“Siervy! Are you alright!?”

The surroundings darkened in an instant, as they were separated from the group that had gone ahead. Creating an orb of light out of reflex, Siervian quickly replied, “Cough. I’m okay! Dad, are you alright?”

“Thank goodness. Just hold on a little longer. We’ll get to you right away.”

However, there was an obstacle blocking the Emperor’s way.

“Your Majesty. I apologize, but the wall is made of iron, so it will take some time.”

If it were only the Emperor, destroying the wall wouldn’t be an issue. However, since the space was narrow, there was concern that Siervian might get hurt.

While listening to the group on the other side fervently discussing ways to break through the wall, Siervian looked around the passage again.

‘This structure was made to avoid mana detection. It’s probably something like the secret passage of the Justice Guild.’

As if on cue, Siervian and Sir Roid had ended up separated from the group on this side.

“Siervy, wait here for a little while.”

It seemed they had concluded that it would take some time.

However, Siervian was bothered by the intentions of the knights who had activated this wall device earlier.

‘They’re holding me here in the meantime. Maybe the Duke has been informed of this situation. If so, there’s no time to spare.’

Biting her lip, Siervian looked back. Unlike the path on the left, the path on the right was shrouded in darkness.

Her deliberation didn’t last long.

“Dad, the Duke might be on the right path. I’ll go after him first!”

“Siervy!”

“Don’t worry!”

Despite the worry in her father’s voice, Siervian boldly moved toward the path on the other side.

Besides, Siervian had too many questions to ask the Duke.

‘I might have to reveal all my abilities.’

There was no time. She had to ask everything she needed to know before her father or the others caught up. Including things related to her previous life.

“Your Highness. Are you alright?”

“Yes. Sir Roid is with me after all.”

And so, the two of them hurriedly turned back in the direction they had come and entered the path on the right.

Unlike the path on the left, it was a place filled with an eerie silence.

‘It’s a good thing Sir Roid came with me.’

If he hadn’t, the thought of chasing after the Duke alone would have been quite frightening.

“Your Highness. I see a light ahead.”

“Yes.”

Sir Roid had sharper eyes than her and warned her. From that moment on, Siervian dispelled the orb of light and carefully prepared other magic.

‘Let’s approach without making a sound.’

Siervian walked forward, muffling her footsteps. She gripped tightly in one hand the defensive magic pendant her father had given her.

“…There are traces of blood. Please get behind me.”

Sir Roid led Siervian to the back, his voice tense.

At the end of the right fork they had reached, there was a ladder leading up.

As they cautiously climbed it, the inside of a small, dilapidated hut came into view.

It was an old and smelly place, unimaginable as a hiding place for the Duke, who had boasted such great power.

“There’s no sign of anyone for now… Please perform a mana scan.”

“Yes.”

However, as Sir Roid had said, there was nothing that showed up on the mana scan.

‘Why is there no one here?’

The two of them carefully climbed back down.

[Adante Roid]
Thoughts: It’s strange that there are no guards protecting the passage where the enemy could come from.

Seeing Sir Roid’s thoughts, she herself became even more perplexed.

Even if the knights who had been following the Duke had lured Siervian’s group to the left fork, it was strange that there was no one guarding such a close vicinity.

‘Has the Duke already escaped?’

Climbing up again, the two of them cautiously walked out of the hut. There was an old barn attached to the hut, suggesting that the area had originally been a farm.

“Your Highness. I will contact the guards who are forming the encirclement.”

Judging that they had missed the Duke, Sir Roid spoke softly to Siervian.

In that instant, she quickly raised three fingers to her mouth.

“Shhh.”

Siervian’s gaze fell on the wall of the barn where she could see traces of Duke Pacoor.

[Hannibel Pacour]

‘He’s hiding in the barn.’

This was the very reason why Sir Roid had suggested contacting the guards without even searching the barn.

The barn was in such a state of disrepair that even the roof was barely attached, and the inside was a mess of dirty haystacks.

‘The arrogant Duke would never think to hide in a place like this.’

At Siervian’s gesture, Sir Roid placed his hand on his sword hilt and cautiously approached the barn.

And so, the moment he kicked the haystack with the tip of his foot, the Duke they had been searching for was revealed.

“Ugh…”

He was lying on* the ground, unexpectedly with a large wound on his stomach.

“Duke Pacour.”

“…Princess, cough.”

There was no one in this dilapidated space to protect the Duke. That meant that even the minimum number of personnel had all gone to lure the pursuit team.

Only then did Siervian understand the situation.

‘The Duke must have been so desperate because he got injured.’

Even at a glance, it was obvious that Duke Pacour was in no condition to walk.

Blood seeped from his stomach, which he pressed on with his hand.

[Hannibel Pacour]
Thoughts: Damn it, the Emperor’s guards arrived so quickly! If it weren’t for this wound, damn it, damn it! And on top of that, the princess instantly found the place I was hiding, humiliating me. I must be incredibly unlucky.

‘No, the Duke’s luck has been bad for a long time.’

After a moment’s thought, Siervian asked Sir Roid a favor.

“I’d like to speak with the Duke alone for a moment.”

“I can’t leave the Princess alone with him.”

“I know. You don’t have to leave. I’ll use magic to block the sound.”

Sir Roid seemed to think he could handle that and immediately nodded.

Siervian quickly gathered her mana and took a step closer to the Duke. And the moment she felt the sound being muffled, she infused her pendant with mana.

“Ugh!”

As she approached him alone, Duke Pacour suddenly brandished the sword he had been hiding on the floor.

Clang!

The sword had struck the solid barrier, shattering into pieces that fell to the barn floor, his cowardly act rendered meaningless.

“You bastard!”

Reacting quickly, Sir Roid was already standing over the Duke. His sharp blade was pointed at the Duke’s neck.

“It’s alright.”

Sir Roid was still hesitant but retreated outside the range of the sound-blocking magic.

This was thanks to the power of the defensive spell Siervian had cast earlier.

“Ha, ha! Why are you going through all this trouble just to talk to me!”

Even his sinister plan to take the Princess captive and escape this place had been thwarted.

And on top of that, the Duke was now completely immobilized due to the sudden movement of his severely bleeding body.

‘Healing magic… no.’

She had an odd feeling that her mana wouldn’t move. It was a very strange feeling, but Siervian collected her thoughts for the time being.

“I have a lot to ask you.”

“I will not answer anything.”

Siervian didn’t mind and calmly went over the events that had occurred since her regression.

“Did you spread the epidemic in Garambell?”

“What? Ha! You’re trying to pin all sorts of strange accusations on me. Just kill me!”

[Hannibel Pacour]
Thoughts: What kind of nonsense is this? Spreading an epidemic.

Hmm, no. The Navafal might be capable of that. They were boasting about how they would gain the upper hand in the grain agreement.

‘It wasn’t the dukedom? Navafal… I’ll have to keep a close eye on them.’

She had already seen Navafal’s schemes several times. In any case, it seemed that the Duke had not been directly involved in the epidemic in Garambell.

“How did you send assassins to the Kingdom of Mosae?”

“Do you have any proof?”

[Hannibel Pacour]
Thoughts: There’s no way! That was something they mostly orchestrated. Those idiots, they should have made sure to take care of the Princess back then!

‘They, could that also be Navafal?’

“Could that also be Navafal?”

The Duke’s eyes widened at the sudden question.

“You, you! What are you doing? Are you trying to cast a mind spell on me?”

“Answer me.”

[Hannibel Pacour]
Thoughts: How much do they know about Navafal’s involvement? Assassination? Could it be, even the treasury incident? Ugh, I need to pull myself together! I can’t fall for this kind of magic! Damn you, Elverdotte!!

‘Oh, there was also that thief who broke into the treasury.’

Since there were more than a few suspicious points, the Duke began to frantically search his thoughts for his own sins.

The Duke’s normally neat hair was a disheveled mess, making him look like a madman.

“You think I would fall for such a trick!”

The duke’s hands trembled as he reached for the necklace that Siervian had been wearing like a charm. Siervian had only performed mana detection on the necklace, casting a noise-blocking spell.

‘Is he casting a resistance spell against mental attacks?’

Siervian’s abilities weren’t mental magic, so it was another futile attempt.

“Then why did you try to steal the first emperor’s artifacts from the treasury?”

“Wha, what…?”

Despite holding the necklace enchanted with a resistance spell, the duke’s eyes widened as Siervian spoke as if she could read his mind.

Siervian had specifically cast a noise-blocking spell because she intended to use her abilities so directly.

‘But why is this necklace’s performance so poor?’

If it had even a basic mana affinity, the necklace’s enchantment should have been stronger than that, which was strange.

[Hannibel Pacour]
Thoughts: Damn it! There must have been a reason they told me to steal that thing. I should have pressed them harder!

‘What the hell is this geezer talking about, anyway?’

It seemed increasingly clear that the Pacour dukedom had some deep collaboration with the Kingdom of Navafal. Although it seemed the Duke himself wasn’t fully informed about certain matters. Seeing how he seemed to be used by Navafal, questions naturally arose.

“Tell me, why did you do this?”

Why had the dukedom, which wielded considerable power in the empire, started doing such things?

What could they possibly want?

“Why? Why did you do this?

“The Pacour dukedom already possesses power second only to the emperor’s. Why would you do something like this?”

It was incomprehensible to her. Did he truly desire to become emperor?

Then the Duke nervously shifted his gaze due to her unfathomable abilities and suddenly glared at her with bloodshot eyes.

“This is all because of your Elverdotte curse!”

—