Chapter 80

“Now then, here is a slave we caught just moments ago! Tall, broad-shouldered, and sturdy. He has a handsome face, too, so I’m sure he could be put to all sorts of uses!”

The auctioneer’s vulgar spiel blared through the speakers and echoed across the room.

His head throbbing, Calypse frowned and lifted his eyelids—only to meet the greedy stares fixed upon him.

He was locked inside an iron cage onstage.

He had been forced into a chair, with both wrists bound behind his back. That alone gave him a rough idea of what was happening.

Crowds make me uncomfortable, so I deliberately chose a deserted road. And this is what I get for it.

At twenty-two, Calypse had attended a friendship banquet intended to promote goodwill between the Kingdom of Doctia and the Frozen Kingdom.

But he had never possessed the slightest affinity for social gatherings, not even as a child.

As a member of the Kreutz family, his only duty was monster subjugation.

He guarded the end of the world to prevent monsters from crossing over, and whenever the ice barrier broke, he repaired it with his power of ice.

That role should have been more than enough. Deciding there was no reason for him to remain at some tedious friendship gathering, he had slipped away.

The moment he opened his eyes, however, he understood.

He had been abducted on that road.

Damn.

Had the problem been the drinks poured for him by the two kings—drinks he had been unable to refuse?

Normally, he could hold his liquor well. Even so, he had found himself growing dizzy unusually quickly that day, which had struck him as strange.

He had no idea who was responsible, but someone had clearly prepared this in advance.

Because of its formidable power holders and political influence, the Kreutz family had always been a target of suspicion and restraint. Attempts on their lives were hardly uncommon.

This particular method was new enough to be almost refreshing, but it was hardly shocking.

“One hundred gold! We have one hundred gold. Oh! The gentleman in the red mask offers one hundred and fifty!”

Meanwhile, Calypse’s auction price continued to soar far beyond expectations, entirely without his consent.

Once the final price is settled, they’ll open the cage. I can escape then.

He could easily have shattered the iron bars with his power of ice and escaped immediately, but he restrained himself because he did not know who had attended the auction.

If a noble happened to die in the process, the aftermath would be troublesome.

Instead, he searched for the exit.

Once he was outside, he intended to freeze every escort knight in his path.

“Three hundred gold! We have three hundred. As expected, the competition is fierce! The lady over there offers three hundred and fifty!”

With nothing else to occupy him, Calypse decided to watch and see how high his price would climb.

He leaned back against the chair and cracked his neck from side to side. The movement exposed the hard line of his throat, and his indifferent gaze swept across the audience.

“......!”

The people who had been staring at him in agitation began raising their bidding paddles one after another.

“Four hundred! Four-fifty! Five hundred! Five-fifty! Six hundred! Oh, the gentleman over there has offered one thousand gold! We have passed one thousand! Eleven hundred! Twelve hundred gold!”

The delighted auctioneer swung his head from side to side, then stared toward one corner of the room and gaped.

“Five thousand gold!”

At the auctioneer’s shout, every head turned, mouths falling open.

Five thousand gold was an onerous sum even for nobles.

Calypse himself was a high-ranking noble, yet even he slowly raised his half-lowered gaze at the figure.

Looking toward the secluded corner, his eyes met a pair of golden irises watching him quietly from behind a white mask.

“.......”

The woman’s gaze was unwavering.

Most people looked away within three seconds of meeting Calypse’s eyes, but she continued to hold his gaze far longer.

So Calypse studied her carefully.

Below the mask that concealed half her face, he saw a long, slender neck and pale, flawless skin.

Her lips rested in a tranquil curve, while her brilliant golden eyes evoked the sun itself.

Even with the mask, he could tell.

She was beautiful.

Most beautiful of all was the gaze that refused to leave him.

“Five thousand gold. Any further bids? Five, four, three, two, one! Sold to the beautiful lady for five thousand gold!”

Their intense eye contact ended only when Calypse lowered his gaze.

That woman had treated a human being as an object. Whatever unusual impression she had made upon him, she was not someone he wished to deal with.

So he would freeze her.

The moment the sale was finalized, the mercenaries guarding either side of the cage opened it.

Calypse slowly rose and was just about to tear apart the rope binding his wrists when—

“This is an illegal-trade raid!”

The woman who had purchased him tore off her mask and shouted. At the same time, armed figures poured into the room from every direction.

Knights had been lying in ambush.

“Damn it! Run! Everyone, run! Take that merchandise with you! He’s worth money!”

The startled auctioneer pointed at Calypse, who remained standing where he was. Naturally, Calypse had no intention of moving.

“Move! Move, you slave—urk!”

“Be quiet.”

When Calypse ignored the knights trying to drag him away from either side, the auctioneer himself rushed over and strained to pull him along.

In the end, Calypse wrapped one enormous hand around the man’s throat. The auctioneer sucked in a choking breath, then promptly lost consciousness.

The auctioneer is probably at the center of this operation. I should keep him alive for questioning.

Calypse swiftly subdued the others nearby as well. Then, still gripping the auctioneer by the neck, he turned around and met the woman’s eyes once more.

“You really are useful, aren’t you? Had I actually bought {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} you, I could have put you to excellent use.”

She approached with a brilliant smile on the face that had been hidden beneath the mask.

Calypse remembered that face vividly even now.

“I’m Ariana Crystal, the eldest daughter of Marquis Crystal. We exchanged a passing greeting at the banquet earlier. I wonder whether you remember me?”

He remembered the pale, graceful hand she had confidently extended toward him as well.

Ariana captivated him in an instant.

And before he realized it, Calypse had opened his mouth.

“I am useful.”

“Pardon?”

“Just as you said. I truly am useful.”

The way her eyes had widened like a startled rabbit at his clumsy expression of interest had been terribly endearing.

That was what you had been like, Ariana.

You were strong, yet at the same time, you made him want to protect you.

Your convictions and actions were occasionally troublesome, but even so, he had wanted to join you willingly.

I raised my daughter well, didn’t I? To think she completed her mission so splendidly.

Until he learned that you were a spy.

Mother and daughter, both spies. Your life truly is unfortunate, Calypse. It was only a mission. There were no hard feelings.

Until you carved into his heart with words as cold and merciless as a blade.

He had loved you deeply.

***

“Your Grace?”

“...Yes.”

At Knox’s voice, Calypse finally emerged from his thoughts.

“You look tired. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

Calypse immediately cast aside the distracting memories and brought his thoughts back under control.

Knox regarded his unreadable expression with quiet bitterness before continuing.

“Fortunately, Her Majesty Grace says she can break the dark magic placed upon Lady Aisha.”

“That is fortunate.”

According to Knox’s report, many things had happened after Calypse collapsed.

First, bodies had been discovered throughout the royal castle. They belonged to spies Kyle had killed—all agents sent by the Pose family to abduct Aisha.

Calypse had prepared for this in advance.

Rather than incinerating the bodies of the spies Kyle had killed, he had preserved them in ice to prevent decomposition.

It might have been somewhat grotesque, but he wanted certainty.

Just as he had expected, the royal family discovered vials of madness enhancer planted on the bodies, along with the snake emblem symbolizing the Pose family.

To the royal family and the nobles, this served as evidence that Duke Pose had used the banquet as an opportunity to harm them.

King Argen’s reaction upon hearing the entire account had reportedly been as follows.

I invited him to a sacred royal banquet, and he dared attempt to murder the royal family?! Duke Pose shall be executed for attempting to murder members of the royal family and for fraud!

It was only natural.

King Argen had always hated allowing knights from other noble families into his royal palace.

And now he had learned that spies had been planted there?

Nine of them, no less?

Attempting to murder a member of the royal family was the only crime for which an execution sentence could be handed down without a trial.

Calypse had been counting on that.

The nobles had also realized that their own lives had been endangered, and their opposition to Duke Pose was reportedly fierce.

It’s over.

Folding his arms, Calypse stared at the closed door.

Beyond it, Grace was treating Aisha.

Everything is over.

Just then, though he had expected to wait much longer, the door opened cautiously and Grace emerged.

“Duke Calypse.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Thinking Aisha’s treatment might be finished, Calypse strode toward the door.

Grace hesitated before speaking slowly.

“I have broken the dark magic that compelled her to obey Duke Pose’s commands. But...”

Her expression was grave.

“There is another dark spell upon her.”

“...What?”

“And it is quite old. I believe it was placed upon her immediately after birth.”

Calypse’s face hardened like stone.

Dark magic cast upon a newborn child. Just how depraved could Duke Pose possibly be...?

“It appears to be connected to you.”

“......?”

At her next words, his brow immediately furrowed.