Chapter 54

As I continued my rescue operations, I spotted Lord Nazel in the town. Tony was there as well.

The moment I touched down on the ground, Lord Nazel rushed over, looking frantic.

“Agnes, what are you doing? It’s dangerous out here!”

“I was transporting the injured to the manor. I was the only one available who could ride a wyvern… Torre is more of a pegasus person. And Lord Nazel… were you on monster subjugation duty?”

Behind them lay a massive, fallen magical beast. It resembled a tiger, but with small wings growing from its back.

“I understand how hard you’ve been working, and thank you. But please, go back to the manor. It’s too dangerous. I’m begging you.”

“What are you going to do now, Lord Nazel?”

“I…”

Lord Nazel then gave me a brief explanation: another magical beast had infiltrated the town. According to Tony, its threat level was low, but it was heading straight for the Lord’s manor.

“In that case, we should hurry. Please, get on Geni.”

With Lord Nazel and Tony on Geni’s back behind me, I took off into the night sky. The fires raging in the streets were dying down, and the surroundings were gradually growing dark again.

Once we reached the garden, Tony—who knew about the beast—spoke up.

“I told Lord Nazelbert earlier that the beast in question used to be kept by the Lord, didn’t I? Well, that creature is actually the cause of the previous Lord’s death.”

“What?!”

I cried out, shocked by this startling revelation. Come to think of it, the previous Lord was killed by a magical beast. I just never expected he had been killed by his own pet.

“There was that old stable in the back of the garden.”

The dark, damp, creepy one with bloodstains here and there.

“I wonder if it was kept there.”

When we built the new stable for Geni, we had the old one torn down.

“It was a rare and highly intelligent species that had been kept by the Lord’s family for generations. It could understand human speech perfectly and even grasp social hierarchies and status. My parents worked for the previous Lord, and I used to help raise it… so I know it well. I know that it’s naturally quite gentle.”

However, it seems the previous Lord used to abuse the rare beast to vent his frustrations. When Tony and his parents tried to protect it, the Lord nearly killed them…

“To protect us, the beast killed the Lord. Afterward, we let it escape into the forest and covered up the whole incident. We never thought it would come back like this.”

As Tony hung his head, Lord Nazel spoke to him.

“So, why is that beast heading for the Lord’s manor now?”

“He’s here to kill the Lord. That creature hates the very existence of a ‘Lord.’ It must have sensed the presence of a new human living in the manor… and while it usually keeps its resentment suppressed with reason, the new moon must have stripped away its self-control.”

Captured by the Lord two generations ago, forced to live in a cramped, dark stable, and then abused by the previous Lord. His grudge must run deep.

“I see. I’ll handle this. Agnes, please move to a safe place.”

I was worried about Lord Nazel, but I understood that I would only be a hindrance if I stayed. So, I returned Geni to his stable and decided to observe the situation from inside. I peeked through a small crack in the window to keep a secret watch on Lord Nazel. Geni came over to the window to watch, too.

After a while, a heavy thud echoed through the garden. What appeared was a giant horse with eight legs. It seemed the thud was the sound of the horse leaping over the perimeter wall…

Since we had torches lit in the garden, I could see what was happening even at night.

“I’m glad it didn’t land in the fields.”

Tony said something as he rushed toward the magical beast. It looked like he was trying to reason with it. Lord Nazel tried to stop him, but Tony ignored him and reached out to touch the creature.

“I can’t hear them very well from this distance. But isn’t this dangerous…?”

“Grrr…”

Geni let out a low growl next to me, as if in response.

Just as I expected, the beast lost control. It let out a loud whinny and reared its legs up toward Tony…

“Oh no, he’s going to be crushed!”

At that moment, Lord Nazel quickly stepped forward to shield Tony. The beast’s legs struck Lord Nazel, sent him flying. I almost burst outside in a panic, but…

“Wait, Lord Nazel? He stood up normally? And he’s restrained the beast with magical plants!”

Lord Nazel looked completely composed as he easily captured the creature. Tony seemed to be safe as well. Once I confirmed it was secure, I stepped out of Geni’s stable. While I was at it, I decided to reinforce the plants holding the beast.

“Agnes, you came out?”

“It looked like things were under control. Lord Nazel, are you hurt?”

“No… for some reason, I feel perfectly fine.”

Lord Nazel pulled me into a hug and nuzzled me, while Tony continued to talk to the restrained beast.

“This man is different from the Lords before! He won’t hurt you! It’s okay now!”

The horse, still lacking its reason, continued to struggle, but they said its condition would settle as dawn approached. Between helping people and watching the monster subjugation, I hadn’t realized how much time had passed, but the sky was gradually beginning to pale. Dawn was near.

“Tony, I’ll build a cage for the beast. You should go get some rest at the shelter.”

Lord Nazel grew a fence around the creature, and I reinforced it. Within the enclosure—which covered everything up to the ceiling like a proper ranch—Lord Nazel released the beast’s restraints.

“…Thank you, Lord Nazelbert. Please let me explain everything in detail later.”

“Yes, I understand.”

With everything settled, Lord Nazel “captured” the restless me and headed toward the manor. An inquisitive Geni peeked his cobalt-blue eyes through the stable window, watching us with apparent delight.