Volume 5 - CH 2.13

The town of Taroma was developed on a wide open land inside a forest. Therefore, the outskirts were practically adjacent to a forest that was already dense.

As a land to escape the looks of gossipy, curious onlookers and live in seclusion, it probably wasn’t bad. Taroma was originally a town that travellers going through the forest would stop at just to rest, and when it came to the outskirts, they were even more deserted.

In that sense—for Lucius’s party tonight—it was a location where it was easy to do their work.

After Lucius’s party, who had secretly slipped out of their inn in Taroma late at night, put on black mantles that seemed to slip into the darkness and dismounted their horses beside a lake, they came here on foot.

「Witzel-kyou and Burdisso-kyou have suppressed the front and rear of the mansion, huh…」

Murmuring so, Lucius stood up.

Lucius’s party were on top of the roof of a certain mansion by the side of the small lake on the outskirts of Taroma. The fact that there was no noisiness inside the mansion at all probably meant that no one had noticed that intruders were here yet.

However, that might also be natural. If it was Lucius and the members who had abilities he acknowledged, it was simple to break in without being noticed by the inhabitants of the mansion.

Lucius spoke to Angel and the other members in a low voice.

「—We’ll rush inside the mansion after this. The maids, menservants, guards, et cetera, even if we add all of them up, there should be less than thirty people, but fundamentally, everyone is a non-combatant. They probably won’t be a hindrance to us. Don’t hurt them as much as possible, and if they try to flee, it doesn’t matter even if you let them escape」

「Is that all right?」

「It doesn’t matter. Our objective is just one person—the master of the mansion, Countess Purna Dryton only. She’s most likely still awake」

At the stage of coming here, they had confirmed that the lamps in the living room of the mansion were lit. And then, they had also grasped the fact that the master of this place liked to drink sake throughout the night there with the information from a leading source.

The mission of Lucius’s party which had been kept secret until they arrived at this town—it was the arrest of Purna Dryton.

「Vice-Leader-dono」

Angel secretly asked Lucius.

「I’m a person from the country who is ignorant of the ways of the world, so I don’t fully understand—but that woman called Countess Dryton, what kind of person is she exactly, and what crime did she commit that she have to be apprehended?」

「Purna Dryton is a mistress of His Majesty the King」

「—」

Looking down at Angel who had gasped in surprise, Lucius smiled wryly.

When Countess Dryton, who had visited Roma last year, came to greet Isaac, Lucius was also present. He still remembered that he was told by Isaac afterwards that that person was the king’s newest mistress and thought “I see”. She had a thorough knowledge of how to use her beauty and was voluptuous; furthermore, she was an ambitious beautiful woman.

「Once I knew that the destination was Taroma, I vaguely understood that the mission was related to the countess… I see, you didn’t know, huh」

「Yes. …Then, why does His Majesty want to apprehend that woman—?」

「She has committed high treason trying to assassinate Her Highness the Queen」

He could tell that Angel had gasped again. To the citizens of Ahmad, Queen Almudena who was brimming over with kindness was exactly an existence that could be called the empress. It might be natural to be surprised to hear about her assassination. Not to mention, there was a past where Angel served as Almudena’s guard, so he must be even more surprised.

「The thief who had attacked Almudena-sama has confessed everything. Our mission is to secretly apprehend Purna Dryton and send her under escort to Roma」

Softly touching the letter from his childhood friend that he had just received one hour ago inside his pocket, Lucius continued indifferently.

「…If you’re reluctant to do it, I don’t mind even if you stand guard over the rear of the mansion together with Witzel-kyou, you know」

「No, I’ll go as well」

「Is that so? —If that’s the case, let’s begin」

When Lucius calmly walked on the inclined roof to the edge of the eaves, he threw off the black mantle and jumped down to the balcony below his eyes. Angel and the others also followed him immediately.

「—Excuse me」

Lucius made half a rotation on the handrail of the balcony, turning towards the window. He then pulled out the sword from his waist immediately, broke the window by kicking it and rushed inside.

「!?」

On the sofa placed at the centre of the wide living room, a beautiful woman wearing a dress looked at Lucius and froze in place. Her glossy, light brown skin matched the pure white silk well. Compared to her own beauty, the countless rings adorning her fingers and the gold chain adorning her chest were nothing more than simple supplements.

It was probably because the visit was completely unexpected that the woman was staring at Lucius with her eyes wide open while lying sprawled on the sofa slovenly and holding a wine glass with one hand.

「Kya—!」

A maid who had carried a bottle of wine and came into the living room let out a high-pitched scream. It could be said that this was more proper for a reaction when witnessing men holding drawn swords breaking in through the window.

Lucius’s party left the maid, who had dropped the bottle and ran away, alone and surrounded the beautiful woman on the sofa.

「Y, you’re—」

The woman, who had worn a dress of lascivious design, sat up straight and surveyed Lucius’s party. Although her voice was trembling, the blue pupils of her almond-shaped eyes were glaring at Lucius, hiding a brilliance that seemed to be challenging him.

「Madam-sama! Ma—!?」

Perhaps they had heard the scream of the maid from just now, several menservants rushed into the living room, but as soon as they saw the swords that the members had pointed at them, they shut up and stood stock still.

「…We’re the people of the Seal Chivalric Order who have received a royal decree and come from Roma. We don’t have any intention of harming the people who work in the mansion」

「The Seal, Chivalric Order…!」

The beautiful woman’s expression stiffened even more.

「Countess Dryton… right?」

Lucius turned towards the beautiful woman and asked so. Although there was no clear reply to that, it was certain that this beautiful woman was the countess.

「Why did we come here… you understand, right?」

「…I, I don’t know!」

Countess Purna Dryton aimed the knife used for cheese, which was there, at Lucius and threw it at him, screaming in a loud voice.

「Even if you’re the chivalric order under the direct control of the Crown Prince, aren’t you too rude!? This place is my mansion, which was bestowed on me by His Majesty the King! Moreover, I’m His Majesty’s—」

「His Majesty’s affection only remains valid on the premise that your conduct is discreet, Countess」

Lucius, who had easily dodged the knife, roughly interrupted the words of Purna, who seemed to be trembling.

「I know what kind of “value” you have to His Majesty. …However, far from being grateful for that fact, you forgot to mind your position and planned to kill Her Highness the Queen」

「O, on what basis are you saying such things!? Where’s the evidence—」

「You’ve been drinking in celebration early, thinking the news that the assassination of Her Highness the Queen had succeeded will come, right? However, that seems to be too hasty a little」

Looking down at the empty bottle of wine which was lying around on the table, Lucius spoke.

「You understood once we came here, right? The news you wish for won’t arrive no matter how long you wait. Your plan has ended in failure. Her Highness the Queen is alive and well without a single scratch」

「…!」

「The thief who had attacked Her Highness has confessed completely. He said that they tried to kill Her Highness the Queen at your request」

「Y… y, you’re wrong! I, such a thing—」

Colour was disappearing from the face of Purna, who had shaken her head. Her sensual lips were trembling slightly, and her voice was trembling even more. That confident expression of hers, which he had seen in Roma before and seemed to look down on even the Crown Prince, was nowhere to be found any more.

「If you want to vindicate yourself, please do so in front of His Majesty. Regarding this matter, His Majesty wishes for a fair judgement. It’s because he thought about Countess’s reputation that he deliberately dispatched the Crown Prince’s Seal Chivalric Order in absolute secrecy and not the national armed forces」

If the army was mobilised, the story would become exaggerated, and the matter of the countess plotting the assassination of the queen would spread in one breath. Whether she was innocent or not, the king surely didn’t wish for her to be exposed to such strange looks; Lucius was thinking so.

「Now then, please stand, Countess」

While hoping that she’d obediently comply with what he said like this at least, Lucius urged Purna to do so.

「…!」

Purna, who had been looking downwards fixedly and biting her lip, removed the large ruby from the ring she had put on her middle finger and held her hand over the wine glass, which still had about half of its contents remaining.

「! Don’t tell me—」

White, fine powder spilled over and fell from the base of the ring with a rustling sound, dissolving into the red wine. Angel, who had witnessed that, extended his arm instantly and tried to snatch the glass away from Purna, but Lucius obstructed him.

「Vice-Leader-dono!?」

Looking back at Lucius who was holding his shoulder with a strong force, Angel opened his eyes wide.

「Don’t interfere」

Lucius murmured and simply watched Purna’s way of doing things.

「Gu…!」

Purna, who had gulped down the wine, which the fine powder had dissolved into, in one breath, immediately clutched her throat and showed an expression of agony.

「As expected, she took poison—」

「It’s fine with this」

Looking down at the beautiful woman who had tried to take poison personally and commit suicide, Lucius repeated, though he wasn’t saying it to Angel.

「It’s fine with this. It might be a mercy to let her choose how to come to an end at least」

「Vice-Leader-dono…」

「If it was a false accusation that she completely knew nothing about, she wouldn’t have committed suicide in the first place. To have prepared even poison so that she could die any time like this meant that she was the mastermind after all」

If one killed a royalty of Ahmad, it’d in all probability be a capital crime. Whether it was a failed attempt or a perpetrated crime, it’d hardly be taken into consideration. And in many cases, they’d be beheaded in front of the populace of Roma. From the beginning, Purna most likely had the resolution to commit suicide if this plan failed.

「—」

A thin line of blood spilled from Purna’s lips, and she collapsed on the carpet.

「M, Madam-sama—」

The menservants called out to Purna in hoarse voices, but she was already dead. It might be the last obstinacy of Purna Dryton to deem the matter of surviving ungracefully and receiving the shame of a prisoner and then dying as a spectacle unacceptable.

「Everything was a big gamble based on her resolution, huh… this is truly typical of her; her life was flashy to the end」

Lucius sighed lightly, kept his sword in the scabbard and spoke to the men who had sat down hard on the spot.

「Not a word to anyone about what happened tonight. Make all the people in the mansion thoroughly enforce it. …Do you hear?」

「Y, yes…! B, but, what about Madam-sama…?」

「The countess passed away because of a sudden illness」

「…Ha?」

「The madam passed away because of a sudden illness. Make the preparations for her funeral service immediately. …The representative of His Majesty the King should come from Roma before long. Proceed with it so that everything will be error-free」

While ordering them unsparingly, Lucius persuaded himself that doing so would be the most fortunate option for them as well in the end.

「…Vice-Leader-dono」

While looking at the menservants who had started to move hurriedly, Angel loosened the tie around his neck and asked.

「Is our job, um… only things like this?」

「That depends on His Highness. On an individual basis, I wish that there’s only work that is more open and above board, like the campaign not long ago」

In either case, an assassination drama where the king’s affair scandal turned sour in the end wasn’t something that occurred so often. Lucius cast down his eyes quietly, thinking His Majesty would probably behave properly for a while.