CHAPTER 19………………………………..
“Is it true that someone from the Imperial Family is coming? Are we all going to get arrested?”
“What?”
This was news to Laseil as well.
Seeing Laseil’s reaction, the color drained from the villager’s face.
“D-Don’t tell me it’s true? Because this territory is cursed, they’re going to arrest all of us, throw us in prison, hold a witch trial, and burn us at the stake?”
“No.”
Even though Laseil had no information, he could at least say that much with certainty.
Witch trials were something that happened in an age when magic didn’t exist.
If anyone tried that sort of thing now, both the Dukes of Sieren and Resean would raise hell.
The Empire might even disappear as a result.
“What on earth did you hear?”
“You know, the Imperial Knight Commander. I heard he’s coming.”
Would the Imperial Knight Commander ever leave the Imperial Palace?
Unless the Emperor himself was traveling, the Knight Commander always had to remain in the palace.
And the odds of the Emperor personally coming to this territory were basically zero.
The only person who could move independently of the Emperor was…
“Sir Sieren?”
The 3rd Knight Order was essentially in charge of black magic and demon-related investigations.
“Yes, him!”
So something had happened again.
I hope it’s nothing serious.
Of all times, Laseil had to see him right after hearing nonsense from Elut, which made things feel awkward.
* *
[Met with the head maid today and got a new hair ribbon. Her language was already rough before, but lately it’s gotten worse.
The butler said it’s because she lost a jewel she cherished.
Maybe that’s why it’s been so noisy outside at night whenever I try to sleep.
Sometimes strange shadows appear at night—when I tried slicing one with my sword just to test it, it vanished.
…When I told the head maid, she said she’d never met someone so barbaric at exorcising things.
Was that actually something like a demon?]
* *
“Hello, Sir Jaen! Have you been well?”
Irenes really did show up about a week later.
Apparently they had detected traces of demon summoning in the territory.
“That’s a pretty big deal, after all.”
The Imperial Family usually didn’t interfere with events happening in each noble’s territory.
The Empire was too large; the Imperial Family simply couldn’t control everything.
If not for the blessing passed down within the Imperial line, the Empire wouldn’t have grown so large.
Anyway, the only time they bothered sending knights was when demons were involved.
If mishandled, the entire Empire could collapse.
Was it that serious?
Laseil, who had actually dealt with the demon, had no sense of how dangerous it truly was.
Still, hearing all this, it made sense why two Swordmasters had been left in this territory.
They’d want to avoid dangerous work.
And Irenes being the Commander of the 3rd Knight Order certainly played a role.
The 1st and 2nd Knight Orders handled most knightly affairs; the 3rd was typically dispatched to deal with issues across the Empire.
“They won’t interfere too much.”
While Laseil was lost in thought, Irenes continued explaining.
After all, the territory belonged to Ujire.
Irenes was only there to minimize casualties related to black magic or demons.
And to keep an eye on the nobles while he was at it.
Ujire, who had firmly controlled the social scene, was absent.
Naturally, power struggles had reignited in the capital—but Ujire wasn’t the type to ignore that.
He would surely hold a ball or invite people to some event soon.
He’d also use it to flaunt that his faction was still going strong.
A perfect opportunity to assess the other nobles’ situations.
But could a ball even be held properly…?
Considering the state of the territory, it was a reasonable concern.
“By the way, is the territory still… like that?”
“It’s the same as usual.”
Despite Laseil’s dry answer, Irenes still looked very worried—so much so that she checked the view outside the window the moment she heard it.
“…Do you think it’s related to the demon summoning?”
“It was weird even before that.”
Laseil meant the comment to reassure her.
It didn’t seem to help.
“It’s still daytime, so it should be fine.”
“Yes… right.”
Irenes answered with a trembling voice.
She tried to forget what she just saw: shadows cast on the ground with no person present, people with no shadows, and so on….
“…Do you have a place to stay?”
“Yes, I’ll be staying at an inn.”
Ujire had suggested that Irenes stay in the lord’s manor, but she refused.
Sharing a roof with Laseil would be too much for her heart to handle.
The manor was huge, so calling it “one roof” was questionable, but still.
“You’re staying short-term?”
“No, I’ll probably be here at least a year.”
The usual dormant period for a demon ranged from six months to a year.
If a demon hadn’t actually been summoned—or was pretending to be exorcised—it could take even longer.
And with this many supernatural occurrences, they had to consider the possibility of another demon.
If only it would stay dormant as long as possible… no, that’s not right.
Irenes caught herself before her thoughts went too far.
It was better to eliminate the threat quickly—or find out everything had already been exorcised.
“You’ll be okay staying at an inn that long?”
“I’ve lived in one for two years before. I’ll just treat it like a vacation.”
Aside from constantly being on alert for demon appearances, it was basically a vacation.
“By the way, that jewel from last time…”
“I still have it. It felt wasteful to destroy it.”
Laseil took out the jewel they had used to seal the demon.
The murky darkness inside was still the same.
“Should we dispose of it?”
“Hmm… since we don’t know what might happen, better keep it for now.”
There had never been a precedent of sealing a demon the way Laseil had.
With no similar cases to reference, they wanted to avoid unpredictable outcomes.
“Would it be okay to wear it as an accessory?”
“Huh? …If you like it, sure.”
As expected, Laseil didn’t care about what others thought and acted according to his own standards.
Maybe demon-infused brooches would become a new trend…
No, that should definitely NOT become a trend.
Irenes shook herself back to her senses.
“…Anyway, if anything comes up, please tell me. You can just stop by anytime.”
“Yes. Then I’ll get going.”
After parting with Laseil and returning to her inn room,
Irenes immediately buried her face in her pillow.
Why am I always like this?
She had tried to naturally arrange a next meeting, but failed again.
Is there something wrong with the way I talk?
But suddenly changing her tone next time would be strange.
Laseil might even become worried about her mental state.
…A lot of people worry about my mental state.
Mostly those who had heard the story of the day Irenes first fell for Laseil.
Some even seriously wondered if she was insane.
Is it really that strange?
Maybe she had left too many parts out of the story.
She hadn’t wanted anyone to know the detailed version, so she’d glossed over everything.
Lying in bed, she recalled what happened years ago.
When she first saw Laseil, she honestly didn’t think much.
She had merely found it interesting that he supposedly had a personality to rival Ujire’s.
But when I came to my senses, I realized I’d been talking with Sir Jaen the whole time.
The conversation surprisingly flowed well.
Their interests aligned; it was only natural.
Neither Laseil nor Irenes had ever met someone they could talk about swordsmanship with so easily.
Their conversation went something like this:
“Other people don’t understand when I say ‘whoosh, then slash, then bam.’”
“That’s extremely detailed, though?”
“They say they don’t get what it means when I tell them aura comes out with a ‘fwip.’”
“Isn’t that the clearest explanation possible?”
“Some people even thought I was joking when I said swinging a sword is heavy.”
“…Wasn’t that a joke…?”
Whenever Irenes tried to initiate personal conversation, it always fell apart.
