Chapter 168: Before the Rescue

I decided to look around the mansion without removing my disguise. That was because Maxwell opposed it when I was about to do it.

“Reid, this could be a good opportunity.” “What do you mean by that? Aren’t we in a huge crisis instead, with Elliot kidnapped and all?” “I am telling you to use that. He is alone in the enemy territory now. If you gallantly show up before him and lend him a helping hand, what do you think he would feel?” “Wouldn’t he be put off seeing a woman mow down a bunch of men?”

Well, I could see where Maxwell was coming from. This was basically a princess and prince charming playing out in reality, though the genders were reversed.

“Reid, you have a point. But look at it differently. Elliot has been in our care ever since he was a child. In other words, he has a tendency to get attached to people he can depend on.” “That’s one troublesome tendency.” “You have to make practical use of it here. If you save him here, he will undoubtedly get attached to you. At first, his feelings might be closer to dependability, but they could easily change into those of love, do you get it!” “Woah, calm down there. I was unwilling as is, and you’re not helping the matter.”

That said, I could get behind the idea of utilizing this situation. Grasp the opportunity and his personality, and make him dance on your palm. As expected of a sly old noble like him to come up with something like that.

We continued our discussion as I kept investigating the surroundings. Of course, given how conspicuous I looked, I made sure to use my ring and add a hood to my illusion.

As far as I could see, there was one guard stationed at the gate. He was fully armed, with a sword hanging on his waist. I couldn’t spot anyone else, so the rest should have been stationed inside the mansion.

There was a carriage parked at the front garden, with a rag coiled around its wheel. That cloth, smeared with dark red, was undoubtedly the thing Priscilla mentioned.

“Looks like this is definitely the right place.”

Following that, I started thinking about how to get inside. The fence surrounding the mansion was made from bricks, and about one meter tall. It would be easy enough to jump over it if that’s all there was, but it had another layer of iron railings on top, adding two more meters to it. In other words, it was three meters tall. That made it a bit hard to climb over it.

I considered using threads to leap over it, but the railings had spikes at the top to guard against intruders. If thoughtlessly jumped over it, there was a possibility of tripping on them and ending up with a serious injury.

“If there are no other options, I guess I’ll do it… But it’s a pain.” “Do you actually plan to get in there without waiting for my master?” “Woah!?”

The unfamiliar deep voice made me instinctively scream. But I quickly realized whom it belonged to. It was the familiar that Maxwell lent me.

This self-conscious familiar was able to pronounce words. In other words, it could speak of its own volition, too. Basically, right now, both it and Maxwell were watching me at the same time.

“Right, I forgot you could speak.” “I am the familiar of great Lord Maxwell. Please don’t lump me together with random familiars.” “I thought pigeons would have a more charming manner of speech.”

I was a bit put off by the gap between its appearance and manner of speech that sounded strangely majestic. Its speech made the feather patterns above its eyes look like rugged eyebrows to me.

“Anyway, as Maxwell said, I could be in a race against time. They were trying to hide their tracks, so I don’t think they plan to get rid of him immediately, but since they left Priscilla there, it’s highly likely that they’d vacate this mansion today or tomorrow.”

I collected my thoughts as I talked with the pigeon. Leaving Elliot’s guard there meant the matter would eventually reach Maxwell’s ears. When that happened, Maxwell would personally take command and pin down the culprit as long as they were still in the capital.

The fact that they left her there despite all that meant that they probably didn’t plan to overstay here.

Assuming that to be the case, they would get rid of Elliot within a few days… Before the information would reach Maxwell and he manages to track this mansion down.

Maxwell could use Search magic. This magic could detect the designated target in the surrounding area, including but not limited to life forms and magic power. Naturally, there were ways to avoid its detection, but it was hardly possible to hide from someone as excellent as Maxwell for a long time.

“So they aren’t wary of Master’s Search? That’s quite bold of them.” “They probably planned to accomplish their minimal objective and flee before he arrived. And based on the fact that they abducted him, that objective must be something that requires him to be alive.” “For example?”

Arriving up to that point, I started thinking about the reasons why Elliot would be deemed unnecessary. It goes without saying, but he was the most important person of the United Three Nations. A bachelor that succeeded the blood of the former royals. Thinking about his professional duties as the king…

“Let’s see, maybe making him unable to produce children?” “Children?” “Yeah. Kings regard their bloodline as the most important thing. If they kill him now, it could lead to a civil war.” “So you mean they would let him go?” “Yeah. But if they leave him be, they would not be able to force him to abdicate. But what if they turn him into a ‘king that can’t make offsprings’?”

As long as Elliot was alive, other kingdoms or even his own nobles would not be able to make any big moves. But what if they made it so he would not be able to produce children?

That would increase the possibility of forcing him to abdicate and put someone else on the throne. The matter of successors was that important.

“And it doesn’t take much effort to turn someone infertile. You just have to crush it a bit.” “…That made me flinch a little.”

This time, it was Maxwell’s voice that came from the familiar. Looks like he heard what I said.

“Well, since this is about you, your assumption might be off as always.” “Hey, that’s rude!” “After all, if they just wanted to crush his thing, they could have done that on the spot. Besides, healing magic could somehow handle that. That said, you might not be far off from the truth. Being the sovereign of the United Nations that owns the most land on the continent – that is Elliot’s biggest value.”

Leaving his statement aside, since there were such methods, the situation was highly unpredictable indeed.

It was better to stop sneaking around and head straight for Elliot.