“Miss!”
The startled maids rushed over. Elaine, supporting Yulina’s body, laid her down on the bed and spoke reassuringly.
“She only fainted, but I think her hand needs some attention.”
She handed Yulina over to the maids. Her palm was badly cut from holding onto the shard of glass. The Margrave’s eyes twisted when he saw that. He ordered the maids.
“…You give first aid to the wound, and one of you go out and call a doctor.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
While the maids were following instructions, Elaine returned to Ash’s side. The two left the room first, and the Margrave, who left the maids to clean up the mess, closed the door and came out last.
The Margrave looked back at them and bowed his head briefly.
“I must apologize for what you just witnessed, and thank you for your assistance earlier.”
The Margrave rubbed the corners of his eyes, as if tired, and let out a low sigh. He spoke, looking at Ash, who had a calm face.
“Now that… it has come to this, I suppose I’d better tell you the situation.”
It wasn’t entirely unrelated to them, after all, they were business associates of Yulina’s.
They moved to a new location and took a seat, listening to the Margrave’s story. It was not long ago that the Margrave’s only daughter, Yulina Lakers, took charge of the forest development project.
She often went to development sites. She wanted to observe the work situation in person. She was always accompanied by her personal knight. Her knight was her family, friend, and lover who had been with her since she was young.
And on this day, they were working on a new project in a forest that had been undisturbed for a long time. When the day’s work was slowly coming to an end, while logging, an unusually large rotten tree was discovered. A rotten tree has no use other than kindling. Naturally, the tree was immediately uprooted. It was something that happened occasionally during logging and was nothing special.
But no one would have guessed that a monster would pop out from underneath. The monster was a type they had never seen before. The only knight there was Yulina’s escort. He protected Yulina and evacuated the workers.
Even within the Margrave’s knightly order, he was one of the most skilled. However, the monster was too strong for him to evacuate everyone and deal with it alone. In the end, while desperately trying to protect Yulina, his shoulder was bitten by her monster’s teeth.
And that monster had the characteristic of transforming the person it bit into the same monster. By the time the Margrave arrived there with his knights, it was already too late. He transformed into a monster and ran wild, attacking everyone. The Margrave, the knights, and even his beloved Yulina couldn’t even recognize him anymore. He had completely become a monster himself.
The Margrave and the knights all rushed at him, and it was the Margrave who dealt the final blow.
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence. Ash was lost in thought, and Elaine swallowed a low groan.
Is that why Yulina Lakers looked at the Margrave with such resentment earlier? Is that also why her businesses recently came to a halt, why the distribution of her lumber was delayed, why there was no choice but to reject the crown prince’s engagement? The answers to her questions were heavier than she expected.
The Margrave slowly spoke again.
“That day, I also tried to deal with the monster that mutated Cesar but… It burrowed into the ground while we were delayed fighting with Cesar.”
“I see…”
“Currently, knights are conducting a search of the forest. Please understand that there may be some delay in securing supplies due to this.”
The Margrave’s voice was businesslike, but there was a hint of fatigue in it as he spoke, as he was now in charge of all the paperwork that Yulina had been taking care of.
The Margrave said that the dead guard was a knight who had been loyal to them for a long time. Even though he became a monster, the Margrave killed him with his own hands.
Maybe he is as heartless as Yulina said, but is that really all there is? Ash quietly stared into the Margrave’s eyes and briefly nodded his head.
“I understand. Don’t worry about this matter.”
He didn’t offer any vague sympathy or consolation, knowing the Margrave wouldn’t want that either. He just offered what he could.
“If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know. I will help as much as I can.”
“…… Thank you. Make yourself at home and rest.”
Ash did not invite the Margrave to leave with them. What the Margrave seemed to need most at the moment was to be alone.
Elaine followed Ash out of the room and looked back at the Margrave who was left alone at the window. His back still looked neat and straight as he looked outside.
However, she couldn’t see what expression was on his face when he turned around.
* * *
“… Is it really okay to not do anything?”
Elaine asked cautiously as she walked down the hallway. Ash then shook his head.
“If he wanted to ask for help, he would have done it a long time ago.”
After the monster disappeared, the Margrave searched the forest every single day. However, the monster has not been found anywhere yet.
“But the reason he didn’t ask for help is because we are guests, after all. We didn’t come here on a request.”
He continued.
“And the Margrave’s knights are by no means weak. The Lakers are not called the guardians of the North for nothing.”
The power of the unknown monster was at least that of a high-level monster. Even though he lost the main creature, he was clearly capable of defeating Cesar, who had turned into a monster. Right now, the search was slow because there was no information about the monster, but it wasn’t necessary for them to help. Of course, it would be much easier if they helped with their skills, but this was the Margrave’s choice.
Ash finished his explanation as he stopped in front of the door where he was temporarily staying.
“Then, Sir, please get some rest. I’ll see you around dinner time.”
“Yes.”
He went inside and Elaine headed to her room across from him. She was still concerned about the situation, but Ash was right. This wasn’t a matter for him or her to get involved in, unless they were asked to.
Elaine was about to open the door. On the other side of the hall, she could see a few maids carrying a large box with a difficulty. She recognized them as the maids from Yulina’s room
Elaine approached and lifted the box that the maids were moving, thinking that she would help for a moment since she still had time.
“Oh, knight!”
“It must be heavy…!”
Stunned, the maids looked at Elaine.
“What?”
Elaine blinked, lightly holding the box with one arm. The maids who saw this opened their mouths in bewilderment.
A moment later, the maids surrounded Elaine as she set the box down in the large closet, their hands clasped together and their eyes shining.
“Oh my god, thank you so much.”
“If we had moved it ourselves, it would have taken a long time. How can we thank you?”
“It’s not very heavy for me.”
“Well, you must be strong because you’re a knight, and you look about the same age as our young Lady.”
“By the way, how is she doing?”
She had a pretty bad cut on her hand, and Elaine was worried.
“The doctor took care of it, and she’s asleep now.”
“Even if it’s not as strong as a knight, it would be nice if our young Lady could become a little stronger too. I’m really worried because even though she was originally weak, now she won’t even eat food anymore.”
The maid’s face looked genuinely worried as she sighed.
“It seems like you care a lot about the young Lady.”
“Of course, I do, I know you were very surprised earlier, but…… Cesar was a very nice and good man…”
“The Lady and Sir Cesar were very close……. I can imagine how shocked she must be.”
“But I’m scared that something bad might happen. Sometimes she says strange things…”
“Strange things?”
“Oh, well, nothing much…….”
When Elaine asked curiously, the maid who spoke hesitantly touched one cheek and said,
“It’s just that when I was in her room the other day during work, she asked me what I would do if someone took something precious from me.”
“Something precious?”
“It was a bit unexpected. So, I answered that of course I had to retrieve the stolen items. Then, she asked what I’d do if the item was already broken.”
“And?”
“What did you say?”
The maids who were listening together asked as if urging her on.
“Uh, what did I say… Right, I said I’d give the person who took it a good beating.”
“Ahaha, that’s just like you.”
“That’s an insult, right? Anyway, that’s not the problem…”
“Why?”
“Well, My Lady thinks it’s her father’s fault that Sir Cesar died. I thought it might be a good idea if…….”
“Oh, dear, don’t say such dreadful things, do you think my lady would do that?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m still a little nervous, so I thought I’d tell you……. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Yes, it won’t be much trouble, will it, knight?”
The maid looked at Elaine as if seeking agreement, and Elaine nodded slowly
“It’ll be okay.”
She hoped so, too.
Elaine thought about the man who was still sitting alone.
* * *
That night. Deep in the dawn, when the day’s sun had set and everyone was asleep. In the pitch-black silence, a door opened without a sound.
Click.
The door closed again with a small sound, and the shadow in the hallway began to move quietly. The destination of the footsteps was already determined.
‘Official records storage room.’
Elaine passed through the hallway quietly, remembering the location she had seen during the day.
The Margrave’s situation was unfortunate, but apart from that, she had something she had to do.
‘If you were born unclean, you should know your place.’
‘Don’t bother me when you don’t know what you’re doing.’
‘I guess there’s nothing you can do about being born lowly, huh?’
At first glance, Michael was a very arrogant and self-righteous person.
The arrogance of a man who has been sheltered since birth. A self-confidence so deeply rooted that he couldn’t even suspect that anyone would reject him. His arrogance and composure were a clear example of how extravagant a life he had enjoyed.
However, how were the people who actually had to struggle through life treated by Michael and countless other people?
Ash. I will no longer allow him to endure this misguided malice. And this, for him, was a necessary step.
“Hmph-”
“Ugh, I’m sleepy.”
A storage room that keeps official documents. The soldiers guarding the door were yawning with their mouths wide open. Elaine stopped at a corner where she could easily see the soldiers and took something out of her pocket.
‘Sleep scent.’
It was prepared in advance for today. It was an incense made with special herbs, which had the effect of blurring the line between reality and dreams. It’s as if you’re sleepwalking, and you fall into sleep without even realizing it. Even when they woke up, they wouldn’t feel anything was strange, so she didn’t have to worry about arousing suspicion. All they would think was, ‘I dozed off for a moment.’
‘If the document disappears completely, it may arouse suspicion, so I’ll just quickly copy it and put it back.’
She opened the bottle containing her sleeping scent. Then she lit the incense in the direction where the soldiers were.
“Hmph……. What the hell, I’m yawning so much all of a sudden.”
“Yeah, why are you so sleepy today?”
Soon, the soldiers’ eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Their heads kept drooping. Finally, as they were about to fall completely asleep.
“Aaaah! Miss!”
A loud scream rang out, breaking the silence.
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