CH 160

Early in the morning.

Berry brought in a basin of water for Radis, meant for the lady to wash her face after she woke up. However, the maid was shocked to see what welcomed her.

In Radis’s bed was Marquis Russell himself, snoring soundly.

“Mmmph, Radiiiis… Don’t be like that…”

He was even talking in his sleep.

Berry set down the basin on the bedside table, then carefully pulled open the curtains to reveal the window.

As bright light poured mercilessly over his eyes, Yves Russell flinched and woke up.

“Kgh, heup…!”

Though still dazed, Yves jumped right out of the bed.

And as soon as he came to his senses, he looked around the room.

The bewildered Berry tried to stop him.

“Milord, if you do that…!”

“Radis.”

Yves Russell said.

“Where is Radis?”

* * *

Bowing before Yves, Allen spoke.

“It’s my fault, Milord.”

“No, it’s my fault that she managed to slip away. I didn’t expect that she’d make me faint with such a lovely face like that.”

At the mention of him ‘fainting’, Allen side-eyed Yves, his expression full of distrust.

Allen’s face was clearly saying,

‘Faint? Your Excellency means to say that small hand of Miss Radis’s knocked you out cold?’

Yves added hastily.

“There’s something about her that we don’t know. She’s not just a pretty, adorable seventeen-year-old girl. We have to consider her as a trained knight.”

“Pardon? The Young Miss is a knight? What do you mean? From what’s known, Miss Radis only learned basic swordsmanship from her family tutor.”

At the mere mention of that swordsmanship teacher, Yves let out a sigh of annoyance.

“I don’t know how they got acquainted, but as a matter of fact, that swordsmanship teacher of hers called Armano happens to be Daniel Sheldon of the White Dragon Knights.”

“Eh…?”

As Yves was busy organizing his thoughts while he was explaining this to Allen, he tapped his fingers against the desk.

“Do you remember Sir Sheldon’s disappearance?”

“Of course. Sir Sheldon disappeared while he had been touring various towns in the south while investigating the monsters’ movements.”

“As it turns out, that guy’s been hiding out at House Tilrod while acting as a swordsmanship teacher.”

Coming as a shock to Allen, his nostrils widened like a bison.

Yves continued.

“Who could have imagined that Daniel Sheldon, one of the Emperor’s most trusted knights, became a swordsmanship teacher who had taken in a child from a poor household in the countryside as his pupil? I can’t even fathom what Sir Sheldon was thinking at that time, and what he taught her wasn’t just at the level of self-defense either.”

“Then… When Miss Radis was going out on her nightly strolls before, she was actually carrying out her duties?”

At that, Yves’s brows became furrowed.

“Duties… What duties!”

But Yves groaned, clasping his forehead with one large hand as if he had been struck with a headache.

After a while, Yves spoke again.

“I have a hunch on where Radis might have gone. Please, I hope it’s not there, but… We have to confirm.”

Yves Russell rose from his seat.

Allen brought the marquis’s sword and spoke with a thoughtful expression.

“But… Why did Sir Sheldon stay at House Tilrod?”

Just hearing Daniel’s name made Yves’s teeth grind, but he instead stroked his chin.

“How could we possibly know what that guy’s thinking? Not a single one of those White Dragon Knights is quite right in the head! When those guys got shackled to Geas, even their brains might have been chained down as well!”

“……”

So as not to upset the marquis any longer, Allen closed his mouth and wordlessly helped Yves get ready for his excursion.

Allen agreed that the White Dragon Knights weren’t normal.

But this didn’t mean he thought that they must not be right in the head, as Yves was claiming—just that, in terms of emergencies, they certainly weren’t ordinary.

In particular, Daniel Sheldon was the emperor’s most favored knight because he had both literary and military prowess, and he had a flexible mindset amid such honest knights.

A knight like that wouldn’t have stayed in House Tilrod for many years without good reason.

As Allen was lost in thought, he frowned for a moment.

‘Armano…? I think I’ve heard that name somewhere…’

* * *

In front of the stone gate, Radis and Robert froze for a moment.

Robert was the first to speak.

“This… is the forbidden region?”

“I’m certain that it is…”

What gave them such a shock was the appearance of the forbidden region.

As they once knew it, the forbidden region was an achromatic forest completely occupied by a thick, lingering mist.

However, as they stepped through the stone gate, this was not what they saw.

The morning mist shone gold beneath the sun’s rays.

With moss wrapped around the trunks of the trees, this was a clear sign that the greenery had an ample water source nearby, and at each end of the branches hung plump buds that looked as if they would bloom at any given moment.

Then, a cool breeze blew past, carrying with it the smell of damp soil amid the huge trees. They could even hear birds singing from somewhere nearby.

In short, the forest right outside the stone gate looked like an ordinary forest that’s full of vitality.

“But… This should be the right place…”