Fools exist everywhere, Jared Murphy thought.
Before him was a middle-aged noblewoman bound by ropes. Though she wore a beautiful dress and dazzling jewels, to the boy’s eyes, she appeared nothing but hideous.
“Don’t think you’ll get away with an easy death after doing this to me! I’ll ask my father to torture you before killing you!”
The one spouting lines beneath third-rate villains was Catarina Hagedor, mother of Ricardo Hagedor.
“…I can’t believe it’s Mother.”
His son, Ricardo, was struck speechless.
It was late at night when Catarina, bringing new assassins with her, had personally charged in. Despite her repeated failures, she had the audacity to charge head-on, and Jared couldn’t help but admire her nerve.
Needless to say, the intruders were easily neutralized by the Court Mage and a Former Court Mage. And thus, the bothersome, shrieking Catarina was left behind.
“Lady Catarina, why did you come here yourself? Did you want your son dead that badly?”
“Clawence! How dare you, who serves the Hagedorff family, do this to me and expect to be forgiven!?”
“…My master is only Cassandra. Regardless of who it is, I simply apprehend anyone who unlawfully intrudes into my master’s mansion.”
The old maid replied calmly to Catarina, whose face was contorted as if she could never have been a Duchess. Apparently deciding it was futile, the former Duchess shifted her gaze to Dennis Beckman.
“I know about you. You’re the top-ranked Court Mage, aren’t you! They say you’re the King’s right-hand man, but you’re just an Earl, aren’t you! Come on, free me quickly and behead that incompetent fool of a son of mine!”
“…You are.”
“If you do that, I’ll overlook this transgression! No matter how much the King favors you, an Earl cannot possibly defy me!”
While thinking what a fool she was, Jared moved a few steps sideways, fading his presence to avoid her gaze.
He was surprised that Catarina knew Dennis was a Court Mage, but he never imagined she would compare them and claim her own worth was greater.
Murder is a serious crime, regardless of one’s status as a noble or anything else. Family feuds are common, and it’s not unusual for nobles to kill someone. However, they aren’t caught because they do it without leaving evidence. Here, there was a witness to attempted murder, and among them were two Court Mages, one Former Court Mage, and finally, the one targeted, the eldest son of the former Duke Hagedorff.
No matter how much Catarina screeched, and no matter how high her family’s aristocratic title, they couldn’t protect her. Her family wouldn’t want to antagonize the Court Mages either.
Dennis was not only the King’s right-hand man but also the chairman of the Mage Association. Jared’s fiancée was the eldest daughter of the Alway Ducal Family, and he himself hailed from the Daum Barony, which had existed since the nation’s founding. And then there was the Former Court Mage.
Setting politics aside, they were undeniably outmatched in terms of combat strength.
Catarina’s failure to understand this was either because she was pampered and sheltered, knowing nothing of the world, or simply because she was an idiot.
“You bastards… all of you are ignoring me… I thought this mansion would be unguarded since Cassandra was meeting with that old maid in the capital…”
“Wait a moment.”
Jared reacted to Catarina’s words as she began to bite her lip, ignored by everyone.
The word “old maid,” which he hadn’t heard in a long time, made him think of his own fiancée, though he felt a bit rude doing so. Above all, as far as the boy knew, the only “old maid” fitting the description of someone meeting Cassandra was Olivier.
“Lady Catarina.”
“W-what is it?”
“Honestly, I’m not very interested in whatever scheme you’re concocting. But—”
Jared slowly gripped Catarina’s little finger.
“When it comes to my fiancée, things are different. What has happened to my beloved? Is Duke Cassandra Hagedorff meeting with Lady Olivier Alway?”
“W-what, why do I have to tell someone like you such things!”
“It’s in your best interest to tell me. You don’t want your little finger broken, do you?”
“Try it if you can!”
The boy met the eyes of the former Duchess’s son, who was making a fuss. He made a pained expression, but perhaps sensing Jared’s current emotions, he nodded slightly once.
“Thank you, Lord Ricardo. I’ll ask one more time, Lady Catarina. Does the Duke Hagedorff intend to meet with Lady Olivier Alway?”
“As if I’d tell you! And stop calling her that Duke Hagedorff. The only Duke I recognize is my husband! AAAAAAAAGH!?”
The lady couldn’t finish her words. Despite trying to maintain her composure and leak information in an attempt to gain the upper hand, Jared ended up snapping her little finger.
“It hurts, it hurts… Stop, please, stop!”
“I’ll ask again. Does the Duke Hagedorff intend to meet my fiancée, Olivier Alway?”
“Don’t hurt me, please, I’ll talk!”
“Then you’d better hurry. You still have nine fingers left on that hand.”
“—Hii.”
Sensing the boy’s seriousness, or perhaps due to the fear of her finger being broken, a stain spread across the lady’s lower body.
Without even trying to hide her incontinence, the former Duchess, still terrified of Jared, spilled all the information she knew.
The next moment, the boy offered a small apology to those present and dashed towards the capital.
