When we arrived at the mansion, some had infiltrated Orobas’ mansion before them.
They infiltrated the crowd with their devilishly quick movements, each hiding as a cleaning servant or a porter for the merchants coming and going to prepare for a banquet.
Of course, in order not to be discovered as non-human, they chose an identity that would not require them to open their mouths or talk to others as much as possible and infiltrate.
“...”
And they quickly began to explore various parts of the mansion.
‘This is a rough map of Orobas’ mansion. The main building and the annex are connected underground, and in particular, there is a door hidden in the wall in the basement of the main building. So the basement is much deeper than you think.’
They were able to move quickly because they had the map Beryl had given them in their heads.
Of course, they had basic questions.
“...How do you know the layout of the mansion?”
Have you ever been to the Duke Orobas house as a Saintess?
Some places were too familiar to every corner of the mansion. However, they gave up on questioning further.
Since the lord did not suspect anything.
Is the dining room this way?
The demon Ratli, who had been mixed in among them, headed deep into the first floor. And soon.
“Move quickly!”
“Vegetable sacks this way!”
They found the dining room that was the noisiest and busiest before the banquet started.
And they pretended to bring their luggage there and confirmed it clearly.
Woong!
Among the other chefs, the one who looked around with particularly anxious eyes.
And the strong desire felt from him.
It was mixed with survival anxiety, but especially the one who strongly exuded desire whenever he looked at the cooking ingredients.
‘This is the one the Visionary spoke of.’
They found him. Ratli nodded slightly as he took in the appearance of the brown curly-haired chef.
Now all they had to do was convince the author and bring him to Vine.
“...!”
He looked so cautious that he flinched at the slightest movement around him, but Ratli did not think he would fail.
The devil was a man of exceptional talent for persuasion.
Especially when he had such a clear desire.
He smiled.
Marquis Rogal thought that he had no luck at all.
The other surrounding territories had little damage from monsters, but why did his territory have a large den of monsters that had to take out half of his knights? Of course, the den wasn’t that big at first.
‘The group of monsters near the village of Glen to the west is unusual.’
However, when he heard the report, he didn’t really think about clearing it out.
Wouldn’t that take too many supplies?
‘Just hold them back a little.’
Since all the other territories had taken this approach, he thought he could do the same.
However, the monsters in his territory had grown too quickly, and in the end, more than half of his family’s knights had been lost trying to stop the monsters from advancing all the way to the mansion.
“Tsk.”
He could only point to one cause for all of this.
the knights’ lack of skill.
Even if other territories were attacked, half of the knights wouldn’t be lost like this, so why would it be like this? It wasn’t like he had provided less support.
As long as it wasn’t an ‘unreasonable request,’ he had provided sufficient support to the knights. If they wanted a sword, buy one. If they wanted their armor fixed, fix it.
Of course, the knight commander who tried to extort money under the pretext of continuous management was annoying, but since they had already been defeated by this monster incident, there would be no one to ask for more money.
He frowned and quickly straightened his brows.
For now, he should approach them with a good face.
“...”
Saint Beryl was surrounded by the knights of Vine. He could see the Duke of Vine putting his arm around her shoulder and whispering something.
However, what caught Marquis Rogal’s eye more than that was her anxious gaze.
He could see her somewhat nervous gaze scanning the banquet hall. It seemed like it was her first time at the banquet.
Marquis Rogal raised the corners of his mouth.
“Saintess...”
The more he looked, the more tempting the prey seemed.
Duke Vine himself had proven that he was not a demon at the Great Prayer and the wedding, so he would cooperate with the Saintess to clear his family’s name.
Of course, they had basic questions.
“...How do you know the layout of the mansion?”
Have you ever been to the Duke Orobas house as a Saintess?
Some places were too familiar to every corner of the mansion. However, they gave up on questioning further.
Since the lord did not suspect anything.
Is the dining room this way?
The demon Ratli, who had been mixed in among them, headed deep into the first floor. And soon.
“Move quickly!”
“Vegetable sacks this way!”
They found the dining room that was the noisiest and busiest before the banquet started.
And they pretended to bring their luggage there and confirmed it clearly.
Woong!
Among the other chefs, the one who looked around with particularly anxious eyes.
And the strong desire felt from him.
It was mixed with survival anxiety, but especially the one who strongly exuded desire whenever he looked at the cooking ingredients.
‘This is the one the Visionary spoke of.’
They found him. Ratli nodded slightly as he took in the appearance of the brown curly-haired chef.
Now all they had to do was convince the author and bring him to Vine.
“...!”
He looked so cautious that he flinched at the slightest movement around him, but Ratli did not think he would fail.
The devil was a man of exceptional talent for persuasion.
Especially when he had such a clear desire.
He smiled.
***
Marquis Rogal thought that he had no luck at all.
The other surrounding territories had little damage from monsters, but why did his territory have a large den of monsters that had to take out half of his knights? Of course, the den wasn’t that big at first.
‘The group of monsters near the village of Glen to the west is unusual.’
However, when he heard the report, he didn’t really think about clearing it out.
Wouldn’t that take too many supplies?
‘Just hold them back a little.’
Since all the other territories had taken this approach, he thought he could do the same.
However, the monsters in his territory had grown too quickly, and in the end, more than half of his family’s knights had been lost trying to stop the monsters from advancing all the way to the mansion.
“Tsk.”
He could only point to one cause for all of this.
the knights’ lack of skill.
Even if other territories were attacked, half of the knights wouldn’t be lost like this, so why would it be like this? It wasn’t like he had provided less support.
As long as it wasn’t an ‘unreasonable request,’ he had provided sufficient support to the knights. If they wanted a sword, buy one. If they wanted their armor fixed, fix it.
Of course, the knight commander who tried to extort money under the pretext of continuous management was annoying, but since they had already been defeated by this monster incident, there would be no one to ask for more money.
He frowned and quickly straightened his brows.
For now, he should approach them with a good face.
“...”
Saint Beryl was surrounded by the knights of Vine. He could see the Duke of Vine putting his arm around her shoulder and whispering something.
However, what caught Marquis Rogal’s eye more than that was her anxious gaze.
He could see her somewhat nervous gaze scanning the banquet hall. It seemed like it was her first time at the banquet.
Marquis Rogal raised the corners of his mouth.
“Saintess...”
The more he looked, the more tempting the prey seemed.
Duke Vine himself had proven that he was not a demon at the Great Prayer and the wedding, so he would cooperate with the Saintess to clear his family’s name.
He heard that the Saintess instinctively chose Vine, so if there was a demon in the land of Vine, it was only a matter of time before it was captured.
Then, the Saintess would have fulfilled her mission to catch the devil, and she would remain the Duchess of Vine thereafter.
Naturally, she would also be responsible for the internal affairs of Vine.
However, the mistress who was responsible for the internal affairs lived in the temple her entire life?
No matter how he looked at it, she could not help but look like a fool who was easy to prey on.
“...Ahem.”
He coughed to make his presence known to the knights of Vine who were standing like bricks.
He felt the knights looking back at him.
“I would like to greet His Highness the Duke of Vine and the Duchess.”
The Duke and Duchess of Vine, surrounded by knights, did not look like someone who could be easily approached.
However, the impatient Marquis of Rogal did not see that.
He planned to somehow extract something from the Saint, or rather the Duchess of Vine before the other nobles took notice.
Especially if they were skilled knights like those of Vine.
“Please wait a moment.”
The knight of Vine who received his glance soon gestured to another knight. The Marquis of Rogal swallowed hard as he watched the Duke and Duchess turn to look at him after hearing the story.
“Come this way.”
Then, the Saintess would have fulfilled her mission to catch the devil, and she would remain the Duchess of Vine thereafter.
Naturally, she would also be responsible for the internal affairs of Vine.
However, the mistress who was responsible for the internal affairs lived in the temple her entire life?
No matter how he looked at it, she could not help but look like a fool who was easy to prey on.
“...Ahem.”
He coughed to make his presence known to the knights of Vine who were standing like bricks.
He felt the knights looking back at him.
“I would like to greet His Highness the Duke of Vine and the Duchess.”
The Duke and Duchess of Vine, surrounded by knights, did not look like someone who could be easily approached.
However, the impatient Marquis of Rogal did not see that.
He planned to somehow extract something from the Saint, or rather the Duchess of Vine before the other nobles took notice.
Especially if they were skilled knights like those of Vine.
“Please wait a moment.”
The knight of Vine who received his glance soon gestured to another knight. The Marquis of Rogal swallowed hard as he watched the Duke and Duchess turn to look at him after hearing the story.
“Come this way.”
The knight of Vine approached the Marquis, who had received permission.
“Then excuse me.”
The Marquis of Rogal tilted his head slightly as he passed the knights of Vine. It was clearly the same banquet hall, but he thought that the atmosphere inside and outside the boundaries drawn by those knights seemed very different.
***
“The Marquis would like to see you two.”
It was natural to talk to other nobles when attending a social banquet. Even knowing that I couldn’t help but flinch. I also knew the identity of the person who glanced back.
“It’s the Marquis of Rogal.”
“Do you know him?”
Belled asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I turned my gaze back to him as he whispered. I could see the eyes that met very close to me sending me a gentle gaze.
“...I don’t know him well, but at this point.”
I searched through my past memories.
“The Rogal territory was probably suffering from the monster incident.”
Since it was something related to the monster, there was no way he wouldn’t remember. Belled’s gaze glanced at the Marquis.
“Have you ever visited me before?”
I shook my head at that.
“No, not at all.”
Belled caught a strange point in those words. Before my return, I seemed to have been more well-known as a Saintess than as the Duchess of the family. Otherwise, I would have been used to observing the internal affairs of the family or trends. In short, the Marquis of Rogal had no reason to visit me because I was well-known as a Saintess, but now he had a reason to visit.
“...I’m looking for the Duchess of Vine.”
I came to the same conclusion at the same time. Belled hugged my shoulder a little closer.
“If it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to see me.”
“That’s, no.”
Although nervous, I let out a short breath. I was already being recognized by those attending the banquet as the Duchess of Vine. So from now on, if I avoid visiting or make a mistake, it will be a disgrace to Vine’s honor. I exhaled again and gestured.
“Ask him to come.”
Then I looked around the banquet hall again. With the same gaze that Marquis Rogal had described as “the anxious gaze of someone attending a banquet for the first time.”
Of course, since it wasn’t my first time at a banquet, I was looking at something else. Considering the material of the walls of the Vine mansion, it would be better to decorate it with matte cloth. No matter how many times I’d attended a banquet, I hadn’t looked at the decorations in detail, so I was looking at that.
“Hello.”
At that moment, Marquis Rogal approached and greeted me.
“Welcome. Are you Marquis Rogal?”
I looked back at him and asked. Instead of saying anything, Belled just poured a glass of red wine as if he would watch me no matter what I did. It seemed as if he was saying that he trusted me, and I felt my tension relax.
“I am so honored that the Saintess recognizes someone like me.”
The Marquis of Rogal bowed his head and asked a few polite questions. The greetings that would have taken a dozen minutes for a typical nobleman ended in less than a minute.
“How are you, Marquis?”
I said just after that. The Marquis of Rogal let out a sigh out of nowhere.
“I am fine, but in fact, my people are not fine.”
Belled narrowed his eyes as he heard those words. It was because he could see that he was trying to emphasize the suffering of the people.
“There was a monster incident recently, and many knights were sacrificed while trying to stop them..."
“Ah...”
I sighed in regret in front of the Marquis, who trailed off.
“I heard that there is little damage in Vine even though there are many monsters. The people of Vine must be happy.”
As he said that, his intention was clear as he sighed deeply.
So, won’t you help our territory a little?
Aren’t you a Saintess?
I seemed to know what answer he wanted.
I narrowed my eyes.
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