Volume 6 Chapter 58 It has Arrived. It's Their Turn
While Randy and the others left the workshop and resumed analyzing the teleportation gate, far away in the northeastern kingdom──Duke Rothheim's territory──it was a peaceful afternoon.
In the central plaza of the capital, people of all ages enjoyed the warm sun, each wearing bright smiles.
There was no sign of a troubling cult or even the Empire's shadow.
This made sense.
The Duke ruling here was the brother of the current king, Gerald, and he was a traitor to the kingdom, aiding the Empire.
Being near the port, this territory is closer to the Empire than Waldner.
Of course, the people had no idea about the Duke's betrayal.
They were just enjoying a moment of fake peace under the spring breeze.
However, in this calm park, there was a young man with an out-of-place gloomy face.
It was Dario.
He is the son of the Prime Minister, Dill Weissman, and one of the Crown Prince's friends.
Dario was in this park, far from the capital, as a tutor for the Duke's 2 young sons.
──"But the Duke's sons are just 5 and 3, right?"
Those were Dario's words when he got the offer.
Yet, no matter how many times he looked, the letter had the Duke's seal.
The letter said they wanted him because Dario was excellent, just behind Liz at the academy, and even mentioned a vacation with his father, Dill.
As a result, Dario was watched by the dark side, keeping an eye on Marquis Weissman, as he visited the Duke's territory with his father.
This happened about 2 weeks ago, right after spring break started.
Although he was requested directly by the Duke, the tutoring was so simple that anyone could do it.
Just an hour a day to teach the young kids the basics.
Even now, after 2 weeks, he still didn't understand why he was called here.
Dario felt completely bored... or so he thought.
But there was one lucky thing.
Chris was in the Duke's territory. The son of the former Minister of Justice, Chris Row.
After that incident, Chris left the capital under the guise of needing rest, but he came to the Rothheim Duke's land.
It was nothing special.
He was sent there, almost like being exiled, to prevent cooperation between the nobility of other territories and the former Minister of Justice.
Of course, Dario didn't know any of this, and with nothing to do, he visited Chris almost every day for the last 2 weeks.
So why was Dario, who met his friend again, looking up at the sky with a sad face?
It was because Chris told him,
──"The kingdom will fall apart."
"Sigh..."
It's no wonder Dario couldn't stop sighing.
Chris, who whispered such things, was caught by the dark side──posing as his guards──and was dragged to his healing mansion, being told he was "still unstable."
The words Chris shouted at that time wouldn't leave Dario's mind.
──"It's true. Trust me."
Chris's face, pleading for understanding, definitely held sane eyes.
That's why what he said stuck with Dario.
A man sat down on the bench behind Dario.
"You know Chris Row is losing his mind, right?"
The man seemed to be from the dark side.
He referred to when Dario first met Chris in this territory.
──"Don't mess with the Beast of Death (Morticus)!"
Dario could never forget how fiercely Chris had attacked him.
Even if he was told not to interfere, the Beast of Death (Morticus) was just a made-up story from the scriptures.
Dario laughed, saying it was impossible, but Chris shook his head, saying, "It's different."
Seeing the clear fear in his friend's eyes, Dario couldn't help but ask what happened.
But all he got was a weak "I can't talk," as Chris shook his head.
"Looks like he's still kinda messed up in the head."
With a sigh, dark side said that. Dario replied, "...seems like it," quietly.
But honestly, Chris didn't look like someone who'd lost his mind.
Still... dark side, or maybe the country itself, seemed eager to paint him that way.
Chris probably wanted people to think he'd gone crazy.
Dario had figured that out—but maybe his half-hearted reply made him look like he was sad for his friend. The man behind him just said, "Cheer up," and left the bench.
So Dario said nothing more. He just stared blankly at the sky.
Dario didn't know what the "Beast of Death (Morticus)" really was, or what Chris and dark side were hiding.
All he did know was that his trust in the country was falling apart.
Normally, he'd go talk to Edgar or Arthur.
But right now, those two were too busy drowning in heartbreak.
Edgar, who broke off his engagement. Arthur, who got dumped.
Their situations were different, but they were both still obsessed with the women they lost.
And when it comes to people he can't talk to... that includes his dad, the Prime Minister.
The guy's supposed to be a top official, and he didn't even know Chris was here.
Come to think of it, Dad's been acting off ever since Dario's engagement got canceled.
It's all so unclear.
Everyone's hiding something. And everyone's just... off.
The only good thing—his one small comfort—was that Chris had started talking to him again, little by little, every day...
But after that just now, even that's gone.
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