FJ 39

Chapter: 39

But Juliette had not been mistaken.

Bang.

The underground level of Milos’s “Library.”

“How expensive do you think that thing was?! And you let it get away?!”

The man shouting furiously into a communication stone was someone Juliette clearly recognized.

Five days ago, at the Capital’s Grand Temple, he had tried to flirt with Juliette and ended up being thoroughly humiliated—Count Kasper. He was also the fiancé of Princess Priscilla.

Of course, Count Kasper had come to the East for an entirely different purpose.

[My, my deepest apologies, Count!]

And the man frantically apologizing on the other end of the communication stone was—coincidentally—also someone Juliette knew.

It was Viscount Hilben, the same man who had kidnapped Roy and caused chaos on the train.

Working under Count Kasper, Hilben handled the transportation of “goods” destined for illegal fighting pits.

Their main source of income came from underground auctions and illegal gladiator arenas operating beneath the Eastern territories.

“Tell me, Hilben. How exactly do you plan to make up for this loss?”

[I—I will find some way somehow……]

“Even selling dozens of ordinary human slaves wouldn’t come close to covering it! Do you understand that?!”

In the lawless underground markets of the East, illegal arenas were raking in enormous profits.

Among them, arenas that showcased rare magical beasts or demi-humans were the most popular.

Rumors had spread among southern nobles that magical beasts were extremely profitable, and for several years now, Count Kasper had been enjoying great success in that business.

Of course, getting caught would be troublesome—but Kasper had someone to rely on. His father was Marquis Guinness, a grand noble of the South.

For people like them, nearly acquiring a priceless “product” like the Wolf of the Forest was nothing short of divine luck.

“Make sure that brat never comes back.”

The supposedly noble Forest Clan had come of their own accord and sold out one of their own—his own brother.

In other words, Roy had been lured into a trap by his own kin.

Without that betrayal, it would have been impossible.

Count Kasper and his subordinate Hilben had put immense effort into the plan.

They dug traps exactly as instructed and prepared several times the usual amount of expensive paralytic drugs.

After all that effort, they had finally captured the enormous wolf.

And yet—

That was precisely the part Count Kasper could not accept.

“How the hell did you let it escape?!”

They had drugged it heavily, and to be safe, chained it tightly and locked it up.

How, exactly, had that damned wolf managed to escape?

[…Th-this is all because of that insolent woman.]

Viscount Hilben spoke bitterly through the communication stone.

[Everything was going perfectly—until that woman who controls butterflies interfered!]

“What? A woman?”

[On the train…… there was a woman using some kind of sinister sorcery.]

Count Kasper froze.

Sinister sorcery?

And a butterfly-type monster?

For some reason, the combination sounded oddly familiar.

“What do you mean? Explain properly.”

[Well……]

Hilben haltingly described the mysterious woman he had seen on the train.

[She’s the one who freed the wolf—without a doubt!]

The subordinates who had rushed into the dining car to stop the wolf’s escape were all trembling with fear, babbling nonsense.

They claimed that a mysterious woman who controlled butterflies had effortlessly subdued them and freed the wolf.

And it wasn’t just one or two of them saying it.

Yet Count Kasper remained silent for a long while.

[Count?]

“……”

As he listened, Count Kasper recalled the humiliation he had suffered in the capital five days earlier.

Could it be… Juliette Monad?

He clearly remembered that woman casting some strange illusion on him.

And when she had shown him that horrifying vision, there had been a butterfly fluttering nearby as well.

…No. Impossible!

The simple-minded Count quickly dismissed the thought.

That woman was the kept lover of that cursed Duke Carlisle. She would either be in the capital or at the Duke’s northern estate by now.

A noblewoman riding a commoner’s train? Coming all the way to this dangerous Eastern region?

Ridiculous.

Tsk.

Kasper decided Hilben was merely making excuses, using his subordinates’ nonsense to avoid responsibility.

Even if such a woman really existed, she certainly wouldn’t be the Duke’s mistress.

“Stop spewing such absurd nonsense!”

–Count! It’s true! Please believe me!

“Enough! This time, I’ll personally report your blunder to my father—prepare yourself. This is the last chance I’m giving you!”

Petty as he was, Count Kasper deeply resented Hilben for losing such a valuable wolf.

“For the time being, Baron Caiman will take over your duties!”

[Ba-Baron Caiman? Him?!]

He had plenty of subordinates to replace Hilben.

“Yes! So stop whining through the communicator and reflect on your actions. I’m currently running an important errand on my father’s orders!”

With that, Count Kasper cut off the connection.

Thunk.

Clutching the communication stone that had been cut off unilaterally, Viscount Hilben trembled with rage.

“That ungrateful bastard!”

Hilben worked under Count Kasper, but loyalty was never part of the deal.

“After everything I’ve done for him! Just because he was born to good parents, that useless idiot thinks he can look down on me?!”

Hilben’s real goal had always been to catch the eye of Kasper’s father—Marquis Guinness.

Unlike Kasper, who made money through dirty dealings like illegal arenas, Marquis Guinness was a true grand noble.

He was also the leader of the Southern Alliance opposing the Northern Ducal House.

Hilben had endured Kasper’s petty temper all this time to impress the Marquis—but there was no way he could accept being discarded like this.

“We’re both just errand boys for our fathers…….”

Hilben knew that Kasper’s visit to the “Library” had been ordered by Marquis Guinness himself.

It was well known among subordinates that the Marquis had a hobby of collecting rare artifacts.

“What shall we do now, Viscount?”

“What do you think we do?!”

Hilben snapped at the subordinate who cautiously asked.

Strangely enough, the wolves had not killed Hilben’s group, instead handing them over to the Eastern court.

It was undeniably odd—those proud Forest folk had shown a gesture of respecting “human law.”

Unexpected behavior for wolves, but thanks to that, Hilben and his men survived.

The corrupt Eastern Grand Lord accepted a bribe and released Hilben without difficulty.

“We find that spirit-controlling bitch—or witch—and get our revenge.”

Hilben ground his teeth.

This whole mess was because she interfered. He couldn’t take revenge on those terrifying wolves, so he shifted the blame.

“T-that woman was a spirit contractor? And you still want to go after her?”

The subordinate paled, but Hilben merely sneered.

“What’s so scary about a mere spirit contractor? Just take her artifact and that’s the end of it.”

Artifacts weren’t rare in the East, where magical tools were abundant.

Hilben had seen artifact users before—people commonly called spirit contractors.

Summoning rain or fire was impressive, sure, but once you stripped them of their artifact, they were helpless.

That was precisely why most artifacts were designed to be worn on the body.

“I don’t know what kind of lunatic summons butterflies, but once we find her, we’ll just kill her!”

“But Viscount, there was something… unsettling about her.”

Ignoring the subordinate’s warning, Hilben snapped.

“Enough! That’s not what matters right now!”

All the achievements I built are about to fall into the hands of that damned Baron Caiman!

Hilben needed a way out—and just then, a golden opportunity presented itself.

“You know that old man from Akiten, right?”

“The Lord of Akiten?”

“Yes. That geezer invited me to the upcoming banquet.”

The very same Eastern Grand Lord who had released him in exchange for bribes.

Bribes really were worth using.

Hilben puffed out his chest smugly.

“He says he’ll introduce me to a distinguished guest from the North.”

And he hinted that this “guest” was of a status far higher than Count Kasper’s.

For Hilben, who was desperate to attach himself to a grand noble, this opportunity was crucial.

“If I seize this chance properly, I’ll never have to grovel under Count Kasper again!”

Duke Carlisle and his knights arrived in Akiten—the central city of the East—just two days after leaving the capital.

Thanks to using gates, they had far outpaced Juliette, who had traveled by train.

Until then, the Duke’s knights believed finding Juliette was only a matter of time.

They possessed a tracking holy relic.

However, on the third day after arriving in the East, their plan ran into trouble.

The tracking relic Duke Carlisle had seized from the Grand Temple—Argos’s Eye—did not resemble an eye at all.

Instead, it looked like a portable compass: a white, cube-shaped object, with one side hollowed into a concave hemisphere.

Lennox placed inside it a fingernail-sized earring Juliette had once worn, then let his blood drip onto it.

A shadowy bird with an extravagantly long tail—like a peacock’s—burst forth from within.

Chirp!

The eerie shadow bird would roam over the map, then flap into the air, guiding them toward the target—Juliette Monad.

But on the third morning, the bird suddenly began circling above their heads in confusion.

Chiiirp!

“That’s… strange, isn’t it?”

Jude, the youngest knight, raised an eyebrow.

Letting out a sharp cry, the shadow folded its wings and landed on the ground.

Then it fluttered around the Duke as if asking for something.

“……”

After watching for a moment, Lennox drew a dagger and cut his palm once more.

When the blood fell into the hollow of the relic, the shadow bird swelled in size and transformed into a hound-like shape.

But even as a beast, the result was the same.

Whine…

After sniffing around briefly, the four-legged shadow began circling in place again, clearly confused.

Jude tilted his head.

“Is it broken?”

“Holy relics do not break, Sir Jude.”

Hardin answered instead, his tone mildly condescending.

Lennox immediately understood what had happened.

“The connection’s been severed.”

“What?”

“Looks like Juliette pulled a trick.”

It had happened right after she obtained the Mirror Fragment.

Lennox casually tossed the now-useless relic into the air and caught it, then threw it toward Jude.

“Whoa.”

Jude caught it neatly, grinning proudly at his reflexes.

“Put it away.”

“Yes. It’s useless now anyway.”

Jude grumbled as he stuffed the relic into his clothes.

Milan glanced at the Duke.

“Did… the young lady do something?”

He muttered anxiously, but Lennox showed no sign of concern.

“She found a countermeasure faster than I expected.”

Lennox smiled. Ever since leaving the capital, his demeanor hadn’t changed once.

He showed no impatience, no anger.

Even with the tracking relic rendered useless, Lennox didn’t seem troubled at all.

“Ahem.”

At the sound of footsteps, they turned to see a servant dressed in Eastern attire.

“Your Grace, the Lord of Akiten requests your presence.”