Chapter 86: Chapter 43.2

[almost half of jeff’s elders agreed to this. starting with domina, felice, gadran, tuhor…]

jeff’s elders and tellon’s key figures were mentioned one after another. and,

[after the child celebrates his first birthday and receives a hidden name, the duchess seira will die. it’s not uncommon for people to lose their life on the battlefield.]

olivia’s later plans that baron didn’t know came tumbling out her mouth. that they would kill the biological mother, seira askan, by faking it as an accident after jeff was succeeded by her child.

[i can do my best to help the child who will be the last of askan’s bloodline, and the future owner of jeff. wouldn’t that be much better? rather than hovering around seira, whom you can’t dare to surpass…]

“what the hell is this?” baron questioned with a new sense of dread overcoming him.

“i hate banquets and stuff, so as soon as it started, i packed some food and climbed to the roof,” zion explained at first.

while he drank alcohol and ate food leisurely and listened to the banquet’s music play one after the other, zion overheard a conversation coming from right below him.

“i stayed still because i thought aven didn’t notice when i moved, but the conversation turned weirder by the second, so i quickly recorded it with a magic tool.”

“…”

in fact, baron believed zion was wrong in his assumption. aven helford would’ve definitely known he was there. the senses of a masterclass slayer were far beyond ordinary people.

“aven and the woman, too, say it like she was jeff’s mistress. don’t tell me you’re going to hurt her excellency with her, are you? you’re going to stop her, right?”

baron took the magic tool from the hands of the wizard that stared at him expectantly.

“i’ll take this.”

“no, you have to answer clearly and then take it!”

baron clicked his tongue in amazement at zion’s reaction. he was someone who had excellent magical talent but was just so pure.

“have you ever thought that i might shut your mouth?” baron raised a brow at him.

“well…i didn’t. the commander-in-chief is not the one who would plan such things behind the scenes.”

“if you trust others so easily, your life will be short-lived,” baron warned him.

“oh, yes or no?!” despite being annoyed, zion didn’t ask for the magic tool back.

“just tell me what you want.”

“what are you talking about all of a sudden?” the wizard asked in bewilderment.

“this. you could have used it otherwise, but you trusted me and brought it right away. don’t you think there should be a price?”

“uh…”

zion, whose eyes were wide open, prolonged his words with an embarrassed expression.

“then it’s just….”

whenever he argued wildly, he would timidly talk about his wishes in a voice that was half-shrunken.

“please contribute even a little to her excellency’s happiness,” he finally asked.

“…”

baron couldn’t understand why zion cared for seira with such devotion. he wasn’t askan’s vassal, nor was he employed by the knights. did he give her his heart? even betas who couldn’t distinguish pheromones were easily swayed by seira’s allure.

zion, who noticed his subtle suspicions, quickly added as if he were making excuses.

“of course, people should know grace. there is not a single person in viseltium who doesn’t owe their lives to askan. then i think we should at least take care of her excellency. otherwise, would the late former duke of askan close his eyes in peace?”

“are you for real?”

baron rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. anyway, this commoner-born wizard was too fearless. he would’ve been in trouble right away if he wasn’t as talented as he was.

“what about me?”

“it’s good to be brave,” baron said as he turned around. “i’ll order an attendant to bring you something to eat, so don’t move and rest here.”

among jeff’s immediate family, he was the only one who attended the banquet today, so there would be no one to talk about the convenience he was offering to zion.

“oh, then can you ask for beer instead of champagne? and more meat for side dishes!”

“…i got it.”

nothing has been solved, but baron left the private lounge, leaving behind the jubilant wizard as if he had thrown off a big load.

“seira…”

walking down the hall, baron thought about her. calrad had gone entirely mad, and the greed of his family and other high-ranking nobles was beyond his wildest imagination.

the force of seira and the knights of askan was so great that no one could ignore it, but it would not be enough to totally protect her in viseltium.

he would’ve persuaded her to return to jeff, but now that he realized that he lived in the den of thieves, baron couldn’t dare anymore.

‘it’s frustrating.’

for the first time, baron felt the weight on his shoulders had become too heavy. how he wished he could only move for one seira like aven helford did. if only he could leave his family behind and share every waking moment with her…

baron unknowingly stopped in the middle of the hallway.

‘if i throw it all away, will they accept it?’

when he imagined it in his head, he couldn’t help but become even more frustrated.