'It won't be long now.'
His brother needs to succeed as duke soon.
No, even sooner, his brother needs to have a child. To escape this accursed curse.
"Daren."
Unlike the subordinates chattering frivolously, the adjutant who stood by his side bowed his head politely.
"Yes, Commander."
"The paralyzing herb. Ugh."
In an instant, blood vessels throughout his body expanded, and killing intent was released. At the surging magical power, the subordinates all drew their swords.
Rodrick's blue eyes, as he staggered, began to turn bloodshot.
Emergency situation. Whenever and wherever Rodrick lost control of his body, they had to face him. Even at the cost of their own lives.
That was also the true mission of the search party. To serve him and be able to kill him at any time.
As they all suddenly turned serious from their playful demeanor, the bewildered new recruit could only blink, unable to even draw his weapon.
"Captain!"
"Get a hold of yourself, sir!"
The corners of Rodrick's expressionless mouth curved up coldly. His eyes fixed on the new recruit.
Just as he was about to pounce on the weakest prey.
A massive magic circle appeared beneath Rodrick's feet, and he vanished without a trace.
Silence fell among those who had been preparing for the imminent crisis.
No one dared to move. Among those who couldn't even blink, one opened his mouth.
"Huh, a kid?"
Where their captain had disappeared, a small child was crouching with his head bowed low.
"The, the captain turned into a kid!"
Whack— A gauntleted hand struck the man's head.
"You idiot. The hair color is completely different."
"Is it a monster?"
"It doesn't seem to have any aura though."
"Everyone, sheathe your swords."
At the vice-captain Daren's words, everyone put away their drawn swords.
"Little one?"
The child who had been crouching suddenly raised his head.
Unusually bright red eyes were on the verge of tears. The large men began to panic.
"Who are you!"
Hup. Noel covered his mouth with his small hand. His tongue felt heavy and his speech slurred.
Looking down at his body, it seemed to have shrunk even more. Sob. Maybe he used too much magic.
If Diana finds out his body has shrunk, she might find it strange. What if she rejects such a weird child, saying it's unpleasant?
"Little one. Where did you pop out from?"
Sniff. As tears welled up, the men stepped back.
"He, he's crying!"
"I, I can't handle children!"
"Who, who's married here! Someone take care of the kid."
"Little one. Are you alright?"
Amidst the chaos created by the grown men, a gentle voice was heard.
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
As the vice-captain spoke kindly with an expressionless face, the subordinates all twisted their faces strangely.
"Elder sister is inside."
"Elder sister?"
"Only I came out."
"Did your elder sister send this by any chance?"
Seeing the jewel he had thrown, Noel nodded his head vigorously.
Yes. That's right. Daren stroked the child's gray hair as if impressed.
"Wow, creepy. Never seen the vice-captain like this before."
Ignoring the murmuring of his subordinates, Daren focused on the child.
"Is only your elder sister inside? Or was there no one else? Like a man with light sky-blue hair and blue eyes?"
The child shook his head.
"Only elder sister and me were there."
"How did you get out here?"
"There was a flash of magic and I came out. I have to go save elder sister!"
It seemed that a trap magic that had been set up activated, switching the positions of Rodrick and the child.
It was something that occasionally happened on battlefields using ancient artifacts.
Daren, who had been kneeling on one knee to match the child's eye level, stood up with a sigh.
"For now, standby here. Set up the tents. We wait until the commander comes out."
Right now, rather than worrying about the disappeared Rodrick, he was more concerned about this child's sister.
Rodrick, who would have lost his reason by now, would be more threatening than any monster.
If the child's sister came out as a corpse, how should he explain it to this child? The vice-captain's face darkened.
The identity of this child could be investigated after Rodrick comes out.
***
A few hours before the search party arrived at the castle.
Today's goal was the entrance hall on the west side. The only place they hadn't been to yet.
As the size of the castle was immeasurably large, the areas they could roam around were limited.
Moreover, it was always dark inside the castle, so there was a limit to wandering around relying on candlelight.
For a while, they had been looking for an escape route near the east entrance, but all entrances were tightly sealed, so now they were heading west.
First, they planned to look for more escape routes and also search for the cursed object.
They couldn't wait any longer, not knowing when the crow would bring its master.
Even if it brought someone right away, they couldn't wait any longer.
She was on borrowed time, after all. She had to move while she still had the strength to do so.
"Noel."
"Yes?"
"Don't you hear something?"
A gentle music box sound could be heard. As the music box sound was heard, mist began to form in the wide corridor.
Is this really mist? It seems like some kind of trap magic has been activated again.
"I hope it's not another ghost popping out."
As if responding to her words, the candle flame in the candlestick she was holding suddenly went out.
Search "seduce" at redcatty [.] com to read ahead up to chap 70.