episode_0029

Afterwards, we were able to travel to the capital of Elance, Paris, without any major incidents.

However, for the past few days, the Princess of Flandre had been eyeing me cautiously.

I looked back on what I might have done wrong, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what I had done.

“Marie, what did you do to the Princess and Laurent?”

“…!”

Aramis’s question, asking what I had been pondering internally, made me feel slightly embarrassed.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well… it’s nothing major, but there seems to be a subtle tension in the air.”

“It’s probably nothing, people’s moods tend to fluctuate, right?”

“Hmm… if you say so, then it must be.”

Aramis nodded in agreement.

Maybe I did something wrong after all.

Although the Princess seemed to be wary of me for some reason, I dismissed it as insignificant and changed the subject.

“We can see Paris!”

Romel’s shout as he led the way made everyone turn to look in the direction he pointed.

The river Seine flowed through the center of Paris, surrounded by massive walls.

“We’ve finally arrived.”

Lotos stretched on his horse.

“Once we enter, our mission will be complete.”

We hastened our pace towards Paris.

Although we had encountered an elf attack while passing through the Erzen Forest in Flandre, we had managed to pass without any major incidents.

“Halt!”

Soldiers in black uniforms with red lion emblems began to gather.

“Oh… Viscount Raspur’s soldiers.”

Lotos clicked his tongue as he watched the soldiers approaching.

“Musketeers, thank you for coming this far.”

D’Artagnan stepped forward from behind.

“Now, please leave.”

D’Artagnan gestured with his thumb to the side.

“It seems things are going smoothly because Cardinal Richelieu ordered us to stop the Duke of Orleans from approaching.”

Aramis drew his saber from his waist.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

At D’Artagnan’s command, the soldiers drew their rapiers.

We also unsheathed our swords.

As we faced off against Viscount Raspur’s soldiers, the soldiers from Flandre were only watching from a distance.

Closer, closer!

The sound of hooves approaching could be heard in the distance.

Viscount Raspur, clad in leather jacket, pants, and boots, appeared.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Following him were heavily armed soldiers carrying halberds.

Viscount Raspur stood before us, staring intently without dismounting from his horse.

Although one eye was blind and covered with an eyepatch, the gaze from his other eye sent shivers down the spine of those who met it.

“Oh… so this is Viscount Raspur.”

Lotos muttered under his breath.

“That man… Viscount Raspur…”

Laurent looked at Viscount Raspur with a tense expression.

“These musketeers are a ragtag bunch… but one is missing, and there’s a woman and a youngster among them.”

After glancing at us, Viscount Raspur turned his gaze to Laurent.

“No, I thought he was a youngster, but now I see he’s just a country bumpkin.”

“Hahaha!”

Viscount Raspur’s men laughed at Laurent’s expense.

Thud!

Laurent clenched his fists at Viscount Raspur’s words.

“Why, you want to fight?”

Viscount Raspur sneered at Laurent, who was glaring at him.

“Laurent, restrain yourself.”

I warned Laurent, looking at Viscount Raspur.

“The Lady seems to have a good grasp of the situation.”

Viscount Raspur chuckled at my words, looking at Laurent.

He absentmindedly stroked the tip of his mustache while staring intently at Laurent.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“Is it wrong to stare?”

Laurent was at a loss for words at the audacious attitude of the Viscount Raspore.

“Ah! Now I remember who you are.”

After staring at Laurent for a while, Viscount Raspore suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been trying to remember where I’ve seen you… and it turns out you’re the country bumpkin who foolishly accused me of being a pickpocket, begged for a seat in front of the gun shop, and came here all flustered!”

“Hahaha!”

Viscount Raspore’s words made his subordinates burst into laughter.

“Hmm…”

Unconsciously, my brow furrowed at Viscount Raspore’s rude behavior.

“Enough!”

Laurent snapped, stepping down from his horse.

“There’s no need for pleasantries.”

He pointed his sword at Viscount Raspore.

“You’re insane.”

Viscount Raspore laughed mockingly at Laurent.

“I, Laurent de Bastogne, challenge Viscount Raspore to a duel.”

At Laurent’s challenge, Viscount Raspore raised an eyebrow and drew his gun.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

The bullet fired by Viscount Raspore grazed Laurent’s left shoulder.

“What’s this? Who’s in charge of handling the gun?”

At Viscount Raspore’s question, his subordinates all looked at the man in charge of the gun.

Whack!

“Ugh!”

Viscount Raspore kicked the man in charge of his gun, causing him to fall.

“I told you to handle it properly.”

“I’m sorry!”

The fallen man quickly got up and bowed to Viscount Raspore.

“Quite lucky, aren’t you?”

“Ugh…”

Viscount Raspore looked down at Laurent, who was lying on the ground, with a cold gaze.

“Step aside, you Three Musketeers ruffians!”

We grimaced slightly at Viscount Raspore’s booming voice.

“What’s going on here?”

Lady Flondre, furrowing her brow, got off the carriage.

“It’s dangerous, milady.”

Romel tried to usher Lady Flondre back into the carriage.

“It’s fine.”

Lady Flondre extended her hand and stepped forward.

As she approached, Viscount Raspore and his subordinates all dismounted.

“Pleasure to meet you. I am Joseph de Raspore, Viscount.”

Viscount Raspore bowed elegantly and greeted Lady Flondre.

“Pleased to meet you, but I had to come out personally due to the unpleasant incident that just occurred.”

“I apologize. There was a slight altercation with those ruffians over there.”

Viscount Raspore nodded slightly, indicating us.

“They are the ones who helped me fend off the elves’ attack as I passed through the Erzen Forest. Why do you treat them so rudely?”

“Simply being in the company of such ignorant individuals is disrespectful to the lady. How much trouble have you endured because of them?”

“No, I…”

At Viscount Raspore’s harsh words, Rotus’s face contorted in anger.

Viscount Raspore deliberately emphasized the word ‘ignorant,’ which Rotus despised.

“Rotus!”

As Rotus tried to rush forward and grab Viscount Raspore by the throat, Aramis grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

Rotus breathed heavily, trying to calm his anger.

“It’s nothing. I actually felt relieved. I couldn’t find any faults.”

At Lady Flondre’s words, a slight crease appeared on Viscount Raspore’s forehead, but quickly disappeared.

“Instead of those people sent by Laurent Archbishop, the Duke of Orleans has sent us to enter Paris together.”

Count Lauchepor greeted the lady with a kind smile.

“I know that you will attend the academy in Paris from now on.”

The Lady Flandre was surprised by Count Lauchepor’s words.

“It’s not that surprising, noble people from Elance usually attend the academy.”

Count Lauchepor glanced at us.

“They are completely different from those over there.”

“Hmph…! Hmph…!”

Laurent, angered by Lauchepor’s continuous belittling, spoke up bravely.

“If you want to live comfortably in Paris in the future, consider who is more beneficial to you, the Archbishop of Loang who cannot leave the cathedral, or the Duke of Orleans, who is the uncle of King of Elance.”

“Hmm…”

The lady hummed in response to Count Lauchepor’s suggestion.

“Alright, I’ve made up my mind.”

Upon the lady’s words, Count Lauchepor smiled gently.

“I will enter Paris with the four people sent by Archbishop Laurent.”

His face started to crumble as she spoke.

“My father also said that the one who works and the one who receives the reward should not be different. In my opinion, you will probably pretend that the four of you did everything yourselves.”

“…”

“Your father, the Duke of Flandre, calls such people ‘hypocrites’.”

“Understood.”

“You may leave now.”

Count Lauchepor took off his hat, bowed to Lady Flandre, and then mounted his horse again.

“Let’s go.”

Count Lauchepor narrowed his remaining eye and glared at us before leaving.

As he departed, his subordinates also left in a hurry.

“Laurent, are you okay?”

I checked Laurent’s shoulders for any injuries.

Fortunately, the bullet had only grazed his shoulder.

“Thankfully, it’s just a scratch.”

Aramis wiped the wound on Laurent’s shoulder with a cloth.

As the blood was wiped away, a deep gash was revealed.

“Heal.”

As Aramis used healing magic, fresh skin began to grow on his shoulder.

“Thank you.”

Laurent bowed his head in gratitude to Aramis.

“Laurent.”

Laurent looked at me as I called his name.

“You picked the wrong fight.”

“What do you mean?”

“Count Lauchepor is not someone who accepts challenges.”

“Indeed, if he were to accept a duel, he would send an assassin the night before.”

Rothos interjected from the side.

“And do you think you can defeat Count Lauchepor with your skills?”

“Then should I just stay silent after hearing such insults?”

“Of course… that’s not it.”

“Then why are you saying that to me?”

“Well, because I once beat Count Lauchepor to a pulp.”

“Yes, I saw that and decided to forgive that guy, Count Lauchepor.”

During the 30-year war, there was a time when Count Lauchepor’s arbitrary actions almost cost the lives of many soldiers.

I beat him up badly at that time.

Count Lauchepor, in order to prevent the fact that he was hit by me from spreading, used his power to suppress and transfer those who witnessed the scene to another unit.

“I fought and won against Count Lauchepor like that, but what about you, Laurent?”

“Umm…!”

Laurent mumbled in response to my words.

“Do you think you can win against Count Lauchepor in a fight?”

At my question, Laurent lowered his head.

“If so, what will you do if you can’t just challenge him recklessly?”

Laurent bowed deeply.

“Remember that courage and recklessness are just a thin line apart.”

“She’s right. Courage and recklessness are very different, but it’s easy to mistake the difference for just a piece of paper.”

Next to me, Lady Flandre approached.

“I feel bad seeing the person who was supposed to protect me get hurt like this.”

Seeing Laurent’s cheek stained red with blood, she frowned.

“Shooting a gun in my presence, investigating my background… I don’t like any of it.”

“Is that so.”

“Yeah, how can someone from the same country shoot someone with such a nonchalant expression?”

“That’s just how some people are.”

I sighed softly as I looked back at the Count of Lauchepor’s arrogance.

What’s the point of being skilled with a sword if you lack humanity?

“Let’s depart now.”

“Yes, understood. We’re setting off again!”

At Lady Flandre’s command, Romel shouted.

And so, the Flandre envoy was able to safely enter Paris with us.