NOVEL NEXT 16. Legs up and let others work
Bishop looked at Eliz and asked something she hoped he would not.
"How did you even find out she is a Dark Mage and this is a cursed item?"
Eliz stopped smiling. Could he really not give her a moment of satisfaction? This was obviously a problem. She noticed that the Dog Nose Achievement had disappeared from her status window. It was somewhat inconvenient that she would lose the achievement if she died and was revived. But she could not expect things to be fair in the first place. If the achievement remained, she could claim she had a unique ability to sense Dark Magic. While that would be the most convenient excuse, it could also trigger unwanted events, such as people wanting to recruit her as some seeker. She did not want that. So she had to come up with another excuse.
"Of course, I was suspicious of how quickly and easily she turned my fiancé and brother against me. I did some research. It was not so easy, of course, but it helped that I was the daughter of a duke."
"So the duke and duchess told you about the Dark Magic?" Bishop wondered.
"Of course not." Eliz shook her head.
"So you found out on your own?"
"Do I have to answer that?"
Bishop stared at her for a moment. "No." He decided it did not matter. After all, she was the duke's daughter; it would not be unusual for someone of such high rank to warn his offspring.
"As for the cursed object, it was quite simple. I bought Eren a ring to protect against curses and mind control. When Donovan took out the box and held it out to Eren, I noticed that one of the stones on his ring was glowing. Warning enough for me."
Eren raised his hand and looked at the ring Elizabeth had given him, then looked at her admiringly. He had not noticed anything, and neither had Donovan.
Naturally, it was a lie, but Eliz thought it plausible enough.
The bishop looked at Eren's hand and nodded. "Clever, Lady Elizabeth. You acted with true discretion."
Eliz did not feel she deserved such praise, but she just nodded her thanks.
Bishop Dominic stood up; after that, the others also stood up except Donovan, who remained seated, looking at his feet. Eliz looked at him. He must still be shocked at what he had learned. Eliz considered for a moment but then turned away from him. She really was not someone who could comfort others naturally.
"I will now have you escorted to your quarters. You will be assigned temple guards who will see to your protection and needs. Please do not leave the cathedral until you are informed otherwise." The bishop told them, turning his gaze to Donovan.
"Someone needs to inform our parents. If you do not mind, I'll send Captain Backhorn back." Said, Eliz.
Bishop Dominic nodded. "That's fine." He turned his eyes to the captain. "Everything must remain private."
Captain Backharn frowned and looked at Eren and Elizabeth. "I should stay to protect them."
Eliz raised an eyebrow in response. Did the captain's attitude change a little?
"There's no need for that, Captain Backhorn. They are perfectly safe here with us. It would be best if you explained things to Duke in person before he sounded the alarm that his children were missing." Advised Bishop amiably.
The captain stared at her young lord and lady for a moment longer before finally nodding in agreement.
Bishop summoned the temple guards and Sister Dolia Summergarden to attend to their guests. The guards had to help young Hephisto, who was completely confused and shocked. Young Lord Eren was doing better, although he looked pale and looked at his sister like a lost puppy. Lady Elizabeth strode confidently out of the office.
But before she left, she glanced at the bishop and made a surprising request. She wanted her identity, in this case, to be hidden as much as possible. The bishop was surprised because this was no small feat, and she could be rewarded or honored. But he had no problem promising her that he would try.
When they were gone, carefully he pushed aside the box with the Cursed Object. Of course, he had to destroy it, but not before the Dark Mage was secured. If he destroyed the object now, the Dark Mage would be warned. Bishop Dominic opened another drawer, pulling out a another small box he had placed in front of him. When he opened it, a small round crystal emerged, resting securely on a velvet cushion.
Arnoth touched it with his finger and sent some mana to activate the communication crystal. The crystal revealed the veiled face of the communication coordinator.
"Bishop Arnot Dominic. Mage of rank 3. I report that I have found a Dark Mage of at least Rank 2. I am requesting the dispatch of a unit of Pacifists."
"Understood, Bishop Dominic. Please give me the details." He demanded as he began to write Arnot's report.
A middle-aged man with brown hair and a beard sat behind a desk filling out a report. After a moment, he rubbed his eyes, looked at the pile of papers that still needed to be done, and checked the time. It was only early in the morning. It already seemed like hours to him.
In another place, two women were talking over a cup of tea. One was a tall blonde elf with a dignified bearing, sipping her teacup with relish. Across from her sat a smaller and younger girl with hair as orange as a carrot, cat ears, and a thin cat tail as she added her second sugar cube to her tea. The elf woman, Mylia Rongreen, shook her head uncomprehendingly at the sight. While the cat woman Sadie playfully stuck her tongue out at her, she fished out the half-melted sugar cube with her fingers and popped it into her mouth. Suddenly, the crystals on both of their wrists began to flash red. They immediately left their tea and walked away.
At the next place, a black-haired young man, slender and agile, with a training sword in his hand and a man of the raccoon race with a training staff were facing each other, eyeing each other. The black-haired boy named Kamiel Pollern smiled at the little raccoon man, and the raccoon man named Gillen Sheprin snorted. He ran up to Kamiel, hit the ground in front of him with the stick he was using for leverage, and launched his little body into the air to hit the young man from a height. At that moment, the crystals on both wrists began to glow. Gillen twisted his body, rolled, and landed smoothly on the ground. They both put down their training weapons and left the training ring.
They all gathered at the headquarters of the Pacifists.
In most major cities, at least one Pacifist unit dealt with cases of dark magic. However, since they were a relatively secret organization, they were only considered the Knights of the God of Light. Their headquarters seemed ordinary and attracted about as much attention as the Knights' barracks.
The royal city had three units of the Pacifists. Considering the few users of the Power of Light, even the royal city could not afford more. Fortunately, thanks to the recently developed teleportation magic, the Pacifists could quickly get where they wanted. Although they were still limited in getting from one headquarters to another, magic research progressed well, and more precise teleportation methods were already being tested.
All the members were already dressed in their white and gold armor, which identified them as knights of the God of Light.
"Commander, what is the mission?" Kamiel walked up to Commander Rain and punched himself in the chest with his clenched fist.
The commander of the Pacifist unit Rain looked at his subordinates and looked at the report paper that was sent to him along with the report.
"Dark mage rank 2, manipulative type. The illegitimate daughter of Baron Derevell has been found guilty of practicing dark magic. Priority is capture, if that is not possible, elimination. A squad of Mages has already been dispatched to the scene to ensure discretion during the attack. A unit of Runners has also been dispatched to secure the affected victims. Our only task is to target Lady Selene Derevell."
"Ho. The baron's daughter? We haven't had nobles here before. It'll be fun to kick her ass." Said Sadie, amused, wagging her tail excitedly.
"My, My. Poor child. She probably suffered a lot as an illegitimate daughter and got into mischief. We must cleanse her soul." Said Mylia.
Gillen looked at Mylia. "You do know that there will not be much left of the dark ones if we cleanse them, right?"
Mylia smiled. "I hate the Dark Ones."
Kamiel ignored his companions and nodded to Commander Rain. "We will do our duty, Commander!"
Commander Rain nodded and used his mana to destroy the paper in his hand.
"Check the gear. We leave in five minutes!"
"Yes, sir!" Went several replies at the same time.
Chad went out of the house in a rage. He argued with his sister again, and as usual, she won. He decided it was better to leave the house and went to the training area he had to himself.
He immediately threw away his jacket and loosened his tie before grabbing his practice sword and began furiously attacking the practice dummies. After a few furious blows, he shook off his initial frustration and instead began to think about how Donovan must have fared with the witch.
He did not envy him in the least. In fact, he felt sorry for him. Elizabeth behaved even worse since the ball. He had never seen her so bossy. He could not blame Gray for wanting to get away from her. But he felt a pang of jealousy at the thought.
'And immediately, he found another girl, and none other than Selene!'
"Damn it!" He groaned and angrily punched the training doll. He was jealous but could not be mad at his friend. It was just that he had missed too many opportunities to be more intimate with Selene.
But he certainly would not mind if he could beat Gray up for once.
'Yeah, that would help me a lot.'
Chad suddenly winced as something nipped at the back of his neck. He paused and patted the back of his neck, only to find a small dart in his hand.
"What the hell..." He started to speak but quickly became dizzy. He leaned on his training sword, but he could not stay on his feet for long; he began to fall to the ground.
"What..." He muttered before passing out.
In a flash of blue, two masked figures appeared beside him and threw a blanket over Chad, enveloping him, then each grabbed one end of him and disappeared again. All left in the training ring was an abandoned sword and a discarded jacket and tie in the grass.
Gray rode in his carriage toward Derevell Manor. He looked at Selene's bouquet and imagined what she was going to look like. Of course, he took her favorite bouquet. Satisfied, he patted his pocket.
He had been carrying his engagement ring around for a few days now, just waiting for an opportunity to express himself. The very morning, Duke Von Roseblood had personally appeared at their door to arrange the dissolution of his engagement to Elizabeth. His father and Duke Von Roseblood shouted at each other for a while, but finally, they parted on good terms, and the annulment was arranged. It all had to be announced publicly, but Gray did not want to wait any longer. This was despite the family's disapproval. Elizabeth was right; his father had not wanted him to marry so low.
Gray frowned as he thought of Elizabeth and gritted his teeth. If she hadn't turned everything upside down at the ball, he might have been in a much better situation. But there was nothing to be done.
Donovan was probably with her now because of Eren's visit. But for some reason, he felt uncomfortable with the thought.
He glanced at the flowers, shook off the feeling, and was about to revisit the idea of an engagement to Selene when he noticed the carriage suddenly slow down.
Gray frowned in confusion and looked out the window. They were still in the woods.
Gray stood up, opened the door, and looked at the coachman. "What's wrong..." He asked but saw that the coachman was nowhere to be seen. He felt a chill and immediately rushed forward.
A dart stabbed into the wood of the door.
Gray did an awkward somersault but managed to land in a crouch and immediately drew his sword, which he wore on his hip and it began to glow blue as he sent his mana into it.
Three masked people appeared one on top of the carriage and two on the sides.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Gray asked with caution.
The attackers did not answer; two drew their weapons and rushed towards Gray with lightning speed, while the third on the roof pointed a blowgun at him.
The Mages moved invisibly around Derevell's manor. They prepared magic seals to prevent outsiders from seeing and hearing what was happening in the mansion and the surrounding area. They also had to apply a protective barrier to ensure that no place other than the one they had demarcated would be destroyed.
The Enhanced Mages were soon ready and only waited for the signal.
Soon a group of five figures in gold and white armor appeared nearby. The unit of Pacifists approached at a rapid pace while a fine layer of mana glowed around them, accelerating their advance.
They could not take a carriage, which would be too conspicuous, so they had to go on foot to avoid unwanted stares.
Commander Rain walked up to the commanding Mage. "Ready?" He asked.
The mage nodded. "On your command."
Rain looked at Baron Derevell's manor and took a deep breath. "May the God of Light protect us." He strode forward.
Meanwhile, in the cathedral of the God of Light.
"This is life." Eliz was lying in a comfortable bed. Of course, it was not as comfortable as the bed at Roseblood Estate, but that did not matter.
She was given comfortable clothes and snacks. Finally, she got more meat than lettuce!
The room was quite plain, with no decorations, but Eliz did not expect that when they were in the Cathedral. Do they not have priests and such live modestly? Or was that just her imagination from home?
'Oh, it doesn't matter.'
Eliz was just glad she did not have to think or do anything for a while. She picked up a chicken leg and bit into it with relish.
She sent a mischievous violet look to the ceiling. "Haha... bon appétit. Too bad I will not see it when you fall."