The belief that the Kramer central territory was absolutely safe had been shattered. People were greatly confused by this unprecedented incident, and as a result, the response was delayed, causing more damage.

She said the castle members and territory people were very anxious that this incident might not be isolated.

“What was the invasion route?”

Constantine asked, not understanding how a demonic beast appeared inside the castle when there were several layers of defense lines just from the outer castle walls.

“That’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t know the route. I found that strange too and inquired with the Knight Order, but they said there were no issues with the defense lines and guard posts at the time.”

“But suddenly the center was breached?”

Does this make any sense?

“Call the Deputy Commander.”

Since Commander Wesley was staying in the Imperial Capital with him, the Deputy Commander was responsible for the territory’s safety, so Constantine summoned him immediately.

The Deputy Commander immediately rushed at the lord’s call.

But there was no difference in the report.

He said none of those on guard duty at the time were sleeping, and no defense lines were broken.

“So…”

Constantine’s mood looked extremely bad.

“Suddenly, at some point, the demonic beast just appeared right in the middle?”

This was the only conclusion possible from the current situation.

“……”

Everyone equally wanted to know the truth. Though they couldn’t understand it, they too had no choice but to reach the same conclusion.

That suddenly a demonic beast had sprung up inside.

“One beast?”

“Yes. That was fortunate at least.”

“What type was it?”

“A Tagma… the kind that digs tunnels to move…”

Constantine frowned strangely and asked back.

“Tagma? Isn’t the southwest its main distribution area?”

“Yes. We found that strange too.”

Since it wasn’t a demonic beast that normally appeared in this region, the damage was greater.

Each demonic beast has a weakest point among its body parts that’s most vulnerable to attack. It’s basic for Knight Orders to train in tactics to defeat them more easily by targeting these points during subjugation.

But not knowing the weakness meant they had to struggle. Though it was just one beast, because they didn’t know how to target it and it would hide by digging tunnels then suddenly appear and attack from different places, casualties kept occurring.

Even the name Tagma was something they later found out by searching through the demonic beast encyclopedia.

“Hmm…”

Constantine asked several more questions about the unusual situation before falling into deep thought for a while.

“Is there no possibility that someone smuggled in that demonic beast and hid it?”

Commander Wesley, who was listening to the report together, asked Constantine.

“A demonic beast?”

“Like bringing it in while temporarily subdued or unconscious and releasing it in the territory, or using the Tagma’s tunnel-digging characteristic to draw it in from outside to inside, something like that.”

“Neither would be easy. The former because of the beast’s size, the latter because of the rock foundation. The northeast territory is an area with particularly many rocks. The same goes for the underground.”

“I see…”

“But since we can’t rule out the possibility, we should look into it.”

“Ah, shall we make inquiries?”

“Ask if anyone has seen outsiders or foreigners recently, and cross-check all those who entered the castle lately. Check everyone thoroughly from regular territory people to merchants, workers, employees, delivery people, etc. Don’t miss anyone.”

“Yes!”

“And I need to examine the site.”

“The site? I’ll escort you.”

While Commander Wesley went to direct the inquiry work, Constantine followed the Deputy Commander’s guidance to visit the point where the demonic beast last appeared and was subjugated.

“Are there any particular points you’re looking for or need to examine?”

“Look for any suspicious items or remains left behind.”

“Yes.”

“No, report everything even if it’s not particularly suspicious. Any stains on the ground, trash, footprints, anything at all. I’ll make the judgment.”

“Understood!”

The Deputy Commander and several knights scattered following his order.

Thus searching each place where battles occurred, they eventually traced back to where the demonic beast was first discovered.

Since they hadn’t found any notable clues so far, and it was the first appearance point, Constantine had ordered them to examine the surroundings more thoroughly.

Shortly after, the Deputy Commander came.

“We received a report that they seem to have found an appearance point that’s expected to be earlier than the reported location. It’s different from the residents’ testimony. Would you like to see?”

The residents’ testimony and initial appearance point could differ. After all, testimony only tells what they personally saw.

“Let’s go.”

Constantine moved his steps following the Deputy Commander.

Hidden behind a building’s wall in a dimly lit alley, it was a secluded spot shrouded in darkness. The area was so remote that they would have completely overlooked it had they not deliberately enhanced their eyesight to inspect it.

As expected, it made sense that there would be no witnesses, even if a demonic beast had appeared.

‘There are definitely… traces.’

There were traces of the demonic beast going out from here. Just that there were no traces leading up to here.

‘How on earth did a demonic beast suddenly appear here. I can’t get any sense of it at all.’

Did it just drop from the sky?

Constantine swept the surroundings with unease and discovered something on the ground. Kneeling down to examine the floor, small sharp fragments caught his eye. He picked up several pieces, placed them on his palm, and observed them carefully.

‘Glass?’

Some sides were round while others were sharply broken. And… though faint, he could feel the power of a Guardian Spirit.

Though it was hard to be certain since it wasn’t a familiar energy, it definitely felt somewhat disturbing.

‘What exactly broke here?’

Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be simple glass remains. Given the residual energy, it seemed to be connected to this incident in some way.

Just that he had absolutely no idea in ‘what way’.

‘…At least it’s certain this isn’t a normal demonic beast appearance.’

Though it was a shabby conclusion, it was also the only conclusion he could reach for now.

‘Not a natural occurrence?’

Then could this colored glass be… some ancient tool for luring demonic beasts?

Among ancient items, there are countless ones whose purposes haven’t been revealed, so it’s impossible to know. But since he had never encountered or witnessed anything like this before, it was hard to readily reach a conclusion.

Moreover, what’s stranger is that such a suspicious incident happened specifically at this time, in his territory?

‘…The Prince?’

Naturally this was the first suspicion.

But he soon shook his head.

The Prince is not an Oathkeeper. Without a Guardian Spirit he can’t take the warp gate, and with the Four Spirits reclaimed he can’t directly ride Dios either.

Without using a Guardian Spirit, it’s absolutely impossible to reach the northeast territory in a week. Moreover, if the Prince had succeeded in getting out through the castle gates, they would have found traces of it somehow.

Thus only the conclusion that the culprit couldn’t be the Prince was drawn.

Nevertheless, something felt disgustingly unsettling but…

‘Haa, this is giving me a headache.’

To think he would feel this incompetent…

If it was like before when he just had to take care of himself, even this situation wouldn’t be a big problem, but now he had someone to protect.

Thinking Saena’s safety was at stake made everything feel unsettling, disturbing, and insufficient.

‘D*mn it. Just in case, I should inquire with the Crown Prince and other dukes too.’

Constantine carefully stored the glass fragments in a small pouch in his br*ast pocket and stood up.

Though it was disappointing that there were no additional measures besides being more careful of outsiders and focusing on vigilance, there was no choice for now.

They could only do what they could do.

* * *

They checked the identity of everyone staying in the territory and tracked all who had visited the central territory in the past month.

A comprehensive population survey of existing central territory residents was conducted again.

They ordered everyone to report if they saw anyone even slightly suspicious.

Based on an innkeeper’s testimony about a guest who never removed their hood to show their face, they investigated the lodgers. Among them, some had already disappeared, and when tracked down, most turned out to be smugglers or criminals who had fled from other territories.

They couldn’t find any traces of large wagons or people secretly bringing in cargo. They also couldn’t verify the hypothesis that demonic beasts might have been brought in through underground tunnels from outside Castle Cream to the inside.

Since Castle Cream itself was built on bedrock, and although there was a garden, the soil there was artificially created just for ornamental plants. The ground itself wasn’t very deep, so any tunnel digging would have been immediately noticeable.

Therefore, even after rechecking, they concluded it would be impossible to create a continuous tunnel as an entry route.

With the matter still unresolved, Constantine’s departure date for the Imperial Capital arrived.

It was for guarding Madielle, who had become the Crown Prince.

Would a prince who killed his own father spare his sister?

For this reason, the four dukes agreed to take turns standing guard.

Although they had been recovered now, Gillian had once been a borrower of the four spirits, and since they didn’t know how many more secret passages in the Imperial Palace he might know about, they couldn’t feel at ease with just regular knights.

Constantine stopped by to say goodbye to Saena before heading to the warp gate.

“Won’t you really come with me?”

He urged her to come along, but Saena refused.

“There are still things to clean up here.”

With the damage of the demonic beast not fully resolved and the full story still unclear, it didn’t seem right for both the lord and his wife to be absent.