Published: August 10, 2026
「What about Lord Ferdinand!?"
The moment I stepped out to retrieve the mana stone for registration, Eckhardt Brother asked in a desperate rush.
Angelica sprang out to shield me from Eckhardt Brother, and I lightly patted her shoulder to step aside. Then I told him that I had given Ferdinand an antidote, that he was recovering smoothly, and that we planned to head out to purge lanzenave and close the boundary gate.
"Is the poison's effect not a problem if he goes out to the battlefield?"
"...As Eckhardt Brother knows, Lord Ferdinand is very good at hiding things, so I can't say he has fully recovered. But it seems he can't just lie in bed like an ordinary patient. We need to finish this as quickly as possible."
"I understand. I will contact Dunkelfelger."
Eckhardt Brother nodded, then immediately turned on his heel and left the office. Justox had already begun preparing some kind of wooden box. I also took the mana stone for registration out of the book box and headed back to the supply room once more. Right before stepping inside, I turned back to my close aides and gave orders.
"Since I must go in order to close the boundary gate, please have the guard knights ready to move at any time."
"Yes!"
When Ferdinand dyed the mana stone for registration and I returned to the office, I fit the registration mana stone into the indentation in the door. Ferdinand came out at once and looked around the room. The ones who rushed to Ferdinand were Eckhardt Brother and Justox.
"Lord Ferdinand, I am relieved to see you safe."
"You worried me."
Ferdinand showed the two of them, who were visibly relieved, a faint smile. But it lasted only for an instant, and he quickly tightened his expression.
"I heard from Rosemine that lanzenave is causing havoc and that there are people who have been kidnapped. Have you grasped the situation in detail? Report on the knights order's status, Eckhardt."
"Yes! We have received reports that several knights were one-sidedly taken down by silver weapons and armor that block mana, as well as by the dispersal of poison that instantly turns into mana stones. According to Strahl, rather than recklessly confronting enemies against whom magic does not work, he ordered the nobles in the castle to evacuate and hide in rooms that can only be opened with mana authorization."
I felt a little relieved to hear that many nobles had escaped by taking refuge in hidden rooms that could only be opened by the mana of the person themselves. I closed the supply room. I shrank the door back to its original size and had the guard knights fix the position of the book box. Even during that time, Eckhardt Brother's report continued.
"It seems Lady Leticia has fallen into lanzenave's hands. According to Lady Dietlinde's orders, Lady Leticia and Strahl's daughter were seen being led away by people from lanzenave. It was Lady Leticia who warned them that the poison would turn into mana stones in an instant, and Strahl was ordered to flee and save everyone."
Thanks to that, it seems they prevented the aristocrats aligned with Leticia in Arensbach from being slaughtered without knowing it. Since contact could not be made with every mansion, they still did not know how many nobles had survived in the noble houses that had been ransacked.
"Has the capture of Dietlinde, Georgine, and Alstede been completed? Or, if not, what is their current whereabouts?"
"I heard from the household staff that Lady Dietlinde went to lanzenave's mansion together with Lord Leoncio and has not returned. Those who went there to petition them to stop lanzenave's brutality also have not come back, and we just received word that when we broke into lanzenave's mansion a little while ago, it was completely abandoned. Since there were no signs of anyone leaving, their current whereabouts are unknown."
"...I see. Understood."
Ferdinand frowned and nodded at Eckhardt Brother, and then Justox began reporting on Alstede.
"We received information from the household staff that Lady Alstede and her husband Lord Bragius went to lanzenave's mansion at Lady Dietlinde's invitation. They have not yet returned home, so it is highly likely they are acting together with Lady Dietlinde."