The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 194

Chapter 194

As news of Zero’s participation in the hunt spread, more people began to feel a subtle excitement. Especially since he had received flowers from the north, there was a belief that it wouldn’t be a problem even if he got injured.

This led to a sense of relief, even more so than when Silcaro had stepped in. Silcaro could not have missed the suddenly changed atmosphere. With a forced smile, he asked his assistant,

“What about the Duke of Netri’s response?”

“Uh, well…”

“Not yet? ”

The assistant hesitated, lowering his gaze under Silcaro’s urging eyes. Seeing the Duke of Netri taking his time like this, it seemed there was a shortage of monsters. A moment of intrigue flashed in Silcaro’s red eyes. Meanwhile, the Duke of Netri felt he was at a critical juncture in his life.

The imperial palace, and especially the letter secretly conveyed by Silcaro, was like poison to him.

Remember the promise made at the auction. The hunting party is short on numbers, so please support Erina and the knights of Netri.

Though it ended with a polite request, the content was no different from a threat. The Duke of Netri tossed the letter onto the table as if discarding it.

“Do you think I haven’t tried to persuade them? ”

Sighing deeply, he pressed his fingers to his eyes, trying to relieve his fatigue. There had been a night when he escorted Silcaro, who planned to sneak into the auction house. Back then, he had said that he would be there for him whenever needed. That promise was returning to haunt him now.

Duke Netri took a deep breath, but the feeling of frustration didn’t dissipate. The cycle of monsters spilling into the central region was getting shorter. Whether they had started a large-scale hunt in the North or if they were simply fleeing in all directions, it seemed like they were frequently escaping downwards.

Not all monsters were like that, but due to the toxic magic they emitted, all the plants along their path withered and died. Some monsters melted people and the earth, while others sucked up all the moisture. The central region, with relatively little experience dealing with monsters, was gradually becoming desolate, and no longer could one hear the laughter of children from outside.

As the sun set, the central region grew eerily quiet, resembling a ghost town.

‘If the central region is like this, how bad must it be in the north? ’ Should he be thankful that they were in the South?

Duke Netri sighed and called for his attendant. 

“Go and summon Erina.”

“My lord, Lady Erina, is not at the mansion at the moment.”

“Where did she go? ”

“There has been no word on that.”

Duke Netri let out a small groan, leaning back in his chair. Erina had not picked up a sword since she was injured during the hunt. Although it was understandable for her to avoid hunting, she hadn’t set foot in the training grounds even on her days off, which was unlike her.

Staying cooped up in her room, her unusually gloomy demeanor had changed drastically from her usual self.

‘What’s the problem with knights getting injured? She’s too fainthearted.’

The Duke of Netri clicked his tongue disapprovingly. It was becoming difficult to delay a response any longer. Since Silcaro was demonstrating remarkable abilities in the central region, there was one thing Netri must do before any engagement is broken. He exhaled and said,

“I’ll requisition knights. Since Erina is absent, I will send the list I’m preparing to the central region.”

***

“Sevi, are you okay? ”

Scheuer peeked into Sevi’s room. Startled, Sevi shouted, 

“What was that unsightly creature earlier?! ”

He clutched his heart, quickly scanning the surroundings. Some monsters had come down as far as Blenga. Frightened by something, a chicken was flapping around the garden, and Sevi, unfortunately, witnessed the scene as he got up from his parasol in irritation.

As he let out a bird-like scream and dashed inside, the nearby knights, along with Jess and the knights of Blenga, rushed out and swiftly subdued the monsters. Thanks to that, the monsters couldn’t even get a finger inside Blenga. However, Sevi still looked terrified.

“Are we doing this right? What are the Grand Duke and the old man saying? ”

“Um, it seems they’re still chasing after the monsters scattered around that have consumed the magic stones.”

Even with Scheuer’s reply, Sevi still looked doubtful. Grabbing Koa’s arm, Sevi elegantly rested his forehead on his hand and said, 

“I need a break after seeing something so mentally disturbing. I can’t go out into the garden for a while.”

“Understood. Then please rest comfortably! ”

Scheuer smiled brightly and waved goodbye before dashing to Raygrain’s office. Once seated at the massive desk in the office, next to the small desk, Cali entered with a bundle of letters in her arms. 

“Your Grace, the letters are tremendous! ”
At those words, Scheuer’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Cali neatly piled the letters on the desk. All the senders had unfamiliar names that Scheuer had never heard of from the central region. There were no family names or seals.

“Hmm, it seems to be sent by distant relatives or under a pseudonym.Scheuer honestly selected only the letters sent under his own name. After clearing away the others, she sat up straight, waiting for the next letter.

Before long, a hawk’s cry echoed from the sky beyond the window. A few minutes later, Jess knocked and entered with a letter in hand. Scheuer eagerly reached out.

“Jess, hurry! ”

He handed over the letter, looking as if he might faint at any moment. The hastily folded paper looked much more shabby than the previous letters from the central region. There was no seal or envelope; it appeared to be just hastily folded paper. Without caring, Scheuer urgently unfolded the letter, revealing Raygrain’s neat handwriting.

We are safe here. I hope you are well too.

It was a short and seemingly meaningless sentence. Seeing this, Cali asked with a hint of doubt, “Is this really from Your Highness? He usually doesn’t send letters like this.”

“No, Cali. Look here. The end has a bit of ink pooled, making it slightly thicker, right? This is the Grand Duke’s handwriting! ”

Scheuer pointed out even the barely visible line of the letters as he spoke. At this, Jess nodded in agreement with her words. 

“That’s right. We confirmed it was Naveed’s hawk, so it should be reliable.”

While Blenga was relatively safe, if monsters had made it this far, it seemed that the situation outside was even more severe. The requests for her flowers were increasing daily.
Recently, there have been more flowers heading to the disaster areas than flowers being produced.’

Scheuer simply responded to Jess’s comments with a smile. The merchants who had been delivering food weekly had also extended their visits, and at night, the sounds of monsters could often be heard echoing from somewhere.

When night fell, Cali would make various excuses to prevent Scheuer from going outside. No one in Blenga showed any signs of concern, but the atmosphere made it impossible to ignore. Perhaps because of this, Raygrain sent letters irregularly. As a result, Scheuer always found herself waiting in his office for the unexpected cry of the hawk.

That sound seemed to signal Raygrain’s survival, allowing Scheuer to feel more at ease. Although the content was not very detailed, it was sufficient for her. She carefully straightened the letter, minimizing creases, and handed it to Cali, saying, “Press it down with a heavy book. Make sure the creases are flat.Of course. I’ve already pressed the other letters down with a large book.”

Cali nodded solemnly, and Jess’s expression gradually turned pale. However, no one here seemed to worry about his demeanor. After Cali left the office with the letters, Jess finally spoke up. 

“Brother Zeros has joined the central extermination squad.Who are the participants? ”
“It seems some knights sent from Netri have joined the central extermination squad. Lady Erina is not included.”

Scheuer nodded while calculating the chamomile they had requested in the letter from the central region. Jess cautiously asked her, 

“What did you send to my brother? If it’s about the extermination, it’s been a while since he’s been involved, so he might not be much help.It’s not like that. It might actually be easier.”

Scheuer responded cheerfully, tearing the next letter as if it were of no significance. 

“I told him to collect the corpses of the monsters in the extermination squad that contain the scars of Prince Silcaro’s blade.”

There was no way to confirm if the scars left on the previous corpses were from Silcaro’s blade, but extermination was different. She could easily observe him dispatching the monsters up close. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to collect the corps. Scheuer had no choice but to trust Zeros.

“Vivere est cogitare”