Ch.113Revenge #3

Though the nobles’ accusations are merely words from their mouths, I’m no different in lacking evidence.

In other words, I too have been pushing someone based solely on circumstantial evidence.

To put it somewhat dramatically, it was like one lie colliding with another, but when described in detail, it seemed quite plausible.

Especially when the cornered opponent was flustered.

“Your Majesty. Given the situation, I suggest dispatching a neutral investigation team to both myself and Count Melrod. I believe it would be a good choice to clearly determine which side is more innocent.”

When the atmosphere was shifting in my favor, I drove in another wedge.

The suspicion of rebellion was just that—a suspicion—and there wasn’t a single piece of evidence related to it in our territory.

Naturally, since we never plotted rebellion in the first place.

But the Count was different.

Allegations of embezzlement and breach of trust. While it might appear on the surface that I was framing him, these were facts that had come from his own mouth.

So the moment an investigation team was sent to dig around, it was clear that some convincing dirt would emerge.

He seemed to know this too, as he grew quieter and began to sweat.

He looked like a criminal on the run after committing a crime.

“Hmm. The Duke makes a valid point. I will request Duke Caliwood to immediately organize and dispatch an investigation team. In the meantime, both of you shall remain in this palace. And I ask all those present to stay as well. Since you requested this hearing, naturally you should witness its outcome, shouldn’t you?”

Perhaps they hadn’t expected the hearing’s subject to push for an investigation team, as all the nobles showed signs of confusion.

Some even subtly suggested that they had misjudged and shouldn’t escalate matters further.

But the king’s decision was firm, and in the end, the head of the neutral faction, the most impartial man, was tasked with organizing the investigation team.

.

“Hmm…”

Fortunately, I had overcome one hurdle, and there was no longer any need to use Ellen to escape.

It was a moment when I realized I had overreacted out of excessive worry.

Lying on the palace guest room bed, I unwrapped my arms from around Helena and Ellen’s waists as they slept soundly.

Since it was a room I visited every year, it wasn’t unfamiliar, and now it felt quite comfortable, almost like a vacation home.

It was still the dark hours before dawn.

It would take a bit more time for the sun to rise, and it was certainly too early for people to be awake.

In other words, it was the perfect time to move around secretly.

“Ellen.”

“…Yes. Did you call for me?”

When I whispered against her long, slender ear, Ellen responded as if she had been waiting.

I thought I’d let Helena sleep, as she must be tired from answering questions at the hearing.

Besides, in the situation about to unfold, Ellen would be able to act somewhat more calmly than Helena.

“Let’s go.”

“…Are you sure you’re alright? It hasn’t been long since you embraced us.”

“I’m fine. My body feels a bit languid, but my mind is clear. My desires have been satisfied, so my head is refreshed.”

Ellen and I quickly washed our bodies, which were covered in sweat and various other things, changed clothes, and left the room.

All the nobles remaining in the palace, including us, were essentially under house arrest, and the strict control proved it.

We probably wouldn’t even be able to receive news while the investigation team traveled to our territory.

Therefore, it was the perfect time to have a secret meeting.

Swish. The velvet curtains of Baron’s guest room window opened smoothly, apparently unlocked.

Knowing the location of his guest room in advance and having Ellen’s magic made this possible.

Without magic, we might have had to climb walls or pick locks.

All to avoid the eyes of the palace servants.

Anyway, he’s sleeping quite soundly.

Or perhaps he fell asleep exhausted from worrying.

I wouldn’t know, but the thought of waking someone up made me feel a bit bad.

How annoyed I used to get when woken up at dawn for guard duty changes…

“Ah.”

Breaking free from thoughts of the past, I carefully approached Baron Velvet.

As soon as I saw his rather handsome face, I took out my dirk and covered his mouth with my empty hand.

“Mmph?!”

Was he quite sensitive? As soon as I covered his mouth, his eyes flew open and he began to groan violently.

Being a grown man, his resistance was quite substantial.

However, at times like this, a knife becomes an excellent communication tool.

“Quiet. Don’t resist, just stay still. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already.”

“Mmph! Mmph!!”

When I held the moonlit, gleaming blade before his eyes so the Baron could see it clearly, he nodded in terror.

If he had nodded any more vigorously, he might have impaled himself on the blade, but fortunately, such a situation was avoided.

“Good. Now I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth, but if you forget my warning… while you might live, your territory won’t survive. Remember that.”

After giving this final warning, I removed my hand from his mouth and lowered the knife from his eyes.

“Huff, huff…! Duke. What is the meaning of this sudden intrusion?!”

The Baron kept his promise not to shout, but he hissed with a very angry expression.

It would have been more threatening with a loud voice, but seeing him like this with a small voice only made him seem pitiful.

“You ask why I’m doing this? I want to know who ordered you to corner us.”

“Wh-what are you…”

“Though I may have attained the position of Duke at a young age through luck… did that make me look like a fool who knows nothing?”

Sitting cross-legged on top of the Baron’s body, I smiled while pressing the dirk’s handle against his chin.

Being disrespected for being young wasn’t anything new, and thanks to my mental fortitude, I didn’t get as heated as before.

This allowed me to organize my thoughts calmly even in this situation, and gave me the leisure to squeeze out my limited intelligence.

“F-fool? I never thought of you that way.”

The man’s tone changed to be extremely polite.

He switched from the half-respectful tone that had felt condescending to genuinely respectful speech.

I understood why tyrants favored using their fists.

Despite the side effects, it allowed for swift resolution of matters.

“Good. I’ll believe you. Now, answer my question. Who ordered you?”

“Or-ordered? It’s true that I slandered the Duke and the Ducal family with my eyes blinded by greed for a title, but I was never instigated by anyone…”

“Do you intend to lie until the end?”

Swish. I turned the dirk so that the blade pointed at the Baron’s chin, and lowered my voice.

I also made my gaze as sharp as possible.

To make him feel that I was angry with certainty.

“Hup…!”

“You’re a man who knows how to calculate minimal benefits. To put it plainly… you know how to weigh the losses and costs you must bear against the gains you’ll receive.”

Even if the benefits of attacking the Ducal family were attractive, it would be easy to imagine how great the cost of attacking them would be.

Yet the Baron kept repeating that he was blinded by profit.

I simply couldn’t believe it.

“That is…”

“Speak properly. Was it Killinear who ordered you? If so, I’ll have to overturn that house once again…”

“N-no! The Duke has nothing to do with this matter!”

The Baron desperately shouted that there was no connection.

Reading the sincerity in his face, I felt even more confused.

I had already considered the possibility of Luke Killinear being behind this to be low, but I hadn’t expected such a definitive answer.

But that made it even more confusing.

Would a Baron belonging to the noble faction really think to pick a fight with the head of the royal faction, their polar opposite, simply because he was blinded by greed?

I know people don’t always act rationally, and greed can push them greatly, but still…

To get a more definitive answer, I lightly pressed the tip of my dirk against the Baron’s Adam’s apple.

A drop of blood trickled down the knife’s edge. The Baron frowned slightly, probably feeling the sting of the blade.

“I’ll ask once more. Who is behind this? If you don’t reveal it, I will find out the truth even if I have to expose everyone involved in this matter.”

“Ugh, uugh…!”

I gripped the dirk handle tightly enough to crush it and leaned my head slightly forward, trying to convey my sincerity.

This gave me a clear view of the Baron’s terrified expression and his endlessly trembling eyes.

“I’ll give you a count of three. If there’s no answer by then… I’ll crush everything you have.”

Three, two… I slowly counted down, pressuring the Baron.

He was in a state comparable to standing at the edge of a cliff, about to fall.

The Baron seemed to feel this too, as he sweated profusely and trembled like an aspen tree as the count decreased.

He looked like a patient with chills.

“One…”

“W-wait!”

Just as I was about to remove the knife and get off the bed, the Baron urgently called out.

He seemed so desperate that he forgot my instruction to be quiet.

Still, the fact that he grabbed my ankle suggests he had something to say.

I sat back down on his stomach and nodded for him to speak quickly.

This time, I didn’t point the dirk at him to make it easier for him to talk.

“Speak. Clearly.”

“A m-merchant. A merchant instigated us. He told us to find out the root of the series of incidents that occurred in Duke Krauser’s territory.”

“A merchant? ‘Us’? By ‘us,’ you mean the twenty men who pressured for this hearing. But a merchant…”

I felt dazed because I hadn’t considered a merchant as the mastermind.

It felt like being hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

Ellen, who had been silently observing the situation, seemed to feel the same way, as she stood frozen with her mouth quite wide open.

Even in this situation, I pretended to ponder, making a humming sound, and only spoke slowly after my senses returned.

Though it was only a few seconds, it felt like I had experienced an eternity.

“A merchant? Are you saying that a mere merchant is behind the nobles? That you were manipulated by the silver tongue of a mere tradesman to do something so foolish?”

“…What if that merchant is the foremost in the Empire?”

The foremost merchant.

Perhaps he means the owner of the trading company rumored to travel throughout the continent, accumulating profits, with the widest distribution network.

With a glimmer of suspicion, I asked:

“Is the merchant you speak of perhaps the owner of the Mercator Trading Company?”

“…That’s right. Though I’ve never seen the man’s face, he sent an errand boy carrying the token that only the company’s owner is said to carry.”

That owner must be Leonard Mercator, the head of the Imperial Trading Company.

I was puzzled as to why that name suddenly came up, but I continued my questioning calmly.

After all, even if I delved into every little detail, I probably wouldn’t remember it all completely.

“…I see. The Imperial Trading Company could certainly offer benefits large enough to make your eyes roll. I won’t bother asking about that. What matters is that you made a deal with him to corner our Ducal family.”

But. I paused briefly, then acted as if I were forcibly suppressing anger that might explode at any moment.

After years of acting, I had become quite convincing.

“You will pay the price for cornering us. Especially since this is no different from treason, selling out the country.”

“Th-that means…”

“The masterminds of this incident will all suffer once, then be stripped of their noble status. Afterward, they’ll be sent to monasteries across the land to rot for the rest of their lives. Half of their assets will be confiscated for the national treasury, and some will be used as compensation for us. However, your titles will be passed on to your sons. This will only be possible if His Majesty grants my request, but…”

I firmly decided to make a request to the king when the investigation team returned with results, and got off the bed.

Before leaving the room, I looked down at the Baron lying on the bed and said:

“Let me warn you in advance. If the investigation team fails to bring results, you will have to explain the circumstances of this incident to His Majesty yourself. If you disobey… be prepared for the entire families of everyone involved in this matter to disappear. Have the rest of them informed by you.”

Preserve your family with diminished power, or resist to the end and lose everything.

With those final words, Ellen and I leaped down from the balcony.