Chapter 51

51

Anyway, where should I take these kids?

'Should I go to the garden?'

"Grandpa!"

"Hmm? Why are you calling me, Sheryl?"

At my call, Desar Clowen bent his waist and spoke. The fierce aura he had before seemed to have vanished.

"Can I go to the garden?"

"The garden?"

Desar Clowen's brows furrowed.

Hmm, the garden.

Then where else would I take this string of sausages? I can't take them to my empty room.

Under the pretense of playing, I need to secretly drop the cursed doll I made into the water.

If I attach a heavy stone to the straw doll and drop it in the water, it will die on its own.

It was a good thing I made it in advance, sacrificing my sleep to avoid Vera's eyes.

Now that I have a pocket dimension, it's much easier to hide things.

"Sure, we'll play for a bit."

"Then, Duke, please take care of the prince and princess."

"Understood."

Huh?

What do you mean by 'take care'? Do you mean these brats will stay here?

Of course, since the emperor himself is moving to explore the ruins, leaving them in a safe place is not a bad choice.

'Amazing.'

I was quite surprised that the emperor trusted the Clowen family to this extent.

"Next time, let's greet each other properly."

I took a step back at the emperor's greeting.

I hadn't done anything wrong, but I felt an instinctive repulsion.

He seemed to notice and turned with a smile.

"Let's go, Sheryl!"

Thus, I walked toward the garden with the princess in one hand, Kaishan in the other, and the prince on my shoulder, struggling under their weight.

* * *

"The children disappeared? Have you already disposed of them?"

"No, there are no signs of disposal."

"Did you interrogate the director?"

"It was impossible. We immediately pursued the director's escape route but found him dead."

None of these were the answers I wanted.

After the emperor left, I finished preparing for the exploration scheduled for the next day and only sat down in my office late in the evening.

Sharent Clowen's face hardened as he read the report that had just arrived.

The Simula Knight who was reporting also had a serious expression.

Sharent Clowen clicked his tongue, looking at the knight's tight-lipped face.

"What's the reason?"

"They seemed to have drowned not long ago, but it was strange to say they drowned because the inn where they hid didn't even have a bathroom. They were completely soaked..."

The Simula Knight hesitated several times in his response, finding it odd.

Thinking it was urgent, they immediately pursued.

Tracing an amateur wasn't difficult.

The Simula Knights stormed their room less than an hour after the two entered the inn.

However, what they found were two swollen, water-filled bodies.

"Did they both have the same cause of death?"

"Yes."

Sharent Clowen rubbed his forehead.

The first thing that came to mind was black magic.

A similar incident had happened before, so it immediately came to mind.

The blackened, charred body of Lady Sullivan, found in an empty room.

The strange deaths of the orphanage director and Lady Sullivan, found in an empty room, only differed in the elements of water and fire.

"Did you see Lady Sullivan's body?"

"Yes."

"Was it similar?"

The Simula Knight hesitated for a moment, surprised, then slowly nodded.

If you put the strange incidents in a straight line, the two cases were indeed similar.

"From the overall situation, they are similar. The door was locked, and only the area around the director and his son was wet. They were completely soaked, but there were no signs of using a bathtub."

Tap, tap.

Sharent Clowen tapped his fingers on the table.

The slow but regular sound revealed his frustration.

"What about the person who tried to buy Sheryl?"

"Similarly, there is no information. We are still searching for records and will investigate further."

Sharent Clowen nodded and waved his hand to dismiss the knight.

There was no gain at all.

He was frustrated but agreed that it was something that couldn't be solved in a short time.

Sharent Clowen rubbed his forehead as he watched the Simula Knight leave.

"Sheryl."

He muttered softly.

That child was a headache.

Vallian never caused such trouble.

Although I didn't get a clear answer from the child before, I suspected that Sheryl probably killed Lady Sullivan using clumsy black magic.

And I couldn't help but suspect Sheryl in this case as well.

The child was far more special and outstanding than Kaishan.

Sometimes, the child's actions and thoughts were incomprehensible.

The orphanage director abused the child, and Sheryl might have harbored a desire for revenge.

The question was whether the child did it intentionally or unknowingly.

I suspect the latter, but I don't want to say anything without being sure.

'This is really troublesome.'

I wonder why the child learned black magic first among all types of magic.

"I'm ridiculous too."

After all, the child isn't even registered in the household registry.

Why did I run so far without rest to find a troublesome child who left home on their own?

It would be better if the child just disappeared on their own.

Vallian and Lanian left in the same way.

Sharent Clowen never caught them.

It wasn't worth catching those who valued other things more than the family.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Thinking too deeply wouldn't do any good.

He didn't want to think deeply about Sheryl. Thinking about it made him feel miserable.

'The exploration of the ruins should only involve a few selected people.'

He deliberately shook off unnecessary thoughts.

The condition for this ruin was "the one who wears the crown."

Even the emperor was speechless at this simple condition.

The ruins each had names, and this one was called "The Weight of the Crown."

Silophia didn't provide any further answers.

The emperor decided to go to the ruins himself because of this.

He wasn't sure if it was a test for a potential ruler or if only the existing 'emperor' or 'king' could walk this path.

The Simula Knight's captain and a few Simula Knights were chosen for the exploration.

The emperor's side also included a few nobles.

Silophia was sending the current tower master, Melaine, and a few mages.

The temple was sending a holy knight and a priest.

Since the ruins were created adjacent to the village, there was a consensus to quickly eliminate the monsters.

The ruins could also be a significant resource if the monsters were eliminated, so it depended on how they were used.

'I'm worried she might cause another incident.'

Sheryl is a strange child.

She looks like a child but often doesn't act like one.

She seems to understand her situation better than anyone and doesn't cross the line.

She acts as if it's natural that I don't look for her in dangerous situations and doesn't show sorrow or regret.

The only person she relies on is her maid, Vera.

This felt strange to Sharent.

It was like distinguishing between friend and foe.

"This child really lives a tiring life."

Sharent muttered softly and continued reading the report.

Sharent Clowen didn't realize that his thoughts had returned to Sheryl.