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Days after the ball ended.

I thought things would quiet down at the Castle of Rondore, but one person was completely turned upside down, running amok.

He spent days searching for a maid who didn’t even exist and went insane with sword training…

Vivian knew that it was all because of that night, but she said nothing.

If his anger could be quashed this way, I was willing to let it slide.

The biggest change, however, was that he planned to head down to the city.

With a giant two-handed sword slung across his back, he began roaming the bustling streets of enemy territory, Roktana, accompanied by soldiers.

Kyle was eagerly hunting witches.

Vivian felt a chill at this bizarre coincidence.

How had he gone from fighting her to turning the place upside down looking for witches?

It felt as if he was letting out his resentment toward her in that manner.

****

“Report any suspicious people to me, got it?”

For several days straight, I headed down to Roktana with soldiers, stirring up the territory.

The witch hunt had officially begun.

I couldn’t escape this curse, so I had to let my frustration out somehow.

The curse felt even more disgusting because I couldn’t bring myself to hate Vivian.

Plus, I now understood just how dangerous witches could be.

…Yeah, what wrong thing could Vivian have done?

It was all the witch’s fault that made me love Vivian.

Seeing as the curse didn’t vanish even after I cut off her neck, it seems I really struck a tough bargain.

Of course, a witch cursed me with her life on the line, so she must have been serious about it.

Since the people of the territory feared me anyway, I decided to act a bit more aggressively.

I kicked and shoved things around, grabbed and shook anyone suspicious by the collar, and repeatedly shouted at them.

My anger was being vented in rather strange ways.

“If we don’t catch the witches, you all will suffer too! If you see someone suspicious, just stab first, I’ll do the judging!”

Today, I was shaking a man by the collar as I said this.

With both arms raised, he pleaded.

“I-I really don’t know…”

“…Damn.”

-Thud.

As I let go, he mustered no strength and collapsed on the floor.

“That punk…” whispers echoed around.

Behind me, Balron placed a hand on my shoulder, looking worried.

“Kyle, what’s gotten into you lately…?”

“…”

I took a deep breath and responded formally.

“The Las Church ordered me to take action. I can’t just sit back and let witches roam free.”

“No… You weren’t like this before. What’s suddenly got you wanting to hunt them?”

Explaining this would take too long.

“…Just.”

So I mumbled out an excuse.

Roktana was recently bustling with people.

Vivian’s proposal to recruit talent regardless of their origins fascinated many.

Following Kelsy’s plans to secure safer routes to Roktana, the risk of monster attacks had decreased as well, bringing even more hope to those living in the slums on the edges of the kingdom.

Wherever there were people, gold coins followed.

The gold was slowly waking up the dormant territory.

Commerce began thriving, and businesses were moving forward.

But with the bright prospects also came a distinct darkness.

As gold coins flowed, so did the rise of murderers.

With businesses popping up, scammers also emerged.

Factions began to form as merchants competed, and with factions came criminal organizations.

The numbers were still few, and their actions not too threatening, but… surely problems would arise later on.

“Thief!!”

More and more boys were red-faced running for their lives.

“What the hell! Wanna fight?!”

“Come at me!!”

I even saw adults rolling up their sleeves, ready for a brawl.

“I told you to get it together!!”

Some kids were being scolded by parents as they went about their business.

Though I had come down to Roktana to catch witches, I found myself learning about the lives of the territory’s people through these incidents.

Suddenly, I remembered Vivian’s promise.

How she would send them back home if everyone managed to love them.

Was this all part of her plan?

The more people there were to love, the more people the territory would need to please.

Logically, it was a bet I couldn’t win.

Yet, having decided to return home, this thought lingered in my mind constantly.

I didn’t want to rely solely on the princess’s promise.

How could I turn their animosity into goodwill?

…Still, for now, I had to firmly catch witches.

“Kyle!”

Someone called my name from afar.

Turning my head, I saw Yanes and his gang.

Yanes was escorting Kelsy down, probably for some business-related matter.

Looking at it this way, even a blind person like Kelsy seemed better than Brinden. Maybe it was her background, but she was generally diligent.

We walked over to Yanes.

As I approached, Kelsy suddenly stopped and greeted me.

“Lord Kyle, there you are.”

I asked Yanes, “What brought you down here?”

“Kelsy said she had something to do.”

Kelsy gasped, her eyes wide.

“W-Wait, don’t call me that!”

I interrupted Kelsy’s flustered protests.

“If you’re a vassal of Vivian, quit lowering yourself. If you come off weak, Vivian looks weak too.”

“…Ah.”

Kelsy’s eyes flickered with surprise.

Then, nodding, she responded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

There was no awkwardness in our conversation.

It had been a while since Kelsy started residing in the castle.

Of course, that didn’t mean we were close.

Kelsy’s father was also a victim of the war.

Naturally, she didn’t meet me with a particularly positive attitude.

…It seemed I had to earn goodwill even from someone like her to make my return possible.

Vivian had really placed an outrageous bet.

“Alright, take care then.”

I said this to Kelsy and Yanes and turned away.

****

“Lady Vivian?”

“…Huh?”

Vivian blinked, startled by the voice waking her.

In front of her stood Kelsy, who was blind, and her retainer.

“…Are you listening?”

It seemed her retainer informed Kelsy of something. Maybe that Lady Vivian appeared to be zoning out for a moment.

“I was just thinking about something else.”

Vivian readily admitted.

Unknowingly, she had been recalling Kyle again.

They had had meals together, but that was about it.

No genuine conversations or eye contact like usual.

And now they were in a prolonged cold war. The reason was valid, but.

The longer the cold war lasted, the stranger the emptiness felt in her heart.

“So, what were we talking about?”

Vivian asked, shaking her head to clear her thoughts of Kyle.

Now was not the time to be thinking about him.

It was time to manage the territory.

What she felt at the ball reminded her; she was in need of power.

The feeling of helplessness when Kyle was taken by the princess and she could do nothing about it haunted her like a nightmare.

That kind of thing should never happen again.

The Duke of Rondore bows only to the king. He had no intention of being subjugated by a prince or princess.

Even with the king, he wanted enough power to have his own checks and balances.

“…Yes. Allow me to reiterate. As you know, with the new waves washing over Roktana, there is a particular merchant group causing trouble. Initially, I thought they were quietly trying to establish themselves in Roktana, even if it meant incurring losses… but that is not the case.”

“What do you mean?”

“A merchant group is… maliciously causing harm in Roktana, preventing it from developing. They have been selling goods for lower than their original value at the market, crushing competing merchant groups, and even resorting to violence at times.”

While the citizens may enjoy getting goods at lower prices, once this merchant group crushes others and seizes control of Roktana’s market, it will be too late to turn back. They will manipulate Roktana’s economy as they wish.”

“Then drive them out. Ensure they can’t set foot on this land.”

“Well… that doesn’t seem like a choice I can make…”

Vivian raised her eyebrows in question, waiting.

Of course, Kelsy, who couldn’t see this, appropriately responded to the prolonged silence.

“…The merchant group is called the Korod Trading Company. I found out that it has the support of Count Korod as a backer…”

“…”

“If we drive them out, wouldn’t that entangle you politically, Lady Vivian?”

Count Korod.

Vivian imagined the face of the middle-aged man.

With things turning this way, Kelsy had done well not to act hastily.

She knew she had to drive out his merchant group, but picking her battles wisely was crucial.

Maybe this was also a bait to provoke her into a conflict.

He might be bullying them under the guise of a merchant group to create a justification.

If asked whether Vivian currently has the strength to oppose Count Korod… she wasn’t sure either.

She might not be outmatched in physical strength.

But that was only if all the knight orders supported her.

If the 1st Knight Order were to turn their backs on her and side with Baelor, it would get tough.

“…Ha.”

The fight had begun.

Whatever Count Korod’s ultimate goal was, he had begun his attack.

This was the first time such a vivid attack was made.

Perhaps he couldn’t leave helpers like Brinden close to her any longer.

Now that he saw the chance, he might have finally taken action.

“…He truly is an enemy.”

Vivian mumbled.

Even though she knew deep down that Korod was problematic, the feelings that arose when it became apparent in front of her were vastly different.

It made her anxious, made her fearful.

Vivian sighed and took out some stationery.

Before taking action, she needed to have a discussion.

She resolved to summon Count Korod to the Castle of Rondore to settle matters that could be settled.

-Knock, knock, knock.

‘Lady Vivian…! Lady Vivian…!’

With elegant knocks came a somewhat urgent voice.

If there is someone who maintains grace in their actions regardless of the situation, it would be Lady Linne.

“Come in, my teacher.”

Vivian opened the room to let in an unusually hurried voice from Lady Linne.

As she opened the door, the entire castle was buzzing with whispers.

Commoner vassals, new soldiers, Vivian’s guards, and maids all seemed to share an atmosphere as if faced with some shocking truth.

“…What’s going on?”

Vivian frowned and asked.

Kelsy and her retainer also focused on Lady Linne’s voice.

The retainer, panting, finally spoke.

“The Unbeatable Knight… has fallen.”

 

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