"He should know his place and stay quiet, instead of acting like he's something special."
"He dared to mingle in those two's bet and acted like he was hot stuff, serves him right."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
The whispers, not even trying to hide them, reached my ears.
If I could hear them, they must have reached that man's ears as well.
Sure enough, the man was trembling with a humiliated expression.
What on earth is going on? What's this about a bet?
It seems like something happened while I was unaware.
Curious, I asked Aiden,
"Sir Aiden, what happened?"
But for some reason, Aiden wore a troubled expression and couldn't answer easily.
'Huh?'
I asked lightly out of simple curiosity, but the reaction is strange.
"Sir Aiden?"
"...It's not a very pleasant story to hear."
Aiden was reluctant to tell me.
Why?
Ah, perhaps.
"Is it related to me?"
A slight flinch.
"They mentioned a bet. Did they bet on me or something?"
Another flinch.
"The only place to make bets is during the qualifying exam. If they had bet on me, they wouldn't be in this state, so they made a bet against me and ended up like that."
"...Did you know everything?"
"I didn't, but I just found out."
"..."
I didn't need to hear it in words; Aiden's reaction was too honest, making it easy to deduce.
'Well, it makes sense.'
The Duke said to me, 'The one who hunts the strongest magical beast will become the protagonist of the exam.'
The participants must have known that fact as well, so a bet like 'Who will hunt the strongest magical beast?' probably took place.
In that bet, that man lost. So he's here begging for forgiveness.
'Foolish.'
If he really wanted forgiveness, he should have quietly requested it behind the scenes instead of causing a commotion in such a public place.
Anyway.
"Did the Duke participate in the bet too?"
Aiden nodded at my question.
That was unexpected.
I didn't think he would be interested in such things.
Moreover, for him to beg the Duke for forgiveness means the Duke won the bet.
'Could it be.'
The Duke took my side?
'No way.'
That was an absurd story.
At that moment, the man shouted.
"It's true that I lost the bet, but even so, this... this is too cruel...!"
"Cruel?"
The Duke tilted his head.
Even in this situation, he was just cold and indifferent.
It was like looking at an unbreakable iceberg.
Did the man feel the same way?
His face turned pale, and he trembled.
"It was Andro Croll who proposed the bet and accepted the penalty. Was there even the slightest bit of force exerted by me?"
"Th, that's...!"
Unable to retort, the man was at a loss for words.
Laughter was heard around him again.
The man's face turned red.
I stared at such a man with cold eyes.
'Andro Croll, huh.'
The name wasn't unfamiliar.
That's because.
'That's the one. The fratricide.'
In my previous life, during the qualifying exam I didn't attend.
To attend the Rodbel qualifying exam, one of the attendees fed his brother a poisonous substance that caused an allergic reaction, but the dose was lethal, and he eventually died.
The name of the man who killed his brother was Andro Croll.
Disowned by his family, he was later executed under imperial law.
Since the motive for the incident was attending the Rodbel Dukedom's qualifying exam, investigators visited the Duke's residence for a while.
It was such a shocking incident that the name 'Andro Croll' was heard everywhere in the Duke's residence for a while.
That's why it stuck in my mind.
I never thought I would see him like this.
"I don't understand."
The Duke murmured in a voice with no inflection, towards Andro Croll, who was only able to tremble.
"I accepted the Croll family's request to repatriate you and helped you return. How is that harsh and cruel?"
He asked as if he truly couldn't understand, but I knew immediately.
The Duke already knows Andro Croll's crime.
'Well, yeah.'
To request repatriation to the Rodbel Dukedom, you would have to state the reason.
'It's happening sooner than I thought.'
In my previous life, his murder charges weren't revealed until after he returned to the Croll family.
'Ah.'
I quickly realized the reason.
'It's because of the banquet.'
In my previous life, he was repatriated immediately because the banquet didn't take place, but in this life, the banquet is being held, so he's staying at the Duke's residence for that period.
During that time, the Croll family discovered Andro Croll's crime and requested repatriation to the Rodbel Dukedom in case he tried to escape.
'Knowing that fact, he's causing such a ruckus.'
Because he knows better than anyone that he won't be safe if he returns.
If so, he should return to the Croll family and clearly show that he is actively cooperating with the investigation and repenting, instead of doing this.
"Return quietly."
The Duke said in a cold tone.
At that moment, tears welled up in Andro Croll's eyes.
He muttered something.
"I can't die alone like this..."
That was the moment.
"Fi, fire!"
"Everyone, evacuate!"
The chefs in the kitchen ran out, shouting.
Behind them, a hazy gray smoke leaked out.
Those who had been watching the situation with interest screamed and began to run away at the scene.
"Kyaaa!"
"Open the door!"
"Cough! Cough!"
Because it was a converted dining room, there were no separate terraces or balconies.
Except for the kitchen, the only exit they could run to was the door.
Dozens of people rushed to one door.
The room quickly filled with smoke.
"Young Master, Miss, this way quickly."
"Bu, but..."
Banshees looked at me with bewildered eyes, then confirmed Aiden and evacuated with Miracle into the crowd of people.
Standing their ground in the chaos were the Duke, Andro Croll, and me and Aiden.
"Miss, we too..."
It was the moment Aiden reached out his hand to me.
"I can't die alone like this!"
Andro Croll screamed and ran towards me.
In his hand was a dagger that he had taken out without anyone noticing.
His eyes, rushing towards me, gleamed with madness.
Aiden immediately drew his sword.
He had been wary of Andro Croll, so he was able to move quickly.
'He's thinking of taking the Young Lady hostage and running away.'
Aiden seemed to know roughly how the situation was unfolding.
Andro Croll was vehemently refusing to return to his family.
So he seemed to be trying to escape by taking Lucia, the easiest target, as a hostage in this place.
'How dare he.'
Suppressing his surging anger, Aiden focused on Andro Croll's movements.
Andro Croll's momentum was quite fierce, but his movements and actions were too simple.
Aiden's sword targeted Andro Croll.
He was going to cut off his arm or leg as soon as he came within range.
And finally, when Andro Croll came within range.
Aiden couldn't cut him down as planned.
Whoosh-
Something flew at high speed.
Thud.
It pierced Andro Croll's neck as it was.
"Keu, keuheok."
Thump.
Without even properly uttering a death scream, Andro Croll's body fell forward.
"That's..."
Aiden was momentarily speechless after confirming Andro Croll's cause of death.
A golden candlestick was stuck in his neck.
Aiden blankly stared at the corpse, then raised his head.
Beyond the now thick smoke, he met a pair of amethyst eyes.
Eyes that seemed to contain nothing, eyes that made one doubt whether they were even human.
'Duke Ego Rodbel...'
He killed Andro Croll.
Flying the candlestick from that far distance with perfect accuracy without an inch of error.
The two people's eyes met.
'No.'
That was Aiden's delusion.
Duke Ego Rodbel wasn't looking at Aiden.
Strangely, he aimed slightly behind Aiden.
What he was looking at was...
Could it be.
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