Harem System In A fantasy World

The others listened quietly, though their brows rose at the revelation, Zenovia’s more so than the others since this was the first time she had heard anything about it.

Marilyn took a deep breath.

"A few days ago, the duke received word that you had returned to Grimholt. You could say he was rather ecstatic to learn that you had finally been located."

She paused briefly.

"My information also says that you owned a respectable manor in the city’s upper district."

Elion’s eyes narrowed.

He was slowly beginning to understand where this was going.

"My manor was attacked," Elion said, his voice losing some of its earlier warmth.

Marilyn nodded slowly.

"The duke arrived in Grimholt shortly after receiving word that you had been seen there. He brought a considerable number of warriors and several powerful mages with him, apparently expecting you to still be inside the city."

"And when he did not find me?"

"He had your manor surrounded and searched from top to bottom. According to the information we received, no one was inside at the time, and they found nothing that could lead them to your current location."

Elion remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

Marilyn sighed.

"When the search failed, Duke Dawncrest declared the manor a suspected refuge for a heretic, and then he destroyed it with a catastrophic fire spell."

The room fell completely silent.

Even Maya, who had already heard what happened, lowered her gaze slightly.

The reason she had brought Elion in so quickly after seeing him outside was exactly this. She had assumed he was on the run, if it happened that Duke Dawncrest had people in Silvergrove City.

Mira’s expression darkened, and the mana around her body stirred faintly before she forced it back under control.

Zenovia stared at Marilyn in disbelief.

"He destroyed an entire manor simply because Elion was not there?"

"The information I have says the duke claimed that the property might contain hidden formations, dangerous artifacts, or evidence connected to heretical activity," Marilyn explained. "Naturally, no such evidence was ever presented."

Elion leaned back in his chair, his face strangely calm.

"How much of it was destroyed?"

"All of it, everything was incinerated to little more than ash."

Zenith smiled pleasantly, deciding to speak at that exact moment.

"Hubby," she said softly, "may I kill this duke?"

Elion didn’t answer her. At this point, he might actually let her do it, seeing as he was still not confident in handling a figure of the duke’s power.

The situation had quite clearly been blown out of proportion; he could only imagine the scale of the spell the duke had cast to be able to incinerate the whole Manor.

Marilyn studied him closely to gauge his reaction.

There was no visible anger on his face, but that somehow made his reaction more concerning.

Elion had just learned that his home had been destroyed, yet he appeared almost completely unaffected.

Only the faint glow within his golden eye and the slow movement of the stars in his darker pupil showed that something had changed.

Mira walked forward and placed one hand upon his shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

Elion glanced towards her and gave her a small smile.

"I am fine."

It was only a manor.

A rather expensive manor, admittedly, even though he hadn’t been the one to purchase it, and also one he had barely been given enough time to enjoy, but it was still nothing more than a building.

He possessed the Ark of Infinity now, an artifact containing more space and luxury than the manor could ever provide. Losing the property itself was not enough to upset him.

As long as everyone was safe, the destruction of a Manor would never bother him too much. What irritated him was the reason behind its destruction.

Duke Dawncrest had not destroyed it because it posed any threat.

He had done it because he wanted Elion to understand that nowhere connected to him was safe.

It was an act of spite and intimidation.

Unfortunately for the duke, Elion was not easily intimidated.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

"Three days ago," Marilyn answered. "From what we were able to learn, there was a lengthy argument between Academy Principal Maximus and the duke, but they decided to move it behind closed doors instead of arguing in public. After that, the duke believed you would return to collect something valuable from the property. His men remained near the ruins for another two days in case you appeared."

Elion’s eyes narrowed. He had almost forgotten about Maximus and the other people at the academy that he did not care about, seeing as he had no intention of ever going back.

The days when the old man had offered him his protection felt so far away now, but knowing that the duke and Maximus had argued after the incident brought a strange sense of satisfaction to him.

He looked back toward Marilyn.

"So they may still be watching it."

"Almost certainly."

Elion nodded thoughtfully.

That explained why Marilyn had asked when he had last been on Grimholt. She had wanted to know whether he was aware of the destruction or if he had somehow visited after it happened.

Mira folded her arms

"And no one tried to stop him?"

Marilyn gave her a tired look, shaking her head.

"At the time, no, other than the argument, probably regarding the reckless casting of a strategic class spell, no immediate actions were taken to bring him to justice. However, I did hear he was called to court in Haven three days ago to answer for his crimes. The charges against him include damage to property and intentionally endangering the lives of countless bystanders; however, you can expect him to be punished with nothing more than a substantial fine that he can easily afford."

Mira frowned.

"How unsavory..."

Marilyn nodded in agreement. That was simply the nature of the kingdom they resided in. Even if he was given a more severe punishment publicly, it would be a miracle if it was actually enacted.

The Duke would probably find a way to avoid actual punishment using his influence and connections, especially considering the fact that, in the end, no one was gravely wounded, and no one died.

"He is a duke acting under the claim that he was pursuing a dangerous heretic. Very few people within the kingdom would risk opposing him without clear evidence that he was abusing his authority."

"He was obviously abusing it," Mira commented.

"Obvious and legally provable are not always the same thing."

Elion could not disagree with that.

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