#97
Crash!
“Eek!”
Duke Marsien’s estate, some room.
The space that had once been the most splendid was now ruined as if a part of the demon realm had been transplanted there.
It wasn’t that the ducal family was treating the room’s owner poorly—they loved her the most. Nor were the cleaners being negligent.
They were rather working their hardest, afraid of incurring the room owner’s wrath.
Yes, their hardest.
“Take her away.”
“Ahhh! Miss! Miss, please forgive me!”
A maid who was dragged away for merely groaning screamed.
That scream lasted only a few seconds before disappearing. The knights were also doing their best at their duties while extremely tense.
“Be quiet. If you make a mistake, today might be the end.”
“Nngh……”
When a knight whispered, the maid being dragged away only shed tears silently.
She wouldn’t die today since it had become quiet, but that was only temporary. She would die soon.
Lady Marsien had become strange.
Her unforgiving nature over trivial matters seemed unchanged. The level of punishment she inflicted wasn’t much different from before either. But all the servants except those in specific positions like the butler were trembling.
Because the humans who were punished would disappear a few days later as if they had made a promise.
Rumors were also quietly circulating that the number of corpses leaving the ducal estate had increased.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and clean it.”
“Yes, yes!”
Those of noble status hadn’t entered this room for some time. Only those of commoner origin or people whose deaths wouldn’t cause much commotion entered this room and stood guard.
The remaining two maids cleaned up the broken things with pale, ashen faces.
“That damned thing dares!”
Was it a few days ago?
After saying those words, the Miss had screamed and cursed like mad before falling asleep from exhaustion.
From then until now, her mood hadn’t improved at all, so it seemed she hadn’t gotten what she wanted.
It was already scary enough that the Miss had become strange during her confinement period, but with her mood like this on top of that, it was maddening.
‘I don’t know where the missing people went, but I know that the corpses coming out of the ducal estate were all in brutal condition.’
One maid carefully slipped out of the room.
Today’s hysteria seemed to be over, so at least she could live through today.
People with dark circles under their eyes exchanged glances. The knights too, and the maids cleaning the room.
On the way back to the servants’ quarters, the maid thought with a tired face.
‘I need to leave quickly. I won’t be able to get a letter of recommendation since I can’t complete the term, but it doesn’t matter even if it causes problems with making a living.’
It would become impossible to support her family, but she had to protect her life first, didn’t she?
‘At first, I thought that entering that great ducal estate meant our family would only see sunny days from now on.’
The other ducal family members were good masters.
But what use was that? All the positions serving them were already taken by people from good families.
Moreover, it was too strange how the ducal family members, who frowned when hearing about the ‘Miss’s’ recent situation, would have their faces relax into smiles and only offer encouragement when they went near the Miss.
‘Just like…… they were under a spell.’
No, that appearance would be more appropriately called a curse.
But even if the curses cast by half-demons were amazing, was such a form possible? Something that disarmed people—made them strange—only when they approached a specific person?
‘That should rather be seen as the Miss herself being a curse.’
Each day was as painful as living as prey for demons.
That day, the maid submitted her resignation.
The butler sighed deeply, then after consideration, wrote her a letter of recommendation to a humble place in the provinces.
If too many people submitted resignations, even this wouldn’t be possible.
In fact, after a certain incident occurred later, it became impossible to even submit resignations, but the maid didn’t know that far.
The maid tearfully thanked him, then hurriedly left with her family for that place.
A few days later.
Half-demon Elder Hascal knocked on the ducal estate’s door.
It was an unusually formal visit.
* * *
Theodore asked while fixing his gaze on the red orb in the center of his palm.
“What about Ersen?”
“I put him to sleep.”
Skyle answered in a strange tone.
‘So he used medicine.’
He had been quite surprised when Skyle said he would keep him in his office continuously.
“Don’t tell me you.”
“I’m very interested indeed. But it’s not in that direction, so don’t worry.”
The fact that Eris had returned.
There could be no problem that came before this. Ersen’s succession rights issue? The fact that half-demons had begun to directly interfere with their curses? Above all, the matter concerning Eris took priority.
His friend had used that to convince them.
“He strangely opens up to me.”
So he would take charge of him personally.
It was a reasonable statement and a natural thing. Wasn’t there more than one or two humans entranced by Skyle Rodias’s beauty? It was also a situation where everyone had now noticed that Ersen often looked at him with incomprehensible gazes.
But why was it?
Not only Theodore and Marcus, but even Sercil made uncomfortable expressions at Skyle’s words.
Because they felt it wasn’t just that. Skyle’s expression then, when he lowered his eyes, was definitely showing satisfaction.
However, since a more important problem had erupted, they decided not to worry about it further.
Whatever the reason, Skyle would extract everything that needed to be extracted from Ersen. And if a situation came where Ersen had served his purpose and needed to be killed, he would be able to kill him with a smile.
That was enough for Theodore.
‘No, it’s not quite enough……’
Getting angry meant, in other words, that you had expectations for the other person to the extent of getting angry. It also meant you were concerned about them.
He admitted it. That Theodore too had begun to recognize Ersen as human and started racking his brains whenever there was a chance to remove Ersen from among the targets that needed to be dealt with.
The fact that he felt this way because it wasn’t working out was also evidence that he had begun to recognize Ersen as his younger brother.
‘It turned out just as that bastard worried.’
But even so, well.
Even if he was angry at Ersen for emotional reasons, would that have much meaning?
Theodore himself could kill Ersen anytime if necessary.
He might even kill him gladly.
‘And perhaps, you know that too, Ersen.’
Was it because he knew that he didn’t rely on them?
Right, it was wrong to discuss trust in such a relationship.
Theodore slowly blinked, then shook off his thoughts and said.
“So, where is Eris now?”
“She must be near the replica.”
“Near the young lady?”
Skyle stood leaning against the window frame in a slightly more relaxed posture than usual and answered.
“Probably.”
“So this is how Marsien ends.”
Theodore spoke definitively, which was rare for him.
Just like what Eris had done in the imperial palace long ago, she was likely doing the same in that family’s estate.
Whether memory manipulation or emotion control, she was doing it.
Limitlessly and arbitrarily at that.
“It seems she changed her appearance. If they had seen that face, reports would have come in.”
“Right. It’s become troublesome.”
Without needing to say it, it was a given fact that there was a high probability Eris was currently wearing the young lady’s face.
They just had to keep even worse situations in mind.
Like her having become the duke.
But looking at how things were going, the most likely candidate was indeed the young lady.
“I was just tracking where the corpses coming from there were heading, and something strange came up.”
Skyle handed over the document in his hand with a leisurely expression, not seeming very serious.
Theodore’s expression hardened after checking it.
“The border?”
“The reports from where the half-demons gathered and the leadership’s quarters were cut off, so I checked directly, and coincidentally the corpses disappeared there.”
“Coincidentally where the Lindea family is.”
“The count is safe for now.”
“We should see it as only the count being safe.”
A margrave protects the border.
Half-demons sometimes went to the army there in the form of volunteers, but during peaceful times like these, the dispatched half-demons were often treated as border disasters.
Count Lindea had been refusing half-demon dispatches, but recently received support from a group of half-demons.
That timing coincided with when he sent his son to the capital.
At first glance, it looked like reconciliation with the half-demons, but the documents contained more detailed data. Containing completely different information.
“At least there are no disappearances yet.”
“It seems certain that the Lindea family was threatened. From the looks of it, they only provided a location, but since the count left a rescue signal, we should assume something more is planned. For instance, conducting secret rituals like the place His Highness Ersen visited.”
“They’ll soon run short of corpses.”
Theodore muttered while grinding his teeth.
Then when he saw the last page, he suddenly raised his head and glared at his friend.
“Hey.”
“Oh, being called that way makes me feel like I’ve returned to childhood, how refreshing.”
“Damn it.”
“The matter was serious, so I had no choice. It’s His Majesty’s command.”
Skyle said while slightly drooping his eyebrows as if sulking.
“We needed a stage to reveal that the curse was lifted anyway.”
“I said I needed time to adapt.”
“When it’s already over.”
Damn it, Theodore tore off the last page—no, his father’s handwritten order—a letter that could be summarized as ‘go crush the half-demons’ spirits, my son’—and stood up from his seat.
“I’ll be back.”
Skyle waved his hand a couple of times and said.
“While you’re at it, please get an extension on our Highness’s succession rights proof ceremony deadline. The interrogation seems like it’ll take a while.”
“Interrogation, huh. Got it.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
