Chapter 36
The kidnapped people and the abductors were taken to the capital by the knights, while Rosedale, Lukas, and Kane stayed behind in the village.
They still had unfinished business.
Business that led them to the village administrative office.
“You’ve already heard from my adjutant why I came all the way here, haven’t you?”
Lukas tapped the armrest of the sofa lightly, his expression blank.
“Count.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Count Doris, the lord of the village, stood with his hands politely clasped and bowed to Lukas. Behind him, the village administrator and sheriff also bowed deeply, unable to straighten up.
“Do you remember what I said when I granted you this land and appointed you as lord?”
“You said, since it’s a village near the capital, I must not sully the imperial name and… do a better job…”
Doris trailed off, unconsciously watching Lukas’ expression.
“Right. And yet, how should I take the fact that a slave trader has been operating openly here?”
“I truly didn’t know, Your Majesty.”
“And what about the administrator and the sheriff? Were they unaware too?”
“Yes, Your Majesty! That’s right!”
All three nodded frantically.
Their eyes trembled violently as they looked at Lukas. Just having his gaze land on them made their legs tremble.
Between them, Doris clenched his shaking teeth.
Fools. They’d been so sloppy in handling things that they’d fallen right into the emperor’s trap.
So what if they rounded up vagrants and beggars who were ruining the appearance of the village and sold them off? What was the big deal?
But it was too soon to despair.
Even the emperor couldn’t corner him with just circumstantial evidence. The hard proof was in his possession. He had nothing to fear.
Doris tried to dismiss the emperor in front of him as just a young man.
This was only his third time seeing Lukas. He didn’t know him well.
He had heard that Lukas was managing post-war affairs well.
But no matter how much credit someone had earned on the battlefield, a rookie was still a rookie. It had only been about four years since Lukas had become emperor.
In comparison, Doris had held his countship for nearly thirty years. A veteran.
There was no way he’d lose to Lukas.
Then why was cold sweat trickling down his back?
“I very much despise liars who dare lie to me,” Lukas said in a cold, detached tone, never taking his gaze off them.
“It’s bad enough that you can proudly claim ignorance about what happens on land I rule… but I hate lies even more than that.”
His clipped, emotionless voice made the three men gulp.
Doris hurried to defend himself.
“I—I admit I should’ve known. I have no excuse. But please, Your Majesty, grant me the chance to punish those ruffians who dishonored me! I will make an example—”
“Silence.”
Lukas furrowed his brow and gave a low command, as if the noise annoyed him.
Doris closed his mouth, though he still looked eager to defend himself again.
“Rosedale.”
“Yes.”
Standing behind the sofa with Kane, Rosedale stepped forward.
She stood beside Lukas and glanced up at him with her round eyes. Her sweet expression was the same one she’d worn just before turning the kidnappers into frogs.
Which was to say, utterly wicked.
“Can I handle this however I want?”
“Of course.”
“To what extent?”
“As far as you’d like.”
As Lukas’ lips curled into a smile, Rosedale’s grew deeper.
“If Your Majesty says so with such certainty, then…”
She turned her gaze toward the three men in front of her.
“I’ll bring you what you need, Your Majesty.”
Whatever it took.
Rosedale looked down at the three men, still bowing, her eyes narrowing coldly.
Though Lukas hadn’t said it out loud, she already understood what he needed.
Before arriving, she had heard the rough details of the case from the kidnappers. Now all that remained was objective proof.
She knew that if she could obtain just one thing, she could get everything they needed.
A confession.
“Count Doris. What I want is simple.”
Rosedale approached Doris and spoke in a whisper-like tone.
“The ledger. Where is it?”
“The ledger? I’m not sure what ledger you’re referring to…”
Doris’s tone was lighter than it had been with Lukas.
Unlike the Aura Master, who exuded a strange pressure just by standing still, the girl in front of him was different.
Sure, he’d heard she was a capable magician. The room was filled with magical potions and items she had supposedly created.
But still, she was just a young girl.
She was supposedly raised under the royal family’s watchful protection, never even sent to war despite the crown’s emphasis on noblesse oblige. She must have been spoiled.
Lukas was intimidating because of his achievements. But this naive girl? A much easier opponent.
Feeling more confident, Doris let a slight smile escape.
“Pretending not to know won’t help. The kidnappers already confessed.”
Rosedale slowly moved closer to him.
“They said there’s a ledger recording how you abducted people and sold them as slaves to some nameless trader beyond the empire.”
“Haha. Surely you don’t believe such nonsense?”
Doris began to straighten from his bow, laughing nervously.
“You may not realize, but shady characters often fabricate things like that.”
“Oh really? Then why don’t you explain it properly?”
“Of course, of course.”
Rosedale smiled as she spoke, and Doris forced a cough, trying to suppress his laughter.
“To people like those, a clean and honest lord like me is a thorn in their side. Since I don’t take bribes, they probably made up this non-existent ledger to frame me.”
“That’s right!”
Encouraged by his apparent success, the administrator and sheriff also chimed in, subtly straightening their backs.
“Such incidents are common. We’ve seen it enough to not even bother reacting anymore!”
“We’re victims too! The river leads to the sea, and criminals often use it! How can we know everything happening there?”
“Tsk, tsk. Let’s calm down now. They probably misunderstood because they didn’t know any better.”
Doris feigned restraint, placing his hands behind his back and flashing a confident smile.
“Now that we’ve explained it clearly, I trust Your Highness will make a wise judgment. Isn’t that so?”
“….”
Tap, tap.
Rosedale looked down at Doris’s hand as it tapped her shoulder.
So different from the small hand that had once clutched her pant leg. This hand wore shining gold rings, stark against the tattered rags of the kidnapped victims.
“…Why.”
Rosedale’s soft lips released a voice rough as sandpaper.
“Why do creatures so inhuman keep wearing the mask of humanity?”
“What are you—”
Doris scowled at the insult, but as his gaze met Rosedale’s, he faltered.
Her ruby-red eyes, once sweet as strawberries, had turned a bloody crimson.
He felt like the space around them was slowly darkening.
He wanted to believe it was just his imagination, but even the saliva he swallowed felt heavier.
“Creatures like you don’t deserve the air you breathe.”
The moment Rosedale glared at him, Doris’s vision twisted.
The grand chandelier vanished. The ornate fireplace disappeared. The emperor, his luxurious leather sofa, even the golden-thread carpet beneath his feet—all faded away.
“L-Lord Count!”
The administrator and sheriff rolled their eyes and looked around in panic.
Doris, too, dumbfounded, scanned the surroundings.
Endless darkness. No floor in sight. No hint of an exit.
Had he gone blind? But he could still see the others.
Then the administrator screamed in a trembling voice.
“Where are we? I-Is this hell? Are we being punished for the kidnappings—?!”
“Shut up!”
Doris clamped his hand over the administrator’s mouth, eyes wide.
“This is all an illusion. Look—we’re standing firmly, and we can breathe!”
“Y-Yes. Now that you mention it…”
“Tch.”
Doris coldly shook off the administrator and sheriff clinging to his sleeves.
Do they know how expensive this outfit is?
Dusting off the wrinkles, he narrowed his eyes.
“Get a grip. Whatever trick that wretch pulled, this illusion—”
“Feels fake to you?”
“…!”
At that moment, Rosedale’s voice echoed across the space, making the three men flinch.
They looked around wildly, but only darkness surrounded them.
“Your feet are planted, so it must be a trick?”
With a mocking laugh, the three men suddenly began floating.
“W-What the—?!”
Unable to balance, they flailed as their bodies lifted into the air.
The higher they rose, the harder it became to gauge anything. Their hearts dropped as if they were about to fall into endless black.
“Let us down!!”
Doris shrieked in panic.
The administrator and sheriff whimpered and begged to be lowered.
As they floated higher like kites in a storm, Rosedale’s voice came again.
“You want down? Really? You won’t regret it?”
“Yes! Let us down! Now!!”
Doris screamed, and Rosedale let out a quiet giggle.
“Fine. Then down you go.”
Suddenly, their ascent stopped with a jolt.
Ah, it’s over—they thought with a sigh of relief.
But then, they plunged.
“Aaaahhh!!”
“Gaaahh!”
Their cheeks flapped from the wind’s force.
They couldn’t even open their mouths properly, had no idea when they’d hit bottom.
Their limbs trembled, hearts sinking lower and lower.
“The higher you go, the longer and harder the fall.”
Rosedale’s voice remained calm and steady.
“Especially when you stepped on others to get there.”
Doris felt a shiver creep up his spine. He was too shaken even to scream.
“Lavish mansion. Fancy clothes and accessories. Where did they all come from? How could such honest, upright men live in such luxury?”
“I… really… gkk!”
Even mid-fall, Doris desperately tried to argue—but failed again.
“You’re the ones who don’t understand. Even if it’s true, that’s still a problem.”
Rosedale’s snort echoed through the dark.
“If you’re telling the truth, then you’re saying you didn’t know about the massive warehouse nearby where the kidnappers operated? Incompetence isn’t a badge of honor.”
“Uugh!”
“Pick one. Come clean—or pay for your incompetence.”
Just then, a dark green ripple came into view below.
“The punishment will be suffocatingly painful.”
As they neared the bottom, a musty water scent rose to their noses.
“The crime of lying is worse than the crime of incompetence.”
And with that final word from Rosedale, Doris and the other two men were dragged into the water.
Splash!
The thick darkness swiftly erased all traces of them.
The world became clean again.
