With useless regret, Roman fidgeted with the dagger at his side. Clear wrinkles were etched between his brows.
Whether it was because he’d pushed himself traveling for several days or because he’d stayed up all night for the first time in a while, his condition was terrible. Seeing the cracked walls that seemed ready to collapse at any moment and the cobwebs hanging here and there only made his mood worse.
“Mmph… mmph…”
At the sound of a voice, Roman raised his head. About ten steps away, he could see a man writhing while tied to a chair. Though he’d shown no signs of waking even when doused with water and slapped on the cheeks, it seemed he’d finally come to his senses.
His eyes met with the man who was looking around. Keeping his gaze fixed on the man who seemed to gasp in surprise, Roman rose from the chair where he’d been sitting all night.
As the distance gradually narrowed, he could see clear fear rising on the man’s broad face. There were signs he wanted to say something, but it was futile. Only muffled moans flowed out because of the gag tied tightly. Roman, who had walked slowly, stopped leaving about two steps’ distance.
“Mmph, mmph…!”
“Don’t struggle. You’ll fall over.”
The man before his eyes was the dedicated butler serving Elodin. Last night, Roman had called him out with a fake letter and brought him here after knocking him unconscious without effort. The reason was, of course, because of Elodin.
With Lord Huzo, the territorial lord, currently absent, there was no way the sentries would let a strange visitor into the castle. It was impossible to break through the tight security and trespass, and sitting stubbornly outside the castle was pointless. That meticulous bastard wouldn’t let someone he’d gone to the trouble of kidnapping out.
But since there was such a thing as a slim chance, Roman decided to first find out for certain whether Ruth was really here. So the method he chose was to kidnap Elodin’s closest aide, the butler. He couldn’t possibly not know that Elodin had returned, and he would naturally know about Ruth’s presence as well. After consulting with Kan, a guild member who had come down with him, Roman decided to kidnap the butler and easily succeeded in the plan by setting a small trap.
He’d only lightly struck a vital point that wouldn’t endanger his life. So he’d thought he would wake up in about two hours, but it was unexpected that he didn’t move at all until dawn broke. Anyway, since he’d finally come to his senses, it was time to extract the desired information. Roman drew the dagger hanging from his left hip.
“Ugh, mmph…!”
When the well-honed blade was revealed before his eyes, the man’s pupils shook wildly as if an earthquake had struck. Thinking of his own butler in the capital made him feel slightly sorry, but he had no choice in order to obtain the desired information. Eventually, the tip of the blade laid on its side lifted the man’s thick chin.
“If you scream, I’ll slit it right away. If you understand, nod your head… You can’t nod, can you.”
When he sent a glance to Kan standing nearby, he immediately understood and removed the gag from the man’s mouth. Thanks to that, the man whose face was now fully revealed trembled his lips and let out a terrified voice.
“Wh-who are you… Eek!”
When he lifted the sword a bit higher, a shrill moan burst out. Roman’s expression wasn’t good by any stretch. He had no personal grudge against the man before him, but he was still in a bad mood because of the fact that he’d come all this way because of Elodin, plus the headache that still remained.
“You don’t need to know that, just answer what I ask. When did Lord Elodin return?”
“H-he hasn’t come back yet.”
At the same time as hearing the answer, the corners of Roman’s mouth rose slightly. Seeing this, Kan unconsciously clicked his tongue inwardly and felt sympathy for the man tied to the chair. He knew well that the master smiled like that when he was in a bad mood.
“He hasn’t come back yet?”
“Yes.”
“That’s quite strange. I heard he left Brisel about five days ago. Then he should have arrived by now and then some.”
It wasn’t entirely baseless speculation since that was around when Elodin, who had been staying at the lodging pretending to be a probationary guild member, had disappeared. But the butler, with a face gone pale, repeated the same words.
“He really hasn’t come yet. It’s true.”
“Hmm…”
Ssssh— The blade that had moved away returned to its place. His relief was brief, as the words that flowed from the kidnapper’s mouth like a murmur made the butler feel like he might faint.
“Then it can’t be helped. Don’t blame me even if the castle goes up in flames.”
“F-f-fire, you say…!”
“He won’t keep hiding while the castle burns down.”
It was a statement full of bluff. Though it was true that if the butler continued to deny it, he planned to set a fire as a last resort, he wasn’t planning to burn it all down but to lightly touch the warehouse or annex side.
That’s when it happened. At a resonating sound humming from somewhere, the three people’s gazes turned to the same place. Realizing where the sound was coming from, Roman returned to the chair where he’d been sitting all night.
Behind it, a faint light leaked from inside a leather bag placed in a corner. When he reached in and rummaged around, a small crystal orb emitting light was pulled out. It was the same crystal orb he had given to Isabel before coming here.
He’d given it to her just in case, but since the crystal orb that had never responded before was moving ominously, it was concerning. When he covered the surface with both hands, the vibration gradually decreased, and after confirming it had completely stopped, Roman opened his mouth.
“What’s wrong?”
[It’s me.]
For a moment, Roman froze. The voice that flowed from the crystal orb wasn’t Isabel’s. But he could tell immediately who the owner of the voice was, and his words continued.
[I found Ruth.]
“…!”
[He’d taken him to Count Kanel’s territory. Without the thought stone, I would have had quite a bit of trouble.]
A small piece of stone came to mind in Roman’s head. The thought stone was, like the crystal orb for communication, a sacred object imbued with divine power, and though it was called a sacred object, it was something that reeked of illegality. He’d have to hear the detailed story to know, but in any case, it was fortunate that he’d found Ruth.
“Is Lord Elodin safe?”
[…Elodin? Not Ruth?]
“It seems Lord Elodin is the one whose well-being should be worried about.”
As if finally understanding the meaning, laughter tinged the voice that had momentarily turned sharp.
[Regrettably, he’s fine. I missed the timing to act because Ruth captivated him. I’m sorry for making you go through unnecessary trouble.]
Roman didn’t particularly deny it. He glanced at the butler’s face, which still held anxiety, before belatedly answering.
“Still, you contacted me at the right time. If you’d been thirty minutes later, Morif Castle would have gone up in flames.”
[How violent. Withdraw now and come back. We’ll talk about the details when you return.]
“Understood.”
As soon as he let go, the light of the crystal orb quickly faded. Roman, who had returned to his place, looked down at the butler and sank into thought.
…It would have been nice if the contact had come just one day, no, even just a few hours earlier. Setting a fire would have been a bit more troublesome to deal with afterwards, but honestly speaking, the current situation was just as bothersome.
The butler’s face was still full of fear. Looking at him moving his lips but unable to utter any words, he slowly opened his mouth.
“If I kill you.”
“…!”
“It would certainly be convenient.”
“P-p-please spare me!”
“I’d like to spare you too. But if I release you now, you’ll immediately issue a lockdown order and try to catch me.”
“No! With neither His Grace the Grand Duke nor Lord Elodin present, how could I do such a thing!”
It wasn’t wrong. Even if the butler brought him in on the grounds of being a ‘person who tried to threaten the castle,’ if he met with the returning Grand Duke Huzo later and explained the circumstances, he might receive a slight scolding but wouldn’t be punished.
But since he didn’t want to waste any more time, he looked at Kan, who was still standing in the same place, and commanded in an indifferent voice.
“Gag him again.”
***
“Surely he won’t die?”
“He won’t die from starving for a day.”
Roman, who replied briefly, pushed a piece of cut meat into his mouth. His complexion was still bad. Though he was eating because he was hungry, the eastern region’s cooking method of boiling meat instead of grilling raw meat over fire just didn’t suit his taste at all.
‘Tie him up.’
Because of one word carelessly uttered this morning, the pitiful butler was gagged again. Leaving him behind, Roman left the ruins and immediately went to the guild in the plaza.
Recording the location where the butler was confined on paper, he asked them to deliver it to the sentries at the lord’s castle tomorrow morning. It was to buy time until he left Morif, and calculating by days, it was only about two days, so starving during that time wouldn’t endanger his life.
After that, Roman went to a nearby restaurant with Kan. As mentioned repeatedly, the food in this region didn’t suit his palate at all. Thinking about the long journey he would soon embark on, he was forcing it down almost as if stuffing it in when Kan’s voice came from across the table.
“Are you alright?”
