Chapter 74: I Will Ask Just One Thing (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: I Will Ask Just One Thing (4)
Teil was the vice-commander of Silike’s Knight Order, Pavel.
Now, he sat slumped on the ground, his face a mask of utter defeat. It was a miracle he had survived the mage’s barrage of ice. Yet, the words that came from the boy who had just severed his comrade’s head with a dagger barely the length of a forearm struck him like a bolt from the blue.
“No need to bring him.”
It was undoubtedly Calian’s message. It meant he had no interest in who was pulling the strings.
And just like that, Teil gave up.
He was on the verge of either getting a hole in his throat or losing his head entirely. He had been willing to sell out his own comrades to survive; why would keeping someone else’s secret matter now?
Once he abandoned all hope, his once-tight lips parted on their own.
“Please, wait just a moment, you two. I have so much to tell His Highness.”
Teil still believed that if he could somehow make it to the royal palace, Silike would save him. Thus, standing meekly with his hands clasped, he began to babble, certain that once they heard what he knew, they would have no choice but to bring him before Calian.
“It’s a good thing you spared my life. I received this request directly from the Queen. Look, I even have the coin pouch right here.”
Once he started, Teil’s mouth showed no signs of stopping. He hadn’t just taken Silike’s money; he had also accepted gold from Lennon and Evan, performing various tasks for them.
“I once disposed of a maid who delivered something from Lennon Brissen to Prince Calian’s attendant. If necessary, I can testify to that.”
This was the maid who had vanished after serving Yan the poisoned tea. Arsen had heard rumors about her disappearance, and it seemed Teil was responsible. However, Arsen knew Calian had already agreed to bury the matter and had exchanged a Seal of Oath with Silike. Furthermore, Teil himself didn't seem to know the exact reason he had killed the maid, so his testimony was worthless.
“That’s of no use now,” Arsen said flatly. “Besides, His Highness has no desire to even think about what happened back then.”
He glanced at Kyrie, who stood behind Teil—a silent cue to finish the job. Kyrie took half a step forward.
Step.
Realizing that footstep was the sound of his lifeline snapping, Teil hastily cried out, “I can tell you something else! This is truly crucial information!”
The sound of Kyrie stepping back could be heard. Feeling a brief moment of relief, Teil quickly spoke.
“Do you know where the Marquis’s source of funding is?”
“Isn’t it bribes?”
“Of course, those are substantial, but that’s irregular income, isn’t it? There’s a separate, regular source of funding. It’s a place I’ve been managing since I left the palace.”
In the end, Teil played his final card. Wearing an expression as if he’d just revealed his trump, he lowered his voice.
“There’s a private gambling den in Kairisis. They gamble with people’s lives, and the amount of money that changes hands daily is beyond imagination. If you let me see Cali—”
“Are you perhaps referring to the fourth floor of ‘Sispanian’s Deep Alcohol Smell’?”
Teil’s mouth snapped shut.
Ignoring him, Arsen looked at Kyrie and asked, “Is that actually the name of a tavern?”
“Yes, it is.”
“What a frivolous name.”
“It’s a tavern on the surface, but there are gambling dens in the basement. It’s not particularly remarkable information.”
Teil bit his lip, then spoke with a grim expression. “Lennon Brissen. Do you know who made him go missing?”
Who else? Arsen thought. Our Prince, of course.
A long sigh escaped his lips. It was clear he wasn't the least bit curious, but Teil raised his voice anyway.
“You probably don’t even know that Lennon Brissen is alive and well! If you want to know where he is, take me to Prince Calian—”
Arsen cut him off and asked Kyrie, “Didn’t you say Lennon was likely confined to the Brissen estate?”
“Yes. That was his assessment.”
Of course, that was Calian’s deduction.
Overcome with a sudden wave of drowsiness, Arsen let out a long yawn. Teil’s eyes twitched. Even Lennon Brissen wasn’t working. The severed head of his comrade, lying nearby, seemed to have been staring at him for a while now, as if telling him to just give up and join him.
In a voice even lower than before, Teil whispered as if sharing a profound secret, “The Margrave being injured this time… it must have been orchestrated by the Marquis himself. Who else but the Marquis would have the power to harm the Margrave?”
Who else? Arsen thought again. Our Prince, of course.
His eyes grew heavier. He was truly exhausted. He hadn’t slept for days while developing the teleportation magic circle, and after finally getting one good night’s sleep, he had been immediately dragged away by Alan. With his body fatigued, his stress levels high, and having just expended a massive amount of mana, he was in no state to chat.
Unaware of this, Teil continued to babble.
“The Marquis has actually walked the Path of the Sword for a very long time. Myself and that fellow lying on the riverbank over there—we both saw the Marquis’s sword completely shattered. Yet, he hid that fact from the Margrave.”
At those words, Arsen’s heavy eyelids snapped open. Showing interest for the first time, he said, “His Highness might actually find that somewhat interesting.”
“Exactly! Even though the relationship between the Marquis and the Margrave is known to be poor, the exact extent of it was never revealed. Before the Margrave’s appointment, the two of them had a massive fight. If you let me meet His Highness, I can tell you everything in detail—”
Arsen raised a hand, cutting Teil off. “You seem to know quite a lot.”
Teil’s face brightened, thinking he would finally get his wish. But Arsen wasn’t finished.
“And I suspect the reason you’ve survived this long is because, despite knowing so much, you kept your mouth shut. Is that not so?”
Sensing this was not a compliment, Teil stared at Arsen without answering. Arsen ignored him and turned to Kyrie, asking quietly, “Did His Highness truly say not to bring him?”
“Yes. However, he said to use our discretion if the person proved to be truly useful.”
Nodding, Arsen turned back to Teil. “So. Did you think that if you went to the palace under the pretext of sharing these secrets, Silike would step forward to save you?”
Teil, who knew so many secrets yet had forgotten what kind of person Silike truly was, hastily opened his mouth.
“That is—!”
At that moment, moonlight glinted off Kyrie’s dagger as the cold blade swept across Teil’s neck.
Slash!
In the end, Teil could not finish his sentence.
Thud.
His head rolled to a stop right next to the head of the knight who had fallen earlier. Arsen, who had raised a Shield to block the splatter of blood, stared down at Teil’s head for a moment.
“A mouth that knows how to stay shut should stay that way. Opening it to play petty games only shortens one’s life.”
Arsen took a deep breath, then looked at Kyrie. “Thank you for your help. You should return to the palace now. My coachman must have reported this, so the Capital Guard will arrive shortly. I’ll explain the situation to them and head back.”
Kyrie shook his head. He picked up the coin pouch Teil had been holding, tucked it into his shirt, and said, “I will handle it. Sir Hertz, you must not be seen.”
“What do you mean?”
Kyrie pulled a black robe from his saddlebag and handed it to Arsen, delivering the rest of Calian’s message. “He said not to contact anyone and to rest comfortably at Sir Manasil’s estate for five days.”
He didn’t know the exact reason, only that Arsen was to rest well.
Arsen’s mouth twitched, unsure whether to smile or grimace. A vacation was a vacation, but one spent at Alan’s house?
He truly didn’t know whether to be happy or miserable.
* * *
That the Marquis was running a gambling den was completely unexpected. Even if it wasn't immediately useful, it was information that would come in handy later. Furthermore, the fact that the Marquis had been hiding his true strength was also news.
Alan, who had listened to Kyrie’s report alongside Calian, nodded. “When you offered to buy the Brissen Trading Company, I did think the Marquis lost his temper far too quickly.”
Alan recalled Evan flaring with killing intent at the mere mention of the word ‘swordsman.’
“But then he quickly became submissive again. Perhaps he was acting that way on purpose to pull the wool over my eyes.”
Calian nodded, acknowledging the possibility. “I’ll be able to confirm it once I meet the Marquis in person. Since I can now attend the Central Noble Council, there will be plenty of opportunities.”
He scribbled a few words on a small slip of paper and handed it to Yan. “Send this now. To the Margrave’s territory.”
He was telling him to use a carrier pigeon. After Yan took the note and left, Calian briefly praised Kyrie for his hard work and dismissed him to rest.
Once he and Alan were alone, Alan cast a Silent spell. Realizing Alan had something to say, Calian met his gaze.
“Your Highness, you wished to personally meet the one who tried to harm the vice-commander of the magic corps.”
He was asking why Calian had ordered Teil killed instead of brought back alive.
Calian looked down at the pouch on the table. Stained with blood that had not yet dried, it was the one Silike had given Teil.
“If Pavel were still a palace knight order, I would have. But that’s no longer the case, is it? That man was no longer Silike’s servant, but the Marquis’s. That’s why he was involved in Lennon’s affairs as well.”
He had run errands for Silike in the past, but now he was Evan’s lackey. That was why Calian had ordered him killed. The reason was simple.
“If he were captured and held in the palace, the Marquis would be on his guard. He would be on edge, unable to predict what demands you or I might make using the secrets that man could reveal.”
As he spoke, Calian pointed to the rye cookies in front of Alan. So many had been sent that the pile never seemed to shrink.
“I haven’t even met the other nobles yet. The Marquis must not focus his attention on me. For now, it’s better to let him play tug-of-war between Gray and Silike.”
In other words, he wanted to prevent Evan from joining hands with Silike again out of wariness toward him. Calian could not face both of them at the same time; he did not yet possess that kind of power. Thus, he was chipping away at their forces bit by bit. He had severed Lennon and Gray from Silike’s grasp, and with Gray as the catalyst, the relationship between Silike and Evan had begun to fracture. Calian intended to maintain that state of affairs for as long as possible.
He tapped the pouch on the table and smirked. “Instead, Silike is the one who must become far more anxious.”
Teil was dead. The nine knights with him were dead.
And now, Arsen would disappear. For the next five days, Silike wouldn’t even know if he was alive or dead.
If Arsen is alive, what did he hear from Teil?
If he heard something, did he tell Calian?
And what will Calian do to me for daring to attack his subordinate?
“I’ll let her agonize over it to her heart’s content.”
At the thought of Silike clutching her head in distress, a deep smile played on Calian’s lips.