༺ Raid On The Commoner’s Dormitory (1) ༻
“Young Master, what are you staring at in a daze?”
As I lay on my bed staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling, Kania asked a question with a perplexed expression on her face.
“Try to guess.”
“…Pardon?”
When I asked her a question in a dazed tone, she inquired again with a slightly absurd expression on her face.
“How can I guess that?”
“…Serena would have just looked straight into my eyes and guessed it right?”
But when I provoked her with a mischievous expression on my face, she frowned and approached the bed I was lying on.
“Um… So, are you looking at the system?”
Then she settled down on the bed, looked me in the eye, and answered.
“…As expected, Kania is also amazing.”
Noticing Kania’s serious expression, I judged it would be best to stop teasing her. I slowly got up from the bed and said.
“Yes, I was looking at the system.”
“…But why were you just staring at it? I remember you moving your pupils back and forth when you looked at the system in the past.”
“…Oh.”
In response to Kania’s sharp question, who was prying into my situation, I smiled and continued speaking. In addition, I realized the fact that she was quite smart.
“Initially, there were many things I could check out in the system, but unfortunately, now I can only stare at it in a daze.”
“What do you mean?”
As Kania once again asked with a puzzled expression on her face, I glanced at the system window floating in front of my answers and replied.
『System update in progress…』
“…The system is updating.”
Due to the outrageous act I performed at yesterday’s ball, I was able to reach the mark of 3,000 false evil points by the time I got inside the carriage after parting ways with Serena.
And, from that moment on, the system shutdown and only this message was being displayed on the window.
Thanks to this, I can’t even use my usual ❰Mind Reading❱ or ❰Inspect❱ skills.
According to the prophetic book, when the system is undergoing ‘update,’ all its abilities besides the penalty and quest feature will be temporarily disabled… Perhaps the ❰False Evil’s Intuition❱ won’t get triggered.
‘Anyway, to not allow the use of skill until the update is done, even though I know the system is ruthless… this is really too much.’
The system only aids in committing evil deeds, so it probably won’t provide any help in clearing the main quest.
Still, it’s quite a pity that I can’t use essential skills such as ❰Inspect❱.
“…Young Master.”
“Yes?”
While I was clicking my tongue inwardly in regret, Kania suddenly whispered.
“Lady Serena is right outside the door.”
“…How do you know that?”
“You do know that my dark mana tries to resist the solar, stellar and the lunar manas, right? So, I can sense her presence easily with its help.”
“…That’s impressive.”
I smiled upon seeing that Kania was already proficient to this extent, even though her curse had only been slightly neutralized. I then took a deep breath and opened the door.
“…Perhaps you were already aware I was here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can tell just by assessing how fast you opened the door and the look on your face. Well, it’s not that impressive of a deduction, so let’s just stop talking about that… anyway, can I come inside?”
“What’s the matter?”
When I saw Serena trying to squeeze her way inside, I grabbed her arm urgently and inquired. Upon hearing my question, Serena answered as if it was totally natural for her to do so.
“Do I need a reason to enter my fiancé’s room?”
“But…”
“…I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to change your mind within a year. So, I’ll always try my best.”
Having said that, Serena forced herself into the room and began inspecting every corner.
“Hm… the room is pretty clean, isn’t it?”
“…Probably because there are a lot of cleaners.”
“The maids seem to be rather skilled. Seeing that there is not a speck of dust.”
Serena muttered while wiping the windowsill with her finger. Soon her gaze turned to Kania, who was sitting on the bed.
“So, why are you here?”
“I’m Young Master’s butler…”
“Ms. Kania, I’m not asking about that.”
Serena sternly cut off Kania, who was sitting on the bed, and asked with a cold expression.
“Do you intend to harm Lord Frey, or are you trying to help?”
“…The latter.”
“Yes, that seems true. Thank you for your answer.”
Kania, who spoke anxiously, looked bewildered when Serena judged her words as true so quickly. On the other hand, Serena, who was staring at her, smiled and said.
“Lord Frey, is this part of your usual fake affair?”
“I’ve never lied to you about such matters.”
“That’s another lie. You’ve gotten pretty good while I haven’t seen you in a long time, but you can’t fool me… perhaps.”
Serena, who unwittingly added ‘perhaps’ at the end of her words because of the absolute obedience magic, suddenly stopped smiling and spoke with an icy look.
“By the way, I don’t know if it was your aim… or just a coincidence, but this time you’ve picked quite the suitable partner, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, a stray cat is always just a thieving cat.”
I stared blankly at Serena, who was uttering unfamiliar words, and suddenly Kania spoke in a low voice.
“…By the way, Lady Serena doesn’t like cats, right?”
“Yes, I hate cats. I absolutely loath them.”
Then Kania smirked and said.
“I’m sorry about that. Young Master seems to be quite fond of cats.”
“Ho, he just likes them as ‘pets.’ You didn’t know that?”
Serena, who was smiling pleasantly, and Kania, who had a cold smile on her face, clashed with each other.
While I was watching the situation unfold, suddenly Serena frowned and slumped down on the chair. Upon seeing this sight, I inquired.
“…Is that your chronic illness acting up again?”
“Oh, are you worried about me, perhaps?”
“Never mind, get out of this room. Because I don’t want to see your pathetic self.”
“Understood.”
“No, hold on. Wait for a moment.”
Since I thought I roughly understood why she collapsed on the chair, I told her to leave. However, just when she was about to leave, I called her once more and gave her a command.
“Contact me immediately if you see some strange signs near the commoner’s dormitory.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t follow this command blindly; rather, consider it as my earnest request.”
“Very well.”
When I gave her that command, Serena smiled softly, and instead of saying goodbye, she said her usual words.
“Perhaps… I love you.”
Having said that, she turned around and walked out of the dormitory.
“…Young Master, I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
While I was staring at Serena’s distant back with a sigh, Kania, standing next to me, asked a question.
“From what the Young Master explained to me in the carriage last night, Lady Serena is currently uncertain about everything regarding you, right?”
“That’s right?”
When I nodded, Kania frowned and asked.
“Then why don’t you tell Lady Serena everything?”
“……..”
“Even if you reveal everything to Lady Serena, there will be no ‘penalty’ because she will keep ‘doubting’ you till the end. Then why…”
“…There’s a reason.”
I slowly began explaining to her the reason.
“First of all… it’s because of the ‘Ordeal of the System.'”
“An ordeal of the system?”
“Yes, because of that ordeal, besides you, the warlock… everyone who is ‘concerned’ about me will get cursed.”
“…I see.”
When Kania nodded with a grim expression, I sighed and spoke.
“The only people who are currently concerned about me are my sister Aria and my fiancée, Serena. So, I have no choice but to stop them from worrying about me.”
“So, that’s the reason you didn’t tell Lady Serena everything?”
“Yes, even if I tell her everything, she will be suspicious until the end because of the order I gave her… However, the chances of her emotions such as ‘love’ and ‘concern’ disappearing also get significantly lowered.”
When I said so calmly, Kania frowned and said.
“But… after you deal with the curse, you can confide in everything…”
“No, the second reason is her family.”
“…Ah.”
As I said so firmly, Kania looked convinced.
“You just saw her writhe in pain, didn’t you? It seems her ‘Familial Subordination’ curse has been triggered.”
“…That’s terrible.”
“In the previous timeline, the Lord and the elders of the Moonlight Ducal family were all removed by the Demon King before they decided to assassinate me… But It seems this time around they decided to get rid of me sooner than I thought because I proposed to the Princess.”
Having said that, I heaved a deep sigh, then slowly closed my eyes and continued speaking.
“So, if she truly doesn’t want to kill me in the future, the pain will become so intense that it can’t be compared to the agony she originally felt. So, for her sake, I need to be hated by her.”
“…If Lady Serena resolved herself to kill you, it would be quite difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“I’ll hang in there until I defeat the Demon King.”
When I said so with a bitter smile, Kania sighed and grumbled.
“Somehow, the entire world seems to be designed to paint you as a villain.”
“Indeed, it’s a wretched world.”
As I looked at the floor with dim eyes, Kania asked one more question.
“But why did you give Lady Serena such an order?”
“Order?”
“You just told her to report anything that happens near the commoners’ dormitory.”
As Kania tilted her head and asked, I replied with a smile.
“Don’t you remember we were supposed to go out together?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ll be getting ready to leave soon. You, too, should get ready.”
Upon hearing this, Kania spoke with a bewildered expression.
“Yes, but… the ‘Raid on Commoners’ Dormitory’ isn’t over yet? So, if both of us leave our post.”
“In fact, the reason we are going for an outing is because of the ‘Raid on the Commoner’s Dormitory?’”
“Pardon?”
I got up from my seat to get dressed and said.
“It seems that the ‘raider’ didn’t attack because he seemed to be wary of a gaze watching him. So isn’t it more likely that he would make a move when he notices that the daily surveillance has disappeared?”
“But… if something happens when we’re away…”
“That’s why I told Serena to contact me immediately if she sees anything ‘suspicious.’ She’s smart, so the ‘raider’ won’t notice, and she’ll notify us before anything happens.”
“…I see.”
Then Kania nodded, looking somewhat convinced, and stood up.
“By the way, where are we going?”
“Since we must return immediately the moment we are notified, we should stay as close as possible…”
I wanted to buy clothes for Kania, who usually only wore suits, so I was planning to suggest going to the nearest clothing store, but…
“Frey!!”
“Ugh!!”
I freaked out when Serena suddenly burst open the door and stormed in.
“Serena, you didn’t even knock. What are you doing…”
Having calmed my panicked heart, I gave Serena an icy glare and was about to rebuke her, but…
“I found something suspicious.”
“…..!”
I froze when she said so confidently.
“Did I do well?”
I watched Serena for a while as she spoke with a bright smile, then sighed and whispered to Kania.
“… The outing. Let’s postpone it for now.”
“Yes.”
It seems the main quest has begun.
.
.
.
.
.
“What?”
We arrived at the Commoner’s dormitory all tensed up, but what greeted us was just a peaceful dormitory building.
Usually, when this event occurs, the dormitory is on fire or demolished… I don’t know what kind of strange signs she sensed, but it appears to be normal.
“…Look, it looks weird, doesn’t it?”
However, Serena pointed to the dormitory with a confident expression. As I was staring at that direction with a bewildered look, suddenly Kania opened her mouth while breaking out in a cold sweat.
“…I can feel a terrifying magic.”
At that moment, I spread the stellar mana in all directions with a stony expression on my face, and I could feel a substantial amount of mana surrounding the dormitory.
“You know how to use the stellar mana? Why the hell did you hide this fact…”
“…Forget the fact that I just used stellar mana.”
Having grasped the general situation, I gave a quick order to Serena, who was talking to me with a sharp glint in her eyes.
“…Hmm?”
Then Serena looked dazed for a moment, and soon tilted her head.
‘…As expected, I shouldn’t erase her memories deliberately whenever I want.’
Then, for some odd reason, when Serena started looking at me with a grim expression on her face, I muttered quietly to myself.
❰Absolute Obedience Magic❱ forces the subject to follow the orders of the target it’s loyal to without question, but if I keep erasing her memories like this, Serena, a peerless genius, might grasp the gap between the erased memories and become suspicious.
Isn’t she glaring at me a little right now? So, I think I should refrain from erasing her memories unless it is an emergency.
“Come on, look.”
With that thought in mind, I calmly accepted her gaze. Soon, Serena picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the entrance of the dormitory.
– Swoosh!
Then, the stone that flew swiftly disappeared as soon as it made contact with the entrance of the dormitory.
“…It seems the space inside and outside the dormitory is separated.”
“Yes, seeing that the stone you threw disappeared without a trace. Then wait in front of the entrance for a moment.”
After I calmly responding to Serena’s explanation, I gave her a command. Meanwhile, Kania, who was standing next to me, spoke urgently.
“I think we should retreat for now.”
“…Why?”
“You also know that as well. No beings can cast this kind of large-scale spatial magic….”
“…I know that only the Demon King and her aide can use it.”
After replying calmly, I took something out of my pocket and showed it to her.
“But if we have this, there is nothing to worry about.”
“…Huh?”
When Kania saw the ‘Stone of Domination’ I took out, she looked perplexed.
“Isn’t that the ‘Stone of Domination,’ an item for mind control? I know it well because I overheard the conversation between the Young Master and the Demon King’s servant in the previous timeline.”
“…Yes, according to the original scenario, this ‘Stone of Domination’ is an item to awaken the brainwashed ‘Raider.'”
I said so with a relaxed smiled
“However, the ‘true power’ of this item is not something like ‘mind control.'”
“What do you mean?”
Leaving behind Kania, who looked perplexed, I put the ‘Stone of Domination’ back into my pocket and stepped forward.
“Well, you’ll see with your own eyes later…”
However, the next moment when I noticed something, I quickly grabbed Serena and Kania, then flung myself onto the grass next to them.
“Y-Young Master? What’s the matter?”
“You… what are you doing?”
Feeling panicked, Kania and Serena opened their eyes wide and began admonishing me, but…
“…So, what’s going on?”
“Hurry! We’ll be late!”
“As expected, there’s a variable.”
The two quickly shut their mouths when Isolet, Ferloche, and Clana passed by the place where we were just standing.
“Uh-Umm?”
Of course, I blocked Serena’s mouth.
– Swoosh!
Eventually, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the commoner’s dormitory and disappeared from our sight in an instant.
“Fuha… Frey? What the hell is going on here? Why do we have to hide like this?”
While I was drenched in sweat as I witnessed the scene, Serena began asking questions, as if she couldn’t stand it any longer.
“…Don’t tell me you’re planning to do something bad again?”
Eventually, she looked at me with a desperate expression, so I tried to avoid her gaze and spoke to Kania.
“Kania, cast a cognitive transformation magic spell around here. Don’t let anyone approach the commoners’ dormitory…”
“I can do that as well.”
After cutting my words, Serena got up from her seat and unfolded the fan she was holding.
“…Yes, so you don’t want anyone approaching this place for a while, right?”
“Yes… But…”
“Tell me. What the hell are you trying to do over there?”
As Serena continued to question me, I noticed Kania staring at me with a melancholic look on her face. I then closed my eyes and said.
“It’s nothing. So don’t worry.”
“… Perhaps I’ll even believe you.”
Then Serena tried to soften her expression, but anxiety still lingered in her eyes.
‘…As expected of Serena. If it weren’t for absolute obedience magic, this wouldn’t have been possible.’
The first reason Serena was anxious was probably because she wasn’t certain about everything concerning me, and the second reason was that she could read lies in my eyes.
Yes. Today, I will subdue an unknown assailant who borrowed power from the Demon King and take his place.
The strategy I came up with to clear this ‘Main Quest’ was to pretend to be brainwashed by the Demon King and become the final boss of ‘Raid on Commoner’s Dormitory’ case. After I’m subdued, I’ll reveal that Demon King was behind this incident to the world and claim my innocence.
In other words, this case will not be the beginning of the Empire’s downfall and the debut battle of the Demon King… rather it will be the first step towards a happy ending and a blade of counterattack against the Demon King.
“Then let’s get going.”
It’s also the first step in getting Serena to turn her back on me.
“Well, I’ll have to see for myself.”
“Be careful, Young Master.”
With those thoughts in mind, I walked to the entrance of the Commoner’s dormitory with Serena and Kania.
– Slam!!
“…huh?”
“Oh God.”
And the next moment, what unfolded before my eyes…
“Screeeech!!”
“Rooooaar!!!”
The interior of the commoner’s dormitory was transformed into a dungeon, and intermediate-rank demonic monsters charged at us in full speed.
“…Did I fail the quest?”
Apparently, there’s a problem in this timeline.
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