Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Corin's Shadow (3)
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Clack, clack, clack.
The carriage passed through a dark alley with no one around. To add to the eerie rumors of the "ghost carriage," I pulled the hood of my black cloak low over my face and hunched over as I drove. Even to my eyes, the sight of Storm pulling the carriage—hidden from view by the Shadow Cloak—looked downright chilling.
"Good lord. I never imagined you actually had a 'ghost carriage.'"
Louis, who had been waiting for us at the end of the alley, stuck out his tongue in amazement. He circled the carriage curiously before stepping back.
"How does it move on its own? Is it pulled by ghost horses or something?"
"It's neither moving on its own nor pulled by ghost horses."
I removed the Shadow Cloak from Storm and stored it back in my subspace ring. Louis let out a small sound of admiration.
"Impressive..."
"Since the 'ghost carriage' rumors are already out there, I figured we might as well make good use of them."
"Good thinking. No one will suspect a thing."
We followed Louis's lead into an old house at the end of the alley. It was filled with objects covered in thick layers of dust. Clearly, no one had lived here in a long time. Fine for a secret meeting, but... isn't this a bit too sloppy? The moment that thought crossed my mind—
Clunk!
Creeeak...
Louis twisted and lifted a poker standing next to the fireplace, and the wall with the fireplace slowly slid open, revealing the space behind it. Ah, so that's it. A "secret room," huh?
"This way."
We entered the space behind the fireplace with Louis. Below the tiny room was a narrow, steep staircase. Relying on the faint light filtering up from the bottom, we carefully descended underground.
The underground space was far larger than the house above. It looked twice—no, three times—the size, arranged like a conference room. A large table in the center with wooden chairs, simple weapons hanging on one wall, and across from them, a map of Corin pinned up. Below it sat a desk piled with various maps and books.
'Looks like this is where he's been unraveling the conspiracy all alone.'
I glanced around the conference room once, then sat at the long table. On it lay a paper scribbled with notes in Louis's hand.
-Corin's forces...
-Dawood...
-Mercenaries...
It seemed to be an assessment of Corin's military strength and the scale of mercenaries Dawood had gathered. Corin's army was one thing, but the number of mercenaries Dawood had amassed was far larger than I'd estimated. With numbers like these, he'd clearly scraped together everyone—veteran mercenaries, greenhorns, and riffraff alike.
'...Looks like the Empire's keeping an eye on this place too.'
The imperial family was always on high alert about lords assembling forces. With Dawood pulling in this many mercenaries, it was only natural that the palace would have Corin under surveillance.
'We need to snuff out the spark before they make a move.'
Acting before things escalated was the way to minimize potential damage. The Crows were involved, so it wouldn't be easy, but...
'At least nothing's happened yet.'
This was surely still the preparation phase. Corin wasn't as far along in the Crows' plans as Silver Mountains or Dehid. Probably just before that point.
"Let me give you a quick rundown on Corin."
Louis stood in front of the map and explained the city's districts, surroundings, and castle. The information matched what I already knew, with one exception.
"No mention of the castle's 'secret passage.'"
"......!"
Louis stared at me, his face saying, *How do you know about that?* Oops, was that a slip-up? I rolled my eyes for a moment, then looked back at Louis with a grin.
"Well, most castles have at least one secret passage. I was just guessing."
Louis eyed me suspiciously, not fully convinced, then spoke in a tone that sounded oddly offended.
"...You're right. There *is* a 'secret passage' known only to the lord and his inner circle. No way a commoner like you would—"
"Louis."
"...My mistake, my mistake."
At Lloyd calling his name over the "commoner like you" remark, Louis immediately backed down. Not that it bothered me, but...
"It's fine, Lloyd. You can't fix noble habits overnight."
"...Sorry about that."
Louis grudgingly apologized to my jab, cleared his throat a few times, and I magnanimously nodded before asking what I'd been wondering.
"The lord and his inner circle...?"
"My father, my brother, me, my mother, and the guard captain. Five in total."
"Really?"
"Yes. Only those five know the exact location."
"......"
We'll see about that.
Did Louis still have some lingering trust in Dawood? He seemed to believe his brother wouldn't have told an outsider about the secret passage...
I saw it differently.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you about the secret passage—"
"Louis, don't take this the wrong way. The 'secret passage' probably isn't secret anymore. Your brother has likely already told Fabio everything about it."
"......"
Louis shook his head, frowning as if that were impossible.
"The castle's secret passage is the lord's last lifeline. Even for his own safety, there's no way he'd reveal it to outsiders."
"But it's the only way to enter and exit the castle secretly. A passage known only to five people, one that's rarely used... Fabio has used that very passage to meet your brother far more often—and for far longer—than you realize."
"But..."
"Of course, I could be wrong. If I am, that's a relief. But if I'm right..."
"......"
"Think about what that means."
Louis's face darkened. Naturally. If the secret passage—meant to protect the lord and his inner circle—had been compromised, it would fail them in a true emergency.
"Then..."
"We need to start monitoring the secret passage now."
It might be better to seal it off entirely, but that would tip off Dawood and the Crows to the presence of interference. Surveillance was the only option.
"Look at it as an opportunity. If you catch someone using it, you'll have the perfect justification to take responsibility for the castle's security."
"...Understood."
"You monitor from inside the castle, and we'll handle the outside. If the guard captain is trustworthy, coordinating with him would be ideal."
"He's my father's old friend. He's reliable."
"Perfect. Leave the exit to Lloyd. That should put your mind at ease."
Louis nodded. From the mood, if not for this situation, he never would have mentioned the secret passage. For a man like that to open up about it... things must be that serious.
We also heard explanations about the castle's layout, guard deployments, the city's structure, and details on the upcoming subjugation before leaving the house.
"......"
On the night of the fullest, roundest Hunter's Moon, the subjugation would begin in Sequoia Forest, where orcs appeared. The red light of the Hunter's Moon was said to protect warriors, so it seemed like a plausible time...
*But that makes it all the more dangerous.*
People overlooked something. It was arrogant to assume the gods cared only for humans. Gods like Arjan or Donar did favor humans, so the mistake was understandable...
But just as the goddess of forests and earth, Lynshaka, favored elves, and the god of craft and wealth, Daewar, favored dwarves, the god of war, Belrec, showed no discrimination. Any "warrior" could receive Belrec's blessing—human, barbarian, beastkin, or even monster.
The Hunter's Moon's red light wouldn't protect only human "warriors." If the subjugation targets were beasts, zombies, or other monsters without weapons, humans would have the edge... but orcs were monsters who wielded weapons. They too would gain strength from the Hunter's Moon's red light.
*Which means it's far from an advantageous fight.*
Worse, over half of Dawood's recruited mercenaries were greenhorns and riffraff. Even with the Hunter's Moon's blessing, they wouldn't change much. Throwing them into the subjugation was, plainly speaking...
*...A death sentence.*
The subjugation was just a smokescreen trap. Their real goal was something else. I hadn't figured it out yet, but...
*Caw, caw, caw...*
A crow's cry echoed from afar. It was Blackie. As black as the night sky, Blackie circled overhead before slowly descending to land on my shoulder.
*Flap, flap...*
He dropped a red thread onto my hand, tied in a knot. In the middle, wax had been pressed. I couldn't make out the seal due to the damage, but I could guess where it came from.
"Good job, Blackie."
It must have come loose from one of their messenger pigeons or been discarded. They'd burned the letters but overlooked the threads or wax. Blackie had spotted and retrieved it. Which meant...
"You found the crow route?"
*Caaaaw.*
"Good work."
I pocketed the thread and gently scratched under his chin. He closed his eyes in pleasure, tilting his head, then relaxed and nestled into my arms. Yeah, he'd been flying around the city all night—he must be exhausted.
"...Let's rest well today. You and me both."
Rest might not be possible for a while.