Chapter 29
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Baum Territory's Mine (1)
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When guests or envoys visited their territories, it was customary for lords to host banquets in their honor.
If they couldn't manage a full banquet, they would at least treat them to a lavish dinner.
Just as it was polite for lords to extend hospitality to their guests, it was equally polite for those guests to graciously accept it.
However, Blanc and his companions had no time for such formalities.
Thus, they had no choice but to politely decline the hospitality offered by the lords.
Time was of the essence.
Blanc, Noel, Obet, and the ten knights under their lead were an advance party operating under the assumption that Stefan Tolome was still alive.
If he was, then he had already been wandering inside the mine for about a week. Every minute and second was critical.
The lords might have been furious at the advance party for rejecting their hospitality, but upon seeing who was leading them, any anger they felt vanished in an instant.
The leader was Blanc Cardmus—the central figure in the Cardmus family's tragedy, the Knight of Moonlight Grass, and the sixth knight of the Aselheit Order appointed in twenty years.
Any ordinary knight leader might have faced complaints, but with the prestige of the Aselheit Order backing him, lords instead expressed gratitude for Blanc's visit.
The lord of the first territory they passed sent a letter ahead explaining the situation to the next.
The second exchanged their weary horses for fresh ones.
And the final lord went so far as to wake his sleeping daughters, lining them up before Blanc and telling him to take as many as he desired.
Had Noel or Obet been leading instead, they wouldn't have received such warm welcomes—in fact, the lords would likely have accused them of insulting their hospitality.
Noel and Obet felt anew a surge of gratitude that Blanc was their leader.
"Thanks, Blanc. It's going so smoothly because of you."
"How about you take us to Baum Territory and then head back? That way, you could just barely make it for the kingdom tournament."
Noel and Obet were well aware of the kingdom tournament.
If this mission succeeded, they had planned to participate themselves.
The tournament was the dream stage for every knight in the Felix Kingdom.
Moreover, Blanc, now the sixth Aselheit knight, was already the talk of the entire kingdom.
His participation would skyrocket his fame.
"I am a knight leading this search party. I won't go anywhere until we find my great-uncle, Stefan Tolome."
Hearing him forgo the tournament, Noel and Obet swallowed their boiling emotions without a word.
Blanc could have gained so much from it. Some nobles were even calling this tournament his knightly debut.
And among those who would lament his absence most was King Frederic of the Felix Kingdom.
Blanc Cardmus, the sixth Aselheit knight in twenty years, was a surefire crowd-pleaser.
Yet Blanc had set all that aside, volunteering to lead in order to save Stefan Tolome.
Noel, Obet, and the ten knights pursuing their glorious leader charged onward with high spirits, finally arriving at Baum Territory.
They had crossed three territories in just a week.
And they arrived as two weeks had nearly passed since Stefan Tolome's disappearance.
Tigorr Baum greeted the arriving Tolome investigation team with utmost courtesy, facing them as the twilight faded at his back.
"Welcome. The long journey must have been exhausting..."
Baron Tigorr Baum. The Baum family, rulers of Highriver, were one of the families allied directly with the Tolome family—or more precisely, one that bowed unilaterally to them.
Like all border nobles, Baron Baum thirsted for entry into central politics and had bowed to the Tolome family to secure those connections.
Countless families approached the Tolome in such ways, but Bartolomeo had taken Tigorr's hand for one reason alone: the iron ore mine he owned.
The ore wasn't the highest quality, but it was sufficient for crafting soldiers' weapons, making it valuable.
"Any news on Stefan Tolome or the other missing persons?"
"No, none. We've found no other traces. The mine remains sealed off."
Baron Tigorr must have been in agony.
A precious son of the Tolome family—the very connection he had barely secured—had met with misfortune in his territory.
The Tolome family's wrath might yet turn on them.
That was why, despite being a baron, he greeted the team with such deference.
"Then for now..."
Noel and Obet huddled together, deliberating their next move.
Blanc stood silently beside them, listening intently.
He was the nominal leader of this investigation team, but he was still just a fourteen-year-old boy on his first real mission. His insides might be those of a battle-hardened mercenary, but outwardly, he deferred to the experienced knights.
His role had been to clear the path between territories as leader; in actual combat, it was right to heed the veterans.
At least on the surface.
So he stayed quiet. Opportunities would come if he waited, and until then, respecting Noel and Obet was proper.
"We've pushed hard with forced marches, so let's rest fully today."
"We need to prepare to move out tomorrow morning."
Blanc nodded at their decision.
The sun would set soon, and they had ridden without pause. Rest was necessary.
Even with his father's fate unknown, the twin knights chose prudent retreat to avoid the worst outcome.
Blanc applauded them inwardly.
Noel and Obet glanced at him seeking approval, and he nodded in agreement.
"We'll disarm and rest thoroughly today, then enter the mine early tomorrow morning."
The knights and servants agreed with Noel and Obet's decision and headed to the lodgings prepared by Tigorr.
All but one.
"Mint candy, you say?"
"Yes. I hear the mint candies made here in Highriver are famous. Go buy some."
"But it's late at night already..."
"Billy."
Blanc's chilling gaze enveloped Billy.
"The moment we entered Highriver, this became a combat mission. That's an order. Don't make me say it twice."
"Yes, sir!"
The investigation team's knights had each arrived in Highriver with their squires and a few servants.
Knights had to maintain peak combat readiness at all times, so they needed people to handle miscellaneous tasks.
Blanc had brought Rakshar, his right-hand man, and...
"Uh, Billy, want me to come with?"
"Rakshar, you have your own duties. Follow me."
"Y-yes, young master."
He had also brought Billy, the Tolome family's promising butler apprentice.
Emilia would have been more reliable, but as a delicate woman, he had left her at the estate. This mission to find Stefan was dangerous.
Besides, Blanc wanted to test Billy on this trip.
To see if the sharp-minded Tolome butler candidate was truly fit to stand by his side.
"Where do I even find mint candy..."
For now, Billy had racked up minus points.
The next morning, the investigation team moved to the mine owned by Baum Territory.
"It was an ordinary mine. Surely you know that too, Sir Noel, Sir Obet?"
Baron Tigorr, accompanying them personally, spoke as if making excuses, his plump cheeks jiggling nonstop.
"My father operated it before me. In nearly fifty years, nothing like this has ever happened."
"Truly no irregularities at all?"
Obet pressed him with narrowed, triangular eyes. If Tigorr was telling the truth, there was no reason for miners or Tolome knights to vanish in the mine.
"I-I swear it. Why would I lie before the Tolome emissaries?"
Noel and Obet were mere knights, yet Tigorr groveled excessively.
Such was the prestige of the Tolome family.
"An incident with no prior irregularities? Does that even make sense? What do you think, brother?"
Obet sought Blanc's opinion as he rode beside them.
Blanc answered calmly.
"There must be irregularities. We just haven't found them yet."
The team fell silent, drawn to Blanc's voice as it subtly commanded the group's attention.
"Either they triggered an existing one for some reason, or a new one emerged in the mine. At the very least, it's no natural phenomenon."
Noel and Obet nodded at Blanc's precise assessment.
"So, what should we do next?"
Noel and Obet already had a plan mapped out—from the moment the team mobilized until last night, they had endlessly discussed ways to find the missing.
Asking Blanc now was brotherly consideration, giving him experience.
"My thought is..."
"Speak up."
"Don't hesitate. Seize the moment when it comes."
The twins encouraged Blanc, who seemed shy under everyone's gaze.
"First, we should investigate if any newcomers have entered from outside."
"Father already did that the moment he arrived in Baum Territory."
"We investigated ourselves. No suspicious persons or unusual activity."
Stefan Tolome was seasoned and exceptionally capable. Upon arriving, he had immediately surveyed the locals for odd trends.
"Then it's not a new irregularity. More likely, they triggered an old one for some reason."
"But Lord Blanc, as I said, this mine has operated for fifty years without such incidents."
Baron Tigorr timidly objected.
Blanc turned and met his eyes squarely.
"I trust the Tolome over Baum. If they found no new irregularities, then an old one was triggered for some reason."
"But..."
"Whether the Baum family knew..."
Tigorr tried to argue, but Blanc's gaze silenced him.
"Or didn't know."
Blanc showed no retreat, even against a man nearing fifty.
Noel and Obet smiled in satisfaction at how he dominated the baron.
"We've arrived."
The lead knight reported to Blanc and the twins.
"We should set up camp here first."
It might take a long time. Even if they couldn't rescue the missing, Noel and Obet intended to at least recover the bodies and give them proper ends.
As the team set up camp, Blanc dismounted and stared silently at the mine entrance.
The long-abandoned mine exhaled a chilling aura, repelling all who approached.
'It's been a long time.'
This place in Baum Territory, called the Baum Mine.
In his previous life, Blanc had come here.
Not as Baron Cardmus, but as a young slave of Batay's mercenary band.