Entering Lantarique (1)

“The Wendigo has disappeared.”

Guillaumevalt, who had been waiting above by the fire, rejoiced as he saw Azadine’s group coming up. Brand, overwhelmed with excitement, shouted at Guillaumevalt.

“A miracle! A miracle has happened!”

“Ah, yes. The Wendigo has vanished.”

“No, that’s not what I meant! A true miracle has occurred! The angels answered the call and saved the soul of the one sacrificed to the emissary of the Nether!”

“Huh?”

“What nonsense is that?”

Mediam turned to Ismail and asked.

“Hmm. It might be hard to believe, but that madman is actually telling the truth. Azadine… attempted to purify the corpse using the Rescue Knights’ funeral rites. But since the body had already been claimed by the emissary of the Nether, it had transformed into a Wendigo and resisted. Even after throwing every copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth at it, purification was impossible. Then, the moment Azadine made a vow to the angels, it was suddenly purified.”

“……”

Everyone who heard that clicked their tongues.

“A miracle, you say? The angels are all dead.”

Shati grumbled. Though she was a prisoner, she had clearly fought off the approaching Wendigos with a sword and axe, as she now stood atop their corpses.

“Mediam, did you get along well with Shati?”

“Yes. Some Wendigos got close, but Shati and I managed to hold them off. But… is it true that a miracle occurred?”

“What do you think?”

“Hmm. If it’s true, shouldn’t the Rescue Knights conduct a sacrament?”

“Would that even be possible?”

“Well, even if they’re dead, I doubt the people of Hubris would ever accept our Aragasa as saints. Besides, you’re an imperial envoy. It’s not like you’ll suddenly become a Hospitaller. And for someone who once found joy in even the Rescue Knights’ scraps, you don’t seem particularly happy.”

“Yeah.”

Azadine gave a bitter smile and gestured with his hand. Seeing Azadine’s signal, Mediam subtly stepped back.

“So, Lady Lise. Do you recognize this man?”

Azadine set down the offering and unwrapped the cloak covering its face.

“Alright, enough with the tricks. The moment the Wendigo fell asleep, I had my suspicions.”

Lady Lise said this as she gripped her staff. At the same time, Mediam readied her bow.

“…Haah.”

Lady Lise let out a deep sigh.

“I may not be a fool, but miracles are utter nonsense. Still, whatever you did, you managed to purify the sacrifice. That’s quite impressive. Truly impressive. I suppose resisting here would only get me killed.”

“L-Lise!”

Sir Brock rushed forward in panic.

“W-Wait a moment. What are you accusing my wife of?”

“Sir Brock. Who is this man?”

“He is my brother!”

“……”

Azadine turned to Lady Lise, who clicked her tongue in irritation.

“That bastard knew my marriage was in shambles and took advantage of it to get close to me! The Vthumaian kept whispering about how their people were known for their lust, offering to satisfy my physical desires!”

“So, you killed him and ate him? And the Were-Rats from Naga and Mezerry just happened to be passing by at the time? Do you really take us for fools?”

Azadine’s voice carried an undertone of anger, and a flustered Sir Brock stepped in to defend her.

“It’s my fault! I was the one who strayed….”

“No, listen.”

“Still, isn’t there a way to spare Lise? What if… what if I offered you money?”

“That’s enough, you idiot.”

Azadine snapped, unable to contain his rage.

“What exactly are you trying to do? You moron. You seduced Fran with sweet words while badmouthing your wife, and now, even after your wife killed her own brother and unleashed an emissary of the Nether, you still want to protect her?”

“I… I was sincere! I sincerely loved Fran, and I also sincerely love my wife!”

“If that’s the case, then your sincerity isn’t worth a single coin! Neither the gravity of marriage, the grief of kinship, nor the tenderness of love! What does your so-called sincerity matter when it brings nothing but destruction?! You want to do as you please without sacrificing anything? When Fran and your brother have already paid the price, you still dare to spew such nonsense?!”

Azadine placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. At that moment, Guillaumevalt stepped between him and Sir Brock.

“As the acting Count of Lantarique, I will take responsibility for this case. Imperial Messenger, Azadine.”

“…Understood.”

Azadine bowed his head to Guillaumevalt.

“Sir Guillaumevalt.”

“Sir Brock, you will renounce your fiefdom, including Highnest Fortress and the manors under it, and join the King’s Church as a monk. As for Lady Lise, her magical abilities will be sealed, and she will be confined to a monastery under the King’s Church.”

“You expect me to live as a prisoner in a monastery for the rest of my life?”

Lady Lise was filled with resentment, but—

—Thunk!

An arrow struck right beside Lady Lise’s face, gouging out her eye. It was Mediam who had fired it.

“Gyaaah!”

“You stand before the imperial messenger! Criminal! Do you not know how to keep your eyes lowered?!”

“Guh! You little brat!”

“What? Do you dare test the messenger? Come, place your faith in your feeble black magic and try me!”

“You…!”

Lady Lise grabbed her staff and glared at Mediam, but… soon, she let go of it. She had seen it in Mediam’s eyes—the cold, calculating reason.

That girl hadn’t provoked her out of an emotional outburst. She had provoked her with the genuine intent to kill.

“Damn it! Fine! I’ve killed plenty, so losing an eye is a fair trade!”

Lady Lise decided that rather than dying in a fight she couldn’t win, it was better to accept imprisonment and at least stay alive.

“So you do have some sense, being a mage.”

Seeing Lady Lise’s surrender, Mediam lowered her weapon. Though a part of her had hoped that Lady Lise would fight back.

“So, Sir Brock. Do you accept?”

Guillaumevalt looked to Sir Brock for his response.

“Yes. I have no objections. Acting Count of Lantarique, Sir Guillaumevalt, I thank you for your mercy.”

Sir Brock formally renounced his vassalage and returned his lands to the rightful ruler, the Count of Lantarique.

As the fog cleared, Highnest Fortress revealed itself once more.

Even before any official announcement, people began returning to the village the moment the mist lifted. They cleaned the streets and quickly secured the supplies they had left behind, locking them back in storage.

They must have been anxiously waiting outside the fog, fearing the loss of their belongings. The moment the mist weakened, they rushed in without hesitation.

Together, they chanted Guillaumevalt’s name.

“The new Count of Lantarique, Sir Guillaumevalt, has vanquished the monster of the mist!”

“A great feat! Let it be sung for generations to come!”

The news of Guillaumevalt’s victory over the mist creature, the winter’s chill, and the Wendigos was already spreading among the people.

“Well, in the end, we just made Sir Guillaumevalt look good.”

Mediam, while feeding and watering the goats and horses that had fled from the Wendigos, spoke offhandedly. Azadine had assigned her this task as punishment for attacking Lady Lise without his permission…

But since they found the animals right after leaving the underground passage, it didn’t turn out to be much of a punishment. Given that she had shot out a noblewoman’s eye, this was a very light sentence. Still, Mediam grumbled.

“Wasn’t that recognition supposed to be yours, Azadine?”

“Do you think we’re in any position to gain recognition?”

“But you performed a miracle… And aren’t we giving too much to Sir Guillaumevalt? We didn’t take a single imperial gold coin—not even a single copper.”

“He’s not the kind of person to take advantage. If he becomes the Count of Lantarique, it’ll benefit us.”

“That might be true now, but who knows what will happen later? Well, I suppose assassinating him would be easier then.”

Mediam chuckled, recalling how terrible Guillaumevalt was at combat.

“I told you to reflect on shooting out Lady Lise’s eye, but I guess this punishment isn’t working.”

“But if I hadn’t attacked her then, wouldn’t she have gotten off too lightly? You knew that, so you gave me a punishment that’s not really a punishment, didn’t you?”

“You were trying to provoke her into attacking so you could kill her, weren’t you?”

“If she took the bait. But she noticed. She realized I was deliberately provoking her to kill her. She nearly lost control in anger but managed to hold herself back.”

“You were reckless, Mediam. That woman was a dangerous mage. And her husband… well, he wasn’t much of a threat, but if we had killed him ourselves, it would have become a political problem.”

If Sir Brock willingly chose to become a monk, people would believe in his sincerity. But if Azadine’s group had killed him, suspicion would rise regarding the Wendigo incident and the sacrifice of Sir Brock’s mistress. People might have accused Guillaumevalt of orchestrating the entire affair to seize the fiefdom.

“I understand you were angry, Mediam, but as a member of the Ethar family, you should not act on personal emotions. If Lady Lise weren’t as cunning as she was, she might have resisted, and things would have escalated.”

“Yes, well, at least the political mess got wrapped up neatly. But that ugly noble has more political sense than I expected.”

“You know he can hear you, right?”

Guillaumevalt had approached unnoticed and was now standing beside them, taken aback by Mediam’s blunt assessment.

This audacious girl had shot out a noblewoman’s eye and now openly criticized the Count’s son in his presence… She must be of high standing among the Messenger Clan.

“Well, it’s not like we received any imperial gold from you, so we don’t have to pander to you, do we?”

Even after being caught badmouthing him, Mediam remained unfazed.

‘Is she just shameless?’

Guillaumevalt could tell that even if they had been promised imperial gold, they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to flatter him.

“Well, you did manage to secure all the copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth, didn’t you? You can’t say you gained nothing.”

“Ah.”

Azadine clicked his tongue at Guillaumevalt.

“The birds hear by day, and the mice hear by night—don’t go saying where they are so carelessly. That wasn’t a joke.”

“…Understood.”

Though Guillaumevalt had demonstrated remarkable political skill in dealing with Sir Brock and Lady Lise’s situation and had managed to claim all credit for resolving the Wendigo crisis, he knew better than to overstep before Azadine.

“You can have all the glory for slaying the Wendigos. Use it to establish your political foundation. That way, even young Lord Adler won’t be able to act recklessly. Let the rumors reach Lantarique first so that you can enter with your head held high.”

Azadine suggested.

The news of Guillaumevalt’s triumph over the monsters of mist and frost—the Wendigos—would soon spread far and wide. With such an achievement, the vassals of Lantarique would have no choice but to reevaluate him.