Episode 58

Raven bowed his head towards Ludwig and spoke.

“I greet the master of Karsian. I understand you have a task for me.”

“Yes. However, it is not I who has the request, but Lady Sierra Drenihan here.”

Ludwig replied, gesturing towards me.

Raven lifted his gaze, his striking blue eyes meeting mine. With his fiery red hair and deep bronze skin, he was the epitome of a man from the southern regions.

As he looked at me, there was a brief flicker of recognition in his eyes.

“This is the lady…”

“…?”

It seemed he had already heard something about me.

“Don’t just stand there. Come and sit,” Ludwig said, directing him to the sofa opposite me.

Raven complied, sitting down with a composed demeanor.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Raven Fidelus, the leader of Queensbury,” he introduced himself in a polite tone that contrasted with his sharp first impression.

“I’m Sierra Drenihan. It’s nice to meet you,” I replied.

“What is it that you wish to request from Queensbury?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

“I’m looking for someone,” I began.

“Finding people is one of our specialties. Please provide the details, and we will proceed with the request to the best of our abilities,” Raven assured me.

I tried to recall as much as I could about the original story’s mention of the genius doctor.

“His name is Robert. As a commoner, he has no last name.”

Raven began to write down the details in an elegant script as I spoke.

“He was a brilliant doctor who made a name for himself in the Empire, but he disappeared four years ago after losing his wife.”

I searched my memory for more specific details, recalling the conversations between Jenna and Robert in the original story.

“After that, he became a wandering physician. He mainly operated in the southern regions. The most recent information places him near the Tesaposa mountain range.”

It was at an orphanage near the base of those mountains that Jenna first met him. While I wasn’t certain of the exact timing, it was the most recent trace of him that I could recall.

In the original story, when Jenna requested Raven to find the doctor, she offered one crucial clue.

“And lastly… he often volunteers in areas afflicted by epidemics.”

Epidemics, by nature, do not stay in one place. Robert traveled to regions struck by disease, using his medical knowledge to help those in need.

The time he visited the orphanage coincided with an epidemic outbreak near the Tesaposa mountains.

Raven nodded, tucking away the paper with Robert’s information.

“This is more than sufficient information.”

“I was worried it might not be enough, but that’s a relief,” I said, feeling a bit reassured.

“Queensbury is not like your typical information guild. We will deliver results that will satisfy you,” he said with a strong sense of pride in his organization, his words filled with confidence that left no room for doubt.

Seeing that our discussion was coming to an end, Raven turned to Ludwig.

“Then… while I carry out Lady Drenihan’s request, should I put the other task you assigned on hold?”

“Isn’t it possible to manage both simultaneously?” Ludwig asked.

“As you know, we operate with a small, elite team. All our resources will be dedicated to ensuring Lady Sierra receives good news,” Raven explained.

Ludwig nodded, acknowledging the necessity.

“Am I causing a delay in Ludwig’s affairs?” I asked tentatively.

Raven smiled and shook his head.

“This isn’t about delaying anything. The task the Grand Duke assigned to me is related to you, Lady Drenihan.”

I widened my eyes in surprise.

“Related to me?”

“That’s enough, Raven,” Ludwig interjected.

“Ha, my apologies for not being able to say more. But Lady Sierra, you will find out in due time.”

“…?”

I tilted my head in confusion, glancing between the two men.

* * *

Upon ascending to the position of Grand Duke, Ludwig immediately abolished the Council of Elders.

The Council, once touted as wise advisors to the Grand Duke, had its ugly reality exposed, and no one dared to oppose its dissolution—except for Alfonso and his son, Vincent.

Unlike the other members of the Council, the two had not been imprisoned. They had skillfully avoided being named in the ledgers of embezzlement and tax evasion, using clever tricks like accepting bribes in the form of expensive goods rather than money, and employing pseudonyms to cover their tracks.

But Ludwig hadn’t pursued them for those crimes.

Alfonso was the one who had poisoned his mother using a deadly toxin designed for magical beasts. Crimes like embezzlement and tax evasion would lead to punishment from the Imperial family, but for matters beyond those, Ludwig could exact justice within his own family. And that was precisely what he intended to do.

The prayer room of the first Grand Duke, once the headquarters of the Council, had now become the meeting room for Ludwig and his loyal retainers.

At this moment, they were discussing the punishment for Alfonso and Vincent.

“We will deal with them as the first Grand Duke did with the traitors who rebelled against our house,” Ludwig declared.

The retainers stirred at his words.

The first Grand Duke’s punishments were notorious for their brutality—so much so that they had been abolished long ago. People said that dying would have been preferable to enduring them.

Alfonso, who was bound tightly with ropes, strained his neck, veins bulging as he screamed in fury.

“You’ve finally lost your mind! How dare a wretched descendant of that cursed dragon talk about sentencing one of the elders of this family!”

Beside him, Vincent shivered, recalling the horrific punishments of the first Grand Duke that he had only heard whispers about.

The Grand Duke’s family possessed a particular poison, a powder developed by a mad ancient sorcerer, which would drive anyone who inhaled even a small amount completely insane. In the morning, it caused the victim’s entire body to itch maddeningly, in the afternoon, it made them feel like they were burning alive, and by evening, the pain was so excruciating that they would scream uncontrollably.

The first Grand Duke would inflict this powder on criminals, subjecting them to a torment worse than death, before exiling them to the remote, frozen wasteland of Grender.

When Ludwig mentioned this poison, still sealed somewhere in the family’s relic vault, Vincent turned deathly pale.

“W-wait! I’ll confess my crimes to the Imperial family!” Vincent cried out in desperation.

Being imprisoned in the dungeons beneath the Imperial Palace was far preferable.

Ludwig smiled and shook his head at Vincent’s frantic plea.

“It’s too late for that. And I won’t allow it. It would make all my efforts to prevent you from falling into the Imperial family’s hands pointless.”

“What? Then… was it you? Did you arrange for Father and me to be released from the investigation?”

They had assumed it was due to the Emperor’s arrangement, but now it seemed Ludwig had orchestrated it.

There was no way out now. Vincent felt the world go black before his eyes.

“No! This can’t be! Everyone here is being deceived by that vile, lowborn creature!”

Vincent truly wished he could silence his father. Now was not the time for defiance; they should be begging for their lives.

“L-Ludwig, I understand how you feel. The Council’s corruption was inexcusable, and punishment is certainly deserved. But the punishment you’re suggesting is too extreme.”

“Too extreme?”

Ludwig’s expression twisted into a mocking smile.

“It’s rich to hear that from someone who used forbidden toxins to murder the Grand Duchess and drove the rightful heir into peril.”

Vincent’s face contorted in shock.

“H-how did you…?”

“The entire Council confessed. Right here, they revealed everything you discussed with them.”

“……”

“There’s nothing more to be said. Take them away.”

“No! Let go of me! You can’t do this!”

“How dare you lay hands on me! Fetch Pessel at once!”

Ludwig watched impassively as the two men were dragged away, then added, pointing at Vincent.

“Cut off his hands.”

“What? You madman! Why would you do this to me?”

“Do you not remember who you dared to touch with those filthy hands?”

“……?!”

Could it be that his crazed eyes were due to Sierra Drenihan?

“…Ha, hahaha! You think Sierra Drenihan won’t see your madness? She’ll flee the moment she witnesses your obsession and insanity!”

“……”

“I’ve heard you’re running Queensbury just for her! You’re out of your mind!”

Vincent continued to rant as he was dragged away, but the icy gaze Ludwig shot him made him choke on his words. It was a gaze sharp enough to cut.

The man who hid his fierce nature behind a polite demeanor in front of Sierra was now every bit the beast he truly was.

Ludwig Karsian really was a madman.

As Alfonso and Vincent were dragged out, a tense silence settled over the prayer room. No one dared to speak before Ludwig.

Especially after Vincent’s final words, which seemed to have touched a nerve.

“……”

The cold silence was finally broken by Ludwig’s voice.

“Let us begin the meeting.”