Episode 70. The Lord of Paguin
A voice called out to him from behind.
It was the voice of Lady Vivian, the duke's daughter.
Duke Dukseu had repeatedly suggested she ride another horse, but Vivian stubbornly refused and insisted on riding pillion behind Binaeril.
"Will you be dueling with those fighting-mad lunatics again today?"
"I have never once fought a duel of my own will."
"But you accepted them."
"How could I refuse when I am in a position of sharing the Duke's bread?"
Vivian pouted.
Thanks to the duels held like a regular fixture every evening as soon as the camp was set up, Binaeril had grown quite close to the knights.
Naturally, the time he spent with Vivian gradually decreased. She was dissatisfied with that.
Since normal conversation was impossible while riding due to the surrounding noise...
Vivian felt as if his father's knights had stolen him away.
"By the way, when will we arrive at the Dukedom?"
"We are already inside the Dukedom."
"We entered Father's territory several days ago. Did you not know?"
He had had no idea. It wasn't as if there were signs saying Dukedom everywhere.
"Then where are we going now?"
"To Father's castle. There is still some distance left to reach it."
To think they still had further to go after coming this far. Binaeril was newly struck by how vast the Dukedom was.
"After stopping at the castle, Father will leave again to subjugate the undead, and I suppose we will part ways with Sir Binaeril there as well."
Vivian knew that Binaeril was on his way back to Elfenbain via the Dukedom.
But Binaeril's destination was the Page in Roteupallen. He planned to stay with the Duke for the time being.
"That is something I am still considering."
At Binaeril's answer, Vivian's eyes wavered.
'What? Wasn't he on his way back to Elfenbain?'
What did he mean by saying he was still considering it?
'Could it be... that he wants to spend more time with me?'
"Sir Binaeril, what you said just now, could it—"
"The castle is in sight!"
Vivian's words were drowned out by someone's shout.
The riders burst into cheers all at once.
"Huh? Has the Duke's castle appeared already?"
"...No. That is Paguin Castle."
"Paguin Castle?"
"It is the name of the lord who manages this area."
From what he heard, it seemed the Dukedom possessed several castles aside from the Ducal Castle itself.
It seemed there were also lords who occupied each castle and managed the surrounding areas.
It was a scale unimaginable in Ruben, Binaeril's homeland.
As expected of the Albrecht Empire.
"Finally, I can wash up!"
"I'll sleep in a bed tonight!"
The Duke's soldiers were exhausted from the long forced march as well.
The Duke likewise did not stop those cheering. Even a man of his endurance was feeling the fatigue that had accumulated thickly.
"How fortunate. It seems we will be staying there today."
"Most likely."
"But my lady, weren't you trying to say something to me earlier?"
Vivian had missed her chance to speak because of those unnecessary explanations.
"No! Let's hurry!"
For some reason, Vivian felt embarrassed. She changed the subject and buried her face in Binaeril's back.
"Your Grace! So suddenly!"
Startled by the sudden news, the Lord of Paguin rushed out.
It was urgent news that Duke Dukseu had arrived at Paguin Castle leading a force of one hundred soldiers.
"Lord of Paguin. It is good to see you. It has been a while."
The Lord of Paguin nodded repeatedly in response to the Duke's words.
"I-I am glad to see you as well, Your Grace!"
"Why are you sweating so?"
"No! Sweat? Whatever do you mean, I am merely a bit out of breath from rushing out..."
"Hmm, I see. We are on our way back to the castle, but could you provide beds for my soldiers tonight?"
"You wish to stay at our castle?"
"Why? Is that not permitted?"
The Lord of Paguin had no authority to refuse when his liege, Duke Dukseu, asked to borrow his home.
But the Lord of Paguin distorted his face and screamed inwardly.
Duke Dukseu had come without any prior notice, and with an army at that. It was an ill omen for him.
'Could it be that the Duke has caught wind of something?'
The Lord of Paguin had other important guests today besides the Duke.
When he hesitated without giving a prompt answer, the Duke's sharp command fell.
"Lord of Paguin!"
"Y-yes! Of course. You must stay here, naturally."
"Why are you fidgeting like a dog that needs to piss?"
Unable to watch any longer, Sir Beoron, standing beside the Duke, defended the lord.
"Your Grace, forgive my insolence, but there are not many vassals who can remain composed before Your Grace."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Your Grace carries an air as though you would interrogate one for a crime that does not even exist."
Duke Dukseu raised a hand the size of a pot lid and patted the Lord of Paguin's shoulder.
"Do not worry. We will only impose for one night before departing."
"Understood, Your Grace."
Paguin bowed his head, hiding his expression.
The others dismissed it as nothing serious, but Binaeril watched the lord from beside the Duke.
"By the way, Lord. There were hardly any people in the village. Is this area usually so sparsely populated?"
"W-well, of course! The days are growing shorter, so everyone has been going to bed early these days."
Binaeril chimed in.
"Still, even with a force of this size passing through, there were far too few people looking out."
Paguin glared at Binaeril. Seeing that he wore almost no armor, he did not appear to be one of the Duke's knights.
"This is Baronet Dalhaim. My guest."
"He is Your Grace's guest?"
"Yes. A mage from Elfenbain, apparently."
A layer of doubt flitted across the lord's eyes.
No matter how he looked at him, Binaeril seemed no more than the sheltered son of some noble house. He did not look like anything more.
The Duke also read the distrust in the lord's expression.
"You do not trust this man? Sir Dalhaim is the former guard of His late Majesty the Emperor and the very person who thrashed all my knights. A remarkable mage."
The knights following the Duke all bore bruises somewhere on their bodies or had swollen faces.
Since the Duke explained it to that extent, the lord also set aside his doubts.
"I see he has a temperament where his fists move faster than his words."
Binaeril felt it was unfair.
While it was true he had thrashed the knights, most of their battered appearances were from fighting each other.
"To answer your earlier question, this city has never had many residents to begin with. Everyone is busy with their livelihoods during the day, so they must be tired as well."
Even so, there were almost no people to be seen for a settlement of this size.
It was like a ghost city.
"Come now, do not mind unnecessary things and hurry inside. I shall prepare a meal at once!"
They could not provide rooms for all one hundred soldiers.
More than half the troops would stay in nearby empty houses at the lord's request.
The soldiers were simply glad to have a roof over their heads.
'Empty houses? Are there really that many empty houses in the city?'
Binaeril could not shake an unsettling feeling about the lord.
The thought that the Lord of Paguin's attitude was not solely due to the Duke's sudden visit...
'Where is the Lord of Paguin now?'
The lord had not been seen since dinner ended.
If he truly had something to hide, he was likely cleaning up after himself about now.
—What will you do for me if I tell you?
'Are you kidding? I've fed you mana stones to your heart's content all the way here.'
—...Okay.
While traveling with the Duke's army, Binaeril had encountered quite a few monsters.
The byproducts of the ones Binaeril hunted among them went straight into Veritas's stomach.
Having been fed beforehand, Veritas readily spat out the lord's location. It seemed even he possessed a minimum of conscience.
—He is in an underground space connected by a secret passage from the lord's chambers.
'A secret passage? An underground space?'
Things were growing more and more suspicious.
"My goodness, this is a disaster!"
Lord Paguin appeared with a great fuss.
Below, people huddled together wearing hoods as black as night, pulled down low.
Those confined to the damp underground space by the lord expressed their irritation and complained.
"What is so important that you shove us in here and only now show your face?"
"The Duke has appeared leading an army!"
"The Duke?"
"Why on earth?"
"Surely he hasn't discovered our meeting?"
The lord shook his head.
"That does not seem to be the case. It appears he simply needed a place to stay for the night."
"What? Then nothing is wrong!"
"At any rate, it will not do to be discovered by the Duke, so return for today. I shall arrange a new date."
"What about the goods?"
"I told you, not today."
The people in black hoods erupted in annoyance.
"Then you are telling us to leave all the sacrifices behind like this?"
The lord flinched at their momentum.
"It cannot be helped. It is not as though I knew the Duke would barge in..."
"Cannot we simply wait until the Duke falls asleep and drag the sacrifices away?"
The sacrifices they spoke of were the village's residents.
Lord Paguin waved his hands.
"I told you, no. The Duke's soldiers are stationed all over the village. If we are caught, our lives are forfeit. Besides..."
"Besides?"
"There is said to be a mage among the Duke's party."
"A mage?"
Startled reactions spread among the people.
"A mage on Imperial soil?"
"Is he not a fraud? Lunatics calling themselves mages are everywhere."
"There is little chance of that if he is the Duke's guest. The Duke introduced him personally as a mage from Elfenbain."
At the word Elfenbain, a gloomy atmosphere hung among them.
They were all dark mages who harbored hostility toward mages from the Magic Tower.
"With a mage present, who knows how we might be caught. I-I wish to avoid danger as much as possible."
Lord Paguin was a timid man.
The dark mages sneered at the lord.
But they could not completely ignore his opinion.
After all, Lord Paguin was one of their main trading partners.
"We will come again tomorrow. Do not move the sacrifices."
"Would I ever!"
Lord Paguin guided them to a passage connected to the castle's moat.
Creak—
As the door to the connecting passage opened,
Thwack.
A sound like a watermelon bursting was heard from somewhere.
The dark mage standing at the front collapsed on the spot.
The remaining people did not immediately understand the situation.
The fallen figure in black looked unnatural.
That which should have sat upon his shoulders was nowhere to be seen.
"Lord Paguin."
A clear boy's voice came from outside the passage.
"The reason the villagers seemed so few was not the one you gave, was it?"
The dark mages finally realized they were under attack.
"Who goes there!"
Among those gathered, only Lord Paguin accurately grasped the opponent's identity.
He remembered the boy's voice.
"My name is Binaeril Dalhaim."
He was a mage.
"A guest of the Duke, and a mage of Elfenbain."