Chapter 66

Nazelbart was in a foul mood.

Since arriving in Catena, he had several concerns, but his irritation peaked the moment they reached Baron Kigyonne’s estate. He had been swarmed by young ladies he had never even met, forcibly separated from Agnes.

He hadn’t expected them to behave with such a complete lack of common sense.

Until recently, he had been the Princess’s fiancé; nobles, fearing the power of the Royal Family, hadn’t dared to approach him so recklessly. Now, however, that restraint was gone.

“Is that why…?”

As an exiled ducal son, even if the charges were false, his social standing was more precarious than before.

Furthermore, Agnes, having been disowned by the House of Eventail, had no backing. To be precise, she only had Nazelbart.

That was why the young ladies there looked down on her. They believed that as long as they could capture Nazelbart’s interest, they could handle the rest however they pleased.

Then there were the young noblemen who had surrounded Agnes.

No matter how cute she was, did they really think it was acceptable to lay hands on a married woman?

Or was it simply common in these parts for even married couples to commit infidelity?

Come to think of it, Baron Kigyonne supposedly kept concubines and mistresses in addition to his wife…

The realization made his blood run cold. He had to save Agnes immediately!

The moment he moved to push through the crowd to get to her, a young lady with chestnut hair lunged at him.

Her hair swelled unnaturally, turning into sharp thorns intended to pierce Nazelbart… but they didn’t.

Thanks to Agnes’s “good luck charm,” Nazelbart’s body was in a state where even a magical beast’s attack wouldn’t leave a scratch. The girl’s hair merely grazed him and stopped.

The sharpening of her hair was likely due to her innate magic. Failing to stab Nazelbart, she wore a terrified expression and fled the scene.

“Wait…!”

When he tried to give chase, the soldiers guarding the manor moved to obstruct him for some reason.

Suspicious. Entirely too suspicious.

“It really was a trap.”

The noble sons and daughters who had been making such a fuss moments ago fled like baby spiders scattering from a disturbed nest, terrified by the chaos.

In all likelihood, they hadn’t been told a thing.

“Agnes, it’s dangerous here, so run—”

Nazelbart turned to call out to his beloved wife, but Agnes was already gone. Torre, who was nearby, informed him, “It appears Lady Agnes escaped through the exit into the hallway,” which brought him a temporary sense of relief. Dangerous soldiers still remained in this room.

“I need to clean this up quickly and go find Agnes.”

After dealing with the attacking soldiers and making his way outside the manor, he found Henry and Bell waiting.

“Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes and Kelly have evacuated safely. They are currently with your subordinates in town.”

“…Thank goodness.”

The tension left his body all at once. However, this wasn’t over yet.

“We’re going to find that young lady.”

As he made the declaration, Bell, who had remained silent until then, began to speak.

“I have a good idea where she and the Baron are headed. We should track them with my beast; it remembers the Baron’s scent. They’ll likely all gather in the same spot.”

He was being entirely too efficient…

But he couldn’t worry about that now. Bell’s circumstances could wait until later.

At his feet stood a black dog. It was likely a Magic Wolf pup.

Magic Wolves are a common species of magical beast with a strong sense of pack unity. While they sometimes prey on livestock, if they are tamed by humans, they become reliable allies, much like military hounds.

“Woof!”

The magic wolf gave a brave bark and took off, sprinting up a nearby slope. Nazelbart and the others scrambled to follow.

After running for a while, the sounds of people arguing reached their ears.

“Lord Nazelbart, I’m going ahead!”

A frantic-looking Torre used his magic to grow to a massive size and charged toward the source of the voices.

“LILIANNEEEEE!!!!”

Come to think of it, he had been shouting that name back at the manor as well.

“If I recall correctly, the name of Torre’s fiancée was Lilianne.”

Why was Torre’s fiancée in a place like this?

Nazelbart sensed the shadow of a conspiracy lurking behind the Baron and his cohorts. He needed to capture everyone and get the full story.

Torre did most of the rampaging, while Nazelbart cleaned up anyone who managed to slip past him.

A few minutes later, the Baron and his men were all unconscious, and Torre had returned to his original size. Sitting on the ground before him was the young lady, looking completely shell-shocked.

“Well then, we should transport them down to the town at the foot of the hill.”

While still finding Lilianne’s presence here inexplicable, Nazelbart let out a sigh of relief.

Just then, the sound of heavy wings flapping echoed from the sky above. And then…

“Lord Nazel—!”

The voice of his wife—the most adorable woman in the world—came raining down.

“Agnes?”

Looking up, he saw a pink wyvern circling overhead. It was Geni.

Before long, Geni and Agnes touched down gently on the ground.

“Lord Nazel, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Agnes, I’m just relieved you’re unharmed. By the way, what is that you’re holding in your hands…?”

“Potatoes. I thought if you were in a pinch, I’d provide cover fire from above.”

Why on earth were potatoes the solution here? Sometimes, Agnes’s train of thought was a total mystery. But that was exactly what made her so cute.