novelraw Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Episode 102
At Benio's sharp reaction, the Duke frowned with a face that showed he simply couldn't understand.
"Just how long am I supposed to argue with you over this absurd matter?"
"……Right. If you can't help because it's a mercenary's child, then I suppose I can no longer hide it."
"What kind of sudden, nonsensical talk is this……?"
Duke Bellasia was about to send Benio away, who kept acting strangely.
That is, if Benio hadn't said something shocking.
"The child being protected by the mercenary band is my sister."
"……What?"
"A misunderstanding occurred, leading to my sister joining the party. She is still young, so I arranged for her to be protected by the mercenary band until this schedule concludes."
The Duke blinked, his face looking dumbfounded.
Benio wanted to resolve the situation as quietly as possible.
If Flora was with the Executors, there was no need to cause such a commotion, but if she was missing, that changed everything.
'I wanted to keep Flora's existence hidden until the end, but it seems I have no choice.'
Looking at the flustered Duke Bellasia, he instinctively had a feeling.
'The Duke doesn't know Flora's true identity. No, he seems to be hearing for the first time that there was a child with the mercenary band.'
The face full of surprise felt genuine. That expression couldn't be faked.
'Then it must be someone else's doing...... It's unlikely a demon would quietly kidnap a child while pretending to be human.'
The thought that the mastermind behind this unsettling case might be within the subjugation force itself made his head spin.
The missing children so far had not returned, and no traces could be found.
The fear that he might lose his precious little sister, whom he had just found, kept growing.
'I need to stay calm, especially now. I'm Flora's protector; I must never forget that. If I lose my composure, I'll lose my direction in finding Flora.'
Suppressing the anger surging inside him, Benio continued in the most composed voice he could muster.
"I apologize for deliberately hiding it. It was a decision I had to make, as I did not wish for the subjugation force to become tumultuous."
"Wait, wait a moment. So you're saying your sister, the Lu-Lucifer ducal daughter, is here?"
"And she has disappeared. Taken by the hand of an unidentified knight."
They had even impersonated the Executors' name.
Considering that the security and vigilance in the north had increased after the attempt to kidnap Flora, it was clear they cherished the returned ducal daughter immensely.
Anyone looking at Benio, who seemed ready to explode at any moment, would know that.
Duke Bellasia grasped that the situation was turning serious.
In the past, he would have scoffed no matter what Lucifer said.
But Lucifer's position had changed significantly now.
Although they still hadn't shed the title of 'Betrayer,' they had gained the title of the only ducal house to have killed the demon ruling the north, hadn't they?
The Executor Bureau's reputation had already suffered because of that issue, and now, amidst this, an Executor kidnapped the ducal daughter?
Lucifer would be at odds with them until they found their daughter, and related stories would inevitably leak out.
They were already gaining an image of incompetence; if they were saddled with the stigma of kidnapping a child on top of that, even if they controlled public opinion, the Executor Bureau's prestige might truly hit rock bottom.
'And people who sympathize with Lucifer for losing their daughter again would emerge.'
That couldn't be allowed.
If people started sympathizing with them, it would create a crack in the image they had built up so far. Sympathy was the easiest emotion to turn into favor.
"Why are you so certain it's a human's doing? Couldn't it be the demon's work?"
He blurted out this absurdity, even though he knew it was nonsense.
At the preposterous answer, Benio let out a derisive snort.
A demon, leaving the subjugation force gathered to kill it untouched, and only kidnapping one child?
While pretending to be a human it supposedly disdained?
"I believe even you, Duke, know that what you just said is far-fetched."
"Far-fetched! What is the reason our subjugation force, including you, has gathered? Is it not to eliminate the demon that kidnaps and kills children?"
It was a plausible answer, but Duke Bellasia couldn't meet Benio's blazing gaze head-on.
"……Very well. If that is the will of the Duke, the leader of the subjugation force, then I shall believe it too. However, I must conduct a search for my sister before the formal subjugation begins."
With an air that suggested he would overturn everything if this wasn't permitted, Duke Bellasia had no choice but to nod.
"How could we pretend not to know about the ducal daughter's disappearance? Moreover, if it's a case involving a demon, it's only right for the subjugation force to act as well."
At his insistence on framing it as the demon's work until the end, Benio simply nodded in response instead of retorting further.
Benio gave a short bow and left the tent. The moment he stepped out, Duke Bellasia's aide hurriedly entered.
"Are you alright, Duke? What on earth was Young Duke Lucifer thinking……"
"No long explanations. Assemble the entire subjugation force immediately."
"Huh? At this late hour?"
As the aide asked with a confused face, Duke Bellasia exploded in anger.
"He said the Lucifer ducal daughter was kidnapped by the demon! The ducal daughter must absolutely not die in this subjugation, so find her now!"
"Where did this ducal daughter even come from……"
Muttering a few more words about the unresolved mystery, the aide quickly closed his mouth at the Duke's irritated expression.
He then gave a light bow and swiftly exited as he had entered.
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Despite the late hour after sunset, thanks to Duke Bellasia's order, the key members of the subjugation force quickly gathered.
Because of this, those who were absent stood out easily.
"Where is Count Tassen?"
At Duke Bellasia's question, the other nobles all shook their heads, saying they didn't know.
Count Tassen, who had complained of suffering the most damage, was not in his seat.
When they heard that even his aide had disappeared without a word, the gathered people began to stir.
"Could it be that Count Tassen was also kidnapped by the demon?"
"But I heard the demon has only kidnapped children so far."
"Maybe he wasn't kidnapped but killed……"
As unease spread among the gathered nobles, Duke Bellasia, watching the scene, clicked his tongue inwardly.
'They're all so cowardly.'
Their frightened state was utterly pathetic, not realizing how dire the situation was becoming.
The news of the Lucifer ducal daughter's disappearance, whose existence they hadn't even known about, and the sudden absence of Count Tassen.
With unplanned events happening one after another, everyone seemed to want to lay low, but if they neglected the search for the ducal daughter and bad rumors spread later, it would be a disaster.
'People would jump out saying I'm consumed by jealousy, incompetent, questioning my qualifications. He probably wouldn't want such a commotion either.'
A few years ago, an order to capture the Lucifer ducal daughter alive had ended in failure, putting him out of favor, so he needed to be careful.
'If this weren't the western territory, I might have even attempted a covert kidnapping.'
Thinking that it might have helped redeem his past failure, a sense of regret followed.
"I know it's hard on everyone, but please bear with it a little longer. It's the ducal daughter's disappearance. She's only seven; imagine how scared she must be."
He gently admonished his cowering subordinates, but contrary to his kind words, his eyes were pressuring them to find and bring back the ducal daughter immediately.
Under that pressure, the voices of the subordinates who had been voicing complaints gradually diminished. Only then did the Duke show a satisfied smile and speak.
"The Executors will always be behind you, so have no fear. And while you're at it, look for the suddenly missing Count Tassen as well."
There was no one here who would refuse such an affectionate order.
On that late night after sunset, not only Lucifer and the mercenaries but also the members of the subjugation force were mobilized to search for Flora.
"Count! Count Tassen is here!"
Finding Count Tassen and his knight unconscious in a remote location was almost a foregone conclusion.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Count Tassen opened his heavily closed eyes in the deep dawn.
"Ugh, my head. What on earth happened……"
"That's what I want to ask. What on earth happened?"
At the cold voice coming from in front of him, he snapped his heavy eyes wide open.
Under the flickering lantern light, Duke Bellasia and Young Duke Lucifer stood, their expressions coldly set, looking down at him.
"Du-Duke, why are you here...... No, even Young Duke Lucifer……"
"I don't have the habit of asking questions twice."
The voice was sharp enough to make him, still not fully grasping the situation, snap to attention.
At Duke Bellasia's words, Count Tassen quickly retraced his memories. He remembered the suspicious figure appearing before the sacrifice offered to the demon, seeing a red smoke, and then losing consciousness.
"Have you no intention of answering? Then I'll ask. Explain why your subordinate, that knight, took a child from the mercenary band."
As he remained silent, only rolling his eyes, Benio stepped forward and questioned him.
'A child? Are these two gathered here together because of a child affiliated with the mercenary band?'
Young Duke Lucifer might intervene because it's a child from his Mercenary Guild, but why is Duke Bellasia involved?
Though he couldn't understand the reason, the Count denied it outright.
"I know nothing of this matter. A child? Could a child even be staying with a mercenary band?"
As the Count feigned ignorance, the corner of Benio's mouth twisted.
"You know nothing? Even though there are witnesses who saw your knight forcibly take the child?"
'Tch, this is why I told him to bring her quietly.'
Why did Lucifer have to get involved personally?
'Anyway, he's meddlesome even with mercenaries.'
Since he had anticipated being questioned about it and prepared a response in advance, he opened his mouth without panic.
"That's a matter within the mercenary band; why ask me? And even if a mercenary said that, would you believe it just like that? How naive."
He clicked his tongue briefly and naturally turned his gaze toward Duke Bellasia.
To gain his agreement to get through this situation and to find out what happened to the sacrifice.
'What's this? Why does he look so murderous……'
Before his thought could even finish, something flew past his face with great force.
Soon after, a clang was heard, and looking down, he saw the wine glass the Duke had been using had fallen by his bedside and shattered into pieces.