Chapter 17

"I! Told! You! Not to go alone! But still! You did!"

Arndt was so surprised that he was soaking the bedspread with his tears.

But that didn't mean he wasn't angry.

"I'm sorry. But you know I have sleepwalking."

"Until recently..."

Arndt tried to refute but closed his mouth.

He thought that behind that, there would be a narration along the lines of 'until recently there were no issues but suddenly sleepwalking, what nonsense, I can't believe it, we should call a physician and have everyone thoroughly examined.'

But sleepwalking was inherently unpredictable.

He comforted Arndt while carefully omitting such comments.

"I didn't expect this to happen either. But Yu... Crown Prince His Highness saved me, didn't he?"

"That's the problem, precisely that part!"

Arndt struck the bed he had been clutching forcefully.

Mother of God.

"We don't have time to stay here long, Your Grace. Although it is presumptuous of me to say this, we should return to our castle and recover."

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. You shouldn't let even a drop of water touch your lips while here."

"Not even a drop of water?"

"Obviously not!"

Arndt's eyes bulged. Blood vessels were visible in the whites.

"Crown Prince His Highness's involvement in Hartmann's downfall...!"

"Be quiet. There are many ears listening."

When Leandros intervened, Arndt looked back.

Thanks to Yurik's consideration, all the servants had been dismissed from the bedroom.

At a glance, it seemed like a room without listening ears.

But that didn't guarantee that none of their conversation would leak out.

Leandros spoke in a low voice.

"...Arndt witnessed His Highness Yurik heading to the capital with Your Grace. It's not my place to interfere with how Your Grace thinks of His Highness Yurik. But as Arndt said, the Crown Prince's palace is not a place where one should stay long. Please understand just this."

Only then could he observe the two of them properly.

Clothes covered in dirt, shadows under their eyes, disheveled hair, chapped lips.

He too understood why Leandros and Arndt were advising this way.

But Yurik had also advocated for Arenheit's reinstatement.

...Huh? Thinking about it this way felt strange.

"As you both said, I don't intend to stay here long either."

"Really!"

"I just happened to wake up here. It seems I collapsed while wandering in the wasteland due to sleepwalking. Since I'm not that ill, how could I settle down here?"

"Then you'll return to Hartmann Castle?"

"Of course."

He decided not to tell the two of them what dream, what nightmare he had experienced.

Even he couldn't put it into words.

That he went to the wasteland and black soil was overflowing from the pit, and people were caught in mass hysteria, throwing themselves into the pit, and inside was a being that humans shouldn't recognize, so he immediately fainted?

What a story straight out of a novel.

"But the two of you escaped that confusing path well?"

"Ah, when we woke up in the morning, the path was right there. It's really strange. That we went around in circles on a path that wasn't even that long..."

"Is that so? And then you went to the town?"

"We did find a signpost pointing to the town."

As Arndt was about to say something, Leandros answered a beat faster.

"We went thinking Your Grace had headed to the town, but when we couldn't find your whereabouts, we separated again. During that time, Arndt witnessed His Highness the Crown Prince's carriage. We rushed to the capital as quickly as possible. That's all."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

He had been worried, but it seemed there was no need.

Arndt was seen tapping Leandros's thigh, and Leandros ignored Arndt's fist.

It seemed like their relationship had grown closer on the journey to the capital.

He was watching them with contentment when he stopped Arndt, who was trying to push Leandros.

"Then let's leave by tomorrow morning."

"Not today?"

"Why don't you look at yourselves? You've been running from the east to the capital without rest, haven't you?"

Only then did they look down at themselves.

They looked like they needed at least a few hours to wash up and sleep.

"Wash up and rest. Otherwise, you might collapse in the middle of the road on the way back."

But how would they cover the travel expenses for the return journey?

There was no hair left to cut.

* * *

Although they had firmly promised to return the very next day,

In the end, they had to stay at the Crown Prince's palace for as many as three days.

Every time they requested an audience with Yurik, the servant politely said:

"His Highness is so busy that he cannot spare time and asks for the Duke's understanding."

"Is he too busy to even spare the time for just a face-to-face meeting?"

"Please forgive him with your generous magnanimity, Your Grace."

When the servant prostrated himself completely on the floor while saying this, there was nothing he could say.

To think that they had to wait three full days because they couldn't have a conversation that would take 5 minutes, no, not even 1 minute.

I'll just leave, okay go ahead, may I borrow a carriage, yes go ahead and borrow it - couldn't they even have this much of a conversation?

Even a short talk that could be finished on the way to the bathroom?

Both Arndt and Leandros were perplexed.

By this point, it was clear that Yurik had another motive.

In the end, he met Yurik in the middle of the night on the fourth day.

Since Yurik wouldn't grant permission, he was planning to escape if necessary.

After sending away the servant under the pretext of going to bed, he was searching the room when there was a knock at the door.

"Your Grace, are you asleep?"

Should I say I'm sleeping or not?

While rummaging behind the curtain, he decided to pretend to be asleep.

Given how his mood had been so sour lately, he wanted to be a bit mischievous.

If there was no answer, they would leave on their own.

"Your Grace, His Highness the Crown Prince says he knows it's late, but he has urgent matters to discuss..."

"I'm not! I'm not sleeping!"

Crazy! Finally!

He hurriedly put the lamp containing the light-emitting stone back in its place and crawled into bed.

Why would someone who wouldn't budge even when begged to meet suddenly appear?

As soon as he got into the blanket, the door opened, and Yurik strode in with two servants carrying lanterns.

"So you were still awake. I hope I'm not disturbing you? I noticed all the servants were dismissed."

"Not at all. I just have some insomnia. But what brings you here at such a late hour?"

It was quite a chore to act as if he had just woken up.

As he tried to get out of bed, the servants helped at his side.

Yurik was watching this scene as if it were interesting.

"I've heard your request for an audience several times, so I've made time like this."

"Since you're always said to be busy, I thought it would take a few more days."

"Do you know that an official audience can take months?"

"I didn't know that."

"Well, your father the Chamberlain used to enter and exit the royal palace so casually. It's understandable that you wouldn't know."

The Crown Prince seemed to be trying to subtly embarrass him, but it wouldn't work.

Is he my father? My father? Besides, both this father and that father have been dead for a long time.

"I was so young that I don't remember. More importantly, do you have time at night?"

"How could I sleep comfortably when the Duke was so insistent?"

"To think that I was such an important presence, I am endlessly surprised and pleased."

"You can be a bit more proud. You've changed a lot from when I saw you before?"

"People naturally change as they live."

Sitting face to face with Yurik, he could see the clothes Yurik was wearing clearly.

Unlike the comfortable clothes he had seen before, the dark formal uniform fit his body tightly and looked constraining.

However, it matched well with his muted, bright colors, highlighting his features.

Despite his face being covered in fatigue, only his bright red eyes remained alive.

"I have a request for the Duke first."

"Please speak."

"Does the Duke know what's happening in the east?"

"Are you referring to the wasteland project?"

Wasn't that the only event related to the east mentioned in the original work?

Yurik nodded.

"Actually, there's a tremendous problem with that project. I need someone to resolve it."

"That problem...?"

"As you might know, they were trying to develop various businesses centered on demonic beasts in the eastern wasteland. This is all because of the large underground cavity in the east."

"Underground cavity."

"It seems to have formed naturally from very ancient times. The weak ground surface above it collapsed, and the demonic beasts below crawled up."

"If that's all, is there anything I can help with?"

The nightmare came back to him.

It was probably just a dream. But as the vivid sensation of his body melting came to mind, goosebumps rose on his forearm.

Yurik, pressing his eyes firmly, answered in a tired voice.

"But in fact, that's just the surface-level business. What the underground cavity holds is not just an endless supply of demonic beasts."

"Are you saying there's something else?"

"Do you know that there are beings more evil, insidious, and dangerous than demonic beasts?"

"What is it?"

The Crown Prince smiled. He couldn't understand his intention.

"If that being has the potential to cause more serious damage than a hundred demonic beasts combined, it should obviously be eliminated. I believe you would agree with that."

"So you're asking me to take some measures against that being?"

"If the Duke would step forward and do so, I would certainly welcome it."

Yurik was clearly asking him.

To check what was in that underground cavity and deal with it.

There was nothing in the original work about what was in the pit or how to solve it.

So no matter how skilled he claimed to be, there were limits to what he could do.

"Wouldn't it be better to entrust this to a more trusted aide?"

"They would throw themselves into the flames of hell at my word, but I know the value of human life."

"Must I do it?"

"I believe the Duke is the right person for this task."

"Even though I'm different from the previous Duke?"

"Aren't you a Hartmann?"

One thing was clear right now.

If he refused this request, he didn't know what would happen afterwards.

While he was pleased to be able to leave the palace, the thought of heading to the east brought an inexplicable discomfort creeping up.

That dream.

The black, strange mud and the giant creature.

The voice that whispered so depressingly, as if to kill.

It suddenly came to mind.

Why was he sending me there?

He silently nodded.

"I will do my best, but I cannot guarantee a solution. Especially if it's happening in the eastern wasteland."

"Let me say it again, I trust not you but your name."

"...My late father would be pleased to hear that."

"Oh? I wonder if he would cry tears of joy."

It was absurd.

Yurik, having said what he needed to say, calmly stood up and left the bedroom.

Just before he left, he said one last thing.

"And, let's keep this matter a secret between the Duke and me. There's nothing to gain from the Eastern Merchant Alliance finding out about this. I don't want to cause harm to Hartmann."

No, if that's the case, don't entrust it to me!

Whether he was screaming internally or not, Yurik disappeared with a wave of his hand.

The next day.

He told Leandros and Arndt, who had come to greet him in the morning, about what had happened the night before.

"...So he told me to go to the east."

The air in the room turned cold.

He thought Leandros and Arndt would follow his orders even if reluctantly.

Leandros opened his mouth.

"You must not. If you insist on going, please reconsider once more."