Ch.58The Snake That Swallows Gold Coins (5)

House of Albania.

In front of Ottoman Albania, the master of the duchy, a knight bowed his head and spoke.

“As you commanded, I have escorted Lady Dieta to the villa. Trustworthy knights are guarding the villa, so there should be no cause for concern.”

“Is that so.”

Ottoman said while resting his chin on his hand.

“Have you relayed the instructions to the knights and servants?”

“That too has been done as you commanded.”

“Well done, Lord Griffin.”

“However, may I ask a question?”

The knight who had been bowing his head, Griffin, looked up. Griffin appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties, but Ottoman knew he was older than himself. After all, Griffin had been a knight by his side since Ottoman was young.

The captain of the House of Albania’s knights.

Sword Seeker, Griffin.

He posed a question to his master.

“I wish to know your intentions behind such orders.”

A question that might seem disrespectful.

If an ordinary knight had asked it, Ottoman might have laughed it off or refused to answer… but Griffin was Ottoman’s most trusted knight, almost like an old friend. That’s why Ottoman willingly answered.

“Well, because it’s dangerous.”

Ottoman smiled.

“Griffin. Do you remember when I was young?”

“I do remember.”

Ottoman, the third son of the family.

A figure pushed aside in the succession competition, whom no one paid attention to. Yet in the end, it was Ottoman Albania who took the seat as master of the duchy.

Remove what stands in the way. Pull down those who rise high, and once pulled down, break and destroy them so they can never rise again.

By the time the fierce succession competition was ending, only Ottoman remained standing on his own two feet. The others had either become cripples, lost their will, or fled somewhere.

Griffin was the one who watched this process most closely. Recalling those memories, Griffin nodded.

“That means…”

“Dieta, that child has the qualities of a person of power. She has talent equal to, or perhaps greater than mine. I don’t deny that fact.”

Ottoman spoke while resting his chin on his hand.

“Ageshio and the other children aren’t without talent, but compared to Dieta, they fall far short. It’s unfortunate. The fact that the one who inherited my blood most strongly happens to be that child.”

Ottoman Albania gazed at his own eyes reflected in the teacup. Yellow eyes. These eyes that assessed value were what he cherished most.

“What that child said is correct. Her value is too precious to be sold off in such a seasonal business. If given 5 more years? Her merchant company would grow even larger. It would reach a scale that even the duchy couldn’t easily touch. That would certainly happen.”

“Then…”

“That’s precisely why, Lord Griffin.”

Ottoman narrowed his eyes.

His yellow eyes gleamed like a snake’s.

“Though that child’s value is high.”

He tapped his teacup.

“It’s not something I can swallow. The more she grows, the more she’ll become a snake that will swallow me.”

She is a child who resembles him more than anyone else.

Those eyes resembled his own—the one who had eliminated all competitors and seized the position of duke. That child would someday surely sink her venomous fangs into his neck and devour the duchy.

It was a certainty and a trust.

Just as Dieta regarded Ottoman as one of her kind, Ottoman too regarded Dieta as a being like himself.

“So, shouldn’t I swallow her while I still can?”

I have no hobby of raising a beast that will someday bite my throat, Ottoman laughed aloud.

If you’re going to raise a predator, you must pull out its claws and teeth, and beat it whenever it tries to climb up, to imprint who is above. And Ottoman knew that method very well.

A petal not yet fully bloomed.

A predator not yet fully grown.

Ottoman Albania was a man who had reached this position by trampling and breaking such beings many times over.

“Trample her thoroughly so she can never rise again. Well, you know it too, don’t you?”

Ottoman muttered indifferently.

“People break more easily than one might think.”

Especially a girl of that age.

2.

“Lady Dieta has fallen into a trap.”

Kneeling in the mud, Passion said.

Najin quietly listened to his words. What flowed from Passion’s mouth was about the internal affairs of House Albania and Dieta’s current situation.

At the end of his explanation, Passion concluded.

“Swallowing the merchant company is not the goal. The company is just a bonus; Ottoman Duke’s purpose is to crush Dieta.”

Having overheard the duke’s orders, Passion could be certain. The duke was not underestimating Dieta. Rather, it was the opposite.

He sees her as a threat, so he wants to crush and destroy her.

That’s why Dieta’s safety at the villa is in danger. Dieta might be planning for a more long-term goal and waiting for an opportunity, but according to the duke’s plan, that opportunity will never come.

“This fact must be conveyed, and Dieta needs someone who can act as her hands and feet.”

Isolated Dieta.

What she needs now is someone who can enter and exit the villa and act as a messenger. But Passion, who should fulfill that role, is under surveillance, and it’s not easy to find a skilled person who can be trusted with such a task.

Someone who would take Dieta’s side.

And someone with at least Sword Expert level skills.

There are plenty who meet the second condition if one looks around, but those who meet the first condition are hard to find. Especially in this city full of adventurers chasing gold coins. After all, who would take on such a risk of being marked by the duchy?

“I know it’s an unreasonable request.”

An unreasonable and dangerous commission.

The benefits gained from completing it are small, while the risks to be shouldered are far too high. Passion didn’t hide this fact. Kneeling and pleading now, he knew it was right to convey truthful information to the person before him.

“Sneaking into the villa while avoiding the knights’ surveillance and attempting communication is difficult. Of course, I will provide a map of the villa and the locations of hidden passages, but the benefit you would gain from accepting this commission…”

Thus, the explanation becomes strained.

Adventurers are people who weigh benefits against risks. Passion knows they wouldn’t accept such a commission. Passion bowed his head a little deeper.

“…I cannot guarantee it right now.”

If things go well and Dieta returns to the merchant company, there are many benefits that can be guaranteed. But Passion couldn’t know how things would unfold. In the worst case, he was even considering escaping with Dieta.

He gritted his teeth.

What he could put on the scale now wasn’t visible benefit. The only thing he could offer was one thing.

“The only compensation I can guarantee is one thing.”

Passion untied the sword from his waist and placed it down.

“My personal honor, and everything I have.”

What he’s offering as collateral is his life.

“Regardless of the success or failure of the task, if you are implicated by the duchy, all blame will be…”

“So.”

Najin cut off Passion’s words.

What’s being wagered is honor and everything.

Having heard that much, there was no need to hear the rest. Meeting Passion’s gaze as he slowly raised his head, Najin continued.

“Where is it? This villa place.”

“…What?”

“I’m asking where it is. The location of the villa.”

Najin extended his hand to Passion.

A hand offered as if to help him up. Looking at that hand, Passion wore a bewildered expression as he grasped Najin’s hand and stood up.

“…Are you accepting the commission?”

“Not a commission, let’s call it a favor.”

Picking up the knight’s sword from the mud, Najin said.

“I’ve received a knight’s oath and request. That’s enough. As for the rest… I’ll manage somehow.”

“Though it’s not my place to say this as the one asking, a commission that could put you at odds with the duchy…”

“It’s fine if I don’t get caught, isn’t it?”

Infiltration is one of my specialties.

Muttering that, Najin then let out a small laugh. He was reminded of his master who had been prepared to go against the entire world just to keep one oath.

“And you know.”

Brushing off the mud from Passion’s sword,

Najin handed the sword back to Passion and said.

“I also have a promise to keep.”

A debt to repay.

Najin had promised Dieta that he would repay that debt. And Najin still remembered that promise.

* * *

-So you’re going to do it?

“That’s my intention.”

Having received information about the infiltration route, the structure of the villa, and its location, Najin was organizing the information in his head. Before departing, he needed to formulate a plan.

-Infiltrating a duchy, you know that’s crazy, right?

“It’s not the duchy’s mansion but a villa, as I said.”

-Villa, annex, or even the duchy’s stable… it’s still something that could put you at odds with the duchy. You do know that, right?

“I do.”

Najin didn’t know how prestigious the duchy was. But he did know how far they could go when they had a justification. If they were determined, killing a wandering adventurer would be nothing to them.

The gap between an adventurer and a duchy.

It was no different from the gap between the residents of the underground city and the ordinary people living above.

-And yet, you still intend to do it?

“Yes.”

-Why?

“I told you. Because I promised.”

Merlin’s reaction suggested she didn’t quite understand.

To that reaction, Najin let out a long breath.

“You know, Merlin? I’m not particularly devoted to justice, nor am I the type to risk my life to right wrongs.”

Najin had lived in the underground city.

He had killed countless people to survive and hadn’t hesitated to commit evil acts when necessary. Just because he had pulled out Excalibur and escaped the underground city didn’t mean all of that was erased.

Najin had no intention of disguising himself. He had no desire to act contradictorily while proclaiming justice, nor did he want to preach his values to others.

Whether others commit evil acts or not, it’s not my business. I have no intention of correcting them. If they haven’t harmed me, by what right would I punish them and impose justice on them?

When I myself am not so clean.

But, but you know.

“There’s just one thing I can’t tolerate.”

Najin caressed his sword.

“Knights.”

Those who uphold honor and pride.

And the stars he had seen in the underground city.

“I can’t stand seeing people with the title of knight behaving like this. I don’t like it when they tarnish the name of knight, and I don’t like it when knights are taken lightly.”

Because it felt like his dream was being tainted.

Because the image of stars and knights he had dreamed of in the underground city wasn’t like this. This might be the stubbornness of a boy who, even if he let go of everything else, couldn’t let go of his dream.

“Keep the words you speak. Do not take oaths and promises lightly. Do what you believe is right.”

The knight’s code.

The knight Najin wants to become.

“I just wanted to observe that. So I intend to keep my promise. Besides, I don’t particularly like this House of Albania.”

Does that explain it?

That’s what Najin said. When no response came from Merlin, Najin smiled bitterly and said.

I must look foolish.

It’s laughable for someone without a knight’s title to act like this, saying he wants to observe the knight’s code. Even among knights themselves, those who adhere to the code are called ‘foolish’.

-You cling to something without value.

Merlin, who had been eavesdropping on Najin’s monologue, spoke.

-You try to keep what you don’t have to keep. You risk your life to keep something that brings you nothing in return. Yes, as you said, that’s foolish.

Merlin said.

-But, you know what?

She smiled.

-The king I served was the most foolish person in the world. The one who hung the highest star in the sky was a foolish knight called the “Fool.”

Merlin continued.

-What I wanted to confirm wasn’t whether your actions were right or wrong.

“Then what?”

-Whether you chose this knowing the consequences. Whether, despite knowing the dangers, you wanted to uphold your beliefs. That’s what I wanted to confirm. And now I have.

A short exhaled breath.

Immediately after, in a satisfied voice, Merlin whispered.

-Do as you wish.

-Walking the path is your role, and preparing for the worst is the guide’s role.

Najin smiled slightly. Donning the robe he had received from Passion and covering his face, Najin set off.

3.

Breaking a person is simple.

Dieta was acutely experiencing that fact.

She stared blankly at her ankle. Recalling what the knights had done to her as soon as she was brought to the villa, Dieta could no longer even manage a smile.

Because they had changed completely from the moment she entered the villa.

With a creaking sound, as the villa’s door closed, the knights grabbed Dieta’s limbs. They forced her to kneel, gagged her mouth with a cloth, and cut her ankle with a sword imbued with sword energy. They had severed her tendons.

An injury that could be healed with potions and a priest. But it was an injury that Dieta alone could never recover from. Until she left this prison-like villa, Dieta would be unable to walk without someone’s help.

To go this far, to go this far.

“Ah, ha…”

Dieta’s lips twitched.

Though she thought she had donned a mask and armed herself with iron-like mental strength, she had screamed shamefully the moment her ankle was cut. Because she had no tolerance for pain.

From that point on, Dieta had to realize.

That this place was designed to thoroughly trample and break her. That it was a cage meant to break a bird’s wings. In this place, Dieta had to doubt everything.

Sleep disturbed by the throbbing ankle. Food of unknown content. Harassment from servants and windows nailed shut to prevent even sunlight from entering. The empty room slowly ate away at Dieta’s mind.

…Breaking a person is easy.

No matter how strong her mental fortitude, Dieta is just a young woman who has barely reached adulthood. She’s not a knight who has undergone training to withstand various tortures, nor does she have high tolerance for pain.

If they are determined, breaking her is nothing.

It was as if she could hear Ottoman’s mocking laughter in her ears. Her mask was wavering. Her available means had diminished. She knew she needed to seek new methods, but her mind wasn’t functioning properly.

Gritting her teeth.

Dieta clenched her teeth.

In this isolation chamber where she couldn’t even tell how much time had passed, she was merely holding onto a mask that was trying to slip off.

That’s why she didn’t know.

That flames were rising from the small forest located right behind the villa. That servants were rushing out to extinguish the sudden fire. And that there was an adventurer moving amidst the commotion…

She didn’t know.