Ezekiel swerved his sword to get rid of its thick bloodstain before putting it back on the sheath. The fight was over in a matter of minutes without breaking a single sweat from him. It was clearly a one-sided battle from the start. Only the fainting groans were left by the soldiers who dared to stand in his way.

The Archduke grabbed one of the knights who were still conscious but grinding in pain from the wounds on his stomach.

“Y-Your highness! Please spare me... I beg you!” Plead the knight to the Archduke whose expression was far from giving mercy.

“Who would give grace to people who tolerate devilry?” A cold reply from Ezekiel left the knight shuddering in fear. “Now tell me, where is your master?”

“M-My Lord... P-Please...”

His golden eyes flickered dangerously at the unwanted response. He was a man whose patience was as thin as the spider’s silk so without a warning, his finger slipped through the cut on the knight’s stomach and pulled out his guts.

The knight howled from the excruciating torture as his mouth spurted blood on the floor. Not even a scream could suffice the agony he felt at the moment.

“T-Third floor...ack!” The knight uttered helplessly before passing out from blood loss.

Ezekiel discarded the bloody glove from his hand and walked towards the staircase with haste. Feeling the nearby mana surrounding the mansion, he could tell that the malicious energy was still inside the building.

‘Hmm, the Baron of Edelfort conniving with the criminals and even inviting a black wizard into his house. Interesting. What was Sebastian doing in the capital that he couldn’t sniff out his people in the parliament?’ Ezekiel thought, annoyed by the Emperor’s leniency toward the aristocrat faction.

When the Emperor asked him for help to investigate the disappearance of the children across the empire, he didn’t expect it would be this complicated when he assumed that some aristocrats might be involved with the case. No, he was certain of the fact that only these high nobles could dare pull off such acts. They had been carrying that arrogance for the longest time.

To think the influential Baron of Edelfort was part of this offense, Sebastian would definitely seize the nobles close to Hector Iver—leaving the other possibilities for other suspects. How come Sebastian had not known this? Certainly, a big name was backing up this crime.

A sudden magical energy unveiled within the perimeter that made Ezekiel paused in his tracks. It wasn’t coming from the above floors but instead, it was in the direction where Berkley and that private investigator escaped to. That unknown power again that he felt from earlier. Just who was that person emitting such peculiar mana?

‘Damn it! Berkley doesn’t even know how to wield a damn sword!’ Without any second thoughts, the Archduke jumped from the second floor of the mansion onto the lobby and rushed outside.

“The young miss and the children better be alive!” He murmured to himself and cursed to the air.

However, it was far from what he expected when he arrived at the scene; the unconscious secretary lying face down on the ground, a sword in his hand, while the woman was busy comforting and assuring the children not far from where Berkley was. By the looks of it, Berkley seemed to heroically saved them from the monster hounds which arouse more of his suspicions.

Aron Berkley would never do that. His swordsmanship was the worst among the Northern soldiers.

“Your highness?” A puzzled expression was shown across the lady's face when she noticed the Archduke’s presence.

Ezekiel stared at the private investigator with a dubious look, demanding an explanation for what had occured there. But Celeste was just innocently staring back at him. The energy he felt moments ago was also gone as if it was just a figment of his imagination. He doubted it even more, however, now was not the time to satisfy his curiosity.

“My lady, is my secretary dead?” He asked pointing at the poor man resting flat on the surface.

“What? Oh no, your highness. He’s just knocked out,” Celeste answered with a slight cough.

“Why?”

The woman looked at him again with that same baffled expression. “He fought the hounds, Archduke, and probably passed out from exhaustion. It’s all thanks to sir Berkley that we are alive.”

“Hmmm...” Ezekiel wasn’t buying it. He knew his secretary too damn well. “It’s much more convincing that Berkley died than him valiantly fighting monsters. He’s too much of a coward.”

“Well, your cowardly secretary valiantly saved us from the hounds. That’s the truth! People change from time to time, your highness.”

“Yes, but not overnight,” a frown was seen on the Archduke’s face as he insisted on his prior remark of Berkley. Inquisitive about how on earth this young woman could talk back so easily at him when almost everyone couldn’t even look straight into his eyes.

This woman did not budge no matter how intimidating he could be.

He released a heavy sigh before straightening his knotted forehead. This wasn’t the time for arguments. The Baron and that black magician were still somewhere inside the mansion and needed to face judgment for the crimes they committed.

“Okay. I have to question you again later, my lady. Can you move the children far from this place? I still have a business to take care of inside and it might get dangerous for all of you.”

“Yes, but how about Mr. Berkley, your highness?” The private investigator asked. Quite concerned at the sorry state of his secretary.

“Just leave him,” came the Archduke’s nonchalant reply.

“What? But—”

“Time is running, Miss Private Investigator. Go!” A stiff command from the Archduke put her into silence. She just gave him a nod before fleeing with the children away from the Baron’s mansion.

After making sure the woman and the kids were at a safe distance, Ezekiel hurriedly went back inside the manor to find Hector Iver. As he went closer to the third floor, the pungent scent of the black wizard’s mana was getting stronger.

At long last, he saw the door of the Baron’s office which was swung open, and there, the Archduke could see a dark shadow-like creature enveloping the blanching body of Hector Iver on the long mahogany table. The Baron’s blood was staining the white carpeted floor of his office and as if by instinct, Iver looked in Ezekiel’s direction.

Eyes full of fear and desperation. The Baron was already on death’s door!

“Save... me... V-Vlad i-is…” He mouthed, as the dark creature plunged its teeth deep into his throat splattering more crimson all over the place, head almost decapitated to such brutality.

‘That is why you shouldn’t trust the creatures of the devil.’ The Archduke released his swordmaster’s aura and from that distance, he threw his sword at high speed aiming for the black wizard’s head who was feasting on Iver’s blood.

However, the black wizard was quick to react to his sudden strike and just as swiftly able to turn itself into a cluster of dark smoke and his sword just went through its gaseous body, cracking the wall behind them. Hector Iver’s already lifeless body slithered from the table down to the carpet making a loud thud.

“A shapeshifter?” Ezekiel walked cautiously towards the office of the Baron, waiting for a counterattack from the enemy. Even without his physical sword, the Archduke could manifest a mana weapon of his choice.

“My, my, my...” A voice of a man rang around the room. The dark smoke began forming into a human once again, sitting on the sill of the open window. “I wasn’t aware that the elusive Archduke of the North would come to visit us in the dead of the night. I would have prepared some tea, your highness. How rude of me.”

Ezekiel maintained his silence while his golden eyes were glued to the subject of his bloodlust.

The man sneered at the Archduke’s lack of reaction and continued his blabbering. “Ah, this is my first time meeting you this close, your highness. As anticipated, your aura is truly magnificent! My body couldn’t stop trembling."

“Is that your last word?” Ezekiel opened his mouth as he pulled his sword from the wall.

“Your highness, I’ll say my last words the next time we’ll see each other. I assure you, it will not be for long,” the black wizard said before shifting back to a cloud of thick smoke and disappearing into the murk.

Ezekiel could do nothing but watched him go. Besides, the Baron was already dead from the deep bites in his throat. He would gather later the Edelfort servants and knights that were still alive to spill the information regarding this act of malfeasance from a high noble. This was much bigger than he thought of just the simple kidnapping of children.

“A black wizard and monster hounds, huh… Hector Iver, what evil are you conspiring with?”

Meanwhile...