Ch.53Hunting #3

“Are you really alright?”

Clatter.

Chess couldn’t hide his evident concern as he placed the steaming teacup on the table.

Eas, the owner of the seat who had been processing a modest hill of thin folders, silently picked up the teacup in response and brought it to his lips. It was still a well-crafted beverage with excellent aroma and taste.

“You mean Helena.”

After an uncomfortable yet tense silence, Eas put down his teacup and finally opened his heavy lips.

Chess, far from being surprised by the question that seemed to read his mind, nodded as if it were obvious.

He had served the former Duke Krauser, who was still a great elder of the Krauser family, for many years.

“Yes. Risling border territory… isn’t it dangerous to send her to such a perilous place?”

“Have you gotten better at joking with age? I thought it was more dangerous when Helena engaged in that duel.”

Eas smiled faintly as he recalled that time. His daughter Helena, who lacked nothing in character, skill, or mindset…

The moment when that child first revealed the madness she had kept tightly concealed inside, showing such pressure that even he had to step back.

“Ah. I was also quite anxious when I heard that news. I never expected Lady Helena would value my unworthy son so highly…”

Chess felt the same as Eas.

On that day when she executed Kane with her own hands, Chess thought it was merely the emergence of Helena’s hidden nature as a ruler.

He believed it was simply the first time the gentle girl, who had seemed to lack the ruthlessness necessary for a ruler, had shown that ruthlessness, and thus gained complete recognition as the next duchess from Eas.

However, thinking carefully, his son Zion was deeply connected to all of it.

Zion had eaten poison to have Kane executed, and because Zion was almost violated and slapped, it led to the consequence of a duel.

Even now, the Killinear duchy was in an uproar due to the aftermath of that consequence.

A deep and persistent obsession with Zion. Everything was because of that.

“I wasn’t afraid when my daughter became a Swordmaster. I thought I knew my daughter well and had faith in her. So I believed she couldn’t become dangerous.”

“Of course, Lady Helena’s talent and power are exceptionally remarkable, but…”

“As a parent, I’m not completely without worry either. But perhaps not as much as you.”

It wasn’t concern that Helena might be in danger, but worry that Helena herself was threatening.

Eas felt this subtle difference acutely, while outwardly maintaining a calm demeanor.

The deep and sticky abyss that his only daughter had hidden inside—the shock of facing it was still vivid, but she was still his daughter.

“Besides, you’ve seen it too, haven’t you? Helena’s dangerousness.”

“That is…”

Chess couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Just as Eas had said, the obsession he had witnessed in Helena for the first time had been so morbid, far exceeding the level of ordinary people, that it gave him goosebumps.

Seeing the silence that was more eloquent than anything, Eas sighed and downed his half-cooled tea in one gulp.

It was an act that carried a small wish for the stuffiness accumulated inside to be washed away.

“Yes. That’s why your son is absolutely necessary. I’m sorry for placing such a heavy burden on him.”

Ironically, Helena’s trigger point was the biggest reason for finding her stability.

Zion Altram was so important to Helena Krauser that she would likely grieve more over his death than her parents’—he was her highest priority.

“A heavy burden? Not at all. When she expressed her intention to be engaged, I was only honored that my son received such an excessive blessing…”

“Now I feel like I should be the one bowing deeply. Your son is playing such a significant role. One might even call it destiny, to put it grandly.”

A woman doesn’t show such extreme behavior simply because she loves a man.

Therefore, the dark mass Helena harbored inside was likely something she had from the beginning, and it would be correct to say that Chess’s son had prevented it from manifesting.

In the process, her becoming obsessed with the child who had been a kind of protector could only be described as peculiar fate… but it was absolutely necessary for Krauser.

As an essential element to guide that talent in the right direction.

◎◎◎

“Being nobility sure is nice…”

In a lodging house, a group of dark elves gathered in a spacious room, laughing and relaxing from their travel fatigue.

They felt grateful not only for the expensive and spacious room prepared for them but also for all the treatment they had received so far.

“I know, right? Plenty of travel money, good horses, nice accommodations…”

Olivia chimed in agreement while looking at Dana, who was lying listlessly on the bed.

It had been their routine to stay in cheap rooms divided into groups, but since coming to the Krauser duchy, everything had been going well.

It was as if they were shaking off decades of accumulated bad luck.

“You know, I’ve heard nobles are promiscuous, but I’ve never seen someone so faithfully promiscuous. Right?”

“I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.”

Adela, who usually maintained a silent presence, unusually waved her hand in response.

The other women sprawled around the room shared similar thoughts and added their own comments.

“Still, if he hadn’t noticed that Ellen had a special relationship with them, he probably wouldn’t have acted that way, right?”

Olivia smirked, pointing to the adjacent room where creaking sounds could be heard.

With their hearing better than humans, they could faintly hear the bed squeaking and muffled moans.

The room had good soundproofing, which kept the sounds minimal—in a cheap inn, they would have heard everything as if it were happening right in front of them.

“Maybe. The Krauser Duke is good at self-suggestion. Conversely, unless that mask slips, he won’t truly open his heart.”

“So he’s kind but draws a clear line? That type of person can be quite difficult to deal with.”

“Being difficult would be the least of it. Do you know how much effort it takes to cross that line? Most people just accept it as the way things are because they never have the chance.”

The conversation flowing between these women who had experienced many types of people showed their years of experience.

Yet they were as lively as children, clearly showing the difference between humans and elves—differences stemming from racial traits and innate lifespan.

“With a face like that, he must attract many women, but it’s interesting how he stays faithful.”

“Come on. With a body that makes men drool, why would he need to look for other women? And she’s obedient too. Even I’d be tempted if I were a man.”

“Still, it’s surprising. Even the most delicious food becomes boring when eaten every day, and it’s natural for people to seek snacks or special treats.”

They exchanged rather embarrassing stories about how main dishes become snacks and snacks become main dishes.

Of course, they had no intention of insulting their employer—they were simply expressing admiration for something rare.

“Anyway, it’s much better to see this than people spreading their legs or thrusting everywhere. Don’t you think?”

“That’s true.”

While the dark elves were heated in their various discussions, only Ellen remained silent, just listening.

Though she too had lived a rough life, the image of a certain man kept appearing in her mind.

The man Ellen pictured alone was Zion.

His sweat-soaked appearance. The firm body visible when he removed his upper garment, and the well-trained erector muscles that made her unconsciously hold her breath.

The memory of noticing his lean, compressed muscles was still vivid.

Of course, she sometimes received passionate glances from Helena during those moments… but they were at a cutely tolerable level, so she easily brushed them off.

“…Ellen. Ellen!”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Nothing, you were just staring blankly, so I wondered if you were feeling unwell.”

Ellen started with surprise and looked around with wide eyes.

Though Olivia’s call had pulled her from her fantasy, the impact had been so great that her response was dazed.

It wasn’t unusual to see such a reaction when calling someone deep in thought.

However, Olivia seemed to have caught something, showing a mischievous smile.

“What? Were you perhaps imagining Altram’s son?”

How did she know!

Ellen was momentarily startled but composed her expression in the blink of an eye.

She acted as if she had never been flustered, but the sharp-eyed dark elves wouldn’t miss such a reaction.

“Hmm. I see~ Well, Ellen did spend time with those two in the training grounds.”

“Yes, but… why bring that up suddenly?”

“Well, I was thinking. Didn’t Altram’s son act quite roughly back then? Wouldn’t that mean you naturally got to see some skin?”

Another wave of disturbance hit Ellen’s already unsettled heart.

Olivia’s question seemed to read her mind perfectly, making it impossible to maintain a peaceful composure.

She had already been conscious of men due to the explicit conversation, so it was natural that she couldn’t recover from this predicament.

If someone else had been present, she would have remained vigilant, but in that case, such a conversation wouldn’t have come up in the first place.

In the end, Ellen couldn’t help but blush as if cornered.

“I did see, but… what does that have to do with anything?!”

When Ellen raised her voice, Olivia and the other dark elves let out low squeals of delight.

They felt the satisfaction of seeing a fish take the bait.

“What does it have to do with anything? Everything. Our Ellen has finally found a man worth noticing—how could that not matter?”

“Noticing…! I never did such a thing!”

“Fine. Let’s say you didn’t notice him. Would you consider sleeping with him?”

Though no one had ever openly flirted with them, they had developed a strong immunity from hearing such talk all their lives. Ellen was no exception.

While she wouldn’t normally be embarrassed by discussions of physical pleasure, the subject matter made her quite shy.

“Do you think that’s even possible?”

“Normally, no. Most people of any race avoid us, and I’ve long resigned myself to growing old without a partner. You know it too, Ellen. If we want to mate comfortably, we’d have to grab some mindless monster and roll around with it. But monsters are really not an option.”

Olivia’s words were explicit and somewhat cringe-worthy, but they were true.

As the first dark elf to integrate into human society, Ellen understood this painfully well.

They were rejected everywhere.

“Yes, I know.”

“So, if a man appears who doesn’t avoid dark elves, it’s natural not to let him go, right? Someone like Zion Altram, for instance.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s impossible.”

“Well, it’s impossible right now. But look, for whatever reason, they’ve put us in the same enclosure and are making various efforts for us, so we might achieve some results in some form.”

It was hope bordering on futile despair, but Ellen also felt that possibility existed.

So she unconsciously nodded.

“So, when that time comes, subtly slip in and receive his seed. Taking him from the duchess is out of the question, and we’re not that unconscionable. Just asking for a small corner would be more than enough to be grateful for.”

She might have frowned at the explicit suggestion to become a concubine, but Ellen, who was listening, lowered her head as if struggling with overwhelming embarrassment.

As someone who knew better than anyone that her fate was too unfortunate to form a family, she couldn’t help but glimpse that possibility.

Yes. Nobles secretly keep many concubines. Some even marry multiple wives. That means…