Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 59 - Linstead, Out of Reach

Oh, why is this making me so stubborn all of a sudden?

“Did I dial the wrong number?”

I decided to try again.

Just you wait. I will call you, Kieran, no matter what.

I put strength into my hand and turned the dial, again and again.

But…

“Why isn’t this working?”

No matter how many times I tried calling Linstead Castle, the response was always the same.

— The communication device you have dialed does not exist. Please try again later…

Beep, beep, beep…

Only the flat, emotionless voice of the recorded message rang in my ears. I let out a dry laugh.

“…Where did this guy go?”

「What’s wrong? Did something happen?」

“What is the matter, Duke? You don’t look well.”

The butler, Patrick, saw my twisted expression and grew worried. Zero was curious as well, so I explained the situation right away.

“Well… I can’t connect to Linstead Castle at all.”

“What?”

「…Did he completely cut off the call? Ignoring all contact and hiding away?」

To the baffled Zero and the butler, I told them the truth.

“No, it doesn’t even ring. It immediately says the number doesn’t exist and plays a recorded message.”

「What?」

“T-that can’t be possible. Communication magic devices are managed by the imperial family. Without permission, deleting a line entirely should be impossible.”

At Patrick’s words, my eyes widened. Zero reacted the same way.

“…Is that really true, Patrick?”

“Yes. Especially in the case of the House of Count Woray, who once attempted to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince. A family suspected of treason is monitored even more strictly. Every call made through a communication magic device is recorded, and the number cannot be deleted without imperial approval.”

“Isn’t it possible the House of Woray realized the zombie outbreak in the capital and acted on their own?”

The Imperial Palace and the capital, Agatha, had both fallen into ruin.

‘If that’s the case, then the House of Woray—and Kieran, the former mastermind—basically got the ending they wanted.’

If they had heard this news, they might have realized the curse binding them was broken and fled immediately.

Erasing all traces so that whatever remained of the imperial family couldn’t track them.

It was a reasonable theory.

But my guess was wrong.

The butler slowly shook his head.

“Duke, removing an already-connected communication line is only possible by going directly to the Imperial Palace’s communications control office.”

“Then that means…”

“Yes. Even if the situation were currently favorable for the House of Woray, they wouldn’t risk their lives entering the Imperial Palace, which is crawling with zombies.”

The butler was right.

Even if their long-standing contract of servitude to the imperial family had been broken, no sane person would enter a zombie-infested Imperial Palace just to cut off a communication network.

‘There’s no reason to cut the line anyway.’

Lost abilities?
The foundations of the underworld industries they had built over decades?

In front of freedom, none of that had any value.

‘If it were me, I’d run away overnight.’

The bloodline of the House of Woray, known for strong bodies and sharp minds, wouldn’t starve wherever they went.

For them, escaping Linstead—where they were trapped by imperial order—was the better choice.

There was no need to risk their lives just to cut a now-meaningless communication line.

But if that assumption were true, something didn’t add up.

‘…There’s no way they could’ve known about the zombie outbreak, not even the Mage Tower where Ruth was knew at first.’

Since even the people who could carry news from the capital had turned into zombies, the provinces of the empire were peaceful at the beginning, completely unaware.

Later, when I first contacted Ruth, I asked him to use the Mage Tower’s support to contact the communication devices of every territory in the empire, warning them not to come to the capital because it was dangerous.

So that no one would come up to the capital and cause the disaster of opening Agatha’s tightly sealed walls.

Thanks to that, news spread throughout the empire as Ruth traveled here.

Except for one place.

The House of Woray.

Their communications were controlled by the imperial family, and we didn’t know their contact number, so we couldn’t warn them.

Which meant the House of Count Woray alone shouldn’t have known about this situation.

“…Something’s strange.”

In the world setting, Linstead was even farther from the capital, Agatha, than Chatteris, where the Mage Tower was located.

It was so far that Linstead was actually closer to the neighboring country, Quina.

On top of that, the distance between southwestern Chatteris and northwestern Linstead was enormous.

Even if rumors spread quickly, it should have taken several more days to reach Linstead.

Considering all that, Kieran Woray—trapped in Linstead—should have been lying low. He shouldn’t have made any moves. He should have answered my call.

And yet…

‘In reality, it just says the number doesn’t exist.’

As if it had never existed in the first place.

‘…As if it never existed?’

Aston Clitter, chosen as a hidden party member.
Kieran Woray, completely unreachable.

‘The second possibility… don’t tell me!’

I jumped to my feet and ran toward Ruth, who was drinking tea.

“Duke? What is it?”

「What did you figure out this time?」

The butler and Zero followed behind me, confused.

“Ruth!”

“Y-yes?”

Maybe because of the aftereffects of constantly draining his mana, Ruth had been nodding off. He jolted awake when I called him loudly.

“Can you go to Linstead right now?”

“R-right now?!”

Ruth’s face turned pale.

“…Is it urgent?”

“Very.”

At my firm answer, given without a second of hesitation, sweat poured down his face.

“My mana hasn’t fully recovered yet… I’m sorry, but that would be impossible.”

“…Is it really that bad?”

“Not just bad. If I did that, I could die from mana exhaustion. Coming from Chatteris to the Keaton Duke’s estate alone nearly killed me. Linstead is even farther. Even with potions, I’d die. I really would.”

“I see…”

‘Is that true?’

I quietly mouthed the question to Zero. He nodded.

「That blue mage’s mana still hasn’t fully recovered. He used too many mana potions in a short time, so their recovery efficiency is low.」

‘Wow…’

「That mage needs rest first. I know you’re anxious, but people need to stay alive. What were you planning to do by sending him to Linstead anyway?」

‘Confirm.’

「Confirm what?」

‘That Kieran Woray… is still alive.’

The Linstead communication line, managed only by the Imperial Palace, had completely disappeared.

When the line of an installed communication magic device disappears, it means one of two things.

First, the imperial family deliberately cut off the line.

Second, the entire region disappeared, or it was completely destroyed by an attack.

「W-what does that mean? Are you saying Kieran Woray… the villain from the original story, might have been killed by someone?」

Zero’s tiny black eyes trembled. After a series of unimaginable events, the hamster administrator looked like he’d lost weight. Even his fur looked duller.

‘I don’t know. Me neither! That’s why I was going to ask Ruth—to see if he could go to Linstead and check the situation!’

With the communication line gone, the only way to know was to go there in person.

The convenient teleport gates were crawling with zombies, so approaching them was impossible.

All that was left was traveling the hard way and seeing it with our own eyes.

‘That’s why I asked Ruth if he could go…’

I knew it too. I knew Ruth hadn’t fully recovered his mana. Just reaching the Keaton Duke’s estate in one day had already pushed him too far.

Even knowing that, I still asked him—like a heartless boss from a black company—because I didn’t want to lose someone who could fight zombies.

Zero, who seemed to guess my thoughts, muttered gloomily.

「…Yeah. Even if we couldn’t recruit him as a party member, I still wanted Kieran Woray as a collaborator.」

If it were Kieran—who could freely wield forbidden dark magic, poison, and curses—he might be able to uncover the true cause of the zombie outbreak.

That was the hope driving me to find him.

But if he was already dead…

‘Then who did it?’

From where did the culprit start predicting every move and striking first?

It felt like I was already dancing in the palm of their hand, and the thought made me sick.

When I lowered my head in silence, Ruth spoke apologetically.

“I-I’m sorry. It seems important, but I couldn’t help…”

“…No. Ruth, you should rest first. I’m the one at fault for pushing you so hard as soon as you arrived.”

Ruth had done more than enough.

Still, the anxiety wouldn’t go away. It was driving me crazy.

I needed confirmation. I had to confirm it.

With no solution in sight, I bit my lip hard—when Aston slowly raised his hand and spoke.

“…? What is it, Your Grace, Grand Duke Whitewood?”

“I have a question, Duke Keaton.”

“Go ahead.”

Already irritated by how tangled everything had become, I replied curtly. Aston spoke in a dry, stiff voice.

“If there were a way to forcibly reconnect the communication magic device line, even temporarily… would that resolve your concern?”

“!”

Only then did I realize it.

‘Right. This guy may have been kicked out, but he’s still royalty!’

Only members of the imperial bloodline could access communication magic devices.

Even if he was exiled, the blood flowing through Aston’s veins proved he was a direct descendant of the first emperor, Caladia.

I hurriedly asked Zero.

‘Zero, is it really possible to reconnect a cut line and restore a deleted number?’

If possible, could we even see video, not just hear audio?

At my desperate question, Zero quickly opened a search window.

「W-wait a second!」

After wrestling with the search results, Zero shouted.

「It’s possible! In emergencies, there’s a magic circle engraved into the communication device that only royalty can activate!」

Okay. Perfect.

I grabbed Aston’s hand and smiled sharply.

“Of course. It can absolutely be solved.”

Good thing I picked up this Northern Grand Duke who rolled right into my lap.

Seriously, what a lifesaver.

What would I have done without him?