Chapter 67
We were led by a woman named Elin into her home. Naturally, it was a bit cramped for all five of us, but none of us wanted to ruin the mood by mentioning it.
“Please, have a seat first.”
“Oh, no... How could I let esteemed guests like you...?”
“Ma'am, you're the patient here. We're fine sitting on the floor, so please, take a seat.”
With the Saintess supporting her, the woman entered and finally seemed to realize we were nobles from our attire. She tried to refuse the chair, but we couldn't leave an injured person standing, so we gently but firmly guided her to sit.
Once Elin was seated, the Saintess immediately healed her leg with divine power. The injury, bad enough to need a splint, vanished in an instant under her touch. Realizing we weren't ordinary folk, Elin's demeanor grew even more deferential.
“Y-your leg... healed in a flash! M-may I ask who you noble guests might be...?”
“We're from the academy, here to help with that monster extermination request from this territory a few months back that got rejected.”
I quickly introduced us to avoid startling her—saying these women were the princess, a duke's daughter, and the Saintess, and that Polo was the heir to House Helios—but she was already trembling, recalling her earlier rudeness, and dropped into a full prostration.
“I-I lack education and committed a grave offense! Please, have mercy—!”
High nobles she might never meet in a lifetime, holding such important positions, had come to her personally. It must have terrified her. We coaxed and soothed her until she calmed a bit, but she still watched our every move nervously.
“More importantly, Mrs. Elin. When we arrived earlier, you seemed to be looking for your husband. Has... something happened to him?”
Of course, the key to solving everything was plausibility. As Polo started gently with a reassuring tone to put her at ease, she hesitated but soon spilled her story.
“It's a bit embarrassing, but... my husband and I had a wonderful marriage. We grew from childhood friends to lovers, knew each other inside out, and folks in the village even called us the lovebird couple.”
But then, she continued, her husband had done a complete 180 from some point on.
“No, it's not just my husband. All the men in the village... they've all changed so strangely.”
“Strangely...? They didn't look any different physically.”
“It's not their appearance. But their personalities... they've all twisted.”
She said the people of this territory were mostly gentle and kind by nature. The lord was mild-mannered and cared deeply for his people, so life was comfortable. The territory was small, so everyone was neighbors and comrades, living days full of smiles and peace.
But from the day the lord brought home a very young wife, the men started acting off. At first, they spaced out, lost in a daze, skipping farm work and vanishing somewhere. Eventually, they began ignoring the women around them, treating them violently and crudely.
On top of that, some took turns as self-appointed watchmen, checking daily to ensure no one tried to leave the village. They wanted to alert the outside world, but the remote location meant no visitors, and the tight surveillance made sending letters or telegrams impossible.
“Come to think of it, when we entered the village, those self-proclaimed vigilantes were staring at us oddly. Not fear of nobles, but something more primal—like contempt and disgust.”
Hearing the princess, I realized those vigilantes' reactions had been weirder than I'd thought. Fine for me, but these three women screamed “noble” from a mile away—yet no surprise, no blushing at their beauty?
“Could it be... mind control? Like, 'don't feel any affection for women other than me'?”
“But even if so, wouldn't that usually target just the men one likes? From what she's saying, every man in the village is affected.”
“Maybe there's a reason only men? Something only they can do...”
“No, before that... who benefits from this? There's something blatantly off in what Mrs. Elin just said.”
I pondered her testimony and spotted the inconsistency.
“Huh? What is it?”
“She said all the village men are mistreating the women. The women are doing the farm work in the fields, while the men are the watchmen. Like slaves. But isn't there one person who doesn't fit that pattern?”
“Someone who doesn't...? Ah.”
Right. Hypnosis or mind control—whatever it was, even with “despise women” coded into their brains, one person chatted and lived normally with them.
We'd seen exactly one such person since entering the village.
“Mrs. Lillia.”
* * *
We promised Elin we'd save her husband and headed back to the mansion.
“That woman has to be the culprit. Everything went weird after she arrived here.”
“But we have no concrete evidence. We were in the castle town yesterday, but no proof linking the townsfolk.”
“No, Polo. There's still one unchecked spot in the mansion.”
“Huh? Where?”
I tapped the ground with my foot.
“The basement.”
Most noble mansions had underground facilities. Some perverts built disgusting setups for their twisted urges, but usually, they were for escapes in crises or housing people and supplies in wars or emergencies. Even a small baron's place like this likely had space for the territory's men.
“I checked when we left the mansion this morning—no signs of crowds coming and going. Which means there's a secret passage linking the basement to somewhere outside.”
“Then just find the entrance, right?”
“We don't even know where. Searching the whole village would tip her off that we're suspicious—it's only a matter of time.”
Passages could be disguised as caves or shafts dug like mines. Without expert trackers, we'd never spot them easily.
“That's why searching inside the mansion is faster. Basements always have an entrance on the first floor somewhere.”
“But where? The servants won't just stand by, and if she's behind this, she won't sit idle.”
If she was the mastermind, she might visit the basement to check. Get caught searching, and we're done.
“So what if we get caught? Subduing one woman isn't hard.”
“Saintess. Do you really think she did this alone? She might be a front for something bigger we don't know about.”
Logically, one woman couldn't hypnotize a whole village. A larger force was likely backing her, brainwashing the men with their help. That seemed most plausible.
“That's why we need caution. Grab her blindly, and the real black curtain cuts ties and bolts.”
“Ugh... tricky.”
“The key is distracting her, the prime suspect. Divert her attention, and searching the mansion gets easy.”
“Just knock her out?”
What was this, 'no witnesses, assassinate'? I had to stop the budding assassin (massacre specialist).
“I have a good idea.”
“Hm. Mars, what is it?”
To prevent that dark path, I stepped up.
“I'll seduce Mrs. Lillia.”
Whoosh—The air turned icy. I'd thought hard on this move, so why the frosty reception?