The Elven Duke Reluctantly Marries The Cursed Lady - Chapter 56
Use me as bait to lure the mage in.
Violette, who was in cat form, looked up from her perch on his lap with a determined look in her eyes.
“So cu——!”
[Eh?]
“Eh?”
Prince Magnolia and Violette had serious looks in their faces.
Hydrangea casually schooled his features. He had been so focused on Violette’s cuteness that he had missed what they were talking about.
“I didn’t quite catch what you were saying. Could you please repeat that?”
[Geez!]
Violette stamped her front paw on top of Hydrangea’s lap. He found even that cute.
He had to swallow down the urge to say “cute” and apologized.
“Sorry.”
[I won’t repeat after this, alright? … I was suggesting that you use me as bait to lure in the mage who is responsible for my curse!]
The house was a genuine mage’s mansion and the intruders would be detected once they set foot inside.
“Certainly, a mage’s mansion is full of traps, so you can never be too careful.”
If one entered the estate without Hydrangea’s permission, they would be attacked by gargoyles first. The Laudence Ducal estate possessed a total of one hundred indoor and outdoor gargoyle statues.
[Now that you mention it, there is a huge stone dragon statue by the entrance. Is that also rigged with a magic trap?]
“No, it is merely a stone statue brought by the First from his honeymoon trip.”
[I see.]
Prince Magnolia could not help but make a face and complain on the subject.
“That dragon statue is really creepy…”
“It’s a carving of a nameless evil dragon.”
It was common practice for mages to install wicked dragon statues in the entrances to their mansions as it was the object of people’s awe.
Since the dragon is a symbol of magic and has strong magical power, it is believed that by placing a dragon stone statue by the entrance, the household would be blessed with magic and mana.
“Getting into that mage’s residence is dangerous, but we won’t be able to settle this case. It would be better for Duke Laudense to summon them instead.”
“But the enemy is also being wary of us as much as we are being wary of them.”
The first head of the Laudense Ducal Family enchanted the mansion with a spell that prevents any intruder from trespassing.
Even if they intentionally created a gap in the defense, the enemy might realize that it was a trap. Mages were generally distrustful, so it was hard for them to believe that they would be easily invited in.
[If that’s the case, why don’t we invite them somewhere else?]
“Where and how would we do that?”
[… What if we use our wedding ceremony to lure them in?]
If it were the wedding, Tritoma Celsia would certainly come to interfere even if he was not invited.
But Hydrangea was against it.
“Absolutely not.”
[Why not?]
“A wedding ceremony is a once in a lifetime experience. If they go there, won’t it ruin your special day?”
[Dear…..!]
Violette’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Hydrangea.
The wedding was a big event and he did not want it to be the stage for solving the case.
“It would be better to face off with Tritoma Celsia in a different setting.”
[Do you have anything in mind?]
“How about the wedding banquet?”
[But with this kind of body, I’m not sure I can face everyone.]
“Aside from Tritoma Celsia and the mage working with him, the guests will mostly be those from the Magic Division only.”
If I stay by her side, then I would be enough to protect her from both the enemy mage and from other men touching her.
[Do you think it would work?]
“This is the only way I could think of luring them in.”
The location was in the castle’s rose garden and the event was to be held at night.
At night, the moon, which is said to be the materialization of mana, appears. Ground that is illuminated by moonlight has the effect of increasing one’s mana. This is also the time when mages are at their most powerful.
Moreover, “Scarlet” which is a type of rose created by Hydrangea through selective breeding, provides the person who made a contract with it with wards against evil and protection from their enemies. The garden’s features were in his favor.
