Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 39

So, I hurried back… but what the hell is going on here?

Why?

“Fufu, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Why is Eranda here? You’re alive?”

“As you can see.”

When I returned to the Riofendarl Viscount’s manor, Shifa was nowhere to be found.

Instead, for some reason, Eranda was standing there.

I had heard she disappeared into the Demon Forest.

So, she survived.

But if that’s the case, she was pregnant before she left…

What happened to the child?

Was it already born?

“If you’re back, then return the assets you took when you left.”

“There’s nothing to return.”

“You…”

Her face was the very picture of shamelessness.

She looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“If you insist, there’s one way. I could pay you back using the viscount’s estate funds… But, oh dear, that would mean freezing all budgets for city expansion and workshop subsidies.”

“You little…”

I didn’t know when exactly she had returned, but she must have been aware of all the policies Shifa had worked hard to implement.

And now, she was using them as leverage to avoid repaying her debts.

What a wretched woman.

Had she always been this vile?

No…

Maybe she changed while I was gone for the past six months.

“And? Where is Shifa?”

“I wouldn’t know. Didn’t you run into her somewhere? I only told her to leave the city.”

“She’s your sister.”

“And? Why should I care? She was always snooping around, trying to undermine me. How could I possibly feel any affection for her?”

“This is all your fault. The debts, the fraud—every last bit of it.”

“That’s true. And?”

“And?”

“Yes. If we’re going to talk, make it something worthwhile. I’m a busy person, you know?”

“…Busy? Are you calling yourself the lord?”

What the hell is she talking about?

“Where is the viscount? Where’s your father?”

“Oh, Father? He’s fallen ill. That’s why I graciously took over as acting lord again. Honestly, with how much this city has grown thanks to the dungeon, managing it is beyond the capabilities of a rural viscount. That’s why Duke Horneld has been supporting us.

Father is resting now. And once he passes, my child will inherit the title.

Until then, I will be the ruling lord.”

“And who the hell would follow you?”

“Who? The people of this city, of course. Isn’t that obvious?”

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

But everyone in the city knew about her crimes.

Was she an idiot?

“You’re looking at me like you’re thinking something rude. But you don’t need to worry about the people.”

“What?”

“Think about it. If they refuse to obey, I can just arrest and punish them. If the population declines, I can simply bring in more people.

Fortunately, there are plenty of migrants willing to come from Duke Horneld’s territory.

If the locals are dissatisfied, I’ll just kick them out. More empty houses that way. Convenient, don’t you think?”

“You… you’ve really fallen this far, haven’t you?”

“You had debts before, but at least you cared about this land.”

“I don’t care anymore. You were the ones who betrayed me.”

“Why!?”

“Well, I think we’re done here. You don’t belong in this city.

Shouldn’t you be searching for Shifa?”

That smug smile of hers made me sick.

How did she end up like this?

At one point, she was my fiancée.

Instead of anger, I felt something closer to sorrow.

“And when a stampede happens? What will you do then?”

“It won’t be a problem. The adventurers under Duke Horneld’s command are more than capable.

They even saved me from the Demon Forest, after all.”

“I see…”

If she wasn’t even concerned about that, then there was nothing left to say.

I worried about the people here, but as a mere commoner, there was nothing I could do right now.

I could go on a rampage and kill her right here…

…but I won’t.

There was something off.

Something weird in the manor’s depths.

It didn’t feel like magic, but… it was something else.

I needed to cool my head.

I had to find Shifa, regroup, and head to the capital.

I explained everything to Michelle and Claire.

They both decided to come with me.

I thought Claire might consider staying, but apparently, she had no intention of ever working with Eranda again.

I wanted to at least say goodbye to Klein.

But Eranda’s men were watching us as soon as we left the manor.

We couldn’t even slip into the neighboring guild.

I could have taken them out, but that would only cause trouble for Klein.

So, instead, we quietly left the city.

And then—

“HYAAHAAAA!!”

“DIEEEE!!!!”

“ORAAAAAA!!!”

“Restraint!”

BAM!

THUD!

“GUAAHHH!!”

A bunch of thugs came charging at us, so I bound them and slammed them into the ground.

Oh, right.

These guys were the Ark Knights, weren’t they?

Their numbers had thinned a bit, but I recognized them.

Especially the three loudest idiots at the front.

Now that I think about it…

“You attacked people. Are you prepared to die for that?”

“W-Why the hell are you so strong!? You’re just some scammer who got caught in a stupid trap…!”

What the hell are you talking about?

Oh…

He must be referring to the time Jekyll set me up.

“That whole story was exposed as a lie in Riofendarl long ago, you know?”

Michelle muttered, exasperated.

“What…!?”

Not that it mattered.

They tried to kill us—that alone meant they weren’t getting off easy.

Besides…

“You guys mentioned saving a woman in the Demon Forest, didn’t you?

Was that Eranda?”

“Hm!? W-Well, yeah. It was Lady Eranda.

She was badly injured—barely clinging to life!

We saved your lord, you know?

So release us right now!”

“Shut up.”

BAM.

“Gugh…!”

Did they really think I’d care about Eranda?

She’s the one who threw us out of the city.

No chance in hell I’d feel grateful.

So, they were the ones who saved her.

Fine.

Saving people wasn’t wrong.

But still…

“You saved her while she was being attacked in the Demon Forest, right?

What about the child she was carrying?

Was it unharmed?”

That was the part that bothered me.

I hadn’t seen the child myself, but from what I’d heard, Eranda had safely given birth.

And now, she planned to make that child the next lord.

“I don’t know!

We just saw a woman who looked like she’d be worth money, so we handed her over to the duke!”

“Then you’re useless to me.”

BAM. BAM. BAM.

“Gaaah!”

I didn’t even want to look at them anymore, so I knocked them out and left them where they lay.

Then, without another thought, we began searching for Shifa.