Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Blood Revenge
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Chasing the caravan raiders,
we arrived at the border between Frontier and Vampires.
"Just as we expected. They've fled into Vampires territory."
"What do you plan to do now?"
I lifted my gaze and scanned the surroundings.
"They should be arriving any moment now."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a knight and five mounted soldiers came galloping up.
"Young Master Elwin, this is the reply from Lady Alensia."
The knight handed over a letter along with a ring.
It was the ring Alensia always wore.
"She said these two should be more than enough."
More than enough—they were overflowing.
The letter alone would have sufficed to request their cooperation, but she'd even given me her ring as proof of her status.
"Please convey my thanks to Lady Alensia."
"Yes, sir."
The knight departed.
"Grandfather, shall we head out too?"
"Of course. We'll catch every last one of them."
The hunters and mercenaries crossed the border.
.
.
The relentless pursuit continued without a moment's rest.
The criminals erased their tracks and chose rugged paths.
The hunters uncovered the erased traces and never let the trail go cold.
Investigation Headquarters.
A map lay spread out in the center.
It marked the entire pursuit situation.
Dozens of lines radiated out from the caravan raid site.
Those lines connected to each of Frontier's villages.
Lines departing from each village converged into one at Plain City,
and that single line followed the underground passage, splitting again into dozens at the tunnel's end.
"Can we predict the enemy's current position?"
Grandfather drew a fan-shaped circle at the end of one line.
"Traces hold all sorts of information. You can tell they've passed through and even when."
Grandfather's words meant the criminals were somewhere within that fan-shaped area.
As we stared at it for a while,
the lines on the map suddenly showed a consistent direction.
They had originally scattered toward various regions of the Vampires Duchy.
Likely to shake off pursuers.
But at some point, they all began heading southeast.
"Grandfather, don't tell me...?"
"They're heading for the continent."
"Please dispatch someone to Vampire's Bridge."
"Got it. I'll send them right away."
Stopping the criminals would be easy.
We just needed to watch Vampire's Bridge, the only passage.
'And yet they chose this?'
A normal group couldn't fool the hunters.
But if they were the type to build an underground network in Plain...?
Crossing Vampire's Bridge meant the pursuit would fail.
Searching the entire continent would be impossible.
'Still feels uneasy.'
I needed one more safety measure.
And I had it.
"Hey! Bring me a blank sheet of paper!"
I placed the paper on the desk
and picked up a pen.
"Who are you writing to this time?"
"To Viscount Callas."
The forces that could control Vampire's Bridge numbered two.
One was the Vampires Duchy.
The other was Callas Viscounty.
"Go ahead and run, if you can."
Underground stone chamber.
Two men were there.
"Current situation?"
"I've ordered all exposed members to head to the continent."
Crack.
Crack.
The man in the chair clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly.
"I expected it, but they're proving troublesome."
First, he'd pulled the organization members back into Vampires territory.
Then they borrowed the Second Princess's name to keep pursuing.
No choice but to evacuate the members to the continent.
Even though it meant they couldn't be used for a while.
"The hunters have taken position at the Vampire's Bridge entrance."
"Is that a problem?"
"No, sir."
Organization members were scattered across the island.
Naturally, some were in Vampires too.
With their help,
crossing Vampire's Bridge wouldn't be hard.
"This should wrap it up. Shame about losing the Paonia family over Brilda."
For just one caravan raid,
the cost had been steep.
"Don't let your guard down until they reach the continent."
"Understood."
As the conversation was ending,
Thud thud thud.
Footsteps echoed from the stone chamber passage.
The seated man gripped a dagger from under the desk.
The standing man drew one from his bosom.
The footsteps drew rapidly closer,
then stopped right in front of the door.
"Ur... urgent report has arrived."
Recognizing the voice, the two men relaxed their combat stances.
"Come in."
The door opened,
and another man entered the room.
"What is it?"
"Pl... please look at this."
He spread the paper he'd brought across the desk.
It bore a detailed sketch of an organization member's face.
"All this fuss over this?"
It was within expectations.
Hunters carrying sketches of faces they didn't know.
"No, sir. The soldiers at the Callas checkpoint had this paper."
"What...? Callas?"
There were no organization members on the continent.
If Viscount Callas was serious about blocking them,
they couldn't cross Vampire's Bridge.
Crack.
Crack.
The man clenched and unclenched his fist.
The other two watched him silently.
Crack.
Crack.
Only after some twenty minutes
did the man finally speak.
"Sorry, Brilda."
"What... do you mean?"
Things invisible when they were nearby
started coming into view once confronted directly.
Brilda, heir to the Paonia bloodline,
had been scolded for failing against a mere boy.
But he wasn't just a mere boy.
'Vampires and now Callas too?'
They couldn't cross Vampire's Bridge now.
It meant taking damage while hiding on the island.
And ultimately, getting caught by the hunters.
Crack.
Crack.
"Haha. How ridiculous."
The air around him felt crushing.
'Does time favor Elwin in this?'
Cornered this badly,
he had to abandon any thoughts of a clean resolution.
Whatever he gave, he'd give decisively,
and whatever he hid, he'd hide completely.
And
he could no longer leave Elwin to Brilda.
Facing him directly had made it clear.
Brilda was no match for Elwin.
"Change of plans."
Vampires Territory.
Investigation Headquarters.
The criminals' paths had changed again.
"Looks like they've given up fleeing to the continent."
"They're rats in a trap now. Where can they run on this island?"
Not much longer.
Once we caught them,
we'd know who the unknown enemy was.
The outside grew noisy.
Moments later,
"Heir! The pursuing hunters have found the culprits' bodies."
"What? Bodies?"
That wasn't all.
Reports came in from all directions,
and every one mentioned discovering corpses.
The documents left with them contained information on the caravan raiders.
"So the culprit was Brilda. The Silnia Merchant Group was in on it too."
It was too obvious a conclusion.
Like solving a math problem with every method under the sun,
only to find the answer was 1.
'Then what was the point of everything up to now?'
The Paonia family, loyal for three generations.
The massive underground tunnel beneath Plain.
Not something Brilda could pull off alone.
Yet all the evidence pointed to Brilda.
"Grandfather, something's off, right?"
"It is. But finding other traces isn't easy. If this is fabricated, it's the work of someone far more skilled than before."
"Please keep investigating for now. Let me know immediately if anything new comes up."
"I will."
Frontier Manor.
Third floor, Brilda's room.
Brilda sat by the window, reading the letter.
No sender was named,
but there was no trouble reading it.
The sender and recipient knew each other well.
[... Elwin is no easy opponent. You must go beyond that level and give it your all. ... I'm sorry for scolding you until now.]
A faint smile curved Brilda's lips as she read that far.
She always felt something odd facing Elwin.
The common view was
unbefitting a noble.
Lacking charisma.
Can't handle people.
Can't deceive anyone.
...
Too passive.
That was the mainstream opinion.
At least until a few years ago.
Even that Elwin had been hard to handle.
On the surface, he seemed an easy mark.
But delving deeper,
he didn't feel like a child.
It gave a strange sense of facing a peer.
"So it wasn't just me. That's a relief."
Her eyes dropped back to the letter.
[... It reminds me of you as a girl. ... Do you remember your girlhood days? ... You even said you didn't want to go to Frontier. ...]
"Suddenly getting all nostalgic."
Still, she didn't dislike it.
Memories from childhood flooded back vividly.
Before she knew it, she'd reached the letter's end.
[... You've done well until now. Brilda.]
"Huh?"
You've done well until now?
The past tense felt oddly off.
As she looked up, brushing back her hair,
she spotted Anna standing right beside her.
Irritation flared instantly.
People maintain a minimum distance.
Invading that space triggers instinctive rejection.
A maid should uphold it even more strictly.
"Anna."
No response to the call.
Her usual cold face.
Or rather, not cold—chillingly so, staring silently.
Without a word.
"Anna?"
Anna slowly opened her mouth.
"You've worked hard, Madam."