Chapter 39
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He dismissed the illusion magic and reached out to check the old man's pulse himself.
The pulse was weak, and the black traces of necrosis were already spreading beneath the skin.
The old man didn't seem to have much time left.
"It's alright, young man. Gawain-nim healed us..."
Ludville, cloaked, surveyed the entire village.
And he met the people.
They felt no pain.
No fear, no sensation.
And the faint scent permeating the village center was the smell of a magic-based drug that numbed the senses.
'They've been like this since Princess Cardel was reported missing...'
As expected.
Cardel must be a group that functions solely around the third Princess, Odelia Cardel.
Most likely.
Yet, Odelia's abilities were thoroughly concealed, with 'Gawain Cardel' presented as the face.
This wasn't just a runaway of a naive youngest daughter.
Odelia, burdened with the family's duty alone, couldn't bear it and ran away.
His fist slowly clenched.
'It's understandable.'
As the head of the family, if sacrificing one person could protect the family, choosing that method would be a rational decision.
As a commander, Ludville could fully understand why Cardel did what they did.
"But why..."
His breathing grew rough.
An inexplicable discomfort, beyond his reason, persistently gnawed at him.
Eroding his patience and self-control, one by one.
It was seething somewhere within him.
A thick, brutal, cold yet hot, venomous emotion, endlessly screaming, why are those insects still breathing?
'The very name of Cardel, not a single one should be left in history.'
That's what he felt.
Ludville exhaled a deep sigh.
"Haa..."
Odelia Cardel.
It seems his madness flares up whenever he gets even slightly involved with her.
But why can't he still let her go and keep her confined within the castle?
* * *
Ludville sat silently at his desk.
With piercing eyes, he meticulously examined every report related to Cardel, one by one.
Not just simple documents.
Discarded copies, falsified statistics, even private communications of lower-level officials and sensory maps tracking magical flows.
Through every possible channel, he was dissecting the family.
"Rosenbach Village, treatment complete, huh..."
Ludville twisted his lips as he looked down at the report.
The village was merely packaged to look fine on the surface, but it had been rotten to the core for a long time.
Not Purification, but camouflage.
Concealment, manipulation, and exploitation.
'Rural villages were mostly like that.'
Remote villages untouched by outsiders, where no investigation requests would ever be made.
Cardel devoured such places first.
Choosing places where no one would notice, plausibly packaging them as if they had been Purified.
On the other hand, the central territories with lords were different.
The diseases, curses, and Demonic Energy that had raged so fiercely, to the point of requesting external assistance, had vanished cleanly as if they had never existed.
Thanks to Cardel's 'ancient magic.'
The villagers walked the streets with clear eyes and lively faces, as if they had never been sick.
'Whatever method they used...'
One thing was certain: the current Cardel was likely paying a greater price for using ancient magic than before.
Using a method that wasn't very efficient.
'Since the third Princess disappeared, they've only been selectively saving people...'
That meant that Cardel's achievements so far were the result of squeezing the Princess dry.
"...They should be wiped out."
When he faced the truth on-site and his madness threatened to erupt, he thought the raging fire would subside once he returned to the castle.
But the embers of madness, like a fire that burns on its own without stimulation, wouldn't extinguish even when suppressed.
Even after dissecting the name of Cardel as if performing an autopsy, he couldn't find a reason for them to breathe.
Just as suppressed anger was slowly pushing aside his reason.
"Just a moment, Your Highness."
Edwin interjected urgently.
"You're not, are you?"
"Not what?"
"It seems like you're having crazy thoughts. For example, planning to annihilate a heroic family that has protected the empire for hundreds of years..."
"I haven't done anything yet."
Please kill the murderous intent in your eyes before you speak...
Sensing a very ominous premonition, Edwin blurted out without taking a breath.
"I agree a hundred times over that Cardel are hypocrites. But... even if we reveal the truth, would the empire really abandon them? Isn't the transmission of the Divine Beast the identity of this land?"
He spoke very quickly, desperately, trying to read Ludville's mind.
"In that situation, if Your Highness punishes them with blood, labels like 'a monster jealous of the hero's bloodline' or 'a heretic coveting ancient magic' will be attached in an instant."
Ludville retorted with an annoyed expression.
"I know without you having to explain it so painstakingly."
"The problem is that you're thinking of committing it even though you know! Do you really want to become a traitor?!"
It was then.
With a short knock, Theodore quietly opened the door and appeared.
"Your Highness, the Princess left a separate message."
The sudden appearance of the head butler caused the Grand Duke and his aide's movements to halt simultaneously.
"...What message?"
"She said that tomorrow is the promised date, and she would like to visit you at your convenience, Your Highness."
Ludville frowned slightly.
His heart sank uncomfortably, then began to beat painfully.
Amidst the suppressed madness and anger, strangely, a strange anxiety and excitement were mixed in.
As if his body was reacting on its own before his consciousness could catch up.
It was an absurd reaction, as if he had taken some love potion that only appeared in legends.
Ludville stared at his slightly trembling fingertips, clenched them tightly, and muttered.
"Tomorrow already."
In a nonchalant tone that didn't reveal his emotions.
Edwin, who had no idea what his lord was thinking, was relieved that he could change the subject and beamed with a bright face.
He chattered excitedly.
"It seems she's been waiting for today? Seeing that she requested an audience as soon as you returned to the castle, Your Grace."
"..."
"Of course, you're planning to accept, right? As Your Highness's right-hand man, I must witness that scene from the side..."
Ludville didn't react to Edwin's endless, excited chatter.
But the fact that his heart was still pounding...
Whether it was his mind or his body that was the problem, one of them was definitely broken.
