IBYPF~07

Chapter~07

—

“Master.”

In the darkness, Duke Ellard turned his head.

Beneath his silver hair, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight, were exquisitely handsome features like those of a statue. As always, his expression was icy and ruthless.

Sid bowed his head and spoke in a grim voice.

“We searched every orphanage and back alley in the territory, but…… we couldn’t find the young lady.”

He could not even raise his head out of shame, but Sid could tell that the face of his master, Duke Ellard, commander of the prestigious Rexion Knights, had hardened into an icy expression.

“From now on, expand the search area. It doesn’t seem like she has left the Empire yet, but check the ships that have arrived at nearby kingdoms as well.”

“Yes. And I’ve just received word that the magic swordsmen from the Grand Duchy of Bellus have arrived. Count Marietta herself came.”

“The Count?”

At the news that Bianca Marietta had personally crossed the sea, the Duke’s expression hardened even further.

When he had urgently requested help from the Grand Duchy of Bellus, he had expected them to step forward and assist him more readily than anyone else, but he had never imagined they would send the strongest magic swordsman on the continent.

They had probably made that decision because they understood the seriousness of what had happened better than anyone.

Even the Duke, whose heart was as cold as ice, could not hide his troubled feelings and let out a quiet sigh.

A few days ago, his second son, Allen, and his youngest daughter, Diana, had secretly left the castle to see the festival, and Diana had gone missing.

He had been furious at the negligence of the subordinates assigned to protect his children, but at the time, the Duke had thought they would find her quickly, especially since even the Rexion Knights had joined the search.

He had assumed she had simply gotten lost, especially since his territory was safer than anywhere else.

But that had been arrogance.

He could hardly believe that there were fools in the Empire stupid enough to lay a hand on the daughter of Duke Ellard, but as the days passed without Diana appearing, kidnapping became almost certain.

The Duke had belatedly blocked all roads leading out of his territory while simultaneously controlling the information and secretly tracking Diana.

He could not only risk unnecessary rumors spreading; he also had no idea what the kidnappers might do if they realized Diana’s identity after the fact and panicked.

If only they would demand a ransom.

As Duke Ellard was infamous throughout the Empire, that was practically impossible. Anyone who demanded a ransom would assume that doing so would only result in retaliation.

Then I suppose they would choose to eliminate her cleanly…….

As his thoughts continued to take a negative turn, the Duke frowned and shook his head.

He felt the cold, rational mind that had never wavered throughout his entire life beginning to crumble.

He even found himself remembering how he had laughed off the tracking bracelet his friend had given Diana for her previous birthday when she had taken it off because it bothered her.

“People really never understand something until it happens to them.”

Now that he was in this situation, he could not help but think of the tragedy his friend had suffered.

His one and only friend, who had lost his child when the baby had been little more than a newborn and had suffered from that pain ever since.

Even the man known as the Cold-Blooded Duke had always believed he deeply sympathized with that tragedy, but now that something similar had happened to him, he could finally understand that pain firsthand.

“Tayze.”

To clear his mind and somehow hold on to his reason, the Duke called out to the knight standing nearby.

Sid, who had been giving orders to the knights under his command, stopped and turned his gaze toward them.

“I heard you haven’t slept or eaten properly for several days. Are you trying to make some sort of protest?”

“No, sir. I’m only trying to find the young lady……”

“Yes. We must find Diana. We must. But in your current mental state, you’re no good to us.”

“……I’ll correct my behavior.”

Tayze clenched his fists, barely suppressing the emotions surging inside him at the Duke’s words.

For a commoner who had once been a mercenary to become a knight and join the Rexion Knights had been nothing short of a miracle.

But when this is over……

It would not end with disciplinary action.

I’ll be expelled from the Knights and stripped of my title.

But if Diana could be found safe, he did not care even if it cost him his life.

Just then, Tayze noticed Vice Commander Sid looking at him from nearby with a contemptuous gaze.

A surge of resentment rose inside him.

He had believed that he had been removed from the young lady’s escort duty because he had followed Sid’s instructions.

It had all been a trap.

But in front of his master, who had lost his daughter, all of that was nothing more than an excuse.

As Tayze swallowed down his anger and regret, the Duke called for Sid.

Sid immediately approached and bowed his head, his gaze fixed on the floor. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes.

“You will begin searching to the east from now on. Tayze and I will head west, where the search area is larger. Tell Count Marietta to join us in the west as well.”

“Understood.”

Sid turned away, wearing the appearance of a knight more loyal than anyone else, but a sneer crept across his lips.

Things had become more serious than he had originally planned, but none of it was bad for him.

Tayze would no longer have his master’s trust.

Meanwhile, as the Duke gazed beyond his territory, he thought of his spoiled little daughter, Diana.

His eyes were as cold and unyielding as a glacier, but his heart was restless with worry and concern.

He imagined that, by now, his young daughter was probably crying as she searched for him and her family.

—

“Eee! Onni! That tickles!”

Unable to hold it in any longer, Diana squirmed all over and burst into delighted giggles.

A morning kiss on each cheek, a warm greeting, and a playful tickle on her stomach.

I had simply done the things I had once wished my parents would do for me someday, and seeing how much she enjoyed them made me feel strangely proud.

But behind my smile, I was actually a little sad.

I still hadn’t gotten over the shock of discovering the secret of Tesar Orphanage.

—

A few days earlier.

After putting Diana to sleep, I headed toward the empty director’s office, having completely erased my presence.

Even though the orphanage was filled with nothing but powerless children, the director locked the door every time he went out. Today was no different.

But for someone like me, who had once casually entered and exited noble households with proper guards and tight security, this was hardly a problem.

First, I erected a barrier around the director’s office to block out sound and prevent anyone from approaching. Then I took out the needle I had prepared earlier that day.

The needle reflected the moonlight with a brief glint.

Click, click. Clack.

I inserted the needle into the keyhole and moved it several times, lifting the fixed pins of the rotating mechanism.

The door to the director’s office opened with ease.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve infiltrated somewhere like this.

In truth, I was more accustomed to erasing my presence with mana and entering through windows.

But disabling a lock this simple was nothing, and setting up a barrier around the area for a short while consumed far less mana.

I don’t know what might happen, so I need to conserve as much as possible.

Although my mana capacity had suddenly increased, my body wasn’t accustomed to it, making precise control more difficult than before.

Besides, I had originally developed the habit of using my limited mana as efficiently as possible, so this was the natural choice.

“All right, then. Let’s see what you’ve been hiding.”

I entered the director’s office, placed my short arms on my hips, and narrowed my eyes.

Ever since the day I returned to the past, I had instinctively felt certain that the director was hiding something.

Sure enough, I found an orphanage operation report and accounting ledger on the desk, supposedly written for the purpose of applying for government subsidies.

I let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha. This is ridiculous.”

I might not have known how to read at one point, but after joining the guild, I had learned to read and even learned basic accounting from Lope, the executive in charge of management.

There was no way I couldn’t read such a pathetic ledger.

“Compared to back then, prices should be even lower now, yet you’re claiming you spent this much on our food?”

Even a stray dog wouldn’t believe that.

“Oh, really? Water bills, books, toys?”

And yet he dressed the children in clothes discarded by villagers.

“Whatever. It’s not like I didn’t expect this. But where’s the real thing?”

A simple ledger like this couldn’t possibly be the secret the director was hiding.

I carefully searched everywhere, from the desk drawers to even the underside of the desk, without missing a single spot.

But strangely, I couldn’t find anything.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

No way…….

I closed my eyes.

I heightened my perception and activated a detection spell.

Something immediately caught my sensitive senses.

Only then did I discover a thumbnail-sized mana stone attached to the light fixture.

“……Why is this here?”

I stared at the artifact fitted with the mana stone, my mouth falling open.

An obstruction spell had been placed on the artifact.

Illusion magic that deceived a person’s perception and recognition was one of the most difficult forms of mental magic.

I never would have expected to find an item containing such expensive magic in an old orphanage in the middle of nowhere, far from any noble’s mansion or wealthy household.

“What kind of shady business are you involved in to need something like this……?”

Unable to hide my disbelief, I immediately dispelled the magic on the artifact and searched the room again.

Then I stomped my little foot against the floor directly beneath the desk.

There was a subtle difference compared to the rest of the floor.

I quickly crouched down and pressed firmly against the spot I could feel beneath my fingertips.

At last, a safe was revealed.

“……!”

Inside the safe were thick ledgers that were incomparable to the one I had found earlier, along with sealed documents.

My expression hardened.

The ledger the director had hidden contained the names and ages of the children who had stayed at the orphanage and later left.

And beside them were countless familiar names……

I had always prided myself on being one of Terenchium’s more capable elite informants.

I was skilled at sensing presences and using stealth, and I could perform hand-to-hand combat as well as my male colleagues, along with several basic spells.

But above all, the things I was most confident in were my powers of observation and memory.

Thanks to those abilities, I had been able to carry out missions successfully even when I couldn’t bring documents or information back with me.

Which meant I also remembered perfectly the names of the criminals who had thrown the Empire into an uproar with their slave auctions.

“These f@#king bastards.”