Gaol Heinrich acted with remarkable speed.
He immediately gathered his soldiers and arrested the staff of Chelsea Goldpixie.
They searched her bedroom, her business ventures, and even the shops she frequented, leaving no stone unturned.
As a result, they managed to capture a slew of individuals who were aware of Chelsea Goldpixie’s ties to the dark sorcerers.
The Duke summoned his interrogators to question them.
“Y-yes, it’s true! Lady Chelsea allied herself with the dark sorcerers!”
“How did they meet? I-I don’t know! One day, Lady Chelsea just brought them in!”
“The dark sorcerers helped with everything! Even the tasks you ordered, Your Grace, they did it all!”
The truth that emerged was shocking.
All of Chelsea Goldpixie’s achievements and abilities were nothing but a façade, made possible by the dark sorcerers’ aid.
With their help, she had expanded her influence within the family.
“There’s more! Lady Chelsea used dark magic to win the loyalty of her vassals!”
“We don’t know what kind of dark magic it was! We just heard that inhaling the incense made them fall under her spell!”
Chelsea Goldpixie had even used dark magic to sway her vassals to her side.
Many of her supporters were under the influence of dark magic.
Fortunately, none of the vassals held significant power.
The Duke dispatched soldiers to arrest all the vassals and knights who had fallen under Chelsea Goldpixie’s spell.
In truth, they were victims, but leaving them unchecked was not an option due to the dark magic’s influence.
Then, one day during the ongoing interrogations, news arrived that Chelsea Goldpixie had taken her own life.
On the day Chelsea Goldpixie died, Damian Haxen was engrossed in his training.
Though he had received the elixir of the magic crystal, his current physical state made it difficult to fully absorb its power.
It was after finishing his training that he noticed the Duke lingering outside his bedroom.
“Your Grace?”
Damian asked, puzzled. Only then did the Duke notice Damian’s presence.
“Ah, you’re here. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Why didn’t you send a servant to call for me?”
“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your training.”
The Duke replied with a smile.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much.”
The Duke raised his arm, revealing a bottle of wine in his hand.
“Do you enjoy a drink?”
The Duke led Damian to a secluded room.
“I had this room made for my own leisure.”
The room was filled with an impressive collection of alcohol.
There was wine, vodka, whiskey—just about every kind of drink one could imagine.
“Have a seat and wait a moment. I’ll bring some snacks.”
With that, the Duke retrieved a block of cheese from a cupboard.
With practiced ease, he sliced the cheese and placed it on a plate.
“This wine pairs well with Angelic cheese from the Blanco region.”
The Duke poured wine into the glass in front of Damian, the red liquid flowing smoothly.
“Give it a try.”
Damian took a sip, letting the rich aroma fill his mouth.
“It’s a fine wine.”
“Haha, I’m glad you think so. It’s not the most expensive, but it’s my favorite.”
The Duke took a sip as well, quickly emptying his glass.
“Ah, that’s good. Very good.”
He then popped a piece of cheese into his mouth.
“I’ve decided to seek the help of the Order.”
The Duke suddenly announced.
Damian was taken aback.
Calling in the Order would inevitably lead to interference.
For someone as proud as the Duke, it was an unexpected move.
“Isn’t that a bit hasty?”
Damian asked, nibbling on a piece of cheese.
He couldn’t quite believe that the ever-confident Duke would so readily call upon the Order.
“The truth is, we lost all the dark sorcerers.”
The Duke clicked his tongue in frustration.
“We captured all of Goldpixie’s associates, but not a single dark sorcerer.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, as unbelievable as it sounds. We couldn’t even learn their names.”
The Duke frowned, clearly embarrassed by the failure to capture the dark sorcerers.
“It’s not the dark sorcerers themselves that worry me. My knights are strong. But who knows what schemes they might concoct?”
The true danger of dark sorcerers lay not in their physical might, but in their insidious plots.
If they were to curse the land with a plague from the shadows, the Duke’s domain would suffer greatly.
“To deal with dark sorcerers, the Order is our best bet. That’s why I’ve decided to leave it to them.”
“Chelsea Goldpixie didn’t reveal the sorcerers’ identities?”
“She never had the chance. She died on the first day.”
Damian paused, looking at the Duke.
It had been over five days since Chelsea Goldpixie was captured, and the news of her death had only just reached them.
But the first day?
“She bit her tongue and ended her life the day she was arrested.”
“So you’ve kept this hidden until now?”
The Duke nodded at Damian’s question.
“If word got out that Chelsea Goldpixie had committed suicide, all those involved would have fled. So I kept it a secret.”
Damian clicked his tongue inwardly.
Even with his own child’s death, the Duke remained so coldly calculating.
“Chelsea Goldpixie is dead, the dark sorcerers have escaped, and we know nothing about them… It’s a disgrace.”
The Duke leaned back in his chair, sighing deeply.
Damian watched him for a moment before speaking.
“You look exhausted.”
“Do I? That’s embarrassing.”
The Duke chuckled softly, but the fatigue beneath his eyes was unmistakable.
“Chelsea Goldpixie’s mother was a commoner.”
The Duke suddenly began to speak.
“In my youth, I went hunting with my knights and ended up staying in a rural village. That’s where I met her mother.”
It was not uncommon for nobles to seek out commoners for a night.
The outcome was predictable.
“She became pregnant with Chelsea soon after. But in my youth, I was repulsed by the idea of a commoner carrying my blood. So I turned her away when she came to me.”
The Duke’s face was devoid of emotion as he recounted the past.
There was no regret, no remorse, no trace of any feeling.
“Time passed, and I found myself curious about the child I had abandoned. I sent someone to investigate and learned that her mother had died of plague, leaving the child to fend for herself.”
The Duke had brought Chelsea Goldpixie into his home.
Why he did so, no one knew. Perhaps not even the Duke himself.
“Chelsea was not a particularly bright child. Even considering her upbringing as a commoner, she wasn’t very sharp. She had leadership qualities but lacked ability.”
A leader without ability is a dangerous thing.
Thus, the Duke never gave Chelsea Goldpixie significant responsibilities.
“I wanted her to live a normal life as a noble lady and die peacefully. But then she started to stand out.”
Just as he enjoyed testing his vassals, the Duke liked to test his children.
And Chelsea Goldpixie passed all the tests he set with flying colors.
“At first, I found it strange. The tasks were beyond her capabilities, yet she succeeded. I was suspicious but found no evidence.”
So the Duke bestowed upon her the title of Grand Duchess.
He acknowledged her as his successor.
“It seemed odd, but I never imagined she was aided by dark sorcerers…”
The Duke sighed deeply.
“If only she had lived within her means.”
The Duke silently drank his wine, and Damian stayed by his side for a long time.
The Duke drank three bottles of wine and eventually passed out.
Damian called for the servants to move him.
Then he returned to his bedroom.
“So they didn’t catch a single one.”
Sitting in his chair, Damian pondered.
He had kept it from the Duke, but Damian Haxen knew the identity of the dark sorcerers.
Yuran.
That was the name of the dark sorcerers who had allied with Chelsea Goldpixie.
“They’re as thorough as the rumors say. They left no trace of themselves.”
The Duke believed Chelsea Goldpixie had committed suicide, but Damian thought otherwise.
She had been killed by a curse.
Yuran would never have let Chelsea Goldpixie live.
They must have placed a curse on her in advance, just in case. Chelsea Goldpixie was merely a pawn for Yuran.
The Duke claimed Chelsea Goldpixie had allied with the dark sorcerers.
But Damian thought differently.
Dangerous dark sorcerers like Yuran wouldn’t simply ally with Chelsea Goldpixie.
There must have been another agenda.
“Perhaps they intended to take over the Duke’s household.”
By installing Chelsea Goldpixie as the next Duke, they could eventually control the entire household.
Whatever their plan was, it had been completely thwarted by Damian Haxen.
“He probably hasn’t gone far.”
If it were any ordinary dark sorcerer, they would have fled to a distant region the moment their cover was blown. But Damian was certain that Yuran was still lurking near the duke’s estate.
“He’s definitely waiting for the right moment to kill me.”
Damian Haxen had killed Agito, one of Yuran’s lieutenants, and delivered his head to the order. Not only that, but he had also dismantled Yuran’s schemes within the duke’s household. Yuran would undoubtedly seek Damian’s death. This wasn’t mere speculation; it was a near certainty.
“There’s no one more relentless in their grudges than dark sorcerers.”
Damian had spent a long time with Acrich Dorgo, which gave him deep insight into the nature of dark sorcerers. They were meticulous in their vendettas. It wasn’t for any grand reason; they simply had enemies everywhere. To survive, they had no choice but to band together. The best way to foster a sense of unity and belonging was to be thorough in their grudges. They always repaid kindness and always avenged wrongs. That was the fundamental mindset of dark sorcerers.
“I’m sorry for keeping this from the duke, but it’s the only way to draw them out.”
Damian had concealed Yuran’s presence to lure them out. The less the duke’s household knew, the more gaps there would be, and the more bait could be laid before Yuran. But there was a more crucial reason.
“Disgusting bastards. I’ll kill every last one of them with my own hands.”
Damian loathed dark sorcerers. Just hearing Yuran’s name made his blood boil. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he dealt with them personally.
“Come at me anytime.”
As he walked down the dark corridor, Damian’s eyes gleamed.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!”
In the dim hallway of the outer castle, a man clutched a bottle and cursed. His name was Ernst Horwitz, a middle-class knight of the duke’s household. During the recent inquisition that swept through the estate, Ernst had only undergone a brief questioning. He hadn’t even known that Chelsea Goldpixie had been in league with dark sorcerers. Yet, Ernst couldn’t find any joy in that fact.
“You fool! You bastard! You should have died there! You should have protected her!”
Earlier that afternoon, Ernst had heard the news of Chelsea Goldpixie’s death. At that moment, something inside him shattered.
“Aaagh! Ugh!”
Ernst pounded his chest with his fists, but the guilt wouldn’t fade.
“Lady Chelsea…”
Sitting on the ground, Ernst looked up at the night sky. He recalled the day he first met her—a confident and spirited young woman. That bright demeanor had left such an impression that he found himself watching her often. Before he knew it, Ernst had developed feelings for Chelsea Goldpixie that were beyond his station.
“Ah… ugh…”
As Ernst groaned in pain, a voice emerged from the darkness.
“Sir Ernst Horwitz, there you are.”
Ernst looked up to see a woman standing before him. “Re-Rebecca?”
The woman was Rebecca, Chelsea Goldpixie’s close aide.
“You… you witch!”
Ernst’s eyes sharpened, and he used his magic to sober up instantly. Rebecca had vanished the moment Chelsea was captured, marking her as one of the dark sorcerers who had allied with Chelsea.
“You… because of you, Lady Chelsea… you filthy sorcerer!”
Ernst lunged to grab her throat, but Rebecca spoke just in time.
“Sir Ernst, we seek revenge against the duke.”
Her words stopped Ernst in his tracks.
“What… what do you mean?”
“You must have heard. Lady Chelsea has passed away. The duke’s household hasn’t disclosed the exact cause, but it’s obvious.”
Rebecca took a breath before continuing.
“She died during the interrogation.”
Ernst’s mouth opened slightly, then closed again. Knowing the duke as he did, it was entirely plausible. The man would sacrifice even his own blood for the sake of the family’s safety.
“But we can’t avenge Lady Chelsea on our own. We need your help, Sir Ernst.”
After a moment of contemplation, Ernst spoke.
“What do you need me to do?”
A smile crept onto Rebecca’s lips.
After Rebecca finished explaining, Ernst Horwitz disappeared into the night. Left alone, Rebecca watched the direction he had gone.
“Seems like he was convinced.”
A man emerged from the shadows of the alley. He was the one Chelsea Goldpixie had called Mustang Fury. When dealing with Chelsea, he had seemed timid and stammering. But now, Mustang Fury’s eyes were as cold as ice.
“I didn’t expect Chelsea Goldpixie’s name to be so effective.”
“They say love makes a man strong, don’t they?” Rebecca laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
“How foolish. He doesn’t even know who really killed Chelsea Goldpixie, yet he’s so fired up.”
Chelsea hadn’t died during the interrogation. She had taken her own life due to a curse placed by Yuran.
“Still, boss, I’m not entirely comfortable with this. Do we really have to kill Damian Haxen?”
“What, are we supposed to just sit back and do nothing? That bastard not only killed Agito but also thwarted our mission.”
Mustang Fury scowled.
“Our mission, given by ‘the one,’ was to take control of the duke’s household and sow chaos in the Apple Kingdom. He disrupted that. How can we just let it go?”
Mustang Fury ground his teeth.
“Damian Haxen and the duke’s household don’t know our true identities. We can use that to create an opportunity to kill him.”
Mustang Fury’s eyes glinted darkly.
“I must see Damian Haxen begging for his life.”