actively destroying the Hill Family’s reputation.”
A tense, suffocating silence briefly fell over the courtyard.
Then, Gerald looked toward Finn again, ignoring his wife entirely.
“Hang the corpse on the elevated platform instead.”
After giving the harsh order, Gerald immediately turned on his heel and headed toward the exit of the mining grounds.
Finn silently followed a few paces behind him.
The two descended the wooden stairs leading down toward the outer dirt road where the horses were prepped.
Once outside the main perimeter, Gerald finally stopped and turned around.
“You stay here tonight to maintain order.”
Then, he looked directly into Finn’s eyes.
“Tomorrow morning, release all the gathered hunters.”
“Pay each of them one silver sterling as promised.”
“The allocation money is inside the main office.”
“Afterwards, pack up the camp and return to town with Madam Veronica.”
Finn nodded quietly, committing the instructions to memory.
Gerald said nothing further to his bodyguard.
He simply walked toward the waiting carriage, climbed inside, and slammed the door shut.
Finn remained standing silently beside the dark dirt road until Gerald’s carriage vanished completely into the blackness of the night.
Only then did he finally turn around.
He calmly ordered several guards to lift Hethon’s stiff corpse and hang it from the elevated wooden platform overlooking the field.
After giving the grim instructions, Finn returned to the stone building overlooking the mining grounds.
He entered his private quarters and casually sat down on the edge of the mattress.
Notably, he never locked the heavy door behind him.
It was as though he were expecting someone.
Only a few minutes later, the door quietly creaked open.
Veronica slipped inside the room, wearing a thin silk nightgown that barely concealed her figure.
Finn smirked faintly, showing no surprise.
“Madam,” he said calmly, his voice smooth.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
Veronica slowly approached the bed like a prowling cat tracking its prey.
A faint, dangerous smile curved across her lips before she sat directly onto Finn’s lap, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.
“My dear Finn,” she whispered softly against his ear.
“You already know exactly why I’m here.”
Their lips met in a sudden, fierce embrace.
Moments later, the two collapsed backwards onto the sheets.
The room soon filled with restrained breathing and muffled sounds as Veronica tried to suppress her voice beneath Finn’s heavy movements.
Hours later, the faint, grey rays of dawn slowly entered through the glass windows.
Outside, distant birds had already begun chirping softly in the crisp morning air.
Under the heavy blankets, Veronica rested her head comfortably against Finn’s muscular arm while lightly tracing her fingernails across his chest.
Both appeared completely relaxed and thoroughly satisfied.
After several quiet moments of listening to the morning birds, Veronica finally spoke.
“Finn,” she said lazily, her voice dripping with malice.
“I want you to kill Miriam.”
Finn glanced down toward her, his expression sharpening.
“Miriam?”
Veronica nodded slowly against his chest.
“That common girl, Lily…”
“Her stepmother is Miriam.”
A vicious coldness slowly materialised within Veronica’s eyes.
“She sold Lily to my Shawn for a price.”
“And she must’ve intentionally passed the exact location to Hethon afterwards so he could ambush my son.”
Finn remained entirely silent, calculating the implications.
Veronica smiled faintly before slipping downward beneath the warmth of the blankets.
Finn’s eyes widened slightly as he stared blankly upward toward the wooden ceiling, his mouth parting faintly as his breath hitched.
Several minutes later, Veronica finally emerged from the sheets again.
Using the back of her hand, she casually wiped her lips before lying herself back across Finn’s chest.
“You’ll kill Miriam for me, right?”
Finn finally answered, his voice low and compliant.
“Yes.”
Then, he pulled Veronica closer, kissed her lips once more, and rolled her lithe frame beneath him.
Meanwhile, far below at the mining grounds, long lines of exhausted hunters slowly exited the dark mouth of the mine tunnels under strict guard supervision.
Vergil walked silently among the crowd, blending perfectly with the tired villagers.
The moment he stepped outside the cavern, an icy wind immediately struck his face, biting at his nose.
Then, he noticed tiny, small white flakes drifting silently from the grey sky above.
Snow.
Vergil slowly raised his bare palm toward the heavens.
The very first snowfall of winter landed softly against his calloused skin, melting instantly into moisture.
A cold, profound shiver passed through his body.
Next chapter three hours later.