Chapter 148 – 148. Family Crisis (1)
“It’s a daily life that I haven’t tasted in a long time.”
“I know.”
After the restoration of the holy sword was completed, Mervis returned to normal daily life in the abductor’s office, where only the sound of a pen clicking and a short conversation continued between the two.
“What is the list of magic books scheduled to be stocked in the library?”
“Almost done.”
“What about next month?”
“What I am doing now will be next month. Over there this month.”
Seeing the mountain of papers she pointed at, Illyana, who was checking the papers on her desk, frowned and frowned.
“When the hell is this going to end, this.”
“It can’t be helped. I have to take care of everything until next month. Otherwise, it’s our wedding and our honeymoon, and we can’t go to anything.”
“Oh, that’s really annoying. I am regretting for the first time now that I accepted this position in the kingdom.”
Normally, there wouldn’t be such a rush of work, but Eunhyeon and Illyana had to deal with all the mountains of documents to check all the important approval documents that had the schedule for the next month written on them.
Most things could have been handed over to the secretary and the newly appointed deputy director, but at this point, the library director, Illyana, had piled up piles of documents, starting with Eunhyun’s strong insistence that all documents requiring approval and judgment be finished in advance.
As everything started to create time to prepare for the wedding of the two of them, Illyana was showing an unusually enthusiastic appearance from the start.
“A little bit… Let’s take a little break.”
Although it was a very big problem that the fire of desire was extinguished in less than three hours.
“Shall we eat some rice?”
“Huh. OK.”
Perhaps it was because Eunhyun’s proposal was as happy as a rope that came down from the sky, Illyana, who buried her face in her desk and looked at the dead woman, lifted her head and answered with a bright expression.
“Then I will make something. Hang in there.”
“Okay.”
The moment Illyana nodded her head and already made an expectant expression.
Smart
“Come in.”
“Excuse me. Miss Illyana. A guest has come.”
“… Customer?”
Illiana grumbled a little, asking the secretary who opened the door and entered, “What is the reason for a customer to visit at this timing?”
“Let it in. Hyuna. I will hear and send it quickly, so prepare it right away.”
“That is…”
The secretary glanced at Eunhyun, not Illyana, and opened her mouth.
“It’s not Illyana-sama, it’s Su-eun-sama’s guest.”
“Hyeoni?”
“Me?”
The word ‘Su-eun’ mentioned by the secretary refers to Eun-hyeon, who has recently been rumored to be the lover of the ‘black witch’ and the man she will marry.
At the time of the public trial, the white silver hair that shines white when exposed to light and the abusive remarks that Eun-hyeon hurled at the nobility of the time were the triggers for his nickname.
Starting with the dishonorable epithets of ‘mercury snake’ and ‘snake with silver poison’, it began to become a modifier to refer to Eun-hyeon among many aristocrats.
Illyana didn’t like the meaning of the unpleasant words that demean her man, but Eun-hyun smiled and didn’t pay much attention to the funny nickname, so it was an incident that she had no choice but to let go.
“Yes…”
The library staff had always been uncomfortable with Eun-Hyeon before, but after the public trial, they were more and more nervous and frightened whenever they met Eun-Hyun.
The same goes for the secretary who came to report that a guest had arrived.
The secretary, who naturally shrank her body just by looking at Eun-hyeon’s red eyes, answered Eun-hyeon’s question with a weak nod of her head.
“Please let me in.”
Seeing that reaction, Eun-hyeon laughed bitterly and nodded her head to greet the customer who had come to visit her.
Then, following the secretary’s guidance, an old butler who came to the library director’s office bowed his head and greeted Eunhyeon and Illyana politely.
“… You are the head of the mansion of the Duke of Armitas.”
“Thank you for remembering.”
The face of the butler who lifted his head after greetings could not be said to be good even with empty words, but rather showed urgent emotions such as nervousness, embarrassment, and urgency.
Seeing the atmosphere of the butler, Eunhyeon and Illyana naturally frowned, guessing that something else had happened.
“The butler himself… ? What happened to the ducal family?”
“…”
The head butler immediately opened his mouth, but he glanced at the secretary waiting at the door of the library director’s door and firmly shut his mouth.
The secretary, who noticed that it was not an issue that could be easily disclosed to others, hadn’t experienced it once or twice, so she quickly greeted Illyana and Eunhyeon and left the librarian’s office.
Most of the people who visited Illyana and Eunhyeon for personal business were related to the country or nobles, and most of them were secret matters that should not be revealed, so the secretary left cleanly.
“The Duke… Eunhyun is looking for you urgently. Could you please come to the duke’s mansion right away?”
“Can I ask what’s going on?”
“My lady…”
The moment he heard that, the impressions of Eunhyeon and Illyana were frowned at once.
When it comes to the person referred to by the butler, who is one of the people in charge of managing the mansion of the Duke of Armitas and the affairs of the family, only one person comes to mind.
“How come I’m feeling filthy and ominous.”
As if to prove Illyana’s guess was correct, the butler’s mouth opened again.
“Miss Eleanor has been kidnapped.”
“…”
Eunhyun’s silence was brief, as she immediately looked at Illyana’s face and checked her intentions.
“Go and come… It doesn’t seem like it’s time for her to be leisurely thinking about the lunch menu.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Promise me two things. I’m not going to change the wedding preparation schedule, so finish it quickly and come. And don’t get hurt.”
“I’ll try.”
“I never once gave an assurance that I would never get hurt. Really.”
“I already lied to you once. Do you still believe it?”
– You said you heard it alive… You said you would listen to me!
Will Illyana be able to believe Eunhyun’s words once again after failing to keep her promise?
Eunhyeon couldn’t help but question.
Illyana narrowed her eyes and glanced at Eun-hyeon, then stood up and grabbed Eun-hyeon by the collar and pulled her towards herself.
“Chewup.”
In an instant, her Eun-hyeon’s face was pulled toward Illyana, and as she was, she put her tongue on his lips and put her lips on his.
She wanted a deeper kiss, but Illyana restrained herself, removed her lips from his face, and opened her mouth with a smile.
“Don’t get hurt and come back alive. Then I will forgive you even if you make another woman.”
“… You sometimes casually spit out really scary lines. Then what are you going to do if I actually cheat on you with another woman?”
“Are you okay. Because I have the confidence that I will never be taken away.”
“…”
Where the hell does this confidence come from?
Eunhyeon had to notice the head of the butler, who was looking at them with a slightly tired expression.
Despite the urgent situation, the head butler smiled bitterly and respected Eunhyeon and Illyana’s farewell time, so Eunhyeon coughed and turned around.
“And don’t do this kind of surprise in front of other people. Aren’t you ashamed?”
“You are the one who ate all you could eat at your age, and now you are saving face. Strictly speaking, you’re better than that butler… Town.”
“Stop.”
He hurriedly shut Illyana’s mouth and cut her off before she removed her hand from her mouth.
“Anyway, do you understand what I mean? Come back safely, only alive. Then I’ll forgive you everything. Okay?”
“… Okay.”
Eun-hyeon left Illyana behind and followed her boss and left the building of the Mervis Magic Library.
After getting on the carriage with the pattern of the duke’s family engraved on it, the butler sat in the driver’s seat and drove the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Eunhyeon thought a lot.
Why did she kidnap Eleanor?
Is it a ransom, or is it a grudge against the duke’s family, or is it involved in indiscriminate crime in pursuit of simple pleasure?
As of now, the information we have is so small, while the imaginings that come to mind are countless, so we only have a lot of thoughts, and we can’t come to any conclusions, and only worry.
In the meantime, one thing that came to mind, he checked what cards he could use at this point.
After finishing her rough thoughts, the duke’s carriage arrived at her destination.
Passing through the main gate, he stopped in front of the mansion and opened the door to respect the attitude of the butler, who respectfully served Eun-hyeon. Eun-hyeon felt sorry and got off the carriage.
Smart
“Duke. I’ve brought Eun-hyeon.”
“Come in.”
Eun-hyeon, who was immediately guided by the house owner and led to the office of Abros, went into the office following the house president’s guidance after she gave her permission.
At the table in the center, three people, Avros, his wife and current Duchess Runes, and Alex, created a somber atmosphere.
Eun-hyeon gently placed her right hand on his left chest and bowed his head, bowing to Runes.
“Nice to see you. Duchess. I am Eunhyun, who has a personal cooperative relationship with Duke Armitas.”
“… Okay. You… You look very young, just like I heard.”
“Unfortunately, because of this appearance, I am often unintentionally misunderstood.”
“I have often heard your story from my son or daughter. Now there is nothing to misunderstand your existence. She heard that there are so many things that your daughter has helped you with. She often said that she wanted to repay her kindness.”
“… Did the princess say that?”
“For now, take a seat.”
“All right.”
It was impossible to continue standing and talking, so at the right time, Avros recommended Eunhyun to sit on the sofa.
Eunhyun nodded and sat down on the sofa, and immediately asked the main point.
“I only heard from the butler that the princess was kidnapped. And he said he found me.”
“Yes.”
“… Why?”
“The two escort knights I had attached to Eleanor were killed.”
“… Are you talking about the two knights who participated in Riod’s expedition at that time?”
“Yes.”
“…”
He nodded his head bluntly and affirmed, but the trembling of his hand, which was firmly gripping the edge of the armrest of the sofa where Abros was sitting, expressed his feelings well.
“You’re a knight named Leno.”
“It must have been an uncomfortable relationship with you.”
The previous time, when he tricked Eleanor into fishing, and when he overpowered Leno who was trying to kill him so easily, it was not a very uncomfortable memory for Eun-hyeon.
“But I didn’t hate it. On the contrary, I also had a feeling of anticipation. Because he was the one who said he would challenge me again one day.”
“Is it… He gets straight to the point. Early in the morning, after midnight, the bodies of Leno and the other escort knights were strewn about in the middle of the road.”
“Are you talking at dawn?”
Avros nodded and continued.
“Recently, it has become more common to stop by the temple to pray and pray, and return home late in the evening. So, on the condition that two escorts be attached, the mass to cultivate the priestly knowledge was allowed. However, there has never been a case where he didn’t come in until after midnight, like yesterday, including usual.”
Abros, who felt something strange, said that he ordered the knights belonging to the ducal family to mobilize and find Eleanor from around 10:00 PM, before noon.
However, in the process of searching all the way from the duke’s mansion to the temple, what the knights found were the bodies of the two knights who were entrusted with Eleanor’s escort.
“Both of the escort knights had their heads cut off and only their bodies remained. No trace of the head could be found… There was no trace of her daughter at all.”
“…”
Various emotions such as resentment, anger, and sadness were buried in Avros’ voice as he spoke in a squeezed manner.
“If the princess’s corpse has not been found, there is a possibility that she may still be alive. Then, the question is, what the hell was the purpose of kidnapping the princess… Wasn’t there anything like money or a letter with demands written on it?”
“No.”
“Why did you find me… “
“This is a situation where two reliable knights have already suffered. Besides, there were only four people who could rise and rely on people who could rely on any trace or tracking skills.”
Avros said that he had already poured a lot of money into the information guild and put in a request to find Eleanor’s whereabouts.
In an urgent situation where he had to use all he could write to get it back, Eun-hyeon was the only person Abros could rely on as the last person he could rely on.
“I will pay anything. If only Eleanor could be found…”
– You can’t go in!
– Noisy!
The desperate father’s request to find his missing daughter was buried in the turmoil inside the mansion, and soon after, Abros and Alex rose from their seats at the appearance of a ruffian who slammed open the door of the office without knocking.
“Rude! How dare you say where we are!”
“The Duke and Duchess of Armitas! I’ll take the two of you into custody!”
“… What?”
“What?”
It wasn’t enough to enter the duke’s mansion without permission, the knight who broke into the office directly, Walter Orsias, the leader of the royal guard division, Krasir, opened the papers he had taken out of his pocket and thrust them into Avros.
“Avros Armitas, the head of the Armitas duchy family, and his successor, ‘Alex Armitas’, along with the former minor duke ‘Ashton Armitas’, are conspirators who took part in Renion Hersha’s embezzlement. I will arrest you! If you resist from now on, it will be regarded as treason and more severe punishment will be applied, so let the two criminals surrender quietly!”
The document bearing the seal of the royal family is clearly an arrest warrant issued by order of the royal family.
After arresting and interrogating the aristocrats who committed the crime, it is the most effective of the few means that can be executed if the crime is confirmed.
“This… Does not make sense…”
Upon receiving the arrest warrant, Avros trembled with anger as he checked the seal of the royal family of Pernias stamped on the document.
It wasn’t just the people of the Duke of Armitas who were perplexed by this situation.
‘Such a fucking foot…’
Eunhyeon felt the situation turn urgently and cursed inwardly.
