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Chapter 08
As a result, Marquis Delas had been reassured, but the Lucienne Paello knew was not the kind of woman who would say something while thinking about things like that.
…Is this just a case of interpreting things however you want?
That was the only way he could interpret it. But before he could conclude that, something about Lucienne’s behavior over the past three months bothered him.
She does seem to have changed somehow.
He just couldn’t figure out how.
What on earth was Lucienne thinking?
“Grand Duke, we have a long way to go.”
When Marquis Delas urged him to hurry, Paello had no choice but to comply.
“Then we shall go ahead. I hope you recover quickly, Marquis.”
Paello also left the room.
Paello, Lucienne, and Jod.
Only three people remained on the journey now.
It was around sunset when Lucienne’s party arrived at the territory where they would spend the night. Just as they were slowing down in front of the lord’s manor, a woman who looked like a commoner suddenly ran in front of their horses.
“S-Sir! You’re an important person, aren’t you?”
Paello quickly stopped his horse. At the same time, Jod’s expression hardened fiercely.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The woman clasped her hands together as tears streamed down her face.
“P-Please save my son!”
Looking completely frantic, she pointed toward the forest in the distance.
“There’s a demon living in that forest, so it’s forbidden to enter! But I think my son went inside!”
Paello and Jod could hardly believe their ears.
This place was quite far from the border, so it should have been difficult for a demon to make its way here.
If there really was a demon here, it was likely one of the defeated soldiers who had failed to return to the Demon Kingdom after the previous war and had settled here instead.
At Paello’s signal, Jod asked,
“You say a demon lives there? Tell me more.”
The woman explained the situation.
She made a living doing sewing work and had one son who had only recently become an adult. But her son had not returned home for three days.
While searching for him, the woman had found his diary today and finally realized what had happened.
Her son had been secretly going in and out of the forbidden forest because he wanted to hunt a demon and make a name for himself.
Terrified, the woman immediately asked the lord for help. But the lord had flatly refused.
He said it made no sense to put other people in danger just to save someone who had entered the forest despite the ban.
“What is your son’s name, and what does he look like?”
At Paello’s question, the woman widened her eyes.
“R-Raian! His hair is very short and dark brown, and he has very thick eyebrows.”
Just then, the lord came rushing out with several servants.
“Oh my! You must be Grand Duke Paello! I am Viscount Udin. I apologize for making you encounter such a situation when you must be exhausted from your journey!”
The viscount bowed deeply to Paello, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and then ordered his servants,
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get that woman out of here!”
Two large servants roughly grabbed the woman’s arms. She struggled against them.
“L-Let me go! If you’re not going to save my son, how can you stop me from begging the lord for help?”
The servants immediately snapped at her.
“You wretched woman! How dare you raise your voice! You should have educated your son properly!”
“Anyone would think the Viscount sent him into the forest himself!”
Watching them bicker, Paello quietly spoke.
“I understand your reasons, but I would prefer it if you didn’t treat her so harshly.”
Paello then spoke to the woman as well.
“I will look into the situation and contact you, so return home and wait.”
The strength in the servants’ grips loosened, and the woman stopped struggling.
The viscount immediately changed his order.
“Er… Escort her home safely.”
The woman sobbed as she repeatedly bowed deeply to Paello.
Once the woman and the servants had left, the viscount caught his breath and bowed again.
“It is an honor to meet you. I received word in advance that the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess would be staying here tonight, so I have been waiting for your arrival.”
He raised his head and looked around.
“I understand Marquis Delas is accompanying you as well. Where is he?”
“Due to personal circumstances, he will arrive no earlier than tomorrow evening.”
At Jod’s answer, the viscount clasped his hands together and gestured toward the manor.
“I see. We have prepared a meal for you. Please leave your horses with the servants and come inside. And I hope you have a comfortable stay.”
Paello, Lucienne, and Jod handed their horses over to the servants and entered the manor with the viscount.
Soon, they were all seated around a well-prepared dinner table.
“We received reports of a demon appearing in the forest about four months ago.”
Since there was not much time, Paello had asked to hear every detail concerning the demon even while they ate.
Viscount Udin calmly explained the situation as he cut into the steak in front of him.
At first, they had tried to capture and kill the demon.
“But this fellow turned out to be no ordinary one. He’s incredibly strong. Every soldier we sent in came back with at least one broken bone.”
“…They came back?”
At Paello’s confirmation, Viscount Udin nodded.
“Yes. Strangely enough, it doesn’t kill them. Apparently, it doesn’t attack humans first, either. But the way it growls makes it seem as though it’s trying to say something, so one of the soldiers tried greeting it to see if he could communicate with it. That’s when it attacked.”
Viscount Udin shook his head.
“If it had come out of the forest and started raiding the surrounding areas, we would have contacted the neighboring territories and asked them to help drive it out. But this fellow…”
What he said next was surprising.
The demon never left the forest.
It had even marked off a certain area within the forest to discourage people from approaching, and it never wandered beyond its territory.
“If it doesn’t come out, then all we have to do is keep people from going in, right? Besides, hiring outside forces to drive it out costs a great deal of money.”
The viscount gave an awkward smile.
“I’m sure His Grace knows better than anyone. You know how large the bounty we have to pay demon hunters is.”
In other words, it was far more economical to prohibit the territory’s residents from entering the forest than to spend money hunting down the demon.
“But that woman’s son entered the forest earlier, didn’t he? Usually, he’d come back with at least one broken bone, but this one hasn’t returned.”
Paello finished his meal while listening to the story. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.
“You’ve explained it well. We’ll go and investigate. Please provide us with a map and some emergency medical supplies.”
Viscount Udin’s eyes widened.
“Pardon?”
Jod immediately stood up as well.
“Of course. It would be better to go and find him quickly.”
“G-Grand Duke! It’s dangerous!”
When the viscount panicked, Jod gave him a mocking look.
“Are you seriously worried that His Grace might be defeated by some demon?”
“That’s not what I mean, but that creature really isn’t ordinary. It’s monstrously strong! And His Grace is on his way to attend the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, isn’t he? If anything happens to His Grace, I won’t even be able to face Marquis Delas!”
The viscount desperately tried to stop them, but Paello paid no heed.
“We’ll return by morning at the latest.”
Paello unfolded the map, and he and Jod asked the viscount about the geography before deciding on their route. Lucienne also sneaked a glance at the map over their shoulders.
She had suddenly realized this might be an opportunity to get divorced.
What if I side with the demon at the decisive moment and interfere? There wouldn’t be any evidence that I was colluding with it, but it would certainly be enough to make him suspect me and keep his guard up around me.
Just imagining how annoyed Paello would be made Lucienne even more eager to do it.
Soon, Paello and Jod each gathered some emergency supplies, a small amount of rations, and a lantern before mounting their horses.
“Wife, please rest comfortably.”
“Yes. Take care.”
Lucienne waved goodbye to the two men, pretending she would obediently stay behind.
Once the lights carried by Paello and Jod had grown as tiny as specks in the distance, the viscount politely spoke.
“Your Grace, I will show you to your room so you can rest.”
“No, that’s fine.”
Lucienne stretched for a moment. As she stretched out her arms and legs, loosening herself up, the viscount looked at her in confusion.
“You said the forest is over there, right?”
“Pardon? Yes, it is.”
