ITYVA 16

Chapter 16

It wasn’t because of a nightmare that he suddenly came to Einra in the middle of the night.

Of course, it wasn’t a lie that he had dreamed one, but he had grown far too accustomed to nightmares to use them as an excuse to seek her out.

“From now on, I think I’ll start doing things my own way.”

He whispered while playing with his dark brown hair.

“But even so, you mustn’t hate me.”

With those words, the strands of brown hair he had been holding slipped down onto the blanket.

He rose to his feet and bid her farewell.

“Sweet dreams, Einra.”

In that dream, even if only for a single moment, think of me.

Murmuring silently to himself, Aques slipped out of the room without a sound.

He headed for the living room on the first floor.

There, sitting on a sofa shrouded in dim shadows, he laid his hand upon the pendant necklace, Limone, which had been glowing green ever since he first arrived here.

As soon as he injected a trace of aura, a familiar voice resounded in his mind.

「Your Grace, where are you? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been, with not a word from you since the celebration?」

Hearing the ever-calm, composed voice, Aques let out a faint laugh.

Unchanging, even though her master had gone silent for days on end.

Truly the kind of person who would plant an apple tree even if the world were to end tomorrow.

“I confirmed the order I gave earlier today to the Saxen county. You carried it out well. Thank you.”

「That order, too, you sent by imbuing it with aura. I’ve told you countless times—since aura is primarily destructive in nature, if you keep using it for ordinary tasks, you risk injuring yourself internally. Wait…」

Detecting something odd, Countess Chevilla—Violetti—suddenly broke off.

After a brief silence, her steady voice pierced into his mind again.

「That voice… Forgive me, but how old are you?」

“About ten.”

「…Good heavens.」

Silence again.

He could almost picture her rubbing her forehead with one hand.

Leisurely, Aques spoke.

“It’s me. The Grand Duke of Baharman.”

「…Kidnapping and cursing you at a palace banquet of all places—how audacious they must be.」

“They probably assume I’m dead. But since no body was found, they can’t be sure. For now, respond as you normally would, and politely decline any requests for an audience.”

「Understood. Still, you should tell me when you expect to return. It will help me prepare a smoother response.」

“Hm…”

Aques tilted his head slowly.

His crimson eyes lowered, then shifted lazily toward the stairs leading to the second floor.

“It won’t take long.”

「…So you can’t give me a definite answer.」

A sigh reached him.

Making his tireless aide sigh yet again, Aques shamelessly issued another order, without the slightest guilt.

“And investigate the commander of the Saxen knights.”

「The commander… of Saxen’s order?」

“Yes. Everything—from his official record to his personal connections. Leave nothing out.”

「…As you command.」

Violetti obeyed calmly, setting aside the suspicion that Aques only ever ordered sudden investigations when they had something to do with Einra.

「There is something else to report. The spies we planted in the Baharman duchy have all suddenly died.」

Aques’s gaze darkened at once.

After a pause, he spoke slowly.

“…I see. For now, watch how things develop, but do not send in any replacements.”

「Yes, Your Grace.」

The transmission ended with her crisp reply.

Tapping his fingers on the sofa armrest, a crooked smile tugged at Aques’s lips.

The spies who had been functioning just fine… all suddenly dead.

How amusing.

Blinding sunlight stabbed at my eyes.

“Mmm…”

Groaning and twisting under the covers, I finally sat up, disheveled and groggy.

Yawning, I turned my head—only to find the spot beside me empty.

As must have gotten up and left the room first.

“Wow… I really slept like the dead.”

Well, I had been exhausted yesterday.

And hadn’t I even woken up once in the middle of the night?

Stretching, I rose to my feet.

As I headed downstairs to prepare breakfast, a savory smell wafted toward me.

“…Food?”

Startled, I tilted my head in puzzlement and followed the scent to the kitchen.

In this house, only Harnen and I ever cooked, so for a moment I even thought, Did Harnen arrive already?

But in the kitchen, there was only a steaming pot of stew on the hearth. No one was there.

What on earth…?

Frowning, I stepped inside.

The hearth was filled with charcoal still faintly smoking, as if it had only just gone out.

On top of it, the pot was brimming with freshly simmering stew.

When I turned to check the table, two place settings were neatly arranged as if just prepared.

And yet… there’s no trace of anyone.

Something was wrong.

I left the kitchen at once, brows furrowed.

“As! Where are you?”

I shouted as loudly as I could, but no reply came from anywhere in the house.

A sudden, gnawing unease rose in my chest.

I clenched my fists and hurried upstairs.

“As! Are you in your room?”

I strode over and threw open his door.

Empty.

The color drained from my face.

I immediately summoned Silavi and Quiel.

“Please—find As for me.”

Silavi’s silver wings fluttered, and Quiel gave a determined nod before both spirits scattered inside and outside the house in flashes of light.

Biting my lip as I watched them scatter, I thought:

I’ve been too careless.

When I first found As, he had been gravely injured and unconscious.

For a noble child to be discovered in such a state—it had to mean he’d been caught up in something dangerous!

“I should have been more careful…”

He looked only about ten years old.

What if someone had kidnapped him, leaving him trembling in fear? What if he was gravely injured again, like before? The thought was enough to drive me mad with worry.

Bolting from his room, I rushed downstairs and out the door.

“As! As, if you can hear me, answer!”

I ran frantically across the yard, calling his name.

Of course, compared to the spirits, I was of little use in finding him. But I couldn’t just sit still and wait.

Just as I finished scouring the yard and was about to head out into the street, a Quiel darted toward me.

My heart dropped at the sight of its urgent fluttering.

“You found As?”

The Quiel nodded, then turned and flew ahead, as if to say Follow me.

I quickly summoned Hisha, mounted him, and chased after the spirit.

At first, Quiel soared over wide avenues, but before long it began to dive into narrower and narrower alleys.

Like weaving through tangled spiderwebs, it led me through an endless maze of cramped passages—until suddenly it stopped dead.

“Quiel?”

Calling its name, I looked around.

Somehow, without noticing, I had followed it deep into the forest, where no paths existed.

“…The forest?”

I clenched my fists tightly.

The woods near this village were thick with trees, so even at midday they were dim and rarely visited.

Even the woodcutters who sold firewood rarely ventured so deep inside.

The perfect place to erase someone without leaving a trace.

On edge, I slowly dismounted from Hisha’s back.

The forest was eerily silent—too silent.

No birdsong, no insects, not even the sound of wind.

As if everything had fled in fear of something.

Swallowing hard, I followed Quiel’s gaze.

It was fixed on a thicket of undergrowth and young trees, so dense I couldn’t see through.

He’s definitely in there somewhere.

But if Quiel had stopped, then some artificial force must be blocking the spirit’s approach.

Most likely, a charm that nullified spirits’ powers.

Steeling my nerves, I stepped forward into the brush.