Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 100

Knock Knock

 

“Count, it’s the butler.”

“…Come in.”

 

In the dark, the aging Count of Blackbore slowly sat up.

 

“I’m sorry that I disturbed you so late at night.”
“So, what’s going on this late at night?”

“Well, Diana Avery showed up.”

“What? Diana Avery?”

 

After hearing the butler’s words, Count Blackbore let out a small laugh as if in disbelief.

 

He picked up the newspaper from the bedside table. Then the butler moved the lamp, and lit it.

 

“Diana Avery, whom the Imperial family is looking for, has come to visit me right now?”

 

The Count put on his reading glasses, and read the newspaper.

 

“So where is she now?”

“I had her detained, and put in the dungeon.”

“What a funny girl. Why did she come here when our families have no ties?”

 

The Count shook his head slightly as if he couldn’t understand.

 

Diane Avery’s best bet was to hide like a rat. The Count couldn’t understand why on earth she thought of him.

 

His drowsiness was relieved by the ridiculous situation.

 

“I don’t know. However, she insisted on meeting with the count in person, and having her words heard.”

“Well, now that the deranged Emperor took the Avery’s out of the picture, it would be difficult if I got involved with that girl and was caught up for no reason.”

 

The Count gave a small chuckle as if the situation was funny.

 

“If you’re worried that it’ll reach the Emperor’s ear, it’ll be okay.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“No one knows that Diana Avery has come to our estate yet, except for a few family members.”

“Tsk, how can you be sure of that?”

 

The Count clicked his tongue.

 

He was worried that things would go wrong if he delayed reporting about Diane Avery even a little bit.

 

Wouldn’t the blood-crazed Emperor cause him trouble for no reason?

 

“She cut her long hair short like a man.”

“The lady cut her hair? Ha! Did she give up on everything?”

“In addition, she wore a hooded robe, so the local people wouldn’t have recognized her face.”

“Good, that’s a relief.”

 

The Count then shook his head.

 

If the Emperor didn’t know when Diana Avery entered his estate, it would be nice to meet Diana once and hear why she came to him.

 

It seemed fine to decide afterwards whether to report her or not.

 

“I’ll go see her, so take the lead.”

 

He didn’t know why she came to him, but she did come all the way here to avoid the Imperial knights. So, it was okay to listen to what she had to say.

 

In addition, if he thought about it, the girl the Imperial family was looking for was now in his hands. There seemed to be no harm.

 

It wasn’t a bad idea to report her, and let everyone know that the Blackbore family had followed the will of the Emperor.

 

At the Count’s words, the butler hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

 

***

 

Knock Knock

 

The thick door of the dungeon opened, and Diana frowned at the sound of approaching footsteps.

 

Eventually, as the light from the lamp gradually drew closer, Diana frowned as she tried to see through the dark.

 

Then Diana shut her eyes tight at the sudden bright light.

 

“Diana Avery?”

“…Count Blackbore.”

“This kind of attire doesn’t suit a ducal lady.”

 

Diana bowed her head in shame as the Count looked over at her.

 

“So, what the heck has the busy lady been doing all this time?”

 

Diana squeezed her hand into a tighter fist at the Count’s sarcasm.

 

“Didn’t you read the newspaper? It seems that the Imperial knights are desperately looking for you. So, if you come here won’t I be in trouble?”

“I came here to ask you for a favor.”

 

Diana hurriedly opened her mouth at the Count’s question. If she had her original temper, she would have shown an unpleasant expression right away, but this time she just lowered her eyes.

 

“A favor?”

“Count, please find me reliable mercenaries.”

“Huh? Mercenaries?”

 

The Count took a few steps away from the cell door as if he was deep in thought.

 

“Why are you looking for mercenaries? Are you going to organize them, and start a rebellion?”

 

Diana moved closer to the iron bars as the Count moved away as if he was going to run away at any moment.

 

Grunt

 

“I’ve already lost everything, Count. Money, face, family. I have nothing more to lose, so I have nothing to fear.”

 

Her father abandoned her to save the family, but he was still taken.

 

All the people of the Empire were talking about it.

 

As they said, she probably couldn’t escape death.

 

She wanted to show to her father that she could survive after he abandoned her. Funny how her father seemed destined to die first.

 

“If you want to die that much, go die alone. Don’t ruin my life for nothing.”

“The Count will not be bothered. I promise.”

 

Diana stared at the Count, then let out a creepy laugh.

 

“Giggle. Doesn’t the count hate Ian Dakendov?”

“….”

“Didn’t you lose two of your grandchildren because of him? Ian Dakendov, if it weren’t for him, the count’s family could’ve become the Emperor’s maternal family. It was destiny.”

 

Diana smiled more deeply at the Count’s distorted expression.

 

The maternal family of the two dead princes.

 

There was no way Count Blackbore liked Ian Dakendov.

 

“There was a rumoe that had been floating around for a while in the social world. The second prince’s death was because of Ian. Didn’t Ian cloud the Emperor’s judgment by telling his father that he had to kill the second prince?”

 

It is said that when Ian was young, Count Blackbore pressured and harassed him.

 

“To reduce his competitors. Do you really think those rumors are all nonsense?”

 

There was no way that the proud Count Blackbore would’ve truly accepted someone beneath him as the Emperor. He couldn’t like the person who usurped his grandsons’ place.

 

“In the end, didn’t Ian Dakendorv get his way? After killing all the heirs of the royal wife, he became the Emperor.”

 

She didn’t know if he cursed him to perish.

 

“Huh? Is that why you want to ask me to walk into the abyss together?”

“No, Count Blackbore just needs to watch.”

 

As Diana nodded towards her tied hands, as if she wanted to be released to get something.

 

The Count let out a small sigh.

 

“Let me go for a while.”

 

Then, he immediately ordered the butler to release the restraints.

 

“All I ask of the Count is to find me a reliable mercenary. That’s all. Mercenaries who don’t care who they hit, or why they hit, as long as they get money.”

“How many mercenaries do you think can beat the Imperial family?”

 

The Count of Blackbore looked at Diana, who was rummaging through her robe, and mocked her for being foolish.

 

The Count was a little relieved to meet a person who hated Ian Dakendov, whom everyone had been praising as a hero for a long time, even though Diana was frustrating and pathetic.

 

“Ian Dakendov. If I could kill him, that would be great, but it would be difficult as long as knights are protecting him.”

“Then why are you looking for mercenaries?”

 

The Count’s gaze met Diane Avery, who raised her head at a moment, then he turned away from the eyes that seemed to have already gone crazy.

 

“Isn’t it unfair? I’ve been ruined, Count, and I was just trying to be happy. You know what it’s like, the sadness of losing something precious.”

 

Diana took a leather pouch out of her pocket.

 

The Count’s eyes turned to the bag when he heard clinking.

 

“I will kill Rachel, the Emperor’s beloved.”

“Tsk, what are you going to get by just killing a girl? You’ll kill the girl, and lose your title? Like your father?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t get caught.”

 

Unless the Emperor was killed, he would retaliate. However, it meant that Diana would lose to the Emperor to kill only one girl. She wanted to bring him into it.

 

“Sounds stupid. No matter how lowly a mercenary is, does he have no eyes and no mouth? Don’t you see what would happen if I gathered them all and brought them to you?”

 

The Count shook his head angrily at Diana’s stupid noise, and the butler opened the door as if he was about to leave the cell.

 

“You don’t know?”

 

The Count sighed deeply at the toneless voice, and stopped walking.

 

“The dead can no longer use their eyes or mouth.”

“….”

“There are drugs that slowly spread through the body and then stop the heart. Feed the mercenaries a meal and give them the poison before they kill Rachel. Of course, there is an antidote, but it’s not cheap, so they won’t be able to get it.”

 

The Count frowned at Diana, who talked about death without a change in her expression. As expected, Avery only seemed human.

 

“If I do this, will this alleviate the Count’s fears?”

“…What about you?”

“If I kill that girl, I will no longer have any regrets. It is better to die than to live like a beggar.”

“Hmm….”

 

The Count slowly stroked his chin as if thinking for a moment.

 

If the mercenaries died on their own, there would be no way the connection between Diana and him would be discovered.

 

If that was the case, then he wouldn’t be hurt.

 

“Wouldn’t he seek revenge for killing the girl?”

“Looking at it from the side, the lowly Emperor seems to be quite sincere towards that lesser woman.”

“Hmm…”

 

He didn’t know how sincerely Ian Dakendov felt towards the girl named Rachel, but it seemed he would be able to get revenge on Ian.

 

However, he was worried about the aftermath of getting involved with Diana Avery. At any rate, if Diana was caught by her tail, she would set him on fire.

 

Stroke

 

Diana held out her leather pouch to the Count.

 

“They’re platinum coins.”

“….”

“Get mercenaries with that money. They’re going to die anyway, so you might want to present some of them as an advance payment.”

 

Even after paying the full balance, as well as the advance payment to the mercenary, it seemed that there would be a lot of money left over.

 

It would be enough to buy a mansion outside the capital.

 

“Haha, doesn’t the lady not know about the price of things?”

“No matter how many meals are cooked for me and how casually I get what I want, it doesn’t mean that I don’t know the cost.”

 

Diana smiled dishonestly at the Count, who ignored her.

 

***