~Chapter 112~
Richard Gwinted had come to question the Count and Countess about the missing young lord who had disappeared with his wife.
The Count and Countess should have been begging for mercy on their knees — but instead, what came back was sharp anger.
Everyone in the room could feel the crushing pressure of the Black Knights, yet the Count and Countess stood straight and unshaken. Even when Hilda spoke rudely, Richard answered calmly.
“I’ll overlook the Countess’s mistake… once.”
“I wonder who it is that’s really making mistakes here.”
It had been more than two weeks since Nathan and Ancia disappeared.
The Leslie family had searched everywhere, even sending investigators north, but the Duke’s house never sent a single word back. Instead, they had only kept the Leslies under surveillance.
Now face to face with the Duke, Hilda’s long-suppressed fury finally burst.
“How dare you step across the threshold of House Leslie!”
“How dare I?”
“You came here because you don’t trust our sweet An!”
“I trust my wife. It’s the young lord I trust too much — and that’s the problem.”
“You trust them both, and yet you act like this?”
“I believe Nathan Leslie still loves my wife, Ancia Gwinted.”
His voice was certain, his stance firm.
Hilda faltered, unable to deny it completely.
“What nonsense…”
“Which is why I must consider that the young lord may have kidnapped her.”
The thought of what Nathan might do, still holding feelings for Ancia, was enough to make Richard wary.
Even Hilda couldn’t deny Nathan’s feelings — but to harm Ancia? That was impossible.
“Are you accusing the Leslie heir of being a kidnapper?”
“Given the circumstances, the young lord is the most likely. You should cooperate, Countess — while I still treat you as my wife’s guardians.”
Hilda met his cold gaze head-on, and her anger exploded.
“How dare you look at me with eyes like that?”
The servants froze. Even the Duke’s knights stiffened — it was a shocking outburst.
Richard’s own eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Hilda gripped the short staff she carried instead of a sword.
“Do you have any idea how hard I’m fighting the urge to wrap this staff around your neck? My daughter — my sweet girl — vanished in that frozen North, and we don’t even know if she’s alive or dead!”
With every step she took toward him, her fury grew hotter.
“How dare you… come here… asking after Ancia!”
Her voice rose, her face red, forgetting all courtesy. The Black Knights stirred, but the Count quickly pulled her back.
“You lost my daughter — and you dare show your face here?”
“Wife, please calm yourself.”
“Ancia and Nathan ran away? If that’s the truth — then imagine how desperate she must have been to flee! If it is true, and Nathan reaches out, I will spend every last coin to help them escape!”
“W-wife…”
The Count was shocked by her dangerous words, but Richard never tried to stop her. He sat in silence, watching her, as though trying to read truth or lies in her face.
At last, he spoke evenly:
“You’d better only say what you can take responsibility for.”
“No, Duke — you are the one who must take responsibility. If you don’t find my daughter, Ancia, I’ll stake everything I have to make you regret your life. Stop accusing innocents and go back north to bring her home!”
Her emotions boiled over, her voice like a scream. She moved as if to throw herself at him, but the Count held her tight and spoke instead.
“Duke Gwinted, shouldn’t you be spending this time searching for our daughter instead of storming our house? If you suspect, you could use letters or communication spells. Why come this far in person?”
Richard, who had been sitting calmly all along, finally rose to his feet.
“Neither of you care about the young lord’s safety, I see.”
His words made the room tense.
But Hilda shot back without hesitation:
“My son didn’t marry you — so I owe you no responsibility for him.”
It was a direct rebuke: Richard had failed to protect Ancia, his own wife.
To everyone’s surprise, Richard wasn’t offended. Instead, his mood softened, almost amused.
“Ah… so that’s where my wife learned to speak so sharply. She takes after you, Countess.”
The words could have been mocking — but his tone was lighter, almost warm.
Hilda’s fierce gaze wavered.
She had thought this intrusion was about politics — about restraining the growing ties between House Leslie and the royal family. She believed Richard was using Ancia’s disappearance as an excuse. That thought made her so furious she had lost control.
But no — from beginning to end, Richard had only spoken of Ancia.
Realizing this, Hilda’s breathing steadied. She regained her composure, though the truth of her emotions couldn’t be erased.
“We haven’t sat idle either. With the royal family’s help, we’ve used the Gate to search the north. So, Duke, stop wasting time here in the east. Go back and search for your wife.”
The desperation of both sides had even led to sword clashes between their search parties.
From the Count and Countess’s reactions, Richard began to think this whole matter might really be Nathan’s doing alone.
Yet the coachman’s testimony was clear.
The only thing left was to check Nathan’s room for signs of planning.
“I’ll look through the young lord’s room before I leave.”
“You dare openly accuse my son?”
“One never knows. And besides…”
His softened tone turned cold again.
“You know well there are only two reasons a Duke of Gwinted leaves the North: when summoned by the Emperor, or when he lays down his title.”
Which meant — unless it was the Emperor’s command, a Duke only left the North when death was near.
For Richard, a young Duke, to stand here in the east with his knights was extraordinary — and dangerous.
The Emperor could use this as an excuse to tighten control over Gwinted, punishing him for abandoning the North.
And yet, Richard had come himself — to chase even the smallest clue about his wife.
He had no intention of leaving quietly.
Hilda finally stepped back.
“Showing you his room is no trouble. But once you’ve checked, you must return and find my daughter.”
“I will.”
Even as the room grew cold again, neither side yielded.
The Imperial Palace never goes dark.
The walls glowed with countless magic stones, constantly replaced before their light could fade.
Most of those stones were mined from the Gwinted lands in the North. Every year, the Empire demanded its due — and often far more, under many excuses.
This time, after the monster subjugation tournament created extra stones, the Empire had even seized some as “tax.”
