Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed (12)

“Dammit…”

With a pale complexion, Gafel nervously paced back and forth. The room was a mess, filled with broken objects from his earlier tantrum.

The maid who had delivered the letter had disappeared. No, more precisely, she had vanished without a trace.

It was clear she had fled in fear.

“That lowly woman…”

If he had paid more attention, he might have noticed something was off, but Gafel hadn’t been in his right mind recently.

Once again, the sound of objects shattering echoed in the room. After the crashing noise died down, Gafel took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Although his thoughts were clearly irrational, he didn’t recognize his own instability.

“How much money did I spend on this, damn it!”

More than losing a strategy for the greater plan, Gafel was furious at the money he had wasted. His mother had sold her jewels to provide some of the funds, but it still wasn’t enough.

Just yesterday, he had visited the gambling house. After throwing money in the faces of the unlucky bastards, he got what he wanted, but it still wasn’t enough.

Even though the amount of cigarettes he received from those bastards had increased compared to the first time, it still wasn’t enough.

“This is no good.”

Gafel, trembling, scratched his own arms in desperation before rushing out of the room. He passed by the servants who were crouching in the corridor, trembling, without a second thought, as if they were mere insects on the roadside.

One of the servants, who had been crouching, was unknowingly glowing with a strange light in his eyes.

“Prepare the carriage!”

He harshly urged the coachman, heading towards the gambling house like a storm.

It was still early enough that the filthy alley was just starting to be illuminated by the sun. Naturally, illegal activities hadn’t even begun yet.

“Open the door! You bastards, now!”

Despite this, Gafel angrily slammed his fists against the wooden door of the dilapidated building used as the gambling house. His violent behavior showed that he hadn’t even considered the attention of others.

“No, Lord Gafel…?”

An elderly man appeared from inside. His hunched back and the servile expression on his face overflowed with submission as he looked at Gafel.

Gafel pushed the man aside and immediately entered the building, demanding with urgency.

“Bring it.”

The man, even more servile, bent even lower. However, he carefully glanced up and down at Gafel before cautiously asking.

“…Did you bring the money?”

“Does this bastard even know who I am!”

As if it were obvious, Gafel raised his arm. Having seen this many times before, the man naturally covered his head and fell to the floor.

“Calm down.”

At the same time, a large servant came out from inside. It seemed like a familiar scene, as Gafel often caused a ruckus at the gambling house, and the servant was used to stepping in to stop him.

“Money!”

Anger surged even more, but Gafel held back, retreating instead. He had already been warned several times for causing disturbances. If this continued, he’d be banned from entering.

It was an incredibly humiliating situation, all because his money supply had been cut off. Unable to contain his anger, Gafel shouted like a madman again.

“The income from the Coal will resume soon! Our family will take charge of the business, and these arrogant bastards—!”

“Ah, I see. My apologies for the inconvenience.”

The baron had completely forgotten the confidentiality he had sworn to maintain.

The owner of the gambling house, feigning submission, secretly smirked with a cold smile.

“Now, now, please sit down.”

The man skillfully soothed Gafel and led him deeper into the gambling house. The place, reeking of a foul odor, was cloaked in darkness. Gafel sat down at a nearby table piled with barrels of alcohol, his face contorted in displeasure.

“However, unfortunately, I don’t keep things stockpiled here…”

“Then have the people who are holding the goods come here immediately!”

“Ah, please, be patient. You know, those bastards don’t even recognize the greatness of Lord Gafel and only care about money, those good-for-nothing ruffians.”

As he poured Gafel a drink, the man slyly continued his chatter. Despite gulping down the liquor, Gafel’s trembling hands showed no signs of calming down.

Damn money. This could all be solved if his father wasn’t so stingy.

As Gafel simmered in his thoughts, a particularly crafty remark reached his ears.

“However, if Lord Gafel were to show results quickly, perhaps the baron might reconsider, yes?”

“That’s right. How many strings of money does my father still control?”

“Indeed, it’s the mighty Tromperie family. Surely, there’s no place where money can’t be found.”

Gafel nodded in agreement, indirectly confirming that his family’s power was still intact. He had long ago used his father as an excuse to demand money, so he didn’t find it strange when the man suddenly brought up the baron.

“Results… results…”

The mention of results reminded Gafel of the maid who had vanished. Once again, irritation surged within him, and he scowled viciously.

 “There must be a way. Lord Gafel’s abilities, they are unmatched in this field, aren’t they?”

The only thing unmatched about Gafel was the bastard’s vile nature, but the owner of the gambling house continued to slyly chatter.

“A way… Yeah, there must be a way…”

Without realizing it, Gafel struggled to think through his muddled thoughts.

The method of sending the letter had been a mistake. There was no opening except for that maid.

But he still hadn’t told his father that this plan had failed. He was worried that the already narrowing flow of money would come to a complete stop.

Then, suddenly, Gafel realized something.

What was the reason he had sent that letter in the first place? He was trying to secure Larie and that bastard, wasn’t he?

“In that sense… Hah… What I had planned to use, here…”

“Give it to me!”

Gafel snatched what the owner handed him with aggression, his eyes once again clouded.

Yes. The important thing was to get Larie and that bastard.

If he could secure them quickly, it wouldn’t be a problem. Though it seemed reckless, just having their blood would mean that half of the grand plan was already accomplished. His father would surely be pleased with Gafel’s decision.

Still unaware that he was rationalizing his broken thoughts, Gafel grinned maliciously.

❖ ❖ ❖

“They’ve fallen for it.”

At the knight’s report, Terian slowly nodded. He was remarkably calm, even when he heard that assassins were on their way to the palace to target him.

“Your Majesty, do you really need to go this far…?”

“It has already been decided.”

Although the chamberlain tried to dissuade him, Terian’s resolve was unwavering. The knights guarding him were visibly more tense.

The Imperial Guard, upon hearing that the Emperor himself was planning to be the bait, naturally opposed the idea vehemently. In the end, due to his stubborn will, they compromised by placing several knights in the office to ensure his safety.

The plan to assassinate the Emperor was nothing but a foolish endeavor. Especially when it was so clearly anticipated in advance.

Attempting such a thing on a night that was nearly a fortnight old was even more foolish.

“They will arrive soon.”

Terian’s calm tone showed no signs of wavering. Yet, an inexplicable sense of foreboding continued to trouble him.

He planned to capture the assassins and interrogate them thoroughly. He would make them reveal everything related to Tromperie.

Afterward, the plan was to shift the blame solely onto Gafel, the son of Baron Tromperie, making him the sole perpetrator, as Gafel still did not hold a noble title.

However, it was clear that the responsibility would eventually fall on Gafel’s father, Baron Tromperie. Consequently, the baron would be forced to relinquish his position as head of the family.

The reason for limiting the responsibility to an individual and not the entire family was to preserve the Tromperie House. After all, for Larie’s sake, the family itself needed to survive.

There would be considerable resistance, but Terian had enough power to suppress it.

The assets would be confiscated, and one of the baron’s collateral relatives would be placed as the head of the family. Just as Gafel had intended to use the family for his own purposes.

By declaring that the confiscated wealth would be used for the relief of the poor at the Empress’s direction, Larie’s reputation could be partially restored.

It should work. So why did he feel so uneasy?

“How many knights are there in the Empress’s palace right now?”

“Five, Your Majesty.”

At the knight’s prompt response, Terian narrowed his eyes. The tapping of his fingers on the chair seemed to reflect his deep contemplation.

After much thought, he gave his command.

“Increase the number of knights. Add soldiers as well.”

“Your Majesty, at this moment…”

Naturally, a protest arose. However, Terian simply directed a brief look toward the Captain of the Guard.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

The Captain bowed, though his face showed clear discomfort. The Captain of the Guard was absent due to other pressing matters, and it seemed the officer felt the weight of the situation bearing heavily on him.

A few more knights headed towards the Empress’s palace. A significant portion of the soldiers guarding the exterior also moved out to protect the outskirts of the palace.

Yet, despite this, Terian could not shake the strange feeling of unease.

❖ ❖ ❖

The leader of the assassins leading the group cursed under his breath.

“Those damn Tromperie bastards. If I survive this, I’ll kill them for sure.”

They hadn’t volunteered for this reckless operation in the first place. From the beginning, the Tromperie Baron had approached them under the guise of needing help for something else, using every dirty trick to exploit their weaknesses.

It wasn’t until later that they finally revealed their true target. The Emperor. How could they kill the one who was lifting this Empire? And this Emperor, on top of that, didn’t trust anyone around him, and his own strength was well-known.

“Damn it. I have to carry out this altered request…”

That’s why the leader had reluctantly moved his men under the disorganized orders of someone like Gafel, not the Baron. Even though they had taken the Baron’s seal ring, Gafel’s orders were scattered and unclear. To think that a man who made a living killing people would ask for a kidnapping.

But the leader pretended not to notice, deciding to go along with the revised plan. Instead of targeting the Emperor in his heavily guarded palace, it seemed smarter to infiltrate the Empress’s palace. The terrain, with the surrounding forest, made it a better place for a potential escape.

Besides, Gafel had said that if things got desperate, they could kill the woman and just take the kid. He’d heard the woman was the Emperor’s sister, but the reason behind it didn’t concern him.

From the start, for the sake of an easier escape, the leader had planned to only keep the child alive.

“There are concentrated forces on the way to the imperial palace.”

One of his subordinates, who had gone out to scout, reported carefully.

The entire time Terian listened to the report, a sense of foreboding stabbed the back of his mind. Despite the presence of troops, there was something oddly sloppy about the arrangement. It felt strangely vulnerable.

Seeing the sloppy state of things, the leader even began to consider that it might be better to kill the Emperor after all.

However, he quickly shook his head and issued a command. Quietly signaling a few of his expendable subordinates with a glance, he said,

“…Send a few of them that way as a distraction, the rest follow me.”

The subordinates didn’t even know exactly who they were targeting. It was only after a few of them headed towards the Emperor as a diversion that the leader began to move quietly. His plan was to handle things quickly and escape with the child, even if it meant doing it alone.

‘…But if things go wrong, I’ll kill the child and escape then.’

His eyes gleamed coldly as he silently mulled over his plan.