Chapter 171

Jess also nodded briefly in agreement. Zero, seemingly embarrassed by the situation, ran a hand through the back of his hair. 

“I must’ve lost my touch after spending so much time in the capital.”

It was a sign that even someone as skilled as Zero, one of the best in the capital, could barely detect the faint energy. Scheuer clenched her hands, trying to sense something herself. Her brow and forehead tensed in concentration. She focused so hard that her face began to heat up, but she felt nothing.

Raygrain, noticing her effort, lightly tapped her cheek and said, 

“It’s natural that you wouldn’t know. How could you recognize a monster you’ve never seen in your life?”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, he gestured for Zero and Jess to come closer. Raygrain’s sharp blue eyes scanned the surroundings. Zero was the first to speak.

“There’s one attendant left. What should we do? ”

“I’ll distract them myself.” 

Jess volunteered without hesitation, but Raygrain pointed to Zero.

“You’re more familiar with the central court. You’d handle it better.”

Indeed, with his more flexible personality and keen social sense, Zero seemed the more likable option for this task. Jess’s face twitched slightly, perhaps feeling sidelined by his brother. But all he did was clench his jaw, saying nothing in response to Raygrain’s command.

Zero, smiling as always, approached the maid to ensure she didn’t overhear anything important. 

“You’re one of the Netriaga maids, right? I have a question. How long have you been working here?”

“About four years, sir.”

“Oh, really? It feels like it’s been about ten years since I last visited this estate. Was the garden this lavish back then too?”

“Pardon? Um, yes. As a family known for cultivating flowers, we take great care, but…

“That’s strange. That blue flower wasn’t there back then, was it? ”

“Did… did it not?”

While Zero distracted the maid with casual chatter, Scheuer cautiously tugged on Raygrain’s sleeve.

“Your Grace, could that dead monster you’re sensing be related to the one Erina saw near the border during the sparring ground attack?”

“That’s my guess.”

“It wasn’t that large, yet you can still sense its energy?”

“That’s the nature of a monster’s power.”

Scheuer couldn’t hide her surprise. So that’s why the Duke of Netriaga bragged so confidently about defeating a monster. She had always thought it was nothing more than boasting by the Duke and Erina.

In the original story, there hadn’t been any clear evidence—it was just a claim. Was it a real monster? Did a monster really attack? Or did Erina actually defeat it?

With the black stone quarry in the area, it wasn’t impossible for monsters to appear, even if not during the initial incident. The fact that there was a monster’s corpse meant it had been defeated at some point.

This is troublesome.

As Scheuer stayed quiet, Raygrain softly asked, 

“Did you say you wanted it? ”

“Pardon?”

Lost in thought, Scheuer snapped back to reality at his unexpected question. Raygrain then asked again, 

“Did you not want to have the monster’s foot after the banquet?”

“Oh, right.”

The Duke of Netri’s consistent claim was one: “Even without Blenga, it can be hunted.”

I thought that if I took away the evidence, that claim would lose its strength.

It wasn’t like I could simply call for the monster and have it come down, and there was no real evidence to show. Even if a monster did come down, it was uncertain whether Erina could truly defeat it.

‘And yet, she always spread rumors in high society as if she had been the one to hunt the monster…’

From what I gathered from Tiola’s eavesdropping, it seemed even Erina lacked confidence in herself.

Judging by what Tiola overheard and relayed, it seemed even Erina wasn’t confident about it. Fortunately, the Duke of Netri had never openly displayed the monster’s foot as Erina’s achievement.
I thought he was hiding it out of fear that his lie would be exposed, but he was just saving it for later.’

Now, Scheuer planned to expose every detail about the monster’s foot, which the Duke proudly treated as a trophy. Raygrain could easily tell if it was a real monster’s foot or not.

Though the Duke hadn’t openly displayed it yet, making it hard to call him out directly, Scheuer thought, ‘But if it really is a monster’s foot, this changes everything!’

It had gone from a card that would be nice to have to one they absolutely needed. Raygrain’s swordsmanship was said to leave no trace of the monsters he defeated. If a corpse remained, it meant the monster wasn’t killed in the north.

As Scheuer’s thoughts swirled, Raygrain whispered quietly,I’ll get it for you.”

“What?”

“Huh? ”

Both Scheuer and Jess spoke up at the same time, with Jess frowning slightly in dissatisfaction but still not fully grasping Raygrain’s words.

Raygrain slowly tucked Scheuer’s red hair behind her ear. His lips curled slightly to one side.

‘He smiled? ’

It wasn’t just a formal smile; there was more confidence behind it.

“You said you wanted the monster’s foot that the Duke of Netri mentioned. I said I’d get it for you.Is that possible? ”

Startled, Scheuer’s voice started to rise slightly before she quickly clamped down upon seeing Zero distracting the maid with idle conversation.

Raygrain nodded calmly and answered,My wife wants it. Of course, I’ll bring it to you.”

“How?”

“I’ll steal it.”

At his firm declaration, Jess’s face turned a deeper shade of purple. 
Netri was also a family known for its swordsmanship. Moreover, they held significant power even in the central regions, so their security wouldn’t be lax. It wouldn’t be easy to obtain the foot.

Scheuer’s mind raced.

‘If Raygrain has already sensed the presence of the monster’s foot, he must know where it is, even if no one says anything.’

And who else would know the inside of this mansion better than her?

At least in Scheuer’s memory, the layout of the Netri estate was clear.

“The Duke and Erina will have to meet with us, so we don’t need to worry about keeping them occupied,” she said.

“The real problem is the servants and knights. Can you get past the security? ”Raygrain asked.

“I’ll handle the servants somehow, but the one who has to do the stealing…” Scheuer trailed off.

Raygrain would have to meet with the Duke of Netri alongside her, which left only one logical candidate for the task.

Jess’s face had gone pale, looking as though he were about to be carried away at any moment.

“I’ll do my best.” 

He said it faintly, as if squeezing the words out.

‘At least he’s not saying no,’ 

Scheuer thought, touched by his loyalty.

She patted his cold, pale hand, making a big decision before speaking.

“I’ll give you the wooden sword the Duke used later.”

Even though she offered one of her prized possessions, Jess simply nodded with a blank expression, not saying a word in response.

***

“Are they still wandering around the mansion?”

“Y-yes…”

The attendant trembled, bowing under the Duke of Nettriaga’s shout.

He snapped back, “How long has it been since Scheuer and the Grand Duke visited?”

“About two hours.”

“What could possibly take them two hours to wander around the mansion?”

The Duke rubbed his jaw nervously, incredulous.

“Are they doing this to openly disregard me? How cunning.”

Fine. Better to nip this kind of behavior in the bud early. He knew well enough about his eldest daughter Scheuer’s stubbornness, which was precisely why he had no intention of budging either.

However, the servant looked uneasy, darting his eyes nervously.

“What is it? Do you still have something to say?”

The Duke asked, frowning.

“Well… it’s about Lady Scheuer, Tour Grace. What about her? “

“She’s causing quite a bit of trouble as she roams the estate, sir.”

“Somewhat only we know.”