TGDLBF 32

Chapter 32

Something is Coming

The Empress’s brother, Marquis Baluja received an unexpected visit.

It had been six years since the mage Irene went missing.

Since then, he hadn’t had much contact with Viscount Nopert. So this visit, while puzzling, was also welcome.

If, by chance, Irene had been found, satisfying the High Priest could further solidify the prince’s position.

“Come in, Viscount.”

“It’s been a while.”

Viscount Nopert bowed deeply, his tone tinged with subtle resentment.

That was understandable, considering their relationship had cooled after he was told not to return unless he found Irene.

But Nopert was the type who considered bowing to power a matter of course.

“So, you asked to meet me—what’s this about? Did you perhaps find Irene?”

“I heard His Majesty was invited to the Grand Duke’s estate recently.”

The marquis frowned at the Viscount dodging his question.

With hook-like sideburns and thick, blunt eyebrows, the marquis already had a strange look about him. Even a slight narrowing of his eyes made him appear vicious. Ans he now stared coldly at the Viscount.

“I didn’t go myself, but that’s what I heard.”

“I also heard he found a fiancée for the eldest son.”

Unbothered by the marquis’s disapproval, the Viscount continued speaking.

“Yes. She’s five years old and said to be the adopted daughter of Count Mares. It was odd to me that someone so young had already moved in just for an engagement.”

So the rumor was true. Viscount Nopert smiled meaningfully. He was convinced the child was Roella, Irene’s daughter. The meeting with the Duke of Arcades in the village where Irene had lived hadn’t been a coincidence.

When he arrived at her home in Plane Village, Irene was already dead.

A neighbor woman said she’d come to give Irene some soup and found her dead, but hadn’t seen a child.

They assumed the child had wandered off, as children do, and expected to find her quickly. But despite a thorough search, she was never found.

It was there that he had encountered the Duke. There was no way a five-year-old child could vanish without help.

Since Irene and the Duchess were friends, it was entirely plausible the Duke had come to take the child.

“Why do you ask about this?”

The Viscount finally spoke as he finished recalling that day.

“I don’t believe that child is truly the Count of Mares’s adopted daughter.”

“What do you mean?”

The Viscount began to recount what had happened in Plane Village.

Since Irene’s magic was valuable to the High Priest, the Marquis would be interested if the girl was Irene’s daughter.

As expected, the Marquis’s expression turned intrigued.

“Hah! No wonder something felt off—so that was the secret.”

“Felt off?”

“In a strange sort of way…”

The Marquis recalled what Garte had said. He claimed the child had a familiar scent. Could he have smelled the mother’s scent on her daughter?

If they had lived together, the scent might linger, but did the snakekin really have such a strong sense of smell?

Then again, Garte was unique in every way.

“We have to retrieve the child, don’t you think?”

The Viscount no longer hid his intentions. If the child at the Duke’s estate was truly Irene’s daughter, taking her wouldn’t be easy.

But bringing her back was the only way to reclaim his former status. The rewards he gained by essentially imprisoning his sister Irene in the temple had been significant.

He’d received vast sums of money and managed temple-owned lands, reaping all the profits.

But after her disappearance, those lands were reassigned to another noble, and he lost the right to attend the Council of Nobles.

If he could find the child—and if she manifested magical power—he could regain it all.

So he had to get the child, no matter what it took.

“Of course. But how did the Duke even know to go there?”

“I suspect Irene foresaw her death and asked him for help. If only we’d arrived a little earlier, we might not have lost the child. It’s truly unfortunate.”

“If the Duke took her intentionally, he won’t let her go easily…”

“True. But Irene must have sensed the child’s special nature, which is why she hid her. If you could help just a little, I’ll handle the rest.”

The rumors that Duke Arcades lived like a corpse after the Duchess’s death were somewhat exaggerated.

On the battlefield in the North, where he fought monsters and the barbaric Gents tribe, he’d earned the name ‘Yaksha,’ a demon with neither blood nor tears.

In the Western frontlines, after Kaizen arrived, the tide of battle turned completely.

The soldiers of the Crossen Empire, who had underestimated the situation, fled the moment the Duke swung his sword.

Even before inheriting the Grand Duke title, his achievements in the West earned him the ducal title.

So even if he was quiet in the capital now, his legend had not faded.

The Viscount recalled the Duke’s fearsome presence that day and swallowed dryly. He may indeed drink like a corpse, but he still had the instincts of a beast.

That’s why he couldn’t face the Duke alone—he needed the Marquis and the High Priest.

“What do you need me to do?”

“The Duke won’t hand her over, and persuading Count Mares is unlikely. So how about sending in a spy to abduct the child? If we hide her in the temple, how would the Duke ever find out?”

“A spy, huh…”

It might actually be easier than expected. Garte was already interested in the child and was finding a way to approach her. He could handle it.

“Alright. I’ll take care of the spy, don’t worry about that. By the way, who was the child’s father?”

“According to neighbors, Irene came to the village alone. She told them the father was dead.”

“Dead? Then it was likely the Holy Knight who fled with her.”

The knights who had pursued them said the Holy Knight who took Irene was wounded. His body was never found, but he must have died.

It all made sense now.

Irene and the Holy Knight had fallen in love, had a child, and fled the temple together.

Since the High Priest wouldn’t have let her go, they must have secretly run off.

Foolish woman.

If she’d just behaved, she could’ve lived as a revered Saint.

The Marquis smirked at Irene’s foolishness.

What would Garte think if he found out the girl was Irene’s daughter?

Fate worked in strange ways.

Shivering slightly, the Marquis recalled the events of that day.

***

Kneeling with knees pulled up, I gazed through the window where light shone through.

It was an unusually bright moonlit night. Though it was dark, the moonlight let us see each other, giving a small sense of comfort.

“Let’s just wait here. We can’t risk getting separated before your father arrives.”

“Can we really trust the eagle?”

“…I don’t know.”

The eagle only listened to the Duke, so even Jake couldn’t be sure. But this was our best option.

If the eagle heard Jake and flew off, it really was just the two of us now.

I was used to being alone, but I wasn’t sure how Jake would hold up.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Scared? Nah. This doesn’t scare me at all.”

‘Good. But why are you snuggling up next to me now?’

We were sitting a bit apart earlier, but now his shoulder was touching mine.

I figured it was just a thing seven-year-olds did. Still, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Why are you still holding that dagger?”

I was still gripping the gang boss’s dagger tightly in my hand.

“Just in case. But… are you sure the Duke’s coming himself? What if he only sends his knights?”

“I’m not sure. But if the eagle moved, that probably means my father is coming himself.”

‘In person?’

He was always drunk… but I guess having his son kidnapped would be enough to snap him out of it.

Now that I was starting to relax, I felt hunger creeping in.

‘When I get back to the Duke’s estate, the first thing I’m eating is meat’, I thought, drifting off to sleep—until Jake shook me awake.

“Mmm?”

“Wake up. Something’s coming.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t think it’s human.”