The room, illuminated by a single candle on the wall, was dark.
Huate, with his arms and legs tied up, recalled his memories while stealing glances at the large man wearing a blindfold, sweating coldly.
“Found you. Count Huate.”
When the knights discovered him lying on the bear carcass, just before losing consciousness, he thought he was saved. But soon, he realized they were Northern knights, which made him anxious.
Why would the Northern knights be looking for him?
As they treated him unkindly, his uneasiness grew. Eventually, he found himself in a battle with the Robley knights, who demanded him to hand over the viscount title. Huate tried to escape amidst the chaos.
“Where are you going? Lord Duke has something to discuss with you.”
Not long after, when the Northern knights caught him again, his uneasiness turned into certainty. They wrapped a sack around him and bound him. The sack smelled like dirt, as if it had contained potatoes.
Huate, unable to see what was ahead, trembled in fear. Even if he cursed them as devils, they wouldn’t let him go.
The disappeared noble family, targeted by the relentless enemies of the Emperor, was not just one or two. The fact that the enemies were searching for him was akin to a death sentence.
“I am Huate, a loyal subject of the Emperor as a Count.”
Huate shouted loudly, asking why they were holding someone like him.
“The injuries to the Lockhart siblings were merely an accident. There was no other intention!”
Huate claimed his innocence.
“Whether there is any connection or not, that is for Lord Duke to decide.”
However, the deranged captors, whose faces were not visible, spoke coldly and threw him to the ground.
Even if he shouted if anyone was there, there was no response, leaving him abandoned. They didn’t inflict any torture, but it only made Huate more anxious and unsettled.
His uneasiness grew, thinking that they would soon do something very painful.
Still, Huate tried to hold onto his sanity. If he could buy a little more time, there was a chance to survive.
When Britia came to Huate’s mansion, he had no intention of letting her go back on her own. Once he succeeded in locking her up in the underground prison, he had confidence that she would accept whatever happened, whether it was marriage or anything else.
However, unexpectedly, Count Slanford, who didn’t care about anything, suddenly appeared and ruined his plan.
Although the plan had gone astray, Huate didn’t give up on Britia. He ordered his subordinates this morning to kidnap her.
He no longer had any lingering feelings for that terrifying woman, but if she entered his subordinates’ hands, he could negotiate with the deranged enemies.
With that thought in mind, Huate endured a whole day.
Finally, by the rough touch, Huate realized that he was in a narrow room surrounded by stone walls.
He wondered if they intended to leave him to die in this state.
The serious face of a deranged person came into view. Huate couldn’t help but think that his subordinates had done a good job.
“Huate, the Count.”
Evry’s voice woke Huate from his thoughts, with a hint of laughter.
“You ordered the kidnapping of Miss Britia, didn’t you? If I hadn’t secretly assigned some men, she would have been in big trouble.”
As Evry mentioned the names of his subordinates one by one, Huate’s hopes crumbled. Those idiots had messed up the job.
“Duke Turas, I just did as Lady Robley instructed. I never had any intention of laying a hand on that foolish woman!”
Huate tried to distance himself, claiming it had nothing to do with him. However, the deranged person grabbed Huate’s chin forcefully with one hand. He could no longer speak. Anger blazed in his one remaining eye, and Huate trembled in fear.
“You must have heard about what happened to Beaumex, who insulted Miss Britia. Be careful with your words.”
Everly advised Huate, who was trembling in terror.
Huate bit his lower lip tightly, afraid that even a whimper would escape. He felt like the deranged person would kill him if he made a sound.
In a place he couldn’t identify, disposing of a corpse would have been easy. Huate knew that well, as he had dealt with such matters before.
When the deranged person released his hand, Huate collapsed weakly on the floor like a paper doll.
“Count, it seems like the ownership of the Lockhart territory has already begun to change hands.”
Evry reported from behind Sig.
“Burning a single document won’t be enough to erase the fact that it happened.”
Yeah, no matter how hard she tries, that woman will end up penniless and destitute.
Huate silently laughed to himself, unable to make a sound.
“We tried to resolve it by having Lady Robley, the new owner, die before the transfer was complete, but even that…”
Evryy shook his head, indicating it wouldn’t work.
“Since it’s tied to the family and not an individual, if Lady Robley dies, ownership of the land will pass to her children.”
So, they thought they could solve it by killing Lady Robley.
Huate thought that if the crazy person had any sense, such things wouldn’t happen. After all, the incident with Beaumex and the fight with Lady Robley were regrettable. What audacity did he have to avoid fighting with Lady Robley, whom he feared?
Huate was convinced of this. However, the northern knights in the hunting ground showed a completely different attitude than he expected.
They demanded the Viscount be handed over and fought with Lady Robley as if they had been waiting for her. Lady Robley was completely defeated without being able to use her strength.
Huate couldn’t understand why the crazy person had been avoiding a fight with Lady Robley all this time. Wasn’t he afraid of Lady Robley and the Southern Union?
“Well, even if the whole South opposes us, they are no match for Alrendino.”
Everly said as if he could read Huate’s thoughts.
Why did he think so insignificantly all this time?
Could it be…
Did the crazy person pretend to be afraid of conflict to give Lady Robley a reason to eliminate them?
When Lady Robley didn’t accept her daughter as the Crown Princess, she turned to Duke Camellon recently. To the crazy person, who is the key figure of the Crown Princess faction, it must have been a thorn in his side.
Why did he even engage in a fight with that idiot Beaumex and use Lockhart as bait?
Huate felt a chill at the thought that everything was part of the crazy person’s plan.
“For now, we need to deal with Alrendino, who keeps coming at us, before anything else. It will be difficult to reclaim Lockhart before Lady Robley sells the crops from the land.”
Evry clicked his tongue, saying that Alrendino had come at the worst possible timing.
Huate also knew about Alrendino. They were nomads who invaded the northern territories that had been destroyed by the Empire two hundred years ago.
So, it meant that the crazy person couldn’t fight with the South right now. Huate thought if there was a way to use that information.
“Lady Robley denied her relationship with you. She said you had nothing to do with what happened.”
The crazy person, who had been remaining silent, finally spoke up.
Huate wasn’t surprised by his words. He had realized a long time ago that Lady Robley didn’t care about him and would blame him for any trouble that came her way.
If there was no chance of success in this fight against the South, it was better to provide useful information and align with the crazy person.
“She must have considered me useless and thrown me away,” the crazy person said, as if he could read Huate’s thoughts. Huate felt like he was being mocked.
“Only useful dogs can have owners,” he said.
But the crazy person’s manner of speaking was strange. He muttered to himself as if he was talking to himself.
“If Scandars is a Duke and I am a Duke, what’s the difference between me and a passing dog?”
Weren’t they discussing the South and Lady Robley? Why was Scandars from the West suddenly being mentioned? Did it involve the West too?
Huate was afraid of what the crazy person was thinking.
“If you want to be her dog, you must be recognized for your abilities,” the crazy person said, his eyes lighting up as if he had reached a conclusion.
“I’m going back to Altheim quickly.”
After giving the order, the crazy person left the room without looking back. Evry, who was left behind, glanced at Huate.
“So, what were you trying to say earlier? What did you do for Lady Robley?” Everly urged, saying there was no time to waste.
* * *
After the hunting competition ended, the three siblings spent some pleasant days together.
Britia, the second sibling, didn’t have any broken parts, but she suffered from severe muscle pain. And she was also experiencing the pain of disappointment even more intensely.
“We received the same treatment using sacred powers, so how come you’ve already removed your bandages? I still can’t even get up!”
Lying in bed and getting bored, Crave grumbled as he moved to the sofa.
“I’m just tougher than you, like a little fish.”
Leon, another sibling, chuckled and stretched lazily. Then he walked to the window and looked outside.
“There’s a dog outside.”
Upon hearing this, Britia, who was sitting on the sofa with a gloomy expression, perked up.
“A dog?”
Leon corrected himself, saying, “Oh, no. I mean a real dog, not a crazy one.”
Britia’s face showed a hint of disappointment as Leon spoke uncertainty.
It had been a week since Sig abruptly returned to Altheim without saying goodbye. During that time, he hadn’t even sent them a single letter.
Crave, deliberately speaking with a cheerful tone, said, “He’s probably too busy fighting to sit down and write a letter. But if we wait patiently, he’ll come back soon.”
However, Britia’s face didn’t brighten up despite Crave’s optimistic words.
“You know, that crazy guy isn’t known for writing letters. You can count on one hand the number of people who have received a reply from him,” Leon chimed in, trying to console her. Still, Britia’s face remained gloomy.
“Why don’t you give up on that crazy guy who disappeared without a word and find another man?” Leon suggested casually.
Britia’s expression instantly turned stern as she retorted, “Leon, do you think love can be easily forgotten? It’s not something you can give up on so easily!”
“Then how long are you going to wait for someone who’s not giving us any news? We’re busy trying to find a way to survive!” Crave criticized, frustrated by the situation.
Enraged by Crave’s reproachful remark, Leon snapped back, “We don’t even know if that crazy guy is fighting in the North or if he’s with another woman.”
At the mention of another woman, Britia bit her lip tightly. Crave hushed Leon, who was making insensitive comments, and tried to calm the situation.
“I’ll ask him…”
Britia mumbled in a somber voice.
“Huh? Tia, what did you say?”
Crave leaned in, speaking softly, to listen carefully.
“I said if he wanted loyalty, then he should bite that wicked tail that abandoned me!”
Britia clenched her fist and shouted. It seemed like she had practiced this moment, as she bit down on her fist tightly.
