The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 24.2

Although it was late, the Grand Duchess’s room was as bright as day. A maid had her nose stuck on the ground in front of Selice, who was sitting in an armchair.

“So, Evelyn often leaves the annex?” asked Selice.

“Yes, my lady. I don’t know what she does in the magic tower, but she takes her child and spends all day there.”

“That stupid girl is helping us.”

Selice took a deep drag from her cigarette.

“Raise your head.”

When the maid looked up, Selice pointed her finger at her own throat. A blood-red ruby ​​necklace sat glittering on her neck.

It was a necklace with a ruby ​​with delicate gold petals set in the middle. Was it a globe amaranth? The maid gazed at the ruby ​​necklace as if possessed.

“A ring identical to this necklace is somewhere in the annex. Find it and bring it back,” she ordered.

“Yes, my lady.”

Selice gestured to the maid to leave.

“Go, and make sure no one sees you.”

The maid got up and quietly left. The room was filled with only the sound of rain hitting the windows and the smoke from Selice’s cigarette.

“My lady.”

After removing the cloth from the closet, a person appeared. A tall, slender woman stepped closer to Selice. She lifted her head, her graying hair neatly combed back.

“Head Maid. No, Debora.”

She was the chief of maids who had devoted her life to the Ajauntice family.

“Did you search the Grand Duke’s office and bedroom?” Selice asked.

“Yes, but the ring wasn’t there. It was probably given to her majesty who is staying in the annex, or if it’s not there, Rene is probably keeping it in the magic tower.”

A loud roar cut through the air.

“Ha! Rene, that lowly thing that should have stayed where she belonged!”

Selice recalled the letter she received from Odin Maduse a while ago. He asked for help in recovering a ruby ​​ring, an heirloom of Marquis Maduse, which had been stolen by Ilya.

“A ring to give to his fiancée as a wedding present… as if I’d believe that. Although the Grand Duke is someone without any fundamentals, he wouldn’t touch his brother-in-law’s wedding jewelry.”

Debora nodded.

“The day before Odin Maduse left, the Grand Duke had visited him. Something must have happened then.”

Selice played with her necklace. Fifteen years ago, this necklace, given as a gift by Marquis Maduse, was her lucky charm. From the moment she wore this around her neck, her life changed completely.

A ring would be perfect in addition to this necklace!

Selice had no intention of giving the ring to anyone.

***

The next morning, Nazz forced himself out of his sleeping bag. Through his groggy vision, he saw Ilya, who was sitting upright and sharpening his sword.

“Your Highness, did you get any sleep?” he asked.

“No, and don’t fret, it’s nothing new.”

They both had lost sleep, but how was it that Ilya shined so brightly? Nazz scratched his head, feeling the unfairness of the world. Nazz came to his senses and looked around. When he couldn’t see the person he expected to see, he cocked his head.

“Lady Michellini is gone.”

“I sent her to the Grand Dukedom.”

Surprised, Nazz asked, “What? When? And who took the job?”

“Sir Ione.”

Ilya chuckled as he recalled the knight who left with a dissatisfied expression, carrying the woman on his shoulder.

“He has no choice but to follow my orders.”

That’s true for Your Highness, but as the leader of the knights, I’m always the one who has to take care of the complaints!

Nazz held back what he wanted to shout. After the question about Lady Michellini was answered, he thought of something else. Nazz whispered, looking around to make sure no one else was there, “What are you going to do with the Mandrake we found yesterday? Although a spell was put on it, shouldn’t it be moved to a safe place?”

“It’s already at the magic tower,” replied Ilya.

Nazz asked, his eyes rounded in surprise, “You moved all that at once?”

“I don’t know the details. Rene said it was a magician’s secret.”

At that moment, the door burst open as Rene hurriedly ran inside.

“Aren’t you going to eat? The chicken in the sandwich is delicious. The potato soup and bread, too!”

Ilya looked at Rene, at a loss for words.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t eat anything Count Edith sent?”

Rene shook her head.

“This is from the Grand Castle. The vice-captain stepped up. The food is one thing, but he put a lot of care into sending warm clothes, blankets, and candles. I didn’t know he was so meticulous.”

Ilya and Nazz stared blankly at her as if she was speaking a foreign language.

“Whatever. What this means is that we can now work with aid from our own side! To hell with Selice!”

Excited, Rene hopped back outside.

“Does the vice-captain raise a fairy to do his administrative work?”

Ilya and Nazz left the cabin, puzzled.

***

The rain had stopped, but the rescue work was sluggish amidst the weather. In addition, the knights were dissatisfied with the work of using a shovel and not a sword.

“Are they still disgruntled?”

Ilya asked, glancing at the knights digging up the rubble of a building a few feet away. A few of them were slacking off while pretending to work.

“My grandma could dig faster than you! You have no right to hold a sword if you’re going to go this slow!”

“A knight should wield a sword, not a shovel…”

“You idiots! You’re making a fool of yourselves.”

Ilya saw the apprentice knights and soldiers being scolded by the senior knights. A few boldly approached Rene.

“Miss Magician, can you do anything to dig all this or clear the soil?”

“Of course I can, but there might be survivors inside. I can’t use magic carelessly. Don’t just grow muscles and think for once!”

Nazz let out a sheepish smile.

“They’re at an age where they fantasize about using a sword. They’re not dissatisfied with you, at all.” Ilya stood up, a shovel in his hand. “Even I’m working hard. What’s with all this clamoring?”

“Yes, of course you are, sir. They’re being immature,” Nazz said unenthusiastically. He too took a shovel instead of a sword and followed Ilya. “They complained about the accommodations at first, but who would dare to complain when Your Highness is staying in a cabin as well?”

“Isn’t it enough that we have a roof over our heads? It hasn’t been that long since the war ended and already they’re getting lazy.”

They stopped at a mountain of rubble of wooden buildings. The village chief who was already there bowed politely.

“Your Highness.”

“Did you check the places where survivors are most likely to be?”

The village chief held out a piece of parchment to Ilya and said, “Yes, I’ve marked the homes of those whose bodies have not been found among the missing.”

Ilya looked at the parchment for a while and then raised his head.

“Let’s search where women, children, and the elderly are likely to be. They won’t be able to last long.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ilya glanced around and pointed to several places.

“We save women, children, and the elderly first. Proceed with the rescue operation as carefully as possible so the debris won’t collapse.”

“Yes, sir!”

The knights and soldiers scattered in all directions in perfect order. Ilya also moved under the guidance of the village chief. He took a shovel and cleared the debris that had washed down from the mountain.

“Your Highness, please leave work like this to us!”

The knights were embarrassed and did not know what to do.

“You amateurs. Even in Tatar, our captain was the best at digging even with a sword sheath.”

Two senior knights who had participated in the Tatar expedition scolded the apprentice knights. He looked like a mercenary, with his shaggy beard and cocky tone.

“It’s His Highness now, not captain!”

Nazz criticized with a stern expression.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, captain.”

The two senior knights chuckled and raised their shovels. The apprentice knights next to them also began to clear the mounds of dirt when it was clear they didn’t want to. Even the villagers joined in and shed beads of sweat.

“Agh! It’s a body!”

Around noon, bodies began to surface. Buried under huge piles of dirt, the condition of the bodies were horrible, to say the least. They could not discern who was who just by looking at their faces. They had no choice but to verify their identities with the clothes they were wearing or by their belongings.

After identifying their families and friends, the sound of the villagers’ crying rang through the air.