CH 27

Claude deliberately averted his gaze from me.

It was as if he had seen something unsightly.

I opened my eyes with suspicion.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and quickly left.

…What? Why is it different from the previous regression?

I could only watch as Claude left, feeling dazed.

* * *

Inside the coffee house owned by the Saboia Viscount in the capital city.

I met a commoner who had unknowingly been involved in cleaning up the internal affairs of a terrorist organization.

To determine the truth, Dylan offered him a truth serum.

“This is a truth serum.”

The commoner faced Dylan’s cold expression, and fear overwhelmed him.

As he tremblingly reached out to drink the truth serum.

The Viscount Saboia spoke up.

“I heard that you saw someone similar to our Diana. Where did you see her?”

The Viscount Saboia anxiously tapped the table and interrogated the commoner.

“Tell me quickly.”

“Yes! That’s right. It was at the Million Theater. She was a girl with blond hair and a smirk.”

“Where did she go?”

“I saw her entering a strange house… After that, I saw her about a month later. She was in Borghone District, covered in mud so much that her hair and eye color couldn’t be seen clearly, but I recognized her by her facial features.”

Borghone District was a place that took over three hours by carriage from the capital.

It was not reasonable to assume that a young child could have gone there on their own.

“…Is it child trafficking?”

“That’s… yes.”

The commoner closed his eyes tightly and answered, unable to lie due to the truth serum.

“Yes, I heard that all the children who lost their parents on the day of the terrorist attack were sent there…”

“What happened after that?”

“I later heard rumors that they were sent to an illegal childcare facility in Borghone.”

Now, all I had to do was search for traces of the illegal childcare facility, “Sanggermane Nursery.”

The Viscount Saboia, who had only searched childcare facilities in the capital city, hesitated and said.

“The name of the illegal childcare facility was Sanggermane, right?”

The next step was to find any leads related to the terrorist group “Red Castle.”

“Where was the main branch of the terrorist group ‘Red Castle’ located?”

“That… cough.”

As soon as those words were uttered, the witness’s eyes began to turn bloodshot.

It was a sign of imminent death that Dylan had seen frequently.

Bang!

There was an instant loud noise.

It was as if the bomb planted inside the witness’s body was about to explode.

Fortunately, Dylan raised his sword and immediately blocked the shockwave.

Immediately after, the Viscount quickly cast a protective barrier.

“Cough! Cough! Ke, kch!”

Thanks to that, the witness avoided death.

However, the side effects of the bomb magic could not be avoided.

At that moment, as the witness sneezed and writhed in pain, something happened.

A warning message was engraved on the witness’s palm.

[Those who disturb the Red Castle will pay with blood.]

It was a warning from the Red Castle, the Empire’s major terrorist organization.

The Viscount Saboia, who had lost his child to them, was consumed with anger.

“A sign of a new terrorist attack!”

The Viscount administered first aid to the witness.

Afterward, he called a mage from the tower who was outside and had the witness transported to a doctor.

Dylan quietly muttered as he watched the witness leave.

“Peace will be shattered.”

“…But before that, we must find our child.”

Just as they were having a conversation, a messenger bird kept crashing into the window from outside.

When they opened the window, the bluebird perched on the Viscount’s palm and chirped affectionately.

The Viscount, who understood animal language, furrowed his brows and said.

“Oh, Your Excellency. It seems that your wife is currently in the tower.”

Dylan’s eyes flickered with confusion at the unexpected mention of “wife.”

“What…”

He, who had always focused on his duties like a rock, was now shaken.

The Viscount Saboia clung to the bird’s leg and handed him a paper, speaking gently.

“Here it is. Please read it quickly.”

It was a statement from Helic that had flown from the archives.

Dylan immediately accepted the statement and began to read it.

[…(Strategy)…

Ah, finally, I add this note.

To Her Excellency Ishael… If the magician Pedro’s research presentation… (Omitted)…]

In Dylan’s eyes, he only saw Pedro and Ishael. Those were the only two things that mattered.

“How dare that filthy scum approach Ishael?”

No. Ishael approached him.

But Dylan was not in a state to make such rational judgments.

[ 5: The Night Dylan’s Desires Blossomed]

The Sage’s Tower, which was an hour away, was reached in just five minutes.

The situation was urgent and critical, leaving no room for distraction.

After Pedro was expelled, Ishael left the tower.

Secretary Helic hurriedly approached, his steps quick and anxious.

“Ah, have you seen that Pedro? That lunatic!”

“He dared to attack Ishael with a bomb without even grasping the situation. It’s infuriating.”

Helic raised an eyebrow and spoke.

“…Hahaha! So you wish it had happened to you instead? What a joke!”

Dylan fell silent.

Helic, who had been chuckling, widened his eyes and retorted.

“W-What? Are you serious?”

Dylan asked in a low voice.

“Well, even if I’m hit by that bomb, I won’t die.”

It was a true statement, but his expression…

“Could it be jealousy?”

“…”

“You’re jealous, even to the point of getting hit by a bomb? Is there even anyone who does that out of jealousy? I don’t think so.”

“What is jealousy?”

Dylan pondered over the concept of jealousy that Helic mentioned.

As far as he knew, jealousy was an emotion that arose when one’s possession was taken away.

But Ishael was never his possession.

There was no way someone as precious as her could become his insignificant belonging.

“Jealousy is jealousy.”

Dylan thought deeply in his mind.

“…So, isn’t jealousy a desire to monopolize someone, leading to a worn-out love?”

“If you’re asking for a dictionary definition, then yes…”

Another name was engraved upon his emotions.

‘A desire to monopolize.’

Dylan’s expression hardened.

Come to think of it, he had felt this emotion before.

When Ford approached Ishael.

When Pedro sent lewd glances towards Ishael at the ball.

He seemed to feel this emotion when men with filthy desires approached Ishael.

“Understood.”

“No, what else do you know…?”

“I realized that I, too, had been ignorant of the situation and had long harbored desires for monopolization.”

Helic mumbled with a puzzled expression.

“No, now you suddenly understand the situation and desires for monopolization? Are you perhaps into polyamory…?”

‘How dare I, a mere person, have possessive desires towards someone so noble. I deserve to die, but if I repent, I may be forgiven.’

If he didn’t understand the situation and had a petty desire for monopolization within him, there was only one way to dismantle it.

“That man, Pedro.”

“Yes?”

“He needs to be dealt with.”

“…Are you going to kill him?”

“No.”

“But…”

Helic stood still, swaying on his feet.

It was a moment when he was contemplating whether to say that humans usually don’t easily kill others.

Unfortunately, Pedro started approaching from a distance, dragging his body along.

Dylan’s eyes gleamed naturally upon seeing his appearance.

“Damn it! Damn it! That woman! Ishael, that woman! She even tried to marry me!”

Pedro stomped on the ground and cursed.

“That arrogant woman! I should rip her face apart! That damn bitch!”

He spewed out curses, and Dylan approached him resolutely.

There was no need for hesitation.