Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

"Mr. Angelo...⁉"

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

No matter how wide I opened my eyes, no matter how many times I blinked, there was no mistaking it. It was Mr. Angelo.

He looked like one of us, a Westerner by blood, but he was a young man raised in the distant foreign land of Mizuho. We met on Evergreen Island, Luhab, and traveled together for a while after that. Then he formed a business connection with the granado trading company, and now he should have been living in Ipsandros.

And yet, why was he here?

More than that, why was he coming out when Yan called him?

No, more than anything else, what happened to Kaede-sama!?

There were too many things I wanted to say and ask, and both Lord Cyrus and I could only open and close our mouths like fish. Mr. Angelo watched us with narrowed eyes. Just like the calm smile I knew from his past, he gave us a gentle expression... then bent at the waist and bowed deeply.

"It has been a long time, Lord Cyrus. And it is good to see that you, too, are in good health, Marie."

"Ah... A-yo, y-you...! What the hell are you doing in a place like this!"

Lord Cyrus shouted. I finally shook off my own shock and called out too, though my voice was about to crack.

"That's right, Mr. Angelo, why are you here? And what do you mean, assassin⁉"

At our calls, Mr. Angelo tilted his head to the side with a pleasant look on his face.

"Oh, did I not mention it? This is my original profession. There was a time in the country of Mizuho when I was called the hitokiri Anjiro."

"I d-don't care what you used to be! You were just a merchant's attendant now!"

"To be precise, I was the merchant's attendant. Kaede-sama handled all matters of trade."

"What happened to Kaede-san, then? Did you leave her alone in Ipsandros⁉"

At this question, Mr. Angelo narrowed his eyes.

He drew in a breath.

And at that instant, the air changed.

It was as if the warehouse had suddenly frozen over. My whole body stiffened, and my feet felt rooted to the ground.

My body... wouldn't move.

"Lord... Cyrus...!"

I let out a thin, voiceless cry and looked toward him.

Lord Cyrus's back was... also horribly tense.

He, too, had sensed the same thing I had.

"...Angelo. So you have your own circumstances too, then?"

He asked in a low, growling voice. Mr. Angelo did not answer. Without taking his eyes off him, Lord Cyrus now called out to Yan.

"Yan, could it be you did the same to this man? Did you threaten him...?"

Yan shrugged his shoulders.

"What are you talking about? I just hired a skilled bodyguard. This is the first I've heard that you two knew each other."

"Don't screw with me—"

"Now now, I'd ask you to refrain from chatting with Mr. Yan."

Mr. Angelo cut in.

So he really was protecting Yan. Just as Yan said, had he been hired with money... no, that didn't seem likely. Was he being blackmailed, just like Hadwell?

Mr. Angelo, too, had someone important taken hostage—then there could only be one person who was kidnapped.

...Kaede-san...!

Shhk. I heard the chilling scrape of metal.

It was the sound of Mr. Angelo drawing a little of the weapon at his waist. Lord Cyrus clicked his teeth.

"Angelo...!"

"We can exchange information later. Let us cross blades first, and then speak to the bodies laid low upon the floor. It would be wiser for both of us... to stop talking any further and avoid becoming friendly."

"Mr. Angelo!"

At my cry, his eyes did not move in the slightest.

The hand gripping his sword, the feet planted deep in a low stance—none of them trembled. There wasn't a shred of hesitation in his actions.

The hands that once scattered flowers at our wedding in Ipsandros now gripped a weapon. His gently narrowed eyes were fixed straight on Lord Cyrus.

He himself felt like one giant blade. Just facing him hurt my skin. It was as though I were being sliced apart by an ice-cold sword.

Lord Cyrus let out a voice like a sigh.

"So you really mean to do this?"

"Under ordinary circumstances, I would aim to incapacitate by avoiding the vital points. But that will not do against you."

"I'm a merchant."