“I heard that a demon appeared in the royal palace.”

“A demon?”

“They say Joseph V pardoned prisoners from the underground dungeon to improve his image after what the crown prince did to the Franche royal family. So it was empty for a while, but yesterday Lucas Pelur imprisoned his knight named Hunter Trenton.”

“On what charges?”

“No one seems to know. Apparently Lucas came in drunk and suddenly started raging, ordering Hunter Trenton to be locked up.”

“And then?”

“So Hunter Trenton was the only one in the underground dungeon, but a demon supposedly tore him to death. Strangely, it didn’t kill any of the guards outside, but snuck into the dungeon, only killed Hunter Trenton, left traces of demonic energy, and disappeared.”

“A dark mage?”

“Anyone would think so, right? But those people seem to believe it was a demon. Well, I suppose people unfamiliar with demons might think it’s a demon just seeing the area blackened with contamination.”

“Did you tell them the truth?”

Hexten grinned.

“Why would I? I made a fuss saying this is terrible, there must be a demon, we’re all going to die. After poking around here and there, I left saying it seems to have fled far away, but who knows when it might return.”

“Did they believe that?”

“They did. As long as there’s a demon, they’ll be cautious around my lord. They’ll want to stay close to receive help if needed. They asked me to stay, but I said I was busy and left.”

As Floyd, who had finished drying off, came out of the bathroom, servants were waiting with clothes. While getting dressed, Floyd said:

“It seems the king is unaware of the dark mage’s existence. Apparently, contracting the dark mage was Lucas’s independent decision.”

“Looks that way. What on earth did Hunter Trenton do to be torn apart by a dark mage? It’s an issue that could have been quietly handled by giving him some trumped-up charges and executing him.”

“Indeed.”

The situation seemed strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was off.

“If Lucas has a dark mage, why is he leaving me alone? I should be the first one he wants to tear apart.”

“Perhaps the dark mage refused? My lord’s power and demonic energy are incompatible.”

“He’s not the type to accept refusal. It seems the dark mage isn’t completely subservient to Lucas. Still, it’s strange that he hasn’t even tried.”

“That’s true. Even if he can’t directly confront you, he could have targeted me or the other knights.”

Floyd, who had been frowning throughout the grooming process, instructed Hexten before leaving the mansion with Kirshan:

“Guard the princess well. If we’re dealing with a dark mage, things could get tough.”

+++

Lucas turned pale at Hunter Trenton’s death. The knights said it seemed like a demon attack, and Lucas couldn’t shake off his fear that a demon had infiltrated the palace, which he thought was safe.

He had no mind to think about who would benefit from Hunter Trenton’s death.

The palace was in a state of emergency with knights bustling about, but only Elise remained calm.

‘With this, everyone connected to me is dead.’

Now there was no one left to hold Elise back.

“My child. I just need you to be born safely. Please, please, I hope you look like Lucas.”

It didn’t matter if the child didn’t. She had already identified women due to give birth around the same time, so she could switch babies if needed. Lanian would bring a baby that looked just like Lucas.

She felt sorry for that baby, but she had no intention of letting it live as royalty. The baby would be reported dead right after birth, and Elise planned to blame Christine entirely for the baby’s death.

“Because of the queen’s harassment and suspicion, I was in so much pain that my child died. Sob, sob.”

Elise rehearsed what she would say in front of people, caressing her belly. As Elise sat by the window humming, Queen Christine came to visit. She glared at the seemingly calm Elise and asked:

“Was it your doing?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Hunter Trenton.”

“Isn’t Hunter Trenton the crown prince’s knight? What happened to him?”

Despite Elise’s innocent gaze as if she knew nothing, Christine’s eyes remained sharp.

Hunter Trenton was dead. When she asked Lucas why he had imprisoned him in the underground dungeon, he said it was to interrogate the man who had slept with Elise.

But Hunter Trenton died before they could even torture him once.

Though everyone was busy searching for the demon due to the traces left behind, Christine was bothered by how conveniently timed Hunter Trenton’s death was.

Christine slowly approached Elise, who didn’t even stand up when she arrived, and bent down. She whispered in her ear:

“I don’t know what methods you used, but I will certainly uncover your crimes.”

“Oh my, Mother.”

Elise lowered the corners of her eyebrows and gave a pitiful look, but the corners of her mouth twitched as if extremely pleased.

“I do hope you find them.”

+++

After Enges disappeared, the Viscount and Viscountess Braysa felt like they were in the depths of hell every moment.

She was their precious daughter born after four sons in a row. A daughter so precious they wouldn’t mind paying a fortune for her. When the opportunity arose for their beloved daughter to become the crown princess, they thought nothing could be better.

They were a bit concerned about Crown Prince Lucas’s personality. But everyone has flaws. They thought it would be good for their daughter to marry the most noble and highest-ranking man in the country.

Enges didn’t object to her parents’ decision since she wasn’t seeing anyone else.

But who could have imagined this would happen.

As soon as the future crown princess disappeared, Lucas promptly went ahead and secretly married Elise Hailis. They couldn’t shake off the suspicion that Lucas and Elise were involved in Enges’s disappearance.

Viscount Braysa strongly protested this to Joseph V, but he merely offered verbal consolation without taking any action.

At any other time, they would have understood the king’s attitude. The Pelur royal family’s reputation had plummeted after the Franche royal family’s tragedy became known, and meanwhile Lucas, who was responsible, had gone ahead and married Elise. So it was natural that Joseph V had no time to spare for other matters while trying to settle his family affairs.

“But isn’t this too much? Anyone can see that Elise Hailis benefited the most, so it’s clear that woman did something to our Enges… Yet she’s allowed to live comfortably in the palace as the crown princess. I still can’t believe the king accepted that woman.”

Floyd listened attentively to Viscount Braysa’s long story. The viscount alternated between outrage and tears as he poured out the story about his daughter.

Before visiting the Braysa mansion with the party invitation, Roxiana had repeatedly instructed:

−”You must listen well. No matter how boring or long it gets, you have to keep listening until he’s relieved, until he asks what’s going on. Understood?”

Without her instruction, he would have long since cut off the viscount’s words saying, “Alright, I get it now,” and gotten to the point. It was agonizing to listen to someone else talk for over an hour, but fortunately, Viscount Braysa seemed to be calming down little by little.

When he paused briefly, Floyd said carefully:

“That must be heartbreaking.”

“It is heartbreaking. Do you know what’s most heartbreaking of all? My own foolishness in rejoicing at the thought of my daughter becoming the crown princess. Me!”

Viscount Braysa struck his own chest with his fist.

“I can’t bear how pathetic I am!”

Floyd quietly watched as Viscount Braysa breathed heavily. Eventually, the viscount collected himself and asked:

“But what brings the grand duke here?”

“How is the search for Miss Enges going?”

Viscount Braysa shook his head.

“There’s no trace at all. We’ve employed everyone from mercenaries to street beggars, knights, and professional trackers, but we couldn’t find even a clue. I wonder what method they used to abduct her…”

If they could at least find her body, it wouldn’t be this agonizing. The hope from occasional false information and the despair when it was shattered pushed the viscount and his wife into even greater pain.

“I’ve also had my knights searching for Miss Enges since I came to Gania.”

“Is, is that true? But why…?”

“My fiancée desperately wants to find Miss Enges.”

“Ah.”

Viscount Braysa knew about Floyd’s fiancée, Roxiana. The sole survivor of the Franche royal family. Roxiana Franche, who barely survived the tragedy perpetrated by her fiancé and friend.

Remembering that she too had been in a devastating situation because of Lucas and Elise, he felt a sense of kinship.

“Is she alright?”

“Mostly struggling, sometimes okay, and very occasionally she laughs.”

“That’s good to hear. I suppose as more time passes, she’ll laugh more often.”

But Viscount Braysa thought he would never be able to laugh. There was no way parents who couldn’t find their child’s whereabouts could ever laugh.

Floyd watched the viscount sitting with a pained expression, then took out an invitation from his breast pocket and held it out.

“I’m throwing a party, Viscount.”

“I appreciate the invitation, but…”

“Viscount. Do you really think I came to Gania to congratulate the crown prince’s marriage?”