CH 28

5. Hunting

“Duke Rubius entered the palace? With his own feet?”

“Yes. The gate guard reported it himself.”

“So? Where is he now? In the dungeon?”

“He said he went straight to the conference room.”

“What, the conference room?”

A laugh erupted from Deltinus’ mouth.

That was a bad sign. The knight who came to report bowed more deeply.

It has been a week since Yulif disappeared from the theater with Canaren. Day and night he released the secret guards and had them search the capital like looking for a mouse, but they could not find them.

He was also thinking of an extreme method; of whether he should return to the territory as it was, or whether he should send the secret guards to the territory.

But it’s not enough for him to enter the palace on his own feet, and he was even going to attend the State Council meeting.

The State Council was the highest decision-making body, attended by only the emperor and 14 key nobles in charge. Yulif was also included in the list of 14, but he never attended a State Council meeting after receiving the ducal title. The reason for his absence externally was that the territory he was managing was far away and there were so many important things to do that he could not make time for it.

Of course, the fact that Deltinus deliberately excluded Yulif from the State Council was an open secret.

‘What are you up to, Yulif?’

Worrying didn’t fit his personality. Even if it wasn’t, he couldn’t stay still as there was like a thousand dollars inside.

Deltinus headed to the conference room. The newly appointed doorkeeper threw the door open before announcing his arrival.

The guard’s report was not wrong. Yulif, who had the same face as himself, sat in front of him, and got up with a sly look on his face.

“You are here, Your Majesty.”

“Who is this? If it isn’t Duke Rubius, who suddenly disappeared. I am so happy that I am about to cry.”

“I didn’t know I would be greeted with tears. I am grateful.”

“I thought the Duke had left the capital forever or something.”

“Isn’t the State Council a privilege and a duty? If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely attend the meeting.”

The gazes of Yulif and Deltinus were deeply entangled. The nobles, crushed by the force the two of them radiated, only exchanged glances with each other.

The fight between the two invisible people ended with Yulif bowing his head first.

Deltinus sat down, holding down his boiling inside with a smile.

The meeting went quickly. Whatever the issue, the measures Yulif suggested were appropriate and effective.

Compared to Yulif, who took control of the conference hall, the only thing Deltinus did was spit out the words, ‘Do what you want.’

As Deltinus’ eyes slowly grew wild, an interesting item came up on the table.

“Next on the agenda is from the National Security Agency… It’s said that a report came in that a slave auction house that was operating illegally recently had been attacked. But the attacker…”

“It was me.”

Yulif confessed with a nonchalant attitude. Deltinus clasped his chin with one of his hands, stared at Yulif, and commanded the count.

“Continue reporting.”

“Yes. It is said that all the slave traders were caught, and all the slaves imprisoned in the mansion were released and their whereabouts were unknown. The nobles who attended the auction were also caught and imprisoned…”

“Hahaha!”

Deltinus let out a sly smile. Laughing as he slammed the table with one hand, he applauded Yulif.

“That is amazing. That’s really cool, Duke. There are so many things at stake in the slave trade, so I ordered it to be handled in secret. But I didn’t know you could handle it this way. That’s the way Duke Rubius is. I admire it.”

As Deltinus said, the openly held slave auction was a problem in itself, and it also led to numerous other problems such as kidnapping and human trafficking. However, there were many nobles who took care of the slave traders, and even the emperor himself went hunting for slaves, so in the meantime, there was no justification for eradicating slave traders.

Yulif calmly looked at Deltinus, who was smiling broadly.

Deltinus, who boasted of the forcibly abducting one from the Hwira tribe at a banquet, must have ordered for the slave traders to be disposed of. Yulif was just trying to intercept his work. He had suffered from his cunning tactics so many times that it was no longer surprising.

And so, Deltinus’ smile was filled with impatience. It seems that he was quite annoyed that he took Canaren and disappeared.

Yulif was satisfied with just scratching Deltinus’ heart.

Deltinus, who stopped his laughter, shouted as he skimmed the crowd.

“I want to give an award to Duke Rubius, who has performed my orders brilliantly. What kind of prize would you like?”

Yulif straightened his slightly disheveled posture out. For a week, he had been continuously supplying mana to the cabin, and his body was slowly becoming strained.

He must not reveal his condition to the Deltinus.

For the first time, Yulif thanked his emotionally stoic face.

“If that’s the case… How about granting me the slave’s mansion?”

“Um, no. The Duke of Rubius has so many things that he wouldn’t be impressed with anything like that. Hunting season is just around the corner.”

It was ominous, seeing one corner of his lips rise upward. A good idea for Deltinus wasn’t a good idea for Yulif at all.

Yulif’s ominous prediction came true.

“Duke Rubius likes the Hiwra people, so I will catch them personally. The Duke just has to go with me and choose the child he wants to have.”

Yulif’s eyebrows twitched. A couple of the counts who were sitting close to him shifted their eyes as if anxiously watching.

Yulif never showed his emotions. It was subtle, but he had a crumpled expression on his face, which wasn’t strange considering what was happening.

He would give him a new slave in exchange for dealing with the annoying slave trader. Additionally, he said that he would choose from the Hwira clan, the center of the rumors that shook the political and social worlds.

Deltinus’ absurd remarks were beyond what the nobles thought. Especially, considering the conflict between Deltinus and Yulif over Canaren these days, a wind of blood might blow.

The nobles held their breaths. The fishy smile that appeared on Deltinus’ face deepened.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been hunting, and I was wondering if the Duke would give me my bird back if I gave him a new child.”

“I don’t care about hunting. Even more so if you are hunting for the Hwira tribe. Have you forgotten the Gnostic Law that I initiated?”

“Don’t be too rigid. I like the Duke, but you’re too rigid. If you only see one thing and chase after it, you might lose everything.”

He was talking about Canaren. Yulif clenched his fists under the desk. It was hard to bear the fact that Deltinus, no one else, was talking about Canaren.

However, as soon as mana was pulled up, his chest tightened and extreme pain came.

‘Damn it.’

Deltinus continued his words when Yulif missed the timing to refute because of the pain.

“If I continue to disregard the territorial laws, the Duke’s face will suffer. But I’m trying to give you a prize, so it won’t be a problem. How about this? Let’s head north to Cicena. The Duke, the little bird, and I. The three of us together.”

“If it’s north of Cicena… Are you going to the Lake Nice hunting grounds?”

Count Enderk, who was observing the atmosphere, carefully intervened. Deltinus nodded his head, his gaze still fixed on Yulif.

“Yes. There’s a forest by the lake, which will help Canaren’s homesickness.”

“Are you serious?”

“I like to play jokes, but I don’t enjoy them. The Duke would know.”

Deltinus, with an inexplicable smile, leaned back in his chair and raised his chin. Yulif’s eyes glaring at him were burning with calm anger.

‘That’s right. You got caught.’

It seemed that Yulif would not show any weakness for the rest of his life until the day he died. It bothered Deltinus that when he did, it was Canaren, but it didn’t matter much.

Without Yulif, Canaren couldn’t do anything. It was enough to eliminate Yulif then take her forcibly. It was also the reason he didn’t dwell on bets. If Yulif was gone, bets were of no use.

“Duke Rubius, I will give you a chance to choose. Will you take Canaren to the hunting grounds with you, or will you go find a Hwira to replace her? The Duke has no other option than these two.”

It was an obvious trick, so Yulif was even angrier. Either way, it was an unreasonable deal in which he would surely lose something.

No, it should be said that this was a threat, not a deal. Deltinus was forcing Yulif to bring back Canaren by taking the rest of the Hwira hostages. If Yulif didn’t bring Canaren, he would kill all the Hwira as a way to avenge his wrath, as he was a great enough man to do that.

However, he didn’t know what Deltinus would do when he went hunting with Canaren. He was also concerned that the hunting location was near Lake Nice.

‘If only I could use magic properly, I wouldn’t have worried about such a thing.’

Yulif sighed inwardly. Although it was frustrating, it was unavoidable. It was a minor limitation compared to what he needed to do to save Canaren.

Deltinus was very happy to see Yulif unable to answer easily as if he was embarrassed. He didn’t hide the corners of his twitching lips and made a benevolent expression on his face.

“It seemed difficult for this Duke to decide immediately. I am a generous person, so I’ll give you time. If you don’t answer me by tomorrow, I’ll assume that it’s a yes.”