Chapter 5: Keep the Fla Alive (1)
The mont Aron stepped into Modello’s mansion study, his gaze sharpened.
Ignoring the antique candlesticks and ornants, Aron strode straight toward the wall.
“Lord, studies are usually built on the top floor to ease the sense of confinent. But Modello placed his study on the first floor.”
“Do you think there was a reason for that?”
“There definitely was.”
After sweeping his eyes over the wall, Aron pressed his face close to it.
He was searching for any hollow spots or awkward sections in the wall.
Before long, Aron found two places where the wall was hollow.
“Lord, I think we should tear this part down.”
“I’ll do it.”
Karon poured Aura into his fist and swung it toward the wall.
Bang—!
As the wooden finishing on the wall shattered and fell to the floor, a door made of iron plating taller than a man was revealed.
“We’ll need to remove the iron plate.”
At Aron’s request, Kyle drew his sword and manifested Aura.
He swung the blade toward the iron plate, and the thick plate, cleanly cut through, toppled backward, revealing a staircase.
The mont Kyle crossed the threshold, he frowned at the foul stench that seed like it belonged in a torture chamber.
Aron followed him inside, took a sniff as well, shook his head, and spoke.
“It slls similar to the breeding pens of the Slave rchant Guild.”
Listening to Aron, Kyle descended the stairs. Soon, a vast underground space ca into view.
Just as Aron had expected, the underground area was packed with iron bars and narrow rooms.
At the sight, Aron clicked his tongue repeatedly behind Kyle.
After inspecting the prison thoroughly, Kyle found traces of people having stayed there and turned his gaze to Aron.
“There are traces that people were here until recently.”
“It seems the people who were here were moved elsewhere about a week ago.”
To commit such acts within the Territory…….
Kyle bared his teeth as his expression twisted.
It was sothing he had already found suspicious after hearing Akun’s explanation.
The residents of the Ragnar Territory were people who had endured harsh conditions for a long ti.
No matter how difficult things beca, they were not people who would abandon their hos and leave.
Killing intent burst forth from Kyle’s body at Modello’s atrocities, and Aron carefully opened his mouth.
“It seems they abducted people within the Territory, trained them here, and then sent them to the Slave rchant Guild.”
“There must be a passage underground that leads outside the Territory.”
If the abducted residents had been moved aboveground, there was no way Pramo would not have known.
At Kyle’s confident words, Aron searched the surroundings thoroughly.
As Kyle had said, they soon discovered a small passage at the very end of the underground area.
“We need to check where it leads.”
“I’ll take the lead.”
Kyle strode forward.
Finding the ledger Modello had hidden was important, but it was just as important to find out where his contact point with the Slave rchant Guild had been.
Following the passage straight ahead, Kyle walked for over an hour before finally reaching its end.
Climbing the stairs that led from underground to the surface, an iron door appeared.
Kyle imdiately removed the door and stepped outside.
“This place is…….”
“Do you recognize it?”
“It’s the entrance to the Ragnar Territory.”
The very place where they had fought a fierce battle with Orcs just a day ago.
The snow-covered plain still bore red stains here and there.
After looking around, Kyle turned his body.
“Let’s go back.”
Returning to the underground prison with Aron, Kyle headed straight up to the study.
They had confird one of the suspicious walls in Modello’s study; now they needed to check the remaining one.
Just as before, Kyle tore down the wall, revealing another staircase.
Unlike the passage leading to the underground prison, there was no foul sll.
As they went down, they discovered a storage room filled with stacks upon stacks of gold coins, jewels, and expensive goods.
They were clearly the spoils obtained by trading the Territory’s residents as commodities with the Slave rchant Guild.
After roughly gauging the amount of wealth, Aron let out a small sigh.
“With this amount, it far exceeds the Ragnar Territory’s annual budget. It would be best to recover it to the Territory as soon as possible.”
“Tell Sir Pan to recover the wealth. And tell him to check the other elders’ houses as well.”
At Kyle’s words, Aron asked with a serious look.
“Shouldn’t we also inform them about the passage leading to the breeding pens?”
“Nothing will change even if we do. There’s no way to find out where the residents sold to the Slave rchant Guild were taken.”
“That may be so, but…….”
“Let’s decide after checking the other elders’ houses.”
Leaving the storage room, Kyle approached Pan and the soldiers who were tearing down the iron bars.
Upon spotting Kyle, Pan stopped what he was doing and greeted him.
“Eldest Young Master.”
“Sir Pan, co with
for a mont.”
At Kyle’s instruction, Pan followed him into Modello’s study.
When Pan saw the dazzling piles of gold coins and jewels, his eyes widened.
As Pan’s face gradually twisted with anger, Kyle calmly gave his orders.
“Recover everything to the Territory. And tell Pramo that I’ll be using this mansion.”
There were countless ways to make use of the secret passage.
Moreover, the Slave rchant Guild could use it at any ti to enter the Territory.
For the sake of thorough defense, it was better for Kyle himself to use this mansion.
“Understood.”
“We need to check the other elders’ houses as well, so assign soone to guide us.”
“I’ll guide you myself.”
Rather than assigning another knight, Pan wanted to personally guide Kyle.
However, Kyle shook his head at Pan’s words.
“Sir Pan, first organize this wealth. Since there’s so much of it, you’ll need to summon the Territory’s chief administrator.”
“I’ll convey that to the Head of the Family.”
The chief administrator managed all of the Territory’s finances and assets.
But having handled too many matters imdiately upon his return, Kyle did not even know who currently held that position.
Now that he was in the Ragnar Territory, he needed to at least know who the chief administrator was, so he called Pan back.
“Sir Pan, who is the current chief administrator of the Territory?”
At Kyle’s question, Pan ford a faint smile.
“It’s Saphiro, the son of the previous chief administrator.”
“……Saphiro has already beco chief administrator?”
“Chief Administrator Saphiro is already thirty.”
The previous Chief Administrator was a capable manager and a steadfast supporter of Rai Ragnar.
When it ca to rolling and managing wealth, he had possessed an innate talent.
However, since he had stepped down now, there was no choice but to summon Saphiro.
“Please tell Chief Administrator Saphiro to co see .”
At Kyle’s words, Pan bowed his head and called over one knight who was dismantling the fence.
“Greetings, Eldest Young Master. I am Deni of the Ragnar Knight Order.”
“Good to et you.”
“I would appreciate it if you spoke comfortably.”
The eyes of the knight called Deni sparkled brightly.
Just being able to see his idol, the Master of all knights, this close made his heart feel as though it would burst.
In contrast, Kyle nodded indifferently.
“Then please guide .”
“I will guide you first to the nearest elder’s mansion.”
Following Deni’s guidance, Kyle and Aron left Modello’s mansion and looked around the Territory.
Even though the Territory’s residents who had taken refuge had returned, the streets were deserted.
At the sight of how much the Territory had changed, Kyle revealed his regret.
“Did you say Sir Deni?”
“Yes, that is correct. Eldest Young Master.”
“How long will it take?”
“It will not take even ten minutes. The mansions of the deceased elders are clustered around Modello’s mansion.”
Arriving at the nearest elder’s mansion under Deni’s guidance, Kyle clicked his tongue.
It was not quite like Modello’s mansion, but this one was no less splendid.
“Aron, begin the search.”
“Yes, my lord.”
As Aron strode into the elder’s mansion, Kyle suddenly turned his body.
At that sight, Deni tilted his head in confusion.
“Eldest Young Master?”
He thought Kyle would follow Aron inside, but Kyle stood still at the entrance of the mansion as if waiting for soone.
And shortly after.
A man ca running, his clothes made of fur fluttering wildly.
“Eldest Young Master—!”
The one who had sprinted with all his might, hair flying at the news that Kyle was looking for him.
It was Saphiro, the Chief Administrator of the Ragnar Territory.
“Your face has changed a lot, Saphiro.”
Saphiro had once been handso enough to hear praise for his looks on a daily basis.
At least, that was how Kyle rembered him.
But now, his hair was wild like a bandit’s, and his face was full of hair.
Even Kyle, who rarely showed emotion, wore a surprised expression at the sight of his altered face.
Seeing Kyle’s expression, Saphiro charged like a bull and embraced him tightly.
“Eldest Young Master! Where on earth have you been? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”
“Calm down.”
From childhood, the two had been close companions.
Kyle, as the heir of the family, and Saphiro, as the only son of the Chief Administrator, had interacted since they were young.
Though Saphiro was older, they had always treated each other like friends.
Perhaps because of that, Saphiro showed a hurt expression toward the friend he had not seen in a long ti.
“If you were alive, couldn’t you at least have contacted us? Do you know how much the Previous Head of the Family searched for you?”
“……I heard that story until my ears grew calluses from Pramo.”
At Kyle’s lukewarm response, Saphiro stepped back and cleared his throat.
Only then was Kyle able to return to the main issue.
“You must have heard about the gold coins and jewels found in Modello’s mansion.”
“Yes, I have.”
“There is a high probability that wealth has also been accumulated in the elders’ houses.”
Before he knew it, a shadow fell across Saphiro’s face.
Turning his head, Saphiro looked in the direction where another elder’s mansion stood and opened his mouth.
“I just ca back from checking.”
“Then you were also reported that the elders joined hands with the Slave rchant Guild?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t look surprised. It seems you already had a grasp of it.”
“I expected it. No matter how hard one tries within the Territory, it’s impossible to amass that much money.”
Saphiro wore a bitter expression.
Kyle placed a hand on Saphiro’s shoulder, helping him regain his composure.
“Saphiro, this matter is serious. However, rather than rescuing the Territory’s residents who were sold off to the Slave rchant Guild, the priority is to grow the Territory so that this never happens again.”
Regrettably, he could not pour all his strength into rescuing the sold residents while postponing what had to be done.
In the end, if the Territory was not strong, such things would continue to happen.
Understanding Kyle’s intent, Saphiro bit his lip hard.
“Even so, shouldn’t we bring back the residents who were sold?”
“I will take care of that.”
He had no intention of just letting it go.
But the mont Kyle moved outside now, the opportunity he had barely found might disappear again.
‘Since it’s not a situation where I can move outside, I’ll have to use outsiders.’
Kyle looked at Saphiro and patted his shoulder.
‘For the sake of trust with the Territory’s residents as well, I must bring them back no matter what.’
As Kyle and Saphiro fell into simultaneous silence, Aron exited the mansion.
“My lord, I found it.”
At Aron’s words, Kyle closed his eyes.
When Kyle gave no response, Saphiro spoke in his stead.
“……What did you find?”
“There is a breeding pens, and a secret passage exists here as well. That ans there is a strong possibility that the sa facilities exist in all of the elders’ mansions.”
At Aron’s explanation, Kyle opened his eyes and clenched his fist tightly.
“Saphiro.”
“Yes, Eldest Young Master.”
“Report everything to Pramo.”
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