Chapter 65
“Lady Rudice, please wait a moment. You should prepare a little more before you go—”
“It’s fine. There’s no time.”
“Lady Rudice!”
Ignoring Phil’s call, Rudice bolted outside.
Her horse was waiting.
“I’ll leave things here to you, Baron Gilbert.”
“Yes, please take care.”
“Phil, bring the Tower Master. No matter what.”
“Understood.”
Phil planned to fetch Ganelon and then follow Rudice, while Baron Gilbert stayed behind—just in case something else happened.
After giving a few quick instructions, Rudice mounted her horse and set off immediately.
Her steed, Nizernox, shot forward like the wind. The urgency in her movements made her anxiety obvious.
It was a side of her rarely seen.
“I’ll go as well.”
“Move carefully.”
With Baron Gilbert’s send-off, Phil also departed.
And only then did Erica notice the commotion in the mansion. She stepped outside as Rudice, Phil, and several knights disappeared into the distance.
What is going on?
She was always the last to know. No one ever told her anything.
“Go find out what happened.”
Erica ordered her maid.
She felt uneasy. Perhaps she needed to contact the capital and request additional support—people who would help her.
Operating alone here was far too difficult.
“The mine collapsed?”
The maid returned quickly—fortunately, with the news Erica wanted.
“Yes, but they said His Grace wasn’t injured since it collapsed before he arrived.”
“Is that so…?”
Even so, that woman left far too urgently.
The difference was stark—nothing like the usual arrogance she showed whenever she looked down at Erica.
“Nothing else happened?”
“No, it seems she simply departed the moment the message arrived.”
“Hm.”
Erica fell deep into thought.
Something was going to happen where they were headed—she could feel it.
Should she follow? Or wait here?
“…I’ll go too.”
“What?”
The maid stared at her, startled.
“My lady, it’s dangerous. You should stay—”
“How am I supposed to calmly wait here without knowing what’s happening? If I don’t see things with my own eyes, they’ll try to deceive me.”
Having made up her mind, Erica stood and approached her bed. She pulled out a box hidden beneath it. A jewelry box he had given her—something to use if she ever needed help.
She opened it and took out a velvet pouch filled with a considerable amount of gold coins.
“This should be enough to hire a carriage.”
“M-my lady… you shouldn’t…”
“Make sure no one notices I’m gone. If you get caught—or if the duke and that woman return before I leave—you’ll be punished.”
“Y-yes!”
Unable to resist Erica’s nagging, the maid hurried outside.
Silence filled the room.
Erica glanced around. It was not luxurious, but neatly furnished—the dignity of a ducal household.
But none of that mattered to her. Compared to the duchess’s room, or their shared marital chambers, it was pathetic.
I can’t remain like this.
She would go to the mine. And there, she would find a way to reclaim her rightful place.
“I will take back the title of Duchess of Daphania.”
It belongs to me.
Erica bit her lip and steeled her resolve.
The restored Dia Lune territory’s mine.
Even though Quinlan received many spoils of war, the territory had not yet fully recovered.
They had seized all the wealth and properties of Count Harper and Baron Boire—everything they had illegally amassed—adding it to the ducal assets.
But it still wasn’t enough.
That was why the mine Rudice mentioned was important.
— If possible, I hope it has gemstones. A gem mine would help rebuild the territory.
Just as she had said, a mine existed here. If they could develop it, it would greatly bolster the ducal finances.
But now…
“That was a close call.”
“……”
Quinlan stared at the collapsed ground with a complicated expression. The previously ordinary terrain now had a massive cavity in it.
The moment he arrived and dismounted, a deep, monstrous cry had echoed. Then the ground collapsed, opening into a bottomless black pit.
“Some nearby workers were caught in the collapse, but thankfully, we rescued everyone.”
“Injuries?”
“They’ve been moved to the village and are receiving treatment.”
“I see.”
At least no one died. If they had fallen in…
“For now, block off this area. No one enters. As for investigating the inside…”
The lieutenant trailed off. He knew perfectly well—this wasn’t something ordinary people could handle.
They needed a mage.
Rather than sending several men into an unknown fissure, it was much safer to bring in a mage who could handle it at once.
If Rudice were here, she would’ve handled it immediately…
Realizing what he’d just thought, Quinlan let out a small laugh.
He was relying on her far more than he realized.
Either way, they needed proper investigation.
“Contact the Mage Tower and—”
Before he could finish the order—
The sound of galloping hooves reached his ears.
No way.
He stopped speaking and turned toward the sound. The knights around him also turned in the same direction.
“Someone’s coming…”
“Who could it be?”
Voices murmured.
If someone rode at full speed, the mine wasn’t far from the duchy. But still—she coming here?
His heart quickened. Quinlan couldn’t take his eyes off the horizon.
One small speck grew rapidly larger.
A black horse.
Red hair streaming in the wind.
Rudice Daphania appeared.
“Quinlan!”
Rudice jumped off her horse and ran straight to him.
“How did you come here?”
“I came as soon as I heard.”
“It’s dangerous. You shouldn’t have come.”
“I couldn’t stay behind alone.”
She smiled, but her complexion was pale.
Was she unwell?
“Are you alright?”
Quinlan examined her with concern.
Hearing the question—asked without him even knowing he was the reason—Rudice let out a weak, almost exasperated laugh.
“I’m fine. I just panicked when I heard the mine collapsed and thought you might be hurt.”
“I’m unharmed. It collapsed before I arrived.”
“I heard… but still…”
She had to see with her own eyes that he was safe.
“I already contacted Ganelon. I told him to hurry.”
“Of course you did.”
Quinlan laughed. She always understood exactly what he needed.
Now all that remained was to wait for the mage. Once notified, he would come quickly.
“Is that the place?”
After confirming Quinlan was unharmed, Rudice carefully approached the collapsed ground.
Where there had once been rocks, grass, and trees—an ordinary landscape—was now a clean, punched-out hole, as if a giant drill had pierced the earth.
A bottomless cavity yawned open, black as a devil’s maw—
As though ready to swallow everything.
