TEB Ch 100

Of course, it could simply be paranoia. The situation was going so badly that she didn’t know if she wanted to use it as an excuse to blame herself. However, while everyone was worried about the possibility of Liev and even Renard getting into serious trouble by joining this expedition, Rowena couldn’t help but be concerned as she strongly supported Liev joining the subjugation expedition.

“Besides….” 

Even though both of them were in a dire situation, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about how calm Sid was. Was it because he believes in Renard that much? But Rowena couldn’t stop her suspicions from nagging at her, causing her to shake her head back and forth. 

“Sid, don’t just stand there alone, come over here, because you need to decide what to do now.” 

It wasn’t until Rowena finally caught Sigrid’s attention that he spoke up with a worried expression. 

“Did they deliberately set a trap before committing suicide?” 

“We couldn’t know for sure.” Albert rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, frowning with concern. 

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s better if we go that way too. We need to find out what’s going on.” 

Sigrid shook his head. 

“But what if we end up falling into a trap as well? If the Empire finds out we’re behind the attack on their army, who knows what they might do?” 

“Ugh….” 

There was some truth to that statement. In addition, with the ongoing attacks from the monsters all around us, if they all disappeared in the middle of this, it could cause significant damage to the village without the defenses to protect them. In this uncertain situation, Sigrid suggested. 

“First, we should report to His Majesty and follow his orders on which side to support.” 

This principle was correct. It was the King who gave orders to the White Eagle Knights, as they abandoned their previous status as wandering adventurers and became part of the Royal Family’s direct mobile unit. The reason they had to go such a long way in the first place was because of His Majesty the King’s commands. If the King ordered them to prioritize protecting the people of Airen over rescuing their comrades, the party had no right to refuse. 

“Okay.” 

“Ugh….” 

So, everyone nodded their heads obediently, but they couldn’t shake off the feeling of discomfort. The Sid they knew was not the kind of person to weigh which side would best be in the interest of the entire country in a situation like this or wait for orders from others. He was a guy who would get angry, and how could he think of anything else before the safety of his colleagues? The reason why Sid was so calm was probably because he lost contact with Renard…. or maybe… When everyone realized the sense of discomfort, Sigrid struck the wedge. 

“We can’t just stand still. Sir Liev and Renard must be doing their best they can, so we need to hurry.” 

With those words, they eventually moved forward, feeling as if they were being pushed from behind. 

Once the crisis in this village was resolved, it was confirmed that they would move on to the nearby village as their next destination. Sigrid briefly looked in the direction where Liev and Renard had disappeared. 

“So, in the end, this is the method they decided to use. It’s not a very clever way since it didn’t deviate from my expectations at all.” 

No one paid attention to Sigrid’s muttering to himself. He recalled the worried expression on his face just a while ago, which said he had been determined to do whatever he could.

“So, what are you going to do now? Since we’ve come this far, I hope you don’t disappoint me with an obvious result.” 

The question that had no answer disappeared into the wind without anyone hearing it. 

*** 

“Hmm….” 

After a while, Liev opened his eyes in the darkness and jumped up, startled by the chilly and damp cold. 

“Huh, ugh, where on…” 

Liev was surprised as he felt around with his hands, feeling the floor, which seemed to be made of hard bricks. The surroundings were all dark with no windows, making it feel like he was trapped in a basement-like space. 

‘Where on earth is this…?’ 

Liev tried to get up to get a closer look at his surroundings, but the chain tied around his ankle was pulling him back so tightly, making it impossible for him to stand up properly. 

Sigh… 

It was difficult to regain his senses as his head kept ringing, as if he hadn’t fully recovered yet. His insides felt like they were turning, and his head felt like it was spinning. Where am I? What happened earlier? Having Renard beside him made him feel safe, but it turned out to be a trap. 

“……” 

Why did I do that? I should have followed my intuition. There was no use blaming himself. If he had chosen to prioritize his safety and protect himself, would he have hindered Renard from doing what he needed to do? He couldn’t help but think about where Renard was and if he was hurt. But just then… He heard voices in the distance while he was glaring at the chains clanking under his ankle. 

<The person inside doesn’t seem to have any intention of waking up. What should we do?.> 

“……!” 

It seemed like the guards were exchanging a conversation in their own language. I pretended to be unconscious, lying down on the ground. Another guard came and looked at Liev lying on the floor out of the corner of his eye, and the guard responded that it was no big deal. 

<Leave it alone. They said this guy doesn’t seem to have any abilities.> 

Then the guard hesitated and asked, 

<But is he the one that’s supposed to have the “Imprint’? If something goes wrong, won’t the dragon come to rescue him> 

The other guard scoffed and said, to the man’s concern, 

<Are you doubting Douglas’s abilities? Anyway, if things go wrong, we’re all as good as dead.> 

<That’s true, but…> 

The man hesitated again, and the other guard laughed. 

<Forget it. Just think about what you’ll do when Douglas takes the throne. He said he’ll never forget those who remain loyal.> 

Douglas…? 

Liev pretended to keep sleeping and eavesdropped on their conversation. Who is Douglas? He searched his memories desperately but couldn’t recall anyone with that name. Perhaps he was a character that didn’t appear in the original work. Even though he remembered most of the original story, there were still areas that he didn’t know due to the changes he made to Renard’s fate. 

At least it doesn’t seem like Renard was seriously hurt.

It was the only comforting aspect in this hopeless situation. As long as Renard was safe, it was okay. The next question was how they made him and Renard fall at the same time. He was just a normal human, so it was understandable that he would faint from a regular poisonous gas. But the situation for Renard was different. He couldn’t even count how many types of poison he had injected into Renard with his own hands, so he was curious as to what kind of method was used to make a dragon unconscious. 

“It would be impossible to figure out what kind of poison Renard is not immune to without all the experiment records from back then.” 

Moreover, when they had burned the mansion so that nothing was left but a pile of ashes, it was impossible for anyone besides the Count and his party to access the records. That case left only two possibilities: either the attack wasn’t caused by poison, or the poison specialist that the Count had planned to hire had that information. It could only be one of those two. 

Douglas… Douglas…

Liev furrowed his brow, trying to remember if there was a name he had forgotten. But it was a name he had never heard before. After much agonizing, he remembers that there was a report with a signature that began with a similar name. Of course, he couldn’t be sure if the owner of the signature was Douglas. Liev continued to pretend to be unconscious and listened to the conversation between the men. 

<“Did you see earlier? The dragon followed Douglas’s orders without any resistance.”> 

<“It’s amazing. How could it change in an instant like that?”> 

And at that moment, the men unintentionally gave Liev a clue that he had long forgotten. 

<“He’s been studying only deception magic for a long time. It won’t be long before the entire continent kneels beneath his feet.”>