Home/Baby Villain and Papa/ch39

Chapter 39: Somehow, She Had Become Precious

It wasn't simply because last night's battle had been so fierce.

Sensing something amiss from their grave expressions, the old Duke, the Chief Steward, and the Grand Duke of Pride quietly approached Garren—who was also the head of the special investigative team—and questioned him.

"Duke, looking around, the situation seems quite different from what we expected..."

"Garren! What happened?"

"Your Grace, is there anything I should report separately to His Majesty?"

Though their words differed, they were all asking the same thing: even to those who knew nothing, the scale of the battle and the casualties seemed significant. If there was one saving grace, it was that the children had been rescued safely. That was the most important thing—but the night had been far too grim to judge solely by that fact.

Garren wore a troubled expression, unsure where to begin.

The Empire had won last night's battle. But unlike the initial expectation that casualties would be minimal once the children's safety was secured, the allied losses were severe.

Eighty-five wounded. Sixty-two dead. That scale of loss rivaled a small-scale battle in the frontier.

He'd anticipated heavy losses given the intensity of the fight—but not this heavy. When the report came in, Peron had turned pale and clutched his neck, and Garren felt the same.

But what shocked them even more than their own losses was the kidnappers' toll.

"Do you think this makes sense? How can there be no survivors? Check again!"

In any battle, some die. Some may take their own lives in despair.

But for every single enemy left on the battlefield to be dead was undeniably strange. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that all the kidnappers who couldn't escape had used poison hidden in their molars to commit suicide.

When they discovered that, Peron, Garren, and everyone in the special investigative team felt as if they'd been struck from behind.

How can these be mere grave robbers? When they're so blindly devoted that they'd throw away their own lives—this is hardly an exaggeration to call it a cult!

They seriously worried that some unknown cult had arisen within the Empire.

And to make matters worse, it was also revealed that the kidnappers' weapons were made of a special metal commonly used by frontier monsters and nomads.

The kidnappers' true identity remained unknown.

That meant these kidnappers could at any time transform into invaders and attack the Empire. So to prepare for any unforeseen variables, Peron decided to hasten his return to report the facts to his father, the Marquess of Verdo—the Frontier Count.

"I'll leave it to you. Find out everything you can!"

"Brother!"

Due to his position as Duke, Garren addressed Peron formally as "Sir Peron" in public, but privately he called him "Brother." Partly because he was the older brother of his friend Fernando, but also because they'd grown up together like brothers since childhood.

Perhaps that's why Peron felt comfortable leaving Garren with a bombshell before departing.

"I don't know what they are, but it's clear they're not simple grave robbers. If you find anything—even something small—let me know. If something unexpected happens, we need to be prepared."

Peron told Garren he'd leave the capital to him, while he would handle the frontier. That's why, when the Grand Duke's household, the Ducal residence, and the Chief Steward from the Imperial Palace arrived, Peron was nowhere to be found.

Unaware of the situation, the Grand Duke, the Chief Steward, and the old Duke pressed Garren again, asking what had happened in last night's battle. The Grand Duke also asked about his brother-in-law Peron's whereabouts.

So Garren sighed once, then signaled to his subordinate. He handed them the abbreviated situation report he'd just prepared.

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

The staggering scale of allied casualties—and the even more devastating enemy casualties. And the report that all enemy casualties were due to suicide. The faces of those who read it hardened.

Seeing that, Garren calmly added:

"For the record, not all of them committed suicide. Some escaped. The problem is that they seem to be rather important figures... which could cause issues in the future."

There were many enemy bodies on the battlefield, but the person Janice and Raymond had described as the "Elder" was nowhere to be seen. Garren suspected that the "Elder" was among those who had been shielded by the kidnappers during last night's fighting and had escaped.

The kidnappers had protected the "Elder" group as if they were emperors. And the moment he escaped the hideout, they had lost all will to fight and surrendered—only to commit suicide later.

Given all this, Garren became curious not only about the kidnappers' identity, but also about what exactly that "ruin" was. He'd thought it was just another relic of the past—but for such a massive group to risk their lives for it, it clearly wasn't ordinary.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache. But he couldn't simply ignore the ruins or the grave robbers. They were willing to disregard life and death for the ruins—and they believed Garren's daughter Janice held the key to them.

The only hope was that they'd realize Janice knew nothing. But remembering how desperately they'd tried to recapture the children in last night's battle, that hope seemed slim.

If they thought there was nothing to gain from Janice, they wouldn't have fought so desperately.

"...Hah!"

The thought that the kidnappers might target Janice again made Garren curse under his breath. To Garren, Janice was special.

He'd thought he still hadn't fully accepted her as his daughter. But this incident made him realize he valued her far more than he'd known. When Janice was kidnapped, every moment felt like his blood was draining away.

He'd prayed desperately every day to hear news of the children—while also praying not to hear any news. Because when news of a kidnapped child comes, it's only ever one of two things: they've been found, or their body has been found.

Until he learned the children were safe—until he saw Janice alive with his own eyes—every hour, every minute had been pure hell.

He never wanted to go through that again.

To ensure that, he needed to annihilate all the kidnappers—kill them or throw them in prison—but some had slipped through. A giant "Elder" loach had escaped. Thinking of them daring to skulk around again to kidnap Janice made him furious beyond measure. And even if he punished every single one, it still wouldn't be satisfying—especially when he didn't even know how many were out there.

"..."

Garren clenched his fist, thinking of some invisible enemy.

He felt utterly incompetent and pathetic. What good was being the head of the Police Agency, or a Duke, if he couldn't even protect his own daughter?

And he'd known all along that the kidnappers were targeting Janice. Her kidnapping this time was partly due to his own negligence and complacency. Saying he never expected them to be this audacious was just an excuse.

He could feel the old Duke, the Grand Duke, and the Chief Steward exchanging glances and watching him warily as he suddenly radiated killing intent mid-sentence. But Garren couldn't easily quell his anger.

He'd definitely let his guard down this time. Though Janice and Raymond had been recovered, Garren felt he had suffered a thorough defeat.

But he wouldn't make the same mistake twice! No matter what, he would protect his daughter—Janice.

Gazing hotly at the bodies of the grave robbers laid out to one side, Garren resolved and reaffirmed his commitment to the future.

Back   Next