A faint light from the ceiling illuminated the dark building. Rishi looked up to identify the source.
“Is that a magic stone with an eternal spell cast on it?”
“That’s right.”
“It must have cost a fortune.”
In an era where magic was fading, hiring a mage was like trying to pluck a star from the sky, and the prices of magical artifacts were skyrocketing.
“Naturally, the Holy Kingdom provided the funding. It was built back when magic stones weren’t this expensive.”
The interior of the building was a vast, open space without separate rooms. In the center, several display stands shimmered with a golden light.
Traps were likely hidden even along the path leading toward them, so Kay walked ahead to disarm them.
Finally reaching the golden display stands, Rishi was able to lay eyes on the four objects resting upon them.
A goblet. A sword. A wand. A robe.
At first glance, they looked ordinary—if anything, they appeared old and useless.
“You must never touch them, Rishi.”
Even without Kay’s warning, Rishi had no intention of doing so.
If an ordinary person were to touch a holy relic incorrectly, they would die or end up in a situation far worse than death. Records even existed of dangerous events occurring simply because a holy relic was nearby.
“There are many records regarding holy relics. In the past, there were even professional occupations for people who sought them out, calling them ‘Treasures.’ Some commoners even owned them.”
The Holy Kingdom, deeming the relics dangerous, began to collect and manage them. However, during a war that broke out one day, countless relics were destroyed or lost.
The four relics Kay currently possessed were the ones the Holy Kingdom had struggled to protect amidst that chaos.
“Each holy relic has its own ability. It’s said that a long time ago, there were people who could use those abilities….”
“Are there none now?”
“None. There might be, but it’s so dangerous that most people don’t even dare to try.”
“Does one die just by touching them?”
“If you die, that’s actually fortunate…. There are cases where one becomes trapped within their own body.”
“Trapped within one’s body?”
“Your mind remains sound, but you become unable to move your body at all. Even your pupils. In short, your body becomes a prison.”
Rishi tried to imagine such a situation. A sound mind, but unable to move even one’s eyes.
“That’s horrifying.”
“Of course, not all holy relics are that dangerous, and there are cases where it’s safe to touch them, but one can never be too careful.”
Kay explained the four holy relics.
The golden goblet, from which grain supposedly flowed endlessly.
The sword of death, which, if plunged into the heart, could perfectly heal those who were sick or wounded beyond recovery.
Willas’s Wand, which made beasts follow one’s commands.
The Zerius Robe, which rendered the wearer invisible.
While explaining in a low, pleasant voice, Kay suddenly stopped and turned around.
Rishi looked back too, but no one was there.
“It seems our expected guest has arrived, Rishi.”
“Huh?”
“Viscount Alford Hutchis.”
“Ah… how did you…?”
Kay tapped his ear lightly.
“Wolves have excellent hearing.”
Kay took Rishi’s hand.
“Shall we go together? It’ll be a chance to show off our affectionate side.”
“No.”
Rishi smiled quietly.
“Go alone, Kay. Though I’m not sure if you’ll be able to snatch the gold mine from Viscount Hutchis without my help.”
+++
Alford did not enter the drawing room; instead, he stood in the hallway outside, boasting to the butler and the maids passing by about how passionate his romance with Iris had been.
The maids, who hadn’t yet experienced much of Iris, listened to Alford’s stories with interest, murmuring, “Oh my. Oh my.”
Gillette was among them.
“It was by that lake. Where we shared our first kiss… I can still vividly recall Iris’s eyelashes trembling in that bluish light. I made a decision then. I would marry Iris! And Iris answered that her heart was the same.”
No one stopped Alford from rambling. The past a noblewoman wished to hide was merely an amusing story for the maids.
Jamie, who had assumed Alford was just an ordinary butler, stood by and listened intently to his stories.
Though Jamie wore a subtle smile, his sharp eyes were busy checking the faces of the maids present.
“Oh… hey, let’s go, quickly.”
At the sight of Kay walking from down the hall, the maids scattered in every direction.
Only Jamie remained beside Alford.
Alford stood proudly, waiting for Kay to approach.
“You didn’t go inside and wait.”
Once he reached Alford, Kay muttered this before walking into the drawing room first.
His words felt curt, but Alford followed Kay inside regardless.
As soon as he sat on the sofa, Alford brought up his main point.
“I have something to say regarding Iris….”
“Sell me the Lavent gold mine, Viscount Hutchis.”
Because his sentence was cut off, Alford frowned.
He didn’t like that the much younger-looking Kay had used informal speech with him.
Even if Kay’s rank was higher, it was common courtesy among nobles of the same status for the younger party to use formal speech when the other was older.
“Look here, Count Green. I am….”
“I’ll offer a good price.”
“Let me finish….”
“I,”
Kay elegantly crossed his legs.
“Don’t want to talk about anything other than the gold mine.”
“Iris is my woman!”
Kay’s statement and Alford’s shout happened simultaneously.
Alford was fuming, but Kay didn’t even twitch an eyebrow, speaking with ease.
“I might even pay about ten percent above the market value for the gold mine, Viscount.”
“Count! I am talking about Iris right now. The poor, pitiful Iris whom you snatched away from me!”
“It seems so. But what a shame. I’m more interested in the gold mine.”
“I never intended to bring up the gold mine in the first place!”
“I was only thinking about the gold mine.”
Alford looked at him, wondering if he was joking, but there was no hint of humor on Kay’s face.
With a languid expression, he only repeated the talk of the gold mine.
Realizing this would be endless, Alford finally spoke.
“I will not sell the Lavent gold mine. Not even for ten million gold.”
“I heard you intended to give it to Duke Witlow.”
“That is…!”
He couldn’t add the words *’as the price for buying Iris.’*
“Because he will be my father-in-law in the future….”
“Hmm.”
“Anyway, let’s end the talk of the gold mine here and speak of Iris. You may not know this, but Iris and I have been promised to marry since long ago. We met three years ago, and….”
Alford repeated the story he had told the maids earlier.
This time, Kay didn’t interrupt and listened to him.
He had originally prepared several plans to obtain the Lavent gold mine from Alford. He had even investigated the various corrupt dealings of the Hootchis Trading Company that Alford managed. He had intended to use those to persuade Alford if necessary.
However, the moment he heard Alford blathering about Iris while walking to the drawing room, he changed his plans.
It would be better to show Alford a harsher side. To ensure he never spoke of Iris with that mouth ever again.
“Now you understand, Count Green? Iris can only smile happily when she is with me.”
“She smiled quite well in front of me, too.”
“That’s because she was likely scared because you took her by force, Count. Iris is timid and delicate.”
*Timid? Iris?*
*This man truly knows nothing about Rishi.*
“Even if you are a Count, you cannot forcefully take a woman. If people find out that a Guardian of the Holy Relics used his honor in such a way, they will despise you. If the Holy Kingdom finds out, your status as a Guardian might be revoked!”
As Kay remained silent, the emboldened Alford began to subtly threaten him.
Kay stood up slowly.
“I have something I want to show you, Viscount. Follow me.”
“First, I’ll deal with the Iris matter……”
“Follow me, Viscount.”
As Kay left the drawing room, Alford had no choice but to follow in his footsteps.
While walking down the hallway, Kay signaled to Jamie with his eyes. Jamie nodded and disappeared from sight.
Alford was too busy trying to keep up with Kay to notice the exchange of glances between Kay and Jamie.
Kay appeared to be walking at a leisurely pace, yet even though Alford was practically running to catch up, the distance between them didn’t shrink.
The two walked for a long time.
‘Is this mansion really this huge?’
They went up and down staircases. They turned left and right through corridors.
From the outside, it didn’t look nearly this large; it felt as though he were walking through a massive labyrinth.
Finally, they arrived at a room featuring a thick iron door.
Kay opened the door, which looked heavy enough that no one could open it alone, without the slightest effort and stepped inside.
Alford hesitated before cautiously entering the room.
*Thud—!*
The heavy sound of the door slamming shut made Alford jump.
Kay was looking at Alford with an inscrutable expression.
“Wh-what is this place?”
It was dark, and he couldn’t see his surroundings well.
When Kay pressed a button on the wall, the room brightened, revealing the scene within.
“Gasp!”
Alford gasped.
“This is what you call a torture chamber. It’s a place I quite like.”
Kay said calmly as he walked toward a chair with a grotesque design. Strange equipment was attached to the chair.
“You place this on your head and secure this around your neck. If you press this button, it tightens the head, and if you press this one, this ring around the neck slowly rises.”
Listening to Kay explain it as if he were enjoying himself, Alford shuddered as he imagined the scene.
“Since you have a short neck, Viscount, maybe we should use this ring to stretch it out a bit.”
“W-what kind of joke is that…… Hahahaha.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
Alford decided to pretend he had misheard Kay’s soft mutterings.
“This statue here is famous. It looks like an ordinary statue, but inside are sharp needles……”
“In this round barrel, we lock people inside. If you put them in and light a fire underneath……”
“This tool here is for the teeth……”
“This one is for the fingernails……”
Kay explained every device and tool located throughout the room.
Alford could no longer contain himself and shouted.
“What exactly is your intention in showing me these things? Are you trying to threaten me?”
“Oh!”
Kay, who had been holding and toying with a sharp tool, opened his eyes wide.
“That’s a relief. You aren’t stupid enough not to know that.”
Kay stepped forward.
He didn’t do anything. He simply stared blankly at Alford.
Yet, strangely, Alford was crushed by an indescribable terror and ended up wetting himself.
Staring intently at the wretched man, Kay whispered.
“I didn’t want to spend a long time having a conversation in a confined space with a man leaking grease.”