Anelli listened to Baron Ruejak’s words with her arms crossed, not so much as touching the teacup that had been offered.
“In truth, there have been incidents of Dullahan appearances in the Montel territory before. Though it was over a decade ago.”
At the Baron’s words, Anelli raised an eyebrow. It was only natural, as this was likely the first she was hearing of it.
“I don’t know if you are aware. There is an area on the border of the territory called the Dead Lands. Officially, it was announced to be due to the corpses of Monsters, and that Monster was a Dullahan.”
Baron Ruejak knew the terror of the Dullahan. That was why he was all the more furious at Maxel’s conduct.
The target of Maxel’s subjugation force from the start had been the Lizardman habitat. Had he said they would encounter a Dullahan there, Baron Ruejak would never have allowed his son to join them.
Had he known from the beginning that Maxel was lost in the delusion of subjugating a Dullahan, he wouldn’t have accepted him at all.
“Dead Lands caused by a Dullahan?”
“The Dullahan that appeared this time emerged from that place. I thought perhaps the Dullahan we believed to have been vanquished had recovered its strength and reappeared, so I checked, but its behavioral patterns differ from the past.”
Anelli’s expression was utterly impassive and calm, making it difficult to discern what she was thinking.
Baron Ruejak did not bother trying to gauge her inner thoughts. In any case, she was the Resurrected One, so dealing with the Dullahan was her responsibility.
His task was to somehow bring Anelli before the Dullahan and resolve this matter as swiftly as possible.
“I don’t know if you are aware, but His Highness the Crown Prince is currently staying in the territory.”
Baron Ruejak was also aware of the relationship between Anelli and Maxel, and further, of the sordid entanglement involving Lilia.
He was somewhat worried that this topic might offend Anelli’s sensibilities.
Observing Anelli’s complexion, Baron Ruejak continued with a cautious demeanor.
“Recently, he led a subjugation force himself to eliminate Monsters and encountered a Dullahan. It was after that incident that the Dullahan suddenly began to appear.”
“So the Baron thinks the Dullahan’s appearance is due to the Crown Prince?”
“…….”
Frankly, there must be some connection. The Dullahan seemed to move irregularly, yet it was tracking the Crown Prince’s trail. There would be no reason for it unless there was some grudge.
In Baron Ruejak’s estimation, the only plausible grudge the Dullahan could hold against the Crown Prince was the subjugation force incident.
‘Tsk, and I can’t even confine him.’
Due to the Crown Prince’s status, Baron Ruejak couldn’t force anything. If he so much as hinted that the Dullahan seemed to be pursuing him, the Crown Prince would immediately demand troops and start throwing his weight around.
If that could lead to him vanquishing the Dullahan, it might be a different story.
But what if, in his zeal to capture the Dullahan, something were to happen to the Crown Prince? How could he possibly bear the crime of failing to properly protect a member of the imperial family?
As if sensing affirmation in Baron Ruejak’s silence, Anelli faintly curled her lips.
“I vanquished a Dullahan in the imperial palace. But do you know what happened afterward?”
“What happened afterward?”
“Why the Dullahan appeared. I spoke so earnestly about it. I said there was a sinister energy in the imperial palace.”
“A sinister energy…….”
Baron Ruejak made a perplexed expression. Just hearing the words, he couldn’t even begin to fathom it.
“His Highness the Crown Prince was in the palace at the time.”
At Anelli’s words, Baron Ruejak’s eyes widened. Her statement was practically pointing to Maxel as the primary culprit of this situation.
“I won’t speak at length. Subduing the Dullahan is not difficult. However, what comes after is up to your judgment.”
Anelli, her eyes narrowed to slits, smiled beautifully. Yet the words she uttered were neither beautiful nor sweet.
“I consider nothing more foolish and idiotic than turning a matter that could be resolved with a single treatment into a troublesome chronic ailment. I sincerely hope the Baron shares my view.”
Perhaps due to his tangled thoughts, a faint headache arose. Baron Ruejak pressed his forehead and swallowed a sigh.
Anelli, who had been watching him with a meaningful gaze, rose as if to signal the end of their conversation.
“Have the Crown Prince’s party’s schedule organized and brought to me by lunch.”
Baron Ruejak easily understood Anelli’s meaning. Her instruction to ‘draw up’ a schedule for the Crown Prince’s party to carry out as bait.
Without waiting for the Baron’s reply, Anelli turned and left. Baron Ruejak stared blankly at her retreating back as she strode away, then wiped his face and let out a long sigh.
‘First, first of all…….’
Yes. He must send his daughter, who was clinging so closely to Lilia Roam, to a safe place. He needed to separate her from the Crown Prince’s party and explain the situation.
Organizing the tasks in his mind step by step, Baron Ruejak also rose to his feet.
* * *
He is quite sharp-witted.
I smiled with satisfaction as I reviewed the ‘Crown Prince’s schedule’ delivered by Viscount Sejour. Baron Ruejak was certainly quick on the uptake. His judgment of the situation was also swift.
Seeing how he immediately produced an itinerary for Maxel’s inspection tour from just a few words of mine, he was also a lord who understood his territory’s geography well.
‘Well, by the time his own son was injured, any loyalty-like sentiment toward Maxel must have considerably diminished…….’
Perhaps a touch of his own petty resentment was mixed into the creation of such a straightforward route.
I scanned the long list of city and village names. He couldn’t completely exclude populated areas, but looking closely at the travel route, it was as secluded a path as possible.
The intention to minimize territorial damage wherever the Dullahan might spring out was plainly evident.
“The Crown Prince will move like this?”
“If you wait just one day, word will come.”
Perhaps the excuse sufficient to push Maxel along would be something like the lord’s earnest plea for him to personally go and rally the民心 (people’s hearts)?
I nodded indifferently. Maxel must have also heard the news that I was here now to deal with the Dullahan.
He was surely anxious, fearing the fame he sought to claim would be snatched away by the Resurrected One.
Having boldly led a subjugation force only to suffer a great disgrace, he would likely try to recover his lost honor even through such a minor inspection tour.
“Good. I would prefer to receive the results as soon as possible.”
After committing the schedule to memory, I tossed the paper toward the fireplace. The flames that leapt up, engulfing the paper, seemed to foretell someone’s future.
Maxel’s future, in which he would lose everything he possessed.
And Lilia’s future, who sought to complete her novel with Maxel as her partner—a future that would leave only ashes.
* * *
The young lady of Baron Ruejak hurried across the corridor with a pale face.
The maids passing by looked at her with puzzled expressions, but the young lady was in such a daze, her spirit seemingly drained, that she didn’t even properly notice their gazes.
After walking like that for a while, the young lady suddenly grabbed the arm of a nearby maid.
“Ah, young lady?”
“Where is Lady Lilia?”
“Pardon?”
“The young lady of Roam! The prospective Crown Princess!”
Seeing the young lady’s visibly urgent state, the maid also answered with a tense expression.
“She went out a little while ago, saying she would look around the garden!”
The garden was not far.
As soon as she heard the maid’s reply, the young lady turned and almost ran to the garden. She didn’t need to search; Lilia was at the garden’s entrance.
“Lady Lilia!”
“Young lady?”
“Is it true that you will soon be inspecting the Montel territory with His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Ah, yes. The lord requested that we encourage the terrified people of the territory. And you said you had urgent business in the capital and must go? It would be better if we could go together, what a pity.”
Seeing Lilia looking back at her with an innocent face, completely unaware, the young lady bit her lip.
“There’s no time, so I’ll be brief.”
As if being pursued by someone, the young lady glanced around warily.
Having sent all the waiting attendants nearby far away, the young lady linked arms with Lilia and stood close. Then she whispered in a small voice.
“You must flee at once.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Looking at Lilia, who wore a bewildered expression, with eyes full of frustration, the young lady led her further into the garden.
“You must hide. It’s dangerous.”
“Young lady of Ruejak, please speak more plainly.”
The young lady looked back once more.
Beyond that building, knights under Baron Ruejak’s orders were waiting for her.
The young lady, who had nearly been swept away and forced to leave the territory, had shaken off her maids and come here.
This was a sudden action, and the knights would soon notice the young lady’s absence and sense something amiss.
Therefore, the young lady had to convey what she had learned to Lilia as quickly as possible.
“The Dullahan is targeting His Highness the Crown Prince!”
A look of confusion spread across Lilia’s peaceful face.
“What do you mean?”
“My father found out. The fact that the Dullahan is targeting His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Lilia fell silent, her eyes wide. It was not hard to understand her reaction.
The young lady of Ruejak would have reacted the same way if someone had suddenly told her such a thing.
“The reason I’m suddenly going to the capital is also because it’s dangerous.”
She felt immense absurdity at her father’s actions, trying to send her off to the capital as if she were fleeing in the night.
It was only natural to feel rebellious toward a father who ignored his daughter’s will and made arbitrary decisions.
She had intended to go find Baron Ruejak immediately and demand an explanation, but wasn’t her father off on business at a nearby villa?
As the young lady stubbornly insisted she wouldn’t move until she heard the situation directly from her father, her knight sighed. Then, as if divulging a secret, he let slip the hidden circumstances.
What was being whispered in the capital about the Crown Prince, and what the Crown Prince had now become a target of.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has trained with the sword, but you have not, Lady Lilia! If you travel together, you will surely be in danger! So come to the capital with me.”