Chapter 69

Aneta closed her eyes after barely uttering her last words. She looked as if she had fainted. The heat could be felt through the cloth wrapped around her body. It seemed urgent to show her to a doctor.

At least she wasn’t groaning in pain. Carlos stroked her fevered cheek and then turned his gaze away. There stood Serce, with a dark expression.

Looking down, he noticed Serse’s clenched fists. Just seeing that gave Carlos an idea of how he was feeling.

Carlos had no intention of questioning him about why he couldn’t protect Aneta. Aneta would never want to distinguish between those who should be protected and those who need protection without a specific reason.

Moreover, Serce was the one who had been with Aneta in moments of crisis. Instead of poking at his sore spot, Carlos decided to divert his attention to the ropes lying at his feet.

“It seems you cut the ropes yourself. You’ve saved me some trouble.”

Serce had cut not only his own ropes but also those of Chris, who was beside him. It appeared they had used the dagger the mercenaries had missed, just like Aneta.

Carlos scanned the mercenaries. He still had work to do, but he was reluctant to leave them alone.

“Lord Raphaeli take the baroness and follow me.”

In the end, Carlos led the three of them out into the hallway to place them elsewhere. It didn’t take long to find an appropriate place.

Upon discovering a room with a large table, Carlos stepped inside.

His displeasure at the table’s filthy state was fleeting.

Thinking that he couldn’t lay Aneta in such a place, his eyes then fell on the even dirtier and colder floor, and he had no choice but to compromise with reality.

Carlos chose to sweep away the dusty surface with a gust of wind. After carefully laying Aneta on the now relatively clean table, he took off his outer garment and covered her with it.

Serce, holding Chris in his arms, silently entered and watched the scene. Carlos’s next words took him by surprise.

“Please take care of Aneta for a while.”

“Are you talking to me? I thought Your Grace would personally tend to her.”

Serce narrowed his eyes slightly, as if hearing something unbelievable. It seemed as if he doubted his ears, given that his usual rival over Aneta’s attention was acting out of character.

“I would rather not leave Aneta in your care, but there’s no other choice.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to catch the remnants, who are probably fleeing right now.”

Even though he had checked everyone’s faces, there was always a chance of missing someone. Carlos didn’t want to let a single one escape.

Carlos pulled a short, blunt object from his pocket. It was a red smoke bomb to signal his location to the backup team.

With Teraza possessing animal-like instincts, they would find their way here, but thinking of Aneta, he needed to shorten the time as much as possible.

He wished he could carry Aneta and go to the doctor while traveling with the backup team, but in her current state, she wouldn’t withstand the wind pressure.

Carlos went to the window and lit the smoke bomb. As the fuse burned down with a crackling sound, the smoke bomb started emitting red smoke.

Knowing that the room would soon fill with smoke, Carlos threw it out the window and climbed up the ledge.

“Please take care of her. It won’t take long.”

With a reminder to call him if anything happened, Carlos leaped into the air. His well-trained body didn’t tire easily, no matter how many times he transformed.

Even if he was tired, he couldn’t stop. Not until everyone involved paid the price.

As Carlos expected, the mercenaries outside were fleeing for their lives at the signal. The sound of Carlos taking off into the air and the ensuing explosion made them realize they had no chance and make a run for it.

However, no matter how desperately they ran, they were all within Carlos’s grasp.

Hovering in the air, Carlos simultaneously attacked those scattering in different directions.

With consecutive bursts and the echoing screams of the mercenaries, the deep mountain valley resonated.

Carlos, feeling the startled animals quickly hiding their presence, gripped the ankle of a fallen mercenary as if to crush it.

He thought of throwing them to the beasts of Kashiban Mountain, but it wasn’t his place to decide their fate.

Carlos clicked his tongue in frustration as he soared into the air, simmering with rage and regret. Suspended upside down, those he captured were transported and thrown into the room where Erez and the mercenaries were held.

Even the mercenary he knocked unconscious and hid behind a tree was no exception. Carlos gathered all the conspirators in one place and reclaimed the glory of the Bauter family.

***

The backup team, led by Tereza, arrived. Spotting the red smoke pillar rising to the sky, they quickly ascended the mountain and immediately moved inside to secure the situation.

The most crucial member of Tereza’s knight order was the medic. He was tasked with examining and treating the three victims of the incident, under the watchful eyes of Carlos and Vernon.

“Lord Raphaeli has sustained only bruises on his neck and limbs, and Baroness Deven, who inhaled a strong sleeping agent, is merely unconscious with no other issues. However, Marquis Adenauer… has both external and internal injuries.”

The handprint on her cheek was minor compared to the blue bruises on the back of her neck, the badly torn and bloody hands, and the internal injuries caused by poison. The medic sighed as he detailed Aneta’s condition.

“Fortunately, the internal injuries aren’t severe. However, she’s lost a lot of blood and may exhibit symptoms of anemia, so she needs careful monitoring.”

The medic advised that Aneta should take medication and rest for about two weeks. Carlos readily agreed to ensure her recovery.

“Your Grace.”

In the meantime, a knight under Tereza entered the room and bowed. Carlos turned at the sound of his name. The knight, after introducing himself, delivered the awaited news.

“The commander has ordered me to bring you, Your Grace.”

“Lead the way.”

Carlos immediately followed the knight. There was only one reason Tereza, guarding the criminals, would summon him: Erez Bauter had regained consciousness.

Carlos had spared Erez Bauter’s life to extract a confession for his crimes. Erez, after all, was a holder of glory, and executing such a person required a valid reason.During the process, Tereza was to act as both a witness and an executioner.

“Get this off me! Let me go!”

Carlos arrived at a dense grove of dead trees. Hearing the shouts, he dismissed the knight, feeling no further guidance was needed.

“Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this!”

Erez Bauter was even more arrogant than expected. Despite being caught red-handed and reduced to a criminal, his screams and threats were intolerable.

Upon Carlos’s arrival, Erez, who had been trembling silently, now remained speechless. Even the knights, who had been ignoring him, showed signs of weariness as Carlos approached.

“You’re here.”

“Yes. Were you in the middle of an interrogation?”

“Yes, but as you can see, there’s been no progress.”

Tereza, greeting Carlos with a stern face, showed signs of frustration. From matters related to his grandfather to sealing other abilities in moments of crisis, Tereza had listed all of Erez’s crimes; Erez only continued to shout and refused to acknowledge any of them.

Carlos listened to Tereza’s explanation and then fixed his gaze on the pathetic figure of Erez, tied to a makeshift chair. When their eyes met, a glimmer of hope appeared on Erez’s face.

Erez still believed Carlos couldn’t harm him, but contrary to his expectations, Carlos’s gaze was ice cold.

“I’ll take it from here. Where’s that thing I mentioned? ”

“Here they are. But are you really going to use them? ”“There’s no reason not to. He should reap what he’s sown.”

Tereza handed over two vials. They had been found while searching through Erez’s hidden belongings: Minoshi poison and its antidote.

No matter the purpose for which he had kept them, this poison would never again be misused by his hands.

He would be forced to drink every last drop himself.

“Why do you have those? What are you planning to do with them? ”

Seeing the familiar vials, Erez was visibly alarmed. Instinctively, he tried to recoil in fear, but his tightly bound body couldn’t move.

“What you’re saying isn’t true. I haven’t committed any crimes. I was only trying to reclaim what was taken from me!”

Erez insisted that, as the sole direct descendant, he had no reason to harm his grandfather or possess the power to seal other glories.

“Carlos, you can’t do this to me! Tell them to untie me! Now! ”

His subsequent words were all denials and nonsense.

Carlos, deeming it worthless to listen any longer, approached and roughly grabbed Erez’s jaw.

Applying pressure, Erez’s mouth naturally opened. He tried desperately to shake his head to avoid Carlos’s grasp, but it was futile.

“Lady Lopelac.”

Carlos called out to Tereza, extending his hand. Tereza, knowing what it meant, handed over the vial of clear liquid without hesitation. They had already distinguished the poison from the antidote with the help of a subordinate skilled in pharmacology.

As Carlos brought the vial to Erez’s lips, tears filled Erez’s terrified eyes. Incoherent screams escaped his mouth, unable to articulate any clear words.

But Carlos felt no sympathy for such a despicable sight. Without a moment’s hesitation, he tilted the vial.