Bill, who had been hanging back, stepped forward with a cough.
"His Excellency and my lady had noticed Joel and Henrik's conspiracy all along. They pretended to split up and laid a trap to completely lower the enemies' guard."
Tears brimmed in Selma's eyes, and Fabri let out hollow gasps of air in sheer disbelief.
"I was given the role of spreading rumors about a cold war between the two of them. It was a necessary choice for His Excellency and my lady."
"Oh my! I had no idea, and I was sick with worry every night thinking my lady might actually leave this place!"
Selma wiped away her tears and shot Bill a sharp glare.
"How could you do this to me too?"
"Ah, oh dear..."
Bill let out a deep, weary sigh and feigned a stumble.
"Deceiving even my own wife while acting... I swear I can feel my lifespan shortening."
"Sorry about that, Bill. Thanks to your help, Joel took the bait completely."
Rose apologized with a playful laugh.
Selma, still not fully over her anger, kept poking Bill in the ribs.
"Oh well, it's a relief nonetheless. When His Excellency collapsed earlier, I really thought the sky was falling."
Fabri wiped the sweat from his forehead as if he had been granted ten more years of life.
"Then is there truly nothing wrong with His Excellency's body anymore?"
Still anxious, Selma studied Dane's complexion carefully.
"There's nothing to worry about. I've completely separated and extracted the poison Joel had accumulated in His Excellency's body."
At Rose's confident answer, Selma and Fabri's faces relaxed with relief.
"My lady, you're truly amazing...!"
"I knew you'd be the one to accomplish great things."
Rose only smiled without a word. There was no need to mention that another poison still remained.
"Thank you, everyone."
When Dane spoke briefly, smiles spread across everyone's faces.
The betrayal from Joel had left a bitter taste. But it was a relief they had weathered it safely thanks to their lord's foresight.
"Dane, but..."
Suddenly, Rose raised her hand and gently cupped Dane's cheek.
"Were you serious about what you said earlier?"
"About what?"
"You said you'd protect Schmaichel even if it meant killing your daughter."
A heavy silence fell.
Bill, who had been exaggerating his pain, Selma, who had been hitting him, and Fabri, who had been chuckling with his arms crossed—all of them froze.
"……."
Instead of answering, Dane wrapped his arm around Rose's waist and pulled her closer to himself.
"In front of Joel, I had to say that. That was the correct answer the master of Schmaichel had to give."
He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Rose's.
"But Rose, if the hostage had been you... I would have gone to save you even if it meant burning Schmaichel to the ground."
His low, deep voice tickled Rose's ear.
"Even if I had to throw away every bit of honor and duty I had built up."
Though it was not something a lord should say,
"Schmaichel without you is meaningless."
Dane declared without a moment's hesitation.
"……."
Rose's green eyes trembled faintly.
Those words had been close to the mutterings of a madman courting destruction.
But Rose didn't turn away or show fear. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Dane's neck and pulled him even closer.
"You're mad, Dane."
Rose's lips came close enough to Dane's ear to almost touch it.
"If you'd burn the world for me, I'll wrap you up so you won't get hurt."
Waves of joy rippled across her narrowly folded eyes.
"If you throw away your honor and duty, I'll simply become your new honor."
Rose lifted her head within Dane's embrace and gazed intently at him.
"In the first place, I would never let you fall into such danger."
Between Rose and Dane, gazing at each other, it seemed as though something unbreakable had formed.
"Haa."
"Phew..."
Watching them, Selma and Fabri smiled with satisfaction. It seemed the position of the lady of Schmaichel would never be vacant.
"Ahem, then."
Bill coughed and carefully interjected.
"What should we do? You mentioned luring Henrik earlier."
"Up until now, only Bill's acting was necessary, but from here on, it's different."
Dane looked around at everyone and nodded.
"The plan is to use Joel to lure Henrik here."
Rose stood beside Dane as she picked up on his words.
"If we want to keep anyone in this castle from getting hurt, we need everyone's help."
The curtain began to rise on a grand stage prepared for Henrik.
**
An underground passage reeking of damp, fishy mold.
Originally a waterway, this place was passed down only to the master of Schmaichel as an emergency escape route.
Clip, clop.
Henrik walked through the damp underground passage with his back hunched. Armed soldiers followed behind him.
The moss-covered walls gave off a foul stench of mold. Yet a vile smile hung on Henrik's lips.
"The Viscount had some use after all."
He had used Viscount Vikander to pressure Rose, and as a result, he had obtained the location of the entrance to this secret passage.
This place led straight to the heart of the castle, mocking the strict surveillance of the castle walls.
Clip, clop.
Every time the torch flames flickered, the shadows of the long line of soldiers writhed like the legs of a giant centipede crawling through the darkness.
Shhk.
Henrik pulled out a communication Magical Device he had kept in his coat. The Magical Device was emitting a vivid blue light.
It meant Joel had succeeded in feeding wine to Dane, and that Dane had collapsed.
"Finally..."
The time had come for his long wait to bear fruit.
Though he was currently sneaking through an underground passage like a rat, Henrik did not doubt that these were the strides of a death god.
He wasn't sneaking in. He was advancing to execute a thief who had stolen what should rightfully have been his.
Clip.
As Henrik was thinking such thoughts and turned a corner to enter the inner section—
"…!"
A massive iron door that could only be opened from the inside greeted them. And it was already wide open.
"Sonya, you said?"
A satisfied smile crossed Henrik's lips.
Viscount Vikander had mentioned that Rose had a loyal maid by her side—it was clearly that girl's doing.
There were several more iron doors after that, but they were all open as well.
Clip, clop.
Henrik and his troops began walking with increasingly confident strides. The wide-open iron doors seemed to welcome their arrival.
"We're almost there, Your Excellency."
The adjutant, who had been walking while scouting ahead, bowed his head.
After rounding one more corner, a straight passage stretching ahead came into view.
An iron door at its end was visible, and someone stood beyond it.
"Your Excellency...!"
Sonya, who had been standing anxiously with a bundle of keys, spotted Henrik.
"You've come! Please, hurry!"
Sonya's face lit up brightly upon seeing Henrik.
"This way! I've already unbolted everything in advance!"
Sonya standing there meant that door was the last one.
Shhk.
Henrik glanced at his adjutant. The adjutant understood Henrik's intent and nodded.
Clip, clop.
Henrik and his troops slowly began walking toward the iron door.
"I knew you'd make it safely! Even the heavens know who the true master of this castle is!"
Sonya began to fawn over Henrik as he drew closer.
Like a dog meeting its owner after a long time, it was as if her tail was visibly wagging.
Clip.
Finally, Henrik, who had come right up to the iron gate, opened his mouth.
"You said your name was Sonya?"
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Her complexion brightened even further at the fact that he knew her name.
Henrik asked in a stiff tone.
"How did you get here?"
"Pardon?"
"If that bastard Dane collapsed, it would have been hard for you, as Rose's maid, to escape suspicion as well."
In other words, shouldn't she have been held captive along with the others.
"I've always been ready to flee at a moment's notice! I knew Your Excellency would come."
Sonya then broke into a sickly sweet laugh, her eyes crinkling.
"There's a whole commotion about the Duke collapsing. The castle is in total chaos, so who would care about one maid going missing?"
Sonya carefully gauged Henrik's mood.
"I slipped out during the confusion with the keys I had prepared in advance. I even opened all the doors so it'd be convenient for Your Excellency to come."
"Hm, is that so?"
When Henrik showed a relatively amicable reaction, Sonya became even more excited and started chattering away.
"Once we pass through this door, we'll come out into the Schmaichel Castle's storage room. The era of Schmaichel led by Your Excellency will finally begin!"
Henrik offered a faint smile instead of answering. Then he gestured with his eyes for Sonya to step aside.
"Ah! Yes, yes."
Sonya answered hastily and pressed herself as flat against the wall as possible to let Henrik pass.
Clip.
Even as Henrik passed through the door followed by the adjutant, Sonya's mouth didn't stop.
"I risked my life to open these doors trusting only in Your Excellency. You understand, right? So—"
"You're noisy."
Henrik stopped walking and murmured low.
The moment Sonya flinched and fell silent—
Sgeuk.
The adjutant slashed Sonya's throat deeply with a dagger.
"Gah, hegh..."
Sonya clutched her neck in disbelief. Dark red blood gushed out between her fingers.
Thud.
Sonya collapsed gracelessly to the floor, kicked her legs a few times, and then fell still.
"Tsk."
Henrik clicked his tongue in displeasure and immediately turned his back.
Clank.
The soldiers who followed trampled over the bundle of keys Sonya had dropped as they passed through.
Sonya's death soon vanished without a trace in the quiet underground passage.
Click.
The adjutant took the lead and threw open the last door.
Along with a cool chill, the rich scent of wine and smoked meat wafted over.
"I'll enter first."
The adjutant carefully stepped in and illuminated the interior of the storage room with a torch.
The ceiling was high, and smoked meats and bundles of dried herbs hanging from it cast swaying shadows.
"No one is here."
After shining the torch here and there, the adjutant reported to Henrik.
Tap.
Henrik also stepped into the storage room and ordered toward the passageway behind.
"Come out. Silence your footsteps."
The soldiers quietly but quickly poured into the storage room.
'To break through this easily.'
Henrik watched the sight and swallowed a bitter smile.
He had heard that Schmaichel Castle had recently strengthened its guard and inspections. Breaking through that would have required preparation comparable to a territorial war.
But he had reached the heart of Schmaichel quickly, stealthily, and without any losses.
That fact was deeply satisfying.
'Rose, was it.'
That foolish daughter of Viscount Vikander.
She was no different from the wives who had come before her. The moment she faced the threat of being cast aside, she thought only of fleeing faster than anyone else.