Chapter 117

When the light in front of my eyes faded, I was at the Eclipse Dukedom’s encampment, where the coordinates had been set.

I stared blankly at the reversed location, then realized the situation.

While I was on guard, she had broken the escape earring.

But.

“…Iris?”

The only person inside the tent was me.

I fumbled at the empty air, feeling the blood run cold.

The earring was a magical artifact that required physical contact with me to enable co-transportation. Yet, Iris had broken the earring without touching me.

My mind went blank at the realization that I had left her behind with Vegner, the real cult leader.

“Iris, Iris…!”

Just as I was about to rush out of the tent to call for help, the commanders coincidentally gathered at my tent. It seemed they had hurriedly assembled after hearing the news through the counterpart earring artifact.

I grabbed Nine, who was just entering the tent, and urgently spoke.

“Iris is still there! We have to save her!”

“What?”

“Wait, Duchess. What is the situation?”

Since they couldn’t accurately grasp the situation from voice communication alone, everyone looked at me with questioning faces.

I quickly summarized the details and spoke as fast as I could.

“The real leader of the Urkel Cult is Vegner the Butler! He wasn’t human; he was a human-shaped monster. We were discovered by him while looking for evidence, and Iris broke the earring, staying behind alone!”

The commanders were appalled by my words.

A human-shaped monster was dangerous even for a Swordmaster to face.

Iris being left alone in front of such a monster meant every moment was critical.

Norman, Nine, Kroel, and the other commanders quickly made a decision.

“Since they know the cult leader’s identity has been exposed, they will soon launch an offensive. We must kill the cult leader before that to end the battle.”

If an all-out war broke out, killing the cult leader would become much harder. The casualties would also increase significantly.

Therefore, Nine chose a plan that was both reckless and the fastest.

“From now on, we will divide into an assassination team and a rescue team. Those not assigned to a team are to remain at the encampment and prepare.”

“Yes!”

Everyone nodded at his quickly formulated strategy. Amidst them, I raised my hand.

“Put me in one of the two teams.”

“Chacha.”

“I’m the one who has the most specific recent information about the situation inside the Count’s Castle.”

Nine wore a displeased expression at my request.

However, the decision didn’t take long. Time was of the essence, and it was true that I was needed.

Thus, Nine, along with Swordmasters Kroel and Wilhelm, formed the Assassination Team to eliminate the cult leader. Norman and I, supported by three knights to guard us and act as our hands and feet, were formed into the Rescue Team.

After preparation, we immediately headed to the Count’s Castle. This was only an hour after my escape.

***

Thanks to the scout who had infiltrated beforehand, entering the Count’s Castle was not difficult.

The two teams, having infiltrated through the back door opened by the scout, split up immediately upon entering.

I exchanged a glance with Nine and moved quickly.

The Assassination Team was planned to move toward the Count’s bedroom and office, where Vegner was presumed to be.

The place we were heading to was the underground dungeon. The same place Iris and I had mistakenly entered during the day.

‘He wouldn’t have killed Iris.’

In the executive meeting, they had said Iris was the only remaining bloodline of Laurel.

Since Iris was the only person who could manipulate the “Laurel” card, he wouldn’t kill her easily.

‘…Of course, now that he’s taking a direct offensive rather than a behind-the-scenes plot, he might not care. But using her as a hostage would be better for threatening us than killing her.’

My steps kept accelerating due to worry and tension about Iris.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance leading down to the underground dungeon.

As soon as the door opened, a humid atmosphere and a descending staircase appeared.

It was dark, but not so dark that the stairs were invisible. As I hurried down, my foot slipped on the moss-covered steps.

“Hwak!”

I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing to tumble down the stairs on my back and bottom.

Thud!

At that moment, Norman, who was following closely behind me, grabbed and held onto my forearm.

“…Please be careful.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

His narrowed eyes looked at me. The atmosphere, which had been reaching a peak of tension and anxiety, slightly subsided because of my mishap.

Thanks to this, I, who had been secretly anxious, could calm down for a moment.

I descended the stairs with calmer and more careful steps than before.

Glancing back to watch my step, Norman was following closely. He had a moderately serious and indifferent expression, as always, but his palm seemed sweaty; the arm he had grabbed was slightly damp.

Since he was not a vassal chosen for his physical might, it seemed he was just as nervous as I was in this situation.

After walking down for a long time, the wide underground dungeon finally came into view.

The accompanying knights positioned themselves, with Norman and me in the center, to guard the surroundings.

However, the dungeon was eerily silent and cold.

When I was sure that the only sound was our breathing, I quickly walked, meticulously scanning the cells lined up on both sides.

Rusty, dilapidated iron bars, ragged wooden chairs, moth-eaten cloth, and shackles attached to the wall…

The rooms only contained objects. No people were visible.

After checking the last cell, the only things visible were a few rats scurrying away in surprise.

“…She’s not here?”

Only after a thorough search could I admit it. The underground dungeon was empty.

“Norman. If he didn’t lock Iris up…”

“It’s likely he’s keeping her with him.”

I bit my lower lip and headed back toward the stairs.

I planned to check other places just in case.

At that moment.

Kukuku-kukuku!

A tremor, like an earthquake, along with the loud sounds of something shattering and collapsing, echoed from various places.

Norman and I locked eyes. With an instinctual hunch, we realized that the Assassination Team had failed to secretly eliminate the cult leader.

If they hadn’t killed him instantly, a human-shaped monster and three Swordmasters would be facing off up there right now.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

At Norman’s words, the knights escorted us and we exited the underground dungeon.

Boom! Kwaang!

The loudest collapsing sound came from the central hall area. I nodded toward Norman and carefully moved forward.

However, upon reaching the central hall, Kroel was seen looking up with his sword drawn.

“Kroel?”

“…”

He scowled, glaring upwards.

Following his gaze, Vegner the Butler and Nine were in a standoff at the top of the grand central staircase in the middle of the hall.

“…Cough!”

“Iris!”

The butler was gripping the neck of Iris, who was clutching something to her chest.

Nine, who seemed to have been confronting Vegner moments before, stood opposite him, aiming his weapon but unable to move rashly.

Just then, Vegner’s gaze briefly shifted toward us.

The moment I thought our eyes met.

Chang! The sound of glass shattering rang out.

“Kyaak!”

Vegner instantly shattered a window and threw Iris out. Iris’s scream faded into the distance outside.

“Iris!!!”

Norman shouted and dashed outside.

Vegner dusted off his hands, turned to me, who was frozen, and smiled broadly.

His approach to me was instantaneous.

“Hahahaha. Duchess, please excuse me.”

Just as Roon had done, Vegner abruptly appeared behind me.

Kroel, who was nearby, hurriedly aimed his sword, but Vegner, holding a small dagger, was faster.

His dagger swiftly moved toward my neck, which he had seized.

“Chacha!”

“Lady Chacha!”

The movements of the three people—Nine, Wilhelm, and Kroel—noticeably slowed.

“Ha, hahahaha!”

Vegner burst into a loud, mocking laugh as three Swordmasters were neutralized by a single blade held against my neck.

My eyes grew colder at his laughter.

‘He’s underestimating me.’

The rage toward him for harming Iris right in front of me made me forget my fear.

‘He doesn’t seem to know, but this isn’t the first time I’ve fought a human-shaped monster.’

And Roon had lost her life to me. Although the Emperor’s Sword had helped, I had no intention of remaining a helpless hostage, then or now.

Moreover, Vegner was using me as a hostage to try and harm Nine.

‘Do you think I’d let that happen?’

I quickly drew two daggers I had hidden on my thigh. While Vegner was mocking the three, I aimed for his moment of complacency and plunged the daggers in.

Poohk!

The daggers sank deep into both of Vegner’s sides.