Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.
(This is the last bonus chapter from the promised Valentineās special.)\n
Theyāre completely different. First, the taste is different. Medicine has a bitter taste. While I was being treated for the wounds -which were never there to begin with-, the other members of Special Task Squad gathered all the servants in one place. Out of the 6 members of Special Task Squad who came today, I only knew Captain Jullius, Clauen, and Ira, and itās my first time to meet the rest. Ortzen didnāt come. No, to be precise, he couldnāt come.\n\nāThe Countess is already dead, now what?ā\n\nThe young man with a sword on his back, asked Ira. Apparently Miss Ira was the person in charge of this operation to fill-in Ortzenās role. Miss Ira glanced at the Countess corpse before finally said.\n\nāI never expected that she would be eliminated just like this. I canāt make head or tail on the reason but she should still have some use.ā\n\nUhhā¦ I think I know the reason. It was because the Countessā side misunderstood that the Special Task Squad has known about the fact that I was the sacrifice item for the contract with the Demon King. If they didnāt catch me today, I would definitely be brought to meet with the High Priest to make sure if I was really the sacrifice and if that were to happened, it would be the end of the Count household.Ā However, whoever the mastermind behind the Countess was, could only cut their tails off so they wouldnāt leave any hints behind.\n\nāā¦ even though I want to tell you.ā\n\nItās not the right time yet. I still have my suspicion towards Ortzen so I canāt tell him the truth. I have to endure not to tell him anything until I safely got engaged and meet with the High Priest. Miss Ira was deep in thought and said,\n\nāLetās wrap this up by saying that the Countās mansion was raided by mysterious men and Captain Jullius dealed with them when he came to pick up Miss Epheria. Unfortunately the Countess was badly injured and couldnāt be saved.ā\n\nāThen, we have to silenced all the servants?ā\n\nIra lightly shook her head to Clauenās question.\n\nāWe donāt have to take things that far. I think the other side also wish to quietly covered this matter.ā\n\nThat means if the servants wanted to ran their mouths around, it shouldnāt caused any big problem.\n\nāLetās look for Count Epheria after weāre done taking care of the Countess corpse.ā\n\nAfter Ira has done giving her orders, the other members of Special Task Squad started to disperse, leaving behind only Captain Jullius and Ira. Miss Ira lean over to examine the wounds on the Countess corpse then she turned her head to look at me with an odd expression on her face.\n\nāHow much longer are you going to stay like that?ā\n\nāYou said yourself that I have to pretend I was injured.ā\n\nāThe injury is on your arm, not your legs.ā\n\nTsk. Itās comfortable though. I was released from Captain Julliusā embrace and beckoned towards Sofia.\n\nāYou stay here with Miss Ira. Iāll look for the Countā I mean, my father.ā\n\nāā¦, Isnāt it dangerous? Those mysterious men from before could have been hiding anywhereā¦ā\n\nāItās alright. Iāll go with Captain Jullius.ā\n\nI held Captain Julliusā hand while answering Sofia. Sofia looked hesitated but she still nodded at the end.\n\nāEven so, Miss still have to be careful.ā\n\nāI know. Donāt worry!ā\n\nNow, Iām finally going to meet with the Count. Actually, I doubt heās still alive in this situation. Perhaps due to the other members of Special Task Squad had informed most of the servants in the mansion about the accident that took the Countessā life, I could barely saw any servants now, itās unsual sight. It could be said that I didnāt know much about the structure of this mansion, so I just walked headlessly and keep walking. Then suddenly, Captain Jullius opened his mouth and said something.\n\nāIām worried.ā\n\nI think I have heard these words before.\n\nāYou already know more or less about my skills though.ā\n\nāBut Ortzen has tricked you.ā\n\nāOh, youāre talking about Sofia, so he pretended not to know that my maid was being caught as hostage?ā\n
Captain Jullius just nodded. F*ck you Ortzen, it wasnāt a guess but he had already known for sure that Sofia was taken as hostage.\n\nāI think you can escape easily by yourself, but itās a different matter with the presence of a hostage. Even if by chance Miss can rescue her, she is just an ordinary maid so sheāll just become a burden for you to run away. Itās almost impossible for both of you to safely get out from here together.ā\n\nāThatās right.ā\n\nāSo, if by any chance something bad happened to Missā¦ā\n\nHe paused for a moment to choose the words he wanted to say,\n\nāā¦, I was really worried.ā\n\nIn the end, the words that coming out were just that simple. He isnāt good with words. But thatās enough because I still can feel his sincerity. I awkwardly laughed and hit his arm lightly.\n\nāAh, Iāll never let myself get caught even if thereās a hostage because I have already promised. Iām not that soft.ā\n\nāBut, if you choose to abandon the hostage and run away safely, your heart wonāt feel at ease. I know that usually some people might feel that way.ā\n\nRight at that moment, the sounds of footsteps inside the long corridor came to a stop. I stopped walking and almost at the same time so did Captain Julliusā. I turned around and looked up at the man who stood beside me.\n\nIt has been a long time since the last time I heard those words. Frankly speaking, my nature is far from the word ādelicateā and as the strongest holy knight that can heal ownself, thereās almost no one worrying about my well-being, or even my feelings. Ever since I became a captain, when we lost one of our comrades, I acted as someone who gave consolations to others and wasnāt the one who receive consolations. Well, but I still had the High Priest and my deputy who always cared about me.\n\nāIf I lost Sofia, I would certainly feel sad and bitter.ā\n\nI could endure it, but it didnāt mean that I didnāt feel any pain. I reached out my hands and held the big hand which was twice in size compared to mine.\n\nāThank you for worrying me.ā\n\nāI just feel worried. I did nothing.ā\n\nThe way he responded as such because he didnāt know why I thanked him, somehow made me laugh a bit.\n\nBy the way, it looked like Ortzen didnāt want to send Captain Jullius to the Countās mansion. I swayed the hand I was holding and playfuly asked.\n\nāCould it be Ortzen told you not to go?ā\n\nāā¦..ā\n\nāDid you just leave right away even though he stopped you from coming here?ā\n\nāā¦ but, Ortzen tricked you firstā¦ā\n\nCaptain Jullius mumbled in a small voice. I noticed that because he always compromised listened to Ortzen, he became reluctant to speak out his opinion. Captain Jullius slightly tilted his head, somehow felt dejected.\n\nāOrtzenās words are usually right and maybe this time heās right as well. Clearly I donāt have to come and intervene, but even if that so, I still wanted to come.ā\n\nSeeing this appearance of his while he was mumbling those excuses, my lips subconsciously formed a smile.\n\nāNo need to bother about that! Just do whatever you want to do. Itās okay to be a bit selfish. Ortzen will definitely handle it well. Wasnāt he given the position of deputy to do that kind of work?ā\n\nMy deputy even said I could leisurely played around in the Capital. As long as I didnāt commit any high offense criminal acts such as murder or treason, he said that he could covered it up. Ortzen wasnāt someone incapable, so naturally there shouldnāt be much problems.\n\nāā¦, is it really okay for me not to worry?ā\n\nāIāve already told you that itās alright. Anyway itās useless to cry over a spilled water. Besides, itās not that Ortzen didnāt know you sneaked out either, right? Then itās okay. He will take care of it by himself.ā\n\nāUm.ā\n\nāThereās only one thing you should always keep in your mind. Be careful not to run your mouth carelessly to prevent any leaks of information!ā\n\nI heard things would get complicated if any important informations got leaked outside. Captain Jullius nodded his head after hearing what I said.\n\nāI also know that. But, Miss Epheria, Iā¦ā\n\nPhweet!\n
By then, I heard the sound of a flute being blown to make a high-pitch sound. Looks like itās a signal.\n\nāThatās from Special Task Squad?ā\n\nāYes. If it is sounded once that means we are asked to gather at the starting point. Apparently the Count has been found.ā\n\nIn my squad, it was twice. Well, the signaling code is rarely the same in each different squad. Especially the signal by smoke, lights, and sounds that could be easily heard or seen by enemies.\n\nāLetās quickly head over there.ā\n\nIām very curious on how does the Count who I never met before, looks like.\n
***\n
The other members of Special Task Squad had already gathered at the central flower garden. In the meantime, the Countess corpse has been attended and placed on the stretcher and covered with a white cloth. Lots of bugs swarmed around the bloodstains that remained on the ground at the place where she collapsed earlier. The guards captain along with the rest of the guards have returned and been pacing back and forth nearby, but Cain was no where in sight. Sofia who was beside Miss Ira immediately came to me the moment she saw me.\n\nāMiss!ā\n\nāIs everything alright?ā\n\nāYes. But, all the servants in the mansion are feeling restless. Many of them also said they will leave the mansion.ā\n\nWhen I looked around, I saw that most of the servants who were here before, have already disappeared. Although the Countess has died, thereās still the Count as the master of this household. Well, even though I doubt heās still alive by now.\n\nāWho sent the signal?ā\n\nIra came forward and asked after all the members of Special Task Squad have gathered. A man with a muscular body and red hair answered.\n\nāI think I have found him, but his conditionā¦ā\n\nāItāll be even stranger if he was found while still intact when the situation was already a mess. Lead the way.ā\n\nLooks like this time Ira also come along. I canāt leave Sofia alone by herself and I also canāt take her along with me even more, but Iām too curious to see the Count.\n\nāClauen, please take care of this cute lady here.ā\n\nHe hasnāt paid off his debt yet for throwing his daggers on me so I got him to do something for me. Clauen still nodded in the end even though heās completely unhappy.\n\nāOka- alright. I also have to look after the corpse anyway.ā\n\n(T/N: at first Clauen said āokayā in informal speech form, then added -ģµėė¤ to change it to formal speech.)\n\nāThank you.ā\n\nBy doing this, I assumed he has paid off half of his debt. I have to use him again next time.\n\nThe place where Idoro,-the red-haired member of Special Task Squad-, lead us to was the deepest room inside the main building of the mansion. Based on the servants descriptions, seems like itās true that the room was the Countās. I didnāt sense any human presence inside the empty room.\n\nāThis way.ā\n