The Incubus King of Holy Sword Academy (WN): Chapter II - 1

 

Chapter 1: The Change in the Soderholm Territory

 In the northwest of the former Soderholm territory, is a dense forest.

 To the south of the forest is a village built by Baron Ixel Soderholm, the former head of Soderholm, and to the north of the forest is a swampy area that is believed to be the resting place of an old god.

 Since the revelation that Baron Ixel is a demon and his defeat, the marshland has been overrun by various magical beasts, threatening the inhabitants of the village and their living quarters.

 The provisionary government that governed the former Soderholm territory took the situation very seriously and called in adventurers and mercenaries from the surrounding area who were capable of defeating the monsters, but other than the pair of Christopher Soderholm and Gwendolyn Helson, who had killed a werewolf a while earlier, none of the groups had achieved any decent results.

 On the contrary, less than 20% of the group even managed to return after setting foot in the northwestern forest.

 Those who did not return all died in the forest.

 Forest of No Return.

 Forest of Death.

 Or, based on the few testimonies, the forest was called the forest where "witches" roamed, killing intruders.

"Haa, haa, ha, haa... d-damn it... damn it..., haa, haa"

 Nikolai Hepken, a member of the C-rank adventurer party "Knights of the Pioneer Village", was now regretting intensely his decision to accept the request to defeat the magical beasts in the "Forest of No Return".

 All of his allies were dead.

 No, they were killed.

 Nikolai was running away like a hare toward the southern pioneer village, with the decisive sound of his allies being slaughtered in his back.

(Damn it, am I having a bad dream? It wasn't supposed to be like this. What's with those creepy robed women!)

 Abandoning his companions, he fled.

 But this is not an action to save himself.

 Nikolai, who had been a soldier under Baron Ixel until last month, knew the importance of informing everyone about the enemy.

 It is a fool's thing to die with a sense of duty that one cannot abandon one's comrades.

(I have to tell them what I saw. All the newly arrived executives are idiots, but if it's Christopher, I'm sure...)

 Nikolai thinks of the dark-haired boy who was left for a monastery for fifteen years.

 He had felt that he was a genius ever since he was an instructor at the castle.

 Even after he went to the monastery, he had heard rumors of his great talent.

 Baron Ixel, who was killed for heresy, had described Christopher as "a frivolous, lecherous, lazy, and ill-behaved child," but Nikolai was fascinated by the boy's abilities, which overshadowed his faults.

 If it's him, he would surely be able to repel the darkness that was creeping silently into the former Soderholm territory――.

"――!?"

 Suddenly, the humus in front of his eyes heaves.

 The roots of countless trees popped out of the humus.

 Brown and thick, they intertwined like the tentacles of an octopus and eventually formed a figure.

 A woman in a black robe—!

"■■■, ■■■"

 A low whisper, a woman's voice that seemed to giggle in his ear echoed in the surrounding darkness.

 From the shade of the trees around Nikolai who stopped, countless figures in robes appeared.

"Damn it, I have to do it."

 Nikolai was originally a soldier working in Baron Ixel's castle.

 If you trace his ancestry, you will end up in a noble family somewhere, with the blood of a prestigious family flowing through his veins.

 As a result, he was able to use holy arts that only nobles could use.

"God Sword!"

 The holy seal was drawn in the void.

 Then, blue light-emitting particles gathered on the blade of the longsword that Nikolai was holding, expanding the blade twice as much.

 This holy art "God Sword" kills old demons and negates the mysteries used by spirits.

 There is no demon that cannot be slain by this sword, and as a rule, the magic of the enemy fails the moment it touches the blade.

 Nikolai wields the "God Sword" to intimidate the women around him.

 The women seemed to be afraid that the "God Sword" would be fatal to them, and they just floated around among the trees and did not attack him.

 Will this somehow work―― when Nicolai saw a glimmer of hope, the black-robed woman in front of him quickly drew a seal in the void

 It looks like a triangle turned upside down.

 The woman's pale hands leave afterimages in the darkness of the forest.

"■■■......"

 Words Nikolai doesn't understand leak from the woman's mouth.

 The red lips under the hood seem to say, "Plunder".

"Ahh?"

 Blue particles are emitted from Nikolai's "God Sword".

 The bluish-white light cloaked in the sword's body rapidly dissipated into the darkness of the forest.

 In the blink of an eye, the "God Sword" on the longsword vanished, leaving Nikolai with only a well-maintained, plain and unremarkable longsword in his hand.

"N-no way. The [God Sword] is."

 Disappeared?

"God, Sword."

"――――!?"

 The blue particles that had been scattered and dissipated reassembled.

 The blue ashes of the holy tree, as they are called, had unexpectedly appeared as a sword in the hands of the woman, who was supposed to be a demon.

"God Bow"

"God Spear"

"God Spear"

"God Bow"

"W-what!?"

 The language of humankind is whispered in quick succession.

 The "witches" of the forest tie the holy arts seals with perfect precision, manifesting a bluish-white light in their hands. There are differences such as a slightly dull shine and a shorter blade length, but it was definitely a "God Sword", "God Bow", and "God Spear".

(My holy art... was stolen!?)

 No, "our", is the right word.

 The companions who were partying together were all former soldiers and knights who had worked for Ixel. They, like Nikolai, can use the holy arts.

 Speaking of which, one of his companions had just been complaining about his inability to use the holy arts.

 Nikolai, who was in the rear support group, did not understand what was going on, but now he knew exactly what was going on.

 They had taken the holy art of Nikolai and the others and used it themselves.

"Are you guys human?"

 Nikolai mutters while sweating.

 The women are smiling.

 Their tree-rooted legs undulating from the hem of their robes.

"What are you guys...?"

 Magic is weak against the holy arts.

 He has never heard of any magic that works in any way against the holy arts.

 So how did these women take away Nikolai's holy art? The first response that came to Nikolai's mind―― was that the same holy art user made it look like it had taken away Nikolai's holy art.

"Shit"

 It's a one-eighth chance.

 He rushed into the thinnest part of the women's encirclement.

 He swung his sword to intimidate them.

 However, one of the witches drew a new unknown seal, and a moment later, Nikolai's cheeks, arms, and hair glowed blue. Then Nikolai's body instantly lost its freedom, and he was unable to move a single step from that spot.

 On the contrary, a bluish-white, luminescent hand appeared on his neck and began to press hard against the flesh of his throat.

"Ah... gah..."

 The airway was blocked.

 Nikolai's body was floating.

 It was like being hanged.

 The witch in front of him thrust her right hand forward and squeezed her fingers as if she were performing a chokehold.

(Everyone, run away...!)

 Resisting the fear of death, Nikolai thinks of the villagers in the pioneer village.

(This whole area is no good! Now that Ixel is dead, the place is infested with bad people.)

"...! ......"

 He claws at his throat.

 The pressure in his throat did not ease, and the next moment several "Arrows" and "Spears" were thrust into Nikolai's body.

 In the end, Nikolai's arm hangs loosely with the sound of his neck breaking.

 What he remembered just before his consciousness was suddenly cut off was the figure of Christopher Soderholm in the past, with a mischievous smile on his face.

 × × ×

"I'm sorry to bother you so late at night, Patricia Ojou. Could it be that you were in the middle of dinner?"

 North District of Yggdrasil, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Yggdrasil.

 In this area, where Yggdrasil Holy Sword Academy is located, there are several villas built for the local counts who serve the king.

 Christo was visiting the villa of Count Lowell, which is located in one of these high-class residential areas.

 In front of the magnificent brick mansion, there was a large front garden with a lawn and cobblestone pavement.

"No, we were in the middle of an after-dinner family gathering."

 In front of Christo is a gorgeous, red-haired girl named Patricia. She was wearing a modest dress of white and dark green. The dress was so ordinary that it could have been considered "servant's clothes" if worn by a typical town girl, but because Patricia was a beautiful woman with a glamorous atmosphere, even her dress seemed to sparkle and shine.

 A few days ago, she had looked terrible when she learned that her child had been murdered, but now she seemed to have completely regained her former self.

"So what can I do for you?"

 Patricia asked, glancing at the guard and servants standing behind her.

 The guard was sending Christo a smirk, and the maids next to her were looking at Christo and Patricia alternately, their eyes shining.

 Patricia, too, seemed to notice their gazes, her cheeks blushing as she tried not to look directly at Christo.

"What, do they think my coming to visit you is some kind of a rendezvous or something?"

"No, it's not. But if you think about it calmly, it is easy to understand that there is nothing going on between you and me. I am a widow with a dying husband, and you are my brother-in-law who is dating Mel on the premise of marriage. There can be no such a meeting."

"A widow and her brother-in-law's love affair? It's the kind of thing you hear about in minstrels."

"I'll get angry, you know?"

"Don't be so tense. I have something important to tell you. ――I've come to talk to you about something important. I'm sorry, but can I borrow Patricia Ojou for a moment? I would like to speak with her alone."

"Hey! Christo!"

"Kyaa, that's what it was after all!" "It's because Ojou is a devilish woman. It can't be helped." "This is serious! I have to tell the mistress!"

"Wait, everyone!? I-it's wrong! There's nothing between this man and me! There's nothing to be guilty of... Ah, no, I don't have anything to be ashamed of. Not at all......"

 Patricia's voice gradually became weaker after spending more than a week in bed just having s*x in a self-indulgent manner. The maids were finally convinced when they saw her flushed and troubled face.

 To them, who did not know what was going on, Christo was the man who had saved Patricia's life by rescuing her from a difficult situation. He is also a beautiful young man full of sex appeal. They probably thought it was strange that a love triangle involving Patricia, Christo, and Melvina would not develop.

 In fact, they are about half right.

 Christo also intends to make Patricia his wife in the end, so even if it doesn't turn out to be a love triangle, he was planning to have them both fall in love with him s*xually.

 That being said, it seems like things will get complicated if he doesn't properly deceive them now, so Christo decided to follow Patricia's lead.

"Everyone, Patricia Ojou...... as she says, there is nothing between me and her. I certainly saved her life, but that's all. She has a loving husband, Setanta Lou, and I have a beloved girlfriend, Melvina Lou. How can that lead to an illicit love affair?

“But the young lady was only talking about Christopher-san at the dinner table.”

"Hey Angeline!"

"Oh, hehehe. I beg your pardon."

"Ojou, I think you should stop cheating."

"Shut up, Elias."

 The maid with the cut on her cheek and the muscular guard are reprimanded in turn.

 Patricia grabbed Christo by the arm and began to walk away, her shoulders shaking.

"Oi"

"You want to have a conversation with just the two of us, right? Then, this way. You guys are waiting there. It's no use trying to follow me. As soon as I know that you're following me, I'll make you do 100 push-ups as a sign of disrespect."

 The servants' listless replies came from behind them.

 Christo walked into the darkness of the residential area, with Patricia taking him by the arm.

 × × ×

“Melvina and I will be leaving for Soderholm tomorrow evening. I'm going to fulfill a request from Count Netzel, and Melvina is going for a change of scenery. We will stay there for a little less than two weeks, until the beginning of May, and then we will go to Helson Territory."

"Helson Territory. Are you going to see Gwendolyn?"

 Patricia asked as she received the ticket for the airship from Christo.

"If possible, I don't want to meet her. Or rather, I don't want to have anything to do with her."

 Christo thinks that woman is crazy, and now that he has Patricia, he no longer needs to seduce her into becoming his servant.

 Christo continued.

“Count Netzel is passionate about Gwendolyn. He wants to start some kind of project to save the Helson territory financially. So he's sending me and his team to survey the area, which is a prerequisite for the project."

“Saving the Helson territory financially? I understand that Gwendolyn is an attractive woman, but I can't believe that he would waste his own money for that....... No, let's not speak ill of him. And he is one of the people who helped me."

"It's a decent assessment that Netzel is trying to dump money down the drain. Baron Helson's territory is the poorest land in the kingdom, so much so that it is known as the [Desolate Area]. It seems that agriculture was thriving during the time when the Night Empire was prosperous, but due to salt damage, it gradually became impossible to harvest crops. In terms of commerce, it is safer to divert to the enclave of the D'Alessio frontier county, where it is better protected, and has been completely cut off from trade routes. It is said that the Baron territory is currently in a state where they are somehow making ends meet with subsidies from the country and bandit-like acts by the Baron's forces."

"Does the Count understand this and is trying to start some kind of business?"

"Does he understands...? His bureaucrats understands, so they are trying to stop Netzel. But love makes people blind."

"――――"

“I understand what you mean. Even if he doesn’t save Gwendolyn’s family in earnest, if he just gives her some money, Gwendolyn will open her legs. I guess."

"T-that kind of devilish thing... how could I possibly think that......"

 Patricia's end of the sentence is weak.

 Although she has a certain sense of ethics because she was raised properly, her original direction of thinking is more devious and wily than the devil's. He had a feeling from the first time they met that they would get along well, and he knew that he would be able to work with her for a long time.

 The women who had learned about Christo's thought process in the northern monastery were reluctant to have anything more than a physical relationship with him―― they didn't really understand him, but with this woman, maybe―― he can't help but think.

"Didn't you advise Setanta to do so?"

"……That's……"

"You did. Because of your advice, Gwendolyn was added as one of Setanta's wives. If you create a ready-made case and sexually train her before Gwendolyn realizes it, you will have a competent female warrior and a mother. That's a better deal than hiring a lousy mercenary."

"――Christopher. Did you come to me at this late hour of the night to dig up my past sins? I am very displeased now."

"I brought up this topic because I wanted to understand the devil you are. But this was not an appropriate topic...... I am sorry.

"No"

 Patricia lowered her eyes.

“I, too, am sorry for what I did to Gwendolyn. We are already separated, but if Gwendolyn is in trouble, I want to do something about it.”

"Whatever your intentions, Baron Helson was able to receive support from the Hero family. What you did was save a lot of the Barony's people. It's not about feeling responsible."

"You are a man of mystery, gnawing at my wounds and comforting me at the same time."

"Because I'm a devil. Demons are mostly incomprehensible."

“As for the trip to the former Soderholm territory, I will join you later. I cannot leave here right away tomorrow."

"You mean you need time to spend with your family and to move into the Muma's Cradle. I understand. I will let Melvina know."

"Thank you. I will return to the Royal Capital at the same time we leave the former Soderholm territory. Please give my regards to Gwendolyn."

"Why? Based on the flow of the conversation, aren't you also coming to inspect the territory?"

 Patricia shook her head as Christo tilted her head.

"I am more worried about myself first than I am about others. There is a re-entrance exam for the Holy Sword Academy in late May. I was expelled from school by Finn Lou, so I have to take the entrance exam again. I don't feel like it, but I have to remember what I almost forgot."

"You've been accepted once and they want you to take it again....... The admissions department at the Holy Sword Academy can only handle things in a very rigid manner."

“I don't know what the Holy Sword Academy's side had in mind, but since I was expelled once and then admitted again with Christo's support, I think they had no choice but to do so as a matter of paperwork. Besides, there's a substantial point in having me take the entrance exam."

"Hmm...? Oh, right. You can't use holy arts anymore."

"Yes"

 Patricia nodded.

 To make Patricia take the entrance exam again when her abilities unchanged would simply be a waste of time twice. However, now that Patricia's ability is greatly lacking, there is a great possibility that she does not have the ability expected of an entrant.

"What was your score in the entrance exam in February?"

"It is 953 out of 1000 points."

"That's too high."

"It's just a coincidence. I just got lucky."

"Are you at the top of your class, by any chance?"

“Yes. I passed at the top of my class."

(No wonder everyone says Patricia is a brilliant woman. Come to think of it, even when we were casually chatting, she seemed to talk about things that showed her deep knowledge of the subject. She is as serious a student as she appears to be.)

 Because of his seclusion in the frontier, Christo was not well versed in politics, geography, national history, the customs of the nobility, and heraldry, which is a must. Sometimes even Melvina is surprised by his ignorance.

 He had a sense of crisis that if he went to take the final exam without studying at all, he would probably fail the exam, so it was an unexpected pleasure to have the top of the class on his side. Judging from her usual natural behavior, it seemed that Melvina could not study well either, so Christo decided to have Patricia lecture on all the subjects before the exam.

"I admire you, top of the class. You must have worked very hard."

"No, no. Thank you very much."

"What is the minimum passing score?"

"I don't know. Didn't you ask Mel?"

"Why is Melvina's name coming out?"

"Because she has been allotted 200 points, and she has zero in the holy arts. She should be at the bottom or near the bottom of the passing grade."

“I didn’t know. I think she said she lost her score sheet or something."

"That's what she told us...... Poor her, Kat was so amused that she asked."

"How many points did Kat have?"

 My personal impression was that Kat was just barely passing as well.

“I was shown the score sheet at a later time, and it was 780 points. Gwendolyn also scored about 800."

"Well, both of them have high scores."

"Right. Gwendolyn aside, Kat had a good tutor from the chieftain. I was only shown the scores of the subjects that she scored high individually, but in some of the subjects, I was outscored as well."

"Eh……?"

 Kat beat Patricia, who got almost perfect marks in almost all subjects...?

 So it's a mystery why the overall score is only 780, but it's Kat, so I was convinced. In addition to holy arts, combat techniques, and physical ability exams, super cramming education in some subjects, and discarding the other subjects―― If she used such a rational exam tactic, Kat's score was within the possible range.

 But something seemed off――

“Well, that's okay. But then I guess I'd be accepted even if I didn't have two hundred points or so. Is it that hard?"

 Moreover, those who failed the first test should also come to take the retest, so the minimum passing score should go down.

 At Christo's question, Patricia made a troubled face.

“I don't know, so I have to study again. I have to pass in order to make Christo pay me a huge amount of money......"

“You're trying to get me to pay for it?”

"I will harass you that much. You are my husband's enemy, after all."

 Patricia smiled darkly as she said this.

 She has a rather insidious personality, it seems.

"Okay. So you're leaving halfway to study?"

“Yes. I'll squeeze your soul before then, so please be prepared for that."

 Patricia looked at Christo's crotch for a moment with a dark smile on her face.

 Patricia, newly born as a demon, craves large amounts of semen.

 Where she needs to milk the male regularly, she seemed unwilling to use a male prostitute.

 If Patricia, who should be mourning her husband, were to ask for a male prostitute, her parents would probably kill themselves in shock.

“I won't let you get away with it, even if you try to escape by talking about Mel. I will fuck you until you dry up."

"You're not going to fuck me. Quite the opposite. I will fuck you."

"I wonder about that? It may be the case with Mel, but with me, it's a different story. Christo, you have a taste for masochism, don't you?"

"Of course not. Stop it."

"I'll tease you gently. Fufufu..."

 He was not averse to such play, but Christo thought he was an aggressor by nature.

 It's definitely not the side of being exploited.

 Christo was the one who fucked and impregnated women.

 The next time he fucked Patricia, he would have to make sure she knew that.

 He will never lose to Patricia―― Christo returned a relaxed smile to the red-haired girl.

 Patricia snorted.

"Putting aside personal feuds, as long as I receive money, I will do my best to help you. Before, you said something random like building a country, but what do you really want?"

"To build a country."

“Really? What kind of country are you going to build? Where? In what way? By when? What are the specific costs?"

"I haven't thought of everything."

"Look, Christo."

 Patricia lowered her eyebrows.

“You don’t have to pretend that you want to [create a country!] I won't laugh at the idea of living a life of pleasure, or making a lot of money, or any of the other banal desires.”

"I'm not trying to be cool. But you are half right. It's not exactly my wish to build a country. ――It was the wish of the dead old man."

“Your foster parent told you to build a country, so you decided to build a country.”

 Christ nodded.

“I myself am an extremely boring man with no initiative. I don't have such a noble desire to fight for my country or the holy tree like your husband, or to help my starving people in my own territory like Gwendolyn. As you say, I would be happy if I could just go about my daily life in a safe, uneventful, and self-indulgent manner."

 Christo was born in Soderholm Castle and raised by Ixel, who doted on him.

 Ever since he was little, he has been a naughty kid, a demon who loves to look at girls' underwear and to skip sword training and spend his days lazily.

 Everyone at the castle was nice to him, including his mentor, a young man named Nikolai, who was very fond of Christo.

 After Christo was sent to the monastery by Ixel, who was concerned about his future, he had the women he had sex with take care of him, and he would skip work at random and go snogging (only wives!). He would go to the convent to have s*x with the nuns, and at night he would indulge in perverted play with the nuns.

 Twenty-three years of nothing but stagnation.

 There was no way that Christo, who had lived such a hopeless life, had any sane hopes or intentions.

 ……When he summed it up and told Patricia, she nodded with a slightly confused look. [Only wives!]. Christo reflected that the puns may have been boring.

"Hmph, I don't think you can understand my uselessness. You who have been working hard since you were young."

“No. I used to get so fed up with everything in the world that I would withdraw and concentrate all my energy on painting, so I'm a pretty bad person."

"But you are doing what you have to do and producing results. That's why you're here now, isn't it?"

"That's right."

 Christo puffed out his chest.

“I didn't even do the things I had to do! I've been living my life, avoiding the hard things and choosing only the things that were fun. The people around me have accepted me as such and spoiled me. There is no one in the world as blessed as I am! I am a bastard who has lived on this beautiful face and the prestige of my foster parent until I reached this age!"

"This is the first time I've seen someone so confidently demeaning themselves..."

"I'm not demeaning myself. This is my story, and it's not a lie."

 Christo continued.

“I've been able to do what I want until I'm this old because of them. Because of them, I was able to eat, sleep, have s*x, and go around slaughtering monsters, beasts, and bandits, even in the monastery. If only I had the old man, I would have continued to do so for years to come. But now the old man is dead."

 He closes his eyes.

 He still remembers the moment when it started.

 Christo, who had been lukewarm for twenty-three years, might have been born for the first time at that moment.

“The old man showed me the way when I was about to get lost. At the same time, he said it was his long-cherished wish. I felt sorry for him if I didn't fulfill his wish. It's a little too late for the filial piety of a filial son."

"I see. I understand what you are saying, but it is a borrowed wish, so it lacks any concrete meaning."

"That's right. I just inherited the old man's wish."

 Christo pointed to the ticket for the airship in Patricia's hand.

“The reason I undertook the job in the Soderholm territory was not only for the purpose of obtaining money, but also for the purpose of exploring the old man's wishes. Even if I said I was going to build a country, I had no idea exactly what kind of country I wanted to build, or when and how I wanted to build it. So I wanted to find out the direction of the country's development from the old man's belongings, the documents he left behind, and the conditions of the pioneer villages."

"I see"

"My wish is after that. If I don't break the old man's spell, my story will remain at a standstill."

 When Christo had finished his story, Patricia looked at Christo with a slightly different perspective and nodded.

“I think I know a little more about what kind of person my business partner is. Thank you for telling me all this.”

"In that case, I will hand over this document."

"What is it?"

 Patricia stiffened as Christo pulled out a thick sheaf of papers from his suitcase.

"It is about the powers and special abilities of demons, how to sing to charm an opponent, how to emit pheromones to charm a man or woman by ingesting certain substances, how to control an opponent with the evil eye, how to create a messenger, and so on. I have summarized everything from the history of the establishment of the methodology to the methods of practice. I believe that by reading this, you should be able to roughly understand how to use your power, so please put it into practice and improve your abilities. Do not misuse it. It may reveal your true identity. At the end of each chapter of the textbook, I have prepared end-of-chapter problems of my own making to show you how to use your abilities to get out of a pinch, assuming a specific case. You'll find sample answers after the table of contents."

“Ah, thank you very much…? Or rather, you made it yourself!? Isn’t it all handwritten! Why did you waste your time like this?"

“It's not a waste of time. It's my way of making amends."

"Making amends for what?"

"The holy art. You have lost the use of the holy arts that you have been studying and practicing, haven't you? This is completely my fault. It may take some time, but I will try to find a way to supplement your abilities other than magic. Did people around you suspect that you couldn't use the holy arts anymore? ”

"No... far from being suspicious, they were sympathetic. A warrior who has suffered a strong psychological shock in battle will not be able to use the holy arts or even hold a weapon. Some of them die without recovering forever. ――They also thought that I must be terribly depressed after what happened to Shifu...... the murder of my child. They are sorry for the mother that was having so much grief."

"I wish there was a way to handle the holy arts, even you, who have the constitution of a demon......"

"Even if it's not the holy arts, magic is fine. Anything that I can use to avenge Shifu. Right now, both of them are nothing more than a means of killing."

"I see... But I'll try to explore various possibilities without throwing away the possibilities."

“Thank you. ――Is that all you have to say?"

 Patricia asked as she glanced back toward the mansion.

 The guard was probably starting to get a little nervous about Patricia's late return.

"No, one last thing"

"What is it?"

"It's about the criminal who killed your precious child."

 When Christo said that, Patricia's color changed.

"So you know something!"

 A slender but powerful fingers gripped Christo's shoulder.

"Tell me. I won't make things worse for you!"

"Yeah. I'll tell you everything I know. I'll tell you, so calm down. It'll be troublesome if the guard hears you."

"Ah... I'm sorry."

 Patricia hurriedly released her hand.

 Christo looked for signs that the guard was on his way and then whispered in her ear.

"I don't know who did it directly, but I do know who I think leaked the information to Finn Lou."

"That is?"

"Piercarlo D'Alessio. As you know, he's the eldest son of the Southern Frontier Count. However, the face behind him is a vampire, and a powerful one at that, more than the king's breed."