episode_0019

Crunch.

The angled sword dug into the man’s skin. The man felt the veins on his neck throbbing.

Perhaps it was an illusion brought on by the survival instinct. The fear of death was so great that the information in my head was about to leak out.

However, being an assassin is a job with no future.

Especially for an assassin who goes all the way to the palace, this one task puts the lives of many on his back.

Betrayal by family, relatives, lovers, friends, no matter which side, means immediate annihilation.

“Huh…! Wait, you?!”

“Keuhk…!”

Therefore, the path the man chose was the path to the afterlife.

He brought his own blood to the slanted blade, so agilely that Asher couldn’t react…

“This is crazy…!”

Asher shuddered.

She knows better than anyone how scary a concept death is, having already died once. In fact, no one knows it better than she does.

And yet, the fact that he willingly volunteered… was an incomprehensible state of mind.

Rather, it might have been an action possible because he did not know death.

“Hey, wait…! This isn’t the time for this!?”

Even though she was rotten, she was still the princess. So naturally, she mistakenly thought that the assassin had come after her.

Even though she is just a maid named Sally now.

There’s no way I’d use a trick to silence a maid. That means my real goal is…!

“Mirelda…!!!”

Boom!

Asher kicked open the door and ran straight into the next room.

Bam!

And then, throwing aside etiquette, he opened the door without warning.

“… Ah.”

Less noisy.

The strength left my grip. The sword rolled limply, making a dull clanking sound.

“It’s late…”

Flutter!

Pale moonlight illuminated the bed through the curtains fluttering in the night breeze. There lay the corpse of Mirelda, dead from a clean piercing through the chest.

An assassination so dirty that they proudly planted the weapon on the body. At the scene, there is a maid with bloody hands. There is also a sword lying around with bloodstains.

Should I say that it’s adding insult to injury? Why do bad feelings always come true so well?

“Oh my!”

As I was blankly observing the scene, someone gasped behind me.

“… What the hell.”

It was the woman who had pushed Asher to Mirelda’s side – the maid Ellen. Next, she did something extremely stereotypical.

“Gyaaah! You’re a murderer!”

Flash, flash, flash.

The palace, which had been asleep, slowly opened its eyes to the sound of a single scream. The hallway became brighter and people began to chatter.

It was a one-sided affair.

‘I got caught up…!’

Some kind of conspiracy was taking place within the palace. I was completely caught in the middle of it.

Perhaps Mirelda was the scapegoat.

It was nonsense for a woman to stay in the palace without any official position. There must have been a reason why she had to be killed in the palace.

“Tsk…!”

He quickly picked up the sword. He wiped the blood stains on the bed sheet and went out to the balcony.

When the armed men finally reached Mirelda’s room, Ashe stopped them.

“Like this Hailey. Well then, the idea of letting me eat it raw was stupid and idiotic. Let’s wait and see…!”

Then, Asher, who was falling vertically from the railing, shouted loudly.

“Imperial Palace Royal Family You fucking bastards!!!”

I won’t be a royal because it’s dirty.

◇

“Sigh…”

A annex within the palace – under the eaves.

Asher was catching his breath, leaning against the shade.

“What do you want me to do?”

The palace is like the palm of my hand, so running away is not a problem. The real problem is that the finish line is unclear.

On the first floor, they gave us a task to find Hailey’s happiness, but this time there were no guidelines.

“If it’s just defeating the private soldiers, it’s easy… but if Sungjak shows up, it’s a big problem.”

The Lady of the Holy See, Mirelda Neterto, has died. This means that the Holy See herself, the first in command of the Holy See, may be hunting him down with fire in her eyes.

“Should I leave the palace like this?”

If you think about it normally, it’s a reasonable plan. But her goal was survival and escape.

If there is an escape trigger in the palace…

Enduring somehow would be the right choice.

“If it’s not a masterpiece, I’ll beat you up…!”

It was a time when Asher was expressing his regrets.

“You are saying dangerous things.”

“Huh?!”

Pfft!

Ashe raised her sword. Then the strange man who had been walking with his back to the moonlight raised both hands and expressed his surrender.

“Calm down. Maybe we can be on the same side.”

“Shut up. What do I believe in?”

“Um… If it’s evidence, I can show you right away.”

The man slowly lowered both his hands and searched through the leather pouch on his waist. Then, he threw a ball of such a size that it seemed to ignore its mass in Ashe’s direction.

Shake!

Asher suddenly dropped the sword he was holding while trying to receive the ball.

“It’s big, after all… It still needs some adjusting.”

Kiing!

A geometric pattern appeared on the surface of the ball that Asher had accepted. Immediately afterwards, a hemispherical membrane centered around the ball unfolded and surrounded her.

Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck!

The friction noise of the light armor shaking and the sound of boots trampling the dirt were deafening.

The palace guards expanded their search area.

They quickly reached the eaves where Asher and the stranger encountered each other.

“You’re walking fast.”

“Your Majesty!”

They, who had been moving busily, stopped all at once and saluted the man.

“I should have shown more courtesy, but as this is an emergency, I ask for your forgiveness.”

“Ah, I don’t care. Feel free to stir it.”

As he said, the guards searched thoroughly under the eaves. However, after a thorough search, they turned back without finding anything.

Meanwhile, Asher didn’t move an inch.

Even though I was facing them openly under the eaves, I remained motionless.

‘You didn’t recognize me…? At this close range?’

It’s all thanks to the ball in my arms. Even a fool would know that.

The culmination of lost technology that Asher had never encountered even during her time as princess.

That was the treasure I was holding in my hands right now.

“How was it after trying it? I wish it could be improved as small as a jewel, but hmm…”

“…”

Asher quietly returned the ball and watched the man put the ball back in his leather pouch.

There was only one conclusion that could be drawn.

“Um, first of all, should I introduce myself? I am…”

“Duke of Arcaden.”

“Oh, you noticed?”

Then the man bowed politely and properly told me his name.

“My name is Hereis Arkaden. What about you?”

“Sally.”

“Yes, Mr. Sally. First of all, let me ask you, did you kill anyone?”

“There are people who are seriously considering killing me right now.”

A vein appeared on Asher’s forehead.

Hereis Arkaden. Yes, Hereis Arkaden.

This guy is the owner of this damn junk mansion and the source of all his suffering.

This world’s fucking asshole, fucking bastard…!!!

‘That bastard, his face is much more pitiful than that of a duchess!’

I don’t like his laid-back and carefree face. I want to put a lock in the middle of his round glasses with gold frames. I don’t like his gray hair and his blue eyes, which are like those of a ho-ho grandpa.

‘A man should have a solid taste like a butler.’

The body of the butler is much better. I realized this on the stairs going up to the second floor, but he looks like he’s thin when he wears it. His hands are also rough with calluses, so it looks like he’s trained…

‘… Huh?’

……On that topic, you say the sword is too heavy to lift?

Butler, are you deceiving me?

Anyway, let’s put aside distracting thoughts and focus on the enemy in front of us for now.

“Anyway, you didn’t kill him? That’s fortunate. But even so, being in league with a murderer is a bit…”

“Do you believe me?”

“It’s obvious that it’s a false accusation. I came to see your bedroom, and there was blood. The body was cleaned up, though.”

“What? The assassin’s body disappeared?”

“That’s right. There’s no way a busy fugitive would have hidden it… And it looks like Sally wasn’t injured. Then you have to wonder whose bloodstains were left in the room.”

Herais Arkaden nodded and sneered.

“Thanks to that, it seems unnatural to anyone, but somehow the situation turned around with Mr. Sally’s immediate action as the keynote. I felt like it was exactly the palace-style handling of things.”

“… You’re smart.”

“Anyone can guess. It’s just that the guessing is forbidden, so they can’t say anything.”

The trust of Herreis was an unexpected windfall. However, even if he was a duke, going against the royal intentions would have fatal consequences.

‘If I ask, will you answer?’

How many nobles would honestly confess their true feelings to a single maid? Even Mirelda maintained a dubious attitude until the very end in certain areas.

“Whew, I have a rough idea of the situation. I don’t know what you’re aiming for, but I’ll just cooperate.”

“That’s a refreshing decision.”

It wasn’t a decision made in resignation.

Asher deduced that Herais Arkaden would act as a keyword in the world of painting. Moreover, with the owner of the Arkaden mansion right in front of him, it was a bad idea to go his own way.

Even if I return to reality, I have to dig up as much as I can and then go back.

“It’s so cool, it’s cold, right? But as you can see, I don’t have enough to talk back to the Duke.”

More than that, just the fact that he is the owner of the Arkaden Mansion pierces my inner core…

Herace, who had no idea about this, scratched the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, I see.”

“Right? So, before we get into it, let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes, what…”

Ashe asked the somewhat absent-minded duke.

“Let’s start with the name of the person you like.”