Rosalie hesitated, carefully choosing her words. 

 

Erudit realized that his confession had put Rosalie in a difficult spot, and he smiled bitterly at the thought.

 

“I’m sorry if this puts any burden on you. I just… I thought I’d regret it if I didn’t say something. After this, I’ll continue to serve as your loyal vassal, as I always have.”

 

Erudit’s voice grew fainter with each word. It was then that Rosalie noticed how tightly Erudit was clenching his jaw. He had mustered an incredible amount of courage to speak up. 

 

Rosalie, realizing just how monumental this act of courage was, understood that she needed to respond differently this time and no longer with the same awkwardness as before.

 

“Thank you for liking me, Erudit. But I’m afraid I can’t accept those feelings.”

 

It was the outcome he had expected. Erudit swallowed his emotions and forced a smile, feeling the sting that sobered him more than any drink could.

 

“Yes… I expected this.”

 

“I’m sorry. But you’ve always been a great vassal and friend, and that won’t change.”

 

Erudit managed to maintain his smile as he left the lobby and headed to his room. Rosalie watched him leave before also retiring to her own room.

 

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

 

Erudit stepped out of his room the next morning, holding his aching head. He was immediately greeted by Nathan, who waved at him.

 

“Looks like you drank a lot last night~?”

 

“…You should know why…”

 

Just as Rosalie had predicted, dealing with Tehard’s complaints had drained him. Even while drinking, Erudit had to defend the immature man in front of him and pacify Tehard, making it even more exhausting.

 

“Me? What did I do?”

 

“Don’t ever do that again, especially not with Tehard…”

 

“Ah, enough lecturing. Rosalie already gave me an earful.”

 

Nathan pretended not to listen and covered his ears. Erudit shot him a narrow-eyed glare, remembering what Nathan had said before. 

 

He was beginning to grasp what Nathan meant by ‘keeping it reasonable,’ but he was also more curious than ever.

 

“…What did you mean by ‘reasonable’?”

 

Nathan grinned mischievously, lowering his hands from his ears. 

 

“That’s a secret.” 

 

Nathan teased, causing Erudit to grumble about how annoying he was.

 

“Erudit, do you hate Devi? Are you angry with him?”

 

“…You heard?”

 

Nathan shrugged, his annoying smile still in place.

 

“Ugh, no. I don’t hate him.”

 

Erudit took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. His headache was bad enough from the hangover, but Nathan was making it worse.

 

“Really? Are you sure?”

 

“If I was going to dislike him, I would have done so a long time ago. And if I resented him for this, wouldn’t that make me seem petty?”

 

Most importantly, the favorable impression that Derivis had left on Erudit when they first met wasn’t something that could easily change. Erudit put his glasses back on.

 

‘And what good would it do to hate someone after being rejected so clearly?’

 

His heart still ached, but he had confessed, and now it was up to him to endure the aftermath. Things might be awkward for a while, but that couldn’t be helped.

 

However, contrary to Erudit’s worries, nothing much changed between them. In fact, Rosalie set aside the stack of documents she was reviewing in her office and headed to the Eastern Forest four days later when Joey reported that he had found a suspicious location.

 

Whitney was waiting for Rosalie at the entrance to the Eastern Forest. It was midday, and with no issues getting around, Rosalie quickly followed Whitney deeper into the forest.

 

“Your Grace.”

 

Toronto, who had been hiding behind a tree, bowed his head when he saw Rosalie. She also took cover, observing a small, rundown villa next to a tiny lake. The villa, with its two floors and few windows, suggested it didn’t have many rooms.

 

“Is this the place?”

 

“When we scouted all the possible locations, this was the only one with such a suspicious-looking villa.”

 

“You all stay here. I’ll go in alone.”

 

Everyone was startled by Rosalie’s command and tried to dissuade her.

 

“How could we leave you alone, Your Grace?!”

 

“No matter how skilled you are, this is too dangerous.”

 

Toronto and Joey raised their voices in protest, their faces pale. Rosalie quickly put a finger to her lips, signaling them to stay quiet.

 

“Reinforcements will be here soon.”

 

Considering the abilities of Nathan and Derivis, who were on their way, she figured that having her knights involved might actually get in the way.

 

‘Tehard said that Rondun’s combat skills weren’t that impressive, but that was long before he was expelled from the Mage Tower.’

 

Unlike her knights, both Derivis and Nathan had experience in fighting and defeating mages.

 

“Speaking of reinforcements~”

 

Nathan waved from behind Rosalie, and Derivis was right behind him.

 

“Is that the place? It looks as creepy as I imagined.”

 

“It’s exactly the kind of place where villains would do their dirty work.”

 

The dilapidated villa, surrounded by dense trees, gave off an eerie atmosphere—like the kind of house where people say ghosts would appear.

 

“Nathan, do you hear anything?”

 

At Derivis’s question, Nathan closed his eyes and listened carefully in the direction of the villa.

 

“I can hear something… It seems like there’s only one person.”

 

Both Derivis and Rosalie gripped their swords. Rosalie gestured for the knights, who had been standing idly by, to hide behind the trees. They quickly concealed themselves.

 

Nathan tilted his head, focusing intently. 

 

“Wait a moment, it seems like there’s a basement. The sound is faint and muffled.”

 

“It could be that the magician’s experiments are happening underground.” 

 

Rosalie replied, adjusting the dagger in her hand. Nathan slowly opened his eyes and grabbed his sword. Then, Derivis moved ahead of Rosalie.

 

“I’ll go first.”

 

“No, I should—”

 

“No, I’ll take the lead.”

 

Derivis was firm. Rosalie, knowing his strength, couldn’t argue against his decision. With Derivis leading them, the three of them silently approached the villa.

 

Relying on Nathan’s sharp hearing, Derivis carefully pushed the door open.

 

‘The basement must be over there.’

 

As soon as they entered the villa, Derivis picked up on a presence he hadn’t sensed before. Rosalie followed Derivis and Nathan’s gaze toward a small door to the left of the central staircase.

 

They quietly opened the door and began descending the stairs. Not a sound came from their footsteps.

 

‘Is that the smell of blood?’

 

As they descended, Nathan grimaced and covered his nose. The metallic scent of blood was becoming stronger.

 

Rosalie and Derivis, though not as sensitive to the smell as Nathan, also noticed it and continued down the stairs with tense expressions.

 

At the bottom of the stairs, an archway emitting a dim light appeared. At Rosalie’s signal, they pressed against the wall and cautiously peeked inside.

 

‘As expected, it seems the experiments took place in the basement.’

 

Inside the archway, the room was cluttered with various experimental tools, and strange magical symbols were drawn on the floor. 

 

Derivis spotted a figure, whom he presumed to be Rondun, facing away from them. After exchanging a nod with Rosalie, they stealthily approached him.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

Rondun, feeling a chill run down his spine, slowly raised his hands and turned around.

 

“Well, I didn’t expect to have visitors~.”

 

Rondun smiled broadly when he saw Rosalie, Derivis, and Nathan.

 

“Oh my, I didn’t think anyone would find this place. I suppose this location must have been marked on the relic the Duchess found?”

 

Feigning surprise, Rondun exaggeratedly touched his head as if he was at a loss. Nathan, scanning the room, shot him a look of utter disgust.

 

“What a vile magician~. But why does it smell like blood in here?”

 

“What have you been doing here, Rondun?”

 

“Am I the villain here? If I were, you’d have to defeat me to find out what I’m up to!”

 

Rondun puffed out his chest confidently, causing the tension in the room to spike. He then smiled innocently, as if it were all a game.

 

“…But, to be honest, I don’t think I can handle His Highness and the redhead.”

 

As Rondun stomped his foot, a small magic circle beneath him began to glow. Seeing his intent to escape, Derivis swung his sword without hesitation.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?”

 

“Ah!”

 

Rondun quickly dodged backward, breaking into a sweat as he conjured a magical shield. 

 

However, he couldn’t avoid the blow completely. His left arm was deeply cut, and he clutched it as he frantically launched attacks to distance himself from Derivis.

 

“You think distance will save you?”

 

“Aaah!”

 

Nathan’s thrown sword slashed Rondun’s leg, forcing him to grab his bleeding limb. A bead of sweat ran down his temple.

 

“Ah, this is really bad. I guess running away easily is out of the question.”

 

“Then stop wasting your energy and surrender.” 

 

Rosalie demanded, but Rondun shook his head.

 

“No, I think I’ll make it a bit difficult. Hehe.”

 

Boom!

 

Rondun then unleashed a magical attack on the experimental equipment in the corner of the room. An explosion shook the space, and Derivis and Nathan simultaneously shielded Rosalie.

 

As the dust began to settle, Rosalie, sandwiched between them, quickly pushed them away, concern etched on her face.

 

“Derivis! Nathan! Are you okay?”

 

Thankfully, neither was injured; they were just covered in dust. Seeing that, Rosalie let out a sigh of relief.

 

“I’m fine. What about you?”

 

“Is this really the time to worry about me? Nathan, you’re okay too, right?”

 

“I’m fine. Calm down, Rosalie. But… it looks like he got away.”

 

At Nathan’s words, Rosalie scowled into the dust. Rondun had vanished without a trace.

 

Clicking her tongue, Rosalie waited for the dust to clear.

 

“For now, we need to find any evidence of the Empress’s corruption hidden here.”

 

Though Rondun had escaped, they still had to accomplish their mission. The three of them searched the villa and headed to the second floor. 

 

There, they found a room lined with bookshelves. Unlike the dusty door handles in the rest of the villa, this one was clean.

 

“Hmm~. How do we start looking?”

 

Nathan asked as he eyed the tightly packed bookshelves. 

 

Just then, Rosalie approached the second bookshelf and pulled out a red book from the third shelf without hesitation. A clicking sound followed, and a small safe was revealed as the bookshelf slid open.

 

 

 

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