“Are those behind you the hostages you rescued?”
“Yes. Twelve guards of the Winslet family, five retainers, and the rest are servants of this castle. They’re not all of them… but I believe we’ve found everyone we could.”
“Well done.”
“I’m truly relieved that you found Lady Anna as well, young master.”
“It was just luck.”
“What do you plan to do now?”
Just as we were about to start another strategy meeting, Anna cut in from behind.
“What the…when did you two get so close?”
“We’re not particularly close.”
“Sir Joseph only ever acts that politely around Father, you know? What did you do to win him over like that?”
I ruffled her hair and said,
“Don’t be jealous. I’m not stealing him away.”
“Wh-Who’s jealous, huh?”
“If you ask me, you two seem to have grown quite close. It’s like things went back to the old days.”
“Sir Joseph, don’t say weird things.”
Anna glared at him with her arms crossed, but Joseph just chuckled.
It was the first smile on the old knight’s face in days, after nothing but gloom.
“Well then, young master, your orders?”
“We’ll evacuate the rescued to outside the castle. After that, I intend to go deal with the one responsible for all this. What about you? Will you lead the others out with Anna?”
Joseph shook his head.
“No. I cannot retreat until I have rescued the Count, my lord.”
“I see.”
I decided to respect his decision.
Joseph turned to Anna and offered some advice.
“My lady, from now on, you must lead the Count’s household. Take the retainers and evacuate to a safe place.”
“A safe place? Look at the state of the lord’s castle. Where exactly am I supposed to go?”
“Head to the defensive outpost north of the castle for now. That’s where the elite forces and supplies of the Winslet family are located. Take command there and prepare for what comes next.”
“What comes next? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean… in case the young master and I fail to defeat the mage.”
Anna’s eyes wavered.
“Why would you say something like that…?”
“No matter what happens, the Winslet bloodline must not end. If you’re left alone, seek help.”
“Seek help? From who?”
“You can appeal to nearby lords, but… ideally, you should go to those more likely to be friendly to you. Go to the Belmont family.”
“Wait. The Belmont family…?”
“They’re your late mother’s side of the family.”
“Wait a minute. I’ve never even seen my mother’s face. She passed away right after I was born. And now you’re telling me to go to her family?”
“Yes. You must. You are the head of the Winslet family now.”
“Hold on… I’m not ready to be the head…”
Anna crouched down, covering her face.
After a long sigh, she stood up again, her face set with determination.
“Alright. I’ll do it. Who cares about a little embarrassment.”
“Thank you for listening to me.”
“But make sure it doesn’t come to that. …Please.”
“I’ll do my best.”
At Joseph’s uncertain reply, Anna’s expression hardened.
Then she gripped my hand tightly and said,
“Please save Father. I’m begging you.”
“I will.”
“And you have to come back safely too. Promise me.”
“I promise.”
Even after that, Anna kept fussing and giving warnings until Sir Joseph had to step in and cut her off.
“Then, young master, I’ll clear a path to the first floor.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
Now that the hostages had been rescued and we’d joined up with Sir Joseph, there was no need to hold back anymore.
I released the mana field I had been suppressing.
“I’ll make us an exit using magic. Everyone, move to one side of the wall.”
[Activated Camille’s Mountain Shatter spell.]
Booom!
Originally designed to carve tunnels through mountains, the spell reduced the soft stone walls of the Winslet castle to powder in an instant.
What was once the second-floor corridor now had a wide, open window.
It was definitely the second floor, but the view below was brutal.
The hole I’d blasted was at the chest level of a golem, with about a 20-meter drop to the ground.
Anna shot me a suspicious glare.
“You’re not seriously telling us to jump out of here, are you?”
“Why not?”
“That’s not a jump that ends with just broken legs, you know.”
“Hold on a moment.”
I was already weaving threads of mana.
I wove them into fabric, shaped it as it fluttered, and then filled the frame with ice-elemental magic.
Crackle.
What formed was a smooth, curved slide stretching from the window to the ground.
An ice slide.
“It’s ready. Hurry.”
The moment I released my mana field and cast the spell, the Hound of Venizelos caught the scent and began reacting.
Dishes came flying from a distance, so I quickly sealed off one side of the corridor with an earthen wall.
Then I glanced to the side.
Anna was still crouching in front of the slide, hesitant to go.
“What are you doing? Get going.”
“Ugh… I hate stuff like this. Are you sure I won’t fall off the side?”
Instead of answering, I gave her a little push on the back.
Anna let out a scream as she zipped down the slide.
“Kyahhhh! Winter Winslet, you just wait till I get my hands on yoooou!”
Her voice quickly faded into the distance.
Ah, sibling love at its finest, dear sister.
The servants followed after her one by one, and once I confirmed they all landed safely, I turned to Joseph.
“Let’s go too. To Father’s office.”
“Yes.”
At the heart of the lord’s castle, the Hound of Venizelos would be waiting for us.
Since we were on the second-floor gallery, the office was very close.
“I’ll open the door.”
With both hands gripping his sword, Joseph kicked the door open.
Clunk!
The office interior came into view.
Someone was seated beyond the desk.
It was the Count of Winslet.
His face was haggard, and his bloodshot eyes suggested he hadn’t slept in days.
Sir Joseph rushed forward in a single bound.
“My lord, are you safe!?”
“Sir Joseph… and my son…you’ve come here after all.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”
The Count turned to me and said,
“Leave this place at once. It’s a trap.”
“I know. I came to rescue you fully aware of that.”
“My days are numbered anyway. That foolish mage took me hostage not knowing that. But now that you’ve come to save me, it’s as if my sacrifice was for nothing. You should’ve rescued Anna first.”
“Anna is safe.”
“Is that true?”
Sir Joseph answered on my behalf.
“She escaped with the other hostages. I’ve instructed her to seek refuge with her maternal family if anything happens.”
“I see. Good.”
The Count let out a long sigh and then said,
“Thank you, my son.”
“I only did what needed to be done. And I made a promise to Anna…to defeat him and bring you back.”
A spark of determination returned to the Count’s eyes.
“…In that case, be careful. I’ve seen how he prepared during his stay here. I may not understand all the knowledge he worked with, but I can tell he didn’t lure you here without a plan.”
– Exactly, Count. I don’t fight battles I’m going to lose.
The Hound of Venizelos.
His voice rang out.
This time, it sounded closer than ever before.
Yet nowhere in the room could I see him.
Suspecting he might be hiding himself, I cast detection spells…but nothing responded.
“Show yourself.”
– Like this?
Rumble!
The ground beneath our feet began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
The entire room was shaking.
It was expanding again.
No, the room wasn’t getting wider.
The walls were coming apart, the ceiling falling away, revealing the space beyond.
The lord’s office disappeared, replaced by a new space.
A vertically towering hall, four massive pillars, and even an altar seemingly built for sacrificial offerings.
The scene that unfolded resembled a temple devoted to divine worship.
And as if declaring himself to be that divine being, the Hound of Venizelos stood far above, gazing down from a protrusion jutting out of the wall.
“What is this…?!”
“Joseph, take my father and get him out of here. Now.”
“At once.”
With Joseph’s support, Count Winslet rose to his feet with great effort, and I saw them off with my back turned.
The Hound of Venizelos watched them flee, but let them go.
His attention seemed fixed solely on me.
“You have no idea how stifling it’s been. Being able to speak face-to-face like this…what a delight.”
“I thought you’d tuck tail and run after wasting time with those feeble attacks. But I must say, I admire the courage it took to stand before me.”
“Hahaha. Those were merely trial runs. Rough sketches to test the secret arts I stole from Venizelos. If you truly judged me based on such childish tricks, you’ve made a grave miscalculation.”
The Hound of Venizelos sneered.
He was a man of grotesque appearance.
His wide-open eyes showed only the whites, and his face was a strange blend of youth and age.
His hair was half full of youthful black strands, half dried and white.
Half his face was wrinkled and covered in age spots, while the other half was so youthful it still had downy fuzz.
There’s a saying:
In stories, always beware of the elderly and the young.
Then what about this man in the world of Candela of Judgment, who is both old and young at once?
How powerful must he be?
He spoke.
“Let me ask you again. Do you have any intention of joining our Knowledge Liberation Front?”
“Pick one. Did you come here as the Hound of Venizelos to kill me, or did you come to recruit me into your little group?”
“At first, it was the former. But now, it’s the latter. We have our reasons too, you see. Originally, I planned to keep pretending to be Venizelos’s servant for a few more years….just long enough to steal one more of his secret spells. But after seeing your skills, Winter Winslet, I changed my mind. The magic you showed is far more valuable than any of Venizelos’s secret spells.”
He grinned, baring his teeth.
Rotten black molars were mixed with soft baby teeth.
“I’ll say this in advance….it’s pointless to refuse. Now that we know you possess wisdom we’ve never seen before, we will extract it from your mind by any means necessary.”
“…….”
“What remains for you to decide is this. Will you offer that wisdom willingly and receive a reward in return, or will you be dismantled into the smallest of pieces leaving behind nothing but your bones and hide?
“…….”
“Still, I’m more reasonable than the other executives. When they find a promising mage, they don’t even ask questions; they just shove them in a coffin. Let them rot for about 200 years, then turn them into a lich, squeeze their soul, and rip out what they want.”
So he’s one of the executives of the Knowledge Liberation Front?
Great.
I thought he was just the Hound of Venizelos. Turns out I’m caught up with someone far more dangerous than I expected.
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