Turning

Even if I don’t know much about the flowers... this place... I can roughly guess its intended message.

The lion appeared in the royal family’s crest. And yet here, that lion had been shoved into a corner, in a pose that made it unclear whether it was sleeping or dead—while the hawk, the symbol of Diarca, had been placed in the most prominent and elevated position.

Was the deer the symbol of House Ta-in? As for the rest... there might be more, but these are the only ones that resemble animals at a glance.

The sculpture of the hawk, its wings spread as if it might take off at any moment, seemed to be looking down upon all the other figures below it. From Yuder’s perspective, the entire scene was deeply unpleasant.

Were these statues already here during the time of House Dilejian, or did Duke Diarca bring them in after he claimed this place?

Whichever it was, one thing was certain.

This place reeked of someone’s ambition to raise Diarca above all else.

“......”

The group moved on to the next location.

There was said to be a walking path between the main building and the annex. That must be it.

Madam Bishu had recommended a total of three external locations. Once they checked the path, they would return to the main house.

We haven’t run into anyone else yet... but at this point, it might actually be better if we did.

If there were limits to what they could discover on their own, then they’d have to extract information from someone else. It would be ideal if they happened to run into someone who knew something useful.

Just as Yuder was thinking that, and they were about to step onto the path—

“Unauthorized outsiders are not permitted here. Who are you?”

Someone spoke slowly as they emerged. It was an elderly man with graying hair. Yuder instinctively glanced at the man’s left hand. His thumbnail was missing.

The one Madam Bishu warned us about.

The servant missing his left thumbnail had supposedly served Duke Diarca’s first wife. Oblivious to the glint in Yuder’s eyes, Kiole boldly stepped forward to introduce himself.

“I am Kiole la Diarca.”

“...Ah, the youngest young master.”

The servant recognized Kiole’s name immediately. But though his words were polite, his gaze held no warmth.

“Did you come with His Grace, the Duke?”

“No. But I received permission to come here. Now stand aside.”

“Forgive me, but might I ask when and from whom you received such permission? Could you show it?”

“What?”

“If Lord Kiorne, pillar of Diarca and rightful heir, were the one arriving, I might accept it without question. But as for you, Lord Kiole, who was expelled and has not been permitted to set foot in the main house since—well, claiming to possess such authority now doesn’t strike me as entirely credible.”

The servant seemed to have been in active contact with people from the Diarca estate until recently. His face betrayed no attempt to hide his suspicion of Kiole, even as he forced a polite smile.

“Frankly, someone who sneaks in without so much as notifying anyone—like some lowborn scoundrel—hardly inspires belief. If you truly understand the concerns of an old loyal servant charged with protecting House Diarca, surely you would have no issue proving your authority... would you?”

Well, look at this guy.

He certainly had a silver tongue. Kiole frowned in frustration.

“What insolence. Why should I show you anything based on your word alone? Don’t you know this is also my mother’s birthplace?! There’s not a single place here I don’t have the right to enter! Stand aside!”

“Mentioning your mother... Then it must have been Madam Bishu who let you in.”

The servant was starting to misunderstand things. He seemed to believe that Kiole hadn’t come here with proper permission, but had instead fled from the main house and gained entry with the help of someone on his mother’s side.

“I always feared that witchy old woman might one day bring harm to Lord Diarca...”

“What nonsense are you spouting! If you don’t stand aside, I will punish you myself under the family name!”

“Forgive me, but even if you are the Duke’s son, someone who has infiltrated the estate in such a manner cannot be shown leniency... I suppose I’ll need to contact someone.”

The old servant pulled something from his sleeve. Yuder immediately recognized it as a long-distance communication artifact.

It was the same kind of magical ring Kishiar had used before—one half of a paired artifact used to send short signals between two matching devices.

But the servant was given no chance to use it.

“W-What are you—!”

As Kiole flailed in alarm and waved his hand, the three others behind him acted at once.

Yuder’s power of earth and Kishiar’s pulling force snapped together in perfect timing, sweeping the servant’s feet and snatching the artifact from his grasp. Nathan Zuckerman instantly circled around behind and pinned the man down with a foot on his back.

By the time Kiole snapped out of his daze, the situation had already been handled completely.

“...Huh?”

“Gghk...!”

The one most stunned by how fast it all ended was the servant himself. With just a single gesture from Kiole, the escorts—who until now had looked like mere attendants—had taken him down like lightning. He’d always considered himself reasonably skilled with a sword, and yet he hadn’t even had time to react before he was subdued.

All he had needed was a split-second to activate the artifact. But he hadn’t even been granted that.

Just how powerful were these people?

And what kind of man was Kiole, to command three such individuals?

The old servant trembled as he looked up at Kiole.

I thought all that nonsense about the son of Dilejian hiding his true strength while playing at being a knight was just rumor... but if even the young master was paying attention to him... then it was true...!

Through the trembling of the man’s eyes, Yuder, Kishiar, and Nathan could all read exactly what he was thinking. And Kishiar—more than anyone—knew how to take advantage of such a situation.

“My lord. We’ve subdued him, as you instructed. To think someone who claimed to enter on the Duke’s orders would turn out to hold true loyalty elsewhere. This proves it, does it not?”

Kishiar pretended to support Kiole while whispering loud enough for everyone to hear. Kiole’s face twisted with confusion, and he opened his mouth to respond with a bewildered “Eh?”—but Kishiar gave him no chance and pressed on smoothly.

“You must’ve known the moment you saw him, my lord, that he was acting under the orders of the Duke’s first wife’s side. I’ve brought proof of his secret contact with Lord Kiorne—there could be no greater evidence. If the Duke, who trusted this man enough to place him here, were to learn of this, he would not let it stand.”

“Uh...”

“If you permit it, I will extract every scrap of useful information from him and deliver it to you. I’ll wring him out until there’s nothing left in his head.”

“Um...”

“Very well. Understood. I’ll take care of it right away, as you commanded.”

Finishing the exchange as though Kiole had known everything from the start, Kishiar turned to the old servant with a smile. Or rather, to Nathan Zuckerman, who was pinning him down.

“Search him and confiscate everything. Wrap this up in five minutes.”

Nathan Zuckerman, quick as ever, responded without a sound—just a nod. Yuder was about to step forward as well, but Kishiar raised a hand to stop him.

Why?

Their eyes met, and Kishiar shook his head.

“If you intervene, he might lose his mind or die before we get anything out of him. He may be carrying something... ‘ominous.’ Leave this one to us.”

“......”

The old servant glanced at Yuder and visibly flinched in fear.

Yuder didn’t care about that—but the way Kishiar emphasized “something ominous” made it sound like he suspected the man might be carrying a security item made from monster remains.

Security artifacts usually do contain monster parts...

Recalling how even at Peleta, Kishiar had been wary of Yuder coming into contact with a small amount of monster residue, Yuder figured it was best to play along.

He said nothing—just gave a nod and stepped back. Kishiar grinned, looking thoroughly sinister.

“Hoho. Very good. Watch carefully... and witness our capabilities.”