Chapter 121 - The Cursed Puppeteer 2 (1/2)

The lord’s mansion had long been neglected. There were spiderwebs everywhere, and the poor people within the houses had all fainted, groaning subconsciously.

Woohyuk focused on finding Alphone, while Leifina was heartbroken by the sight of her territory.

'A cursed puppeteer.'

Just in case, he went to the workshop her father used, but couldn't find any clues.

Even the dolls that were said to be produced every day could not be found.

However, there was Petos with his tracking ability by his side, so they weren’t completely clueless.

“Hmm... She has subtly erased her traces. But since I don’t track people through smell like hunting dogs, this kind of trick doesn't mean anything to me.”

Petos spoke proudly as he sniffed around, hiding in Woohyuk’s shadow.

Woohyuk was waiting for him to find his trail again, when a shabby woman came to Leifina’s side.

”My lady? Is it you, my lady?”

“…Mrs. Hudson.”

Leifina was the eldest daughter of Jean-Pierre Ecclet, the former lord, so there was no one in these lands who did not know her.

As the news that she had appeared spread, the residents began to flock one by one.

“It, it’s true…”

“The lady was alive…”

For them, Leifina was a beacon of hope.

The only child of the well-reputed lord.

She was wearing her father's sword and appeared to have come back to take over the family territory.

“My Lady, where have you been all this time? You don't know how worried I was after the witch took you away.”

“You’re still as beautiful as ever. Did you get married?”

These never ending questions.

While Leifina was expressing her gratitude, a brown-haired girl gave her a purple flower.

“It's a gift for your return, my lady.”

“Thank you for the monelia.”

Suddenly, she recalled going out to watch flowers with her mother when she was young.

Leifina stroked the girl's hair and smelled the fresh scent of monelia.

“You do have a feminine and beautiful side to you.”

“How did I appear in your eyes until now…?”

Woohyuk spoke as he approached and Leifina's face was flushed by the words he muttered.

The girl who saw Leifina’s blush whispered into her ear.

“I hope everything goes well between you two. Good luck!”

“…”

Leifina was baffled and stared at her. The girl giggled and ran into the crowd of residents and disappeared.

The moment she shook her head and tried to stand up,

[Kill him.]

A girl's voice echoed in her mind.

“…?!”

Leifina looked around, wondering if it was an auditory hallucination.

However, there is nobody around her other than the residents.

When she started to doubt her ears, the voice resounded again.

She was certain to have heard it this time.

Leifina immediately focused her mind.

'Someone is spying on this place.'

She had to tell her master about this.

However, the girl sent another warning as if she had read her mind.

[If you let other people know about this, I will immediately slaughter all the residents.]

A cruel scheme.

Leifina bit down on her tongue and swallowed the words that were about to exit her mouth.

“Is something the matter? You don’t look good.”

“It, it’s nothing…”

When Woohyuk asked in concern, Leifina smiled to him.

However, her heart was breaking on the inside.

He was the very last person to whom she wanted to lie to.

'What should I do about this...’

The enemy was obviously Alphone, the executive of the Witch Cult.

However, hiding the fact that she had gotten threatened wouldn’t solve the situation at hand. Rather, it would worsen it.

Petos spoke while Leifina was wracking her brain.

“Ah, that way. It took some time to find the correct trail.”

“Then let's go. Ah, Leifina, stay here and keep talking with the residents. They might know some useful information.”

“…Understood, My Lord.”

Leifina couldn't speak up her mind until the end, because the townspeople could get slaughtered.

Now that she thought about it, the threat didn’t contain any important information, so she thought it would be a good idea to stay here on her own until Woohyuk returned.

As she watched her master walk away, Leifina’s expression darkened

***

“Is this the place?”

[Yes, I am certain. The flow wasn’t cut midway.]

Petos grinned widely and placed his hand on the doorknob to check if there were any traps installed.

After a while, he shook his head towards Woohyuk.

[There is nothing here other than concealment magic. But if you are anxious, I will go in first.]

“Then open it.”

Woohyuk spoke without hesitation.

In any case, Petos was a high-class demon, so he wouldn’t be injured by most attacks.

It didn't matter if Woohyuk used him like a meat shield.

Creak.

As the door opened, the gloomy air leaked out.

Petos' eyes widened as he tilted his head to look inside.

[Woah, there are a lot.]

“A lot of what?”

[Dolls. I think they were all handmade by Alphone.]

An old two-story wooden building.

Even though the sun had set and the night had covered the sky, not a single candle was lit on the first floor.

As he followed Petos, Woohyuk looked down at the countless stuffed toys on the floor.

“She’s hiding herself using these.”

[Yes, I guess we could call it a cloning technique? It’s similar to my lord Dantalion's.]

Although he followed Woohyuk, the fact that Petos' main lord was Dantalion had not changed.

So Woohyuk was being treated like an overlord.