87
A vast castle, overwhelming to the point of showing that it belonged to one of the families ruling the empire. The buildings, with their restrained splendor, proved that they were a family of high status.
It was incomparable in size to the townhouse in the capital they had visited before. Even after passing through the entrance, they had to ride the carriage for quite some time to reach the main castle.
The carriage that had been moving for a long time finally came to a slow stop. As Owen, unable to hide his tired expression, was about to open the door and get out first, an unfamiliar voice was heard.
“It’s been a while, little brother.”
The owner of the voice was a man with an exceptionally good physique. Arpel could quickly guess his identity.
Riteran Fides. He was the eldest son of the Marquis Fides family and the one who effectively ruled the territory in place of the Marquis, who was currently staying in the capital working as the Chancellor. This was information Owen had shared during their ride in the newly acquired carriage.
“Haha, it’s the first time my little brother has brought guests. I’m much obliged. Please understand if this fellow acts fussy.”
With a bit of exaggeration, a hand as big as a pot lid patted Owen. Every time the hand touched his shoulder, his thin body swayed precariously.
Suddenly, the man who had been laughing jovially stiffened his face. His sparkling eyes began to emit a sharp and keen feeling.
“But… why is the carriage like this? Those guys in the capital aren’t disrespecting you, are they?”
The serious atmosphere didn’t last long. It was because the one who had led this atmosphere had completely missed the mark.
“Haah…”
Owen rubbed his face with an explicit sigh. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, he hung his head low.
After a brief explanation and light introductions, they stepped into the main castle. From the spacious entrance befitting its grand exterior, there was an extraordinary feeling. Riteran, walking ahead, added lightly,
“Hmm. Normally, I would have assigned my aide to guide you, but he’s out at the moment. Since I have time, I thought I’d guide you myself, if that’s alright?”
“…We appreciate your offer, but the reason we’ve come to the Marquis Fides’ estate with Owen today is because we have something we’d like to discuss with you, young master.”
“A discussion, you say?”
Blinking his eyes a couple of times as if puzzled by Rohan’s response, Riteran turned to look at Owen. Only after he nodded did Riteran seem to sense that this ‘discussion’ was not a trivial matter, and his face, which had been wearing a hearty smile all along, stiffened strangely.
“Then, please follow me.”
Dismissing all the servants who were coming to offer polite greetings, he led the group with confident steps.
Only after turning through long corridors several times did they reach a reception room in a secluded place where people were unlikely to frequent. It was a perfect place for important or confidential conversations.
Given the nature of the matter, it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. Arpel, confirming that there were no people around, withdrew the magic he had lightly spread while following him.
“I’m sorry I can’t offer you tea, given the suddenness of this conversation.”
“No, we’re grateful for your consideration alone.”
Rohan smiled lightly and immediately got to the point.
“We received a revelation from the Demon God at the festival. He said that a ‘filthy energy’ has pooled somewhere in the Fides territory, and we should resolve it.”
“F-filthy energy, you say…”
“There’s a high probability it’s specters.”
Riteran’s face, which had maintained a smile even when flustered, turned pale in the blink of an eye.
Owen, who had been keenly observing his brother’s face, silently felt relieved. That reaction, he thought, was genuinely one of someone who didn’t know. Arpel, who had been quietly watching Owen, narrowed his eyes.
“We’ve resolved many specter-related incidents so far. But never once has the Demon God directly mentioned a ‘filthy energy’. So this matter is certainly not something that can be easily overlooked.”
Riteran’s pale face and the action of biting his lips revealed his complex state of mind. Soon, he slowly nodded with his eyes tightly closed.
“I’ll cooperate in any way I can.”
“Thank you. Do you have any places in mind?”
“…To be honest, I’m not sure. Although the territory’s residents may not be extremely affluent, I’ve been doing my best to oversee the territory so they can live without lack. But recently, there haven’t been any villages experiencing unusual events or difficulties.”
A moment of silence fell. Rohan also seemed lost in thought. They had come to the Marquis Fides’ estate thinking they would find answers, so it was inevitable to feel a bit lost for a moment.
They set aside the possibility that the man before them was lying. Rather, he seemed to be someone who worried about the well-being of the territory’s residents, so it would be better than wasting time increasing suspicions.
Whatever the case, they needed to stay here until they obtained any useful clues. And… just as a possibility crossed his mind,
“Is there anyone within who is suspected of being a traitor?”
As if reading his thoughts, Arpel spoke the very words Rohan was about to say. Riteran, sitting across from them, became flustered by this statement and tried to explain something, but Rohan’s mind was so full of the thought that he had almost said the same thing that he couldn’t hear a word.
Forgetting that they had been having a serious conversation just moments ago, something deep inside his heart melted softly. He barely managed to hold onto his expression with the last bit of reason, preventing it from crumbling.
“Rohan?”
Arpel’s hand lightly patted Rohan’s knee. That touch awakened Rohan’s mind.
His staring eyes were tinged with worry. He had only asked a simple question, but Rohan’s emotions had started to fluctuate wildly, so he couldn’t help but be concerned. Even though he knew it wasn’t necessarily negative emotions.
“I’m fine.”
Rohan gratefully accepted that concern. He wanted to tell him various things, but for now, he had to postpone it. As a bonus, he gave an apologetic smile to Riteran, who was blinking blankly in the middle of speaking.
“I’m sorry. I had something to think about for a moment.”
Quickly shaking his head to deny it, he summarized what he had said earlier and added,
His argument was that all the people currently working in the main castle had been doing their best in their respective positions for a very long time, and since all their families lived in the Fides territory, they had neither sufficient time nor justification to side with the specters.
It seemed plausible. Both Rohan and Arpel agreed with that fact at least.
But unless there was a traitor inside, it didn’t make sense.
Given the vast land area, Riteran couldn’t manage information about every village in the Fides territory. He would be checking information filtered by his subordinates, and the smaller the village or the more remote it was, the lower its priority, so it would rarely be rechecked.
“…However, this is just my wishful thinking, I suppose.”
After presenting various pieces of evidence, Riteran uttered a single sentence after a brief silence. As someone capable enough to be in charge of managing such a vast territory on behalf of the Marquis, he must have realized that the probability of there being a ‘traitor’ was extremely high.
“In any case, it’s unrealistic to reach a conclusion today. Let’s end the conversation here, and you two can stay here for the time being. I’ll show you to your room.”
“Brother, but I should be the one to guide…”
“Brother, please go to your office. You’ll need to go through all the documents you’ve received so far, won’t you? If you slack off, you’ll end up staying up all night for a week.”
It was Owen who stepped forward to wrap up the situation. Despite the neat conclusion, Riteran, who was the only one to resist, froze like a stone at the mention of a week of sleepless nights.
***
The room Owen guided them to was extremely clean and spacious. When they asked for one room, he did look at them with eyes that seemed to say ‘Can I really put these two in the same room?’, but that was all.
Since their offer to help with document classification was also refused, the only remaining schedule for now would be the upcoming dinner.
“If that landslide was artificially caused to delay our arrival here, it means the opponent knew our destination was Fides territory even before we departed, right?”
“That’s right.”
It took about four days to reach the area where the landslide occurred after departing from the capital. They mostly traveled while camping, but when there was a village nearby, they sometimes stayed in the village, so they excluded about half a day.
That amount of time would have been enough to prepare to cause a landslide and block the road. In reality, that’s what happened, and the carriage they were riding in barely avoided being swept away by the landslide and returned to the village they had just visited.
The only thing the planner of this incident failed to predict was that Rohan and Arpel took turns carrying Owen on their backs and ran directly to the next village.
From this, they could deduce two things:
“First, the information must have leaked from the townhouse in the capital.”
First, there was someone who leaked information from the Marquis Fides’ townhouse. Although they were particularly cautious, Owen briefly visited the townhouse in the capital before departure. If the information had leaked, the probability that it was from there was extremely high.
“And the fact that they needed to tie us up means they needed time to prepare for something… If I were involved in this incident, I’d be in a huge hurry.”
Second, they needed to buy time. They sought a means to firmly tie them down, even going so far as to cause a major incident like a landslide. In that sense, their unexpected action probably became a critical flaw in the plan.
If they were planning to carry out something within this Marquis’s estate, they must be running around with their feet on fire by now.
“You’re smart.”
When Arpel patted Rohan’s head, a bright smile spread across his face. Just as his fingertips, naturally falling along his hair, were about to land on his cheek,
Suddenly, they saw someone running outside the window. It was a man hurriedly entering the castle, holding something in both hands and with his clothes fluttering wildly.
“Looks like he has some urgent business.”
Rohan, who had turned his head to see what had caught Arpel’s attention, furrowed his brow. His voice somehow sounded meaningful.
After all, the expression “running with feet on fire” seemed to perfectly describe someone like that.
