Chapter 45
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Omen (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In a small study within the Maier estate.
Countess Maier looked at her trusted knight, Kedol.
Kedol was a knight the Countess had brought from her own family when she married, and he had continued to serve as a bridge between her and her maiden home.
He was also the one who, along with the handmaiden Amy, handled the messier affairs within the estate.
With a book open on the table, Countess Maier began a quiet, secret conversation with Sir Kedol.
"Sir Kedol. The news we spoke of before... I believe it's certain now."
"Are you referring to Palios?"
"Yes. They say Palios no longer accompanies that boy, Rex."
Sir Palios was an exceptional knight who followed the firstborn son, Rex Maier.
He was a man who had sworn loyalty to Count Maier and was protecting Rex according to his own convictions and the Count's command.
The loyalty of Sir Palios, who guarded Rex at all times, was a considerable nuisance to the Countess, who wished to eliminate Rex.
But recently, he had been seen keeping his distance from Rex.
It wasn't difficult for Countess Maier, who had been watching Palios and Rex, to figure out why.
Ever since the day Rex claimed he had been attacked during an outing, a strange knight had begun to follow him.
"It must be because of that fellow, Evan."
The knight, Evan.
He was said to have saved Rex when he was attacked during an outing and had newly sworn his loyalty to him.
Rex had taken in Evan, who had been a freelance knight, and thanks to Rex's strong support, he had entered the castle without difficulty.
Evan had pushed aside Palios, the closest aide, and usurped his position, so it was only natural for Palios to distance himself from Rexor so the Countess thought.
"Sir Kedol. I believe this is an opportunity."
"An opportunity to execute the plan we've been postponing?"
Of course, the disappearance of Palios, who had been a thorn in her side, was a kind of opportunity for Countess Maier.
Until now, she had been unable to lay a hand on Rex, considering Palios's family and his martial prowess.
But now that Palios was gone, she could make her move whenever the Count was away.
In the minds of Countess Maier and Kedol, countless plans to eliminate Rex had been stockpiled.
She nodded at Kedol's words with a satisfied expression.
"Of course. We can't just let that child be forever."
"You are right. For the sake of Lord Max's future, Rex Maier must be dealt with quickly."
Most of the vassals of the Count's family, including Countess Maier's own kin, already supported Max.
The matter of succession was, for all intents and purposes, already decided.
No matter how hard Rex tried to overturn the situation, his lack of supporters was a significant limitation.
The only reason the Count had yet to declare an heir was because the firstborn, Rex Maier, was still holding on.
As far as Countess Maier was concerned, she wanted to deal with Rex as quickly as possible and solidify Max's position as heir.
"It's best for the heir's education to begin as early as possible."
"I am already looking forward to when Lord Max, having received a fine education, becomes the Count. He will surely be a great lord."
The vassals who followed Max were just as eager to confirm the line of succession.
After all, the reason they had chosen a side so quickly was to reap the benefits that followed.
For them to get even a crumb of the spoils, things had to proceed swiftly.
Kedol, too, was awaiting the profits that would come with the succession of the Count's title.
As Kedol offered his flattery with a face full of expectation, Countess Maier laughed, unfurling her fan with a flourish.
"That's Sir Kedol for you. To think you understand my heart so well."
"Having served you for the longest time, is it not a matter of course?"
"Excellent. Sir Kedol, for the sake of that future, let's devise a way to dispose of that inadequate boy, Rex."
The first thing they had to do to achieve their goal was to select a plan to get rid of the eyesore, Rex Maier.
Even as the Countess, she had to be cautious when it came to eliminating a noble.
Killing Rex outright would create a mountain of troublesome problems.
Maintaining appearances and justifications was essential for a noble.
Therefore, they needed to choose a suitable time and place to deal with Rex and his knight.
"First, he will be going out in a fortnight."
"The Count is going out Then we will need to get Rex out of the main castle as well."
The deed absolutely had to be done while the Count was away.
This was to buy enough time to clean up the incident.
Furthermore, depending on where the commotion occurred, the person to whom they could shift the blame would change.
Naturally, causing a scene within the main castle was problematic.
If Rex died in the main castle, it was highly likely to escalate into a problem between the Countess and the Count.
The disposal had to be carried out in a place where it would cause as little trouble as possible.
"What would be the best way to dispose of Rex?"
"How about we give Rex an opportunity?"
"An opportunity?"
At Kedol's words, the Countess leaned in to listen.
Suddenly giving an opportunity to the person they intended to kill.
It was a difficult notion for the Countess to comprehend.
As the Countess grew curious, Kedol continued to explain the plan.
"We give him a chance to achieve something of merit and send him outside."
"Merit? What on earth do you mean?"
"There is an abandoned fortress to the southeast. As the empire's territory expanded, its value diminished, and more importantly, it's old and ruined, so no one maintains it."
"There was such a fortress?"
"Indeed. So, we'll say the bandits who have occupied the fortress are a nuisance, give Rex some soldiers, and send him to subjugate them."
Rex was already desperate to secure his position.
If the Count were to propose the subjugation of bandits to Rex, Rex would have no reason to refuse the offer.
To Countess Maier, Kedol's plan had a high chance of success.
Pleased with his proposal, she asked him for more details.
"Will you be preparing the bandits, Sir Kedol?"
"Of course. It's also a good location to hide assassins. Rex will never return alive."
"An excellent plan."
"However, matters such as the number of soldiers and the plan to send Rex out I'm afraid you will have to persuade the Count yourself."
"Moving him will not be difficult. Sir Kedol, proceed with the plan as you've described."
Nearly a decade had passed since Countess Maier had married into the Count's family.
For her, manipulating the affairs of the Count's domain was not a difficult task.
Count Maier was a man with a fiery temperament, but she knew very well how to handle men like him.
Lending her support to Kedol's plan would be simple.
"I suppose we'll soon be able to see Max as the eldest son of the family."
If the plan went accordingly, there would be no more obstacles in Max Maier's path.
Snap.
Snapping her fan shut, the Countess smiled, imagining a brilliant future.
Never dreaming of what was to befall her.
"A clean job they've done."
Agent Period, a first-class investigator from Cloud, muttered to himself as he surveyed the empty village.
A bowl filled to the brim with food.
And scorch marks etched into the ground.
Except for the people who must have lived in this village, the traces of life remained exactly as they had been.
Only the people had vanished from the village.
It was a scene that would strike anyone as bizarre.
"So this is what the report was talking about."
The scene before Agent Period's eyes matched the contents of a report that had already been filed.
If a battle had occurred, there should have been bloodstains somewhere, but there were no such traces anywhere in the village.
Only the cold, lingering evidence that they had once lived here remained.
Flies were already swarming in the soup, which looked as if the villagers had just ladled it out to eat.
A fair amount of time had passed since the village had been abandoned.
If someone could make the people of a village this size disappear in an instant, then the disappearance of the Inquisitor was entirely plausible.
"In a situation like this, it wouldn't be strange for an Inquisitor to disappear."
The villagers had vanished without a trace of movement.
As far as Agent Period knew, not many were capable of such a feat.
The cult of an evil god.
Or a high-ranking necromancer who dealt with corpses.
The cult's followers offered human lives as sacrifices to their evil god, while high-ranking necromancers used the dead to fuel their magic.
The scene before him was the work of those who operated in such realms.
Either way, the opponent was dangerous.
"A necromancer would probably be quicker to deal with than the cult. But the fact that the missing person is an Inquisitor troubles me."
Necromancers, due to their peculiar dispositions, often failed to form groups.
Therefore, if the opponent was a necromancer, Agent Period could attempt to subjugate them alone.
But if it was the cult, that was a different story.
No matter how strong Agent Period was, he could not fight all the members of the cult by himself.
Numbers had to be met with numbers.
To subjugate the cult, he would have to bring in an appropriate number of personnel from Cloud.
"Hmm"
This was also an efficient method for searching for either the cult or a necromancer.
If he brought in a few more investigators from Cloud, they would gain momentum in pinpointing the enemy's location.
The cult and a necromancer.
Torn between the two, Agent Period, after long deliberation, decided to lean toward the former.
News of the Hero's appearance had already spread throughout the empire.
The reason an Inquisitor from the Holy See had arrived around the same time was likely because they were tracking traces of the cult.
Above all, there was nothing to lose by preparing thoroughly.
"First, I should mark the location."
Having reached a conclusion, Agent Period pulled out a hand-drawn map from his coat.
The map of the Senterius region was an item permitted only to Agent Period, the branch chief within Cloud.
Whenever he had free time, Agent Period would study the map and often sketch out rough maps for his personal use.
This was so he could personally mark the locations whenever a widespread incident occurred.
He took out the rough map showing the approximate location of the village and made a mark for each place mentioned in the reports and the one he had just visited.
The marked villages all tended to be clustered in a similar area.
"If I investigate a few more places, I should be able to get a rough sense of their direction."
The marks on the tattered map were evidence of the enemy's range of activity.
By calculating the order in which the villages disappeared, it was even possible to deduce the direction of the enemy's movement.
If he brought in Cloud's investigation team and calculated the perimeter of the vanished villages, they would soon be able to find the enemy's location.
Having made a rough assessment of the opponent, Agent Period turned and walked toward his tethered horse.
Thud. Thud.
Only the sound of Agent's footsteps echoed through the desolate village.