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Chapter 29
The prima donna was certainly charming.
However, she must not allow herself to become so enchanted by the actor playing the opposite role that she forgot her own part.
She, too, had to protect her stage.
After a moment’s hesitation, Meryel spoke.
“…You are truly shameless.”
She slowly shook her head and continued.
“But no amount of insisting will conjure a seat that doesn’t exist. It seems something quite serious has just happened inside the castle, and I don’t have the courage to go in there myself. I suppose I have no choice but to accept the Countess of Ishpern’s proposal.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Duchess of Russel.”
“But—”
Meryel added, fixing Helena with her clear blue eyes,
“I won’t forget what happened today.”
After saying that, Meryel cast a sidelong glance at the other ladies.
This should satisfy them as well.
At that moment, Helena spoke again.
“Of course. Though we must send our honored guests back today, we can’t let your memories of Burwood end on such a disappointing note.”
Countess Bryce seized the opportunity and quickly interjected.
“Then what exactly do you intend to do?”
“Once preparations are complete, we will invite you back to Burwood.”
“Ho ho ho, in the near future, you say? Is that really possible?”
“Of course.”
Helena nodded confidently, then turned to Meryel and asked,
“May I inquire about Your Grace’s schedule?”
“…I was planning to stay in Rilo until the end of this month.”
“Then please visit the Ishpern estate again at the end of the month.”
Helena smiled.
“I will make your visit to Burwood an unforgettable memory.”
The moment the lavish carriage carrying the Duchess’s party passed through the castle’s main gate, the cheerful expressions on Wesley and Joe’s faces vanished.
Wesley muttered hollowly,
“We’re finished.”
Joe’s face had gone pale as well.
“Countess Bryce is a leading figure in southern high society. And the Duchess of Russel, no less…!”
Helena turned to them and said calmly,
“What do you mean, finished? We still have one more chance.”
Wesley looked distraught.
“My lady, it’s worse than you think. If we disappoint the Duchess of Russel twice, there will be no way out.”
“We still have ten days.”
“My lady, even if we turn the castle upside down day and night, it’s impossible to prepare it well enough for a banquet in ten days.”
Pointing toward the garden, Wesley went on,
“Especially the garden. Please consider it impossible. Those trees may look like old growth that could be cut down at any moment, but each one is a precious garden tree that requires delicate care. We can’t rush in and tamper with them just because we’re pressed for time.”
Helena waved her hand dismissively.
“Our new gardener will handle the garden just fine, so don’t worry about it. It’s already in good condition—just keep things as they are.”
Joe asked, his face deathly white,
“My lady… are you sure this will be all right?”
“I said it’ll be fine.”
At that moment, a loud crashing sound came from deeper inside the banquet hall.
Without a word, they all rushed inside.
The banquet hall, where a massive chandelier had collapsed, was in chaos for an entirely different reason.
One of the workers approached Helena with an apologetic expression.
“My lady, the pulley on the chandelier has broken.”
Things were going from bad to worse.
Hogg, the foreman in charge of the construction site, came running up and held out a letter.
“My lord, it was left at the inn.”
Benjamin’s face showed no particular expression.
Yet the urgency was unmistakable in the way he snatched the grimy envelope from Hogg’s hand.
He tore it open and perched himself on a pile of lumber at the edge of the site. From the tightly sealed envelope slipped out a yellowed sheet of parchment.
With unsteady eyes, he scanned the words written on it.
My dear Benji,
As always, my answer is the same. We cannot meet again.
I hope you will forget me and live your own life.
You must find your own happiness.
—Isabella
“….”
He clenched the parchment tightly.
Why?
There had always been only one thing he wished for—that his beloved Isabella might live a more comfortable, peaceful life.
He was a count now.
The vast territory of Burwood belonged to him.
If Isabella did not wish to draw the attention of others, he could give her an even quieter, more expansive land. That was what he had been striving for.
“….”
After sitting there motionless for a while, Benjamin stood.
He walked over to the campfire and threw what he was holding into the flames.
The crimson fire seized the parchment and reduced it to ash in an instant.
It was only the parchment that burned, yet he felt as though everything he had done had turned to ashes and scattered into the air.
Why? Isabella, you said you wanted to live beneath the bright sun. Do you still not think Burwood is safe? Or is it…
Within the blazing flames, like a hallucination, he heard his dead mother’s voice.
You’re cursed! In the end, you’ll ruin everything. Who could ever love someone like you?
…You don’t want to see me ever again?
A sudden stinging sensation on his back snapped Benjamin back to reality.
He looked around. Shouts from the workers could be heard not far away.
Benjamin immediately ran toward the noise.
Hogg, hammer in hand, was forcing the laborers back.
“A monster! Anyone without armor, fall back!”
Grotesque creatures were smashing through the outer fence of the construction site.
Their massive bodies resembled boulders. Atop them sat heads with sharp beaks, and beneath the rocky mass protruded thick, birdlike legs.
They were demolishing the fence with those legs.
One soldier thrust his spear forward and shouted,
“You damned beasts—what do you think you’re doing?!”
With a yell, the spear drove deep into the monster’s torso.
Benjamin roared,
“Fall back!”
Startled by the thunderous shout, the soldier dropped his spear and retreated.
In the next instant, the monster’s neck stretched out unnaturally, its sharp beak piercing the space where the soldier had just been standing.
Seeing the neck extend nearly two meters, the soldier screamed,
“What is that thing…?!”
Cunningly, the monster had concealed its snake-like neck within its body.
A streak of white light split the elongated neck—it was Benjamin’s greatsword.
He shouted,
“It’s a cockatrice! Watch out for its poisonous fangs!”
They were cockatrices—monsters that camouflaged themselves with mud and stone, hiding their most powerful weapon: their long necks.
Chaos broke out briefly.
But the soldiers at the construction site were used to such situations.
They formed pairs: while one engaged the monster with a long spear, the other brought a blade down on the extended neck.
The monsters were quickly subdued. As always, the one who slew the most was Benjamin.
“….”
When all the monsters lay dead, Benjamin turned around, steadying his roughened breath.
The devastation came into view.
Because of the monsters’ rampage, much of the painstakingly erected fence had been destroyed.
Worse still, during the chaos the campfire had been knocked over, and the flames had spread to the collapsed fence, setting the well-dried wood ablaze.
Hogg was shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Fire! Put out the fire!”
Dousing it with water would have been ideal, but there was no surplus water at a construction site where even drinking water was rationed.
Everyone tore off their outer garments and began beating down the flames along the fence. Benjamin ripped off his cloak and joined them.
Thankfully, the fire was extinguished quickly.
Hogg, his face blackened with soot, grinned and said,
“Thank goodness, my lord! At least half the fence is still standing.”
But Benjamin did not feel relieved as Hogg did.
With a drained expression, he surveyed the scene.
Because the monsters’ blood emitted a noxious poison, the soldiers were dragging the corpses away without even pausing to catch their breath.
Benjamin said,
“Extract the magic stones, then gather everything and burn it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What about the wounded?”
“One is seriously injured, and two have minor injuries.”
“Poisoned?”
“Yes. They’re being treated as best we can for now.”
“Cockatrice poison causes petrification. Give them all the antidote we have, then move them to the village and have a priest see them.”
“Understood.”
After issuing his orders, Benjamin collapsed onto a pile of stacked lumber.
Hogg approached him, holding out a canteen.
