Volume 22 Chapter 5 Knight Order Dormitory： Part Ii
Al agreed with much of Heath's story, but he also felt confused about why he was being targeted so much.
There was one more thing he didn't understand.
'Sir Heath, what about Mr. Eric?'
Why was Eric being held?
He had only been in the capital to take orders from Lady Serena's magic team.
'I believe it's for the same reason as you. Your grandfather, that magician, achieved great things on the Gladys Plains. The Marquis Prentis family probably knows you are his grandchild already. And Lord Eric is your mentor. They might see Lord Eric and his family as the main threat behind the interference with the Marquis Prentis family, linking him with your grandfather.'
'Mr. Eric and I are not in a mentor-student relationship, you know?'
Al said that, but it made no sense to argue with Heath.
He had dumped the troublesome spell options on Eric, so maybe others saw it that way.
But if that was true, Al had caused Eric a lot of trouble.
'But, grandpa achieved great things? I've never heard that before...?'
Al had never heard any stories about his grandfather's accomplishments.
He thought Channing Village was granted and the Channing family was knighted because his great-grandfather served as a squire and was rewarded for his many years of service when leaving the knight corps.
'Hmm, well, I guess it's fine to talk about it now. Listen closely. The battle on the Gladys Plains. The feat of creating illusions of flying dragons to confuse the Tempest Knights and throw them into chaos was a desperate action by a magician unit led by your grandfather as junior leader. I think that much. But at that time, Viscount Hugh Eugene, who was in charge of the whole magician troop, didn't very much acknowledge his father, the current Viscount Eugene.
It wasn't your grandfather, but Charles Rain, who took advantage of the chaos and ordered the knights to charge. He was the eldest son, serving as the knight captain before he inherited the title, and his achievements are considered very important by now Margrave Rain.'
Is what Eric saw during the victory parade a reenactment of that?
His grandfather was good at illusion spells, and Lord Zora said that, in Sylvester's records, the magician's achievements are unfairly underestimated.
'The then Margrave was told that his eldest son had shined and was very pleased, so he blindly believed Hugh Eugene's words without much investigation. The Rain family of Margrave has always been lenient with their kin.
Before he became the lord of the Rain territory, when he was still the knight captain of the kingdom's knight order, that might have been okay, but once he became a regional lord, I think that was not enough. Lord Stroud was also spoiled growing up, and this is the result.
Al doesn't know if everything Heath says is true, but it's definitely somewhat believable.
And it seems many things added up──like the Patricia incident, the cooperation with Naresh in border city Parker, and the escort of the envoy delegation.
'You know that Guildmaster Levy and Mr. Eric are detained, right? Do you have any idea where they might be confined?'
'It's certain they were first taken to a prison managed by the guard unit, but then, on the orders of Viscount Eugene, who took the position of guard captain besides being the knight captain, they were probably sent somewhere else. I don't know the exact destination, but at least it's not a facility controlled by the knights or the guard unit.
Lord Stroud and Viscount Eugene don't have their own lands, so the only place that can hold such a number of people is probably the villa that Viscount Eugene owns personally. I heard it's by a lake about 20 kilometers northeast of the capital.'
'Thank you. Can you tell me more about the location?'
Al asked Heath for the details about the location of the villa owned by Viscount Eugene.
If they go along the town road, they could reach it in about half a day.
However, there are also talks of a crisis with the expedition army led by Prince Theodore.
Not only Naresh but likely Bro Gustave is joining them too.
That part is concerning.
'How is His Excellency Margrave? What about the Margrave's wife and their son, Lady Serena, who fell ill at the same time?'
'I don't know. The 3 of them are still ill, recuperating deep in the castle. It's said that everyone living in there, including Sir Stroud's mother, is caring for them, but we can't figure out what's really happening. They might not be alive anymore.'
To become Margrave by killing his parents and siblings is unbelievable.
Al wonders if Viscount Eugene has taken control.
That scenario feels like it might be a small relief.
'Understood. I will consult on what to do. Do you need help, Sir Heath? If you want to escape, I can assist you!'
'No, I am being watched but not restrained. I don't plan to escape yet. More importantly, who will you consult... no, it's better not to ask that.
If you can get in touch with His Excellency Viscount Parker, I would like to pass a letter as soon as possible. Can you do that?'
Viscount Parker is the lord of Border City Parker.
In this situation, he is probably the most trustworthy person.
He had been to the guard headquarters in Border City Parker before.
Would that be a good place?
'I can deliver you to Viscount Parker's guard headquarters in about 2 hours. Is that okay? Also, should we not inform the Sylvester royal family about the situation?'
'The guard headquarters of Parker. That should be enough. The involvement of the Marquis Prentis family is still just a guess, so I have no one to talk to at the royal family about such speculation at this stage. We can only leave it to Your Excellency Viscount Parker.
Your Excellency can contact Prince Theodore and has connections to the Sylvester royal family and other nobles. That's true. If possible, please send me 'Telepathy' like this again. That way, I can share any information I get at that time.'
It is helpful for Al to receive information from inside the knight's group.
'Understood. I will send a young man with red hair to the entrance of the knight's dormitory. His name will be Kel, so could you pass the letter to him?'
'I will prepare it right away and send my servant. What should he wear?'
Al described the features of the clothes he was currently wearing.
He now had red hair like Kane.
Unfortunately, he did not have his distinctive glasses, so they could only identify him by his clothes and name.
However, with the 'Animal Transformation' spell and the 'Stealth' spell, he should be able to get close to the entrance without any problems.
He had a rough idea of the situation.
While waiting for the letter to be ready, he would write to his parents in Channing Village as well.
It would be better to send this through the Levy merchant guild's mansion.
He would also inform Patricia of the situation through the Ring of Pact.
She was surprised at first, but he reassured her several times that everything would be fine.
When he said that he couldn't just run away alone, she understood that too.
It seemed she felt the same way.
However, she emphasized to be very careful about safety.
Once he received the letter from Heath, he would return to the campsite and discuss it with everyone.
What would Ruella want to do?
* * *
"...so, what now?"
After conveying the situation he heard from Heath, Ruella frowned and bit her lip.
It was good to know there was a high chance her father was nearby, but it also revealed that Naresh and the expedition team were in a dangerous situation.
She looked down and thought for a while, but then lifted her face, having made up her mind about something.
"I understand. Can Michael go to theorm the merchants there about the current situation and have them wait for a while. Depending on the situation, they might need to head toward the border city, Parker, but since we can't prepare enough guards, I think it's safer to hide there for now."
I see, the people from the Levy merchant guild are hiding in Michael's village.
That's true, they just recently made connections there, and the village head feels grateful to them.
It should be relatively safe.
"I want to move ahead to the border city Parker with Barbara and discuss what we should do with Viscount Parker. Al, Mr. Orson, and Lady Leda, I need you all to go with Desmond, Reginald, and the other mercenaries to rescue Mr. Eric and my father along with everyone from the merchant guild."
Ruella said this, looking around at everyone's faces one by one.
She seemed to wonder if anyone had questions.
Unlike when they first arrived, she had a much stronger look of determination on her face now.
Perhaps being engaged to Naresh, Baron Sennett, and understanding her role as the representative of the Levy merchant guild without the chairman made her feel this way.
Reginald raised his hand.
"What if we go to that villa and can't find Guildmaster Levy or Mr. Eric?"
"Send a letter through your detailing the situation to the Parker estate. And I want the search to continue."
The current situation was probably written in the letter Heath sent to Viscount Parker.
Al imagined a war with Marquis Prentis' household.
He wondered if he could help with anything.
He also wanted to be near Naresh and Brother Gustave.
But what could he do in a battle where tens of thousands were clashing?
Of course, he could unleash a 'Magic Tornado' from the sky, but he didn't think that would change the situation.
Before that, saving Guildmaster Levy, the merchant guild folks, and Eric should come first.
Naturally, since there are more than ten people to rescue, Al couldn't do it alone, but there seemed to be plenty of tasks like investigating the situation.
But before all that...
"Um... even if the rescue team moves now, they'll probably only reach the villa by tomorrow morning. In the meantime, how about Ruella and Barbara are sent to the border city Parker with the 'Fly' spell? I think they can still join the rescue team without problems. Since there are more than ten members in the rescue team, even if I use 'Fly' to send them, I'll have to make multiple trips, so it might not save much time..."
They will arrive quite late, so Viscount Parker might be asleep without knowing what's happening.
But, given how urgent this situation is...
Ruella, who is Naresh's fiancée, might be able to ask for something impossible.
In this situation, it's best to send Ruella to Parker as soon as possible.
"That sounds good. It'll also let us talk to Viscount Parker sooner."
Everyone nodded at Ruella and Al's plan.
Al and Desmond chose a meeting point and started to split up.
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