Anyway, the Old Man I'll Dispose Of
"Yeah. I don't know the exact date."
After finishing their bath, they could finally discuss business in a space free of any lascivious undertones—the woman he'd been eyeing from the start now within reach. Cesare scribbled notes on paper with his quill, jotting down the information he'd gleaned.
"The assassination is real. They'll probably use killing you, Lord Cesare, to kick off the full-scale war with Eri's faction."
"That damn Ios. Her whole family has always been at odds with me. The political scum who follow her are no different."
His speech, the situation, even his attitude and gestures—they were straight out of a gritty politician in one of our world's movies. As I always say, just because the world changes doesn't mean people do. The top's always rotten, and the rot trickles down. It's like a natural law, the same everywhere you go.
"We should round them all up and beat the hell out of them in chili paste. Those bastards never shake off their parasite ways, past or present."
Crack, crack. Cesare cracked his knuckles and downed a glass of strong liquor in one gulp. The boldness of a man who'd clearly held his own in drinking contests back in his prime. He didn't even flinch at the burn.
"Still pisses me off. Hey, Instructor Lee Hyun—what do you think? Why not just kill that bitch right now? Might as well chop the heads off everyone tangled up with her too."
Cesare leaned toward me, fingers interlaced, eyes full of expectation.
"War's coming soon anyway. Whether it starts now or later, it's all the same. Better to swing the sword first when we've got the edge."
"Lord Cesare, we need to think long-term. Say we take out Ios first—how do you plan to deal with the hyenas lurking around?"
"Those mangy beasts daring to bite a lion's neck?"
"These days, those beasts tear into the lion's throat without hesitation. Let's be cautious."
I slammed my hand on the table for emphasis, putting strength into my voice.
"Instead of that, why not lure them in?"
"Lure them?"
"Draw Ios into a trap so those sniffing-around beasts don't catch on."
A way to resolve it without risk? Cesare's face lit up with a satisfied smile, clearly intrigued again.
"You have a method?"
"We'll exploit Ios's impatience."
Cesare tilted his head.
"Impatience?"
"I've been plotting ways to catch Ios for a while now. But she's always slipped away like an eel."
Thud. I smacked the table hard.
"Still, my efforts have cost her plenty. She knows she's being cornered. She'll definitely strike at you rashly soon enough."
"Keep this in mind. Ios is one of the women we must eliminate, but she's top-tier even among the academy students. If we don't kill her cleanly, we'll be the ones who suffer."
"No need to worry. I have my own ways."
I widened my eyes, acting like they burned with madness to make Cesare mistake it for sincerity. But I was sincere. I just harbored the hidden truth that I'd take Cesare and Eri down too.
"Lord Cesare, I have just one request."
"What?"
"Once we've lured Ios into the trap, you need to buy us time."
"Buy time?"
I coaxed him as smoothly as possible, with a lie convincing enough to avoid suspicion.
"If we set up an ambush carelessly, Ios might notice. Assemble a unit of elite guards only and have them stand by, keeping the closest watch on her."
"I acknowledge that woman's skills. But wouldn't more men be better?"
"Act too hastily, and we'll just get spotted and waste manpower. We'll keep our distance monitoring; once the fight breaks out, we'll move in."
"Tch, not thrilled, but we'll have to take the risk. Where's the trap site?"
"The academy's rear garden."
The rear garden led to an artificial lake. Unless it was for underwater magic training or unleashing servants, no one came around much. Students wandered during class hours, but once dark fell, it was deserted. Eerie, with nothing but the lake.
"Not a bad spot. But how do we handle the cleanup?"
"We'll take care of it. Just buy the time, and I'll present Ios's head to you personally."
Cesare nodded contentedly, slumping back in his chair and crossing his arms. He stared at the ceiling, chuckling to himself, lost in the delusion that the whole plan revolved around him and basking in future fantasies of triumph.
"Good. Good. Finally, my long toil pays off. Once this is done, heh heh, the kingdom will soon..."
Cesare suddenly shut his mouth and flicked his gaze toward me. What? Why's he suddenly watching me?
"Time's gotten this late already. I'll head out. Tonight, I can finally sleep easy."
"To draw her in, you'll need to act careless for a while, Lord Cesare. You know that, right?"
"I can handle that much. Thanks for today."
Cesare quickly extended his hand, grasping mine. Seeming genuinely grateful, he patted the back of my hand and let out a sleazy chuckle.
"I'll make sure to reward you handsomely."
"If it pleases you, Lord Cesare, that's reward enough for me."
Heh heh heh, you sly old fox. I'm buzzing right over your nearly bald head. You've fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. I'd been on pins and needles that he might catch on, but he's head over heels for me like a love-struck fool.
I bid Cesare farewell and exited the annex. Before heading straight back to the dorm, I leaned against the wall at the entrance, waiting for someone.
"She should be coming out soon."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than students poured out from the annex entrance in a rush. It being late, they slipped away quietly without chatter, each heading to their dorms. Amid them, I spotted a familiar female student.
"How's your butt?"
"Eek! Oh, Instructor."
"Your butt."
She looked like she'd seen a ghost, then shifted to the awkward face of bumping into an ex.
"I-It's fine."
"Did you apply the ointment?"
"...No."
"Tch. Come here a sec."
I dragged the female student behind the annex. Her face full of worry, she watched as I pulled out recovery gel from my bag.
"What's that?"
"Ointment."
"Uh... okay."
"Butt out."
She flinched, clutching her skirt and shaking her head.
"N-No, I'm fine."
"No ointment means butt scars. Even light hits leave marks. It'll sting like hell in the morning."
"I'm really fine."
"Butt out before I give you real punishment."
Her face crumpling, she had no choice but to lift her skirt. Like a rear-entry pose, she faced the wall, sticking her butt out behind her.
"Someone might see—hurry up."
"What, it looks like something to misunderstand. I'm just strictly applying... nah, forget it."
I pulled her panties down myself and rubbed the ointment onto her butt.
"Eek. It's cold."
The chill turned to a burning warmth. She started panting softly. Her hands gripping her hiked-up skirt fidgeted, her legs trembling. A very familiar sight.
"Ugh... it burns..."
That should do it. I gave her butt a light smack to signal the end.
"Done."
I pulled her panties back up, and she turned, face flushed.
"Thank you. I'll be going now..."
"Why do this crap?"
Applying ointment wasn't the only reason, really. When I asked, she flushed this time from frustration.
"You don't need to know, Instructor. Anyway, you're..."
"I'm thinking of shutting this annex down soon."
She whipped around in shock. I stared indifferently at the annex.
"So I'll ask: are you coming here by choice, or forced?"
"......"
"Don't wanna say? Fine. I'm demolishing this place anyway."
"It's forced. They targeted me wrong."
The tension left her eyes. Knew it.
"But can you really do that, Instructor? Even if the academy ignores the kingdom, you can't just kick out envoys without cause."
"Without cause?"
"The director doesn't know what this annex really is. There's a clause keeping her out."
"Even so, this annex crossed the line hard."
"It's because of Envoy Cesare. He's been here long-term, and he's got big sway in the kingdom..."
"Not here."
I patted her shoulder and moved toward the annex front. She followed, whispering urgently.
"Wh-What do you mean? You're really tearing it down? But you seemed chummy with Cesare..."
"With that old geezer? Pfft, watch your mouth."
I giggled and headed back to the dorm.
"Just playing along with the old fart I'm gonna trash anyway."
"Coming along well?"
Ignil sat on the bench next to mine and asked. Propping my chin casually, I replied indifferently.
"Smoothly."
"Hope there are no variables."
"No variables. What worries me is something else."
"Tell me."
I glanced toward the academy's main building.
I muttered about Eri, somewhere in there.
"Plan's set to snag Ios, but that brat Eri's been too quiet. No idea what she's scheming—it's bugging me."
"That tiny thing's never been the type to wander unless it's class time. That's why she's hard to spot."
"Worried she'll slip away while we nab Cesare and Ios. Need to drag Eri out through Cesare, but they've never even crossed paths."
"...Don't worry about Eri for now. Keep eyes on Ios's moves. I'll watch Eri."
My gaze landed on Cesare. As per my advice, he walked through the park with far fewer guards than usual. Eyes watched him covertly. At first just one or two, but lately up to eight or nine.
"Tonight it begins."