Zich and Joachim stood in front of each other. After inspecting Joachim closely, Zich grinned.
“Thankfully, you seem to be healthy, sir.”
Joachim used to have a tall but freakishly gaunt appearance. However, the current Joachim looked different from before. Although he was still thin, there was some fat on his body, and he didn’t look as sickly as before. Zich almost failed to recognize him, and he was only able to realize the man in front of him was Joachim because of the long period of time they had spent together before Zich’s regression.
“I ate well and exercised a lot since I’m no longer in a position where I can live however I want. Ah, of course, it’s also thanks to that ability.”
“You haven’t used it though, right?”
“Of course. Even if I use it, it’s only to move my own blood. I tried using a bit of another person’s blood to assess the danger of my condition, but that was only a couple of times. I also don’t want to be a human who’s mad for blood.” Then, he added jokingly, “So, fortunately, there’s no need for you to finish me off, Sir Zich.” Joachim mentioned what Zich had said to him before—about how he would finish off Joachim if he became a monster in his desire for blood.
Zich smiled in response. “Thank goodness.” It didn’t seem like he would have to kill his past subordinate from his pre-regression days for the sake of doing a kind act.
“Sir Zich, what did you come to this city for? Did you also receive information about this place too?”
“Information? I don’t know what you came here for sir, but I simply came here for traveling. Isn’t Janmalpi a famous entertainment city?”
“Is that so?” Joachim looked a bit disappointed. He planned to ask Zich to collaborate and exchange information with him if he had come to the city for the same reason.
“It seems there’s something going on.”
“Yes, sir.” Joachim contemplated on whether or not he should share the information he knew with Zich. In the end, he made his decision. “I don’t think there’s any reason for me to hide this from you, Sir Zich. I can even get some help from you too.”
“What is it, sir?”
“I got information that the robed figures were spotted in this city.”
“What did you say, sir?!”
It wasn’t Zich who responded to Joachim’s words. Zich and Joachim turned to their side. They saw Evelyn walking towards them after getting out of a carriage.
* * *
Zich and Evelyn unloaded their belongings in an expensive lodging. Zich had plenty of money, and Evelyn was the daughter of a marquess. They both didn’t have to worry about the cost of their lodging.
“This is a really nice place,” Joachim said while entering Zich’s room. From behind him, Joachim’s knight, Brod, whom Zich was acquainted with, followed. Zich sat Joachim down in a chair that he had prepared beforehand, and Brod stood behind Joachim.
“I didn’t think this place would be that impressive to a count.”
“Don’t you know about our estate’s situation, sir? We have so many different expenses to consider that we have to save as much as possible.”
The Dracul estate was suffering from the aftermath of the catastrophe caused by Joachim’s older brother, Biyom, and the previous count.
‘I’m sure it’s not only his estate’s situation that’s bad.’ Joachim probably didn’t have a great relationship with other aristocrats in his surroundings. No, not only the aristocrats in his surroundings, but all the aristocrats in the country might be treating him as an outcast. Thus, if Joachim didn’t plan to abandon his estate, he had to also deal with diplomatic matters.
“It must be hard on you, sir.”
“It’s fine. We are managing somehow. Fortunately, His Majesty has accepted me as the new Count, and I am beginning to have some conversations with other aristocrats. It’s like I’m beginning to see the light. The only urgent problem I have right now is that no one wants to enter a marriage with me.”
Although the last matter was a serious matter for an aristocrat, Joachim said it jokingly. Yet, to Joachim, it seemed like a very insignificant matter compared to everything he had to endure before.
Realizing this, Zich also smiled slightly and answered jokingly, “How unfortunate, sir.”
“It’s very unfortunate.”
The two stiffened their laughter. At that moment, they heard someone knocking. Evelyn came inside. She had changed into comfortable clothes and pushed her feet carefully inside. Her bodyguard, Ricky, followed her from behind.
“Excuse me, sirs. It seems I am a bit late.”
Behind her, Lyla also came in. Joachim stared at her.
“She is the one who killed Ms. Bargot, right, sir?”
“As expected, you knew, sir.”
“Sir Brod was quite surprised about it.”
Zich stared at Brod, whose eyes shot towards Lyla and moved back to Zich. Although he didn’t open his mouth since his master was talking, his expression was clearly asking for an explanation. Brod had seen Lyla before, so it was understandable as to why he was on guard. When he met Lyla, she was not only a very suspicious stranger but an extremely dangerous person.
“We started traveling together due to various reasons.”
“Is she someone trustworthy?”
“To me, she is more than trustworthy.”
“I see. Then I will also trust her.” Joachim turned his head and looked at Brod, “That’s what he says.”
“I understand, sir.”
That was the end of the matter. Joachim turned his head back, and Brod fixed his eyes towards the front and concentrated all his attention on guarding.
“Are you satisfied with just this, sir?” Zich asked.
“That’s how much I trust you, Sir Zich.”
“The trust you have in me is too deep, sir,” Zich said exaggeratedly.
Both Evelyn and Lyla sat down and Ricky stood behind Evelyn. With a round table between them, the four people sat down facing each other. They could chat all day since it was a reunion after a long time, but this wasn’t the time for that. Everyone looked serious.
“Let’s introduce ourselves first. I am Evelyn Rouge from the Cronon Kingdom’s Marquess Rouge family.” Evelyn elegantly bowed towards Joachim.
“I am Count Joachim Dracul.” Joachim extended his greetings.
Zich looked like he couldn’t bear to look at the scene in front of him.
One person who used to bathe in people’s blood and one person who used to hang the heads of good-looking men on her waist were politely greeting each other. Zich stole a glance towards Lyla. She seemed to be having the same feelings as Zich as she looked at Joachim and Evelyn with an indescribable expression on her face. However, as soon as they finished greeting each other, Lyla and Zich quickly fixed their expressions.
Evelyn said, “Count Dracul, I didn’t think you were a count because you looked so young.”
“Haha! Lady Rouge, it somehow turned out like this. But now that I’m a count, I realize that it’s not all that great.” Joachim spoke friendly to Evelyn and then stared at Lyla. Even though Joachim knew about Lyla, they were never formally introduced to each other.
Zich put one hand on Lyla’s shoulder. “Sir, you know who Lyla is, right?”
“Yes, I know her very well.”
Lyla bowed. “I was rude back then.”
“It’s all right. Since Sir Zich verified your identity, I’m sure you had some kind of reason. If it’s alright with you, I would like to hear an explanation for your actions, but if that’s uncomfortable for you, it’s fine if you don’t tell me.”
Despite Joachim’s kind words, he made a stark distinction between the way he spoke to Zich and Lyla; compared to when he was talking to Zich, he didn’t completely raise his level of honorifics when he spoke to Lyla. Since there was a sharp difference in their statuses, it was not strange that he did this.
When they finished introducing themselves, their conversation turned towards their main topic.
Zich asked, “Sir, you told me that the robed figures have been spotted here.”
“Before that, is it okay for Lady Rouge to hear this matter as well?”
Evelyn replied, “If those people are the same group of people who are selecting specific people to corrupt, I’m one of their victims.”
“Sir, Lady Rouge was targeted by robed figures like you.”
Joachim stared at Evelyn with a shocked expression. Evelyn didn’t know that Joachim was targeted by the robed figures like her, so she returned his shocked expression too.
“…Lady Rouge, you were also a victim. Then you certainly have the qualifications to hear this as well.” Joachim began to officially start his explanation. “Contrary to your expectations, I’m sorry to say this, but my information has not been confirmed yet. It’s merely a suspicion so far.”
Zich replied, “Sir, that alone is worth listening to.”
“Then, I’ll start. After the incident in the Dracul estate, we continued to search for the robed figures’ whereabouts. It was to avenge and recover the Dracul family’s honor. One of the first things we did was look into any areas in our kingdom’s territory where unusual events were happening.”
It was not an easy task. While patching up the mess in his estate, he continued to look for any clues that may or may not exist. However, he persistently continued to search for the robed figures as he coaxed and persuaded the nobles nearby to gain their support.
“And you were finally able to find an unusual event happening in this city.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Zich saw Brod nod his head from behind Joachim. Brod seemed to be very proud of Joachim’s accomplishments and efforts.
“People are going missing in this city right now.”
“Hmm, a missing people case. However, don’t people always go missing in every city?”
The world they were currently living in was not peaceful. Even though the Era of Demon People had not arrived yet, the world was still dangerous.
“Yes, that’s true. However, the people who went missing all had the same characteristics.”
“And sir, what is that characteristic?”
“They were all lovers.”
“Lovers?”
It really was unusual.
“Was there any kind of demand for money or something similar to that?”
“No, not at all. One person among the lovers always goes missing, as if one of the lovers fell into a pit in the ground. The culprit does not discriminate based on gender. One person disappears and the other is left behind every single time.”
“Hmm.” Zich rubbed his chin.
“That’s why we started investigating and focusing on this city. Fortunately, the count that presides over this city has a very close relationship with my father. In order to help me recover my family’s honor, he easily agreed to let me investigate and take up these missing people cases.”
Of course, since this was a matter between two lords of huge estates, the count of this city probably expected Joachim to somewhat return the favor.
‘He’s probably passing off a troublesome case to a suitable person. And if Joachim successfully solves this case, he’ll be able to share a part of Joachim’s glory.’
However, Joachim’s father really must have had a close relationship with the count in Janmalpi, because he was letting another count investigate his territory.
Joachim continued, “I was also recently informed that someone spotted a suspicious-looking man wearing a robe.”
Evelyn said, “Those guys were really here!”
However, Zich and Joachim shook their heads.
Zich replied, “Lady Rouge, it’s not certain yet. From what I heard from the Count, it’s still just a report. Moreover, all the people wearing robes might not be the people we are looking for. People doing backhanded activities usually wear robes to hide their identities.”
Similarly, Zich always wore robes whenever he infiltrated a new place.
“Yes, Sir Zich is right.”
“Is that so?” Evelyn felt let down as Joachim also agreed to Zich’s words.
“Nonetheless, it’s still worth it to investigate more about this matter.” Zich smiled; he didn’t know how high the possibility was, but there was a possibility for him to see the robed figures again.
‘Of course, I’m not going to let this opportunity go.’ Zich needed to rip, tear apart, and crush down all the robed figure’s plans. Zich told Joachim, “Sir, I also want to collaborate with you.”
“I should be the one asking for your help. If you join our investigation, I’m sure we’ll receive a lot of help.”
“Me too! I’ll also help!” Evelyn intervened. Ricky was taken aback, but he was unable to cut down Evelyn’s will.
“Please at least use the bodyguards I brought with me. I can never forgive those people who used my ex-fiancé to threaten my family!”
“Then I guess the matter has been roughly decided.” Zich met Joachim, Evelyn, and Lyla’s eyes and said, “We should look for the robed figures, and if they are really here, we should thoroughly crush them.”