Outside the church stood a group of armed knights. Seeing this, Lucius couldn’t help but glance at his father. When he had sent the deacon to summon Cédric, he hadn’t given many details, yet his father had already come prepared.

  I guess he isn’t the duke for nothing, huh.

  Lucius shrugged.

  He, Cédric, and the group of knights then headed toward Alistair’s mansion. The group certainly drew the townspeople’s attention, but Lucius, like the others, simply ignored the stares.

  They quickly arrived at the mansion, and upon entering, they noticed the estate guards whom Mira had rendered unconscious. By now, some of them had already awakened, dragging themselves through the hall and corridors with miserable expressions and pained groans, leaving trails of blood behind them.

  The sight made an impression on the knights, who exchanged glances and murmured among themselves in low voices.

  Cédric cast Lucius a questioning look, and Lucius explained, “Mira knocked them unconscious when she came to rescue me, but there was a risk they would wake up and flee before we returned, so I cut the tendons in their legs.”

  Frowning, Cédric nodded. His gaze shifted to several of the knights.

  “Arrest them.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Cédric then gestured for them to proceed to Alistair’s office.

  The remnants of Lucius and Mira’s confrontation with Igor were impossible to ignore as soon as they arrived.

  The office had been reduced to chaos: shattered bookshelves, floors and walls marked with countless cracks, furniture twisted and scattered like debris after an explosion.

  At the center of the room, two bodies completed the scene. Alistair lay sprawled on the floor, his expression frozen in terror, resembling slaughtered livestock more than a man. Beside him, what remained of Igor could hardly be called a corpse. His body was there, but his head had vanished, fragments of skull and brain matter scattered in a grotesque arc that stained the office carpet.

  Cédric looked at Igor’s corpse, then at Lucius.

  “You said he was an Aura user, didn’t you?”

  Lucius nodded.

  His father said nothing further, only asking where the secret room he had mentioned was located.

  “It’s in this wall,” Lucius said, touching the corner wall of the office.

  At a glance, it looked no different from any other wall.

  Truly an ingenious spell.

  Cédric stepped forward and inspected the wall, frowning when he apparently found nothing.

  “Step back,” he said, raising his hand.

  Lucius did as he was told, watching as Cédric placed his palm against the wall, and then—

  Boom!

  The wall exploded as if struck by a mountain, debris and dust scattering everywhere.

  What absurd destructive power.

  Lucius watched the scene with admiration. His father had certainly used Aura, but it had been so fast he could barely see it. Not to mention the sheer scale of destruction. If he could do this with a mere touch, how much damage could a true attack from his father cause?

  It was difficult to suppress the smile threatening to appear on his face.

  “So this is the passage?”

  Cédric peered beyond the destroyed wall, observing the staircase leading down to the mansion’s hidden floor.

  “Idiotic tricks,” he spat disdainfully before descending.

  Lucius and the other knights followed, going down the stairs and reaching the corridor.

  “Break them open.”

  At Cédric’s command, the knights stepped forward and smashed the bedroom doors. As they did, muffled screams could be heard, quickly suppressed.

  The scene that unfolded before them resembled what Lucius had seen when he woke up in the back room. Several iron cages, with elves imprisoned inside.

  As ordered by their duke, the knights entered the rooms and forcibly opened every cage, urging the captive elves to come out.

  One by one, the elves stepped out, forming a small crowd at the back of the room. The younger ones were visibly frightened, clinging to the elders for protection, even though the elders were hardly in a better state of mind themselves.

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  The same process was repeated in the other rooms, and soon they had gathered an “army” of elves, who were escorted outside the mansion by the knights.

  “Well, this is something you don’t see every day,” Lucius remarked, earning a sidelong glance from Cédric.

  It was just a joke.

  Lucius shrugged. His father truly had no sense of humor.

  “What do you think is the proper way to handle this situation?” Cédric suddenly asked.

  After pondering for a moment, Lucius shook his head.

  “I don’t know.”

  Different objectives required different actions.

  “It depends on what you intend to gain from this.”

  His answer brought a faint smile to Cédric’s face.

  “Indeed.”

  At his father’s orders, the city guard formed a perimeter around the block, keeping the curious residents at bay as they gathered to see what was happening.

  Healers from the central church were also summoned to provide medical treatment to the injured elves. Their captivity under Alistair had left more than a few of them in terrible condition.

  This wasn’t how I intended to spend my day.

  Lucius reflected. All because he had given in to Mira’s whims.

  “Your Excellency.”

  A knight approached Cédric. Accompanying him was an elf who appeared to be in her early twenties, with golden hair and emerald-green eyes. Despite her tattered clothes and the bruises on her face, she was a true beauty—one of the most beautiful women Lucius had ever seen.

  “This elf can speak the language of the Empire and can represent the others,” said the knight.

  Cédric nodded, his gaze turning to her. Despite her beauty, his eyes remained impassive.

  “What is your name?” he asked in his controlled tone.

  “It is Layla… Your Excellency.”

  “Hmm, Layla.” Cédric crossed his arms. “I am Duke Aster, ruler of these lands. Am I correct in assuming you can represent your fellow elves?”

  Layla hesitated for a moment before nodding.

  “Good.” Cédric inclined his head. “Then I want you to inform them that, according to the laws of my land, what was done to you was a grave offense, and the man responsible has already been punished.”

  Cédric gestured to another knight, who approached carrying Alistair’s severed head.

  “As you can see.”

  Layla looked at Alistair’s head for only a moment before lowering her gaze, her hands gripping the hem of her worn dress tightly.

  “I don’t need to see that… I mean… I’m sorry.”

  I suppose the trauma outweighs the resentment.

  With a wave of his hand, Cédric signaled for the knight to step away.

  “What I mean is that here, within my territory, no harm will come to you.”

  Layla looked back at him.

  “Then… we are free to return home?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  Cédric nodded.

  “Whenever you wish.”

  Her expression went blank, followed by skepticism, disbelief, and finally understanding. Tears began to stream down her face.

  “Ah, I’m sorry, I—”

  What began as a few tears turned into uncontrollable sobs. She tried to wipe her face with her hands, but the effort was as futile as trying to dry a block of ice—the tears would not stop.

  Cédric said nothing, simply allowing her to cry her heart out.

  Torn from her homeland, transported and imprisoned like an animal, uncertain of her future and left only to imagine the terrible fate awaiting them—it was only natural she would be so emotional.

  Lucius clicked his tongue. If he hadn’t been kidnapped by Alistair, the fate of these elves would have been as terrible as they had imagined.

  This is what happens.

  When you lacked sufficient strength, your fate ended up in the hands of others.

  Unforgivable.

  Only after a few minutes, when she had finally calmed down, did he continue.

  “You are free to leave at any time, but you are not in condition to undertake a journey to the elven forest. Therefore, I would like to invite you to stay on my estate, to receive treatment, food, and proper clothing.”

  “Th-that… I… we… thank you,” the elf murmured almost inaudibly.

  “It is the least I can do.” Cédric turned his gaze to the other elves. “Can you inform your companions?”

  Layla nodded and returned to the group.

  After receiving first aid, the elves headed toward the estate in the central district. Lucius used that interval to return to the church in the western district and retrieve Mira, who was sleeping deeply.

  A group of over a hundred elves escorted by the duke’s personal knights and led by the duke himself attracted considerable attention. By the time they reached the estate’s entrance, a second crowd had formed at a distance, following them to observe the spectacle.

  At the entrance, the other members of the family were present, likely drawn by the commotion outside.

  “Husband, what happened?” Helena, the first wife, asked. “And all these elves…”

  Cédric frowned.

  “I will explain in detail later.”

  He signaled to the guards.

  “For now, they will remain as guests on the estate.”

  Helena’s eyes widened in surprise, but almost immediately her expression returned to normal.

  “I understand.”

  Her gaze swept over the group of elves, as if counting them.

  “I will inform the head housekeeper to prepare the guest wing and the secondary pavilions. They should suffice to accommodate this number.”

  Cédric nodded in satisfaction.

  “My thanks.”

  Covering the lower part of her face with her fan, she replied evenly, “I am merely fulfilling my duties as lady of the house.”

  Alex and Camille also approached curiously—but in this case, toward Lucius.

  “So, what’s all this commotion? Where did these elves come from?” Alex asked, shifting his gaze between Lucius and the elves. “And why do you and that maid look so… beaten up? Are you… alright?”

  “I have no injuries. The same applies to her,” Lucius replied flatly.

  “Yes, but what happened?” Camille asked, impatience creeping into her voice.

  Lucius pondered for a moment. He was tired—very tired. And there was no way to summarize everything that had happened in the past few hours in just a few sentences.

  “I’m going to my room,” he said, walking past them.

  “Hey, are you serious?!” Camille demanded irritably. “You cause all this chaos and won’t even bother to explain anything?!”

  “Hey, Camille—”

  “What?!”

  Alex tried to speak, but Camille cut him off sharply, her glare telling him to stay silent.

  “You can ask our father about everything,” was the last thing Lucius said before continuing into the estate.

  Along the way, he passed several servants rushing to prepare what was necessary to accommodate their new “guests.” He ignored it all and went straight to his room.

  Mira’s quarters were in the servants’ wing, but he didn’t have the energy to take her there. Instead, he laid her on his own bed before lying down beside her.

  It was a long day.

  When he had woken up that morning, he hadn’t imagined he would end up kidnapped and nearly killed. But…

  It wasn’t bad.

  Lucius clenched his fists. Today, he had defeated a formidable opponent with his own hands.

  Well, not alone…

  If it hadn’t been for Mira, he would never have been able to defeat Igor. Even so, he had accomplished something that would have been impossible for his former self, and that was proof he was progressing.

  It’s still far too little, but…

  Raising his hand, he envisioned the stars in the sky. Despite the ceiling above his head, it was as if he could see them there—so very distant, yet seeming to fit within the palm of his hand.