Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The Marchioness covered her face as she spoke of this cousin’s story:

"I’ve sent people to ask around everywhere and learned that she disappeared a week after her husband’s funeral, and that was also on a full‑moon night. I was worried about her safety, but I had no idea who to ask for help. God, why must this kind of Fate befall us? How is Maryca now? What have you done to her?"

"She’s fine, but she needs to rest."

Shard said with a cold face, continuing to maintain his "cold‑blooded and cruel" persona. Miss Belindel explained with concern:

"This gentleman ran into her when he was helping me with an Investigation outside the city, and they had a fight, so that’s why he has such a bad attitude. But don’t worry, your cousin is all right now. If you wish, you can come with me to see her in a bit."

"All right."

Only then did the Marchioness’s emotions steady somewhat. Although Mrs. Maryca Frost was a Werewolf, she truly regarded the other woman as family.

But although they had found the Female Werewolf’s relative and learned her identity, as for the Investigation into that Dragon Scales mentioned in the ancient Book, the trail broke off here. While the Witch was still thinking of ways, Shard suddenly reached out to his side. Soft Starlight descended into the study with its curtains drawn, and the eyes of both ladies were drawn to that patch of Starlight.

Within the Starlight was an illusory, low three‑tiered bookshelf. Shard casually took out a Book with a semi‑transparent, Starlight‑colored cover. He opened it and placed it before the Marchioness:

"Do you know this person?"

On the Book was the image of that Wraith Spirit in the tree‑root cave, the one who controlled the Werewolf. The Marchioness was startled by the Wraith Spirit’s ugly, terrifying appearance, but after looking carefully she immediately nodded:

"Although it doesn’t look entirely the same, I should have seen his portrait before. The man Maryca married, that Jason Wolson, his ancestors had once been wealthy as well, and the house had some old‑era portraits hanging on the walls. This horrible thing looks very much like Jason Wolson’s grandfather, but whether it’s really him, I can’t be sure."

Shard smiled and exchanged a glance with the Witch, who also wore a look of pleasant surprise. In that case, the Werewolf being controlled by that tree made sense. The husband’s grandfather had turned into a Wraith Spirit long ago and had attached himself to the ancient tree in Whisper Hills, surviving to this day. After his descendants died, the Wraith Spirit, which originally could not leave that tree too far, somehow came into contact with the Werewolf who entered the woods on a full‑moon night. Perhaps through Illusion Technique, perhaps through some other ability, but the tree‑bound Wraith Spirit used the Connection between them to finally lure the Werewolf to the cave beneath the tree and gain control of her.

"What did that Worsent’s grandfather do?"

Shard asked. The Marchioness thought for a moment and then answered uncertainly:

"He was a manager at the lumberyard run by the Wood Family. At the height of their trust in him, you could even say he was a Wood in all but name."

"How did he die?"

"I don’t know."

"Then does the Worsent family have any other members?"

"No, Jason Wolson, Maryca’s husband, was the last descendant. Because no other relatives could be found, all of Maryca’s family’s belongings have been in my safekeeping to this day. Oh, my poor cousin, why must such a Fate fall upon us?"

She began sobbing again, and this time, no matter how Miss Belindel tried to comfort her, she couldn’t stop.

Helpless, the Witch had no choice but to say:

"I promise I won’t report you, and I won’t tell anyone about this."

"But you’re going to use this to threaten me forever, make me do this or that."

The tearful woman added, and Bella Belindel nodded as if it were only natural:

"Yes, I’ll keep using this to threaten you, which is exactly why I won’t report you."

The Marchioness of Ankara only stopped crying once she received that promise:

"All of Maryca’s family’s things are with me. You can investigate whatever you want. I’ll help you persuade Maryca to tell you everything—she’s always trusted me very much. Also, also, Bella, could you help me with something? Since you know a Circle Sorcerer, and I just happen to have run into something strange here, could you help me with it?"

"How did it turn into you asking me to do something?"

The lady with the vermilion birthmark between her brows smiled, but still nodded:

"No problem. This gentleman may be cold and ruthless, but when it comes to getting things done, he’s absolutely first‑rate. It’s just that if we really uncover something through this Investigation, you’ll have to pay a fee... The Marquis of Ankara is in charge of the Kingdom’s navy stationed in Moon Bay, and I have some things I’d like to ask him about afterward."

The woman hesitated only for a moment before nodding:

"All right."

This wasn’t Shard’s payment for the Investigation at all, but the price for helping her conceal her bloodline, something everyone tacitly understood yet never spoke of.

Having obtained a result she was satisfied with, Miss Belindel softly apologized again:

"We were a bit too rash just now, did we frighten you? Please accept my apology. Do you want to go and touch up your makeup? If you go back to the salon like this, they’ll all think I bullied you."

"If you want to apologize..."

The Noble Lady suddenly raised her head, eyes widening as she stared at the Countess, both hands seizing the other’s right hand:

"Can you give me the fabric you brought? I only want the black one! I can tell you about that confidential document on my husband’s desk, and besides, do you know that before he came here, His Majesty personally received him and ordered him to secretly keep an eye on the Seven Great Families in this region? Give me two pieces, the black one and the flesh‑colored one, and I’ll tell you everything. I want finished goods of the same quality as the ones you’re wearing!"

Shard covered his mouth and leaned back slightly on the sofa, refusing to engage with the conversation that followed.

The Outlander never quite understood what Noble Ladies were thinking, and at times he didn’t really grasp the nobles’ struggles and collaborations either. Now it seemed the Marchioness’s leverage would fall into the Belindel Family’s hands for a lifetime; as for the demands she was making at this moment—were they genuinely a sign of deepening cooperation, or did she truly just want those fabrics... Perhaps it was both.

The Investigation that followed would be conducted by Shard alone; after all, only Shard openly admitted he was a Circle Sorcerer.

The matter itself wasn’t particularly complicated. The manor hosting the salon was one of the Marquis’s residences in Moon Bay, but since the end of winter this year, the family had frequently felt the house tremble slightly at night while they slept. At first they thought it was an earthquake, but there had been no reports of earthquakes in the Moon Bay Region. Then they wondered if it was merely an illusion, yet most of the people in the manor could feel the house shaking.

However, the Vibration was extremely slight and only lasted for a few dozen seconds each time, so it didn’t seem like anything serious. The Marquis himself simply assumed there was some structural issue from when the house was built and even specially had people come to examine it, but they found nothing wrong. For peace of mind, the whole family moved to another manor in the city, leaving this place to be used only for hosting banquets.

Subsequent events seemed to prove that nothing further happened; after the start of summer, even the servants who stayed behind at the manor no longer felt that strange trembling at night. The matter should have ended there—until the appearance today of this "Circle Sorcerer" Shard prompted the Marchioness to wonder whether it might be related to Supernatural Powers.

Since it was a Tremor in the ground, naturally the Investigation had to go underground. The manor did indeed have considerable underground space: for instance, the servants’ kitchen and dining room were located below ground, and in addition there were cellars and storerooms that did not connect to one another.

The Witch would have liked to use her own Divination to directly help Shard find the answer, but once Shard left under a servant’s guidance, she never managed to find a moment to touch her Divination Cards.

Very soon, the servant came back somewhat hastily:

"That gentleman says, Madam, it would be best if you came down to take a look yourself."

The Marchioness of Ankara nodded:

"Bella, come with me to the study. The Book you wanted has been found by the servants."

She and Miss Belindel went downstairs together; the two of them passed through the corridor to the ground‑floor kitchen, then descended by a staircase into the vegetable cellar beneath the kitchen.

The space here was not even as large as the kitchen above. Because it was summer and there wasn’t the same need as in winter, the vegetable cellar did not store much food. At this moment the eastern wall looked as if it had been smashed open by great force, rubble and bricks scattered all over the floor, causing both ladies to cover their mouths and noses. Beyond the wall they could see a passage spiraling downwards, yet the Marchioness herself had no idea there was another space beneath her manor.

She and the Countess naturally would not risk entering such a dangerous place, and Shard was already bending down and coming out through the breach. He had taken off his expensive overcoat for fear of dirtying it; the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, revealing solid, powerful arms.

For the sake of secrecy, only the Marchioness’s two Personal Maids knew about what was happening here, so he did not conceal anything:

"I sensed Space behind this wall just now, so I knocked it down. Don’t worry, it’s not very deep; this passage connects directly to Moon Bay City’s sewers. Madam, was this house built by your family?"

"No, this house is several centuries old. It originally belonged to the Wright Family, then passed through many owners afterward."

"Most likely one of the owners at some point dug this out as an escape tunnel."

He patted his hair:

"Later you can have people seal this up, or you can keep it as an escape route if you like. The far end of the sewer is already blocked with a locked gate. If you’re still uneasy, have some steel pipes welded across it and seal the door completely, so that no one can come in from outside."

"What caused the Tremor?"

Miss Belindel asked. Her gaze and that of the Marchioness of Ankara both swept lightly over Shard’s strong arms.

Shard did not tell the whole truth; some things were simply not suitable for ordinary people to hear:

"I’m not sure. But outside the gate at the end, I found some bloodstains that have long since dried up. If I’m not mistaken, in spring someone must have done something in the nearby sewers, which led to the abnormality in this house connected to the pipes. But now the other party has already left. If you’re still uneasy, call in the Church and let the Church take a look."

This was only part of the truth. What he had actually seen was a place very similar to the underground prison—or rather, underground laboratory—in Herman Wood’s memories. The only difference was that this site had already been cleared out and looked to have been completely abandoned at least by summer. Although nothing further could be Investigated through this route, Shard at least now knew that the Dragon Feast Cult’s secret biological experiments in this area definitely did not begin only after they discovered that this region might be connected to The Chosen One.

The Dragon Feast Cult had long been conducting illegal experiments in this port city linking to the New World, and the mysterious egg they had created—one that likely would hatch into a Vampire Beast—was precisely their final experimental achievement.