OPDSP 36

However, the Knights Commander and Innis were exceptions. While betas were slower to react than Aeryl, they too felt an instinctive fear from the Grand Duke’s pheromones. Paralyzed by sheer terror, they couldn’t even breathe. They couldn’t protect themselves—couldn’t even grasp what they were afraid of.

“Your Grace!”

Aeryl quickly grabbed the Grand Duke’s arm. Fortunately, he hadn’t lost his reason, and as soon as Aeryl intervened, he reined in his emotions. The fierce pheromones gradually calmed and returned to normal.

‘It was a good thing I followed him.’

The Grand Duke didn’t yet know how to control his pheromones, so he expressed his emotions as they were. It was only thanks to his uncanny self-control that there had been no problems so far.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I lost focus for a moment.”

“My apologies.”

The Knights Commander and Innis apologized in turn, each interpreting their fear of the Grand Duke’s anger in their own way. Both unconsciously clamped their mouths shut and glanced at him anxiously.

Looks like I have to step in again.

“What is that?”

“A candle made by the witch hag. It lures monsters.”

The witch hag? Aeryl gave an incredulous look.

Witch, or witch hag. The name varied depending on the tale, but they stemmed from the same origin.

The story of the witch hag was a famous ghost tale. She flew on a broom, used bizarre magic, and was said to especially like children. No one took it seriously, of course—parents mostly used it to scare their kids with lines like, “If you don’t sleep at night, the witch hag will come for you.”

The Grand Duke pointed to the mountain.

“She’s real. Lives up there.”

Aeryl followed his gaze to the snow-covered mountain.

Wait, seriously? She really lives there?

Against the darkening sky, the snowy mountain glowed pale and cold. Its stark beauty gave it an eerie feel. A place like that really could be home to a witch hag.

“Then… is it true she turns kids who won’t eat carrots into carrots…?”

“You didn’t eat carrots when you were little, did you?”

“…They’re mushy.”

“Too bad for you—the witch hag has no interest in human children. Though, considering some of her items do leak out, it seems she does leave the mountain occasionally.”

Ugh, come on. Aeryl had once eaten carrots in fear he’d be turned into one—turns out that had been completely unnecessary. Not that he ate them now, either…

“Then… was the battle during the day caused by that thing?”

“That’s right. There are signs it was used.”

“But the candle looks new.”

“That one.”

The Grand Duke pointed to the tent. Fedel?

“It burns life in place of wax.”

“Oh—so Fedel…?”

The Grand Duke nodded. Ugh. A chill ran down his spine. So Fedel lit the witch hag’s candle to summon a monster… and paid for it with his life?

“Why would he do that…?”

‘Could it have been because of me? Some kind of revenge?’

No. Aeryl immediately shook off the thought. Would someone really risk their life over something like that? Besides, Fedel had always struck him as the type who valued himself too much.

“He probably didn’t expect to die. He likely didn’t even know exactly what the candle did.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because it’s from the witch hag.”

The Grand Duke explained. Items made by the witch hag brought misfortune. They were banned by law and heavily regulated, but were still traded illegally on black markets.

“Fedel was an ordinary person. He had no ties to that kind of world. How could someone like him have gotten his hands on something made by the witch hag?”

If hz had any such connections, he never would have been selected for the purge in the first place.

“And it was only after you joined us, Aeryl, that Fedel started to stray. He’d never caused trouble before then.”

He wasn’t well-liked due to his haughty attitude, but he had done his part. He used his position in the purge unit to boost his own reputation. He probably would’ve done the same this time—if Aeryl hadn’t joined.

“ Fedel had no reason to sabotage anything.”

He had neither the ability nor the motive to obtain the witch hag’s candle.

“They said he had no personal belongings on him when he was confined in the tent. The soldiers gathered his things separately and handed them over.”

“Have someone check whether any candles were found among his possessions. Also, see if anyone visited him while he was under watch.”

“Understood.”

Innis gave a crisp salute and left.

“Your Grace. Are you saying there’s a member of the purge unit who joined with the intent of sabotaging the campaign?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

“These are all people we’ve worked with for years.”

“They could’ve changed their mind. Or maybe they’ve been biding their time for years, waiting for this moment. Or perhaps they took someone else’s place.”

“If they killed and impersonated someone, we’d have noticed. We all know each other’s faces.”

“You never know. We’re dealing with someone using a witchcraft item. Who knows what else they’re capable of. If anything seems even slightly suspicious—bring them in.”

“Yes.”

As he listened to the Grand Duke and the Knights Commander talking, Aeryl thought,

‘Trying to sabotage the campaign now? Are they insane?’

That was practically a death sentence. The purge unit was deep in the forest now. It would take two full days just to get out. Sure, someone might go two days without sleeping or eating—but what about the monsters they’d run into?

They had cleared the way as they advanced, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Aeryl himself had encountered ghost wolves in a supposedly cleared area. The forest was always dangerous. Surviving alone was close to impossible.

‘Unless you’re as strong as the Grand Duke, maybe…’

Or did they have some kind of secret weapon? Like flying off into the sky?

Aeryl tried imagining it but couldn’t quite picture it. While he was mulling it over, the Knights Commander gave a bow and left. Only the Grand Duke and Aeryl remained in front of the tent.

“Do you have something to say?” the Grand Duke asked.

“No. Nothing.”

“You followed me, didn’t you?”

“Ah… well, there was a big battle earlier, so I just wanted to check if you were all right.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Since Your Grace seems fine, I should go find Innis now.”

“…You take care of a lot of people.”

The Grand Duke’s pheromones were faintly displeased.

“Only two people.”

“……”

That seemed to make him feel even worse. Was that not the right answer?

“Hmm, now that I think about it, Innis looked fine, so I guess I don’t really need to go looking for her.”

After a brief pause, Aeryl changed his mind, and the Grand Duke’s pheromones shifted slightly.

“It’s good—I wanted to keep an eye on Your Grace a bit longer anyway.”

“I see.”

The Grand Duke responded flatly, but his pheromones clearly revealed he was pleased. Some patients liked to feel like they were special to their doctor—surprising, but it seemed the Grand Duke was one of them.

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere? That fight looked pretty intense. You don’t even have a scratch.”

Aeryl gave him an exaggerated once-over.

“This kind of thing is routine.”

“Wow, as expected of Your Grace.”

Aeryl gave an admiring thumb-up. The Grand Duke stared quietly at him.

‘Wait, was that too much?’

He awkwardly lowered his hand and smiled. Still, the Grand Duke seemed satisfied. That was all Aeryl had come to do.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Where to?”

“My tent. I want to get some rest.”

“I see.”

Finally, I can rest. Aeryl turned to leave with a quick bow, but the Grand Duke moved before he did. He came up beside Aeryl and said,

“Let’s go.”

“…Sorry?”

“You’re not going?”

“No, I am… I’m going.”

Is he coming with me? As Aeryl started walking, the Grand Duke matched his pace.

‘Why’s he coming along?’

Aeryl glanced over at him, trying to read his face. The pheromones were calm now.

“Have you felt anything strange lately?”

The Grand Duke asked abruptly. Something strange? It was vague, but one thing did come to mind—

The Grand Duke’s smiling face. Whenever he remembered it, he got a weird feeling. His heart would pound, and something about it felt… ticklish.

‘…That’s probably not what he meant.’

Looking at the flow of conversation so far, he was probably trying to figure out who gave Fedel the candle. Searching for clues about the culprit. But Aeryl couldn’t think of anything.

“I’m not sure.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Huh?”

“They might target you too. If anything feels off, let me know. Those kinds of hunches are usually right.”

So he wasn’t trying to gather clues—he was worried about him?