BJ Villainess

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the dungeon, there was chaos due to the unprecedented event of the emperor being sucked into the dungeon. At that moment, Duke Noel Willow appeared amidst the chaos, supported by his son Gordon.

“

, there!”

“I thought he would not attend today’s banquet, but he has arrived now.”

“That’s a relief. If it’s Duke Willow, he would surely be able to manage the situation.”

As Noel, who was training an elite group of wizards and was trusted and respected by many, appeared, everyone showed expressions full of expectation. They thought that he, who was superior to anyone in such matters, would quickly calm the situation.

But that was not a wrong guess. Upon receiving the situation, Noel immediately weeded out those who were unnecessary for the effort.

“Send out everyone who is not a wizard from the banquet hall to stay in another palace.”

“Understood!”

The nobles, trusting in Duke Willow, started to look puzzled.

“But when did Duke Willow get so old?”

Noel, who had been secluded in Valhalla, appeared to have aged significantly. Of course, aging quickly could be expected at the age of 80, but this felt different. It looked like an old man who had lost any reason to maintain life and aged even more quickly.

Despite the murmurs around him, Noel showed no interest and spoke with a voice filled with magical power. “All students of Valhalla, gather.”

The students quickly changed their expressions to serious ones and lined up in front of the chairman.

“There might be a Stigmata inside. Form teams and dispatch search parties, and the rest should focus on defensive magic to prevent any new dungeons from opening.”

“Yes!”

As Noel led the effort to organize the situation, those who were in panic gradually regained their senses.

“Search inside! Arrest anyone suspicious immediately!”

When the imperial wizards, including the nobles, started to take action, the banquet hall quickly turned into an impregnable fortress, although it was a fortress that contained a dungeon.

At that moment, a sharp scream echoed through one corner of the banquet hall, and Raul engulfed in terrible fury, lifted Duke Kapento into the air by the collar.

“

!

!”

“Didn’t Theresa clearly not use magic? If your head isn’t just for show, you should have realized the situation and not provoked Cecilia!”

Thus, he was enduring the urge to flee immediately, slowly tightening the encirclement with powerful allies to capture Cecilia. But Duke Kapento had ruined it all. Nevertheless, Theresa calmly dealt with Cecilia, quickly blocked the dungeon’s magic, and cut off any approach. It seemed as if she was ready to be the only sacrifice without a hint of hesitation.

It was truly a heroic attitude. But Raul did not wish for his daughter to become a hero. The scene of his daughter being sucked into the dungeon was vividly etched into his mind like a curse. Where should he direct this rage that was beyond fury? The answer was the Kapento family itself.

“I, Raul Squire, declare a feud against the Duke Kapento family.”

The surroundings immediately erupted into chaos.

“Duke Squire! Be prudent!”

After a feud that ended 100 years ago, no noble had initiated one since, realizing how wasteful it was.

“Prudent? My daughter and even His Majesty the Emperor have been dragged into the dungeon by the Kapento family. Is annihilating them even a matter of needing prudence?”

Duke Kapento was too breathless to defend himself.

At that moment, Damian appeared and easily freed Duke Kapento from Raul’s grasp, placing him on the ground. “You are agitated, Duke.”

Despite his family being insulted and facing the threat of annihilation, Damian’s calm demeanor was infuriating. Raul could only glare at Damian, not making any further move, as Noel had approached with the chief chamberlain and the nobles. Noel looked at the unconscious Duke Kapento with indifferent eyes and calmly rebuked him.

“Regardless, Duke Kapento cannot escape punishment. From what I’ve heard, he indeed acted recklessly to an unbelievable extent. So much so that his ability to govern his family is in doubt.”

The surroundings agreed as Duke Kapento’s incompetence was well-known, and today’s events had just topped it all. Everyone thought it fortunate if Duke Kapento could save his life, given he had endangered even the emperor’s safety.

“It would be best to confine him until His Majesty the Emperor returns. May I entrust the chief chamberlain with this?”

Bein agreed, “Of course.”

As if waiting, Duke Kapento was carried away on a stretcher, and the next topic was introduced.

“As Damian is the only heir to the Duke Kapento family, it would be best if he handled the family affairs. Do we all agree?”

The empire was in crisis. A time when the strongest military force and authority of the noble families needed to be united. And the Duke Kapento family had to fulfill their duties until the proper judgment was passed. Therefore, Damian, having become the only heir, had to be entrusted with the authority as the acting head of the family. This required formal procedures within the family and the emperor’s permission, but the situation did not allow it.

“It would be best to perform a simplified notarization with the consent of the lords present here and the Duchess Kapento.”

The first to agree was Duke Bruni.

“I agree. Since this young man has become the only heir to the Kapento family, what can we do? It’s a waste of time to go through these formalities.”

“I also agree. By the way, even if it’s simplified, don’t we need the temple’s consent? We should send an urgent message to High Priest Constantine.”

“I’ve heard that no one has seen High Priest Constantine recently. It would be better to send a proof to another high priest.”

“

I’m curious why a high priest often leaves the temple. So, Duke Squire? Will you agree?”

Raul wanted to disagree. Not just because of a personal grudge but because of a strange intuition that he could not trust Damian. But intuition is just intuition. He couldn’t cast a dissenting vote based solely on a feeling.

As Raul also voted in favor, what remained was Duchess Kapento’s consent. Strangely, she was nowhere to be found. A separate search party was even formed to find her, but the duchess could not be located.

“I don’t see Duchess Kapento. Is she already returned to the Duchy Kapento?”

“Send someone to check at the Duchy Kapento.”

Noel suggested postponing this issue until the duchess was found. Meanwhile, Damian had been observing the situation as if it concerned someone else.

Raul, having intended to confront Damian about the feeling of unease, hurriedly approached him and warned him. “We had to agree now, but I oppose you becoming the acting head. So, do not act recklessly.”

At this point, Damian was puzzled. “Why do you dislike me so much? We hardly have any connection.”

“Because you are suspicious. And not just because Theresa was miserably abandoned after planning to marry you.”

“…Marry? What are you talking about?”

Raul trembled with disgust at the response. “The temple in the suburbs. Still, pretending not to know? You even used the alias Clyde to defend my daughter to the end, making a fool of her. And you dare to speak of marriage?!”

Raul had not told Theresa one thing. That the Kapento family had already proposed a marriage between Theresa and Damian.

Damian listened to Raul’s words, but his expression turned cold. “Clyde, you mean Theresa was going to marry the heir of the Willow family?”

“What nonsense…!” Raul was about to scold Damian for bringing up the Willow heir when he hesitated. Come to think of it, Theresa had confessed about the incident at the temple initially.

Something was off. At the time, Raul dismissed it as a lie to hide Damian’s identity, but thinking back, it didn’t seem like something Theresa would do. Moreover, Damian’s expression. Wasn’t that like the reaction of a husband who had witnessed his wife’s affair?

It was while Raul felt an eerie sense of discord.

“Father.”  Libby, having approached unnoticed, pulled on Raul’s arm with a stiff face. “People are looking for you, Father. Let’s go.”

“What? Wait, Libby…”

“Hurry!” Libby, uncharacteristically impatient, quickly moved Raul away.

Raul, who had intended to clarify the unease with Damian, started walking at his daughter’s insistence. “Why are you doing this?”