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Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 6

Balgary said while puffing out his chest and trimming his beard.

「I have just been informed that Lady Siluca has been captured by the Vampire King. Could you please go and check if she is safe? 」

「Good heavens! 」

Balgary’s tail stood up on its end.

「A Vampire King kidnapping my best friend is unforgivable! 」

Balgary said so, and he wiggled his head, peering into Irvin’s shadow as if trying to catch a fish swimming in a pond. His tail was also moving from side to side as if it was an entirely different creature.

「I found her… 」

Balgary raises his face, as if he was a cat that was coming to its owner to show them the rat that it has caught in the field.

「There are some shadows around Siluca, but whatever that place she is now is, the lightning there is all strange as if it was not fixed in place, so I am afraid it is going to be impossible for me to travel there. 」

「There is no need for you to do that, Your Highness. You have already done enough. 」

Theo said as he asked the Cat Sith for a handshake.

「Umu, I will allow you the honor of rewarding me for my help by presenting me with one of the finest birds of your world that you can procure! 」

「No, by all means, the help that Your Highness has given us deserves at least two birds! 」
「Hou? 」

Balgary’s whiskers twitched and his eyes narrowed at Theo’s words.

「If it is not too much trouble, then can I ask you to also inform Aishela that Siluca has been captured? 」

The moment Theo said that, all the hair on Balgary’s body stood up, and his body swelled to about twice its size.

「Ah, y-yes, I understand… 」

Balgary let his mouth open and close for a while before he phyched himself up as he dove back into Irvin’s shadow filled with determination.

「It may not be expected of me, but I am still not used to having so many allies to whom I can turn to in times of need. 」

Theo said so as he turned to Irvin.

「But nevertheless, I am thinking of going to the Forest of Eternal Darkness to save Siluca, and I would like you to come there together with me. 」

「Of course. But before we set out, I think it would work to our benefit if we first interrogated the captured heavy knights of Waldrind to get as much information out of them as possible. 」

「I still do not like it when you talk about things like that, but we might as well not have any other choice here. 」

Theo let out a wry smile. That method might not be his preferable one, but it will definitely allow them to find out the thing they needed the most right now: cold, hard facts.

「There is also another person whom I would like you to meet, Lord Theo. 」

「A Waldrind spy? 」

Theo looked around, but no one seemed to be there just yet.

「Thank you for your understanding. 」

When Irvine nodded, he turns around and gave a signal. Then, from a nearby bush, a blond woman in gray clothes that fit her body tightly suddenly appeared, causing Theo to become frightened.

「My name is Layla, a maid who works for Lady Marine Kraische. 」

「You are the one who informed us that this incident was not Waldrind’s plan, but that heavy knight captain Elmer’s independent decision? 」

「That is right. 」

A maid named Leila nodded.

「I plan to return to Waldrind and report everything to Lady Marine. 」

「Can I pretend that I did not hear any of it? As a knight serving the Earl of Artuk, I cannot openly dismiss a Waldrind spy who might possess valuable information.

「Of course. 」

Leyla smiled softly.

「But before that, I have one request. 」

「If I can be of help, they I will try to fulfill it. 」

「Thank you very much. Before I infiltrated this place, I was given some instructions by Lady Marine. One of them was what I should do in the case where the heavy knights who crossed the border were taken prisoner by Artuk’s forces. 」

「What kind of instructions were they? 」

「Waldrind is ready to pay a ransom for the heavy knights who have been taken prisoner, as is customary since ancient times. 」

Layla said calmly.

「In other words, in exchange for financial compensation, you are asking us to not kill any of the prisoners or take their Crests from them. 」

Villars have previously released enemy Lords captured in battle, either in exchange for Artuk captives or ransoms. But this time they have not been caught in normal battle, so it was unclear whether or not the same kind of rules and punishments would apply here.

「If the Werewolves allow it, I will have Lord Eugen take care of the heavy knights. I will also tell you about the ransom. As for the punishments, I think they are going to be mete out when all of the incidents related to this case are going to be over. 」

「My only duty here was to convey the will of Lady Marine to you. 」

Layla said coldly. Perhaps she acted on her own and did not care about the lives of the heavy knights who probably cause a number of major headaches for Marine, but whatever the case might be, Marine’s maid bowed to Theo and then she quickly left.

「Is it really good for us to allow her to bring all these information back to Marine Kraische? 」

Theo asked Irvin with a wry smile, since he was unsure if what they did was the right thing to do, or if it would have been better if they detained her and kept all of the information to themselves.

「If not her, then another one of Marine’s Shadows would have found about about what happened here. Now, we must hurry. Since she left now, then at least she will not know about what is about to happen. 」

「Okay. I believe your judgment to be correct in this situation. 」

Theo nodded and returned to the castle together with Irvin.

Then he went to Luna who was still looking uneasy, put his hands on her shoulders, looked straight into her eyes, which were the same deep blue color as the ones that her mother had, and he relayed to her that the Werewolf Queen has died while trying to save her sister Emma.

「……. 」

Luna’s widely opened eyes wide were filled with tears, and for a while she just stood there, speechless.

「This has got to be a lie, right? I mean… mother promised… she promised me that she is going to come back together with Emma… 」

「I am sorry to say it, but it is sadly true. It will probably not lessen your pain all that much, but at least Emma is safe and she will be here soon. Her brothers and sisters are going to bring her back to you. 」

Theo tried to be as impartial about relaying the facts to Luna s possible so that the reality of things would not weight too heavily on her mind, but even so, as if she was unable to bear the weight of Theo’s hand on her shoulders, Luna suddenly sat down, and then she cried out letting all of her build up sadness out, and all that Theo could do was to just stand there with her and watch over her quietly.

After a while, the Werewolves led by Ion arrived at Eugen’s castle with the captured heavy knights of Waldrind in tow.

The twin sisters ran up to each other and hugged each other, rejoicing in their reunion for a brief moment, only to then start crying again remembering that their mother’s was now dead. Their older sister Arte then too the twin sisters, gently hugged them and led them out of the castle.

Theo asks Eugen for permission to interrogate Frantz, the heavy knight who said that he was the vice-captain of Elmer’s unit.

「We already know that the members of your unit have been acting without the permission of Marine Kraische, the Margrave of Waldrind. We are also aware that Dimitri the Vampire King was your collaborator. Now, I want you to tell us everything else that you know. 」

In response to Theo’s questions, Frantz began to tell him the entire story of what has transpired, starting from what happened to captain Elmer when they were returning home after their loss at the battle of Selvis.