Chapter 64
“Wild dogs?”
König, who had been staring at the bandits without a hint of expression, frowned as he asked.
“If— if it’s what he says, it should be accurate. As you can see, he’s an elephant beastman. Their sense of smell is unbelievable.”
The man lying flat before König hurriedly nodded as he spoke.
Elephant beastmen were known to have one of the most exceptional senses of smell among all beast races, so his testimony carried weight.
If it was the Wild Dog Clan, König also had something in mind.
Mercenaries active mainly in the eastern part of the Empire.
The same ones he had fought at Baron’s Viscounty.
Not satisfied with burning down the Baron estate, they had gone door to door through the village, slaughtering the people.
As if they were searching desperately for someone.
When they first appeared at the villa—where he stayed whenever his berserk symptoms flared—he assumed it was a coincidence.
But by this point, there was no way it was coincidence.
The Wild Dogs—no, more accurately, the ones controlling them—were targeting Kreuz.
I should’ve torn them all apart without leaving a single one alive back then.
Leaving a few alive as a warning had clearly been a mistake.
Suppressing his late regret, König stared down at the bandits again.
“Anything else?”
He gestured with his chin, signaling the elephant beastman to continue. The man hesitated, then shut his eyes tightly.
His life hinged on this answer. He needed to recall even the smallest detail.
“S— so… the leader said he met the blue‑eyed man at a pub in the center of Kalt.”
“Kalt… isn’t that near Viscount Volken’s territory?”
Coincidentally, it was a village adjacent to their final destination: the Gelände Mine.
And the place where all this plotting had begun was also within Volken’s viscounty.
The viscount’s face turned pale, but the elephant beastman continued speaking.
“Y‑yes, that’s right. He said they’d prepare all the equipment we needed, so all we had to do was… hold down the target’s ankles.”
And on the day of the operation—
The blue‑eyed man never showed up, but hooded archers came with dynamite and planted it on the bridge.
“They knew the exact time and route the carriage would take.”
Just as König had expected—these people knew his and his party’s every move.
Meaning…
The information leak started long ago.
He didn’t know when the planning began, but it wasn’t hard to figure out where the leak had occurred.
Hardly anyone in Black Dragon Castle knew of this journey.
Aside from a few workers from the Rose Merchant Guild who prepared the carriage.
By now, his sister would’ve noticed and taken action as well.
With the owner of the merchant guild absent…
He had no idea what schemes the traitors were plotting.
But there was no need to worry.
The moment they stepped foot into Black Dragon Castle, a metaphorical shackle had been placed around their necks.
The Empire’s strongest knights were stationed there.
As long as those who swore loyalty to the Kreuz family remained, Black Dragon Castle was an impregnable fortress—no, more like a prison without bars.
One could neither enter nor leave without the master’s permission.
Yelloise knew that as well, which was why she could leave without concern.
If anything, something interesting might be happening right about now.
He was certain his clever little squirrel would never leave the castle defenseless.
Cherry always wore a teary‑eyed expression, yet saw several steps ahead.
No—more than that…
It was more accurate to say she had a special ability.
When the poisoning incident happened, and when that damned Erzin Astrahan targeted him—
Cherry somehow always appeared at the right moment to block his path.
He still couldn’t guess exactly what that ability was.
But one thing was certain—there was no need to worry about the traitors left in the castle.
Meanwhile—
“Cherry.”
Her sweet name slipped from his lips without his consent.
His little squirrel had been unconscious for two days.
When he saw Cherry take an arrow and fall before his eyes—
“……”
König clenched his fists without realizing it.
His vision blurred, and his heart pounded as if it would burst. He couldn’t think at all.
All he wanted was to tear apart the enemies hiding in the trees.
And when he came to, he had already done exactly that.
How did Cherry know about the enemy trap?
Why did she block his path with that small, fragile body?
He had countless questions he wanted to ask.
But if Cherry would just wake up safely… none of that mattered.
So please, just…
Just get up as if nothing had happened.
At the moment König unconsciously tightened his fists—
THUD THUD THUD—!
Someone came tumbling down the stone stairs.
“Y‑Your Grace, the Duke…!”
It was a servant from the viscount’s castle.
Breathless and wheezing, he managed to speak.
“L‑Lady Squirrel has regained consciousness…!”
At that same time, in Black Dragon Castle
“I have no idea what’s going on…”
A man with a large mole above his eyebrow—
The worker known by the nickname ‘Mole‑guy’ chewed at his nails while pacing around the lodging.
He had tried to sneak out to assess the situation.
But—
“Without the duke’s permission, no one leaves.”
The knights radiating killing intent had blocked him.
Naturally, the tower containing the merchant guild’s treasure was also off‑limits.
I thought without the guildmaster everything would be easy…
That had been foolish arrogance.
The knights who normally smiled with easygoing faces had transformed into beasts overnight, watching their every move and preventing them from taking even a single step outside.
The needlessly spacious lodging had become a luxurious prison.
“This… don’t tell me we’ve been found out?”
His bearded partner whispered nervously, lips barely moving, when—
Creak.
The door to the Rose Merchant Guild workers’ room opened, and a woman stepped inside.
She was not the maid who usually brought them meals.
Her chin‑length bob of deep green hair, and the sharp, dangerous aura around her—
“I need to confirm something.”
Confirm?
They didn’t know what she planned to check, but the workers thought this was their golden chance to escape the castle.
They say beastman households as strong as Black Dragon Castle have lower servants who are practically wild beasts…
But it was one woman.
And both Mole‑guy and Beard‑man were confident in their strength anywhere they went.
If we just take her down—
We can get out of here.
They exchanged glances.
They gave each other hand signals, preparing to lunge at her—
BOOM—!
A thunderous impact echoed as Mole‑guy’s face smashed into the floor.
“U— urk…!”
Before they could track her movements with their eyes, the woman had closed the distance and slammed him to the ground.
Every time the hard heel of her shoe pressed into his neck, he felt moments away from death.
But compared to Beard‑man, his situation was merciful.
“S‑spare me… spare me…!”
The man with the thick beard had a silver blade resting at his throat.
When he swallowed, a drop of blood trickled down the gleaming edge.
“Move, and you die.”
She spoke coldly, then pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and compared it to their faces.
A crudely drawn sketch—crooked lines like something a child might draw.
The thickness of the strokes varied as if the artist had lost strength midway, but the key features were unmistakable.
The faces on the white paper were theirs.
“A big mole above the eyebrow, and a beard covering half the face. Confirmed.”
Once certain, the woman carefully folded the paper and tucked it back into her pocket with great care.
Then she shouted toward the hallway:
“These are the traitors Lady Cherry mentioned. Lock them in the underground prison immediately. Anyone who approaches them is to be treated as an accomplice!”
“Yes!”
The voices of the Black Dragon Castle knights echoed loudly through the corridors.
