Chapter 22: Fallen Leaves (1)
22
Squeak! Squeak!
At the appearance of a large, unwelcome guest that had come into the sewer, the rats went on high alert.
A man clad in dark clothes and bearing a face like a shadow.
Without paying any mind to the filth soaking his leather shoes, he walked through the filthy sewer as if it were his own home.
Splash! Splash!
Passing through a narrow alley, into a deep waterway.
And then past a purification tank where the path bent once more.
Kuuuu….
Before he knew it, a towering iron gate of unknown origin stood before the man’s eyes.
“…….”
The man, who had been staring at it in silence, slipped something into a small gap in the door.
A gold coin engraved with the face of Emperor Yulkes I of the Empire.
It was a fortune so large that commoners could not hope to even see it even if they worked their entire lives.
Click.
A small hatch in the iron gate opened, and from within, two pitch-black eyes revealed themselves.
“Purpose?”
A short question.
As if accustomed to this, the man spoke toward the two eyes that appeared in the hatch.
“Commission.”
“Target?”
“A guest of the Polwyvern estate.”
After the brief exchange.
With a clanking sound, the lock was released, and the massive iron gate slowly opened its jaws toward the man.
Krrrrrr….
And from within, a small man who barely reached the man’s waist revealed himself.
The owner of the two eyes that had appeared in the hatch.
A hunchback, bent nearly in half at the waist.
“Use it after three minutes.”
Saying that, the man held out a single scroll toward him.
A teleportation scroll.
The gold coin the man had handed over was not the commission fee, but payment for this scroll.
“…….”
When he looked back again, the hunchback was nowhere to be seen.
Following the instructions, he waited three minutes, tore the scroll, and closed his eyes.
One of the conditions of a Fallen Leaves commission was that even the client would not see their faces.
Soon after, a voice was heard before the man.
“There are two targets. They are currently under the protection of Lady Laia.”
It was a youthful, delicate voice whose gender could not be discerned.
There was no sign of surprise just because it sounded like a child’s voice.
After all, there was no guarantee that voice even belonged to the speaker.
“You must evade the surveillance of the knights, and there is a possibility of engagement. Accordingly, additional payment will be required.”
“Fine. I’ll pay.”
The man took something out from his bosom and dropped it in front of him.
“This is…!”
“It’s something that cannot be made or obtained without the imperial family of the Empire.”
A red liquid contained in a transparent bottle.
As if having confirmed it, the voice trembled slightly for a moment.
“If you complete it, I’ll give you ten more.”
At those words, the voice that had fallen silent for a moment spoke again.
“…Three operatives will be deployed. One will kill the maid, and the other two will assassinate the target.”
At those words, Sanchez frowned.
For Fallen Leaves to deploy three or more members meant that it had become that important a mission.
‘Just what kind of new drug is this, to the point that even they…?’
The Empire’s elixir that had captivated Hellian, his lord.
Anxiety and curiosity rose at the same time, but he did not think any further.
That medicine was Hellian’s treasure, and at the same time, another reverse scale.
He could not risk touching it rashly and falling out of favor.
***
“An assassination, you say?”
I spoke to Laia, who asked that with a bizarre expression.
“Exactly as it sounds. I turned my clothes inside out like this, ruined their dignity, and even rejected their proposal. There’s no reason for them to let me live, is there?”
As I said that, she seemed to accept it as understandable, but Laia’s doubts did not appear to be fully resolved.
“I understand it’s dangerous, but how can you be so sure?”
“I have my own information network.”
I said that with exaggerated bravado.
‘If I said a ghost told me, I’d just get called a madman. Even if they believed me, I’d be sent back to the Order.’
Thinking of my reputation, which still had yet to improve, I thought as much.
“Then who is targeting the young master?”
At Gordon’s question, Laia chimed in.
“That’s right. If you wield the sword as well as you do, no ordinary organization would stand a chance.”
Looking at them as they asked, I relayed the information the banshee had given me.
If I explained it in detail, I’d only expose my hand, so I focused on keywords. As briefly as possible.
“Fallen Leaves.”
“……!”
And at that name, Gordon’s eyes widened.
‘Huh, what? He really knows them?’
If the captain of the Polwyvern knights was wary, it meant they were a bigger shot than I had thought.
“How did those guys, whose base is in the west, make it all the way here….”
“There were rumors that Duchess Hellian was secretly supporting them. It seems they were true.”
As Gordon said that, Laia clicked her tongue roughly.
‘It seems like a headache for their side as well. I might be able to make use of this.’
Inferring the rough situation from their reactions, I spoke to them with a smile.
“So, let’s make a deal.”
At those words, Laia, having guessed the contents of the deal, nodded.
“Understood. We’ll guarantee the young master’s safety on our side. Instead….”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Joining forces with the conservative faction of Polwyvern, led by Laia, to keep Hellian in check.
Considering the current situation of Leinrant, it was not such a bad proposal.
‘But if it comes to this, I’ll end up with the same dilemma as Hellian.’
If they shed blood for my safety, then the initiative would fall not to me, but to Laia in the future.
If that happened, I would have to move as they wished.
But my objective was the opposite.
Just as Hellian moved the collateral branches of Leinrant.
I, too, had to manipulate the conservative faction of Polwyvern according to my will.
“As a condition for working together with you, I demand the return of the Leinrant farmlands that became the property of Polwyvern.”
“W-What…!”
The one startled by my words was not Laia, but Gordon.
‘With Laia’s influence, as part of the ducal faction, this much should be more than possible to pull off.’
While I was thinking that.
Laia, her expression hardened, asked me.
“You don’t need protection?”
“Yes. If I die, this deal never existed in the first place, so you won’t suffer any losses.”
When I said that, one of Laia’s eyebrows rose.
“Let’s say you survive Fallen Leaves.”
A voice heavy with distrust was directed at me.
“In exchange for returning the farmlands, what do you plan to offer?”
“Information extracted from a captured Fallen Leaves operative.”
At those words, Laia’s face, which had been watching me, twisted.
“Capture? Fallen Leaves?”
“Yes.”
As I answered without a single change in expression, Laia asked again.
“Do you even know what kind of organization Fallen Leaves is before saying that?”
“Well. Just that they’re dangerous enough that even the descendants of the Dragon Slayer tread carefully?”
When I provoked her with a faint smile, the knights nearby flinched.
“You’re more reckless than I thought. Fallen Leaves isn’t like those small-time rabble! They are…!”
“And on top of that.”
I cut off Laia’s attempt to dissuade me and continued.
In an alliance, what mattered was the hierarchy between both sides.
To pull an opponent who stood above us down to the same level, I had to be the one to present the initial stake, not them.
A stake strong enough to overwhelm their expectations and let me take the lead in this deal.
“I’ll kill Hector for you, disguised as an imperial agent.”
When I played the card I had prepared, Laia asked back.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said I’d kill Hector for you.”
To kill the heir of the Duke of Polwyvern family.
Right in front of Laia, a member of that very family.
It went without saying how dangerous it was to bring that up to her, especially since she was a knight.
“Isn’t that the most effective way to deal the greatest blow to Hellian in the current situation?”
The easiest way for the second-in-command to reach the top was to kill the first.
If the succession of Polwyvern became unstable, chaos would descend upon the ducal faction led by Hellian.
“I think it’s better to shake up the board rather than dragging on a hopeless stalemate like this.”
Gordon, who had been listening to my words beside Laia, nodded.
“A murder carried out by an outsider, and at that by an imperial agent. If it succeeds, even Hellian’s alliance with the Empire….”
“……!”
At Gordon’s explanation, Laia clenched her fist.
Though they were half-siblings, they had been born and raised in the same family.
The fact that she had to kill such a person must have been a tremendous burden for someone still so young.
“Milady. I know it pains you, but now is the time to make a decision.”
A girl who bore far too heavy a burden at such a young age.
Even as he looked at Laia with pity, Gordon did not withhold his advice.
“…….”
After some time passed like that.
“Can you take responsibility?”
Laia, who had been looking at me, asked.
Just as Dunkel had shown me before, I clenched my fist and pressed it against the left side of my chest as I answered.
“On the honor of Leinrant.”
Honor.
Though I spoke it aloud, it did not carry much weight for me.
To begin with, I was a Necromancer, not a knight.
I had only said it because it seemed like the words most likely to persuade her, the commander of a knight order.
As I thought that inwardly with a bitter smile, it was Laia who broke the silence first.
“Alright.”
After saying that, Laia stood up from her seat and extended her hand toward me.
“Young Master Klein Leinrant. I accept the deal.”
Hearing those words, I smiled and took her hand.
The second of Leinrant and the second of Polwyvern.
The two second-in-commands, pushed aside in the struggle for power, clasped hands for the first time like this.
The situation is more serious than I thought.
Late at night.
The city of Polwyvern, visible in the distance, showed no sign of its lights going out even at midnight.
After looking at Arin, who slept soundly, unaware of everything, I stepped out onto the balcony at the voice echoing in my head.
“I feel the same. I didn’t think it was this much of a mess.”
In my hand, as I echoed Rudel’s lament, was a piece of wood stained red.
It was an item given to me by the banshee who had told me about the assassination plan against me.
“I thought she was just a monster obsessed with power, but to think she’d fallen this far.”
Gritting my teeth as I looked at the wooden fragment in my hand.
“Purity is about fifty percent. To refine it this cleanly, there’s no way other materials would suffice.”
Then this is….
“They used living humans as materials.”
My head throbbed.
The cause of the headache wasn’t me, but Rudel’s soul, which was connected to my mind.
-I raised her wrong…. I raised her wrong….
A deep sense of regret surged into my mind.
To think his daughter had turned into such a vile monster.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how that must feel for a father.
‘It’s a small mercy that I found out before a finished product came out.’
As I tightened my grip on the wooden fragment, the blackened piece crumbled into ash and scattered.
“To dare use my research for something this filthy.”
Ignoring it, I ground my teeth while looking at the imperial flag hanging on one side of the villa.
“Imperial Emperor. Don’t expect to die peacefully.”
After saying that, I prepared to head outside.
According to what the banshee had told me, the attackers were about thirty minutes away from here.
Preparation was needed for guests who had come calling after so long.
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