Chapter 44

# 44

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"We have arrived, Master."

Nikan entered the lobby with Edward. He handed his coat to Linden, who had come to greet them, and asked,

"Was everything alright?"

It was a routine question, assuming that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but in reality, something had.

Linden glanced at his master's expression before speaking. Fortunately, Nikan's face was bright.

'It seems the plan is going well. I won’t get into trouble for nothing.'

Linden then reported, with relief, about the events from when Vivian had freed Philippa to when she had been locked up again.

"Philippa, that wretch...!"

Nikan's mood soured when he heard that Philippa had not only betrayed him but had also manipulated Vivian to speak ill of him while he was away.

"There's no need to see more! Execute Philippa immediately!"

Nikan, trying to control his anger, asked,

"By the way, you said Navia went to the store? Where did she get the money?"

At this point, Edward, who had been standing nearby, perked up and focused on the conversation.

Linden replied,

"She exchanged items from the Ansier Boutique with the accountant for cash. She said she wanted to buy gifts for the family."

'Exchanged items with the accountant for cash?'

While not entirely unimaginable, it was a thought process that would be difficult for a young girl like Navia to come up with.

'Did the teacher tell her?'

Nikan glanced at Edward but decided it wasn't a significant issue and asked another question.

"Who accompanied Navia?"

Usually, a dedicated maid accompanied a young girl like Navia when she went out.

Charlotte must have been replaced by a new dedicated maid.

Linden was about to speak about the maid when he suddenly looked perplexed.

"It was... this maid."

He pointed to Kate, who was carrying a tray and moving around.

'I didn’t hear that the young lady had returned...?'

Nikan called out to Kate.

"Hey!"

Kate flinched at the loud voice and approached Nikan.

"Seeing you, Master."

"Are you Navia's new dedicated maid?"

"Yes, I am."

Nikan looked down at the tray Kate was holding. It was clear that it contained tea and snacks, all of which were not allowed for Navia.

"Where is Navia?"

Kate's eyes trembled.

"S-She hasn't returned from her outing yet."

"Then who is accompanying her?"

"...The coachman went with her."

Nikan felt his anger rising and asked,

"Which coachman?"

When Kate couldn't continue and fell silent, Nikan gritted his teeth.

He had a strong feeling that this was Wood's doing.

"Where is Wood?"

Linden answered,

"Master Wood went out a while ago, saying he needed something. It doesn't match the time Navia went out."

However, Kate was shaking violently, indicating otherwise.

Nikan realized that the snacks in Kate's hand were not for the master but were her own reward and knocked them away.

Clang!

Kate, pale-faced, immediately knelt down.

"Please forgive me, Master! I only followed Master Wood's orders!"

Slap!

Nikan slapped Kate's cheek.

Mentioning his son in such a public place?

"Beat this maid!"

It meant to beat her to death.

This maid had clearly deceived her master and didn't need to be strangled to death in the laundry room like Charlotte.

Nikan, clutching his aching head, ordered sternly,

"Find the children. Hurry..."

At that moment,

"Master!"

A guard, who should have been at the main gate, ran over with a shocked expression.

Nikan felt a foreboding sense.

"What is it?"

"A carriage from the Esselred Dukedom has arrived. But, but...!"

The guard swallowed hard and continued,

"Master Wood is lying unconscious in the carriage!"

Nikan's face turned stone cold.

'The Esselred Dukedom?'

Of all the families, why did they come to his house today?

And with his unconscious son!

"Let them in."

Nikan, along with Linden, a few councilors, and servants, went to the lobby and waited anxiously for the carriage to arrive.

Soon, three black carriages, now lightly covered in snow, quietly approached the main building.

Nikan stared at the carriages with a frozen gaze, trying to hide his anxiety.

'Why the Esselred Dukedom out of all the families?'

A foreboding sense crept up from his toes.

Navia had also disappeared, but he hadn't heard anything from the guard.

With three carriages, one must be for the Esselred messenger, one for his son, and the last one for Navia.

Finally, the carriages arrived.

The door of the first carriage opened, and a middle-aged gentleman with neatly combed white hair stepped out.

"...Schleman Jeneger, Duke?"

Nikan muttered, as if he couldn't believe he was seeing this person.

Schleman, along with Margaret Romanov, had led the war 23 years ago to an undefeated victory, setting a nearly mythic record.

He was so outstanding that there was even talk of granting him a dukedom.

'But now he's just an old relic.'

People mocked Schleman, saying he had lost his mind, wondering how a duke could be someone else's advisor.

Nikan had mocked Schleman, whose past glory was the only thing left.

He himself was the one who now led the empire.

At that moment, Schleman, removing his hat, greeted Nikan with a cold, unreadable gaze.

"It's been a while, Duke Agnes."

Nikan's face twisted unpleasantly at Schleman's seemingly relaxed greeting.

"Where is my son?"

It was a threat, implying that he would not let it go if anything had happened to his son.

Schleman, understanding the threat, showed no change in expression and gestured.

The coachman quickly opened the second carriage. Nikan, anxious, led the doctor to Wood.

Thud.

But his step was blocked by Schleman's cane.

Nikan's murderous gaze followed the cane to Schleman, who dared to block his path.

"What is this, Duke?"

His voice was filled with hostility, as if he was about to unleash his magic and tear Schleman apart.

It was raining.

Even if Schleman was a renowned powerful mage, he was old, and Nikan was in his prime.

Nikan raised his menacing aura.

"Move now."

Schleman met Nikan's gaze with an indifferent look and calmly said,

"Duke Agnes, are you planning to take away a criminal who declared a surprise territorial war without permission?"

"Nonsense!"

A surprise territorial war!

As Nikan reacted violently, Schleman nodded to the coachman.

To open the third carriage.

Nikan assumed Navia was in the third carriage.

But she wasn't.

"These are the mercenaries hired by Wood Agnes, Duke."

Nikan's jaw trembled.

He felt the blood drain from his head.

This can't be true. This is a dream. Yes, a nightmare.

Otherwise, such a joyous day couldn't be ruined in the worst possible way!

Nikan wanted to deny reality. His life couldn't be this messed up, but lately, things had been strange.

'If I don't do something, it will really get out of control.'

He barely managed to hold on to his fading consciousness.

"So you're saying these are mercenaries hired by my son?"

When Nikan tried to evade the situation with wordplay, Schleman pulled out a contract from his coat.

"In case you think this is a manipulation by the Esselred, I came here after investigating the circumstances."

Nikan, his face pale and hands cold, reluctantly took it.

It was a contract.

Written in Wood's handwriting, it ordered the mercenaries to take Navia, attack the Esselred Dukedom, and then abandon her.

Nikan's stiff cheeks moved勉强地.

"仅仅凭这份合同就断定是我儿子所为，未免太牵强了。笔迹是可以模仿的，不是吗？"

"但你如何解释公爵的养女被丢弃在埃塞尔雷德，浑身是伤的事实呢？"

情况正如命令中所描述的那样发生了。

而且，纳维亚在埃塞尔雷德，所以她一直没有出现。

‘我该怎么办？’

尼坎紧闭双眼，感到绝望。

如果放任不管，他儿子的名誉将受到严重损害。

袭击其他家族并发动领土战争的行为是绝对禁止的，是最卑鄙和恶劣的行为。

即使他是阿格尼斯，这种级别的犯罪也会像尾巴一样跟随他一生。

‘此外，有了这样的哥哥，比比安的地位也会受到影响。’

尼坎必须以最小的损失解决这次事件。为此，他不得不牺牲他精心培养的纳维亚。

‘原本一切都在完美地进行中。’

世界就像他精心布置的棋盘，但棋子却擅自乱动。

画面彻底毁了。

‘这盘棋失败了。’

他勉强承认了失败。

失败的东西，丢掉就好。

尼坎戴上了一副悲痛的面具，抬起头来。