The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 520
Chapter 520: Look Upstairs
The obvious place to start was the very next room, and that was where Dominic found the most likely location where the children had been. It was a small room full of children’s toys, and one Manor Guard that had a large hole in his chest, roughly the shape of an extended hand.
A bit messy, but quick.
Really, it was a shock that the children hadn’t panicked at that time and alerted the staff, who were all outside trying to convince the Nobles either not to run away, or to take them when they did.
The children had been completely forgotten.
Dominic raised [Area Barrier] as he felt a portal open near him, but the first thing through was a small waving hand.
“Ah, Lord Dominic, there you are. We’ve been looking all over for you, and it was like you vanished off the map.” Amie greeted him.
“How did you find me, anyhow? I was going to send a radio message.”
“By the disturbance in the force.
Dagos forces are reporting that the rain suddenly dropped to a drizzle within fifty kilometres of this spot, so we’ve been opening portals to every Manor in the area.
They’re all empty, by the way. Why does this one smell like blood?”
“It took me a minute to empty it.”
The mage laughed and stepped through, then let the portal close.
“Children, servants. Did you even leave the guards? … never mind.
Sweet Gods above, did you punch your hand through his chest? That is definitely a hand hole.”
“There are children in the next room, no need to scare them.”
Amie rolled her eyes. “They’re like six months old. They don’t understand me.”
“I meant the maid.”
“How much of a mess is the place?”
“Dead Nobles down by the water, a whole bunch of mages in the basement, and a few more bodies scattered around the house. I don’t think that they heard anything outside, because of the storm.”
Amie held out her hand. “Did you at least loot them so we can see who launched the attack on Prince Alex? They would have levelled half the city with that blast if the Sect hadn’t reacted in time, and with him suffering from Mana exhaustion, Prince Alex would have been one of the casualties, even in the warehouse.”
“It was that large?”
“Large enough that our first thought when we couldn’t find you was that there was no body left to find.” Amie confirmed.
“In that case, I need a solid twenty-four hours before we return. But send a message that I’m alive and well right away.”
“Time for Princess Alexis to calm down?”
“And time for me to come up with a suitable apology for making her think I was vaporized.” Dominic agreed.
Amie laughed at the horrified look on the maid’s face. Their conversation was entirely too casual for the situation, as if slaughtering a house full of Mages and Nobles was an everyday occurrence, and the greatest fear should be that he forgot to tell his wife he was leaving.
Even if he had married someone truly cruel and evil, wasn’t he still the more terrifying one in the relationship?
“If you and your wife have a rocky relationship, perhaps a gift from among the Duke’s valuables? It might soften her heart a little?” She offered quietly.
None of the recognizable items could be pawned by a commoner anyhow. The Noble shopkeepers would kill them for looting if they tried. So, it was better that they were taken away to Cygnia, where the temptation would be gone.
“Oh, that’s not the problem. You see, the mages in the basement tried to blow me up with a spell, and I vanished through a portal, so my wife thought that I was dead until about two minutes ago.
She is… not going to be happy with me for not letting her know I was alive.”
Amie gave him an unimpressed look. “You understand perfectly well what the problem is, yet you still didn’t send the message.”
Dominic smiled to show his fangs, and the mage nodded. He had been lost in bloodlust, and unable to send the message. That was a perfectly reasonable answer for why he didn’t. But it also wouldn’t mollify Alexis, who was currently making plans to invade Dagos to find him.
The maid cleared her throat softly to get their attention without waking the children.
“Lord Dominic, Miss. Forgive me, but what happens now?”
Dominic shrugged. “I wasn’t joking about waiting to go back. Watch the children, and tell me if there are other children or staff hiding in the house, so nobody gets hurt. I will go see how everyone is doing with the transfer of supplies to the upper floors, and then we will figure out what is going on with the flood water.
The storm is mostly past, so in theory it should start going down soon.
However, the weather in Dagos is insane lately, and there is no guarantee that the weather will hold.
If necessary, I may be able to relocate the staff here.”
Amie looked concerned. What condition would these staff be in if Dominic was allowed to “relocate” them? He had been remarkably casual about allowing Dagos born women into Wistover, but going by the amount of blood on the floor, that was not a certain thing.
“I am going to go inspect the basement and make sure that nothing was forgotten.” Amie whispered.
“I think that I got it all, but if you can clean up with a spell or something, everyone would thank you for it.”
The little mage laughed. “I don’t have spells for domestic work, sorry. However, I might be able to hose down the place, as I do have one to create a jet of water.”
Dominic shrugged. “The flood water will likely take care of that for us. But removing the bodies would be a good start.”
Amie sighed. “You really are taking on the role of the peak Noble, aren’t you? Just leaving your trash everywhere for someone else to pick up.
No offence to the lady present.”
“None taken. It’s probably not a secret that we’re not actually going to miss them.”