Chapter 23

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“Who the hell are you?!”

The mercenary leader shouted, pointing his sword at the young man. No matter how he looked at it, the young man didn’t seem ordinary.

Golden glowing eyes, a calm yet cold expression, and a strange aura surrounding him…

The leader yelled at his subordinates.

“Attack! Kill him!”

Though the order was sudden, the subordinates reacted quickly. They all drew their weapons and charged at the young man.

“Die!”

Even as the subordinates shouted and approached, the young man simply stood there, calmly watching them.

“…Pathetic.”

A small ripple formed at the young man’s fingertips.

The next moment—

Boom!

Flames fell from the sky.

“Aaaah!”

The subordinates screamed as they were engulfed in flames.

“Wh-what is this…?”

The leader was horrified by the scene.

Flames falling from the sky—this was clearly magic.

And not just any magic, but high-level magic.

The leader immediately turned and began to run.

His subordinates were already done for. They were already engulfed in flames.

“Huff, huff… Damn it, this wasn’t part of the deal…!”

The leader felt wronged.

No wonder the reward was so high—the target was a mage.

If he had known earlier, he would never have taken this job.

Fighting a mage was practically suicide.

The only silver lining was that mages were usually physically weak.

So if he ran with all his might…

Whoosh!

At that moment, something landed in front of the leader.

It was the young man.

“Eek!!”

The leader collapsed with a shriek.

“H-how…?”

The young man seemed to have flown through the air.

His eyes still glowed with a golden light.

“You… what the hell are you…?”

The leader asked in a trembling voice. The young man didn’t feel human at all.

The young man slowly raised his hand.

Blue electricity crackled in his palm.

“You don’t need to know.”

The young man said as he extended his hand.

His voice was cold and emotionless.

Blue electricity shot out from his hand and struck the leader.

Zap!

The leader convulsed as he was engulfed in the blue electricity, unable to even scream.

In an instant, his body turned black, and he died.

The young man looked down at the leader with an expressionless face.

“…Pathetic.”

◈

Ed looked around.

‘Where did she go…?’

Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

Just a moment ago, she had been sitting at the table, chewing on food, but she had disappeared while Ed was briefly called away by his father.

And she hadn’t returned.

Did she get lost?

Or was someone causing her trouble?

Ed grew anxious.

Even though Lucy was a witch who could summon powerful undead, she was still a young girl.

She could easily get lost or be harmed by someone.

Ed approached Theodore, who was standing nearby.

“Hey, Theodore.”

“Yes, Young Master?”

“…I can’t seem to find Lucy.”

“Hmm. That’s true. I thought I saw her following a soldier earlier.”

“A soldier?”

“Yes. I thought she’d be back soon, but it’s strange that she hasn’t returned yet.”

“Hey, could you go look for her? I can’t leave right now…”

Ed was currently required to stay by his father’s side.

Theodore nodded.

“I’ll go look for her, Young Master.”

“Thanks, Theodore.”

…

Meanwhile, on the other side—

“…Ron, I haven’t seen Lucy for a while.”

Ellie was also looking around for Lucy.

“Where did she go?”

Ellie and Ron were sitting near Michela.

They were there to greet the noblewomen attending the banquet.

“She probably went to the restroom.”

Ron said, his eyes still fixed on his book.

Ellie frowned.

“Lucy wouldn’t go to the restroom.”

“Then she’s probably taking a walk. She’s probably digesting all the food you fed her.”

“Really? But Lucy’s never been to the castle before. She wouldn’t know her way around…”

Just then, Michela approached and hugged Ellie and Ron tightly.

“My babies! What are you two whispering about?”

Michela was a bit tipsy from the wine.

Moreover, she seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood for some reason.

“…We can’t find Lucy.”

When Ellie answered, Michela tilted her head.

“Lucy? Who’s Lucy?”

“The girl Ed invited.”

“Ah.”

Michela’s expression darkened slightly.

“Ellie, you shouldn’t hang out with someone like that. Especially you, Ron. You’re going to be the heir…”

Michela stopped herself there.

But Ellie and Ron were already looking up at her.

Ellie asked.

“Isn’t Ed the heir…?”

Ron also looked like he wanted to ask the same question.

Michela smiled softly.

“You never know what might happen in life, right? If something bad happens to Ed, of course, Ron will become the heir to the Leyton family. Isn’t that right, Ron?”

“…I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to? Why? The heir can become the lord. You could be like your father.”

“That’s why I don’t want to. It sounds like too much trouble.”

“…”

Michela’s expression turned stern.

“Ron, becoming the heir is something many desire but few achieve. If you reject such a position just because it’s troublesome…”

“Mother.”

Ron looked directly at Michela.

“Isn’t it dangerous to talk like that carelessly?”

“…”

Michela immediately closed her mouth.

She was right.

Especially in a situation like this, she needed to be more careful.

“Well, that’s true… Ed is the heir anyway, so our Ron doesn’t need to worry about such things. Just keep reading your book.”

Michela ruffled Ron and Ellie’s hair and then turned to leave.

Ron went back to reading his book, but Ellie stared at Michela’s retreating figure for a long time.

“Ron…”

Ellie asked in a subdued voice.

“Nothing bad will happen to Ed, right…?”

Ron was silent for a moment.

The sound of pages turning echoed quietly.

After a while, Ron answered.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

◈

Groose stared at Lucy in disbelief.

“What are you talking about? You think the mercenaries I sent will die?”

They were mercenaries renowned for their skills in the city.

Moreover, the reward was set high enough to ensure the job would go smoothly.

“Are you bluffing right now?”

A sneer spread across Groose’s lips. He thought Lucy was bluffing.

“You’re quite the cheeky kid. But can you still bluff like this when you see your family being torn apart in front of your eyes? Your family will surely resent you. They’ll die because of you…”

Lucy turned away.

There was no need to listen to Groose.

After all, Kairos was at home, and he would undoubtedly keep her grandfather safe.

“I’ll give this suspicious poison to Lord Leyton.”

At Lucy’s words, Groose’s face twisted in anger.

“You damn brat!”

Groose lunged at Lucy.

Given Groose’s large build, Lucy looked as if she was about to be swallowed whole.

“If you won’t listen, fine! I’ll just find someone else. But I’ll strangle you to death right here, and then I’ll kill your family too!”

Groose pinned Lucy down and tried to strangle her.

Just then, a clank sound came from behind.

“Huh?”

Groose turned his head and saw a pair of glowing blue eyes.

“…You dare lay a hand on our master…”

The blue eyes burned like raging flames.

“How dare you climb on top of our master and do such filthy things…”

The voice echoed as if from a deep cave.

A massive figure clad in black armor loomed over Groose.

It was the Death Knight, Darcan.

“I won’t let you die an easy death…!”

Darcan grabbed Groose by the neck and lifted him into the air.

His strength was so immense that the overweight Groose dangled like a ragdoll.

“G-gah! Gah!”

Groose’s face turned red as he flailed helplessly.

Lucy dusted herself off and stood up, then said to Darcan,

“Don’t kill him. We need to take him to Lord Leyton.”

“Understood, Master. I’ll beat him until he’s on the verge of death.”

Darcan leaned his sword against the wall and began pummeling Groose in earnest.

Thud!

Darcan had been skilled in hand-to-hand combat even when he was human.

So he knew exactly where and how to hit to cause the most pain.

Combined with the Death Knight’s immense strength, the pain Groose endured was unimaginable.

Thud!

Groose was soon covered in blood, but Darcan’s assault didn’t stop.

If Groose lost consciousness, Darcan slapped him awake and then kicked him in the stomach.

“S-stop… please…”

“It’s not over yet.”

Darcan’s fist slammed into Groose’s face.

Groose’s nose twisted grotesquely, and broken teeth flew out of his mouth.

“How dare you lay your filthy hands on…”

Thud!

“Our beloved master!”

Thud!

“Climbing on top of her like that!”

Thud!!

“I’ll never forgive you!”

“…”

Groose collapsed to the ground.

Blood dripped from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back.

Lucy looked at Groose and said,

“Darcan, that’s enough.”

“Just a little more.”

Darcan still held Groose by the collar.

Lucy shook her head.

“No, this is enough.”

Any more, and he might actually die.

It didn’t matter if Groose died, but he needed to face proper punishment from Lord Leyton.

After all, he had tried to poison the adorable Ed.

Bang bang!

Just then, someone pounded on the iron door outside.

―”Open the door! I am Knight Theodore!”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Lucy thinks and acts like a child, but doesn’t think of herself as a child.

How cute~