Chapter 94

The conversation continued between the two people.

I couldn’t help but frown slightly.

The Duke Ocleang’s entourage, nearly missed due to the breakneck speed of their cart, was now discovered precariously below a cliff, their cart having toppled over. As a result, all of the Duke’s subordinates were either dead or severely injured.

The two people hurried to the cart and opened the door. Inside, the Duke Ocleang was nowhere to be found; only Queen Louis remained, trembling.

From the fact that only five out of the originally six horses pulling the cart were left, they deduced that Duke Ocleang had escaped on horseback, but they ultimately failed to track his whereabouts.

“Moreover, the remaining attendants didn’t last long either. Their injuries were so severe that we had no means to assist.”

“W-was there by any chance a little girl among them? With blonde hair and red eyes…?”

With a heart full of dread, I questioned in a trembling voice. It was a dire possibility that Ambasha might have also perished in that disaster.

However, fortunately, the two slowly shook their heads.

“No, there was no noticeable little girl.”

“I didn’t see her either. I checked to see if anyone was still alive until the very end. Most were men, and the only women present were elderly attendants.”

“Phew… Is that so…”

Their response relieved me deeply, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that things might spiral further out of control.

It was possible that Duke Ocleang, in his escape, had only taken Ambasha—being small and easy to carry.

As I frowned at the worsening situation, I could only hope that Franklin had found Ambasha captured in Duke Ocleang’s mansion.

‘Please, she must be there… Ambasha…’

With the thought that I might have to venture to the Holy Empire, presumed to be the Duke’s escape route, I concluded that for now, I had to return to Pare to get an accurate grasp of the situation.

*

“Hey, you! How dare you make a commotion here!”

“Can’t you scram? This is the mansion of Duke Ocleang! You filthy scum have no right to enter!”

Pirates brandishing bloodstained butchering knives and swords.

Unflinching, the maids replied with firm voices while Franklin began to step forward silently.

Then—

“Master Butler! Over here!”

“There’s an intruder! Please deal with these scoundrels!”

The maids’ voices echoed throughout the mansion.

As if waiting for that moment, the door swung open, and a group of people burst forth.

“Stop! You filthy scoundrels!”

A figure of a bulky warrior bellowed aggressively.

Corven.

Dressed in a neatly tailored black suit, he looked less like a butler and more like a bandit leader.

Holding a large mace in one hand, he aimed to drive out the ‘intruders’ along with his numerous subordinates.

“You will pay with your life for daring to invade the Duke’s mansion!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the enormous mace swung down.

With a force that could shatter stone, it came crashing down upon the head of a woman holding a butchering knife.

This single strike would surely turn that ghastly-looking woman into a bloody pulp, and the other intruders following her would be swept away in no time.

And… it should have been that way…

—Thwack!!!

A sharp sound echoed.

At that moment, Corven’s movements froze entirely, as a feeling that something was off began to wash over the maids watching this unfold.

Then…

“HIDEBOOOOOOT!!!!”

“!?”

“…Huh?”

Corven, who began to spew a grotesque last breath, was engulfed in flames.

His body disintegrated like hacked pork, toppling to the ground.

Corven became a seething mass of burning meat.

Simultaneously, the other intruders who had been standing behind her swiftly butchered the remaining soldiers, who were frozen in heavy dread.

“Th-this… can’t be…”

“What… what is happening? What’s going on…?”

The shocking scene was utterly unbelievable, even staring it in the face.

After the Duke Ocleang’s soldiers were massacred, the intruders approached the quaking maids, who were now powerless, their legs giving way beneath them.

“We…we’re sorry!”

“We…we were wrong! P-please spare our lives! Just our lives!”

The previously defiant attitude of the maids melted away in a swift transformation as they pleaded.

Gazing at them, the woman holding the now blood-dripping butchering knife said in a chilling voice,

“Where is Ambasha?”

“A… Ambasha?”

“W-we don’t know anyone by that name, h-hic!”

Before the maid could finish her words, the intruder began to channel magic into the butchering knife again.

The message was clear: if they couldn’t provide a decent answer, they would surely die.

Feeling as though her heart had shriveled in fear, the maid shouted desperately,

“I… I don’t know about Ambasha, but… I know where she might be!”

“The… the basement! T-there are slaves the Duke brought!”

“…”

The intruder retracted the magical energy stored in the butchering knife.

She then fixed her icy gaze upon the maid positioned at the very front of the group.

“Lead the way.”

“Y-yes! I… understand!”

A flicker of hope dawned on her for a moment.

Being given the role of guide meant, at least for now, she wouldn’t be killed immediately.

As she thought about how she might survive while others were being slaughtered, she immediately got up to start leading the way.

However…

“You may leave now. Do not make a scene, just disappear.”

“!”

‘…!?’

Contrary to the maid’s expectations, the intruders permitted all the others to leave.

Why?

They had seemingly killed everyone in their path until now.

Wouldn’t it be more hellish to stay behind as the guide?

In reality, they had simply hunted down those who dared to resist, but the maid couldn’t fathom that from her viewpoint.

As she began to comprehend that what she had considered luck up until now was actually a severe misfortune, she inwardly cursed her bad luck and was left with no choice but to obediently lead the way.

*

Following the maid’s guidance, Franklin arrived at the basement.

Immediately, he and his companions Magellan and Elkana frowned at the sight before them.

“Ugh…”

“Wh-what is this…?”

Before their eyes stood numerous young girls.

In tattered clothes that barely covered anything, trapped in a narrow cage reminiscent of a beast pen, the girls trembled, their eyes vacant.

The moment they saw Franklin and his party enter the basement, they shrank even more and averted their gazes.

A scene that would make any onlooker feel nauseated.

In a cold voice, Franklin questioned the maid who was guiding them.

“What is this? Why are these children like this?”

“Th-this is… the Duke Ocleang’s hobby… He gathers girls under twenty and raises them like livestock to enjoy at his leisure…”

“…Twenty?”

“So what happens to the girls who turn that age?”

With a voice laced with fury, Magellan asked.

The maid flinched even more and replied in a whispering tone.

“Th-that’s… to eliminate evidence. They cut their throats and discreetly toss them into the sea…”

“…”

“W-what did you just say?”

Magellan and Elkana, who were already on edge due to their comrades’ grudge, suddenly realized something.

There are no limits to the anger and hatred a human can feel.

“Franklin…”

“…First, Magellan, contact the intelligence department and the others. Elkana and I will free the children here and search for Ambasha.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Duke Ocleang… this trash…”

Acting upon Franklin’s orders, they stewed in their fury, preparing to take action.

Even now, as they watched the children tremble in fear, unaware of the moment they were about to be freed, Franklin felt like he would vomit, covering his mouth with his hand.

The guilt that Ambasha might have suffered such a dismal fate due to his oversight weighed heavily on him.