Dance with the Nightingale-Chapter 35: Side Story: The Disaster of Laraska I

(A/N: Read after completing vol. 1, there are spoilers here.)

[Ellsworth Estate]

[Earl’s Study]

[The day after the Rayne woke up]

"So, you are saying you want to attack Laraska?"

A melodious voice resounded in the room, through a hologram.

"Yes."

The Earl replied firmly.

The person in the hologram though, only let out a long ’hmm~’ as she looked at the Earl.

"So, you are not asking for reinforcements, you aren’t asking for an army, you just want to attack Laraska on your own. And what you are asking for is just my confirmation and a favor in return?"

"That is correct.", The Earl confirmed, adding, "It’s a good deal Adeline.", in his usual Earl-ish way, before leaning back into his chair.

"A good deal? Who are you kidding Reynold?"

The woman who was talking to the Earl, Adeline, the Empress of the Alexis Empire, called out disbelievingly.

"Since when did my Earl become such a meritorious retainer? Doing all this only for a favor? That’s not you Reynold…"

"Go on, tell me the real reason behind this. It won’t take me more than a day to find it anyways, so it’s better if you spare both of us from the hard work."

The Empress said as she too leaned back into her chair and smirked, clearly copying the Earl. If it was someone else who did this, then they wouldn’t know how they died.

But this woman was different, she wasn’t a being that could be compared to someone else.

And the Earl knew that, so he spilled the beans, with a bit of reluctance, of course.

..

.

"So, you are saying not only you want to attack Laraska, you want to raze it to the ground over a mere squabble?"

Adeline summarized what she heard.

"Aren’t you being overprotective? Kids nowadays don’t like overprotective parents~"

"Says the one who doesn’t have any children.", The Earl quipped causing Empess’ face to darken.

But he didn’t apologize and just stared at her, a tense silence lingering in the room, before eventually, the Empress spoke, "I shouldn’t have said that.", her blood red eyes glowing threateningly.

"Me too.", the Earl replied casually, before directing the conversation back on topic, "So I take it as you agree to the deal?"

"Hmm, no. I don’t actually agree with your plan.", The Empress said disgruntled , before adding in a slightly serious tone, "I can’t risk losing my precious Magus, just because his son got his ass whooped by a Demon Contractor."

"That makes no sense.", The Earl rebutted, "Even if a Satan class devil appears, I should be able to escape."

"Will you though?", the Empress asked, looking straight into the Earl’s eyes.

Then pausing for a bit, she chided the Earl, "I know you well Reynold, well enough to know that you won’t abandon your subordinates and flee if that really happens."

-Haaa

The Earl sighed, before he declared in a firm voice, "If you really know me well, then you should know this too – I won’t back down this time."

"I know."

The reply to his declaration came faster, and more casually than he expected, causing him to ask, "Then?"

"I’ll send two of my Archmages with you, they will help you while keeping an eye on the situation. If the situation escalates beyond your control, then I’ll help you.", she explained.

"But remember, if I have to help you then all the favors I owe you would be null."

"And I’ll get a favor if it doesn’t come to that?", The Earl interjected.

"That, I’ll decide after seeing your son. Didn’t you say he defeated the Demon Contractor on his own? Without your help?"

"Yes, that’s what happened."

"I really don’t believe that.", Adeline flatly denied it, "I have seen your son, Reynold. I even tried to heal him on your insistence. But he was just a shell without a soul. Even if he has somehow gotten out of that condition, his soul won’t allow him to stronger. Not to forget, he was bound to be overtaken by his peers sooner or later."

The Empress paused as she said this, looking at the Earl as she gauged his reaction.

If it was the same old Earl, then he must be fuming from the inside now, but to her surprise, the man before her just nodded idly.

Deciding to press further, just to find if all this was a façade or not, the Empress said, "Hardwork must be coupled with talent – we all know how true this statement is."

To her provoking self, the Earl just smiled lightly and said, "Sure, you can come and check if my son is talented enough or not.", his deep blue eyes full of confidence.

A toothy grin appeared on the Empress’ face in response to his confidence, "Isn’t your son’s coming of age ceremony, around the corner? That would be a good occasion… Inform everyone, I’ll be there to attend."

"Let’s see what you are so confident about."

A small smile appeared on the Earl’s face as he said, "You won’t be disappointed."

"We’ll see~ Also, hold off your attack till then. Think of a strategy and cool your head a bit. If we are going to attack, then we must win."

"Surely. Then, see you at the ceremony."

"Yes, see you."

With that, the call was disconnected as the hologram faded away.

Only one of them though.

Yes, there were two holograms. The one with the Empress had disappeared while the other hologram that displayed another beautiful woman with long blue hair, sharp features and golden eyes stayed on.

"You heard her.", the Earl said to the blue haired woman.

And that’s when the woman, Ekaitza Lark Fernsby, who was silent from the start to finish, spoke.

"Yes, that, I did. So, when do we attack. After the ceremony?"

"Around that time. Prepare your forces, I’ll do the same. We’ll talk about the details after the ceremony, alright?"

"Yes, that’s fine."

"See you at the ceremony then."

"See you."

The other hologram disappeared too, leaving only the Earl in his office, silent doing his paperwork, just like any other day.

Just like that, the event that later would be called as Disaster of Laraska in the demon realm, initiated.

***

[Two days after Rayne left]

The might of Ellsworth family was great. Too great for any Earl ranked noble to amass. But thanks to their wealth overshadowing their might, not many people focused on the issue. Not that a random nobody, could actually investigate it.

Not many people knew this, but Earl Ellsworth had twenty-three Archmages working under him.

Yes, a freaking twenty three!!

And right now, eleven of them, almost half of them were gathered in the Estate.

To do this, the Earl had to call back all the Archmages that were on miscellaneous but important missions, the ones who were deep in research and lastly the ones who were deployed on the frontlines. The Empress was okay with it, so there was no reason to hold back...

Whoever kept a close eye on the forces of the county for the past few days must have also noticed it, the strange movement of the forces as if trying to cover the absence of someone.

With the county holding a event attended by the Empress though, the movement felt natural. No one suspected that there was a underlying reason behind this.

A great move by the Earl, who was right now walking into the teleportation chamber of the Ellsworth Estate. Eleven people following behind him.

There were some familiar faces, including Amelia the Maid, Raniel the Knight Commander, surprisingly Gandalf the Librarian, though that wasn’t his real name, the rest were faces unfamiliar to Rayne, and there was also the Countess who was silently walking behind the group.

-Buzz buzz..!

The teleportation circle activated with buzz, causing the group of eleven to split in two. Three of them moving back, to stand behind the Countess while the rest stepped forward.

"Check your equipment, potions and artefacts for one last time. We’ll directly teleport to the Demon world now and meet up with Duchess Ekaitza and her forces."

The Earl firmly ordered the Archmages, before turning to the Countess and saying, "I’ll be back.", in a voice much softer than before.

To which the Countess replied, "Give them hell.", no doubt in her mind about his words.

This wasn’t the first time her husband was going in the Demon Realm, nor would it be the last.

She was sure of it.

"Protect the Estate while I am gone.", the said to the three Archmages, to which they noded.

-Buzz buzz buzz!

-Phat….!

The teleportation circle flashed with a bright light and when it was back to normal, they were gone.

***

[Demon World Outpost, Vanzahra]

Rowen was a magical world, filled with people and creatures full of magic, so was there a reason that the world, the planet itself wouldn’t be able to access it?

No, there was not.

The Demon world or Demon Realm was on the same planet as the Main central realm. It wasn’t physically connected, yet. But it was still a part of the planet and was connected to the main central realm through magical means.

-Phat…!

A magical light shined in one of the few spacious buildings in the outpost before fading out in an instant. The light would be normally ignored, if not for the fact that this was already the second time it flashed.

Thus, Tim, who was keeping a watch on the building from across the street, decided to report this.

Just as he was about to pick up the communication amulet provided by his Master, that he felt a soft hand patting his shoulder.

"Hello~"

And that freaked him out.

"…!"

He was alone in the whole building, his shift had three more hours left, not to mention he didn’t hear anyone entering the building and he was a damn elite in spying!

Whoever it was, they far outclassed him – he determined it in a matter of seconds as he didn’t hold back and activated all his alarm artefacts.

It’s a code in Vanzahra, when a slave knows they are about to die, when they know that they don’t have any chance to survive, then they don’t try to fight back.

Instead, they are ordered to activate the alarm artefact that not only informs that they are about to die, but also shares what the slave saw right before death.

’I have to see her!’, that was the last task he had to complete before dying.

Surprisingly it wasn’t difficult.

He wasn’t attacked, he wasn’t killed, but definitely, he wasn’t spared. Not with all the magic circles flashing around the woman behind him.

"Heh~ you determined that you aren’t my match and tried inform your master? Not half bad, you must be a long-time thug."

Tim didn’t say anything, it wasn’t that he couldn’t, but he was too mesmerised to say anything. Cause she was the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life.

Shoulder length blonde hair that covered one eye of her lilac eyes. Some of her bangs escaping out of a messy ponytail held together by a black cloth in the shape of a ribbon.

A thin white armour, with black bandage like gloves. The armour covered most of her body, its golden and black accents complimenting her perfect face.

If Tim had to point out anything he found lacking then it would be her…chest?

Of course, those thoughts stopped as soon as the girl in front him scowled. Her pointy teeth on display as she growled, "What are you thinking you damn rat!"

"You would be dead, if not for the fact that boss would be upset!"

Before he could reply, his mind halted in place along with his thoughts.

"Look here.", the girl in front of him commanded in a neutral tone. But there was no need to, cause he was already looking into her, shining lilac eyes.

His consciousness becoming heavy as he escaped into a world of his own.

Once Tim was under her control, the girl sighed.

’The mission has just started and yet I am annoyed.’

’Still, a job is a job. Let’s see your memories now.’

She placed a finger on the entranced Tim’s forehead before scanning his memories.

Erasing everything related to the light and the building.

Done – she removed her finger along with the barrier that blocked the alarm signals and left. Leaving Tim, who came to his senses five seconds later, resuming to duty none the wiser to what happened.

**

"Tch.", clicking her tongue the blondie appeared back into the room, catching the attention of its every occupant.

And every here meant, the Earl, the Duchess, and seventeen other Archmages including the two that the Empress sent, quite a line-up.

Apparently, they were the last ones to arrive.

"Zuri?", the Earl called out to her.

"Just a rat-", she tried to reply casually.

Yes, tried, cause before she could finish her sentence, a "Don’t mind her Earl, Zuri was probably mistaken as a girl again~", rang out causing the Earl’s side of Archmages to break in a fit of laughter.

"W-wait, you are a man!?", a bald Archmage from Duchess side exclaimed in surprise as he pointed a finger at Zuri.

And that was the last straw.

"Damn, you Nova!!", Zuri roared as she, no, he, held by the collar the one who revealed his, not so secret, secret, to everyone.

"What do you mean, damn you? I only told the truth.", Nova nonchalantly said despite her collar being held.

She was only person in the group who looked like a conventional wizard, from the triangular hat and robe she was wearing.

The girl had short auburn hair, blue eyes that shined with magic and assets that couldn’t be hidden even with the thick blue robe she was wearing over her armour.

The robe had a thick golden chain going around it, while a beautiful golden pattern was printed all over it. Adding-in to that, were four flying staffs floating behind her, humming with magic of different elements.

"Okay, okay, calm down you two.", A girl wearing rather skimpy clothes interjected.

The girl had blue hair that took a light pink shade from the inside, complementing rose-coloured eyes, a dress that could be mistaken as bikini, if not for it being made of leather and covering her belly.

Along with that she had a pouch strapped on her bare thigh, some kunai dangling from her waist and a pair of curved short-swords.

Topping all of this with knee-length stockings, leather boots and a red hoddie that barely covered the top of her shoulders gave her a sexy yet adorable look.

"Oh, shut up, Jinx, it has nothing to do with you!", Zuri shouted.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

"So, she says.", Jinx shrugged and took a step to the side, revealing a smiling Amy.

"Oh my, then I believe it has nothing to do with me, as well, right Zuri?"

Correction, a scarily smiling Amy.

"Y-yes ma’am! No! I-I mean, no Ma’am!"

"Is that so?", Amy said. Whispering slowly, "A shame."

-Gulp.

Both Zuri and Nova gulped as they heard that. They had more than once defied this leader of theirs and each time the results were very, very painful.

She’s scary – both of them whispered just as Amy turned around.

-Twitch

Amy’s ears twitched at that as she half-turned and asked, "Hm? What did you say? Care to repeat?", still smiling.

So, the banter continued, Raniel and Gandalf joining in to have fun and things looked progressively despairing for Zuri and Nova.

May their souls rest in heaven, RIP.

Meanwhile, Duchess Ekaitza asked the Earl, "Reynold, are they always like this?", to which the Earl sighed and said.

"Pretty much. But I can’t blame them, the existence of an Archmage is very lonely. They don’t have many real friends. So, whenever they meet, they joke around like this. But they can’t even do that to their hearts contents. Cause whenever they meet, it’s either a disaster or they have to make one.", he paused, looking at Magus before he went on. "Well, you know about that loneliness better anyone."

"Yeah.", Ekaitza replied, that was the only thing she could say as the answer she received took a different turn than she expected.

After a moment of silence and watching more of their banter, the Duchess asked again, pointing at the corner of a room, "What about those two?"

Looking at where she was pointing, the Earl sighed again, before wearily adding, "Those two are happy on their own."

Which looked quite correct to the Duchess.

Cause the black-haired boy wearing a light black armour below a long coat and was mumbling something incomprehensible while looking at the device on his wrist.

And the other guy, a huge mountain of a man with thick green eyebrows and hair was...cuddling? with his summoned spirit beasts while wearing bulky black armour, his red eyes shining through his armour’s helmet.

Yes, he had his helmet on.

And yes, they looked happy on their own, the Duchess concluded.

"That’s enough guys.", the Earl said, bringing the rambling Archmages to a halt as he continued, "Now, let me explain our plan of action."

(A/N: Continue reading the side story at 78: Disaster of Laraska II)