Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Translation: godsn
At Count Etienne's residence.
From behind the firmly shut door came the sound of something shattering and breaking. After a long while, the servant finally emerged.
The people who had been anxiously listening to the commotion inside approached him.
"Umberto, are you alright?"
"Good heavens, your clothes are completely soaked. His Excellency must have... Here, use this to dry yourself quickly."
A conspicuous red wine stain had spread messily across his chest where the fox badge was pinned.
Umberto, Count Etienne's servant, was a young man with narrow eyes.
"It's fine. It seems His Lordship isn't in the best condition today."
Umberto wiped his forehead with a napkin and brushed it off, but everyone knew this wasn't just a one-time occurrence.
Among the ever-changing servants of Etienne, Umberto was the only one who hadn't been dismissed and still remained by his side.
"Lately, I don't know why he's been throwing such hysterical fits. He was always self-centered, but these days, it's like he's possessed by a demon."
People shook their heads disapprovingly. Umberto swallowed a bitter smile.
"Umberto, you should go back and rest first. We'll handle things here."
Only the butler, who knew the inside story, released him from duty.
Upon returning to his room, he irritably tossed aside the soaked handkerchief.
Why? Because he has nowhere left to vent his temper as he pleases.
Since the former Head Maid Cuisine died, the Minister had been unable to move freely in the mansion to avoid arousing the suspicions of the new Head Maid, Pinatelli.
Unable to visit the red-light district or bring in playthings as he used to, he was throwing tantrums left and right.
"Ugh. How much longer do I have to put up with this? It's disgusting, really."
Then he froze. He had spotted a small note wedged into the creaking window frame.
Umberto,
I know your secret.
Umberto frantically looked around.
Dust still settled on the window frame, and there were no traces on the outer wall.
It was early evening, not yet dark, and no one had returned to the quarters, leaving the surroundings eerily quiet.
"Who's playing such a pointless prank?"
He crumpled the note irritably and threw it out the window.
But the next day.
Red Fox.
Will you still ignore me now?
The new note slipped into the door frame was impossible to dismiss this time.
"Who came into my room? I said I'd handle the cleaning myself—no one else needs to come in!"
The head maid, startled by Umberto's rare outburst, replied with disbelief.
"What are you talking about? Everyone's too busy cleaning the mansion these days, trying not to upset His Lordship. Who would have time to go to the servants' quarters?"
"For heaven's sake, how many times do I have to say it? If you don't believe me, sit here all day and watch for yourself!"
Security at Count Etienne's residence was extremely tight. With the vile secrets Etienne hid scattered everywhere, no one could come and go as they pleased.
The fact that someone could slip past such strict surveillance and leave notes at will meant the other party was anything but ordinary.
Growing increasingly agitated, Umberto even took sick leave to track down the source of the notes. Yet, to his shock, he found no leads whatsoever.
"No, it must be a coincidence. There's no way they could know who I am..."
He nervously fiddled with the fox badge on his chest, muttering under his breath.
"Umberto, are you feeling better? His Excellency kept asking for you while you were away."
A few days later, Umberto returned to the palace empty-handed.
Though not a court official, as a servant, he had to accompany his master, Etienne.
But when he arrived at the Minister's office, a note of the same color as the ones from the count's residence lay on his desk.
Scrawled across it were a jumble of alphabets, numbers, and strange symbols in chaotic handwriting.
Umberto's face turned deathly pale as he clutched the parchment.
H-how did this...
The jumbled lines scrawled across the parchment were, in fact, a cipher.
Do not seek me out any further, Kensington's spy.
For it will not be me who is exposed—
but you.
And in the language of Kazen, no less.
The fact that they knew the empire's cipher techniques was shocking enough, but what truly horrified him was something else entirely.
—Kensington's spy.
'H-he knows my true identity!'
It hadn't been a coincidence that they had called him the Red Fox.
'How the hell did he find out? Where did I slip up?'
The final encrypted note shattered Umberto's resolve to track down his opponent.
'No matter what, I can't let my identity be exposed. The fact that they're contacting me means they still want something from me.'
What do they want?
He wrote his reply in cipher and hung it on the windowsill.
By the time half a day had passed, the note he had left had vanished—replaced by a small pouch.
Deliver this to your master.
When he opened the box, a faint, fresh fragrance brushed against the tip of his nose.
"......Incense?"
Umberto froze.
The lingering, alluring scent that clung to his nostrils carried an inexplicably ominous air.
'Etienne's hobby is collecting incense. That filthy bastard only lights them when he's indulging in his nightly activities.'
But lately, Etienne had been forced into abstinence, using incense to soothe his rage and desires.
'Are they trying to use me to eliminate Etienne?'
He shook his head and wrote another note.
Impossible. Too dangerous.
The reply that came back, however, was chilling.
Surely it would be easier than watching your comrades in Osof lose their heads?
"Osof......! How do they even know about that?!"
Umberto's fingertips trembled.
The spies sent by the Leader were scattered across the continent—even among the nomadic tribes currently at war with Valdina.
Osof was the capital of the Lasai Tribe, infamous for being the most savage and cruel among them.
They knew about foreign enemies and the private affairs of domestic officials alike. The sheer extent of their intelligence network no longer inspired awe—only fear.
'Better to hand over one rabid pig than let all my comrades in Osof be exposed.'
Not long ago, he had received orders to return to the homeland—a tacit admission from his superiors that they no longer saw value in keeping Etienne around.
With the feeling of a noose tightening around his neck, he acquiesced.
The next day, in Etienne's bedchamber.
A few harsh beams of sunlight pierced through the curtains, stabbing at his eyes, and Etienne—buried in his bed—scowled as deeply as his face would allow.
"My apologies, my lord. The time for your audience at the palace approaches."
"Shut your mouth. Who the hell do you think you are, ordering me around, you worm...?"
Etienne spewed a stream of obscenities unfit for a servant's ears. His head throbbed, likely from the strong liquor he had downed late into the night.
Then, a sweet fragrance brushed against his nose.
"......Hmm?"
The refined, soothing scent made Etienne crack his eyes halfway open.
In his bleary vision, he saw a servant lingering near the candelabra.
"Is that a new incense?"
"Ah, no. It was among the gifts Baron Gillion sent last time when he requested a promotion."
Umberto smoothly delivered the prepared excuse.
'If I say it's new, he'll come after me first if something goes wrong. I can't let that happen.'
If anything were to happen to Etienne because of that incense, he could buy himself enough time to escape by throwing Baron Girion under the bus.
"...That bug deserves to be crushed underfoot!"
Just then, an ashtray suddenly flew through the air, striking Umberto squarely in the chest before clattering to the floor.
Etienne bared his yellowed teeth and spat.
"Didn't I tell you to bring anything good or valuable to me immediately? Don't hold back—light it up, quick!"
It seemed the irritation he'd soothed with the sweet fragrance was flaring up again.
"Stupid piglet, you should be grateful you're living the high life thanks to me. When would a worthless thing like you ever get to smell such fine incense again?"
His flabby white belly jiggled as he ranted, making the sight even more repulsive.
Umberto clenched the serpent-shaped incense tightly in his hand.
"Yes, of course. Every bit of this lowly one's fortune is thanks to you, my lord. With every breath I take, I pray while envisioning your magnificent presence and sculpted smile."
The smooth, cool texture of the incense somehow felt pleasing. His hand no longer hesitated as he lit it.
"At least you've got an eye for quality..."
The enchanting fragrance soon filled the room.
Satisfied, Etienne buried his face back into the pillow. His quivering flesh disappeared between the white sheets.
Returning to his room, Umberto roughly scrawled a note and slipped it into the window frame.
Operation complete.
Early in the morning, a small cart loaded with groceries departed from Count Etienne's residence.
A boy in a straw hat sat at the front, guiding the ox forward. Clatter-clatter-clatter—the wheels rattled noisily over the uneven road.
Just as the ox was about to enter the marketplace of District 3, where the vegetable stalls stood—
"Tom. Delivery went well?"
At the voice of the stranger who had climbed onto the cart, the boy lifted his straw hat. His freckled face broke into a grin.
"What kind of question is that? When have you ever seen the indomitable Tom do a half-assed job?"
He handed over a piece of parchment.
"But that servant—what was his background? The way he moves, the way he covers his tracks... No matter how I look at it, he seems like one of ours."
"That's none of your concern."
"After working me this hard, Her Highness still doesn't trust me? How heartbreaking."
Tom pouted exaggeratedly.
"It's not Her Highness who doesn't trust you—it's me."
"Hmph. The Master told me to become Her Highness's hands and feet. So technically, I'm her subordinate too. Neril, are you scared I'll steal your position?"
"Her Highness gave this to you. I'm leaving."
Without another word, Neril tossed Tom a pouch before leaping off the cart in one swift motion.
The pouch was filled to the brim with gold coins. Tom gave a bitter smile. No one pays their subordinates—this was the line Her Highness had drawn.
"If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've sent someone else back then."
Had he come off as unlikeable?
An uncharacteristically deep regret lingered in his chest.
Perhaps it was because he had personally witnessed the changing faces of the commoners in the Veterans' Village—the settlement Her Highness had built for them.
The Princess's Palace.
"Your Highness. Etienne's servant has made his move."
Neril handed over Umberto's note.
Upon seeing the words "Operation Commenced," Medeia gave a slight nod.
"You've worked hard. Neril, your concealment skills were a great help once again."
At Medeia's praise, Neril wore a faint smile. It was a shy expression, incongruous with her exceptional skills that could evade even the most seasoned spies' notice.
"Think nothing of it. But, Your Highness, how did you know he was an imperial spy?"
"Well, you see..."
Medeia had first spotted Umberto when she was being punished by the Queen Dowager in the chapel.
"You must not approach her."
"Tsk! Just for a moment, I said!"
"Minister! What is this insolence?"
Amid the commotion of the Queen Dowager's maids and the minister's attendants clashing, one attendant wrestling with a maid caught her eye.
His face seemed vaguely familiar, and just as she was wavering in recognition, the violent scuffle tore open the man's chest.
A small fox-shaped badge rolled out, clattering to a stop right before Medeia's feet—and she knew for certain.
'Why would Countess Kensington's spy be in Valdina?'
It was the symbol of the "Red Fox," the covert unit employed by Countess Kensington—a fact known only to a select few within the empire.
Countess Louisa Kensington had been a meritorious retainer of the Kazen Empire.
She had supported the current Emperor Perdiccas II since his days as a mere prince.
When the late Emperor Alkethas II died suddenly of illness, his younger brother Perdiccas II ascended the throne in place of his young son.
Kensington had poured even her personal fortune into establishing an independent intelligence network across the empire, demonstrating unwavering loyalty.
That Perdiccas II could eliminate his formidable brothers and claim the throne was thanks to Countess Kensington.
Through the spies she had hidden everywhere, he could anticipate and prepare for assassinations and rebellions—secret plots laid bare before him.
But perhaps her loyalty had been too great. Once his goal was achieved, Perdiccas II sought to kill her and seize control of her spies.
In the end, Kensington was hounded by the Emperor's Shadows and starved to death.
The "Red Fox Group" likewise disbanded, vanishing without a trace.
That Medeia had recognized the spy's face at a glance was due to Iason.
"Medeia, I must absorb Countess Kensington's spies before my uncle takes them all. What should I do? Help me."
"Don't worry, my dear."
Using her former status as Princess of Valdina, she scoured scattered connections and dispatched agents to locate the spies.
She leveraged their fury toward the current Emperor to enlist them in the campaign.
Ultimately, they became Iason's hidden hands and feet—his most formidable force in eliminating rivals to the throne.
All of it was Medeia's doing.
'How foolish.'
Yet her fate was no different from Countess Kensington's.
'Iason. In this life, you won't receive their aid.'
She would ensure neither the Countess nor her Red Fox Group could ever become Iason's tools.
First, she would maneuver the attendant Umberto to eliminate Minister Etienne.
And through that connection, her ultimate goal was to bring Countess Kensington herself into the fold.
Medeia curled the corner of her lips.
'Since I made you Emperor, I'll be the one to tear you down.'
At her uncharacteristic smirk, Neril looked bewildered.
"Never mind. Let's prepare to leave."
The trap for Etienne had been set. Now, it was time to meet the hunter who would snare him.