Chapter 130……………………………………………….
The Bait (2)
Following those who seemed to have been waiting for them, they arrived at a large room separated from the other facilities.
Inside the glassed-in room, only Count Treya was left, tied to a chair, and the figure of Rigma who had invited him was nowhere to be seen.
The count, recognizing that the second son had arrived, gave a relieved smile, his eyes glistening, but Lowell ignored it, continuing to scan the room with a furrowed brow.
“…Where is he?”
Without realizing it, he muttered the question aloud, and the count immediately answered.
“What, what do you mean? Didn’t he come looking for me? Thanks to him, I survived! Now I suppose it’s time to go back…”
He greeted Lowell warmly, as if he had never been wary of him.
‘To feel disgust so blatantly… that’s quite a skill.’
Lowell no longer felt anger. He merely looked down on him with cold eyes. The count even interpreted that as a positive sign and began babbling words that hadn’t been asked.
“They said we couldn’t leave until the people here repaid their debts and even refused to feed me! Come on, let’s get out of here!”
That wasn’t the answer Lowell wanted. What he was seeking was Rigma’s whereabouts. Focused not on saving his family but on catching Prometheus’s tail to find evidence, he couldn’t accept a situation where the main person wasn’t even here.
‘So dragging in the Treya family wasn’t because they needed to meet me separately? If so, he couldn’t have been absent in a situation like this.’
Or had he just stepped out for a moment? Only unresolved questions swirled in his mind. Judging by his reaction, Count Treya seemed completely unaware, as if he had been used as a hostage. The sight of someone so focused on his own safety and hoping to escape made even Lowell’s resolve waver.
Temia, noticing Lowell’s refusal to speak, stepped in to ask the count.
“Um, might Mr. Rigma Zachary not be here? I heard he came looking for Lowell. I heard he requested a meeting on the condition of settling the count’s debt…”
Count Treya snapped his head around and glared at Temia with wide, glaring eyes.
“Yes! That’s the name! That deceitful trickster! At first, he pretended to be inexperienced and coaxed me gently, but at some point, he just kept making me lose money!”
“…Ah.”
“I’m certain they were in cahoots! I don’t know exactly what they did, but to imprison the count of a whole country like this? This is the first time I’ve seen such a thing! And I’m a regular here… If it wasn’t meant to intimidate me from the start, how could they treat me like this!”
“…”
“The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems. I’ve never even heard of a family named Zachary. How could someone so insignificant come all this way and pull off such a thing? I need to prove myself with a big move so they can never look down on me again. Tch.”
All that bravado amounted to nothing worth reacting to. Temia was momentarily speechless, forgetting even the manners one should show to an adult.
‘It’s like talking to a wall. Has Lowell really been entangled with people like this his whole life?’
Temia kept her mouth tightly shut, swallowing the rising indignation. Now was not the time to argue over words. She calmly tried to organize the count’s statements.
In short, it meant that Rigma had lured Count Treya and colluded with others to extort money.
Though being caught up in the gambling den was the count’s responsibility, it seemed to matter little to him. He didn’t even consider that he had accumulated debts beyond repair; he merely intended to use the situation as a stage to loudly assert himself against a gambling hall that had ignored him.
In other words, he was essentially heading toward debt once more.
‘If that happens, the source of funds for such a venture would be…’
It was obvious without saying. He would once again reach out to Lowell, who had been covering the Treya family’s extravagant expenses. True to form, the count’s gaze kept flicking to Lowell, clearly checking the person who held the money.
‘How can a person be like this!’
Temia pressed down the anger that threatened to erupt, realizing that the man before her, however he behaved, was officially Lowell’s adoptive father on paper.
Seeing him in person, he was even more distasteful than she expected. She wouldn’t outwardly show it, but thinking about Lowell, who had suffered because of them and had grown slightly twisted in the future because of it, made her heart ache deeply.
Lowell continued waiting, refusing to even meet his adoptive father’s eyes.
‘He invited him. So once he gets the news that we’ve arrived, he’ll return soon.’
Yet even as time passed, Rigma did not appear.
Temia, fearing he might be trapped in the room, pushed and pulled the door several times—it wasn’t locked. This meant they could leave Callis Land at any time.
But since they had promised to release the count based on this meeting, the three of them couldn’t leave prematurely and quietly waited in the heavy atmosphere.
“Huff… huff… Master…! Ma-Master!”
Even when Leri arrived, calling out desperately for Lowell.
The sight of the bluebird after so long was utterly pitiful. Even considering that summons are maintained by magical energy, Leri was usually meticulous about her grooming. But now, it was clear she hadn’t cared for her feathers for at least a few days.
Her disheveled appearance, coupled with a panicked first greeting instead of a cheerful one, indicated the urgency of the situation. Seeing the multiple pairs of eyes on her, Leri raised her voice even more.
“H-Huff… huff… help! Miss Kylie, I mean, Temia’s villa… well, that is…”
Her disjointed words floated in the air. The tension, already high from waiting for Rigma and enduring an awkward encounter with Count Treya, only intensified.
Temia, sensing the gravity of her words, leapt to her feet and ran to Leri.
“Calm down, Leri. W-What happened to Kylie?”
Even Temia’s voice began to tremble slightly as anxiety crept up.
‘I sent someone just in case… What happened at the villa? Kylie? And the others?’
All the anxieties she thought resolved began to resurface. She had prepared thoroughly, yet it still seemed insufficient. What more could she have done?
The Nanarun team sent to the villa were those closest to Temia. What if they got caught up in an unexpected problem? Guilt surged uncontrollably.
Catching her breath, Leri, tears dropping like tiny pearls, finally answered.
“Miss Kylie might be in danger. A suspicious group of mages keeps lingering around Temia’s villa… A few days ago, unknown potions were scattered around the villa, and some even tried to sneak in!”
“Could it be Prometheus…? Is everyone unharmed?!”
“Yes, yes! No direct harm yet, but they keep watching… and they kept mentioning Miss Kylie, saying they would capture her! They even mentioned your name occasionally!”
Leri explained that she had followed them secretly due to suspicion. Hearing the information, she rushed here following Lowell’s magic. Her intuition had proven excellent.
Temia’s eyes widened in shock. Though no one seemed hurt yet, the implication was that danger was imminent. She had thought separating Prometheus from Kylie was enough—she hadn’t imagined it would escalate like this.
‘They even tracked her to the villa! How far are they willing to go?!’
Temia ignored the trembling in her fingers and wiped Leri’s tears. Her mouth was dry, but if she let herself panic, she wouldn’t be able to respond calmly. She steadied her voice and asked the bluebird.
“First, understood. Do you know what they said about Lowell?”
“I think they’re trying to lure him to the villa… using Miss Kylie as a hostage!”
At that, Temia and Lowell’s eyes met. It was reminiscent of the current situation—like using Count Treya as bait to draw Lowell into a trap and restrict his movements…
“Could it be that this was just to buy time?”
