Chapter 63
Chapter 63
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Mountain Duke, Steel Marquis, and Tactics Earl (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Do you know of the promise between myself and His Grace the Duke?”
“Don't think for a moment that I wouldn't know something like that, Sir Roennitz.”
That promise was known only to the Mountain Duke and Roennitz, but Raymond had seen the setting documents, so there was no way he wouldn't know.
“Let me ask you once more, Sir Roennitz. Do you believe the Mountain Duke will keep his promise to you?”
“If no variables arise, he will. My lips are sealed, after all.”
“And if a variable does arise?”
At Raymond's words, Roennitz's eyes widened once more. Seeing this, Raymond shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Tch! It seems you've been faithfully upholding your promise to retire. You truly know nothing...”
Roennitz was a noble who had served as the Mountain Duke's advisor. Naturally, he would have had his own independent intelligence network in that position, yet his inability to grasp the current flow of events suggested he had abandoned all his sources to honor his promise to the duke.
The settings described him as someone who always kept his word, but Raymond hadn't expected it to go this far. He clutched his forehead in frustration.
“I did hear that something irreverent happened at the sanctuary. Is this related?”
It was a sharp question, befitting a former advisor. The Mountain Duke was preparing for rebellion. Strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely unrelated to the Bloody Funeral at the sanctuary, so Raymond nodded slowly.
“War, or perhaps civil war. And since His Majesty the Emperor mentioned His Grace the Mountain Duke, it's clear he's involved at the very least.”
“Sharp as ever, just like the rumors.”
“Even if I've cut off all my informants, this is how I've made my living. You can assume my instincts are still intact.”
That was the most pleasing thing Raymond had heard so far. The very reason he'd come to see Roennitz today was to recruit him. If the man's instincts were completely dead, he'd be useless.
“Do you think the Mountain Duke will keep his promise?”
“If you truly care about me, please leave. If His Grace the Duke learns that His Majesty the Emperor came looking for me, it won't end pleasantly.”
Roennitz had a point. That was why Raymond couldn't push harder. After a brief moment of thought, he nodded and left the rundown library with his escorts.
“Will he be alright?”
Desia asked cautiously. Even to her, with no knowledge of intrigues or dukes, Roennitz seemed to be in a precarious situation.
“Of course he won't.”
Raymond replied as he stepped into a dark alley. He slowly raised his hand, and Shades emerged from the shadows.
“Your Majesty, did you summon us?”
“We stand ready to carry out your imperial command.”
“What is your will?”
The Shades bowed their heads. Raymond scanned them once with a satisfied expression before speaking calmly.
“Mobilize the maximum available personnel to guard the library and Sir Roennitz.”
“Your Majesty, excluding those currently monitoring the Mountain Duke, we don't have as many as you might think. It may be difficult to protect all the orphans in the library perfectly.”
The Shade leader stepped forward cautiously and bowed. They had lost some of their number during the Bloody Funeral, and most of the remainder were tied up surveilling the Mountain Duke and thwarting his schemes.
“Then let me ask just one thing. Can you definitely protect Sir Roennitz?”
Raymond inquired. If the answer was no, he'd have no choice but to risk exposure to the Mountain Duke and mobilize agents from the Central Intelligence Agency.
“One person? Yes, we can protect him with certainty.”
The responding Shade bowed politely. It was a sufficient answer. A faint smile tugged at Raymond's lips.
“Prioritize guarding Sir Roennitz, but make every effort to protect the library's children as well. In the worst case, request support from the Central Intelligence Agency. I'll have agents on standby nearby.”
If Central Intelligence agents directly guarded Roennitz, the Mountain Duke might notice, but simply positioning them around the slums was a minor movement he likely wouldn't pay much attention to.
“We shall carry out your imperial command.”
The Shades melted back into the darkness. Raymond's gaze turned upward. The sky was clearer than usual today.
“Gestain, what do you think?”
He asked quietly. Gestain hadn't been mentioned in ages, nor had he shown any sign, but he was under the Mountain Duke's command.
“Unlike me, Sir Roennitz knows many secrets. The Mountain Duke won't leave him be. If he's truly preparing a rebellion, he'll eliminate Sir Roennitz before full-scale war breaks out.”
Gestain's eyes gleamed coldly. Raymond nodded gravely in agreement.
“The Mountain Duke will definitely make a move, Your Majesty.”
Gestain's stiff voice scattered into the air.
Gestain's words proved correct—the Mountain Duke would indeed make a move.
He was unaware that Emperor Raymond had visited Roennitz, but with civil war looming, he sent assassins to the capital to eliminate the man who knew too many secrets.
The capital's defenses had tightened after the sanctuary incident, but they were concentrated in the inner city, making it easy for the Mountain Duke's assassins to scale the outer walls near the slums.
It was late at night. A few orphans with nowhere else to go were staying in the rundown library, and Roennitz couldn't bring himself to leave their side, his anxiety gnawing at him.
“I trust His Grace the Duke...”
He murmured quietly, as if hypnotizing himself. The sight was almost eerie.
“Please, let nothing happen.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and lay down on the bed. At that moment, a chilling gust of wind burst through the old window.
Roennitz bolted upright in alarm. Simultaneously, the secret warning magic circle he'd installed activated.
“Damn it!”
Blue mana rose from his hands. He poured all his power into a detection spell.
Suspicious presences surrounded the library—more than the magic circle had caught.
“Who the hell are you?!”
He couldn't identify them yet. Protecting the children came first. He woke the four sleeping kids and hurried out of the library. Sharp darts thudded into the spots where they'd just been.
“Wind Cutter!”
With his shout, razor-sharp blades of wind sliced outward. As both advisor and skilled senior mage, his precisely aimed Wind Cutter severed the arms and legs of three assassins.
“Aaaagh!”
“Gahk!”
Screams erupted. The revealed assassins collapsed, spraying blood. As if in retaliation, black-painted darts rained down from the air.
The target wasn't Roennitz. It was the small children to his right.
“You cowardly bastards!”
He bellowed. The shield he hastily erected protected the kids from the dart barrage, but he couldn't guarantee how long it would hold. The encirclement tightened from all sides. He couldn't see the hidden assassins, but he felt their presences.
The shield took the literal form of a barrier. Against an encirclement from front, back, left, and right, it couldn't shield them all.
“Shock!”
The ground trembled. Several assassins' stealth broke. But they ignored it, thrusting daggers toward the defenseless children. Roennitz tried desperately to block their cruel tactics, but he couldn't stop them all. Just as one assassin grabbed the youngest child's jaw from behind and raised his dagger—
“W-Wind... Gahk!”
He tried to cast. But it was no use. His disrupted focus left an opening, and a flying dagger grazed his side.
It was mana-infused; the wound was deep. Blood poured out. But he had no time to care. A precious young life was about to end before his eyes.
“No!”
A scream of despair.
“P-Please...”
He prayed to the gods. Spare this child's soul before me. And he bargained with the devils. Show them hell, and I'll give everything.
“Grk!”
Did his desperate wish reach them? Blood gushed from the assassin holding the child's throat. At the same moment, a group in black uniforms appeared.
The difference from the other assassins? They wore uniforms emblazoned with the Philius Empire's crest.
“Y-You...”
“By His Majesty's command.”
“We protect you.”
The Shades—the loyal shadows who guarded the imperial family and empire from the deepest darkness—had arrived. They exuded chilling killing intent toward those who dared defy the emperor.
“They threaten His Majesty. Kill them all.”
The Shade leader commanded coldly. The shadows moved. Excluding the few assigned to protect Roennitz and the children, they all targeted the other assassins.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“Gahk!”
Screams filled the air. A storm of blood raged. Only corpses remained in the wake of the black shadows' tempest.
“Wh-What in the world...”
The assassins were no match for the Shades. Over twenty elites were slaughtered in an instant by just six Shades.
“I-Impossible...”
The assassins' leader could only panic. Two-thirds of his handpicked elites had fallen in the blink of an eye—an utterly surreal scene.
Only seven assassins remained, none of the Shades had fallen, and escape was out of the question. The Shades pressed like a storm.
He had no moment even to order a retreat. Shades closed in, severing the throats of those blocking their path.
They weren't Hashashin, but these were still elite assassins. Overwhelmed by the vast power gap, the three survivors fled without hesitation.
“His Majesty commanded all be killed.”
“Pursue them.”
Those who defied the emperor could not live. At the leader's order, three Shades gave immediate chase, while the rest guarded Roennitz.
“Who are you people?”
“His Majesty sent us.”
The curt reply eased Roennitz's mind. The tactics the assassins had just used were formations he'd devised during his time under the Mountain Duke. He was certain the duke was behind the library attack.
“Did His Majesty send you to protect me?”
No answer. The Shade leader silently fired a signal flare skyward. Golden flames pierced the darkness.
More shadows emerged from the night. No hostility or killing intent. The Shades didn't draw weapons, so Roennitz relaxed and soothed the children.
“Central Intelligence Agency. His Majesty seeks Sir Roennitz.”
“You won't go alone.”
“No need to worry. The children can accompany you to the Imperial Capital. Reinforcements are en route to protect the others.”
Unlike the taciturn Shades, the agency agent explained calmly.
“Head to the capital first. His Majesty awaits.”
At the agent's words, Roennitz nodded with a grim face.
“Lead the way.”
Armed agency agents took the lead. On the wide road, a jet-black carriage waited.
“Please, board.”
Roennitz climbed in silently at the agent's guidance. The carriage sped nonstop. The Imperial Capital gates stood wide open—arrangements with the guards evidently made.
They passed through the capital to the Imperial Palace. The carriage halted before the grand building, and palace knights appeared.
“His Majesty awaits.”
The palace knight said calmly. Two attendants led the children to a quiet area.
With the emperor of the Philius Empire as their host in the palace itself, there was no need to worry about the children's safety. Roennitz nodded silently and followed the knight.
It was late. Instead of the audience chamber, the knight guided him to the emperor's office.
Golden-masked guards stood at the office doors.
“I'll open the door.”
The doors swung open. Inside, Emperor Raymond looked up from his reports.
“Do you still trust the Mountain Duke?”