The Wolf in the Woods and the Michelle Family’s Secret

“Minor disappearances and deaths?”

Reyn’s expression grew increasingly solemn in the ship’s tea room as he listened to the information Arthur recounted.

Arthur calmly took a sip of wheat juice. “The Holy Church harbored suspicions at the time, even dispatching a squad of Holy Knights to investigate,” he said softly. “However, they uncovered nothing. All the children had died naturally, devoid of any Heretical aura. If this was indeed the work of a Heretic, then I believe that Heretic must be remarkably clever. One might even say… they possess a profound understanding of humanity.”

Reyn frowned. “Did the Michelle family do nothing? Were their own children not threatened by this?”

Arthur set down his glass, gently rubbing its rim with his index finger. His sightless gaze sharpened slightly as he spoke in a low voice. “Regarding this matter, the Holy Church’s records state that the family was very cooperative at the time. In short, there was simply nothing suspicious. Since the investigation yielded no results, the Holy Church did not pursue it further, treating it as a common occurrence.”

Reyn found this utterly incomprehensible. “Why? Even if it wasn’t the work of a Heretic, weren’t children still disappearing or dying?”

Arthur’s lips twitched, revealing a hint of faint sarcasm. “Disappearances might be the work of human traffickers. Deaths are most likely due to a child’s poor health. But what does any of that have to do with the Holy Church? Count, I’m not mocking the Holy Church. In this matter, the Holy Church did not want to interfere, nor could it. The sovereignty of a territory always rests in the hands of its lord. As long as it’s confirmed to be unrelated to Heretics, the Holy Church has neither the obligation nor the authority to intervene. This is the tacit understanding between nobles and the Holy Church, and between imperial power and divine power.”

“Then, what about the Michelle family? Even if they don’t care about the lives of commoners, do they not even care about the lives of their own kin?”

Arthur suddenly turned his head toward Victoria, who was seated on the other side. “Perhaps Miss Michelle can explain this question to you, Count.”

Victoria calmly sipped her coffee, then slowly began to speak. “Even among the nobility, the Michelle family places immense importance on the proliferation of their bloodline. The form this takes is that each generation’s patriarch will sow widely in his youth. Among these offspring, a brutal struggle for the position of patriarch begins in childhood. Disappearances or deaths are quite common within the Michelle family.”

Arthur confirmed Victoria’s seemingly outrageous words. “Precisely. The Michelle family’s traditions are no secret within aristocratic circles. Even if this matter were truly connected to a Heretic, for the Michelle family, deceased offspring are simply the weak, and the weak have no right to live. As for disappearances, those are even less surprising. In such a family, there will always be a few children who cannot accept these traditions and secretly leave. These individuals are immediately considered to have renounced their Michelle family identity. No one will pursue them afterward, until they use the Michelle family surname again outside. Only then will someone deal with them to protect the family’s honor.”

He paused here, lifting his glass and drinking most of the wheat juice in one gulp, before his attention returned to Victoria. “However, if this matter truly concerns a Heretic, Miss Michelle should have some relevant information, shouldn’t she?”

Victoria’s eyebrow subtly arched. “The [Wolf in the Woods]. Knight, you’re surely familiar with that Heretic’s name, aren’t you? It might be a creation.”

Arthur’s interest sparked. “Oh? The [Wolf in the Woods] is not a Heretic, but a creation? That’s an intriguing notion.” After a brief moment of contemplation, Arthur spoke again. “If that’s the case, judging by the [Wolf in the Woods]’ actions, the Heretic lurking behind it could be rated on par with Utopia!”

A sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he “looked” at Victoria with suspicion. “You’ve seen a second [Wolf in the Woods]? Who is its host? Could it possibly be Grand Duke Texas Michelle?”

Victoria offered no reply, merely taking another calm sip of her coffee.

Arthur’s pupils subtly contracted, and his expression grew a touch more serious. “Then, that Heretic truly exists.”

Victoria’s delicate brows lifted, and she smiled faintly. “Oh? Knight, how are you so certain?”

Arthur rubbed his glass, his gaze fixed on the dwindling wheat juice within, and slowly began to speak. “The host of the [Wolf in the Woods] sealed by the Holy Church was detained in the Heretic Containment Facility. While he was there, another Heretic imprisoned in the facility said, upon seeing him, ‘Fairy tales are all lies.'”

Victoria chuckled softly. “I imagine that Heretic must be the A-rank Heretic, the [Riddler], wouldn’t you say?”

Arthur nodded. “Indeed. That’s why the Holy Knights responsible for that mission, despite their lingering doubts, did not pursue further investigation.”

The A-rank Heretic, the [Riddler], emerged during the Dark Ages. To this day, he has shown no combat abilities, yet his words are riddled with traps. Believing him might occasionally lead to the truth, but more often, it incites immense disaster.

Reyn, who had been silently listening to their conversation, suddenly spoke. “I recall that the host of the [Wolf in the Woods] was also discovered in the Michelle family’s territory, wasn’t he?”

Arthur nodded. “That was forty years ago, when Grand Duke Texas Michelle was still a young man in his early twenties.”

Reyn pressed on. “So, when did the incidents of children disappearing or dying in the Michelle family’s territory begin?”

“They began eighty years ago, but the scale was not large at first. It wasn’t until three years later that the situation gradually escalated, prompting the local church to report it, and the Holy Church to dispatch Holy Knights to investigate, though they found nothing.”

“And even earlier?”

Arthur’s brow furrowed. “Are you suggesting that Heretic appeared even earlier than eighty years ago? But once a Heretic descends upon this world, they invariably seek out a humanity that does not belong to them. The reason is unknown, yet there has never been an exception. If that Heretic appeared earlier than eighty years ago, they would surely have left a trail. But incidents of children disappearing or dying did not occur earlier than eighty years ago.”

Reyn, however, shook his head, his voice low. “Didn’t they?”

Arthur’s expression froze. After dozens of breaths, his breathing suddenly grew ragged, and his heart pounded uncontrollably. Indeed, incidents of children disappearing or dying had occurred even earlier than eighty years ago. In fact, they could be traced back to the period immediately following the end of the Dark Ages.

The Michelle family was the only one to survive and stand tall to this day since the end of the Dark Ages! No! If one considers only the Michelle family’s existence, it can be traced all the way back to the Dark Ages!

Reyn suddenly asked again, “When did fairy tales first appear in this world?”

Arthur’s lips twitched slightly. He feigned not hearing the potential flaw in Reyn’s words, and after a brief thought, he replied, “They originated in the Dark Ages. At that time, fairy tales weren’t as embellished as they are now; they were terrifying stories concocted by parents to protect their children from unknown entities. However, this is merely one circulating theory. No one knows the true origin of fairy tales, nor are there any relevant records.”

The more Arthur spoke, the more violently his heart pounded. During the turbulent Dark Ages, no one would have cared where fairy tales came from. And given the circumstances of the time, the idea that they were stories invented by parents posed no problem, even today.

But what if all of this was a trap set by a certain Heretic to conceal their own existence?

Reyn suddenly murmured in a low voice, “SSS-rank Heretic, [Fairy Tale]?”