Chapter 72

Father’s turn.

The air shivered.

Tension instantly dominated the scene. Many people turned pale, but I was overflowing with joy, as if I wanted to jump and dance.

I lifted my face to the entrance of the audience chamber, where the heavy black ebony doors were adorned with the golden reliefs of the royal family’s crest. The reliefs were intricate and solemn, and the doors opened vertically from the center.

Amid the surrounding breaths and gulps, a handsome man appeared with a flourish.

His ash-brown hair and gem-like aqua-blue eyes, which held wisdom and coldness, framed a face of unparalleled beauty. His nose was perfectly straight, and his unreadable lips were tightly pressed into a straight line. This alone made his beautiful appearance seem unapproachable.

His long blue cloak billowed, and the chest adorned with many medals did not have the tussie-mussie I had made for him. Instead, the remains of a magic stone and a braided cord dangled.

It was Father. But his appearance was drastically different from usual. His usually impeccable attire was disheveled. His hair was tousled, and several streaks ran across his face. There was something like soot on his cheeks, and his cloak was uneven and torn as if by something sharp. There were traces of something having splattered at his feet, and his calves, thighs, sides, chest, shoulders, and arms bore marks of being torn by something.

Had Father, that Father, been attacked by someone?

“A, ah, Father, Father…!”

My voice trembled like a delirium as I tried to run to Father, but I was stopped by Michaelis.

“Albert, not yet. Bear with it.”

He whispered in my ear. His voice was gentle and considerate. But I couldn’t help but give him a reproachful look, thinking that he was preventing me from getting closer to Father.

I wasn’t the only one who was shaken.

The audience chamber was in a state of great shock at the sight of Father, the kingdom’s military strategist and a distinguished mage, returning injured.

“I have returned, Your Majesty. The situation is urgent, so may I skip the formal greeting?”

His tone left no room for argument.

Pierced by his strong, blue eyes, which exuded irritation, King Lauses tightened his face, suppressing his agitation.

The ministers and prime minister, perhaps feeling guilty, turned pale and stepped back.

My Father is not a wild beast! I want to tend to him quickly, but Michaelis in front, Jibril to the side, and Kishtria holding my shoulder from behind prevented me from moving even a step.

“A, ah. It’s fine. What happened? To someone of your caliber…”

“The extermination of the magic beasts and monsters went well. However, a soldier brought a forbidden cursed item into the army.

This cursed item was parasitic. The fifth division’s squad leader, Jorgal Rainer, the son of a baron, was already consumed, and the cursed item involved four other squad members, resulting in 312 deaths among the fifth and my first division.

Those with more magic power were taken one after another, and the mage corps accompanying the extermination were annihilated.”

A murmur spread through the crowd, and groans and screams escaped.

“My son!? The eldest son of the Bertieca Dukedom, Reinhardt, participated in this extermination!”

“Perhaps he is dead. I don’t recognize his name among the survivors. There are more dead than alive.”

“You speak as if it’s none of your concern, but you were the commander of this extermination, Duke Latitche!”

“This is frustrating for me too, Duke Zelbes. The unnecessary fifth division was forced into this extermination by you. Jorgal Rainer was your wife’s nephew, wasn’t he?

He followed in the rear of the extermination I participated in, not really participating in the battle. It’s up to him to embellish his resume, but I wish he would be more considerate. He probably didn’t even kill a single magic beast this time.

The cursed item he brought in was not only forbidden in the army but in the entire country. Moreover, it was a parasitic curse, and my division suffered severe damage.

I had repeatedly stated that I was tired of protecting so-called support units.”

Father’s piercing gaze made those who wanted to blame him shrink back, and he refuted them mercilessly.

Many people, including Duke Zelbes, averted their eyes. How many times has Father been forced to play the role of protector?

“Still, the damage is too great, isn’t it?”

Daren, the prime minister, added a chilling remark. His shoulders trembled slightly under Father’s glare. Was he feeling guilty about something?

“The fifth division tried to hide it until the last moment. During the return, the cursed and parasitized soldiers suddenly attacked from the rear.

They were likely hiding the cursed items in the cages or carriages used to transport the magic beasts. They probably intended to return to the capital and try to cure them with money.

We were put in a difficult position, having to deal with the original soldiers and knights who had been taken over by the curse.”

“You would use magic to eliminate your own comrades.”

“I, yes. But many soldiers hesitated to kill their former comrades, which delayed our response.

Moreover, the parasitic curse infects through wounds, and once parasitized, it becomes tougher than even low-level undead. The toughness varies greatly depending on the magic power of the host. In particular, if the host is a powerful mage, it can regenerate from even a piece of flesh unless thoroughly burned.”

Father’s report, which sounded hopelessly cold, made everyone pale.

For Father to have been attacked by something so strong…

More than that, what kind of cheat-level biohazard is this curse… It’s as bad as the Megil flu.

But it’s a relief that Father wasn’t affected by such a dangerous thing…

“More importantly, Duke Latitche! It’s about your daughter!”

Old man, get lost!

I glared at him quietly, but it had no effect.

“Your daughter? You seem to be quite deaf to the national crisis.

The fifth division was hiding it from me until it went out of control, wasn’t it?

They didn’t reveal it until it became a mob of monsters.

I eliminated what I noticed, but there is a possibility that some of the infected comrades were hidden and brought into the capital or the city—there are many noble and official townhouses in the capital. There are also magic research institutes and many magic users.

If the curse parasitizes or infects ordinary people, they become mere monsters, but if it infects a magic user, it becomes a disaster-level monster. If such things flood the capital, do you want to criticize me to your heart’s content?”

Father laughed through his nose.

He seems to be playing a dangerous anti-hero role…

I was excited by this dark Father, but the surrounding area was filled with terrible screams and shouts.

“You failed to eliminate them!?”

“If there were soldiers from the fifth division who neglected to report and fled for their own safety, then yes.”

“Close the capital immediately! Send messengers to the territories related to the fifth division to check for any fugitive soldiers!”

“Don’t forget to set up checkpoints. There’s a possibility they could be brought in hidden in cargo.”

“So why do you act as if it’s none of your concern!?”

“We were just caught up in the fifth division’s self-destruction.

The fifth division is a collection of playboys from noble families. Why should I have to clean up after them, who joined the Stampede extermination as if it were a sightseeing trip?”

“You are the marshal, Duke Latitche! You led the extermination army!”

“The condition for bringing the fifth division was that we would not intervene or take any responsibility—wasn’t that the agreement? Have you forgotten the contract I delivered in writing?

We were caught up in a battle we didn’t expect because of the fifth division’s poor quality. Why should I have to do so much for a pointless charity project for nobles to build their resumes?

Moreover, the communication from both sides was strangely tampered with. The fact that messengers didn’t reach the palace properly is a good example.”

“So you abandoned the promising young men!?”

“A sane person wouldn’t use tools that don’t match their abilities, let alone cursed items. Are you asking me to destroy truly capable soldiers in place of fools? It’s obvious which is more beneficial to the country.

Moreover, the removal of curses is highly dependent on magical aptitude. Unfortunately, I’m not good at such things, so the best I could do was to minimize the damage.”

Father… He’s getting the blame unfairly. It’s a terrible man-made disaster… Father’s anger is justified.

Yet, why is Father the only one being blamed?

I looked around bitterly, and the others, perhaps realizing that they were trying to make Father clean up after them, frowned.

If Father had agreed to bring the fifth division on the condition that he wouldn’t help them, then he shouldn’t be blamed. Then what was the purpose of the fifth division? A complete picnic…? Indeed, it would be very frustrating for the other divisions to see the rich kids sightseeing while they were risking their lives in battle.

“Count Kroytz, Sir Vania. Gather experts in magic and cursed items to devise a plan.

We have collected some of the cursed corpses and the monsters they turned into.”

“An infectious cursed item… contact type. Not a wide-range type, but once infected, it takes over both the mind and body. It’s quite intense. Is it better than visual or airborne types?

Not modern… ancient or lost arts? Do we have any holy water or magic solutions in stock? We need to fetch materials from the territories.”

“Hey, Count Kroytz. Stop! Think in the lab! We have enough magic solutions in stock!

But what a curse! Is it a disaster-level? I wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that the Demon Lord Duke is here!”

The silver-haired person in a lab coat-like outfit playfully tapped the head of the blonde, who somewhat resembled Father. Are they related?

“Noi Gales era? The golden age of curses was the late Quatrea Empire, but the peak of magical items was the middle period. I’ve heard that there were many authoritative magic engineers… If it’s parasitic, it must be a very complex dark magic.

The country that excavated such ruins is mostly the Valenstein Empire, but… 200 years ago, many were found in our territory as well. The neighboring country of Goyuran was more known for necromancy and demon use…”

“Ah, no good. This guy is completely obsessed with magic. Take over the work properly before you come here?”

The blonde, who looked like Father, was muttering to himself, completely absorbed in his thoughts.

Father, who glanced at him, finally softened his gaze when he looked at me.

My favorite aqua-blue eyes were directed at me. I had been waiting for that gentle, gem-like gaze.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. Let’s go, my dear Albertina.”

Thank you for reading.

But the story in the audience chamber continues.