Chapter 29: Ghost of 11 Years (4)

“――Release.”

Crack. A dry crackling sound. The sound came from Uni’s throat.

“......Ehh?”

It was an awfully idiotic voice. One might describe it as age appropriate.

Uni was dumbfounded. It was just the moment before Uni would have murdered the Marquis and the Count who might be her father. The young girl’s expression remained the same but she was actually being suppressed and was paralysed.

A hard object fell to the ground, rolled on the floor and hit the wall.

It was the collar. The silver collar, the origin of her nickname, came off.

“Lord Tullius, what have you done……?”

“Oh, your Excellency. Surely a former court magician like yourself would know of this level of magic?” Tullius referred to the events, which happened in the blink of an eye to the Count, casually.

This man was truly careless. Had Tullius not stepped up, this person would have been slaughtered by his own daughter.

Nonetheless, this was an unexpected measure from Tullius.

“It is the magic to erase the contract that binds us as master and slave. Well, this was actually my first time using it.”

Release. This was the one and only effect of it. With the master’s own will, the chain that bound the slave to her maste was destroyed. That was all. The destruction of the collar was thorough. The collar that fell off Uni’s neck vanished into silvery dusts of sand. It would probably be impossible to recover the collar once again.

This was the first time he saw “Release” being used. It was extremely rare in this world for a master to free their slaves.

“Since it has come to this, I imagine it would be more peaceful for all of us if I freed her myself.”

“M-Master……?”

Uni faced Tullius and spoke in a grating voice.

Due could see that she was trying to ask “why?”. Laubert was surprised too.

Uni looked like she was smiling while crying.

Please let this be some joke. Such was the expression on her face. I can smile as much as you want, if you please let that wish be true. She pleaded with her eyes.

For somebody who was called Silver Wolf, her expression was far too fragile.

“An admirable deed, lord.”

“Not at all. Anybody who submits to your Excellency’s might would naturally go to such extents.”

Tullius said while bowing deeply.

Dispassionately and detached, he continued.

He intended to hand Uni over to the Count.

“Why? M-mas――”

“Ah, please stop addressing me as that.”

He mercilessly cut off her attempts to cling onto him.

His tone of voice was ridiculously polite too. While he was speaking to a lady, he had never taken such a friendly tone. He spoke in a way to get his point across.

“It is not good to continue speaking like a slave. Doing so would greatly sadden his Excellency. Just like how I do, please use a more friendly way of speaking.”

“H-How could I…...M-Master, such a way of speaking is――”

Smudges were formed on the carpet on the floor. She was crying. Uni lost her composure and was crying.

He would have cried too. Being separated from her master whom she had devoted everything to. Not to mention that he did not even try to prevent it.

Uni’s devotion to Tullius was apparent. It was like being abandoned by her god.

However, there was nothing more that he can do.

It was the only way to survive given that they had no way to defend against this conspiracy by Lavallée and Linus. Otherwise, he might be charged for ruining the formal ceremony by having a dispute with a noble family of equal standing and be punished by the head of family, Linus, for a just cause. If that is so, then he should try to minimise the damage and gain Count Cartan’s forgiveness by giving up on her. Speaking from the point of view of effectiveness, this was the most appropriate solution.

Marquis Lavallée pleasantly smiled.

“Yes, yes. Lord Tullius is not only a Viscount but also the second son of a Count family, while Lady Anrietta is also the daughter of a Count family. It is befitting for both of you to treat each other as fellow nobles of equal standing. I heard much from your brother, but as a young man, you are quite capable of discerning right from wrong!”

“Not at all…...”

Tullius evasively smiled as well. Is now the time to be smiling? Annoyance welled up in Due. Unlike Due and Drei who had been picked up, Uni had been accompanying him since he was young and she was about to be snatched away. He had no choice but to abandon her, but surely he could have made a more honourable expression?

“So I take it that you are fine with me bringing Anrietta back?”

Count Cartan asked haughtily. Tullius was notoriously known as a slave murderer and man-eating snake. To take her daughter back from such a person, he must have felt the need to use such an authority. He saw him as a cold-hearted person who needed no respect.

“Oh? Are you returning home without continuing with the rest of the ceremony?”

“......How could I dare to show my face now?”

“That is true. Then I shall personally explain the situation to my brother.”

Finally, Tullius stood up from the sofa and opened the door for him. He was ridiculously polite and humble. Laubert and Victor had spent so much time and effort to correct his etiquette, but to no avail. Yet why is he only behaving so well currently?

“Well then, your Excellency. I shall take my leave.”

“Yes. Do take care, Count.”

It was as though Lavallée was the owner of this place. Even though this was the building of the brother of the head of the family.

Nobody raised a protest regarding that. The girl who should have been most dissatisfied was completely absent-minded.

One might assume the world would be coming to an end from Uni’s expression. She was pulled away by hand by Count Cartan.

Then, when they passed each other.

“How long are you going to act like that? It is very troubling. Please come back to your senses and fulfil your duty.”

“......”

“Once you have calmed down, take your time to reflect. Think carefully on how you wish to lead your life――a life’s journey is very long, after all.”

Tullius’ speech sounded clichéd and was a poor attempt at consoling her. One could not tell if her heart was closed shut or not. Even then, Uni turned back and looked pleadingly. Tullius wanted her to give up and did not spare her even a glance.

The distance between the two grew quickly.

“By the way, is your Excellency returning? Won’t the newlyweds be unsettled by the disappearance of their matchmaker for this long?”

While holding the door open, he spoke to Lavallée who was inside the room.

He spoke as though he had forgotten entirely about the whole fiasco with Uni.

“Mmm…...I guess so.”

While puzzling about why Tullius held no lingering attachment to his servant, Marquis Lavallée stood up from his chair.

“The same applies to Lord Tullius, doesn’t it? As the groom’s brother.”

“Indeed, indeed! Yes! If we are going back, we should make haste!”

At long last, he started to speak in an exaggerated manner. He was so loud that he could displease the other party who was leaving. Certainly, as somebody who had lost to Lavallée’s scheme, one could understand the need to cozy up to him in order to prevent future hindrances. Yet, shouldn’t he be less obvious?

While Lavallée appeared to be in a good mood, to Due, he had very cold and harsh eyes.

He was suspicious at Tullius who has yet to show any signs of being dealt a blow.

“Well, well…...It is good to show concern to your elders. However, it is not praiseworthy to be too humble to others without a good reason as a Viscount who has been conferred land by the kingdom.”

As expected, the Marquis spoke sharply.

――Even if you bend your head low, I will not hold back. ――And I cannot see any reason why you are doing so. ――In fact, you are the enemy of my faction. You are a noble of the rural area defying me from the borders.

Tullius decoded his gaze as such.

“I am grateful for the kind warning――”

Due felt goosebumps from Tullius’ words. Light shone fiercely from his eyes as he smiled. It was not an expression that he showed his experimental subjects. It was not something as joyful as that. It was not an expression towards an obstacle. It did not contain the right level of indifference. It was the light of contradiction, a mixture of hatred and cold rejection.

It was first time Tullius Shernan Oubeniel showed his hostility.