CH 181

Duke, Please Repent! chapter 181

37. Revisiting the Dark House with the Duke (1)

A chocolate-colored chocolate-flavored cake coated with chocolate with Serpens in front of you . So I looked at Sacher Torte.

What are you doing? Don't eat soon.

I cut a small piece of the cake, dipped it in Schlag squeezed on one side of the plate, and put it in my mouth.

View of black cake and white cream

The color harmony of Edo was good, but the harmony of taste was even better.

Whipped cream without added sugar gently wraps the rich chocolate flavor, and sweet apricot jam spreads between them.

With this delicious cake, Serpence just stared at the fork in his hand.

Why are you dealing with that?

As usual, Serpens would have put a sweet smile on his lips, and diligently played with his hands to move the sweets into my mouth.

As such a guy just stared at it, Eugene, who was puzzled, quietly asked me a question.

Because the person who sent this is Eirich-sama.

Oh!

Heretic Inquisitor... . Eirich sent a cake to the Duchess' House as a gift as if to prove that he was different from Serpence's parents.

On the surface, it means personal gratitude and apology for what happened last time, but in my heart, it must be that of an uncle who wants to feed his nephew delicious food.

How much chocolate had you been absorbed in?

It must have been a gift sent with that thought in mind.

Eat it quickly. If you don't eat it, it's assumed that you've been bitten by the chocolate, and you'll feel better next time... '

Wait... um, I'm going to eat, so wait a minute...

Serpens hesitated with a puzzled expression, as when I first handed him dessert, then cut the cake into bite-sized pieces with a fork and put it in his mouth.

And the expression of resentment because it is delicious

built

It's delicious, isn't it? It's a look that says it's absolutely delicious? If it's delicious, please love it!

"Shion, anyway, isn't that a little bit like that?"

Eugenes waited for Serpense's response for a while, and then when he didn't respond, he scolded me.

It must have been that he had expected this without realizing it, but missed it too late.

I found the second prince in a dark area yesterday. Although he was in disguise, he had a body shape.

Combining the gait, voice, and gate records used to enter the dark district, I am sure of myself."

Serpens glanced at the two of us with pitiful eyes in turn, and then just changed the topic.

He didn't say anything about Eirich, and he didn't even mourn.

by the way .

When did you go to darkness again?

It's been a while since the second prince went down to the former Ferrarius estate. I think it's time to take care of the dark side, so I've been going every day for the last week.

He talks a little and doesn't listen to anything.

Anyway, is that so?

It appears that they have visited for investigation, but no progress has been made.

When did the second prince of the Empire ever go to such a rough town?

Nobility flows out of actions, and there is no way to properly investigate a place like this because it is the first time.

All kinds of conspirators are entangled in Hogaeng's visit, and if you ask any questions, you will be suspicious and ask for money.

go .

I almost fell asleep without seeing it,

And how knowledgeable the escorts are.... Arguments and quarrels are taking place every now and then, and it's like walking around announcing that it's the first time.

Serpens frowned as if in pain.

The image of a knight pulling his sword came to mind, saying he was rude to people who deliberately bumped into the second prince while passing by or approached them to cheat.

Serpens saw it and chased them.

It was also portrayed as a way of sifting through those who approached, and secretly intervening if Frederick's identity was likely to be discovered.

Serpence is suffering a lot.

Whew...

He answered with a long sigh.

I was planning to secretly leak clues when I made progress in the investigation, but I don't think that's possible. If I leave it like that, I'll get caught up in dangerous things or get my identity discovered...

I got caught up in something dangerous and

tall?

Yeah. That's why I think I'll have to change my plans a bit.

It is difficult to know that the 2nd Prince is under investigation by going in and out of the dark district, but it is even worse when rumors circulate that he is contributing to dirty work in the dark district.

"Then what should I do?"

Euges asked Serpense a question.

I think we should make contact from this side first.

How?

"First of all Wilydia-sama, can you sneak out through the back door of the mansion tonight?"

"Of course! Are you going there?"

Yes. And according to the settings I made last time...

I feel like an extra who has been called into a play-writing meeting and has been given the role of a borrowed barley sack.

The two of them made plans to go to a dark place, and I enjoyed a peaceful tea time while listening to their words.

You two are going anyway, you know

you'll be fine

Shion? Are you listening?

Yes? Me? Why?

You weren't listening at all.

Was there anything I should know?

As he looked at Serpence with an expression asking him to speak again, he clicked his tongue slightly.

You're going with me, so I was telling you to prepare.

"Yes? Me? Why?"

I and Welydia-sama both have to leave, so it's better to go together.

It seems to be a conclusion."

I don't know why it suddenly came to such a conclusion.

Eugez looked at her, wondering if it was the same conclusion he had reached.

Eugenes, who made eye contact with me, shook his head left and right, and informed me that the conclusion was Serpens's alone opinion.

"If you're not going to leave your child alone at home, what is that?"

It would be better if you were a child.

I don't know what's so bad about it.

overnight anyway. It is also a short outing of a few hours.

Even though he would sleep with his legs outstretched, he couldn't bear the bird and was worried about going outside and having an accident. At that point, it's close to obsessive-compulsive.

Just go without me. There's nothing to go, and I've been to the dark streets before, so I don't have any work.

However .

"All the knights who went to subjugation have returned, so the security is sufficient. If you know that Serpens is doing this, everyone will be very sad, right?"

Does not matter.

Hey, you're only going to sleep anyway, so what makes you so anxious? If so, why don't you put Sir Winston next to you?

Serpens raised a white flag at my firm will to sleep somehow.

Yes, I see. It would be better to move Lord Redford's quarters there.

Yes? Why is that so?

If you suddenly give me an order to escort you for just one night, it's suspicious.

go.

Is it okay to suddenly move the knight's quarters from where he ate and slept in the barracks?

So, is it okay not to just keep it today, but to keep it for the foreseeable future?

It's a standard you don't really know.

'I don't care if there are more occupants of the building or not... .'

Winston wasn't even given a say, let alone a choice. He wasn't even here.

Without knowing that his living environment had changed without him knowing, Oh

He must have been practicing while swinging his sword hard all the time.

Still, if you are far from the barracks and have to go back and forth every day and suffer from the invasion of privacy by two butlers, it will be much better in terms of facilities than the lodgings used by knights.

In particular, the best thing is that there is no smell of sweat that the knights who sweat come and go.

Then have a good trip.

...are you really not going with me?

I'm not going, I'm not going. If I have to go, there will be more things to worry about for my safety,

What are you going to take me to do? That's a lot of anxiety.

uh... .

I hate the return of Serpence and I want to pinch him, so don't worry and go away.

How the hell did you fix that bastard's separation anxiety?

* * *

A few days later, a letter from the Duke's

flew away

A letter from Frederick.

It was a letter with only the details of meeting him, but we already knew what he was going to say.

The reason is simple.

Because Serpens made it up.

The meeting place was the closest place to the capital among the estates with the gate to the dark district, and the counties of Puscator, who harbored the dark district underground.

"When did you come here?"

When he entered the mansion written in the letter, he asked Frederick, who was facing Serpence, acting as if he was terrified.

'He taught me the code to go from the dark side to Count Puskator... :

It's really amazing.

I'll tell you how to do it step by step. Please read this first.

"Um , I see."

I already know it well, so I have no desire to know, and I have no doubts.

However, Serpence is curious, but it seems that there is something important, so he postponed it for now.

Serpens took the letter and opened it.

I was also there when Euges wrote it with his left hand, but based on the setting that he knew nothing, he poked his head out and checked it again.

Roughly speaking, it is the content that you are the owner of the Dark House, and that you, the 2nd Prince, are aware of your recent visits to the Dark House and its purpose.

In the letter, the author asks for his cooperation.

If he wanted to receive it, he demanded that he come to see him with the Duke of Prasidus.

The specific date of the appointment was written along with vague information that the place where he could meet him would be informed through the following letter.

And today is that day.

You don't feel like a trap, but... Whether it's a trap or cooperation, if the person who sent this letter is really the master of the dark district, this is your chance.

"Does the Duke think so too?"

At Frederick's question, Serpens

nodded.

The way he talks about traps with a serious face about what he has set up goes beyond his cleverness.

"If I had had more time, I would have gone to the place where I could meet him and checked it out in advance, but the second letter arrived at dawn this morning "

"Does that mean that you departed from the territory today? It would take three days by train, how could that be possible?"

Serpens widened his eyes, naive

He tilted his head slightly to the side with one face.

The person who receives that look somehow shrugs his shoulders and shows symptoms that make him want to let him know what he knows.

Frederick was no different.

Actually, you can only enter the dark gate by using the 'gate' magic.

"Isn't that dead magic?"

To be precise, it's a magic that naturally disappeared as it was not used because it was designated as a crime that threatens the country. But criminals don't

I don't care... .

I get a rough idea of what's going on. Does that mean there aren't just one or two places with gates?

Using it, Serpens, who flashed east to west, pretended to reason on the spot and said.

The expression on his face that he wants to be confirmed whether his thoughts are correct is absolutely disgusting.

That's right. And when you leave, it's a way to move you to the territory you came in through a password. It's probably to hide the exact location of the gate in another territory.

So that even if one gate is discovered, it can end with closing only that one."

Ummm... Really.

I'm really tired of saying the same thing.

Anyone who sees it will know that you are actually getting new information.