* * *
A large chandelier sparkled on the ceiling, emitting a golden light, and soft light filtered in through the windows draped with red velvet curtains.
The nobles, dressed in elegant attire, gathered and exchanged pleasantries.
The names frequently mentioned by them were three: Carlyle Firentium, Julius Renan, and Helid Yulta.
Most of the people present owed their lives to them during the monster attack.
This was why their conversations were filled with praise for the three men.
“Didn’t Duke Firentium look so wonderful back then?”
“Only the Duke? Marquis Renan’s swordsmanship was also incredibly outstanding.”
“Exactly! To deal with the monsters so quickly, I feel like I’ve fallen for them all over again!”
Young ladies and gentlemen laughed brightly, exchanging compliments.
The conversation began with praise and ended with admiration.
Carlyle and Julius were the main focus, but Helid’s name was also included, as if they were a set.
“But why is Viscount Yulta mixed in with them?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Honestly, Viscount Yulta only got dragged in because he’s from the same Epentel Empire. That day, he just stood there even when he saw a monster flying right at me, didn’t he?”
“Is that true, Young Master?”
“Absolutely true! If it hadn’t been for Marquis Renan, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
Of course, the content regarding Helid was quite the opposite.
Amidst the unrestrained praise for the two, a young gentleman glanced discreetly toward someone.
Unlike the other jovial nobles, his face was clouded with melancholy, like a shadow.
His eyes were filled with darkness, and his lips were tightly shut in heavy silence.
It was an expression where no emotion could be found.
“But why does His Excellency the Duke of Fridit look so gloomy? He never fails to smile when Count Nefendis is by his side. Oh, speaking of which, I don’t see the Count today?”
“…My Lady. Haven’t you heard? There’s a rumor circulating that he went missing after a carriage accident occurred recently…”
Melody, hearing the nobles’ murmuring, sighed and approached Ashard.
Since the day of the accident, he had been engrossed in searching for Eren, neither eating nor sleeping, so it was obvious even from afar that his condition was terrible.
Even as the distance between them closed, Melody couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Ashard’s emotionless face was exactly like the one he wore when he returned from the battlefield.
It wasn’t just Melody.
Elyrion’s lips, which would usually greet him playfully, were also tightly sealed.
This was because the instinct that a wrong word might lead to his neck being cut off was combined with deep worry about Eren.
“Uncle. Is there still no progress?”
“…”
Melody asked, unable to bear the silence, but no answer came.
They had been in the same carriage and suffered the accident on the same day, but Eren was nowhere to be seen, making her frantic with frustration.
Melody couldn’t even begin to guess Ashard’s feelings, which must be even more intense, so all she could do was quietly look at him.
“Ah, where the hell did the Count go!”
“…Brother.”
“I’m not the only one frustrated, am I? The accident happened while he was with Uncle, but whether he sank into the ground or flew up to the sky, why is only the Count completely gone without a trace!”
Melody looked at Elyrion with eyes that begged him to shut up.
Elyrion, who completely ignored his sister’s request, opened his mouth again.
“And of all things, he has no mana in his body, so a tracking spell is impossible, too.”
Elyrion, who had been talking non-stop in a tone of lamentation, quickly clamped his mouth shut when a chilling silence followed.
Just as Ashard’s expression darkened further, someone approached and stopped in front of Melody.
Elyrion made a face the moment his eyes met Helid’s.
“What does this bastard want now?”
Helid only nodded briefly in acknowledgment of Elyrion’s scoff.
Unlike Elyrion, who was furious at the explicit dismissal, Melody silently watched him, as if she were accustomed to such behavior.
“Do you have something to say to me, Viscount Yulta?”
“I’ve been thinking. Since this is useless now. I should be given something else, Princess.”
It was a request not worth answering.
The price of the trade had already been exchanged between them.
It meant that it was useless for one party to complain that it was unfair now that everything was over.
Melody ignored Helid and walked past him.
At her reaction, Helid, as if he expected it, blocked Melody’s path.
Blocking the path of a high-ranking noble was more than just a breach of etiquette—it was rude.
If the person was royalty, it could even be punishable as a crime.
However, Helid, who stood confidently in front of Melody, looked as if he didn’t care about such things.
Instead, he radiated an air of indifference, as if daring her to kill him if she wanted to.
“It’s nothing grand.”
“…”
“Just give me a week of vacation. They told me that because I’m the Princess’s direct Black Knight Commander, I have to get approval from you, Princess.”
Melody narrowed her eyebrows, finding the ordinary request suspicious, as it was something Helid would not normally say.
Since he was a man who would have simply played hooky if he wanted to, such normal behavior made it seem like he had an ulterior motive.
“Is that really all?”
“You’re a Princess; have you only ever been deceived? Yes, that’s all I need, truly.”
Helid shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalantly.
Even so, her suspicious gaze did not abate.
But he couldn’t just give up like this.
Truthfully, if he wanted to rest, he could skip out whenever he pleased.
He had always done so until now.
But this time, he needed the Princess’s approval.
It would be troublesome if he was tracked down while enjoying his time with Eren after taking off on his own.
‘I can’t let my enjoyable time with Eren be interrupted, especially not now.’
Helid slowly licked his lips.
Just thinking about it excited him, and the fact that the day he could actually taste Eren was imminent made him happy.
Eren’s image—his face full of fear, lying beneath him, putting up useless resistance—was almost right in front of him.
“Who knows. Maybe I’ll run into Eren by chance where I go on vacation, and I could bring him back.”
“…That sounds like you know exactly where the Count is, Viscount.”
“That can’t be. I just purely want to enjoy my vacation, Princess.”
She was annoyingly quick-witted, as always.
He hadn’t expected her to allow it easily, but Helid gnashed his teeth, seemingly displeased by Melody’s persistent questioning.
“Will one week be enough?”
A smile bloomed on Helid’s lips at the question, which served as permission.
Longer would be better, but that was sufficient.
‘It’s better to be satisfied with this much, or I’ll attract more suspicion and things will get troublesome.’
After receiving approval for his vacation, Helid immediately headed for the terrace.
Confirming that no one was around, he pulled out the communication orb he had been carrying in his pocket.
Reading the message delivered from Carlyle’s communication orb once more, Helid let out a low laugh.
“I didn’t know you could make such a huge mistake, Carlyle Firentium.”
He turned the communication orb over in his hands, murmuring softly.
He couldn’t believe that Carlyle had kidnapped Eren and was holding him.
Looking at the contents, it was clear that Julius was helping the bastard.
It was the same during the gargoyle attack.
The sight of them sticking together while pretending not to was quite funny.
“By the way, that thing back then, he definitely deflected the attack.”
He had seen Carlyle and Julius use their swords in battle until he was sick of it.
He also knew how much their sword strikes differed from normal when they showed their true strength.
However, against the gargoyles that day, neither of them had used their full power.
More precisely, the gargoyles hadn’t attacked them intensely enough to require them to use their full power.
As a rare monster, the gargoyle was a difficult opponent.
No matter how excellent their skills were, there was no way they could have easily defeated several gargoyles without using their full strength.
More importantly, he saw it clearly.
The gargoyles would charge fiercely at the other nobles, but they would hesitate when approaching Carlyle and Julius.
“He can’t be controlling monsters or anything, so what the hell is it?”
Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the closest to the truth.
Helid, who had accurately pinpointed the situation, fell silent for a moment.
“Shit, I used my head too much.”
Since he had merely blurted out the thought, Helid didn’t actually suspect that Carlyle truly possessed such an ability.
Shoving the communication orb back into his pocket, he used the excuse that walking across the banquet hall was too bothersome and simply vaulted over the railing.
Unaware that someone had been watching him the entire time.
Melody, who confirmed his disappearance, withdrew the concealment spell and walked out onto the terrace.
She had followed him to figure out his intentions, but she hadn’t gained much.
He had only been mumbling under his breath in a voice she couldn’t hear.
Only one thing stood out.
“…I think he said, Carlyle Firentium.”
* * *
