Chapter 28…………………………………..
“Should I be curious?”
“You’d better be. This is the report that kid submitted—they say they found it.”
Lektarion felt a sense of foreboding from the emperor’s mischievous smile as he took the documents being handed to him.
“You mean the origin of that dangerous item?”
“Surely not…”
Lektarion immediately checked the contents of the documents. Though the report was only three pages long, its contents were enough to harden his expression.
“This is the Barony of Daisen.”
“Indeed. A domain with treacherous mountains. Well hidden, too.”
A few months ago, he had been investigating under the emperor’s order to eliminate those who were making illegal potions. In the course of the investigation, they had caught a minor member of Beatrice’s organization and even discovered a link to Count Yuberys.
‘A step too late.’
Because Berik had said the illegal potion couldn’t be tracked with magic, it had taken him time to track it manually. Yet the princess’s side had found it first.
‘Someone skilled must have been involved.’
He felt a tinge of regret at the thought that such talent would go to the princess.
“Your Excellency!”
Jace came running toward them, out of breath.
“Hmm? Baron Sohu?”
“Ah. Baron Jace greets Your Majesty.”
“That greeting will suffice. I take it this is urgent.”
After giving thanks to the emperor, he immediately handed Lektarion an emergency communication device.
“It’s an urgent message from the mansion.”
Upon hearing Luth’s report over the device, Lektarion’s expression stiffened, and he bowed to the emperor.
“My apologies, but I must withdraw.”
The Emperor Yugris carefully observed Lektarion’s reaction. A man who never panicked losing his composure was an interesting sight.
“Go to the Magic Department.”
Though sudden, Lektarion understood the meaning behind those words.
The emperor nodded.
“Of course I know. You’ll hate it terribly, but using the teleportation magic circle, it takes less than a minute to reach the mansion. It’s been decades since it was last used, but the underground of the Nostdian mansion is connected to the palace via a magic circle.”
“…Thank you.”
“Go quickly.”
The emperor watched Lektarion’s retreating figure with an intrigued expression.
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, the chief steward handed the emperor a document. Seeing it, the emperor suddenly laughed.
“So, this was the real reason you came today.”
Apparently, he had prepared it in advance with the steward. The emperor pressed his thumb, bearing the seal, onto the marriage registration form bearing Lektarion’s and Eloah’s names. Magical ink wasn’t even necessary.
“I wonder which young lady has stirred the heart of this stubborn duke. How curious.”
He looked at Eloah’s name on the paper with a glint of fascination.
Bang—!
Rampaging magical energy collided violently with the duke’s aura.
“Ugh.”
The magical wave vibrating through the entire entrance made his whole body tingle.
The duke frowned.
“It’s annoying that it keeps scattering.”
After saying that, he focused a golden aura onto his sword. The dazzling light filled the space before shooting straight toward the source of the magic.
Bang! The entrance door couldn’t withstand the pressure of the aura and burst open.
Like a typhoon sweeping away smoke, the magic covering the entrance vanished in an instant, opening his view. At the same time, he used his aura to swiftly approach Hans.
“Ugh!”
Reaching the source of the magic, he struck the back of Hans’ neck with the hilt of his sword. Spewing blood and unable to regain his senses, Hans could do nothing against the duke’s attack.
‘I thought he’d just cut me down… Is he being careful because of all the people?’
Perhaps because his magic had been forcibly disrupted, Hans eventually lost consciousness and collapsed into a pool of his own blood, motionless.
“As expected of my master.”
Sina cheered beside him. Pale-faced yet excited.
“No, get up, now! You useless thing!”
Madame Enrike trembled but scolded Hans.
“It’s no use. He’s lost a lot of blood and won’t be able to move for a while.”
The duke turned toward me.
“Eloah, are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Phew. The rush was worth it. That’s a relief.”
He gave a peculiar expression, neither entirely smiling nor frowning, brushing back his disheveled bangs.
‘How did the duke get here…?’
I was bewildered. He was supposed to be gone for at least a week. Did he hurry back upon learning the mansion was under attack?
‘But why are his clothes so dusty?’
He looked as if he had just come out of some long-unused storage.
He turned to Madame Enrike.
“Madame Enrike, long time no see. Didn’t you receive the warning I sent through Viscount Roister? I’m very curious why you are here.”
“H-how dare you! You lowly wretch!”
Trembling in fear, Madame Enrike didn’t waver in her scornful glare at the duke.
“Hoo. It doesn’t matter if you touch me.”
The duke pressed the tip of his sword to the wrinkled neck of the dowager. Blood seeped out like a drawn line.
“You interfere with my people at your own risk. You know I am Nostdian.”
The duke had his back to me, so I couldn’t read his expression, but somehow I felt he must be smiling brightly.
‘Of course…’
Though invisible to others, my eyes saw the duke’s entire body shimmering in golden light.
It was truly magnificent.
An aura of such magnitude, impossible for me to gauge, perfectly controlled. If he were awakened as a mage, high-tier magic would probably be effortless for him.
The problem was that the intensity of the aura made it hard to move at all.
He glanced briefly at Hans.
“I suspected the source of the stench in the household had to be him, as the family affairs have been leaking out recently.”
“You knew?”
Dale asked, astonished.
“His faint magic has been detectable for a month or two. I was keeping an eye on him just in case.”
“I see…”
Dale understood, surprised. He hadn’t realized the duke could sense the amount of magic in others.
“I didn’t expect anyone would still try to recruit my subordinate. I know better than anyone how obsessive people get about becoming mages. But this time, I must admit I was caught off guard.”
With a leisurely tone, the Nostdian Duke taunted the dowager, playfully twirling his sword.
“I guess I let my guard down, thinking him harmless.”
The typical scorn in his words peeked through.
“You insolent wretch! How dare you speak such blasphemy to an elder!”
“Since when has the truth been called blasphemy? And attempting to kidnap the Duchess of Nostdian? You’re just like the Viscount—clueless.”
Madame Enrike ground her teeth in anger.
“The Duchess of Nostdian! That vile girl! How dare she soil Nostdian! Does she think Your Majesty would approve?”
‘Wow. Calling someone that… that’s harsh.’
The duke let out a cynical snort and produced something from his clothes, holding it in front of the dowager. Upon seeing it, her face turned pale.
“N-no! How could Your Majesty! …It’s you! What outrageous act have you done to His Majesty this time!”
‘What on earth is that?’
While I was puzzled, Lektarion pressed his sword slightly to the dowager’s chest.
“This completely removes the chance for Enrike’s people to interfere. Do not touch her again. She’s already injured enough to be worrisome; there’s no need to add to it, Madame.”
At the tip of the sword, golden light shimmered, and the dowager’s face went pale.
“W-wait. What are you trying to do…!”
“New experiences keep a person young. No matter how reckless I am, I cannot cut down someone who was once a Nostdian. So I’ll destroy part of the core to broaden your view.”
Despite his relaxed tone, the dowager’s face grew more desperate with each word.
“You… want to turn me into a mere pawn?”
Her face as pale as a sheet, she clung to his trousers and fell prostrate.
“Child, I was wrong. Please, please spare the core…!”
“You brought this upon yourself, Madame.”
As the duke moved his hand slightly, golden light poured through the sword, filling the corridor.
“No! No! Aah!”
Her desperate scream filled the corridor alongside the flood of golden aura.
Then.
Thunk! Surely, I heard a sound.
Suddenly, I gasped for air.
“Hah!”
Reflexively clutching my chest, I curled up.
The golden aura, the dowager’s screams, and the sudden breathlessness overwhelmed all my senses. It felt as though something inside me was exploding and swirling.
“Miss? Miss! Are you okay?”
Sina grabbed me as I fell, calling out desperately, but I couldn’t respond.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
My heart was pounding wildly.
‘What’s happening? Why is this happening?’
Since childhood, I had a weak heart and would tire easily, but I had never had a seizure like this.
“Haa! Haa!”
‘I can’t breathe.’
Gripping my chest and pounding on it did nothing. My excited, racing heart showed no sign of calming, and my vision blurred.
“Haa, haa.”
Consciousness scattered, and strength drained from my body. Sky and ground merged as I collided with something. I must have collapsed.
“Miss! Wake up! Miss!”
Fear took over my entire body for the first time ever. I grasped something near me tightly.
‘Save me.’
It felt like my heart would burst.
I didn’t want to leave this place where people were still warm. What if I opened my eyes somewhere worse than Yuberys’ hell?
“Eloah!”
“Master! Miss is—!”
The commotion rose around me, and in my blurred vision, I saw the duke rushing toward me.
But his expression seemed… worried about me.
‘Why does he look like that?’
That was my last thought before my vision went black.
When Eloah’s body went limp, Lektarion panicked and called out to her.
“Miss Eloah! Eloah!”
But she was unconscious, her pale face showing no response. Her breathing and heartbeat were unusually weak.
At that moment, Lektarion remembered that her heart had always been weak.
“Call Eldon! Quickly!”
