Chapter 169

Thanks to the effects of the elixir, Sir Joseph’s condition quickly improved.

Even the wounds that had resisted divine healing due to lingering magical traces began to heal again.

With a heavy heart, I opened my mouth.

“He called himself the Hound of Venizelos, did he?”

“Yes, young master. I don’t know what that means myself, but he said you would understand.”

“He is my enemy.”

Most likely.

The archmage of Karaf, Venizelos, and Winter Winslet had never exactly been on good terms.

After all, Winter Winslet had once coldly rejected Venizelos’s offer to become his apprentice.

More recently, the two had clashed over the matter of Shannon.

I had ruined Venizelos’s plans to bring his successor back to Karaf.

He could very well have held a grudge over that and sent his hound after me.

I just hadn’t expected that hound to follow me all the way home and take my family hostage.

A sudden thought struck me….maybe I had made a mistake.

Should I have returned to my family estate more carefully, in secret?

I had deliberately stirred up the lords of Lofield to make a spectacle, thinking the main house might refuse to receive me.

But maybe that very commotion had reached the enemy’s ears.

If so, then it was my fault that my father and sister were put in danger.

“Young master.”

At that moment, as if reading my thoughts, Joseph spoke.

“No matter who the enemy is, we simply fought against the one who attacked House Winslet’s castle. So please, do not blame yourself.”

“What should I do?”

“Return to the main house and save the family. As a member of the Count’s house.”

At his words, all lingering hesitation within me disappeared.

“Sir Joseph, I cannot wait for you to recover.”

“I understand.”

“Will you be able to wield your sword?”

“I’ll find a way to recover before we reach the Winslet County.”

He was now removing his battered armor and wrapping his body with clean bandages.

Despite his age, the muscles used for wielding a sword still remained on his lean frame.

It was proof that he had never neglected his training.

“Good. Then wait here for a while. I’ll go find a horse for you to ride to the main estate.”

“Yes.”

If I asked the mayor of Maronford or his aide, they would surely provide us with as many horses as we needed.

But what concerned me more was Dahlia.

“You’ll stay here.”

She didn’t know how to ride a horse, and even if I forced her to ride behind me, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee her safety in the middle of a battle.

“Yes, I understand.”

Her answer was calm, but her expression was not.

She looked reluctant to be separated from me.

But there was no helping it.

Perhaps realizing she would only be a burden, she tried to reason with herself.

“I wouldn’t be of any help in a fight anyway. I’ll stay here quietly and try not to get in the way.”

“I’ll ask the mayor to provide you a place to stay.”

“I hope you come back soon.”

Instead of saying something like “You must win” or “Return safely”, Dahlia simply said that with quiet sincerity.

It was as if the thought of me losing hadn’t even crossed her mind.

It hadn’t crossed mine either.

When we were about halfway back to city hall, we ran into the mayor’s aide, who had come looking for us after hearing the commotion.

Everything after that was resolved swiftly.

Joseph and I rode off immediately, galloping along the shortest route to the Winslet County.

Clop, clop, clop.

From the start, we pushed our horses to their maximum speed, switching them out whenever they got tired using the four spare horses we had each brought.

While riding, we conserved our words.

It was to save our strength.

Only when the horses became too exhausted to run did we dismount and take a break.

The horses grazed on their own, and since Joseph was an old and injured man, setting up camp fell entirely to me.

I’d never properly learned how, but thanks to magic, it was easy enough.

Using earth magic, I created a simple structure to block the wind, then lit a fire and boiled some water.

As for gathering food or hunting meat, I had no talent for that.

So instead, I just took some pre-packed rations and chewed them slowly, softening them in my mouth.

“I can take the first watch if you’d like to get some sleep.”

“It’s too bright around here. I doubt I’d be able to close my eyes. You should rest instead.”

“I’m fine as well. Staying awake actually helps me keep my mind sharp.”

Since we had been riding without rest through day and night, it was now morning.

Neither of us was particularly eager to sleep, so we naturally slipped into conversation.

“Young master, it’s shameful to admit, but I’ve already been defeated. Having failed to protect the Count and the young lady. In a battle against the mage who took the castle… can I truly be of any help?”

“To give you the conclusion first… yes, you can.”

A mage is by no means an invincible being.

Their power may be immense. Enough to flatten mountains or raise the seas. but one stab to the heart, and they die like any other human.

And assuming the two opponents are evenly matched, a battle between mages often results in a standoff.

Like two hands locked in an arm wrestle and stuck in the middle, our mana fields would clash, each fighting for dominance.

In that moment, even the smallest weight added to the scale could tip the balance and decide the outcome.

Of course, unless Venizelos himself had personally come here, I doubted there was any mage who could stand on equal footing with me, an 8th-class mage.

Still, the enemy wouldn’t have made their move without a plan.

“If you can catch that one decisive moment…just once, that will be enough.”

“I understand.”

Joseph quietly closed his eyes and began to meditate.

By the time the sun reached its zenith, we set off on our second ride.

This time, we made it nearly halfway to the Winslet estate before stopping.

After letting the horses loose to graze, darkness had already begun to settle around us.

Even before I started setting up camp, Joseph was leaning against a nearby tree stump, breathing heavily.

A stifled groan slipped from his lips.

“Are you in bad shape?”

“I think I may have a bit of a fever.”

“Looks like one of your not-yet-healed wounds reopened.”

“At this rate, I might not be able to ride tomorrow.”

Joseph was old enough to know when to put on a brave face and when not to.

I mixed elixir into water and gave it to him to drink.

His breathing eased almost instantly.

“Thank you, young master.”

“If your condition worsens again, tell me immediately.”

“The healer said so, too. He told me the only reason I survived after arriving at Maronford looking like a corpse… was because of the potion you gave me.”

“You mean the elixir?”

Joseph nodded.

“I’ve heard that’s a legendary remedy that can bring even the dying back to life. And… it truly did that.”

A shadow slowly passed over Joseph’s expression.

“Was it really right to use something so precious… on an old man like me? Aren’t you the one who needs it more, young master?”

Sir Joseph had served the Winslet family his whole life, and his relationship with my father, the Count, was practically that of brothers.

It wouldn’t be surprising if he knew secrets tied to our family.

That explained it.

No wonder his attitude wasn’t exactly hostile when we first met again after ten years.

So, he knew about my illness.

“Elixirs can’t cure my condition. So don’t feel burdened for drinking it.”

“I see… Thank you.”

As soon as morning broke, we rode out once more.

The third encampment marked our final rest before reaching Winslet County.

Joseph’s condition had improved significantly, and he began swinging his sword to prepare for the battle ahead.

I too was deep in thought about the coming fight.

Every mage learned different spells, so naturally, their fighting styles varied as well.

That’s why I decided to ask Sir Joseph.

“Joseph, how did the enemy attack the castle? Tell me everything you saw from the moment he appeared to when you left the estate.”

“He appeared before us on the day you left the castle, young master. No, rather than saying he appeared, it would be more accurate to say he was waiting for us to find him. He was sitting in the Count’s office as he pleased while holding Miss Anna hostage.”

“Did you fight him?”

“Yes. A few of us, the quickest on our feet, rushed at him to rescue Miss Anna. But he had set traps around where he sat. A magic circle we failed to detect was activated, and four of us died on the spot.”

So, he’s the kind of mage who prefers building a stronghold and luring in his enemy, rather than directly attacking with firepower.

That would explain why he didn’t come after me when I left the estate and instead took over the lord’s castle just to summon me back.

“He demanded we bring him the four barrier stones that protect Winslet Castle.”

“Did the stones fall into his hands?”

“Yes. He threatened Miss Anna’s life. We had no choice.”

“What happened after that?”

“He had everyone removed from the office and ordered that no one enter.”

“Did he release Anna?”

“No. So we kept sending people in. But none of them ever came back. The servant who brought food, the retainers who went in to negotiate, and even the Count family’s mages who tried to carry out a rescue mission.”

“They all died?”

“I don’t know. There were no sounds of fighting, no voices….nothing. Anyone who headed for the office would vanish at some point. Even if you held their hand, tied them with a rope, or watched from a distance…it was the same. The servants were terrified. In the end, no one even dared to deliver food.”

“The area around the office has already become a demonic zone.”

“In the end, the Count stepped forward himself. He said he’d go in and try to negotiate. But if nothing changed after two hours, everyone was to evacuate the castle, and I was to go to you.”

“You just let my father go?”

“I… I’m truly sorry. Of course, by all reason, we should have gotten the Count to safety. But we couldn’t abandon Miss Anna. Because…”

“Because Anna is the only heir to the Count’s family. And my father’s health has worsened considerably, hasn’t it? In that case, I understand.”

Joseph’s eyes widened.

“You knew?”

“Anna told me.”

“…Incredible. That the young lady would…”

I let out a long sigh.

“So when my father didn’t come out, you came looking for me right away?”

“No.”

“……”

“I couldn’t bring myself to leave the Count and the young lady behind. So I led the remaining soldiers and marched toward the mage’s location, fully prepared to die. And then… things I couldn’t understand began to happen.”

“Things you couldn’t understand?”

“Everything in the castle started attacking us.”

Joseph explained how the carpet on the floor rose like a snake and tried to strangle them, how the suits of armor meant for display drew swords and charged at them, and how forks and knives meant for dining flew around like flocks of iron birds and attacked.

“It felt like we were fighting the castle itself. In the end, we were captured without even putting up a proper fight. Fortunately, he didn’t kill those he captured. Said we were useful for something.”

“Then how did you escape, Joseph?”

“I didn’t escape. He let me go.”

“…Explain.”

“He said if I brought you back, he’d release the hostages he had swallowed so far. So, young master… my request for your help was also, in a way, part of a trap to lure you in.”

Joseph didn’t say he was sorry. He didn’t tell me I could still turn back.

He simply looked at me with a silent, resolute face as he asked.

And I answered.

“We’re family. Of course I’ll go.”

Joseph bowed his head deeply in front of me.

After our final rest, we rode hard and finally arrived at Winslet Castle.

“But Joseph, you said he destroyed the castle, didn’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then… did he really reduce it to ashes? Wipe it off the map entirely?”

“No.”

“Then where is Winslet Castle?”

What greeted me upon returning to my family’s estate after a week… was a barren, empty field.

All that remained where the castle once stood were a few crumbled ruins. The once-magnificent and imposing lord’s castle was gone without a trace.

As I sat atop my horse, staring blankly at the scene before me, a voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.

– Hehehe, back so soon? Did you forget something important?

It was a voice loud enough to deafen, booming as if a giant were shouting.

Yet, no such giant was visible anywhere in sight.

I frowned and expanded my mana field.

“So you’re the hound of Venizelos. If you’ve found me, then show yourself at once.”

– As you wish. But I hope you won’t be too surprised.

Drrrrrrrumble!

With that reply, a huge tremor began to shake the ground.

I leapt off my startled, bucking horse just in time to see an enormous landmass rising from the ruins ahead.

And yet… the shape was oddly familiar.

It was the main keep of the vanished lord’s castle.

Only, its form was slightly different.

The main building now had long limbs, arms and legs I had never seen before.

In other words, standing before me was… a giant golem made from Winslet Castle itself.