“Haha..., really. Please don’t do that.”
“Irene, why don’t you go back and rest now. Louiselle needs to rest, too.”
Noel, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, urged her. Since it would be unreasonable of her to also be stubborn this time round, Irene nodded and rose from her seat.
Subsequently, she suddenly remembered the irregular sight from earlier, so she turned to inquire about it.
“Umm, Noel…”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but I don’t think there are any Kreisen people in the castle. Where did everyone go?”
It was not Noel who answered her question.
“Oh, you did not know, Madame? All the people in this castle are imprisoned.”
Irene’s eyes widened at Dan’s unexpected remark. They were imprisoned. What on earth…
“What do you mean by imprisoned…”
“Dan, stop with the nonsense babbling. Don’t tell my wife useless things.”
Noel’s intervention was late, Irene had already heard it all. Her pupils wavered.
They are all locked away.
Irene looked back at Noel. He only received a dismayed look from her.
“Are you going to say I’m heartless?”
Irene shook her head. Sure enough, people who were suddenly imprisoned would consider this act as injustice...
“It was inevitable. There may still be some remnants of the other side blended amongst them.”
Noel, who had been anxious about whether Irene inwardly regarded him as cold-hearted, felt a sense of relief washed over him, and all of his tensed up facial muscles relaxed.
And Dan could not have been any more astonished to see what was going on between those two.
Oh my God! Under that mask as the Duke, there was nothing but a hypocrite and heartless man!
It was something he was intensely aware of for these past three days. In fact, it was his deepest impression of the Duke, but he would never dare to convert those thoughts into words.
♔♔♔
Following Noel’s order, the mercenaries and soldiers who returned to the duchy first from the snowy forest closed all the gates. They did just as he ordered, so not a single ant could escape. Then, all the servants in the castle were gathered in the central hall to make sure that no one was missing. Out of the blue, the workers were all summoned by a group of people covered in blood. Hence, they could not help but tremble constantly as they stole sneaky glances at the savage-looking men.
“There is no one missing, is there?”
“Uh, no.”
When the commander of the mercenary corps asked the head butler, he answered, quivering.
What in the world is going on here?!
The Duke and the Duchess were nowhere to be seen, while those who were supposed to escort and protect them came back stained with blood, closing all the gates without any explanation.
Could it be that they have been attacked and betrayed by these people?
It was quite a plausible speculation. Noel, who went out with them, disappeared without a trace. Meanwhile, those who had to protect him returned and closed the gates on their whim without a word of clarification.
If it is true, I must tell the Grand Duke this news.
Unaware of the fact that it was Noel’s command, the head butler with his loyal heart decided to act at once. Suppressing his fear, he secretly called out to a servant when the mercenaries and knights were averting their gaze from them.
“I will draw their attention. In the meantime, you go and inform the Grand Duke of the present situation through the messenger…”
“Hey! What are you whispering about? It’s suspicious!”
However, it was not easy for the old butler to avoid their observation. Eventually, the mercenaries found the two people whispering and approached them with a grim face.
“What did you say?!”
“I-I can’t tell you!”
“What? It’s even more suspicious! Come on, just spit it out!”
“Don’t you dare do this! What have you done to the Ducal couple?! Aren’t you supposed to protect them! Then why on earth...!”
“You are too noisy! I have no obligation to tell you! Come on, just be honest and say it outright!”
The butler confronted them to fulfil his duty as the head servant of the Kreisen Castle. Instantaneously, the mercenaries hid the fact that Noel was coming so as not to trigger the urge to escape in the lurking assassin. As misunderstandings piled up, the argument escalated.
“What were you all doing just now?”
The door to the hall swung open, and Noel entered. His sudden appearance garnered the attention of all the people in the hall. The head butler, who was arguing hard, widened his eyes.
“Y-your Grace! You are safe and sound!”
The butler, who was convinced that Noel had been ambushed by his own soldiers, exclaimed in bewilderment. Looking at him coldly, Noel replied.
“Why can’t I be safe?”