Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 26

Chapter 26

Fortunately, my cry of "New brother-in-law" went unheard amid the commotion at the herbalist's shop.

The knights blocking off the area around the shop looked familiar. They were the imperial knights who had been camped outside the primeval forest.

"I wondered why the numbers monitoring the forest had decreased..."

Verity trailed off with a disdainful tone.

Similarly glaring, my eyes caught a familiar face.

'That bastard—the knight who was gossiping and got scolded by the Chief Chamberlain.'

It was disgusting to see him now, wearing a solemn expression and murderous eyes as he monitored the onlookers, as if on some great mission.

Then, more knights emerged from the building.

Among them, one was dressed not in armor but in a splendid uniform adorned with all kinds of jewels. Judging by the knights bowing their heads, he seemed to be their superior.

'Two moles at the corner of his mouth...'

It was a striking impression.

The man stopped in front of the fallen elderly herbalist.

Thud—!

The moment the old man's body flinched from a kick, my mind went blank.

"My Lady."

Verity warned in a low voice.

"If you use your power, I'll scold you severely."

Only then did I notice my right hand, which I had unconsciously raised.

"Take a deep breath. Slowly, and gently."

"Haah, haah..."

"I know. We all feel the same way right now. But we have to hold back. Otherwise, our new brother-in-law will be in even more danger."

"Huuh..."

I did as I was told and barely held onto my reason.

'Right. If I step in, the villagers' survival will be revealed, and our new brother-in-law might be suspected of secretly helping us.'

Confirming that I had calmed down, Verity slowly lowered my weakened right hand.

The knights surrounding the herbalist spouted their nonsense.

"This criminal has defied His Majesty the Emperor's orders! He committed the grave crime of illegally distributing herbs of unverified efficacy, and will be severely punished according to national law!"

"Those who purchased herbs from him must come to the government office by tomorrow afternoon and voluntarily report themselves to avoid punishment. Purchased herbs must also be returned voluntarily!"

Then they forcibly lifted the fallen herbalist, bound his hands and feet with rope, and marched him off.

Even then, the old man didn't move a muscle. He must have been unconscious.

All that remained in his place was a small pool of blood.

None of the onlookers dared step forward. The drawn, gleaming blades of the armed knights prevented anyone from approaching.

"...No, that's not right."

Aunt Elva shook her head frantically.

"Dulcevia is a herb officially approved by the Royal Herbal Association. There are even records of it being used to treat royalty! Even if it hasn't been seen in so long it was thought to be extinct..."

"Calm down."

Uncle Pex rubbed Aunt Elva's back.

"Elva, you're not wrong."

"Right. If you were wrong, Bleached Demon would have pointed it out back then."

Libby joined in.

On the day we first summoned Bleached Demon.

That kind gangster demon had personally confirmed the herbs—including the Dulcevia growing abundantly outside the village—as genuine.

Not only that, he'd even made ointments and powders from them on the spot and shared them with us.

That ointment was still in my bag.

"Let's move for now."

Following Verity's suggestion, we ducked into a nearby alley.

In the meantime, I struggled to suppress my rising fury.

"My Lady."

Verity met my eyes. His smile, gentler and kinder than usual, was full of concern for me.

The same was true for the other adults.

"This isn't your fault."

"I know."

Fortunately, I wasn't stupid enough not to know that.

"Hebenia is fine when she's the one being hurt, but she hates it when others get hurt. She's so kind..."

At Libby's words, Aunt Elva and Uncle Pex vigorously agreed.

"When the guards were about to hit Libby, Hebenia ran right in and bit them. I was so shocked."

"She did the same thing the day we tried to escape the exile camp."

"Oh, our Lady...!"

Verity teased, grinning.

"Acting all tough and selfish, but really she's just a softie who can't stand not helping."

"Village chief worship is a very desirable phenomenon."

"Oh dear, have we awakened a dictator?"

At Verity's half-hearted concern, everyone burst into laughter.

'But the herbalist grandfather ended up like this because of us.'

So we had to help him.

I recalled what I'd witnessed just moments ago.

The Deste territory in an uproar after the angel's descent, the influx of patients, the imperial knights attacking the herbalist, and the ornate attire of the man with two moles at the corner of his mouth.

'...Something's strange.'

What was I missing?

While I was thinking, the adults were also making their own speculations.

"Where do you think they took him?"

"Probably the Deste mansion. The direction matches, and noble mansions usually have dungeons underground."

"True. It would be hard to use the temple or lodging facilities in this situation."

"But there, that..."

Aunt Elva said cautiously.

"A lot of people died..."

Ah.

"...Ah! Ah!"

The adults turned to me in surprise. I quickly voiced the oddity I'd noticed.

"So many people died, but it's too peaceful!"

Even considering the chaos caused by the angel's descent, the Deste territory was as calm as before.

'I saw over twenty bodies that day! And the Viscount of Deste, who ruled the territory, is also dead...!'

Suddenly.

A terrible thought crossed my mind.

Clavis in One Volume, Part 1: Monsters.

[Fairy: ...Liches are very powerful undead monsters.]

[Habi: Undead?]

[Fairy: Monsters that don't die. Usually, evil mages or liches curse corpses to create them...]

"The dead people, turned into undead..."

With my muttering, we hurried toward the Deste mansion.

---

The Deste mansion was still as beautiful as a princess's castle from a fairy tale.

And the employees who had been killed were busily moving about, managing the estate.

"Those people are all dead..."

"It's hard to believe even seeing it."

"There's no sign of decay or any other undead traits."

Pex, Libby, and Elva spoke in turn.

"That's strange. I heard undead don't die, but they do decay..."

Hebenia muttered to herself, then, as usual, looked to Verity for a more detailed explanation.

The knowledgeable demon butler always taught Hebenia many things.

"......"

But even Verity had a strange expression, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Hebenia found that face oddly familiar.

'Right—it's the same face as my colleague who used to curse out the junior employee who constantly caused trouble with inappropriate remarks at work!'

She'd even seen that face the first time they snuck into the Deste mansion.

'What was the situation then?'

She, Ian, and Verity had hidden in a room, and coincidentally, the Viscount of Deste was there, collapsed from the side effects of a succession ceremony.

'And in that room, there were two rats and a demon...'

Hebenia's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me a demon is involved again?"

"......"

Hit the mark, Verity lowered his head.

"Th-there's a high possibility that a high-level curse magic of that degree involved a demon. I'm not sure, but for some reason, I feel a familiar warmth from those undead..."

"Ha!"

Hebenia was exasperated by the string of excuses.

"I thought you said demon summoning was difficult! That it wasn't something anyone could do, yet everyone and their mother is summoning them to do the Emperor's dirty work!"

"Ugh..."

Verity could only groan, unable to find a rebuttal.

Just then.

"Footsteps...!"

Sensing the presence, the group quickly ducked into a nearby empty room and hid. Hebenia set up a protective barrier around the room just in case.

Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps overlapped outside the door.

When the sound faded, Hebenia cracked the door open slightly to check outside.

She caught a glimpse of the side profile of people turning the corner of the hallway.

A splendid uniform.

Two moles at the corner of the mouth.

It was the man who had kicked the herbalist.

---

Molle Livus.

A member of the Imperial Knights' 3rd Guard Division, a man who compensated with tightrope-walking, flattery, and smooth talk.

His efforts bore fruit, and he finally became a noble.

"By the sacred command of His Majesty the Emperor, I bestow upon Molle Livus the Deste territory, the title of Viscount, and the duty to govern it justly."

"I accept His Majesty the Emperor's sacred command."

A cold sword was lightly placed on Molle's head and then lifted.

Slowly rising from his position, he quietly surveyed the reception room where he'd been granted his title.

Small but elegant—he liked it.

The corner of his mouth lifted, and the two moles at the corner of his mouth twitched.

Though the Deste family was only of Viscount rank, the tax revenue from this territory, famous for magical engineering, rivaled that of the great nobles.

The Chief Chamberlain said.

"His Majesty has great expectations of you."

"An undeserved honor."

"Yes, an undeserved honor."

The Chief Chamberlain's sternly pursed lips loosened slightly.

"Sir Ian, the man you betrayed, was truly a fine talent."

"......"

"He was so skilled that even the head of the Clavis family had his eye on him. He might have become the greatest swordsman in history..."

Molle Livus knew perfectly well that the Chief Chamberlain was deliberately bringing up Ian to provoke him.

"......"

But knowing it didn't stop him from being riled up, and Molle Livus pressed his foot firmly into the ground.

His black military boot silently crushed the floor beneath him.

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