Chapter 144
Nielin drew his sword, revealing killing intent.
"Come out. You're quite clumsy at tailing."
Despite the dawn's poor visibility and a distance that ordinary people couldn't detect anything from, he had sensed the follower's position.
A man walked out from behind a rock.
It was Damian.
He slowly approached under the dead tree. Nielin questioned him imperiously, "Hmm, Eternia's new rat. Speak. Did you receive orders to dig up Principality information?"
Damian answered calmly and respectfully, "I understand the principle is to move in pairs when conducting business at night."
Nielin shot back sharply.
"You don't appear to be paired with this maid."
"That's not it, but I couldn't just watch a young girl leave camp alone at night. My oversight. Had I known it was for an intimate meeting with the commander-in-chief, I wouldn't have come."
He tried to push his opponent into a quagmire with a respectful attitude while extracting himself.
Nielin gave a cold laugh at the cunning wordplay.
"Say what you will. However, if you reveal what you overheard today, you'll pay a heavy price."
"I'll keep that in mind. I apologize for interfering with your private meeting through unnecessary meddling."
Nielin's killing intent receded. He sheathed his sword.
"You seem overflowing with camaraderie, but I hear you dared request to become the Duchess's direct guard?"
"That was merely following my oath to the Duchess."
Nielin gestured to the maid standing beside him. She bowed her head alternately to Nielin and Damian before disappearing toward the camp.
Nielin spoke in a lecturing tone, "Don't delude yourself into thinking you've achieved something just by beating one low-ranking soldier to a pulp. The Duchess' side is a position not permitted even to knights who've served the Principality for years."
Not being in the guard meant he was also among those to be protected. It was an issue that could have passed without incident if left alone.
Damian deliberately provoked him by touching his nerves.
"...Then would proving my qualification by fighting you directly suffice?"
Perhaps he was pushing recklessly while relying on Silveryn's name. If so, that made him even more unsuitable. First, Bibi wouldn't allow it, and second, letting emotions lead always ruined things.
Nielin didn't react much to the provocation.
"The guard still has far to go. I don't want to waste energy on unnecessary matters."
Nielin turned and walked into the darkness.
Damian quietly nodded. Then he bowed respectfully toward the retreating Nielin and said something incomprehensible.
"I hope so too."
***
The night's events passed without incident, and I greeted morning in my tent.
Opening my eyes, I briefly recalled the situation. Nielin and the maid had been having a secret conversation about the Duchess.
Though suspicious, I couldn't be certain if it was truly related to rebellion or betrayal. If they were plotting rebellion, they surely would have killed me when I eavesdropped and disguised it as an accident. But they didn't.
Though far from conclusive evidence, I couldn't feel at ease. Whatever happened, they would eventually rush at us with eyes blazing to kill the Duchess and me.
Just then, Misha, one of the maids I'd become friendly with, slightly lifted my tent flap and poked her head in.
"Um, are you awake?"
I threw off my blanket and rose, saying, "Yes, what brings you here?"
"Oh, no. Never mind."
"...?"
She was about to leave but turned back with an uneasy expression.
"Um, actually... have you seen Polly?"
Polly was one of the five maids who had squeezed into the carriage with me, and the very girl who had been summoned by Nielin last night.
"I saw her."
"Oh, do you know where she went? She's on breakfast duty but can't be found anywhere."
"I saw her going out early dawn. She was moving secretively."
"Ah! That's fine then."
Though I provided no further explanation, Misha accepted it as if it were a regular occurrence.
"Does this happen often?"
"Oh! Of course. Polly occasionally has to attend to the Duchess' bath at night. Since she works late, she's allowed to rest in the morning."
"...Bath attendance?"
Something felt off.
Is there a need for such secrecy for bath attendance?
"Yes... but no one except Polly has ever attended to the Duchess' bath."
"...Is there a special reason?"
Misha made a slightly troubled expression. Then she quickly glanced outside the tent as if checking for observers, came closer, and whispered in my ear.
"I'm not sure, but they say it's because of the Duchess'... illness. Everyone assumes so but daren't speak of it openly."
I'd heard rumors before about the Duchess having a hereditary disease. She didn't look particularly ill on the outside, so I hadn't paid much attention. What kind of illness could she have?
In the current situation, gathering information yielded no answers. What was leading me to that dream scene? What exactly was about to happen?
Just then, someone shouted loudly from somewhere beyond the tent, "Emergency! Everyone assemble!"
Buuuoong—
Soon the clatter of hooves and the majestic sound of horns rang out.
"Everyone up!"
Immediately, busy footsteps filled the surroundings.
Soldiers receiving the emergency assembly order from early morning grabbed their weapons and rushed out of their tents.
Maid Misha's eyes went round, not knowing what to do.
"Oh, oh! D-Damian sir..."
"You won't need to go out."
I, too, gathered my weapons and hurried outside.
The horn-bearer in the camp center issued urgent orders.
"Emergency situation. Everyone assume battle formation and march southwest of the village. Now!"
Soldiers formed ranks in perfect order and rushed to the designated location. In the opposite village's Camp 2, mages were also bustling about, their robes fluttering.
I hurriedly followed them.
Clang! Clang!
Beyond the fence in an open space, sword light flashed repeatedly in the dawn light.
Then, a roar loud enough to hurt eardrums thundered like lightning. The moving soldiers were startled enough to momentarily shrink back.
"There! The magic creature is there! Hurry and support them!"
There, four knights were engaged in fierce combat with a two-headed lion.
That lion-like magic creature two or three times larger than a brown bear. The knights who had been fighting the magic creature were seriously struggling.
Already two or three had excessive bleeding from their abdomens.
It seemed the magic creature had crept down to the village and been spotted by the patrol, leading to combat.
The reinforcement troops quickly joined the battle. As if they'd received multiple practice drills, battle formations were arranged in the blink of an eye.
Knights took the front line. When the magic creature growled and swung its front paw, they all swung their swords in unison to check it. Meanwhile, mages in the rear hurriedly chanted spells. The offensive and defensive coordination flowed smoothly.
Soon magical fireballs materialized in the air and immediately rushed at the magic creature.
Bang!
The beast quickly pulled back, its mane flying as it avoided the explosion. The situation immediately shifted to a standoff.
When dozens of reinforcements suddenly swarmed to surround the magic creature, it immediately turned and fled into the forest.
The female knight fighting at the very front shouted, "Stop the pursuit!"
The knights about to advance into the forest stopped awkwardly.
It was a good judgment. There was a principle always emphasized in magic creature studies classes. The forest was an extremely advantageous battlefield for magic creatures. Rushing in despite numerical superiority would be no different from entering the beast's maw.
They would clearly organize the wounded and make thorough preparations before setting out to subjugate it.
And this was an important opportunity for me.
"It seems a Robillion has finished hibernation and come down to the village for nourishment."
Bibi quietly nodded at Gerald's words.
The village chief prostrated himself before the Duchess, trembling. He feared being held responsible for not giving advance notice about the magic creature's appearance.
However, Bibi didn't seem very interested in determining fault.
"Are magic creature attacks frequent in this village?"
The chief answered, "N-no, not really. However, that beast occasionally hunts our livestock and newborns once or twice a year. Surely, last year it was no bigger than a wild dog, we never thought it would return so enormous..."
"Unlike humans, some magic creatures complete their growth in just a year or two. That's why early subjugation is important."
With no young men left in the village, they couldn't have even dreamed of subjugation.
The guard couldn't ignore this. If left alone, not only would the villagers become the beast's food, but they might follow the guard later.
Bibi didn't ponder long.
She gestured for the chief to leave. After he bowed and left, she spoke to Gerald, "Leave minimal forces to protect the village, and form a subjugation unit with the rest to advance on the beast's lair."
"I'll issue the order immediately."
"Ah, and..."
Bibi opened her mouth as if there was more, then paused briefly.
Gerald turned back with an ominous feeling.
"Is there more to convey?"
Bibi hesitated briefly before speaking, "How did Silveryn's disciple react?"
"You want to know his reaction to this magic creature?"
Bibi seemed unwilling to show that she was paying attention to Damian.
"Yes. Well, I heard that when observing Eternia's classes, he threw away his weapon and fled in fear upon seeing a Kiraclo."
Bibi remembered the situation from when Gerald observed Eternia's Combat Department classes. However, having only heard reports, she seemed to have misinterpreted the situation somewhat. Of course, while he appeared to fearfully retreat on the surface, perceptive people sensed there was more to it.
"According to reports, when the Principality's knights were in fierce combat with the magic creature, he just watched from afar without joining the fight."
At this, Bibi covered her mouth with her fan and burst out laughing.
"So he recklessly charges at easy opponents but suddenly becomes prudent before magic creatures."
"..."
"This is a good opportunity to have Damian observe the subjugation unit."
"...It's a dangerous position, would that be alright?"
"If his head is screwed on right, he won't try to face the magic creature alone. Take him. And show him clearly the gap between him and the Principality's elite knights."