episode_0073

The middle-aged man accepted my offer.

I released him at my own discretion.

To prepare for any unexpected situation, his subordinates still locked him in prison and gave him an order. He immediately left to carry out the order.

I headed to the hospital room where Erdi was.

Fortunately, there were no signs of someone breaking in, and Erdi seemed to have woken up with his eyes wide open.

“Are you awake?

I sat down nearby and asked.

Erdi looked at me and opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I… Are you alive? ”

A completely hoarse voice.

It seemed like it hadn’t been long since he woke up.

“Of course he’s alive. If you weren’t alive, I don’t think you would have opened your eyes.”

“That’s right… however… How did you find out… ”

I burst out laughing at Erdi’s question.

That’s because it was a very humorous statement.

“How did you find out? Aren’t you asking such an obvious question? Where else would you go but there?”

“That’s true too… ”

Erdi nodded slightly as if he understood.

It’s a bit of a stretch to say that he looks funny and lively, but I felt a sense of relief because he looked fine.

“… The assassin… How did it go?”

“Finish. I have something to say about him. First of all, I caught the assassin who attacked you and threw him in the dungeon. I just released it.”

“… What?”

Erdi frowned as if wondering if what he just heard was true.

“You freed me?”

“uh.”

“What the fuck… ”

“Calm down. Could it be that I let you go without even thinking about it?”

I spoke quickly before Erdi could curse.

Only then did Erdi calm down his excitement and ask.

“What on earth is it?”

“What do you think he looks like?”

Because it wasn’t the answer he had thought of, his expression changed considerably.

First of all, Erdi answered my question.

“Murderer. It’s also damn strong. However, it was quite different from the appearance of the blood clan described in old documents and records.”

“What that means is that he knows how to think rationally. Why did that guy come to kill you? Don’t you ask such questions?”

“Now that I think about it… ”

Erdi thought deeply with a serious expression before opening his mouth.

“No matter how much you think about it, you probably don’t know that killing me would have many ramifications and risks… ”

“Still, he pushed ahead. What do you think is the reason?”

“… Did you receive compensation commensurate with it?”

“Correct answer. So, here’s the question again. What kind of compensation was promised to make him move? I looked into this and found out that I was looking for one person.”

Erdi’s expression turned bizarre.

The expression on his face asked if what he heard was correct.

“You received a request to kill me to find one person? Even if you could kill me, you would know that the risk is not that easy… ”

“So. So I roughly thought of it as family. Because there are usually no people other than family who take that kind of risk to find them.”

“… That murderer?”

Erdi speaks in a tone of disbelief.

In a world where ordinary people abandon their families and sell them, it may be hard to believe that a murderer would do that. Me too.

But what we need to think about here is that this is not a general case.

“Do you think he is the same as the bloody clan written in history?”

“… It’s different.”

Erdi answered with a nervous expression.

I chuckled at that sight.

“Yes. And no matter how many people in this world sell their families, there are also people who value their family so much that they would trade their lives for it. So there’s nothing strange about it, right?”

In today’s world where aristocrats rule, the family is often viewed as a political tool.

In most cases, we have given up on the camaraderie that we normally think of as family.

However, this does not mean that there are no people who value family affection.

If you just look at the proportions, there are a lot more people like that, but there was no law preventing them from doing so just because they were a blood clan.

Because they are also human.

“… So how did that happen?”

“What happens? It turned out that the person he was looking for was someone I knew very well. It is also very closely related.”

“How does the Blood Clan know who they are looking for so desperately?”

“I must be so popular. Isn’t that right?”

It was just a joke, but Erdi’s expression changed as if he was looking at waste.

“Tsk.”

Plus, he clicks his tongue.

This guy, who was obviously very scared of me, acts very courageously at times like this.

Did you think I would leave you alone just because you were a patient?

‘If that’s what you think… ‘

He was a very smart guy.

No matter how much I do, I would never hit a patient.

“Anyway, maybe for that reason, let’s become a dead person starting today.”

“What does that have to do with me becoming a dead person? Are you really going to just bury me!?”

“Speak nonsense to the extent possible. Is it just a matter of catching the assassin? We need to catch the guy who instigated this as well. Part of it is that you become a dead person after this, so don’t talk nonsense.”

When I try to force him to cover me with a blanket, Erdi screams as if he is having a fit.

“I didn’t have a choice in the first place, so why did you ask!?”

“That’s what I asked. I’ll just say it’s a delivery. It’s about ‘delivering’ an issue that has already been decided. So just wait a moment.”

“Wow! Woowoowoo!”

After being forced to cover the blanket all the way.

I decided to carry out what I had planned.

There were some things that were a bit forced, but I didn’t have to worry too much as they would still cooperate with me.

‘See you later.’

What will you say when you see the criminal’s face later?

I walked away, thinking about what kind of punishment I should give.

***

That day, the Duke of Verdium was in an uproar.

News rang out that the assassin had escaped from behind bars.

At the same time, until the death of Duke Verdium.

The duke was very confused when he heard this…

All of this was part of the play.

Not only was Duke Verdium not dead.

The assassin did not escape, but was released.

However, those who did not know this had no choice but to sincerely believe such news.

And in the busy mansion of the Duke of Verdium.

Vieron was observing those who were busy moving around.

‘You said it would definitely happen.’

He heard about this incident from Duke Mertain.

Someone instigated the Duke of Verdium, and it was an insider.

But now the assassin has been caught.

The person who instigated it was putting on this play because there was a strong possibility that he would hide again.

In a word, it is a play staged to weed out weak traitors.

I could say that.

But there was a problem here.

Let alone whether the assassin will cooperate obediently.

No matter how false these facts may be, simply becoming known will cause great repercussions and confusion.

Even though it is meant to weed out traitors, it carries significant risks.

When he heard that this was Duke Mertain’s opinion, an unknown belief arose in him.

At this time, a vague belief arises that Duke Mertain might have some thoughts.

Dieron took charge of the situation, pledging to do his best in his current role.

***

The situation is fleetingly perfect.

Once it was announced that Erdi was dead, the assassin escaped.

The Duke of Erdi, who knew about this, was in more confusion than ever.

Although this is what I want, it would be a bit difficult if there was more chaos than I knew, so I left it to my trusty Diero to coordinate the situation.

Now all that’s left is to wait for him to take the bait.

‘Why do I have to go see the emperor again?’

I was heading back to the imperial palace.

The full story of the incident was like this.

When I was just waiting for him to take the bait.

There was a sudden call from the emperor.

Honestly, it was such an important situation that I just wanted to ignore it and not go.

‘I never thought a nobleman called the emperor would threaten me like that.’

What did I say if I didn’t come?

Oh yeah. They said they would bring him in on all sorts of crimes, not just the crime of insulting the royal family.

Of course, I did it as a half-joke, and if I really did that, an all-out war between the church and the empire would break out, so I would never do that.

I thought the situation was urgent enough to say that, so I had no choice but to head to the imperial palace to see the emperor.

‘Who on earth visits the imperial palace so much?’

It is a fleeting honor for nobles to be invited to the imperial palace, and even to the emperor.

To me, it just seemed like a prank by an annoying old man.

Isn’t it really time to retire?

I wish I could retire a little.

I sighed deeply and stepped inside the imperial palace.