Chapter 154

I braced my legs, steadying myself. A faint dizziness washed over me. The sounds around me faded.

When I came to my senses, Alex was screaming his lungs out.

“Are you telling me Father is dead? Did you find the body? Did you find Father’s body?!”

“The main building collapsed, so not yet… I apologize, Young Duke.”

Alex grabbed the collar of the kneeling Frank and hauled him to his feet.

“Cut the crap! Father is still alive! He’s not dead!”

“It is all my fault. My mistake! I should have served the Duke better… Young Duke, please kill me!”

“Kill you? Ha! Fine, if that’s what you wish, then I have no choice but to kill you!”

Alex’s desperate voice echoed through the ruins. I grabbed his hand on Frank’s collar and pulled it away.

“Alex, let the butler go. I still have questions for him.”

“Don’t you feel anything? After what happened to Father… you don’t feel a thing? How can you be so calm? How can you be so composed?!”

I must look calm. That’s a relief.

“Should I get worked up like you, then? Would that help?”

“Shut up! I’ll find him! I’ll be the one to find Father! Move! Get out of my…!”

Alex, who had been thrashing about like a madman, suddenly collapsed. Kaiel, who had secretly approached from behind, lowered his hand.

“I put him to sleep for a bit. He seemed overly agitated.”

“Thank you…”

I looked down at Alex, sprawled on the ground. His long eyelashes were matted with tears.

‘Alex is still so fragile.’

I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d cried over someone’s death. I envied Alex, who could cry freely when he was sad.

‘Did Duke Ruthius really die?’

I just couldn’t believe it.

Duke Ruthius had once been a Sword Master.

Now he was just a middle-aged man who couldn’t even hold a sword and had a bad leg, but he was once a man who trained with the blade.

There was no way a man like him would die in a simple fire.

‘He must have escaped. There must be a reason he can’t contact us.’

Until I saw his body with my own eyes, Duke Ruthius was not dead to me. This was a time to act with composure.

“Butler, move Alex to the nearest guest house.”

“Understood, my lady. You two, come and help the Young Duke.”

“Yes, sir.”

The servants looked exhausted. It was only natural, as they must have been running around all morning trying to put out the fire.

“Divide the staff into two groups. While the first group clears the debris, have the others rest.”

“But shouldn’t we have as many hands as possible to clear the debris quickly?”

“Working while exhausted will only lead to more injuries. What we need now isn’t manpower, but magic. I’ll take care of that.”

“…My apologies.”

Frank couldn’t take his eyes off the wreckage of the main building. He was surely worried about Duke Ruthius’s body, buried somewhere in there.

“It’s not your fault, Butler.”

As I said that, I glanced at Kaiel, who read my thoughts and nodded.

A short while later, mages from the Magic Tower arrived. Yulia was among them. Watching my expression, she asked cautiously.

“Guild Master, I heard the news. Are you all right?”

“Has the rumor already spread?”

“I heard there was a fire at the Ruthius estate and the main building collapsed. What can I do to help? Should I summon my familiars to clear the debris?”

“No, before that, we need to look for traces. Anything artificial will do.”

Yulia’s gaze turned sharp.

“You don’t think it was an accident?”

“That’s what I’m trying to confirm. Can you do it?”

“Of course, I can. I’ll comb through every last speck of ash.”

Yulia and the other mages flew busily around the wreckage.

I watched the situation unfold without moving a single step. The crown of my head, exposed to the scorching midsummer sun, grew hot. Sweat trickled down my temples.

“Lady Astell, please watch from the shade. You’re going to collapse at this rate.”

Unable to watch any longer, Johan pleaded as he created a patch of shade over my head.

“I’m fine.”

“Then please, at least have some water. I’m begging you.”

“…All right.”

I couldn’t bring myself to push Johan away, so I drank the water.

The ice water cooled the heat as it went down my throat, but only for a moment. The boiling feeling rose from within me again.

What am I so angry about?

“Would you like more water?”

“No.”

As I replied, my eyes met Dante’s. He too was standing under the sun with no shade, watching me.

His dark, sunken eyes lingered on Johan’s hand on my shoulder before moving to me.

A gaze that precariously hid an explosive obsession and madness behind a stoic mask. It looked so fragile, as if it could crumble at any moment.

‘Why does he look so anxious?’

The moment I couldn’t hold back and opened my mouth,

“Your Highness…”

“Guild Master!”

Yulia ran up to me and held out something small. It looked like a piece of a jewel, but it was so covered in black ash that it was hard to identify.

“What is this?”

“It’s an artifact designed to detonate condensed fire energy! With this much residual mana, it must have made a tremendous noise.”

Frank, who was watching with me, let out a gasp.

“Before the fire, we heard two massive explosions! I thought a gate had opened nearby… That was an artifact?”

I lifted the corner of my mouth into a smile. So some son of a bitch planted a bomb in my house.

“Can you find out who bought it?”

“Only the Master of the Magic Tower can check the list—”

Before Yulia could finish, Kaiel spoke.

“Hamilton Asla. The Emperor’s chamberlain.”

“…”

I asked Yulia to clear the debris, then turned to Frank.

“Frank, has the Emperor’s chamberlain visited the estate recently?”

“No, he hasn’t. And even if he had, he couldn’t be the culprit. We’re treating his son, so why would he… Hmph!”

Frank glanced around with a troubled expression.

The only ones who heard him were Dante, Kaiel, and Johan.

The others were too busy clearing the debris. Frank let out a sigh.

“Hoo…”

His relieved expression told me everything.

I remembered the day I’d had a nosebleed and called for a healer instead of the family doctor.

“You said the doctor was away on a house call. On the Duke’s orders, he was treating Hamilton’s son, wasn’t he?”

“That’s correct.”

“Is there any chance Hamilton abandoned his son and betrayed us?”

“None. He loves his son more than his own life.”

“It would have been difficult to refuse if the Emperor ordered it.”

“If that were the case, he would have given us a warning. His son’s life is at stake.”

“True…”

The list would immediately reveal the culprit. Unless he intended to be caught, he wouldn’t have used his real name.

“Was his name used without his knowledge?”

“…Ah!”

Frank gasped as if he’d remembered something.

“The Duke said so himself. That the Emperor had noticed Hamilton’s betrayal.”

“The Emperor bought the artifact in Chamberlain Hamilton’s name. To eliminate both the Duke and the traitor at the same time.”

“It certainly seems that way.”

“Hamilton likely knew nothing. Someone else planted it.”

“But the only recent guest at the estate was…!”

Frank, who had been muttering softly, widened his eyes.

“His Highness Igrid is currently staying in the guest house.”

Why? The moment I heard Igrid’s name, my heart sank.

“The First Prince?”

“It seems he’s been afraid to stay in the palace since the incident. I heard he asked the Duke for permission to stay at the estate until he leaves for the monastery.”

“…And why did the Duke allow it?”

Frank lowered his voice significantly.

“It was to plant a tracking artifact on Prince Igrid. To find the location of the Panton Monastery.”

“Because the Emperor will end up imprisoned in the Panton Monastery, just like Igrid?”

“Precisely. That’s why the Duke gifted His Highness a bracelet with a hidden tracking formula at dinner last night.”

“And after that?”

“After dinner, I personally escorted His Highness to the guest house.”

“…Is it possible the First Prince returned to the main building?”

Frank furrowed his wrinkled brow.

“I doubt it. We put him in the guest house furthest from the main building… It would have been difficult for him to walk that far in the dark of early morning.”

“Usually, no one walks around during mealtimes. Couldn’t someone have used that opportunity to plant the artifact?”

“Come to think of it… I believe Prince Igrid’s chamberlain was absent for a short while yesterday.”

“…!”

The culprit is Igrid. The instant I realized it.

“Guild Master!”

Yulia’s voice rang out. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

“…Did you find it?”

A nod.

“Is it the Duke?”

“I don’t, I don’t know… *Sob*!”

Yulia finally broke down crying.

I walked slowly in the direction her trembling finger was pointing.

It was no wonder Yulia didn’t know. It was a body, burned so black that its form was unrecognizable.

I knelt beside the corpse, which gave off a pungent, acrid smell. I carefully pried open the body’s fused fingers.

“Ugh! Ah, Lady Astell! I’ll, I’ll do it.”

“It’s fine.”

The moment I pushed Johan’s hand away and removed the ring, a system window I had all but forgotten about activated.

[system : Igrid Orton Taikan’s revenge. Time remaining 00:00:05.]

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0]

[Igrid Orton Taikan’s revenge has concluded.]

The window vanished. I checked the initials on the ring.

Axion & Marcella

Duke Ruthius was murdered.

And the culprit was not Igrid, but me.