TMDW | Prologue

Prologue

A trial was held after a long time had passed.

Even in the bustling midday, a massive crowd gathered in the grand square like a pack of starving wolves, eager to witness the execution of a noble lady.

“What a filthy whore!”

“Kill her! Kill her!”

Shayla felt as though she would suffocate before her neck was even severed, crushed under the malevolent energy unleashed by the crowd.

“Because of this woman, that scandal befell the ducal family!”

“She’s the daughter of the Lexi family, isn’t she? How could she repay kindness with betrayal!”

“That’s why they say rabbits know no shame. Perhaps this woman never feels embarrassment at all.”

“She devoured her husband, and now… oh God, how horrific!”

Cruel insults flew from every direction. Stones, spit, and voices sharp as daggers were added to the barrage.

Shayla, gagged and thrown onto the guillotine, thought this might actually be for the best.

With a cowardly heart—or rather, a rabbit’s heart—it was impossible for her to face the frenzied eyes of the people.

“Everyone, silence!”

With the shout of the high priest of the capital diocese, the noisy grand square finally quieted.

“Listen, sinner Shayla Graywolf! You committed adultery as a widow with an unmarried man, and this is a sin not easily forgiven.”

The charge that brought her here was “adultery,” but Shayla didn’t even know who this unmarried man was that she had allegedly “freely tumbled with.”

Armed guards suddenly stormed her room, demanded she confess the truth, threw her in prison, and in the blink of an eye, she found herself beneath the guillotine.

“You not only betrayed your husband but stole his fortune, tarnished the honor of both families, and killed Duke Graywolf…”

Lies, adultery, theft, curses, aiding murder, inciting murder.

The charges the priest enumerated were horrifying.

But to Shayla, trembling beneath the guillotine’s blade, they were nothing but meaningless sounds.

Rumors, accusations—all were false charges.

“…Therefore, she is sentenced to death!”

The moment the priest finished pronouncing the verdict, the crowd in the grand square erupted in thunderous cheers.

The entire ground shook.

The sound resembled the thunder of steel-shod horse hooves.

To Shayla, it was nothing but the approach of the angel of death.

Just as the executioner was about to cut the guillotine’s rope, a loud trumpet blast rang out.

Someone shouted in a booming voice:

“Stop the trial immediately!”

But Shayla, drowned in overwhelming terror, heard nothing.

“The Gray Wolf has returned!”

The grand square, packed with the crowd, miraculously split in two.

When the thick dust settled, massive black horses and stern armored knights appeared.

The priest shouted in an irritated tone:

“What is this commotion in a sacred trial?!”

“All of you, kneel!”

The knight pointed to the man standing behind him and replied in an even louder voice:

“This is the legitimate son of the late Duke Graywolf, protector of Hamelock! Sword of Liberation! The Black Wolf of the Empire! And…”

“And…”

A man calmly dismounted his horse, pushed the knight aside, and approached the platform.

“Callion Graywolf, husband of Shayla Graywolf.”

He seemed indifferent to the long titles he had earned during the war, as if they stirred no pride in him.

“This is nonsense!”

The startled priest stepped back and shouted:

“We heard that the Graywolf knight order would not enter the capital until the day after tomorrow with the victory procession!”

“And is the victory procession the issue right now?”

Callion boldly climbed onto the platform where the priest stood, his eyes blazing.

“Cancel the trial.”

“That cannot be! Since a married woman committed a shameful act and was accused…”

“Who accused her? I, the husband, never accused my wife, nor doubted her for a moment. Who, then?”

“This…”

“Name him.”

“By law…”

“Name him! Who accused my wife?!”

“B-brother, let go, let me go…”

The priest’s legs dangled in the air as he was grabbed by the collar.

“Speak! Before I tear your mouth apart, now!”

Meanwhile, someone helped free Shayla from the ropes.

But her exhausted body couldn’t stand, and she collapsed to the ground.

“Shayla!”

Even the cry of her name from atop the platform didn’t give Shayla the strength to turn.

Her lips were cracked from lack of water, and her limbs, bound for so long, throbbed.

“What’s happening on that platform? Why was I suddenly released?”

‘Have I already died?’

She heard loud voices rising, but Shayla, lying on the guillotine with her neck stretched out, couldn’t comprehend the situation.

‘It seems someone mentioned something about a husband…’

She must have misheard.

Her husband, who went to war fifteen years ago, had long since lost contact and been presumed dead in the army.

‘Husband.’

If you say husband…

What did he look like?

She vaguely remembered something like a soft white cloud. Comforting warmth, a soft, moist nose, a delicious scent filling the body…

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a tall man rushed toward her like lightning. Shayla was embraced in the massive man’s arms, feeling as though

she had collided with a piece of iron, unable to regain her composure.

In that confusing moment, she heard an emotional voice from above her head:

“Shasha, are you alright? Do you know who I am?”

A large hand lifted her chin. Shayla slowly opened her eyes.

Shasha? Did this man just call me Shasha? Her shoulders instinctively shrank at hearing this intimate nickname from a strange man.

Originally, this scandal began with her being accused of adultery with a strange man.

She pushed at his thick arms, but the strong man’s body didn’t budge an inch. Instead, he held her even closer, as if he would never let go.

“Shasha, it’s me. I’m your Leon.”

What?

What did he just say…?

Shayla lifted her head with difficulty, frowning unintentionally. The scorching midday sun blinded her.

‘It’s bright…’

Was it because of the intense sunlight?

Or because of this strange man’s beauty?

“Don’t you recognize me? I said I’d return safely. Shasha, you promised to remember, didn’t you?”

As she had felt before, his voice was noticeably low. But when he spoke to her, it was filled with emotion, so it wasn’t entirely frightening.

“I missed you. Shasha, I… missed you so much. So very much…”

The strange man used his hand to create shade for her from the sun while she frowned.

Finally, Shayla managed to open her eyes and closely observe this “strange man” holding her.

Jet-black hair, clear blue eyes contrasting with it…

Her gaze traced his thick eyebrows, forehead, and high nose, stopping at his full lips.

“Shasha.”

In that moment when a gentle voice flowed from his lips.

Shayla suddenly jumped from her spot with a rabbit’s instinct.

Her eyes were wide as she freed herself from the massive, hard strange man’s embrace.

“Who are you?”

Perhaps due to the intense shock, her dry throat opened on its own.

She had never had a husband with such beastly strength before.

“Ah…”

When he met her wary eyes, he let out a sigh and rubbed his face.

“As I expected, you don’t recognize me…”

A golden pendant swayed from his muscular neck.

It was the wedding ring they had shared fifteen years ago.