Chapter 72

At those words, Duke Gregorius’s expression hardened.

“The Estrid family also has Keiden Estrid, a Swordmaster, and Luin Bert, so I believe that idea is impossible.”

Amarel irritably ran her fingers through her hair. Her once-neat style came disheveled, with several strands sticking out, and she disliked the sight of it.

“Because of the recent request from the Sansha Kingdom, the Swordmasters Keiden and Luin will be conscripted. Then if we aim for that time…….”

Duke Gregorius let out a deep sigh.

“The dispatch to the Sansha Kingdom will take place two weeks after the Grand Duke investiture ceremony. As the Grand Duke investiture will already be over by then, it is far removed from the present matter.”

“Then I shall move His Majesty and have him send them to help the Sansha Kingdom immediately.”

A cold sweat broke out on Duke Gregorius. He was already crossing a dangerous bridge together with Amarel, but if the Emperor became involved here, then it was obvious that the fact they had sent assassins after the First Prince would instead be exposed.

The First Prince, for whatever he was thinking, had not spoken to the Emperor about the assassins, but if Amarel were to whisper into the Emperor’s ear, it was obvious that the matter would not pass cleanly.

If the First Prince revealed Amarel’s inner thoughts to the Emperor and to the entire nobility, Amarel would be sent to the gallows for the crime of trying to kill the First Prince. At that moment, Duke Gregorius suddenly felt as though his mind had cleared completely.

“Your Majesty, one option may be to stop here instead of trying to kill the First Prince. The First Prince may instead be trying to capture the assassins and prove that you and I attempted to assassinate him.”

But Amarel merely gave a scoffing snort.

“He is killing the assassins one after another without fail, so do you really think he is trying to prove that? And even if he were to try, those people were trained to kill themselves when unavoidable, so they would never rashly speak either my name or your name, Duke.”

“That may be so, however……. if Senem is captured, the story changes.”

For a moment, Amarel was silent. Senem was a Sword Expert and the talent representing the Duke Gregorius family. If he were captured while trying to directly attack the First Prince, it was obvious that the First Prince would not allow Senem to kill himself and would instead use his very existence as proof that the Duke Gregorius family had tried to kill him.

When Amarel fell silent, Duke Gregorius’s insides burned. He regretted only thinking of this now, but it seemed that Senem had to be removed from this matter at once. Because Senem himself was the very evidence that could prove their intentions.

“……No. There will be no opportunity if not now. Deploy Senem as planned.”

“Your Majesty! If Senem were to die because of this…….”

Amarel placed a dark smile upon her lips.

“The First Prince will not stand by and let Senem die. Because he is proof itself. And if Senem is not captured, then it is the same as there being no evidence.”

“Even if the assassins are captured, that too may become evidence!”

“As I said, let them take their own lives. How much money have we spent? There is no way this can serve as proof. And even if he does try to prove it, His Majesty the Emperor is still on my side. Without definite evidence, he will not be able to tie me to it with nothing more than the testimony of a mere assassin.”

Amarel recalled the poisoning incident. Even the Emperor’s stern face had gradually softened when she tearfully appealed to him, and the sight of him looking helpless still remained vivid before her eyes. But since the Duke already knew that Amarel’s thinking was mistaken, he had to stop her somehow.

“Tell Senem never to be captured and only to take part lightly in the attack. If it seems he may be captured, then he must absolutely make sure that an assassin is caught instead of himself. Would that not do?”

“Your Majesty Amarel…….”

“It seems no more words are necessary. The next time, bring me the First Prince’s head. If not, then do not come at all. I have no need of you.”

Duke Gregorius’s insides burned, but there was nothing he could do with such an unyielding Amarel.

Once she issued the order for him to withdraw, he had no choice but to obey.

After coming out, Duke Gregorius was at a loss for words. Amarel absolutely did not wish for Senem to withdraw from the assassination, and if that was so, Senem too would choose to obey Amarel’s command.

‘Why in the world are you going this far…….’

With a sense of futility, Duke Gregorius turned his back. It seemed she had not been like this when Amarel had first married the Emperor, but rather, ever since the First Prince declared that he would give up the right of succession to the throne and become Grand Duke instead, she seemed to desire the imperial throne all the more. Even though, if she simply waited, the Second Prince could become Emperor.

‘You do not know that even what I can help with has its limits. Amarel…….’

Though he was supporting Amarel as her father, it was true that he was nervous about when the Emperor might discover it. As a father, his worry and sense of futility mixed together over when this precarious tightrope walk would end, wrapping around his heart like a storm.

***

“So you are alive, Bain.”

At the center of the hall of the estate he visited as soon as day broke, corpses were piled high. In the middle of them, Bain sat alone in a chair, resting, and the fact that he was covered in blood made it easy to imagine what had happened last night.

Ordinarily, Bain could not stand having blood splatter on his body, so he fought in a way that kept blood from staining him, but it seemed the battle had been so fierce that he had been unable to do so. From the sight of him nodding off, his fatigue could be felt, and the Mercenary King felt a pang in one corner of his heart.

“You have come, Master.”

“Yes. It is me. It seems you are not yet so far gone that you cannot recognize your Master.”

Bain laughed quietly.

“If I were unable to recognize you, Master, that would mean I had been cornered, but I was not in such a state just from dealing with assassins. They were manageable. What is regrettable is that I lack sleep. I would be grateful if you would watch over me while I sleep.”

The Mercenary King looked at Bain as if feeling sorry for him, then nodded.

“Yes. I will stand guard while you sleep. I came because it seemed you were suffering alone as it was.”

“Thank you.”

As though it was difficult for him to endure the sleepiness, Bain began dozing off while still seated in the chair. He wanted to tell him to go sleep on a bed, but since one never knew when or where an assassin might spring out, it would be safer for him to fall asleep while remaining on guard.

He toyed with the hilt of the sword at his waist, then drew it. Since it was morning, there would likely be fewer assassins, but there was no harm in preparing in advance.

‘To think he is trying to bear all this alone. This brat Bain still has not corrected his habit of overexerting himself.’

His disciple had always been like this. If a situation arose in which others might be harmed because of him, he would quietly step forward on his own and resolve it without burdening those people. When they were not close, that did not matter so much, but even after they had become close enough to speak casually to each other, he was still like this, and so the one receiving the consideration could not help but feel deeply disappointed.

‘Still, does this mean he has changed at least a little?’

Feeling pleased at the request to let him sleep, the Mercenary King detected the presence of someone creeping into the estate. It seemed perhaps because it was morning, there were no assassins trying to enter the estate. But without letting down his guard, the Mercenary King paced before the chair and guarded Bain.

Only when the sunlight had passed overhead and it had become around three in the afternoon did Bain open his eyes. Most of his fatigue seemed to have eased, and the whites beside his pupils were bright and clear.

“You are awake.”

Even until then, there had been no attack. Perhaps because they were mindful of eyes from outside, it seemed they did not attack while the sun was shining brightly.

But that too would change if the First Prince continued repelling assassins. It was obvious they would attack by any means necessary, so the Mercenary King thought it would be best for him to preserve his strength now.

“It seems you have recovered some stamina.”

“Even if one sleeps in a chair, sleep is still sleep, so my fatigue has been relieved for the most part.”

Bain spoke in a clear voice. At his disciple’s crisp attitude, the Mercenary King felt reassured. He had hidden Melissa and his son Shuhan in a safe house against any unforeseen event before coming here, so his disciple’s unwavering manner helped steady him.

“Yes. There is only one week left until the Grand Duke investiture ceremony, so you need only endure until then. I will come like this every morning and help, so endure properly during the nights alone.”

Bain rose from his seat with a soft smile.

“That is my intention as well. It is regrettable that I cannot see Reinel during that time, but that is a hundred times better than her being placed in danger.”

“Did you tell Keiden? That you would be plagued by assassins?”

Bain brightly curved the corners of his silver eyes. The red eyes hidden within his white lashes shone brilliantly.

“Of course I did. Keiden too will protect Reinel well in the meantime. His friend Luin Bert is also a Swordmaster, so there is no need to worry about Reinel’s safety.”