SRNVW 04

Chapter 4 …

“Report in detail what you mean.”

The Knight of the Radiant Dawn, Erios Killiat, was an easy man to serve.

He was cautious and rational in all things, never easily angered, never one to reveal his emotions. He did not throw his weight around by abusing his rank, nor did he trouble his subordinates with tasks he believed were his own responsibility.

There was only one exception.

“Are you saying the child disappeared while she was outside the ducal estate?”

Whenever it concerned his niece, his gaze changed.

The man who could speak calmly even when surrounded by monsters was now glaring fiercely, exuding a violent aura.

The subordinate who had come to deliver the news shrank back and answered,

“N-No, that’s not it.”

The place where Artea had vanished was none other than inside the ducal residence itself.

Her nanny and maid had been near her at the time.

“S-She’s still a young lady, so we assumed she would be found nearby…. But after searching, she was nowhere to be seen.”

They had gone out briefly, and while the nanny dozed off, the child disappeared.

At first, they hadn’t thought much of it. Surely a small child who slipped away for a moment couldn’t have gone far.

But Artea was nowhere in sight. They informed others immediately and began a search, yet in the end, she was not found.

“What were you all doing that no one noticed a single child vanish?”

Inside the ducal estate—without anyone sensing even the slightest sign—the duke’s young lady had disappeared.

The search was underway, but considering the time that had passed, even the possibility of a serious crime could not be ruled out.

As if that weren’t enough, Artea had already lost her parents in an accident.

There had not been a single day he hadn’t worried about her—and now this.

“Shall we announce Lady Artea’s disappearance publicly and begin a full-scale search?”

“There’s no need.”

Even in the face of such a shocking situation, Erios quickly reviewed the circumstances and determined what needed to be done.

He decided to conclude the subjugation at once and return immediately. Then he activated one of the Empire’s few grand magical artifacts—a privilege granted only to imperial dukes.

“Her location?”

“That would be….”

Upon hearing the name of the place where Artea was found, Erios furrowed his brow.

It was a familiar location.

Fortunately, Artea had not been cast somewhere remote and desolate.

If she were anywhere, it was a place where she would be safe.

But that did not mean it was a comfortable place for Erios.

“Fortunately, Artea is completely unharmed.”

The woman standing before him shrugged without a hint of emotional fluctuation.

“Oh dear, I forgot to greet you.”

He knew her.

No—not merely someone he knew, but someone with whom he had once been deeply entangled.

“Hello, Duke Killiat?”

The place he had rushed to in order to see Artea—

was where his former lover stood waiting.

In the time they hadn’t seen each other, her intelligent gaze had grown sharper, her graceful figure more mature. Her rare violet eyes gleamed like amethysts.

“Well, I’m not exactly well.”

She spoke politely, as though addressing a stranger.

“……”

Our Duke Erios Killiat—despite everything—had the faintest twitch in his eyebrow at my greeting.

I had always thought his brows were thick and handsome; there was no way I could miss that movement.

When he said he’d raise the child well—yet he didn’t even know she’d run away.

I had wanted to make him sweat a little out of spite.

But no matter what, using the child like that didn’t sit right with me.

—“Fortunately, Artea is completely unharmed.”

Before any greeting, I made sure to inform him of her safety.

Hah… seriously. If he didn’t look like he’d come running here in a panic, I would’ve started by cursing him out the moment I saw him.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t angry.

But he had clearly rushed here in haste. It wasn’t easy to raise my voice at someone in that state.

His niece looked scruffy—and so did he. His appearance was far from neat.

No, not just far from neat. What’s all that on his face and clothes? He’s practically drenched in blood.

Yet beneath his disheveled hair, his gaze was honed to a chilling sharpness.

Those seemingly contradictory elements—rough and refined—blended without discord, giving him a dangerous aura.

And this was supposed to be the Knight of the Radiant Dawn, famed for swordsmanship so pristine it bordered on inhuman.

Seeing Artea again really makes it obvious they’re uncle and niece. Especially that silver hair…

Had his features grown sharper? Had he gotten taller?

For a fleeting moment, nostalgia stirred, but I quickly brushed it aside.

He had always felt more aristocratic than wild, even as a knight—but now, after a few years, he exuded something unmistakably masculine.

Men really do grow in leaps over just a few years. Women don’t change nearly as much after puberty.

“Will you have a seat? It seems we have… quite a lot to discuss.”

My voice was higher than before, my lips curved upward—yet the knights who had followed Erios remained wary.

No fool believed I was smiling out of joy.

Of course, I laughed softly as if I hadn’t noticed their suspicion.

“Where is the child?”

It was good that he asked about Artea first.

But then again, shouldn’t he have protected her properly to begin with?

That crooked thought rose in me.

I smiled sweetly.

“Duke Killiat, how is it that you didn’t know Artea would run away?”

Instead of answering, I threw a question back at him.

The butler beside him bristled and interjected.

“His Grace had departed to subjugate monsters! Upon hearing Lady Artea had disappeared, he did not even stop by the ducal estate and came straight here!”

So it had happened in his absence.

Well, judging from his tattered state from head to toe, I wasn’t about to deny he’d rushed straight from the battlefield.

But who asked you? Did I address you?

“What a loyal butler.”

I offered praise first.

“Then why was such a loyal man of no help when it came to Artea?”

Is it poor judgment of character? Poor fortune with subordinates? Or simply your own incompetence?

He wasn’t stupid enough to miss the layered insult.

The butler flushed but couldn’t respond.

“You said security was strengthened after the accident a few years ago. So is the security lacking, or are the people guarding it the problem?”

“……”

“Whether it’s a system failure or a human one, either way, the responsibility falls on the head of the house—Duke Killiat.”

Though I spoke that way—

According to my own investigation, the castle’s barriers and the patrol rotations left no gaps.

Which meant the answer was obvious.

If Artea left and no one noticed, it was someone on the inside.

Whether intentional or accidental.

“Let’s say you were busy subjugating monsters. Then what were the others doing during that time?”

“……”

“That’s something we should ask the butler. The young duchess disappears inside the estate and is found in the Sortis territory. What do you make of that? Surely no one was idly twiddling their thumbs while summoning the duke from a monster hunt?”

Yet the butler had no answer.

“We… conducted an investigation, but….”

“And the results?”

If you discovered nothing, wasn’t that the same as doing nothing?

I shrugged.

“Loyal but incompetent—or perhaps that loyalty is false. Hard to say.”

With the butler rendered speechless, I dismissed the others.

“I would like to speak with Duke Killiat alone. In a situation like this, it’s hard to trust anyone.”

“……”

“You understand, don’t you?”

I deflected the butler’s indignation and countered smoothly.

With a light gesture, Erios dismissed everyone.

Even the butler, struck at a sore spot, could say nothing further and withdrew.

Now then. Shall we really talk?

When the others left, only the two of us remained in the drawing room.

Erios Killiat.

And me.

“You should have contacted me the moment you found Artea.”

He spoke informally.

So did I.

“Artea didn’t want to go back to the ducal estate.”

“What?”

“Besides, why would I contact you? The ducal house that couldn’t do anything while she was running away?”

For all we know, the very reason Artea ran away is still within those walls.