Chapter 29 : I’m very calm right now

“…What is this?”

Returning, I found the mansion in a terrible state.

Windows shattered here and there, the front gate half-demolished.

And countless footprints stamped all over the garden.

The blatant evidence screamed that intruders had come, and for a moment, my mind went blank.

Who could have done this?

Even as the question formed, my legs were already carrying me toward the mansion.

It’s eerily quiet.

That meant the situation had either been resolved without me…or I was too late.

Praying it wasn’t the latter, I stepped inside, and a scene of utter chaos unfolded.

As if there had been an explosion, the floor was cratered, and the decorations were smashed beyond recognition.

Thankfully, it seemed the worst hadn’t happened.

The servants who were cleaning up all looked unharmed.

No.

There’s no way they’d be unscathed after intruders wreaked this much havoc.

“L, Lord.”

“What in the world happened? Who broke in? …No, first, is anyone hurt?”

The servants who were cleaning exchanged glances, hesitant to answer my question.

And their pallor suggested they were hiding something.

Surely, there weren’t any casualties?

The thought made me uneasy, so I grabbed a maid by the shoulder.

“Tell me! Is anyone hurt? Ord, where’s Ord?”

“H, Head Butler is tending to Lady Serena…”

Thank goodness. I was worried when I didn’t see Ord-.

Wait, what did you just say?

“I’m sorry…it’s our fault for being so useless…”

Leaving the tearful maid behind, I rushed toward Serena’s room.

But she wasn’t there, so I quickly changed direction and ran to my own room.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!”

I was breathless, my heart pounding violently.

Even though I knew I had to confirm it, my steps felt heavy as I went to check.

As my blood boiled with anxiety, I arrived at the room and threw open the door.

“…Lord.”

The room was dark.

Ord, wrapped in bandages, sat beside the bed, looking up at me with listless eyes.

And on the bed lay Serena, her eyes tightly shut as if in a deep sleep.

It can’t be, it mustn’t be.

Slowly approaching Serena, I reached out a trembling hand and gently shook her shoulder.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

With each repetition, my mind shook as well, and the blood that had been so hot gradually turned cold.

Yet Serena didn’t stir in the slightest.

I listened to Ord’s account of what had happened in my absence, and nodded.

So. Serena had pushed herself to protect the people of the mansion.

Perhaps because of the commotion, my mind was clearer than ever.

I was no longer even fazed by Serena’s shallow breathing.

Am I crazy, or am I going crazy?

“…Are you alright?”

Whatever the case, I must not seem normal to others.

Worrying about someone else in front of an unconscious person.

“I’m fine. Thankfully, Serena is still breathing.”

The problem was that even that breath was faint and fragile.

But her heart was still beating, so her breathing would return to normal soon.

Then she’d wake up after a night’s sleep.

She’d greet the morning as if nothing had happened, barely remembering that she had almost died.

That’s how it would be.

No, that’s how it had to be.

“Ord.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Serena…you said she vomited blood? Was she attacked?”

“No, sir. She collapsed suddenly while using magic.”

I see.

Nodding, I closed my eyes and imagined the scene.

Serena must have known she was in danger.

Yet, to protect the people, she had pushed herself, drawing on so much mana that even the magic tools couldn’t compensate, and she had reached her limit.

I’m so proud of her.

The girl who had only been lovely, the girl who had tried to push people away, was now fighting to protect them.

“You did well. You saved everyone.”

Even when I stroked her hair, Serena remained unresponsive.

Right. That’s not what I should be doing now.

I can praise her to my heart’s content when she wakes up, so I decided to do what I had to do.

“…We’ve captured some of their group in the basement.”

As I stood up, Ord, as if reading my mind, spoke.

“I understand your feelings, but we must leave one alive to hand over to the guard.”

How strange. As if I didn’t know that.

It’s just that I had no intention of doing so.

One of the basements was used as a storage room, but the other had no purpose, so it was left empty.

I had considered moving useless items there, but there weren’t any such items, and leaving it empty bothered me.

But to think it would be used like this. You never know what might happen.

“Hic…!”

Three men were tied to chairs.

They had been beaten severely during their capture. Their eyes were bruised purple, and their mouths were stained with blood.

It’s a good thing I brought a candle.

I might not have been able to see this wonderful sight if there had been no light.

“P, please spare us…W, we were wrong…”

Perhaps anticipating their fate, they began to sob as soon as they saw my face.

How disgusting. They had intended to kill people, and now they were begging for forgiveness.

I felt nauseous, but I decided to endure it for a while. I placed the candle on the floor and sat down on the remaining chair.

As expected of Ord. He’s always well-prepared.

“I don’t care who you are or why you did this.”

After all, the underlings wouldn’t know any valuable information.

“Because of what you’ve done, I don’t know what to do. Should I even consider you humans? I want to kill you all right now.”

At my words, they shook their heads, tears streaming down their faces.

If their arms and legs were free, they would be kneeling and begging at my feet.

But I don’t need that.

“However, I’ll spare one of you and hand him over to the guard. If you give me the most useful information, I might even leave your limbs intact.”

Their eyes lit up at once.

As if they had found a way to survive, a small light of hope flickered in their eyes.

“O, our boss…no, his name is Zelpine! He said he used to attend the academy!”

So, he’s the one Serena fought.

But you see.

“I don’t need that.”

“…Huh?”

The face of the man who thought he had given good information crumbled in despair.

It may not be much of a reward, but I gathered mana, formed it into a blade, and slit his throat.

The sound of muscle being severed and blood spurting was instantaneous.

So was the sight of the head of the man who had been alive just moments ago rolling on the ground.

“U..uaaaa!”

“S… save me! Please save me!”

His companion, his mind completely broken by the death of the man next to him, lost his reason and began to scream.

Ah, how noisy.

Annoyed by the unpleasant sound, I summoned water with magic and poured it over their heads.

The candle…is still burning. That’s a relief.

“Don’t do anything to annoy me. If you do it again, you’ll end up like that too.”

“Y, yes!”

“Now, then, next. Do you have any more information to offer?”

Perhaps still reeling from the death of his companion, the men only breathed heavily, not speaking.

Ah, frustrating.

There’s an obvious answer they could give in this situation. Why aren’t they saying it?

“W, we’ll tell you where our hideout is!”

Well, at least one of them has his wits about him.

The man who had finally spoken not only revealed the location of the hideout, but also rattled off the goods he was selling and the routes he used to

distribute them.

I wasn’t that curious.

But at least he was more useful than the man from before.

“Good. You spoke well.”

“R, really? Th, then…”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

At my insincere smile, the man grinned with joy.

But that laughter was cut short as an ice spike I created pierced his chest.

I’ll have to erase from my memory the look in his eyes, which didn’t understand why he was dying until the very end.

So, that leaves one.

His companions seem to have said everything already, so does he have anything else to offer?

“…You were planning this from the start, weren’t you?”

So, he’s chosen resignation.

I wanted to see him struggle to survive, but I guess he couldn’t help but realize it after coming this far.

“You monster…were you planning to play with us? You weren’t going to spare us from the beginning, were you?”

“That’s right. Why would I spare the likes of you?”

Hand him over to the guard?

Is there really a need to do that? I can make him tell me everything myself.

Even if he doesn’t speak, finding their hideout with my skills is a piece of cake.

Everything I’ve done so far has been for my own personal reasons, to vent my anger.

But it wasn’t very fun. There are still many more to deal with.

“I’ll send your remaining companions, and the man called the boss, to your side. Did you think I’d just stand by like an idiot after you touched my home, my people? 

I’ll make you regret it even in death. I’ll make you dwell on what you’ve done even in hell!”

Snapping my fingers, I created a flame and tossed it at the man’s head.

The flames gradually consumed his hair, and soon the fire grew to engulf his entire head.

But it didn’t end there. The flames swallowed his face and gradually flowed down his neck.

Leaving the man writhing and screaming like a beast behind me, I left the basement.

As the distance grew, the screams grew fainter, until they were no longer audible.