Published: August 10, 2026
"Was the royal family really that foolish and shameless...?"
Ferdinand's lips curved into a frightening smile as he gave a soft laugh and rose unsteadily to his feet. Just as I wanted to scream, "Everyone in the royal family, run right now!", Ferdinand turned his eyes toward me.
"You too, rosemine."
"S-s-sorry!"
I didn't really understand why he was angry, but his intimidating stare made me feel like I absolutely had to apologize first. I bowed my head and apologized with everything I had. Of course, he saw right through my hollow apology completely, which only fanned his anger further.
"rosemine, it seems I must thank you."
"A-ah..."
With his stern gaze shaken by strong emotions and a chillingly low voice that carried an almost icy pressure, how many people could possibly hear those words and take them as gratitude?
...I don't think gratitude is something you express with that face!
"Your actions made me realize many things."
At this point, it really was a matter of the thirty-six stratagems: flee is better than not. While Ferdinand looked down at me in silence, I desperately searched for an escape route. Fortunately, this was an emergency. If he had recovered enough to stand, then I had to report the situation to the close aides waiting outside.
"Ah! Arensbach is in a terrible state right now too, and lanzenave is rampaging, and apparently some young lady was kidnapped, so I..."
"Hm. Then first we should destroy Arensbach and flatten it into a wasteland. If lanzenave is rampaging, that works out nicely."
Even though he should have been angry at the royal family and at me, the words coming out of Ferdinand's mouth were "destroy Arensbach." It was very much like the Demon Lord, but I couldn't see the connection.
"Please wait, Lord Ferdinand. Why would that lead to Arensbach being destroyed? lanzenave is..."
"If Arensbach remains, it will make my movements more difficult. If we crush both at once, the problem is solved."
"That is way too many problems to have! Absolutely not!"
I spread my arms and stepped in front of Ferdinand to block him, glaring up at him. Instantly, his pressure grew stronger, and I wanted to cry at my own behavior. I had wanted to run from the Demon Lord, so what was I even doing?
"Why are you protecting Arensbach and lanzenave?"
"That's not it. If you attack Arensbach now, you might die, Lord Ferdinand, in violation of the contract magic that says you won't act as an enemy toward me. So absolutely not."
Ferdinand's expression barely changed, but the anger in his eyes faded a little, returning to his usual pale golden color. In its place, the wariness deepened.
"...What exactly did you do?"
"I dyed the foundation so I could get in here quickly. In magical terms, I am aub arensbach right now."
"Quickly...?"
"It was the fastest method I could think of."
Ferdinand froze, eyes wide. I felt like I was seeing a lagging Ferdinand after a very long time. In other words, I must have done something completely outrageous.
"What on earth are you doing, you fool? The quickest method would be to capture the aub, use threats or even torture to take the mana stone for registration, and force a contract, would it not? Who dyes a foundation to save me?"
"I do."
As if his strength had drained away, Ferdinand sank down on the spot. He let out a deep sigh so heavy it sounded like he might never breathe out again, then looked up at me while still crouching.
"You are truly an idiot."
"I mean, I couldn't think of any terrifying method that would definitely get someone killed, and even if I had thought of one, I couldn't have carried it out. Besides, I don't know what Lady Dietlinde's older sister looks like or what her name is, and if she's absent, wouldn't it just waste time?"
I thought searching for Dietlinde's older sister throughout Arensbach would be far less efficient than dyeing the foundation.
"So that's why, please leave the cleanup in Arensbach to me, and Lord Ferdinand, you can return to Ehrenfest. I'll take responsibility for what I did myself."
At my insistence, Ferdinand stood up and pinched my cheek hard. Unlike before, a bit of strength had returned to his hand, and it hurt accordingly.