Chapter 77
Ernant’s Entertainment
At first, Benjamin had listened indifferently to the words of the young page, but finally, his wrinkled eyes widened in surprise.
A golden carriage.
Countless knights.
A flag embroidered with a golden lion.
Even just these details made it clear: in this old mansion, long abandoned by guests, an excessively exalted presence had arrived.
Benjamin tried to calm himself and hurried down to the reception room.
As expected, there was a being of unsurpassable authority waiting there, having entered as they pleased.
“Y-your Majesty, the Emperor… what brings you here?”
Ernant, leaning casually on the baron’s reception room sofa, asked with a sharp tone.
“Where is the baron? The Emperor comes, and he doesn’t even come to greet me? What a stiff neck.”
“My master is currently afflicted by a monster’s poison and is confined to his bed—”
“Enough. I have a few questions for you.”
Ernant leaned slightly forward from the sofa back and continued.
“Did the Silver Knight come here?”
“The S-Silver Knight…?”
“I’m talking about Yulia von Schnestern.”
For a moment, Benjamin could not answer.
He knew in his mind that he must answer truthfully, without a single lie, since the Emperor was asking.
If he confessed honestly that Yulia had come here, he could perhaps preserve his life.
But something felt wrong.
Ernant’s expression while asking about Yulia was far from ordinary.
It was far too cold and stern to be a mere courtesy visit, and a strange sense of foreboding ran down Benjamin’s spine.
Could it be that my answer might put Lord Schnestern in danger?
As he hesitated with this thought, a sudden dark smile spread across Ernant’s face.
“The baron has a stiff neck, and the steward has a tight mouth. A household that does not bow before the Emperor and a steward who does not answer the Emperor’s questions…”
“I—I am guilty! Lord Yulia von Schnestern—”
“No, there’s no need to answer. I already know.”
Before Benjamin could even respond, Ernant spoke again.
“I heard that Yulia is staying in the main hall. From a spy I planted there.”
“……”
“At first, I didn’t believe it. As far as I knew, Yulia had vanished into the rift. I wondered if the spy I planted had made a false report… and so I watched the main hall and the Pope’s movements for a long time.”
“……”
“Then I realized the truth. Yulia had indeed been with that son of a Pope all along. And after that… what do you think I did?”
This time, Benjamin answered immediately:
“I-I do not know.”
“I waited. I couldn’t just storm the main hall, so I waited for them to come out.”
“……”
“Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long. Yulia is not the type to stay hidden in one place. She has no talent for hiding, I would say.”
“……”
“Anyway, as soon as I received the report that the two had come here, I rushed over. So I already knew Yulia had come.”
Benjamin wanted to ask: if he already knew everything, then why had he asked him about Yulia just now?
But he dared not speak. As if reading his thoughts, Ernant said:
“Then I’ll ask one last thing. Why did I ask you about Yulia’s whereabouts?”
“……”
Benjamin racked his brains desperately.
What should he say to save his life?
Time was short, and Ernant muttered impatiently:
“You’re slow to answer again.”
“I-I am guilty—”
“I needed a little amusement while waiting for Yulia.”
Benjamin did not understand, and Ernant glared at him coldly.
Then, in a calm voice, he commanded the knights behind him:
“Bind him.”
Immediately, the knights moved in unison and began restraining Benjamin.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Benjamin cried out desperately, but Ernant ignored him.
He merely hummed a tune, waiting for the binding to be completed.
When the old steward was tightly bound with no chance to resist, Ernant finally approached him.
“You are guilty of daring to deceive the Emperor. When I asked if Yulia had come here, you hesitated because you wanted to hide her whereabouts.”
“Ah, no! My ears are old, Your Majesty. I simply could not hear your question properly!”
“I feel like killing everyone. Martin and the Pope are already annoying enough, and now even an old steward tries to hide Yulia from me.”
For a moment, a murderous glint appeared in Ernant’s deep green eyes.
With that cruel gaze, he stared at Benjamin and continued:
“I’m tired of dealing with flies clinging to my knights. It’s better to set an example so that no one dares make the same mistake again, don’t you think?”
“Please, Your Majesty, forgive me—!”
“Keep him kneeling somewhere until Yulia arrives. I will allow violence, but not enough to kill him.”
Thwack! At Ernant’s order, a soldier struck Benjamin in the abdomen.
It was a light blow, but too much for his frail body.
Benjamin lost consciousness as he was dragged away by the soldiers.
In the now-quiet reception room, Ernant’s aide asked cautiously:
“Did he provide suitable entertainment, Your Majesty?”
“Yes, thanks to him, the waiting became very enjoyable.”
Ernant knew that Yulia would not ignore the suffering of innocents.
So, seeing Benjamin tied up and beaten, she would likely show a moment of weakness.
Perhaps she would plead with Ernant to save the elderly hostage or even kneel.
Imagining this, Ernant’s lips curled into a cold smile.
Fortunately, it seemed his warning had worked. Prit and the Holy Knights proceeded carefully.
They cautiously poured oil to avoid waking the mushrooms, which gave him some relief.
Even so, he could not fully relax.
With poisonous mushrooms all around, a single mistake could cause a disaster.
He whispered to his companions as quietly as possible:
“We’ve poured enough here. Let’s move to another area.”
With so many mushrooms, they could not afford to dawdle.
If they moved slowly, the sun would set and the mushrooms would awaken.
As they prepared to move, one of the Holy Knights suddenly called out:
“Wait, look at this. There’s something strange here.”
“……?”
Though time was urgent, he checked what the knight had found.
He gasped in surprise.
“Ah, this is……”
The knight had discovered a brilliantly shining mineral.
A massive stone, as large as a child’s head, gleamed prominently in place.
Recognizing its true nature, he explained briefly to the group:
“This is similar to monster secretions.”
Everyone was surprised to hear that an object shining like a gem was actually a secretion.
He added a more precise explanation:
“Clams produce pearls using substances in their bodies, right? This is similar. Occasionally, monsters expel foreign substances from their bodies in a hard form like this.”
“So it’s not a gem?”
The knight who discovered it asked.
After a moment’s thought, he replied:
“I don’t know if it counts as a gem officially. But it is sold at a high price. It’s beautiful to look at, and it contains highly concentrated magic. You could make very powerful items with it.”
At this, the Holy Knights’ eyes brightened.
They clearly wanted to extract it for profit, so he warned them quickly:
“But do not touch it.”
“Why not?”
Prit’s voice carried a hint of greed.
Ignoring the temptation, he explained why it must not be disturbed:
“If you dig it up now, the mushrooms will all awaken. It looks like it’s just on the surface, but it’s connected to the mushroom stems underground.”
Hearing this, one Holy Knight asked:
“Is there no way to extract it without waking the mushrooms?”
