Ch.159Chapter 159. Wandering Evil (2)

“Pardon?”

“You lost contact with Jenis?”

“So… he’s missing?”

“How did you know that?”

“Well, yesterday a letter addressed to me arrived at the mansion. It was from brother Jenis…”

Iolline handed me a letter as she spoke.

I took it and examined it.

The content… excluding various greetings and unnecessary flowery language—

“I might have to be away for a long time…?”

Iolline nodded and said.

‘What’s going on?’

“Maybe… it’s just as my brother says, that it will only take a few more days, but for some reason I’m extremely anxious… The letter clearly stated he would return yesterday. And also, how should I put this… the handwriting seems subtly different.”

“The handwriting?”

“Yes, here…”

Iolline handed me two letters.

One saying he would return soon, and another saying it would take more time.

Honestly, I couldn’t definitively confirm the difference, but seeing how confidently Iolline, his family member, stated it, there must be some difference.

I looked at her anxious expression and thought.

I couldn’t know for certain, but this moment seemed like it would be an extremely important turning point.

“Swen… what should we do?”

‘If Jenis is involved in something suspicious… perhaps this is an opportunity to prevent his plan beforehand.’

I had planned to investigate what he was doing as soon as he arrived… so moving together with her didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Who has seen this letter?”

“So far, only me.”

“You have no idea where Senior Jenis was headed, right?”

She nodded repeatedly.

“Miss Iolline. Let’s start by checking things one by one, slowly.”

“What do you mean…?”

I answered with a confident tone while looking at her.

“I think we can narrow down where Senior Jenis might be.”

“What…?”

* * *

The place where Iolline and I arrived was—

The massive bridge that was the only path into Einhart Castle.

Einhart Castle was built on an island in the middle of a huge river. Unlike other territories, anyone coming and going here would inevitably leave entry records.

So if Jenis had left the territory, I was confident we could confirm his name.

Conveniently, I was an armed guard belonging to Serpina’s forces. I was in a position where I could ask soldiers about entry records.

Plus, since Jenis was also an armed guard, it would be even easier to ask about him.

And the result.

“You’re saying his name isn’t there?”

“Yes, that’s right. It seems Lord Jenis hasn’t left the territory.”

‘Good.’

If he had gone outside the territory, this would have become a problem I could no longer help with.

If he was still within the territory, there was hope of finding him somehow.

After listening to the soldier’s explanation about the entry records, I left the watchtower by the bridge.

Iolline, who had been waiting outside, asked with a worried expression.

“How did it go?”

“Fortunately, it seems he hasn’t left the territory.”

“Is that so? Then I should immediately inform brother Ian and organize a search party—”

“No. Please wait a moment.”

“Pardon…?”

If we mobilized soldiers to form a search party, this matter would certainly reach Serpina’s ears.

And if she found out, and if this truly was treason—the entire Al Kaski family would be exterminated, and many others involved would lose their lives as well.

Though I believe it would be a fitting punishment for treason, once blood is shed, all that resentment would inevitably be focused on Serpina.

She was already attracting hatred from all beings to an unusual degree.

Yurie and Anima made wrong choices due to their grudge against her, Lynn felt humiliated just by joining hands with her, and even Lady Luna hated Serpina for losing her blood relative.

In a situation where the entire world seemed designed to hate her—there was only one way to keep her as safe as possible.

To minimize the occasions where she would earn someone’s resentment.

Not long ago.

Even when we managed to root out rebels early thanks to my advice, it wasn’t difficult to read their malice toward her.

I judged that if earning resentment increases the frequency of rebellion, then avoiding resentment as much as possible could be a solution.

While bloodshed is unavoidable for a ruler, wouldn’t it be best to resolve matters without killing when possible?

It would be ideal to prevent rebellion before it happens, but just by not killing the Kaski family, we could avoid creating numerous resentful relationships.

So now wasn’t the time to escalate matters.

We could inform Serpina when treason was confirmed—it wouldn’t be too late then.

Now all that remained was explaining this to Iolline…

How should I explain this? I couldn’t just bluntly say ‘I suspect your brother might be planning treason.’

“Swen…?”

“…”

Let me try to phrase this differently.

“If a search party moves, Senior Jenis might be put in danger if he’s truly missing. If he’s really missing, he’s most likely been kidnapped somewhere, and if they notice search operations beginning, it might provoke them unnecessarily.”

“Kidnapped…? My brother?”

I wondered if I should ask the question “Was Jenis Al Kaski kidnapped?” but…

[Unknown.]

‘I figured as much.’

Of course I couldn’t make that assumption.

Even if I got a result, it wouldn’t have told me the location anyway, so that’s some consolation.

“It’s just a possibility at this stage.”

“But without organizing a search party, what else can we do? And as you said, if he’s really been kidnapped—”

“Miss Iolline.”

I placed my hand on her trembling shoulders.

“…!”

Feeling her body gradually calming down, I looked into her eyes and spoke in a composed tone.

“Sometimes we need to take a step back when we’re in a hurry. I’ll help you, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Ah… yes, I understand.”

Fortunately, she’s reasonable.

Now I need to figure out why Jenis is doing this.

Though I can’t be certain, I thought I might learn something by talking to the person he’s been obsessing over.

“Miss Iolline. Please calm down and do as I say.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“How long does it take to get from here to the Al Kaski mansion?”

“What? Um… it’s not too far from Einhart Castle, but why so suddenly…?”

I looked at her puzzled expression and said.

“We’re going to meet Ian now.”

*

I rode in a carriage with her, leaving the castle gates and heading toward the outskirts of Einhart territory.

I was a bit worried as the sun had already set and evening was approaching, but fortunately, as she said, it didn’t take long to reach the Al Kaski mansion.

“We’ve arrived.”

After getting out of the carriage, I examined the massive mansion before me.

Though it was on the outskirts, the fact that they owned such a mansion within the territory confirmed my suspicion that the Al Kaski family was indeed quite influential.

“Um… please follow me this way.”

Following her, we were greeted by people who appeared to be servants with extremely courteous attitudes.

“Welcome back, Miss Iolline. If I may ask, who is the person following you…?”

“He’s a guest of brother Ian.”

“I see.”

Upon hearing this, the elderly maid spoke in an exceedingly polite tone.

“Then I shall guide you to—”

“It’s fine. I’ll do it myself, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Is that so? Then regarding dinner—”

“We’ve already eaten. It’s fine.”

“If the young miss says so…”

And so, we were able to enter the mansion without any difficulty.

*

The interior was ordinary.

Of course, by ordinary I mean it had an antique and luxurious feel that made it difficult to see as the mansion of a fallen noble family.

Considering that most noble families had their power diminished after the chaotic times, even this level was quite impressive.

Following her a few more steps, we arrived at what seemed to be a reception room.

“I think we can wait here.”

“Ian hasn’t returned yet?”

“No. He’s been working very busily.”

I had the silly thought that in this world, work would just be agriculture, commerce, training, and such things—what could he be so busy with?

But given how developed the territory and castle were, there must be many areas requiring manpower.

By the way, I hadn’t been assigned any specific duties these past few days because I was constantly being summoned by Serpina. If anything, my duty was to advise her.

After some time had passed.

With the sound of the door opening—a handsome man with black hair walked in from the distance.

It was a face I had seen once before.

“Brother Ian…!”

Ian turned his head to look at Iolline and asked.

“Iolline. What’s the matter? I heard I had a visitor.”

“Yes. Well…”

Iolline gestured toward me with her eyes.

“…”

I stood up and gave a slight bow.

Ian returned the bow and said.

“Are you the one who came to see me?”

“Yes.”

“I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting. Your name was Swen, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, Swen. What brings you here so suddenly?”

“May I explain slowly?”

“Well, that’s fine. Iolline. You may leave us.”

“Ah, I…”

“No. It’s fine for Miss Iolline to stay.”

“Oh?”

“It would actually be more convenient for my explanation if she stays.”

Upon hearing my words, Ian’s eyebrows moved slightly, and he crossed his arms, beginning to regard me with suspicion.

“Swen. You’re not…”

“…?”

And then.

He blurted out something I had never once considered.

“You haven’t come to see me, the head of the family, to propose to Iolline, have you?”

“Brother…!!”

With an embarrassed Iolline behind me, I answered in an extremely polite tone.

“That’s not the case.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief then. I wouldn’t want to make such an important decision lightly. I’ve heard a few times about your outstanding achievements, but it would still be difficult to decide something so suddenly… I hope you understand.”

“…”

While Iolline hung her head with a completely flushed face…

I carefully observed Ian’s appearance.

So he became the head of the family at a young age and was active on the battlefield, making him a promising talent within Serpina’s forces.

Since he wasn’t in my memories, it seemed certain that he would be killed at some point.

“Then, I’ll get straight to the point. Miss Iolline, would you mind explaining?”

“Ah…”

Iolline, who had regained some of her composure, nodded—

She briefly explained the situation as I had instructed her beforehand.

“You say Jenis’s behavior has become strange?”

“Yes. He’s been constantly angry and won’t even talk to me… I was wondering if you knew if something had happened to brother Jenis.”

“And the reason you came here—”

“As his roommate, I’m also worried about Senior Jenis. I’m concerned that he’s been absent from our quarters so often… I happened to run into Miss Iolline who was looking for him, so we came together.”

“Is that so? …It still seems suspicious.”

“…!”

Ian looked back and forth between Iolline and me several times.

Is he still suspicious about the relationship between Iolline and me?

I’m truly sorry, but I already had someone who would be my wife.

Ian remained deep in thought with his arms crossed.

“I don’t have any particular suspicions.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Jenis was never a particularly ambitious person.”

“But he always talked about you, Ian. He seemed to be very proud of you. When I saw Senior Jenis noticeably dejected, I naturally thought it might be related to you…”

“I appreciate your concern, but that fellow needs to live his own life too. A man bearing the Al Kaski name shouldn’t forever admire others.”

“Anyway, you don’t have any idea what might be going on? Anything at all would help.”

“An idea…”

Ian fell into thought for a moment, then slowly opened his lips.

“It probably has nothing to do with the current situation… but there was one rare occasion recently when he raised his voice to me.”

“What was it about?”

“If it’s alright, could you tell us?”

“…”

Ian looked at the cold tea on the table and said.

“…Swen. This is a somewhat complicated matter to discuss in front of you, of all people.”

“Pardon?”

“What do you mean by that, brother…?”

“Hmm…”

After sighing briefly a few more times, Ian continued.

“You’re probably aware that a new deputy commander of the occupation forces was appointed recently?”

‘…Ah.’

As soon as I heard those words, I realized why he had been reluctant to speak.

Irene Juliette.

The red-haired female knight who had risen to the position of deputy commander of the occupation forces—a position that was reportedly intended for Ian.

‘I didn’t expect that name to come up here.’

Perhaps seeking out Ian was the right answer after all.