Chapter 20 | The Assassin Makes a Decision
My first assassination as Lugh Tuatha Dé had been executed to perfection.
Just as the royal family asked, I’d killed my target in a way that ensured that anyone who saw him knew it had been murder. The royal family had wanted to make an example of the count to send the message that this was what would happen to any noble who dared to think they could get away with anything they wanted.
Without any evidence of connection to the royal family, no one would be able to point fingers to the ruling party, either. At the same time, the general feeling was that the royal family was behind such assassinations, but without proof, no one could say anything. In this way, many nobbles toed the line out of fear that they would be next.
“If only killing the hero could be as easy as this was,” I muttered while running down the mountain road.
I had high hopes for the new formula that I was going to test in three days on the uninhabited island that Maha had found for me. The magic I’d devised was strong enough to obliterate anything for hundreds of meters in all directions. That’s why it could only be tested somewhere without people.
I had high hopes that it might even be able to kill the hero.
It’d now been three months since my first assassination.
I was relaxing on a hill with a really nice view. This had come to be my favorite spot.
In the last three months, I’d been busy with training, magic development, raising capital, and expanding the information network as Illig Balor. I’d even performed two more assassinations.
That many kills in such a short amount of time was an absurd pace. I suppose it was a good indicator of how rotten the Alvanian Kingdom had become.
Nobles were left mostly to do as they pleased, so long as they paid their due in taxes to the royal family. They were allowed so much freedom, it enabled them to make laws within their respective domains.
Their other duties really only included conscription of soldiers and the contribution of funds and food during times of war.
This excess of time and money inevitably led to many nobles growing overambitious.
Many nobles even saw themselves not as subjects of the king but as the rulers of their own little countries. Unless drastic measures were taken, more upstarts like Count Venkaur were likely to crop up.
“I defeated Ronah today, my lord! With that, I’m now up two wins to one.”
A cheerful Tarte addressed me as I was lying on the hill, breaking my train of thought. Judging by her heavy breathing, she’d probably run all the way here right after her fight with Ronah, hoping to earn my praise.
“Beating Ronah means you’re probably able to handle any of this kingdom’s knights. Was he angry?” I asked.
“… Only a little. I’ve got a message from Ronah, actually. He said he wants to train under you, because he’s interested in the training regimen that made a girl like me strong enough to beat him,” Tarte replied.
“It must’ve been a shock to hear someone as proud as Ronah ask for help with training. But you did great.”
While only a member of the branch family, my cousin Ronah was a mage and was still a bearer of the Tuatha Dé name. As such, he was already receiving high-quality training. Two years ago, he’d possessed enough power to rival the strongest knights in the country, but since then, he’d succeeded in becoming even stronger.
It was actually because I’d judged Tarte and Ronah to be of relatively equal strength that I’d ordered Tarte to challenge my cousin to some practice fights.
Tarte had lost the first, narrowly won the second, and easily won the third. She really was improving quickly.
“I’m your retainer and assistant. I have to be able to handle at least this much! …Huh? Isn’t that Maiya? It looks like she’s calling us.”
Maiya was one of our longest-serving retainers. Judging by her panic, it seemed like something serious had happened.
We hurried back to the mansion, where I was greeted by the smell of blood. Most of it had been cleaned up, but there was enough left that my nose caught the scent.
There was no sign of a fight. The blood instead seemed to have come from a heavily wounded guest who just arrived at our estate. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t likely to be very pleasant.
I entered the study to find my dad. His face was usually rather expressionless when he was working, but today it appeared especially rigid.
“Lugh, we just received a request. I want you to handle it,” he said.
“Is it of the behind-the-scenes sort?” I asked.
“Of course. It’s okay if you refuse the job. Honestly, it’s one you’d be better off not accepting, but I’ll leave it up to you… The request is to assassinate a count’s daughter in the neighboring country of Soigel… Dia Viekone.”
I felt my heart drop.
Dia was my magic mentor as well as my friend. Not to mention I had feelings for her.
I’m being asked to kill her?
“There are two things I’m unclear on. First, wouldn’t it be problematic to interfere in the affairs of a foreign country? Second, the Tuatha Dé clan only performs assassinations for the benefit of our nation. I can’t see how killing Dia would benefit anyone.”
“This hit holds none of the honor of our usual work. It’s a hit born purely of self-interest. That’s why I’m leaving it up to you. This job is not just for the good of the country. We risk this blowing up into an international incident if our involvement is in any way exposed.”
It was true. If it ever came out that we killed a high-ranking member of a foreign country, it could ignite a war.
“… Give me the details. Why do we have to kill Dia? Does it have something to do with the civil war in Soigel? Count Viekone sided with the king and lost, but his house paid its indemnities and should have been left alone after the war.”
With the Balor Company information network at my disposal, there was no way I wouldn’t have known about such a large event, even if it’d been in another country.
Soigel suffered from the same problems as Alvan. Namely, the level of power retained by the nobility and the growing ambitions of many of its members.
The difference was that Soigel had no Tuatha Dé clan.
As a result, the upper class had grown exceedingly impudent, and finally, many had one day declared the king an incompetent and negligent ruler. Declaring themselves the proper rulers of the kingdom, the nobles banded together and started a rebellion…which they won.
As soon as I’d heard about the civil war, and that House Viekone had picked the side of the royal family and lost, I’d rushed to Dia to see if she was okay. I told her I was prepared to use Illig Balor’s influence to ensure asylum for her whole family.
Dia had responded by saying that they were fine, and she told me not to come back until things had settled down.
“Oh, you know that much already? Then I’ll continue from there. Count Viekone lost and surrendered half of his wealth and land just as he was told… However, things didn’t end there, unfortunately. Dia draws a lot of attention. She’s beautiful, and she also possesses very powerful mana. As mana is inherited from one’s parents…you’d be hard-pressed to find a greedy nobleman who wasn’t trying to get ahold of her.”
Evidently, paying the indemnities hadn’t been enough to ensure the Viekone family’s safety. I’d naively underestimated the greed of mankind.
As I thought about it, there had been something strange when I’d talked with Dia about the revolution.
No way. Did she know this was going to happen, and prepare herself for it?
“Count Viekone planned to do whatever he was told. Likewise, Dia also wished to avoid needless bloodshed. The trouble is, their vassals couldn’t accept that. One thing led to another, and they ended up killing an envoy who’d arrived to take Dia away. At the same time, all the vassals tendered letters of resignation and announced they were going to fight back. They even went as far as to gather volunteer soldiers from among the citizens of the domain. Now they’re barricading themselves in the castle and holding Count Viekone and Dia inside. Indirectly though it may be, House Viekone has started a second rebellion. An army has already been dispatched their way, and fighting has begun.”
Count Viekone and Dia seemed to have been truly beloved by their people. Normally, citizens of a domain couldn’t care less who their lord was, thinking that had little effect on their day-to-day lives.
Admittedly, all the nobles whom I’d killed had been replaced with puppets of the royal family, and there’d been no disapproval from the citizenry. Despite this more commonplace indifference, the commoners of the Viekone domain had resolved to take up arms and fight for their rulers of their own accord, all in an attempt to protect Dia.
“So we’ve been asked to end a war in its early stages by killing Dia and her father, therefore removing the will of their citizens to fight… Is that what you’re going to say? Who in the world requested that? This doesn’t seem like the kind of thing the Tuatha Dé clan should get involved in,” I said.
“Our client is Count Viekone himself. His loyal retainer gave his life to convey this request,” my dad explained.
“Why?”
“Listen to the end. The details of the request are to fake Dia’s assassination and get her to safety. Even if their vassals win this battle, enemy reinforcements will soon arrive, effectively rendering their efforts pointless. This is the only way to save Dia, and we’re the only ones who can pull it off.”
Now it made sense. The deaths of those who’d started the rebellion were unavoidable at this point. Vastly outnumbered, Dia and the count couldn’t be saved, no matter how they fought. In such a case, faking Dia’s death was the only way she was going to get out of there alive.
“I understand the situation, but what I still don’t get is why you accepted this request. I never would have thought you the type to forgo our family creed,” I stated.
“You’re overestimating me. I have strayed from our tenets once before. I don’t doubt you’ve had your suspicions about this already, but Esri is a daughter of House Viekone. Which makes Dia your cousin. I have to repay my debt to Count Viekone. If he wants to save Dia, then that’s what I want, too. I owe that to him,” Dad explained.
“And what if I refuse?”
“The job would be impossible to complete. I would go, but I am not fast enough to make it. By the time I got there, it’d all be over. It has to be you, Lugh. Don’t think of it as a job. This is simply a personal request from me to you. One that also happens to deviate from our family creed.”
If the heavily wounded messenger who’d delivered this request was anything to judge by, the fighting had begun already.
Soigel bordered the Alvanian Kingdom, but the Viekone domain was over three hundred kilometers away, on a path that crossed two mountains.
Increasing your physical capabilities had a limit, and anyone with a normal amount of mana would’ve run out long before they got there.
It would’ve probably taken my dad two days, with him needing to take breaks along the way. On the other hand, I could get there in a few hours. It probably took the vassal three days to get here, but with my speed, I knew I could make it back in time.
Taking on this task was a bad idea. There was no defendable cause, and there was even a risk it’d bring harm to the Alvanian Kingdom.
I had to laugh. Hadn’t I decided that I wouldn’t repeat the mistakes I’d made in my first life? I wasn’t a tool. I made my own decisions.
That’s why I had to follow my heart.
“Dad… I accept this request.”
“Tell me your reasoning.”
“I have three. First, I owe Dia a debt for teaching me how to use magic. Second, I’m in love with her. Third, I made her a promise to come running when she calls for me. She’s definitely calling for me right now.”
I grasped the Fahr Stone necklace that Dia had given me when she’d left Tuatha Dé.
One more thing. Remember when you said you would do anything I want as thanks? I’m asking for that favor now. If I ever need to see you, promise you’ll drop everything and come running to me!
There was no doubting Dia needed me now. It was time to fulfill that promise.
It was undoubtedly a very dangerous situation to walk into, but I had to follow my heart.
“Is that so? …Only one time in my life have I used my blade for anything other than our family’s service to the Alvanian Kingdom. Do you know what that was for?” asked my dad.
“No. I can’t imagine you doing that sort of thing.”
“It was for Esri. I never would’ve imagined my son would end up doing the same thing. I didn’t think you were anything like me, but it seems we’re similar in the most unexpected of ways… Good luck.”
I nodded, then felt a wave of emotion come over me. My dad had also strayed from our family’s beliefs for my mom. We really were alike. This was the kind of thing that deepened familial bonds.
Leaving the room, I had a brief conversation with the foreign vassal who was being treated in a neighboring chamber. Once finished, I hastily departed.
This was an assassination to save Dia’s life, and I was going to see it done.
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