After the maids carried the unconscious girl into the room, the woman sighed.
It had been nearly a month since she arrived here, and she had no idea how Lina was doing.
Back then, when she saw the Baron's mansion constantly hiring commoners from all over, she had ended up coming here, thinking of Lina's illness.
Charis had been strongly opposed to it. Looking back now, he was right to be.
If not for her resilient demon body, she would have died a month ago if she were human.
If that had happened, she wondered if her obsession with that guy Charis and Lina would have been enough to keep her alive.
The Baron didn't seem to enjoy abusing someone like her, who remained unfazed by his violent outbursts.
It was as if he used violence merely to project a ferocious image.
Seeing that she was unmoved by his rampages, he had stationed her in the maids' quarters to manage these maids, who seemed to have been purchased through illegal means.
She had heard that this Baron was stationed at the border to defend against her fellow demons.
The woman thought of her demon compatriots. If only they could eat their fill, they could probably trample this place to the ground in an instant, couldn't they?
She had been away for so many years now, all thanks to Lord Cecil's help.
Thinking of this, the woman felt a pang of melancholy. If she hadn't fallen in love with Charis back then, and if she hadn't given birth to Lina, that child wouldn't have had to endure such suffering.
Why was she thinking about herself again? She should be focusing on this child right now.
Stepping into the room, the woman placed her hand under the maid's nose to check.
Her breathing was already very faint. She wouldn't last past tonight at most.
“I really don't know who the real demons are here.”
Looking at the blood-covered maid, the woman quietly channeled a cleaning spell with her hands.
“At least she should leave with some dignity.”
Even demons, when succumbing to magic erosion, would strive to leave their best image in the hearts of others.
Let alone a beautiful young girl like this.
After the cleaning spell, the woman looked at the lovely, youthful face that was revealed, now horribly ruined by shards of glass.
They were so cruel even to their own kind...
She cast another glance at the maid on the bed.
The maid's face still bore an expression of extreme agony—burns, bruises, and a face slashed by glass shards...
Being bought by someone like Baron Will, she was treated as nothing more than a tool to vent his anger.
“If Baron Will disappeared, would things be a bit easier for you all?”
While the woman was tending to the maid, outside the main gates—
“I say, why didn't we just teleport straight inside?”
Just like that time at the Holy See, Lin Ling's teleportation landing points always ended up right at other people's front gates.
“Because we're not familiar with the environment inside. What if we ended up spawning right in the sky?”
Lin Ling scratched her head. If they didn't end up in the sky but instead teleported into some awful place, wouldn't that cause trouble?
But now... how they were going to get in was another problem.
The soldiers at the gate were staring intently at the two suspicious figures who had suddenly materialized before them.
Yet, these two could actually use high-level magic like teleportation magic.
No matter how they looked at it, these weren't people they could just question on a whim. What if they spoke first and got yelled at, just like how that guy Will always did?
It was probably safer to wait for these two—who didn't look particularly bright—to speak first.
With that in mind, the soldiers at the gate exchanged glances, and their relaxed postures instantly stiffened into straight, upright stances.
What are these two guys doing, making eyes at each other? Can they hurry up?
【Ichikawa, do you think it'll work if we just go up and ask if they can let us in?】
【Isn't that obvious? For two people of unknown origin, do you really think that's possible?】
【I have a feeling it might work.】
Hearing the words through the magic communication, a look of helplessness crossed Ichikawa's face.
He turned his gaze to the soldiers, seeing them standing at the gate with solemn expressions, then looked back at Lin Ling.
【Why don't you go try?】
He gestured with his eyes for the one who proposed the idea to go ahead. Otherwise, they would just have to use teleportation magic again.
With that thought, Lin Ling looked toward the soldiers.
“Um, excuse me, everyone. We have some business with Baron Will. May we go inside?”
The moment Lin Ling spoke, the solemn expressions on the soldiers' faces began to soften.
Finally, oh finally, these two had finally spoken.
“What are you saying, My Lord? Looking at your attire, you're clearly an important figure from the Holy See.”
“You must be here to deliver news about Young Master Zakum.”
“Please, come right in.”
The soldiers took turns speaking, finishing Lin Ling's thoughts for her.
“Clack—”
The gate was quickly raised. The soldiers stood on both sides of the entrance with synchronized smiles, gesturing welcome to the two of them.
She nudged Ichikawa with her elbow.
“See? I told you it would work.”
Ichikawa's mouth twitched. Did this girl really possess some kind of unbelievable magic?
Whatever. Who knew what those soldiers were thinking.
Shrugging, he followed Lin Ling, who was already heading inside. It just so happened that little Lina had asked him for a favor when he got up this morning.
“Do you two need us to guide you?”
“Um... that won't be necessary.”
Looking at the enthusiastic soldiers, they had probably mistaken them for nobles of Camillaya. The two of them indeed had some business with Will.
But this business was by no means a good thing.
Lin Ling sensed the relatively large mana source inside the manor. That had to be the so-called Baron Will. She had heard that he—
“We can find our own way.”
“Is that so? We wish you two a smooth visit then.”
The soldiers didn't show any disappointment at not being able to guide them; after all, they were just hired gatekeepers.
Watching Lin Ling and Ichikawa enter the manor, the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.
At least they didn't have to maintain that rigid, upright posture anymore.
Yet, for some reason, they had a nagging, bad feeling about letting those two inside.
Meanwhile, having entered the manor, Ichikawa looked at Lin Ling, who was leading the way.
“Do you really know where that baron is?”
“Huh? No, I don't.”
Lin Ling replied to Ichikawa's question with absolute certainty.
“Then why did you say it so confidently, hey!”
Ichikawa stared at Lin Ling's matter-of-fact expression.
As expected, he absolutely could not trust this girl.
“If we don't know where he is, how are we supposed to deliver this damn package to him?”
Seeing that there was no one around, Ichikawa grabbed Lin Ling by the shoulders and shook her violently. He really didn't know what was going on inside her head.
“W-Wait a minute! I do know where he is!”
“You do?”
Hearing that Lin Ling knew where the so-called Baron Will was, Ichikawa finally stopped shaking her.
“Phew~ My brain was almost scrambled.”
Smoothing down her messy hair, she looked at Ichikawa.
“Can't you just sense the magic around here?”
“Magic?”
“Yeah. Haven't you noticed that there are very few people here who actually possess magic?”
Following Lin Ling's advice, he tried to sense the magic inside the manor.
Indeed, there were only two people in the entire manor who possessed magic.
In that case, the one with the larger pool of magic had to be the so-called Baron Will.
Exchanging a glance, the two of them walked toward the direction where the magic was concentrated.
Rate on N.U.
