Chapter 287
Chapter 287
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 287
Chapter Title: You Want to Assassinate Me? You're a Hundred Years Too Early (2)
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"I will confront head-on and smash to pieces the intentions of those trying to assassinate me. For safety's sake, I'll first send Louise and Friedrich to the suburban imperial palace where His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus is staying. The excuse that 'Louise wants to show her grandson to His Majesty' won't seem too awkward. Among the staff at my mansion, I'll dismiss all the maids and butlers who might slip poison into the food for now."
"So you're saying you'll hold out for the time being with only trustworthy butlers and maids. Will that be enough? If you want, I can lend you some knights from the Imperial Guard."
"May I hire some Northerners and soldiers from the 7th Guard Division who are nearing discharge? I've heard some worrying they have nowhere to go after discharge."
His Majesty heard this and replied.
"Just don't hire so many that your back bends under the payroll."
**
And a week later, on the night Louise and Friedrich departed for the suburban imperial palace where His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus resided.
Due to special circumstances, Anya, Laura, and even Charlotte were sleeping in the same room as me when suspicious footsteps echoed near the bedroom.
Presumed assassins... no, given they'd snuck into my house at this hour, they had to be assassins.
At the sound of those guys tiptoeing across our home's floors, Anya and Laura, sleeping beside me, reacted.
"Captain, footsteps outside. Above us on the ceiling, and in the hallway—sounds like quite a few."
"I'm really glad we sent Her Highness Louise to His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus. She's no fighter, so if we hadn't sent her with Friedrich to safety near His Majesty... we might not have been able to protect her."
Focusing on the sounds from around and below, it seemed about ten were approaching our room.
That alone was too many just to assassinate one person, but if their brains weren't filled with udon noodles...
They'd have accounted for the 'servants'—bodyguards—in a noble household with a title, so at least twenty had infiltrated our mansion.
Damn that Pietro bastard and his warmongering scum.
What the hell was in their heads to scheme against a well-off man when they'd been discharged or retired due to their own incompetence or screw-ups?
As that thought crossed my mind, anger started to boil up, but just then, the retired 7th Division soldiers acting as guards in our house began ringing bells in alarm.
"Fuck, Captain! Get up! Those goddamn assassin bastards are coming!"
"Captain said we can smash furniture if we have to! Cut those fuckers' heads off first! Two gold per head!"
"You sons of bitches, trying to assassinate our captain! Break every limb and capture them all! Kill any that try to run!"
At those shouts, Charlotte woke up, looking flustered as she asked me.
"Master, what should we do?"
"Hide under the bed. They're after my head anyway, not you, Charlotte."
In anime or manga, someone might say, "I'll fight alongside you, Master!"
But realistically, Charlotte was just my personal maid—a civilian who knew nothing about killing. She couldn't help in this melee.
Staying out of it was the best help she could give.
She understood that and quietly slipped under the bed.
Laura, Anya, and I drew the knives we'd hidden under our pillows for just such an occasion. I lightly stepped to the door leading to the hallway where I suspected the cowardly assassin scum were gathered and kicked it open with a resounding bang.
The wooden door shattered with a crack, and some bastards screamed as their bones broke in the debris.
"Argh, fuck!"
"Fuck, my nose..."
The assassins, caught off-guard by the unexpected counterattack, froze in panic.
I signaled Laura and Anya with my hand that I'd take the right.
Then I launched myself at the group of about six assassins.
"Fuck, everyone group up! We're killing Peter Jaeger head-on now! Take him out, and our lives are set. Don't chicken out—we outnumber him."
A guy who looked like the leader shouted, and the assassins quickly huddled, trying to overwhelm me with numbers.
Assassins trying to fight like soldiers? They weren't group combat experts—just amateurs playacting. Their limits would be obvious.
Still, they seemed like experienced elite assassins, forming a tighter, better-coordinated formation than knights of similar size.
"Richten or Richten or whatever, how the fuck is one guy gonna cut down dozens up front?"
"Same bullshit the Imperial Army spouts. Hero play—they love that shit. Not scary at all."
"Behold the perfect coordination of us brothers!"
The front guy thrust at my throat, the two behind aimed for my shoulders, and the rest prepared lethal follow-ups for surprises.
On a battlefield group fight, no one forms up like this just to kill one man.
Caught off-guard by this novel group attack, I ducked low swiftly.
"N-no, fuck!"
The bastard panicked as their perfect strike missed, but if you're coming to kill, come ready to die, you fucker!
I drove my knee into the front guy's solar plexus, and the two behind's blades were blocked by his corpse.
I kicked the body to disrupt them, spun left with a slash that took two heads, then crippled the next three by severing their ankles.
"Argh! My ankle! My fucking ankle!!"
"Monster bastard. How the hell can anyone fight like that?"
"......This is insane. He's the real deal. Fuck..."
Despite severed ankles, they tried to crawl away, clutching their knives to resist somehow.
To ensure they couldn't resist at all, I stomped both their hands viciously.
Crunch—the breaking bones drew screams.
"Argh! My hands! My hands!!!"
"Peter Jaeger, you bastard!!"
"You fucker! This is too much! Are you crazy? Spare us!"
I don't know why these killers were begging me for mercy, but they'd be tortured soon enough and beg for death then anyway. No need to care.
With all living ones' hands and feet smashed, they couldn't escape no matter what. I could leave them.
Meanwhile, Laura and Anya were efficiently handling their assassins in tandem.
Laura targeted vitals with minimal, restrained precision as per her nature, while Anya swung her blade in flashy, wide arcs honed from plundering in the North.
Facing over twice their number—five assassins—they looked relaxed, thanks to the skill gap from wartime experience.
"For trying to kill the Captain, you deserve death! The guardian of the North—worthless scum not even fit for the wheel!"
"Anya, we need to capture them alive as prisoners. No killing."
"......You're right, Laura sis."
Watching the assassins fight, they did seem like top-tier from a first-rate guild, hired at great expense.
Laura and Anya were just that strong, making them look mediocre.
As I spaced out watching, Laura and Anya finished their five perfectly and approached me.
"Captain, what now?"
"You two guard Charlotte. If she's taken hostage, we're in deep trouble. I'll make sure those goddamn assassins can't touch our servants."
Laura hugged me briefly—wishing me safe return—then left.
Anya eyed the scene, pouting that she hadn't gotten the first hug, but said nothing and quietly followed given the situation.
The dim light might've tricked me, but she looked aggrieved, so I must comfort her later.
I then dashed through the mansion, aiding the guards in fierce fights.
In the process, I killed or captured nearly six assassins, and since the guards (except me) wore armor, no fatalities.
A few escaped assassins were a blemish, but no losses on our side and prisoners taken—best not quite, but solid second-best.
"Drag the corpses to the yard, and for prisoners, gag them with rope so they can't bite their tongues. Can't interrogate if they can't talk."
"Yes, sir. Captain, shall we contact the capital guard now?"
For a normal assassination, yes—but this involved active officers, a political incident.
Plus, His Majesty already knew, so for brutal revenge on them and their backers...
"Report directly to the Imperial Guard. The Inspector General will light up and tell you what to do."
**
The next day, a shocking imperial order arrived from His Majesty the Emperor.
So shocking I doubted if the envoy before me was speaking truly.
I took the Emperor's decree from the envoy and checked again—same words.
..... Why? Fuck! Not wartime, and I have to interrogate and torment those bastards myself?