Chapter 101
“Are you saying that Lady Roina has disappeared? The Great Archmage and my sister stayed behind to search for her. And you have returned here.”
A boy with neatly combed short blond hair spoke in a voice as cold as frost.
The vice commander of the knight order, standing rigidly before him, merely lowered his head.
“I will accept any punishment.”
“That won’t be necessary. I know that once my sister is set on something, no one can stop her. No doubt she gave you absurd orders. If I were to punish you now, it would be nothing more than taking out my frustration, wouldn’t it?”
At those words, the vice commander swallowed his frustration. It would have been better if Maili had raged and shouted instead.
Josef, the only young duke of the Amasto family, was not one to lose his temper easily. He was remarkably cold toward those outside his inner circle and was a man who prioritized reason over emotion.
Considering that the Amasto lineage was known for its particularly hot-blooded temperament, this was quite an anomaly.
However, the vice commander and the household of the marquis’ family all knew the truth. They knew how terrifying Josef could be when enraged and how, as the heir of Amasto, he possessed a heart just as fiery as the rest of his lineage. He simply ruled over it with ice-cold control.
Silent, frigid fury was far more relentless, enduring, and immense than a volcanic outburst of rage.
“For now, focus on securing the domain’s defenses. Given the recent unrest, the territory’s people have some level of preparedness. Assign some of the knights to remain behind and provide them with basic training so they can patrol the relatively safe inner fortress alongside the soldiers. Half of the elite members will stay at the lord’s castle in case of emergency, while the other half will be deployed to patrol the outer walls with experienced soldiers. The knight commander instructed us to wait, so we will wait for one day.”
Josef absentmindedly pushed up his slipping glasses and gazed out beyond the castle. Since the lord’s castle was built on high ground, the entire Amasto domain was visible at a glance from the lord’s office, where Josef, as the heir, was receiving the vice commander’s report.
He merely observed the territory in the dim light before dawn with a perfectly expressionless face. His golden eyelashes shimmered transparently under the pale glow of the waning moon.
“But if a day passes and the knight commander does not return, then as acting lord, I will issue my orders. She is not only the knight commander but also a member of our family. And Lady Roina was our guest. Amasto does not betray its oath. We will find our missing sister and guest, and if anything has happened to them—”
Clench. Standing with his back to the knight commander, he tightly balled his fist, the pain sharp against his palm. Hidden fury burned coldly within his eyes.
“Even if the enemy is a demon, I will pursue it to the end, until death itself becomes a welcome relief.”
At the edge of the dark horizon, light began to emerge. A fragment of the dazzling sun peeked over the distant expanse.
The glow soon cast its light upon Josef’s face, which had been shrouded in the shadows of the inner fortress. Morning was breaking.
“Rest for now. Since the enemy moves at night, it would be wise to assign shifts so that each may take turns resting, preserving their strength for when it is most needed. I will leave all personnel arrangements to you.”
Though his words appeared considerate, they were spoken with a cold rationality that prioritized efficiency above all else. The vice commander merely bowed in the formal salute of a knight, expressing his obedience to his young master’s command.
Josef accepted this as only natural, casting an icy glance at the vice commander before him.
***
“Quies, I can see your wings.”
Twitch. The fairy, buried within the peonies, trembled violently before pressing down on its wings with a determined grunt. The wings quickly disappeared beneath the large petals.
Hoo… Roina let out a deep sigh.
“Did you at least try to grant that person’s wish?”
“Qui… Quies isn’t hereee.”
Go ask somewhere else… The voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s whine, and then a small hand peeked out, waving dismissively. No, did it really think that would work?
In the end, Roina conjured a gust of wind with magic, forcing Quies out. Swept up by the current, the fairy shrieked, “Waah! W-Wait! I was wronggg!” It clung desperately to the petals, but they soon tore away without resistance.
“Sniff… But… if Ruda disappears, I’ll get lonely.”
“A contract must be upheld.”
“I followed the contract perfectly! I stopped time for the person Ruda mentioned so they could rest in peace, I made sure they wouldn’t die while she searched for the medicine to heal them! And in return, Ruda offered her time. Her time belongs to me now!”
Quies whimpered as it spoke. If that was truly the full extent of the contract, then it was true that it had not broken any terms.
“Then why can’t you explain it to me? If you have nothing to hide, you should be able to speak openly.”
“Waaah! You just want to make Ruda fulfill the contract! I know everything!”
As expected, it was just wordplay. What kind of contractor would ever make an agreement with the intent of ensuring it was never fulfilled?
“Ruda was human, but now she doesn’t even resemble one. She’s forgotten her purpose and can’t do anything anymore. This has something to do with you, doesn’t it?”
“Master is an idiot! You don’t understand anything!”
“That won’t work on me. Fix it. Now.”
“No way!!!”
With a sharp scream, Quies shot into the sky and fled in an instant. Judging by how thoroughly its traces vanished, it must have escaped beyond this space.
‘This place is truly peculiar.’
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