Chapter 66…………………………………..
Sasa-sak. Sasa-sasa-sak.
The sound grew closer and closer.
“Turn off the light!”
At the duke’s sharp whisper, everything fell into pitch-black darkness.
Each of us quickly hid behind a tree trunk.
Afraid even a deep breath would give us away, I covered my mouth with my hands to silence myself.
“…Uuuh.”
A groan drifted through the forest.
But it wasn’t from a beast or monster.
It was unmistakably a human voice.
Thud… thud… weak footsteps.
Who could possibly be wandering the forest alone at a time like this?
“Kuhh….”
My eyes widened.
I knew that voice all too well.
Grandfather…!
Goosebumps swept over my entire body.
I moved my gaze ever so slightly—and it really was him.
Veil Kereis.
The lantern in his hand flickered weakly, about to go out.
But he paid it no mind, staggering forward until he collapsed against the stump of a tree.
Is he… drunk?
If not, nothing made sense.
He was alone—no attendants, wearing only sleepwear—in the middle of the forest.
And from his staggering steps, it seemed he didn’t even have his usual cane.
What should I do…?
Just then, the silhouette of the duke behind another tree shifted.
He stepped out into Veil’s view.
“Father.”
Veil’s dull, unfocused eyes drifted toward him.
But in the darkness, he couldn’t see his son’s face properly—only his legs faintly lit by the dying lantern.
Yet Veil didn’t look surprised at all.
As if this were something he often experienced.
“Heuu. Ron.”
“…!”
In the dark, Getre’s eyes widened.
He froze, unable to respond, as Veil continued speaking on his own.
“Ron, stay there. Don’t come closer.”
His arm hung weakly, and the lantern’s light trembled with it.
Probably because he didn’t have the cane he was used to holding.
“I’ve committed too many sins against you. So don’t ever come near me.”
“…”
“Yes, good. That’s what you must do—for the sake of this family.”
With those words, Veil rose again and trudged off the way he came.
After a little while, Kauts and I slowly approached the duke.
“Grandfather… why is he acting like that?”
The duke hesitated, so Kauts answered instead.
“Young lady… I can’t be certain, but it appears he may be sleepwalking.”
“Sleepwalking?”
“Yes.”
The duke also nodded grimly.
“I saw it once before. But he received treatment, so I assumed it was cured… It seems he hid it from me. Judging by how severe it’s become.”
“But why did he call you Ron? He clearly called you Ron just now.”
“That is…”
The duke’s grief-filled eyes turned to me.
“I don’t know yet. We should confirm the details. Since it’s not too late, let’s follow him.”
We hurried down the path Veil had taken.
Soon enough, we found him, slumped on the ground, with a butler who had come to retrieve him.
“M-My lord!”
“Take Father back immediately.”
“Y-Yes!”
After returning to the mansion and settling Veil in his bedroom, the butler fell to his knees.
“I apologize for not reporting it sooner.”
The duke looked down at him with a sharp gaze.
The old butler cowered even more.
He had served the duke’s father since Getre was a child.
The duke knew very well how devotedly loyal he was.
“Father ordered you to keep it secret, didn’t he? Stand up.”
“…My lord.”
“But now, you’d better tell me everything you’ve seen and heard.”
“…!”
The butler insisted he didn’t know much, but unable to withstand the duke’s gaze, he began confessing everything.
That Veil had begun wandering out of his bedroom late at night.
At first, they thought it was just a sleep habit, but when he began wandering all the way to the forest’s entrance, the butler realized it was serious.
“I told him we must inform you, but he insisted it remain secret… and that no further measures were needed. He quieted down for a while after that—except around this late-autumn season.”
Coincidentally—or not—late autumn was exactly when Ron had gone missing.
No… no way.
Grandfather can’t be the real culprit. He just can’t…
I shook off the horrible suspicion forming in my head.
A servant rushed in, announcing that Veil had awakened.
When we went to his room, Veil looked utterly shocked.
“Getre? Why are you all here?”
His brows furrowed sharply.
He hurriedly checked his appearance.
Of course—he was a nobleman of pride. Standing in front of others wearing only sleepwear was a humiliation.
“Get out! All of you!”
The duke approached him with a sorrowful expression.
His gaze drifted to Veil’s pajamas—torn all over.
Likely ripped on branches as he wandered through the forest half-asleep.
Veil flinched backward.
“G-Getre! This is—!”
“I saw everything in the forest, Father.”
“…!”
Veil’s red eyes trembled violently.
Then his head slowly drooped.
The lantern he’d dropped still flickered faintly on the floor.
He raised his gaze, meeting his son’s matching red eyes.
And he asked quietly:
“Getre… how much do you know.”
Just as that heavy question pierced the air—
SWOOSH! THUD!
“Kyaaa!”
Assassins dressed in black appeared from nowhere.
The bedroom turned into chaos in an instant.
A startled Veil whispered frantically:
“They’re not enemies. Stand down!”
His tone sounded as if he knew them.
But despite his command, the assassins threw their shuriken.
“Young lady!”
Thanks to Kauts’s quick reflexes, I narrowly avoided the incoming blades.
The duke immediately stepped in front of Veil, drawing his sword.
“Who are you!”
A chilling aura poured from him.
The assassins, faces hidden except for their eyes, faltered—but then pulled out objects from their sleeves.
Kauts shouted:
“It’s incense that numbs all senses!”
The duke’s expression hardened.
Not even a swordmaster could stop something that spreads through the air.
“Everyone must avoid it!”
But this was a bedroom—our only escape was the window.
And from the 3rd floor, everyone jumping out at once was impossible.
So I bit down hard, counting everyone in the room at lightning speed.
The duke, Kauts, Grandfather, the butler, and three servants—
Two, four, six… eight!
Good enough.
I gathered all the mana in my body and bound the assassins’ legs tight.
“Ghh!”
“Urk!”
Then I shouted to those around me:
“Hurry—get to me!”
Everyone’s heads snapped toward me.
I held up my teleport spell.
Kauts rushed over and grabbed me, and the others clung to us quickly—like metal to a magnet.
Only the duke just stood there blinking, stunned.
“Anne… Did you just use magic? Since when can you—”
“You fool! Just get over here!”
Veil yanked him by the collar, cutting him off.
“Don’t let them escape!”
More assassins poured into the room—
And then—
FLASH!
A blinding light engulfed us.
