Chapter 29

t/n: I will be translating Estock’s name to Estoc.

They did not dare to answer Raul.

When Bastard came forward and pointed out to some farmers, they spoke in a trembling voice.

“That lady and those two wanderers, we’re questioning them because they’re suspicious.”

“There are only abandoned mines in that deep mountain, so no one lives there. But those wanderers are the only ones who came down from the mountain which is on fire, so they must be the arsonists!”

Raul nodded when he heard the people.

“Then, put them in custody.”

“Grand Duke Valentine.”

Then Grace stepped forward.

“They did nothing wrong. I just took them out with me to protect them while running away as the mountain caught fire.”

Grace used honorifics to Raul, perhaps because they were in front of people.

‘I don’t want my luggage to be searched.’

Nicole swallowed her dry saliva inside. She was nervous.

Grace’s wagon carried the Yveschapel family’s belongings.

“Do you know them?”

Raul asked coldly.

Grace nodded a little.

“Karen and Jen are siblings and are just poor children who just wander around. They just stayed in the mountains because they have no place to stay in the summer, and they didn’t bring me any harm.”

“I’ll have to look into that.”

Raul said.

“Or let the villagers judge for themselves.”

“…….”

Grace looked at Nicole. Nicole nodded her head and said it was fine.

“Protect Master and let her rest, and detain the two of them.”

At that time, Estoc came running from afar. A neutral cut-haired Estoc had his eyes twinkling.

“Can I question both of them?”

Grace’s expression was perplexed.

“Estoc, why did you bring that crazy thing here?”

“He uses the knife well.”

“What about the boy?”

Estoc reached out his hand and tilted the hood freely. Then Jen, or Jay’s pretty face was revealed.

He couldn’t tell if this opponent, Jay, was a woman or a man, and he was in a state of great mirth with a strange look on his face.

“No way!”

“Do you know each other very well?”

Nicole was mortified at the thought of how cruel Estoc was when it came to interrogation.

The knights of the Grand Duke

The most famous Knights in the Empire, they were called the Sith.

Like their name which means “weapon,” all the knights close to them received the sword’s name as their nicknames.

(t/n: so that’s the reason for Bastard’s name lol)

And the identities of the knights were no longer disclosed.

‘Estoc is so famous among the vassals of the Grand Duke that he’s a crazy person……. But I’ve rarely met him in person.’

Estoc was one of the strongest knights in the Knights.

In addition, he was famous for being cruel and belligerent.

It was unusual for him to have difficulty determining someone’s gender.

“Doesn’t Estoc enjoy bullying a pretty boy? I hate to see Estoc do such a perverted lunacy. It’s disgusting.”

Grace said as if she was dumbfounded.

“I enjoy bullying pretty girls the same way and I don’t do physical perversions, so relax!”

exclaimed Estok earnestly. But no one here was relieved.

Raul looked at Estoc with his eyes, as if telling him that he’s a fool.

Bastard sighed.

“I’ll question both of them myself, so don’t touch them. They’re an acquaintance of my precious teacher, so can I be generous?”

Raul said, pulling the reins.

“I’ll take care of the forest fire on my own, so don’t worry.”

“You’re going to go in there alone?”

One of the village captains standing next to Nicole muttered as if possessed.

‘Even if others go, they will only get in the way.’

Nicole thought a little.

“There’s a tower in the center of the village, right? Lock them up there. Especially the woman.….”

“…….”

“I’m going to interrogate them very slowly, so feed them something to keep their strength. Seeing that they keep catching my eye, they are getting suspicious.”

Raul laughed and took off with the horse bridle.

Estoc, who lost his chance to interrogate, looked sad.

“But why are you here?”

Grace looked at Estoc as if it was ridiculous and said.

“Oh, that’s right. I came to inform Grand Duke Valentine that I already executed the sentence he ordered.”

Estoc spoke as if he had remembered.

“What’s that?”

“Yes, I have an announcement for you. The ruler of this province…… Your lord has died.”

“…….”

In the first place, Raul must have ordered Estoc to kill the lord.

If the clerk, the accountant, and the lord were left, of course Estoc was the one to cut the lord’s throat.

It was good news for the villagers who had been suffering from the exploitation of the land’s lord.

However, due to the high status of Grand Duke Valentine and his knights, they were unable to be openly pleased with the death of an aristocrat.

‘Then do I have to wail?’

Some people thought so, but all they were able to do was twitch their lips.

Most of all, this situation…… It was so weird. As much as Estoc’s eyes are shining.

Soon, forgetting everything about Nicole and Jay, the people just blinked at each other.

It was the strangest view Bastard has ever seen recently.

“……Take the two of them.”

When Bastard finally ordered, the knights, who were only looking at each other, managed to move.

??

Within an hour, it rained in the mountains.

Only in the mountains did it rain very strongly and refreshingly. The people who saw the rain cheered only then.

“An able aristocrat from the capital showed a miracle!”

“The forest fire is being extinguished!”

In the meantime, Nicole was escorted to a small office. The place was old as if it had been unused for a long time, but it was basically cleaned.

Grace had been away for a while to handle Nicole’s luggage.

My brother… He’ll be okay, right?

Nicole had a complicated mind. Above all, her mother died…….

But she couldn’t even cry. It wasn’t a good time to express her feelings loudly now.

‘I couldn’t even recover Mother’s body. I wonder if she passed comfortably. She must have worried a lot.’

Nicole heard from Grace what she had done with Freya’s body while they were coming down to town.

‘Mother only thought about us until the end. She sacrificed herself to the point of death.’

Her heart felt like it was about to rot.

‘Mom…’

Nicole lay face down on the desk.

Soon the knights brought her a simple meal, but she didn’t want to eat one bit.

‘What will happen to me now?’

Perhaps they will be found not guilty of the arson charge.

Grace offered to help them. So she has to stay calm…….

‘Don’t waste Mother’s sacrifice.’

Survive, Nicole. You should only think about yourself and your family.

Freya spoke to Nicole several times last night as she was ill.

Nicole slowly closed her eyes as she recalled her mother’s voice.

‘I can’t hold on any longer.’

She fell into a deep sleep, half fainted.

Nicole opened her eyes again when she heard someone talking.

“Freya, the fugitive of the Yveschappel family, died.”

“You mean that person?”

Bastard said. His voice was bewildered.

“She was found in the mountains, in a state that seems to show suicide. Turns out it was the YvesChappel family who started this fire.”

It was Raul who spoke in a tired voice.

“She hung herself and died, but she left a will inside her ring, the symbol of their family. When she heard that I had arrived in this region, she couldn’t stand her fear, so she killed her two children and killed herself.”

Nicole held her breath. She touched the desk with trembling hands.

“She set the house on fire. Perhaps… for the act of burning the family’s legacy. And it must have been to keep the bodies of the children who inherited the healing power from the imperial family.”

“Our last hope is gone. Now there is no excuse to postpone the marriage with the imperial family.”

“If I don’t accept it, that’s it.”

Raul laughed and said.

“But it will get a little tiring.”

She already knew it, but when she heard it in Raul’s voice, Nicole felt like she was confirmed dead.

‘My mom is really dead.’

She still couldn’t cry.

The man she feared and missed the most was beyond that door.

Nicole tried to pull herself up. Then the chair made a squeak.

“Who’s in there?”

Bastard answered as if he only remembered then.

“The woman whom you said you would interrogate personally.…. The lady is in that room.”

He was silent for a moment, as if Raul had forgotten.

Nicole took a step back. At the same time, the door burst open.

Raul was standing in neat clothes. She can’t believe he went into the burning mountain…….

He looked at Nicole carefully.

Nicole’s heart began to pound.

She was now mentally exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

And Raul is still…… He is Raul. She doesn’t know what he’s thinking and he seems cruel.

‘I think I’m broken somewhere.’

But strangely, his presence was a relief.

So she looked at him unconsciously as if she was asking for help.

“Hello.”

Raul said.

Nicole bowed her head slightly to reciprocate the greeting.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

He whispered. Nicole stepped back and sat opposite to him.