Episode 57: Kidnapping
The Grand Duke’s council meeting had ended. Just as people had gathered, they now began to leave. Since dukes and higher ranks were moving, a massive army was concentrated in the central area. This also served as a way to show off national power and conduct a military inspection.
Escolaya was quite different from the others. It was a city of knowledge, free from diplomatic conflicts. Instead of grand processions, they preferred practical and efficient movement, using magical carriages powered by a wizard’s mana.
“Shouldn’t we switch to normal horse carriages instead?” Bernard, the headmaster, complained to the wizard driving the magical carriage.
“Not this again…”
“Every time I come to the Grand Duke’s meeting, I think about it. As the head of a city, shouldn’t I have some dignity?”
“Please don’t use words like ‘dignity.’ You’re not some rough mercenary. If a chubby old man like you says that, it just sounds ridiculous.”
“Besides, where in our cramped city would we even raise horses? Just one horse takes up enough space to house a hundred scholars. You know they’d protest.”
“But as the headmaster, I should at least have some pride…”
“If you keep whining, I’ll quit right now and go home.”
“Ugh… Fine, fine. Let’s just go.”
It was as if the wizard was the boss, not the headmaster. Bernard sighed.
‘If we’re so focused on efficiency, wouldn’t it be great if the carriage could move without needing a wizard?’ Bernard thought to himself. ‘If we could just inject mana and make it move…’ Using gears and levers… controlling it simply… that would be perfect. Bernard sketched his idea in his notebook.
Suddenly, the smooth-moving carriage came to an abrupt stop.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone is blocking the road. Judging by their appearance… they seem like bandits.”
Bandits demanding toll fees were common everywhere.
“Shall we take care of them? We don’t have anything else to do anyway.”
The wizard made a gesture like slitting his throat and smirking.
“Avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Just give them some money.”
“Why should we give them money?”
“They’re just trying to survive. Just give them a little and let them go.”
“And that’s why people look down on us…”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. I’ll take care of it.”
The wizard grabbed a few silver coins and stepped out of the carriage. Bernard watched with an annoyed expression.
The wizard walked a short distance, tossed the coins onto the ground, and gestured for the bandits to take them. Then—
A sharp flash of light burst from the wizard’s torso.
“Huh?”
A single, swift slash cut through the air—
And the wizard’s upper body slid apart. In the spot where the wizard’s body had been, a ragged-looking man grinned while holding a sword.
“W-What the—?!” Bernard shouted in shock.
The wizard driving the carriage reacted swiftly instead of panicking. He immediately started casting a spell. It was time to show why he was paid fifty gold coins a day for protection.
But before he could finish—
Something flew at incredible speed.
CRASH!
A dagger shattered the carriage window and pierced his throat.
“Guh…kugh…!”
His spell failed. The magic circle he had drawn scattered into the air. Two powerful fourth-circle wizards were taken down in an instant.
Bernard froze as the ragged man approached. He instinctively knew—
Running wouldn’t save him. It would just make him die faster.
The man who had killed the wizards opened the carriage door and stepped inside. He sat across from Bernard and smiled darkly.
“Nice to meet you, Headmaster of Escolaya.”
“Wh-Who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter who I am. Let’s talk about you.”
The man spoke one-sidedly. Bernard, still frozen in fear, nodded.
“You’re the one who brought up the topic of the black dragon Godwin’s return at the Grand Duke’s council, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that was me…”
“Why did you do that?”
“For the safety of the continent…”
“Even though it dragged you into danger?”
“I might be wrong. But I felt it needed to be said…”
“Ah.”
The man cut him off and pressed a blade against his neck.
“Let’s not waste time with useless talk. If you try to stall, you’ll just suffer more.”
Blood dripped from the dagger, still wet from the wizards’ deaths. Bernard swallowed hard, trying to suppress his trembling.
“So, you were planning to announce the Demon Detection Device, weren’t you?”
“H-How do you know that…?”
“I have ears everywhere.”
The man grinned. Only a few people knew about that project—Bernard’s trusted scholars, his secretary… and Ferda Valdrova.
“Ferda Valdrova!” Realization hit Bernard like a thunderbolt.
“You… Did Regent Ferda send you?”
“Hmm? Do I look like I was sent by him?”
“Damn it! I should have known, from the moment I saw that kid’s eyes…!” Bernard shouted in frustration.
The man chuckled.
“Our headmaster is quite amusing. I like that.”
“What do you mean?”
The man pulled out a syringe.
“This is what I mean.”
The thick needle itself looked terrifying. But what truly scared Bernard was the dark, sticky liquid inside.
“What is that…?”
“A vaccine.”
“A vaccine?”
“Yes. A vaccine that will wipe out all the filth covering this world.”
The man placed his thumb on the plunger, preparing to inject it. Then—
He stabbed the syringe into his own body.
“Ugh…!”
The man groaned in pain. But he wasn’t dying. He was changing. No—evolving. His skin turned black, like the tar inside the syringe. It spread over his body, covering him like a second skin. His form twisted, reshaped—becoming something no longer human. His eyes gleamed red. His mouth opened, revealing sharp, beast-like fangs.
“No… It can’t be…”
Bernard’s mind put the pieces together. And one terrifying word flashed through his head.
“A demon…!”
The man had turned into a demon.
“Ahaha! Finally…! His grace flows through me at last…!”
The man caressed his own face in ecstasy. Then, he turned his gaze back to Bernard. Bernard felt it deep in his bones—he was about to die.
Desperately, he asked, “Why…? A man as strong as you… How could you become a demon’s follower?”
Demon followers were those who had nothing left to lose. They were worse than mere cultists—pure madness.
“I was once a knight of honor.” The man grinned wildly.
“But no matter how much honor I upheld, the king still listened to scheming cowards over loyal warriors.”
He had been a fallen knight.
“So I lost everything. And now, I will destroy everything.”
“If you become a demon… you won’t be able to live in human society anymore… You will become a lost soul, unable to go to heaven or hell. You know this, yet you still choose this path?”
“That’s your opinion.”
The man lifted his dagger and slashed Bernard’s arm. Blood trickled down. Then, shockingly—
The man pressed his own hand over the wound.
“Mother Marune…”
His blackened body slowly turned back to human color. But it wasn’t just his skin—his body reshaped itself entirely. And in the end—
He had taken on the form of someone Bernard knew very well.
It was Bernard himself.
“How is it, Chancellor? Do I look like you?”
A man who looked exactly like Bernard smiled. It was a twisted, evil smile that Bernard had never made in his life.
“What do you plan to do with my research?”
“As expected, the Chancellor is smart.”
The man tapped his head with a dagger.
“You already know, don’t you? You are creating a device that predicts monster appearances. Then, the demons have only one thing to do.”
They had to destroy the research and make sure the prediction device never existed.
“Do you think I will just let that happen?!”
Losing the research he had dedicated his life to—Bernard finally gathered the courage to resist. But the fake Bernard moved quickly. In an instant, he grabbed Bernard’s neck. Strong fingers tightened around his throat, choking him.
“Guh… Kugh!”
“Rest well. I will soon follow you to hell.”
Just as he was about to kill Bernard—
“It’s an ambush!”
A guard outside shouted loudly, and the sound reached inside the carriage.
The fake Bernard turned his head sharply. Outside, a battle had begun. The demon followers, disguised as beggars, were fighting against two people. Just two men, yet they were overwhelming more than twenty enemies.
One had brown hair, the other had blonde hair.
The man inside the carriage loosened his grip on Bernard’s throat and asked,
“When did you get guards?”
“Cough… Cough… W-What guards?” Bernard had no idea what was going on.
But there was no time for questions. The demon followers were quickly defeated. The bandits were weak, and those two knights were highly skilled.
“This is bad.”
For the first time, the fake Bernard looked truly worried. If they were mages, he could kill them before they finished chanting spells. But fighting two knights at once was difficult. He needed to find another way. A distraction.
“Help! Be careful!”
He kicked open the carriage door and ran out, screaming in fear.
“There’s someone inside! He looks just like me! He’s trying to kill me!”
He ran, pretending to be terrified. At the same time, he secretly gripped his dagger in reverse, hiding it against his arm. As soon as he got close enough, he would strike.
“Hurry! Kill the imposter insi—Argh!”
He didn’t get far before he collapsed. A dagger was stuck in his ankle. It was the same kind of dagger held by the brown-haired knight.
“AAAH! What are you doing?!”
There was no answer. Instead, the brown-haired knight rushed forward and kicked his head.
CRACK!
A horrible sound, like bones breaking. The fake Bernard’s body went limp.
The blonde knight’s eyes widened in shock.
“Sir Jed! What did you do to the Chancellor?!”
The man called Jed gestured toward the fallen Bernard.
“That’s not the Chancellor.”
“What? That’s nonsense! He’s not using magic to disguise himself! If you hit him that hard, he must be—huh?”
The blonde knight’s voice stopped. He saw another Bernard stepping out of the carriage.
“Why are there two Chancellors…?”
“Hah. You’re so innocent, like a country boy. You need to train your observation skills.” Jed smirked.
“Tie this one up tightly. I’ll bring the real one.”
“Uh… Understood.”
The blonde knight, Arwen, tied up the fake Bernard, while Jed helped the real one out of the carriage.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes… I’m fine. You are knights from Valdrova’s regency…?”
“Apologies for the late introduction. I am Jed Swallow, a knight sworn to the Grand Duchy of Valdrova. This innocent fellow here is Sir Arwen. We were ordered by the regent to secretly guard you.”
“The regent’s men…? Why would Valdrova’s regent help me?”
Jed looked confused.
“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but for now, we should take you to our regent.”
Bernard was dizzy. He had almost died, and his mind was still cloudy. But he had no choice. The mage who was driving the carriage was dead. The carriage wouldn’t move. The road was long, and it was too dangerous to walk alone.
Bernard sighed in surrender.
“Fine. I will go with you.”
“Good. First, let me stop the bleeding.”
Jed lightly treated Bernard’s wounds, while Arwen secured the captured imposter to a horse. Then they left the area, moving quickly.
As they rode, Arwen couldn’t stop thinking.
“Sir Jed.”
“What?”
“How did you know?”
Jed had attacked without hesitation. But why?
Jed grinned.
“The shine was missing.”
“…Huh? Shine?”
“The fake couldn’t copy the Chancellor’s shiny bald head.”
“…”
Arwen glanced at the real Bernard. His smooth, bald head gleamed under the moonlight.
“…Ah.”
Arwen was speechless.
They rode all night. Eventually, they reached a place where a carriage and a tent were waiting. It was Valdrova’s camp.
A silver-haired young maid greeted them.
“This way.”
She lifted the tent’s entrance, and Bernard stepped inside. Instantly, warmth surrounded him. It was completely different from the cold wilderness outside. The inside was much larger than it seemed from the outside. It didn’t feel like a tent at all.
‘A spatial-expansion tent… That’s an incredible treasure.’
Even a small spatial pouch, made with fairy dust, was a great treasure. A whole tent was on a different level. Only an emperor… or a dragon could own something like this.
Bernard once again realized—
This was the tent of Valdrova’s regent, the mate of a dragon.
“Welcome.”
A young man with gray hair and blue eyes greeted him. It was Ferda Valdrova.
