Is This a Trap or a Gift?
Over the past several days, while Aran was busy making a name for himself in the Imperial Palace, Bryden had been living it up in typical fashion—drinking heavily, gambling with thugs in his underground hideout, dragging off whichever woman caught his eye to sleep with, then repeating the cycle of drinking and gambling without a care in the world.
Because of that, he had no idea what kind of reputation Aran was building inside the palace, how many people were marveling at his skills, or how desperately they were trying to analyze even the smallest detail of his techniques. To Bryden, Aran was nothing more than the new guard recently assigned to Serena. At best, he was a treasonous criminal who had dared to neutralize his own men and ruin his mood.
Every time Serena’s approval among the citizens rose and voices calling for her to become the next emperor grew louder, Bryden made sure to harass her. The most effective method was to make it clear that serving Serena never ended well. On top of that, this Aran bastard had dared to offend him personally. That alone was more than enough reason to kill the man.
So he reached out to the useful ones among the forces that had voluntarily pledged themselves to him. These were the very people who had repeatedly succeeded in eliminating Serena’s subordinates—people Aran himself viewed as his own blades.
“Hey, Nergal. There’s a guy I need you to get rid of.”
“My, my. Who else would dare disturb Your Highness the Crown Prince’s peace?”
The group that introduced themselves as nothing more than a band of wandering mercenaries called Dawn. Their leader, a man named Nergal, greeted Bryden with a welcoming smile. Since Bryden always came to him with the same type of order, Nergal had taken to asking who needed to disappear before the prince even spoke.
At Nergal’s words, Bryden immediately issued the kill order.
“It seems my dear little sister still hasn’t learned her place and is trying to follow in my footsteps. She must think that if she can dig up even the slightest flaw and expose it, she’ll gain the upper hand.”
“Hahaha, at Her Highness the Princess’s age, it’s possible she’s still a bit immature.”
“I heard there was some kind of commotion near the underground hideout where my men were secretly researching pharmaceuticals. The only person who would bother going to a place like that is that bitch. As much as I’d love to just eliminate her… the cleanup would be impossible, so I suppose I should start with a clear warning, don’t you think?”
“Have you found a suitable target?”
At Nergal’s question, Bryden immediately named his mark.
“Some new guard who just joined Serena’s side… I forgot the name. I don’t bother remembering the names of lowly things. He had black hair and was quite large. The bastard gave me a serious insult today, so even if he weren’t Serena’s guard, that’s more than enough reason to kill him, isn’t it?”
“Insulting the imperial family is certainly more than enough reason to die. I will carry out your command, Your Highness the Crown Prince. The fact that you don’t know his name is no issue at all. Simply knowing he is the princess’s guard makes identifying him quite easy.”
“How long will it take?”
“If we move today, Your Highness—who had a minor conflict with him—might come under suspicion. We’ll act after about a day. Get some good rest, and when you wake up tomorrow morning, you should receive pleasant news.”
At Nergal’s words, Bryden laughed and clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly.
“As expected, you’re easy to talk to and quick to act. If the other bastards working under me had even half your decisiveness and ability, I would’ve taken the emperor’s throne long ago.”
“Hahaha, you flatter me. We are the ones who must demonstrate our loyalty to Your Highness, who trusts us and promises us so many benefits.”
Nergal bowed his head with a smile, then added one more thing.
“Then, if you’ll permit me, Your Highness, I’ll take my leave first. There are many preparations to make if we’re to eliminate the target quickly.”
“Hm? Oh, right. I’ve kept a busy man too long. Go on, then.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Watching Nergal disappear into the darkness of the underground hideout, Bryden snorted, already imagining the good news he would receive in a few days.
“Hmph. Both that Serena bitch and her so-called guard don’t know their place. It’s the duty of the future emperor to teach them what their place is.”
#####
After Aran left and more time had passed, once the chaos at the scene had been cleaned up, Bryden hid in another room he would be using for the time being. He buried himself under the blankets, trembling violently in terror.
The image of the assassin sliced clean in half refused to leave his mind. Neither would the sight of Aran climbing up the building’s outer wall with his bare hands, then suddenly appearing through the broken window. But what remained burned most vividly in his head was—
I will definitely find the one who ordered this and cut off his head, so rest easy. I will uncover the mastermind behind this assassin! And I’ll make him suffer the exact same fate before offering him to the imperial family! No matter what it takes, I’ll find him and make him regret ever being born!
The words Aran had spat while staring him straight in the eyes. To Bryden, they sounded like a warning that said, ‘Soon you’ll be the one cut in half.’
‘Damn it… damn it, why! Weren’t those guys supposed to be especially confident in their skills? They’ve never failed before, so why…? Is that bastard really that strong? No, that can’t be!’
In all the times Bryden had ordered Nergal to dispose of someone, the man had never once failed. He had never personally witnessed the skill of the assassins Nergal sent, but even those rumored to be the strongest among Serena’s guards had fallen to them. On top of that, they perfectly erased all evidence so no connection to him was ever discovered. They had never been seen by anyone, and their assassinations were disguised so flawlessly that no one could call them assassinations at all.
It should have ended with Aran dead, his cause of death listed as unknown—a perfectly disguised death that wouldn’t even allow anyone to imagine assassination. Yet…
‘How did he know? How did he dodge the kill? From the way he spoke, it definitely sounded like he was aiming at me! Could I have been found out? Did someone see me? Could it be that Serena bitch? No, no. Serena only found traces at the drug manufacturing hideout! There’s no way she discovered the existence of Dawn! Then how on earth…?’
Bryden trembled, clutching unresolvable questions, the fear that his tail might have been caught, and a vague terror of Aran’s unfathomable strength. On top of that, word had spread inside the palace that Serena’s guard Aran had stopped an assassin targeting the Crown Prince, so he couldn’t act recklessly.
If he tried to meet Nergal, too many guards were now attached to him, providing 24-hour close protection. And if he tried to assassinate Aran again, far too many eyes were now focused on the man. In the end, Bryden had become the one trapped. He spent the entire day in anxious frustration, not knowing what to do.
He couldn’t go gamble, couldn’t take drugs, couldn’t embrace a woman, couldn’t check on the drug manufacturing hideout, and couldn’t contact Dawn. Feeling incredibly stifled, Bryden lay in bed that night.
Then, in the newly assigned room, shadows began to creep up from the floor. From within them, a familiar figure suddenly emerged.
“Nergal…! Hup!”
Bryden called out as if seeing his savior, then hurriedly clapped a hand over his own mouth. However, Nergal smiled and reassured him.
“It’s fine, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I’ve already taken measures. Right now, no one in the vicinity can see us, hear us, or smell us. Though it won’t last long.”
“R-really…? That’s a relief. But what the hell happened! You said you were sending someone skilled, but the guy came flying into my room as a bisected corpse!”
Nergal’s expression hardened.
“That’s exactly why I came like this—I found it strange as well. Inside this palace, the only ones capable of doing that to our assassins would be the Captain of the Imperial Guard who protects His Majesty the Emperor, or the Blood Raven…”
“That guard of Serena I mentioned killed the assassin instead! Did you send a rookie with poor skills?”
“That is a most unfounded misunderstanding. There are no individuals among us with ‘poor skills.’ We do not let our guard down either. The only possibility is that this new guard named Aran is simply strong enough to surpass our assassins…”
Bewilderment filled Bryden’s eyes.
“I-is he really that strong?”
“I cannot know without seeing him myself. I would like to confirm with my own eyes, but there are limits to this disguise, and with the Blood Raven present in the palace, time is short. Still… that Aran fellow is concerning. Your Highness, I have a plan. If you would use this method…”
#####
The assassin who came to kill me ended up dead, and inside the palace I became known as the person who saved the Crown Prince’s life. No matter how bad the Crown Prince’s reputation was, my actions were still an exemplary display of risking my life to protect a member of the imperial family. As a result, the knights treated me—who wasn’t even a formal knight, just a guard—with the respect of a senior.
Even Amari came to me and said, “You accomplished something incredible. To be honest, I was secretly thinking of you as some lowborn nobody with an unknown background. For someone like you to show the model of a true knight… I was wrong. I apologize.”
The Red Magic Tower Master Heinkel went so far as to drool openly every time he looked at me, and the knights challenged me to spar every single day.
The truth—that the guy had come to assassinate me and that I had hurled his corpse into the Crown Prince’s room as a warning—was known only to me and Serena. She seemed to have vented some of her long-held grudges; she was in an exceptionally good mood and kept ordering all sorts of rare delicacies to be made for me without me even asking.
“Look at this! It’s a braised meat dish in the Eastern Continent style. The salty flavor is absolutely delicious!”
“Is there anything else you want? Hehe, I’m in such a great mood right now that I might just grant a request or two.”
“In that case, I won’t hold back…”
The fact that I had properly screwed over Bryden and delivered a physical threat as a warning no one else knew about had completely erased Serena’s wariness toward me. There was no reason to refuse when she offered to do things for me, so I gladly accepted everything she recommended and spent my days in luxurious comfort.
But after only a few days of such peaceful living, the Emperor summoned both me and Serena and made a proposal.
“I have been pondering how to repay you for saving my son’s life. Then the Crown Prince happened to make a good suggestion.”
At the mention that it was Bryden’s suggestion, Serena and I looked at each other at the same time. We were both certain there was some scheme behind it.
“There is a famous hot spring in the north with excellent quality, beautiful scenery, and health benefits. It’s usually so crowded that it’s hard to even find a place to stand. In recognition of your contributions, I have specially reserved the entire place in the name of the imperial family for a few days so you may enjoy it in comfort. What do you think?”
The smell of an obvious trap wafted strongly from the offer. The moment Serena heard it, she sensed it was one of Bryden’s tricks and gave me a small shake of her head. It clearly meant I should avoid it since it was obviously a trap.
I, as the loyal servant of the princess, chose to…
“The Emperor’s grace is as vast as the sea. I will gladly accept this gift!”
And immediately jumped straight into the trap.