The Cleanup

Lady Valenna, who had been scared witless since earlier, suddenly grew agitated upon seeing the Baroness.

“It was you! You're the one who lured me into attacking the Grand Duke candidate!”

The members of the Enforcement Squad had no concept of gentleness toward women. The Baroness was roughly dragged over, a large bruise appearing on her slender arm.

Yet she did not react to her injury in the slightest. She simply climbed up from the floor and elegantly tidied her skirt and hair.

“You ordered her to assassinate the Marquis's carriage?”

Baron Kaz's eyes bulged as he stared at the Baroness in disbelief.

“My Lord Baron, I never ordered Lady Valenna to assassinate the Marquis's carriage.”

The Baroness's tone was indifferent, completely as if it had nothing to do with her.

“You lie! That day, I heard you say that if the other Grand Duke candidates couldn't reach the Sword Prison, Derry's chances of becoming the Grand Duke would greatly increase!”

Seeing the Baroness deny it, Lady Valenna grew even more agitated. She stared at the Baroness with bloodshot eyes, looking as if she might spit fire at any moment.

“Lady Valenna, which part of those words told you to assassinate the Marquis's carriage? You thought you were clever and ran to whisper pillow talk into the Baron's ear. And in the end, wasn't it you, My Lord Baron, who actually gave the order?”

“Lady Valenna is a mere dancer, so she might not know the rules of House Callis. But as someone carrying the Callis bloodline, did you not know them either, My Lord Baron?”

The Baroness looked at the obese Baron Kaz, a rare expression of mockery appearing on her otherwise emotionless face.

“You lunatic! Didn't you know that by doing this, you would die too?”

Baron Kaz spoke with agitation, glaring at the Baroness with wide, furious eyes.

The Enforcement Squad of House Callis was not about to play word games with anyone. Besides, the Baroness was already on the execution list for Baron Kaz's family anyway.

“Is there any difference between me being alive or dead now?”

The Baroness's father had also been a baron once. However, unlike traditional nobles, her family's noble title had been purchased during her grandfather's generation.

Purchased noble titles were always looked down upon by traditional nobility. Thus, despite having a title, the Baroness's family did not fare well among the aristocracy.

To change this situation, they had set their sights on the then-useless Baron Kaz. After all, no matter how much of a waste he was, he still carried the blood of House Callis.

At that time, Baron Kaz was worrying about how his family's finances could not support the expenses of his knight order, yet he refused to disband it.

Among nobles, only those who possessed their own knight order would have a say.

The Baroness's family was unpopular among the nobility, but they indeed had money. So, the two parties hit it off immediately.

Little did they expect that Baron Kaz was far more useless than they could have imagined. In the end, not only did they fail to secure a foothold among the nobility through him, but they also went bankrupt because they had to help support his knight order.

Once the Baroness's family went bankrupt, Baron Kaz immediately turned his back on her, completely ignoring their past affection. Not only did he banish her to the annex, but he also brought back a dancer who was already pregnant.

“I just wanted to show you how wrong your choice was,” the Baroness said, her tone dripping with coldness. “A useless baron and a shallow dancer—the two of you truly are a perfect match.”

The Baroness turned her head and looked at Lady Valenna with icy eyes. The real reason she had gone mad and wanted to drag Baron Kaz's entire family to hell, regardless of the cost, was because Lady Valenna had murdered her child.

Fearing that her son Derry's status as the heir to the barony would be threatened, Lady Valenna had plotted and killed the Baroness's son.

“Splendid. I didn't expect to watch a drama while out on a mission. Now then, are you ready to die?”

Killing intent surged from the deputy commander. He had no intention of continuing to listen to the domestic disputes of Baron Kaz's family.

“No, My Lord! It was her! This was all because—”

Baron Kaz still wanted to struggle. He tried to shift all the blame onto the Baroness, but before he could finish his sentence, a sharp pain pierced his chest. The deputy commander's sword had already run him through.

“You talk too much.”

The deputy commander withdrew his knight's sword, and Baron Kaz collapsed to the floor, his face frozen in terror.

“Ah!”

Seeing Baron Kaz die, Lady Valenna shrieked, turning around to run.

But she had barely taken a step when a dark shadow flashed before her.

Lady Valenna felt a sudden coldness around her neck, and blood began to spray continuously from her fair throat.

She desperately tried to cover the wound with her hands, but it was all in vain. Ultimately, she drew her last breath, her face filled with sheer horror.

Of everyone present, only the Baroness made no move, nor did she show any emotional fluctuations. From the moment she made her choice, she had already known her end.

“Not bad. You didn't run. As a reward, I'll make it quick for you.”

The deputy commander raised his sword and struck, ending the Baroness's life.

“Clean up the rest of the villa as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

Several Enforcement Squad members behind him left. Soon, terrified screams and the sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh echoed throughout the baron's estate.

While the Enforcement Squad led by the deputy commander was slaughtering Baron Kaz's family, another team of Enforcement Squad members arrived at the Sword Prison.

Derry left his bedroom and walked toward the usual training grounds.

However, before he could even step out of the dormitory, his path was blocked by two figures dressed in black.

Sensing the situation outside, Derry's bedroom door flew open. A figure clad in a maid outfit appeared in front of Derry in an instant, her eyes locked onto the two men.

“What are you doing here?”

The maid did not strike immediately, for she recognized that these two were members of House Callis's Enforcement Squad.

“Derry's parents have violated the rules of the Grand Election. Elsa, you may leave.”

The leader of the Enforcement Squad pulled a silver, shield-shaped token from his pocket. A sword emblem was engraved in the center of the token.

This was the Grand Duke's hand warrant. Possessing this token meant that this matter was authorized by the Grand Duke himself.

Upon seeing the token, the magic power around Elsa dispersed. She stepped aside, clearing the path.

“Elsa, what are you doing?”

Seeing the maid who protected him step aside, Derry questioned her in terror.

But Elsa, who had always been extremely patient with him in the past, ignored him this time. An exclusive maid would only truly become an exclusive maid once the young masters and ladies of the Callis family training here officially became candidates.