Chapter 18
Alcade had left the room Eleanor had arranged just as it was, even after she disappeared.
It was to preserve traces of Eleanor in the Grand Ducal residence.
He reopened that room…
To welcome her return.
Alongside a child who resembled her perfectly.
At that moment, there was a hurried knock, and a knight entered, kneeling before Alcade.
“Your Grace. I apologize, but in the Venertha region—”
Venertha.
The moment Alcade heard the name, his eyes sharpened.
That was a land swarming with monsters. Judging by the urgency in the knight’s expression, it was far from a normal matter.
“I understand. Let’s head to the office immediately.”
Alcade carefully let go of Lorr’s hand and stood up.
Sensing the sudden shift in mood, Lorr blinked and looked up at him.
“Daddy?”
She reached out, as if asking to be held again, but Alcade shook his head.
“Lorr, I need to go to the office now. Can you stay here for a little while?”
Instead of answering, Lorr clutched the hem of his coat.
If Daddy’s not here… it might be a little scary…
The room was vast, with ceilings high above. There were many unknown ladies around.
Feeling the sudden strangeness, Lorr gripped his coat tighter.
Daddy said he had to go to the “office.” Come to think of it, that was where she first met him—where he worked.
Wait—she remembered her village friends boasting about visiting her dad’s workplace.
They said if you watched him quietly, the adults would come and give you candy.
Then Lorr could follow Daddy!
It won’t be scary if I’m with him!
Shaking off the small chill creeping in her heart, Lorr bravely shouted,
“I want to go too! I’m curious about what Daddy’s doing!”
Then she held up her small, stubby pinky finger.
“I’ll be quiet and behave! Promise!”
For a moment, everything went silent.
Alcade, sometimes called a workaholic, hated being disturbed while working.
Everyone in the Grand Ducal residence knew how the Duke dealt with anyone who dared interrupt his work.
The maids and Giselle watched nervously, worried the little lady might be upset.
What if she gets scolded badly? She’ll be so shocked…
Just as the bond between father and daughter was beginning to strengthen.
Giselle closed her eyes tightly. I hope our sweet little lady isn’t too hurt…!
“…Alright.”
After a brief pause, Alcade nodded. Awkwardly, he linked his finger with Lorr’s pinky.
“But… don’t touch anything dangerous.”
“Okay!”
“You have to stay as quiet as you promised.”
“Okay!”
Giselle and the maids, watching, couldn’t help but widen their eyes in surprise.
What on earth was going on?
“Alright.”
Alcade returned to his office and took his seat. His tone was as usual, but the aides couldn’t help sneaking glances.
Understandably so.
Lorr was perched squarely on His Grace’s lap.
“Hello!”
All eyes on her, Lorr bowed her head politely.
Flustered, the aides bowed in response.
“Ah, good day, young lady.”
“Hello, young lady.”
“Hehe.”
When Lorr smiled, it was as if a spring breeze had entered the otherwise cold office.
“Oh right, Lorr promised to stay quiet.”
She pressed her hands over her mouth and looked up at Alcade, smiling brightly.
Did I do well?
Her gaze seemed to ask. Alcade hesitated, then gently patted her head.
Her soft laughter came out naturally.
Her chubby cheeks dimpled cutely.
“Yes. Stay quiet now.”
Continuing to pat her head, Alcade turned his attention to Hagens.
“There’s a report from the Venertha region.”
“Yes. Here it is.”
Even as he read through the documents, the reports kept coming.
“They discovered people kidnapped by monsters while exploring the Venertha region.”
“This is serious.”
Alcade’s expression turned grave.
The papers stated that around a hundred people had been captured, according to magical detection results.
Suddenly, the Venertha region had been overrun by Keiack monsters.
Keiacks were notorious for their ferocity, and because they laid eggs in corpses, it was assumed no one could survive their attacks.
Knights had been sent to eliminate them to prevent their numbers from growing.
The mountainous terrain, however, made access extremely difficult.
So, a plan to collapse the entire mountain was made, and detection magic was used to map the area.
That’s when they discovered over a hundred survivors.
It was fortunate there were survivors, but it also meant that while eliminating the monsters, they had to rescue them as well.
“If we attack recklessly, the Keiacks will go berserk.”
Considering the rescue, the plan became far more complicated.
Alcade tapped the desk with his fingers, unsure of the next step.
On his desk lay a map with red and blue circles.
Red marked the areas under Keiack control.
Blue marked where people were located.
A blue circle sat squarely within the red.
“We need a way to safely extract the people.”
Giselle spoke in a low voice.
“Then what if we lure the Keiacks? With bait, perhaps…”
“They’re likely full now. The fact that a hundred are still alive proves it. If they were starving, they would have devoured them already… that method won’t work.”
“Then what if we set traps using mages?”
“The mages’ firepower isn’t enough against Keiacks. Usually, several knights have to engage them at once.”
The aides proposed ideas, but none were practical.
Alcade listened seriously to the heated discussion beyond his desk.
Book! Book!
Meanwhile, Lorr, sitting in Alcade’s lap, seriously fiddled with her fingers and called silently for her magical book.
The book fluttered up before her and opened.
[Lorr! Hello!]
Hello, Book!
Dazzled by the sparkles of the book, Lorr rubbed her eyes.
[Lorr, don’t rub your eyes! What do you want to know?]
Mimicking Alcade’s furrowed brow, Lorr asked the lively, fluttering magical book,
The adults are saying such hard things!
The mood was so tense that Alcade’s hand stopped stroking her head—but Lorr didn’t plead for more.
She was trying to resist the boredom and drowsiness that came from the long meeting.
She had promised to behave and resolved to hold back.
But my eyes keep closing…
Despite the sleepiness, Lorr blinked and opened her eyes again.
[Oh… Lorr, are you sleepy?]
Yes… but tell me this first!
Everyone else seemed to understand the difficult topics so well, and Lorr didn’t want to be left out.
She was five years old. Anything the adults did, she wanted to try too.
The book wobbled as if giggling, then obediently opened its pages.
[I’ll explain from now on!]
Yes! Thanks, Book!
Lorr’s eyes sparkled. She trusted her friend!
[So, monsters have appeared in a village called Venertha.]
Mon… monsters?
Lorr gasped, staring at the book.
It was terrifying. She was glad she hadn’t disturbed the adults!
[And there are people who have been captured by the monsters.]
Oh no… what do we do…
Feeling a chill, Lorr covered her eyes with both hands, then peeked through her fingers at the book.
[Rescuing the captured people while defeating the monsters makes it extremely, extremely difficult.]
I see…
Lorr nodded seriously, her little chin forming cute dimples.
But… can’t Daddy just defeat the monsters and save the people?
Her dad was super strong! He even had a shadow friend!
Clenching her fists, Lorr stared at the book with determination.
But the book shook its pages, writing new sentences as if to say otherwise.
