Theresa Houston
After dropping Laila near the Marquisate of Houston and even—well, not extorting, but politely asking her to cast a Concealment Spell, the Special Task Force members and I slipped past the guards and successfully infiltrated deep into the domain.
But the first thing we saw as soon as we got in was the daughter of the lord leading the marquisate, completely drunk out of her mind, muttering, “Life is a mess.”
“Looks like something happened here.”
At Murfin’s words, I nodded quietly.
Theresa Houston.
She is the daughter of Marchioness Jerni Houston and became a knight out of admiration for her mother.
She was one of the knights who joined when I was active in the resistance, and she held her own in her own way.
But there was no reason for us to cross paths in any meaningful way, and with me always busy fighting the Demon Army, I never really had the chance to check up on her.
“I’ll look into it later. For now, finding Elena’s whereabouts takes priority.”
The spirits handled by Toruman said this:
Elena’s trail had vanished here, in the Houston estate.
Which means, if we’re going to find her, this is where we need to start.
“Murfin.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember where the Chimera Research Facility Elena identified is located?”
“I can head there right away, but… may I ask why you’re bringing that up now?”
“Rather than searching blindly, it’s better to start somewhere we’re likely to find some trace.”
The biggest reason Elena was kidnapped was probably me, but if I had to point out the next most likely cause, it would be her discovery of the Chimera Research Facility.
Besides that, there was no immediate reason for anyone to target Elena.
So, if we found some other clue near there that didn’t belong to Elena, we could use that as a lead to track her down.
“Lead the way. Beatrice and Thrall, stay alert and keep watch on the surroundings. Even though we’re using a Concealment Spell, the enemy could still be the Demon Army. Always keep in mind there could be demons capable of seeing through it.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Hah. I’d rather they just attack us head-on than make us sneak around like this.”
Thrall simply nodded, while Beatrice pouted and grumbled.
But if you tried to understand every little thing like that, you wouldn’t be fit to be a leader.
I ignored her grumbling and followed Murfin down a rocky path a short distance from the estate.
It was a strange path—close to the lord’s castle, yet oddly distant from the rest of the domain.
But as the saying goes, “it’s darkest under the lamp.”
This was an ideal spot to hide a Chimera Research Facility.
‘Still, can’t jump to conclusions.’
It’s too soon to make any rash judgments.
We can’t know for sure whether this Chimera Research Facility is actually connected to the Marquis of Houston until we have concrete evidence.
To find that out, we’d have to search the inside.
“This way.”
How long had we been walking?
Following Murfin’s guidance, we found a narrow passageway in the heart of the woods.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a Chimera Laboratory Vent. Elena found it while searching this area. When she went inside, she discovered it was connected to the Chimera Laboratory.”
“…She actually went in here?”
It was a tight squeeze, hardly enough for a person to fit.
How on earth…?
“She crawled in herself.”
“…”
I glanced between Elena’s slight frame and the vent.
‘Well, I suppose she could squeeze in if she really tried.’
But even if she managed to enter, moving around in there must have been terribly uncomfortable.
I gave her the codename “little cat,” but I didn’t mean for her to act like an actual cat.
“Yes?”
Ah, I must have muttered that out loud.
“It’s nothing. By the way, is there any other entrance?”
Changing the subject, Murfin nodded and replied,
“There’s a main entrance as well. When Elena found this, the place was empty, so we can just go that way if you prefer.”
“Then why did we come here first instead of going straight there?”
“I thought there might be some trace of my little sister left here.”
He doesn’t let anything slip by.
But it made sense, so I nodded.
I really am a generous boss.
“Lead the way.”
Apparently not finding any sign of his sister, Murfin turned and continued without regret.
Not long after we passed behind the rocky path, an entrance appeared, cloaked by an Enchantment of Concealment.
Murfin stepped forward.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll undo the spell…”
“No, we’re short on time. Step aside.”
I pushed Murfin back and stepped forward, summoning the Holy Sword and swinging it at the Enchantment of Concealment.
No sound was heard, but I felt the sensation of mana being sliced.
Soon, the entrance to the cave revealed itself like a mouth opening wide.
“Beatrice.”
“Hm?”
“Stand guard here. If anything happens, call for me immediately.”
Beatrice frowned.
“How deep do you think that cave is? Will you be able to hear my voice?”
“Don’t worry.”
I tapped my ear and answered,
“No matter how far apart we are, I’ll always hear your voice.”
“…Fine.”
Beatrice averted her gaze and turned her back to me.
“Hurry up and come out. It’s boring out here.”
“Depending on what I find inside, I’ll consider it.”
I took the lead and entered the cave.
As soon as I walked past where the light couldn’t reach, it became pitch dark.
“O Sun God, grant me light.”
The Flame of the Sun God flickered to life on the Holy Sword I summoned.
It made for a perfect lantern, so I held it out in front of me and pressed forward.
Before long, a large chamber appeared, along with the Chimera Research Facility.
The first thing I saw as I entered was the Glass Chamber meant to hold chimeras, and from the corpse of the monster inside, there was no denying the connection to the Demon Army.
Just recently, it became known that a noble had colluded with the demons and killed Captain of the First Knights’ Order Reinhardt in front of the king.
Thinking about the connection between the Demon Army and Chimera Research Facilities revealed at that time, it’s practically an official fact now that “Chimera Research Facility = Demon Army involvement.”
“Seems like there’s no one here.”
I had ordered surveillance on Elena, but she was abducted before anyone could be assigned, so it made sense there would be no one left behind.
As Murfin looked around for clues, I shone the Holy Sword to see if there was anything worth noting nearby.
Judging by the amount of dust, it had been left abandoned for quite a while, but the place didn’t seem that old—most of the equipment looked relatively intact.
“Hm. Not many obvious traces.”
Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.
How long did we search the inside like that?
“Hmm?”
While investigating the area, I noticed a spot on the corner of a table where the dust had been wiped away.
“Murfin. Take a look at this.”
“Did you find something?”
Murfin came over, and I pointed the Holy Sword at the mark.
He examined it with a serious look.
“Someone’s been here. And…”
“Relatively recently.”
Looking at the disturbed dust and the footprints left behind, I paused to think.
“Seems like someone was hiding here.”
“…Hiding.”
Murfin muttered, narrowing his eyes.
“Elena hid here? That doesn’t really make sense.”
“Exactly. If she had to hide, she would’ve reported it already.”
Which means, whoever was hiding here—it wasn’t Elena.
As Murfin slowly followed the trail, Thrall spoke up beside me.
“Um… There’s a piece of cloth hanging over there, where the footprints lead.”
“Hm?”
Following where Thrall pointed, I saw a torn piece of cloth caught on a jagged edge of the wall, fluttering slightly.
Murfin approached and checked it, frowning quietly.
“Captain. This might sound strange, but… may I say something?”
“What is it?”
“This piece of clothing… I think it was torn from what Lady Theresa Houston was wearing.”
“…Hm?”
I looked at Murfin with a puzzled expression.
“How can you be so sure?”
“When we passed her earlier, I caught a glimpse—it was torn in the same spot. Most noble attire has frills, and this cloth looks like it’s from that part.”
“Which part did you see?”
“Her leg. Left side.”
“I see.”
When I saw Theresa, that was the one part hidden from view.
This Murfin guy, he’s far more observant than I thought.
“So, that means Theresa Houston saw something here.”
“Seems so.”
If the Chimera Research Facility had truly been abandoned, Theresa Houston would have had no reason to hide herself.
The fact that she did hide means someone else was here, and that she ran so hastily her clothing was torn suggests she may have been discovered.
But right now, Theresa is drinking herself silly and making a scene in the domain as if nothing happened.
‘…No, wait.’
Come to think of it, I remembered something the guards said as I passed by.
‘She’s been acting even more extreme than usual today.’
So what’s the reason for that?
A short moment of thought, and the conclusion was clear.
“All right. We’re done with clue-hunting. Time for the next step.”
“Next step?”
“What else could it be, given the situation?”
I started walking toward the exit with Murfin and Thrall.
“We’re going to confront Theresa Houston.”
“Hoo. Finally starting to sober up.”
Still drunk, Theresa wandered aimlessly through the streets before finally sitting down to rest on a deserted bench.
Since rumors about her had already spread everywhere, she could rest undisturbed wherever she pleased.
‘What now…?’
Theresa frowned as she recalled what she’d seen not long ago.
The whole uproar over the Captain of the First Knights’ Order colluding with the Demon Army.
At the heart of it all was the Chimera Research Facility.
And now, the very same facility, previously only a rumor, had been found here in the Houston estate.
Could her mother, the lord, really have been unaware of such a massive structure?
Even if there was truly no connection to the Demon Army, it was still a problem.
Pulling off such a construction without any permission or being discovered was itself a clear crime.
Jerni Houston was not someone to overlook that.
There’s a reason she’s called an Honor Knight.
She’s even more obsessive about handling administrative work by the book than the Swordmaster King himself.
There’s no way she would’ve ignored such a blatant violation.
But…
‘There’s a Chimera Research Facility, but no sign it’s ever been used.’
No clues who made it, or how it was used.
There was a monster’s corpse in a Glass Chamber, but even the reason it was left in that state was a mystery.
It was simply built and abandoned.
If someone had at least used it, she could have pleaded ignorance.
After all, she carried the title of Honor Knight.
But this Chimera Research Facility was built and never used.
It seemed obvious whoever built it tried to cover it up before it could cause trouble.
But why did it have to be in the Houston estate?
If things went wrong, Jerni Houston could be held responsible for the Chimera Research Facility.
‘If only Mother would wake up, it’d all be solved in no time…’
Two months ago, after Jerni Houston suddenly collapsed, everything in the domain began to fall apart.
Worse, not only had Jerni Houston fallen ill, but she’d also strictly ordered Theresa, who held no authority over the domain, not to reveal her condition to outsiders.
Because of this, Theresa found herself unable to do anything, even though she wanted to.
No matter that she was the marquis’s daughter—defying the domain’s rightful lord was impossible.
‘But what if all of this was planned?’
But as things kept getting worse, Theresa was starting to imagine even impossible scenarios.
‘What if Mother really was the one who built the Chimera Research Facility?’
She kept telling herself that couldn’t be, but a vague sense of dread was gnawing away at her.
Just then, Theresa’s eyes flashed and she swung the sword at her waist to the side.
A child at the tip of her sword waved a hand and spoke.
“Why not calm down? Something good happen?”
Theresa gulped quietly as she looked at the boy, who looked much younger than herself, standing at the tip of her sword.
‘When did he get so close…?’
Owen, Captain of the Special Task Force of the Kingdom of Lumin, gazed at Theresa with interest.
“Oh, you’ve got quite the eye for reading your opponent. That’s not easy at your age.”
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