Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Dark Abyss

Count Zeleph gazed out the carriage window onto the dark highway.

“The blue moon is so clear that it’s almost frightening. It’s like an eye that can see through everything.”

The beautiful glow of the moon shone between the surrounding trees. It drew a perfect, unblemished circle in the sky. Perhaps it was the artfully displayed purity of that moon that made Count Zeleph feel disgusted with himself—at his own baseness, at how utterly defiled and filthy his heart was.

“We got through our first obstacle with this, but the next problem is how Lady Helena views it. Well, and...”

During his talk with Count Bergstone the day prior, the two of them had ironed out most of the details. They’d concluded that the deciding factor would be Helena, who was currently commanding the western garrison. Between the free Rhoadserian knights and the mercenaries serving under her, she currently commanded three knight orders—a total of roughly eight thousand troops. Except for the royal guards, who were stationed in the capital Pireas, Helena’s army was the strongest force in Rhoadseria in both numbers and quality. Having those units under her thumb meant that whatever choices she made going forward would greatly influence the outlook of the coming conflict.

Indeed, Helena had many options before her. As a knight herself, it made sense that she would swear fealty to Queen Lupis. But she could choose to betray her foolish sovereign and join with Duke Gelhart. She could also remain silent and watch how this situation developed.

But there was one person who worried Count Zeleph more than Helena did.

Ideally, she’ll agree to cooperate with us. But Lady Helena isn’t so much the issue here. We just need to ask for her opinion. The problem is...

He hadn’t told Count Bergstone this, but Count Zeleph had been about eighty percent confident that their initial plan would succeed. Making it work was by no means easy, so the possibility of failure always loomed over them. After all, they did intentionally leave the situation unattended until the commoners were on the verge of rebellion. This was a dangerous yet necessary attempt at resuscitation, meant to force Queen Lupis into making a decision—a true gamble that toyed with the very life of the Kingdom of Rhoadseria. But despite this, Count Zeleph hadn’t stopped Count Bergstone from executing his plan...for a reason.

The information my men found should’ve been accurate.

This had weighed on Count Zeleph ever since he got the news that a rebellion had broken out. Count Zeleph’s household had served the kingdom since its founding, but despite its long tenure, it wasn’t often discussed within aristocratic society. Such a household was unusual within the nobility. House Zeleph could be traced back to the kingdom’s early days, when it had held an important position. Despite that, few people actually knew of the family’s accomplishments.

The first Count Zeleph had climbed to the title of count, so he must have done something to earn this promotion. But no one knew why or even when he had been given the title. It was something of a mystery among the nobles.

Since the kingdom’s founding, there had been twenty heirs to the headship of House Zeleph, and none of them were particularly remarkable. This was one reason House Zeleph didn’t draw much attention among the nobles.

Within this world’s noble society, what one’s ancestors had achieved and how they had contributed to the country was a major status symbol. Boasting about it was a crucial part of maintaining one’s position and authority. Within this social construct, House Zeleph was quite the anomaly.

There was no such thing as a noble who didn’t boast of their house’s contributions, be it the achievements of their ancestors or merit won through their own personal efforts. In fact, most nobles spent their days pursuing any chance to make more achievements, to contribute and stand out further. And many nobles would usurp the accomplishments of others and claim them as their own without a second thought.

But even when he attended dinner parties, the current Count Zeleph spent the night standing in the corner, smiling amicably and engaging in harmless small talk. He would listen to others boast, but he never regaled them with stories of his forefathers’ grand exploits. If his brother-in-law, Alan Bergstone, happened to attend the party, Count Zeleph would simply cling to him like a shadow.

Still, even though Count Zeleph didn’t boast like the other nobles, he ruled over his land adeptly. He was a mild-mannered and pleasant man, and even when he was invited to parties where his wife couldn’t join him, he remained gentlemanly in both speech and conduct. He’d politely accept any invitations to dance, so long as the women weren’t too obnoxious or physically unfit to dance with a man of his stature and build.

Count Zeleph was quite the devoted husband. He didn’t have a concubine, and any such dances never escalated into forbidden relationships. Had the women disliked him, they could have coldly turned him down and publicly humiliated him. The fact that this didn’t happen was proof that he was well-liked within noble society.

He wasn’t shunned by those around him, nor was he mocked. That wasn’t to say he had never experienced any kind of harassment before, but those instances were because his brother-in-law was an ambitious man who drew the envy and antagonism of others. Count Zeleph would occasionally get caught in the crossfire. He wasn’t happy about it, but he concluded that fussing over every little affair would be a waste of time.

In short, Count Zeleph was a reliable and reasonable man, yet he was plain and forgettable. But that was only how he presented himself. What made Count Zeleph truly frightening was the intelligence network he’d created, which extended into the deepest reaches of the castle. He knew everything about Rhoadseria’s internal affairs. He was aware of all the dirty dealings the Rhoadserian nobles had committed. Every time someone manipulated the tariffs to line their pockets, he knew about it. He was privy to the number of lovers and bastard children each noble had. From the trivial to the crucial, he grasped everything about the royals and the nobles.

This was how he knew Queen Lupis had fainted after she’d heard the news of the rebellion. The gag order his brother-in-law was under was meaningless in the face of his intelligence network. This was the secret House Zeleph had kept since the kingdom’s founding.

My family’s network is operating properly. But despite this, a rebellion broke out. Did I miscalculate the situation? Or perhaps...

Count Zeleph was also under the impression that someone had intentionally caused the unrest hanging over Rhoadseria. Most of Rhoadseria’s nobles thought themselves superior and treated the other nobles as tools to further their extravagant lifestyles. Their subjects were like magic wands that produced money when brandished. Even so, they realized these magic wands had limits. They knew not to cross that line. As odd as it might sound, even the greediest of nobles had some semblance of self-restraint. They kept the extortion at a level where their social standing and military power could offset any disgruntlement.

Because of this, Rhoadseria’s peasants hadn’t revolted in centuries. The nobles had maintained a delicate balance of pressuring their people, but not smothering them entirely. Recently, however, that had changed.

Someone must be pulling the strings from behind.

Someone was presumably manipulating the nobles’ faction for the explicit purpose of agitating the commoners. At first, Count Zeleph had suspected that it was Viscount Furio Gelhart working behind the scenes to orchestrate his return to power. But after Count Zeleph looked into the matter, he found that things weren’t quite so simple.

From the looks of it, most of the nobles’ faction is involved. Meaning Viscount Gelhart is also involved. But he doesn’t seem to be the ringleader this time.

The fact that many of the nobles’ faction’s members were involved did point to Viscount Gelhart, but Count Zeleph’s analysis of the situation suggested the contrary. The chances of Gelhart being the one behind it were close to nil.

Being the king...would be tempting. But I doubt he would choose to do that.

Anyone could see that Furio Gelhart was a greedy man. Until he failed in the civil war, he’d used his position for his own benefit, giving him authority that in ways even overshadowed the king’s. For better or worse, Gelhart was power-hungry and selfish, but he was also obsessed with fame and reputation. House Gelhart had served Rhoadseria for generations. Furio Gelhart would avoid tarnishing its good name by being branded a usurper. If he truly had eyes for the throne, he’d had plenty of chances to claim it in the past.

Is someone ordering him to do this, then?

If Count Zeleph were to assume that Viscount Gelhart wasn’t trying to steal the throne, the next most likely culprit would be the O’ltormea Empire. The empire sought to conquer the western continent, and their biggest obstacles were the Holy Qwiltantia Empire, which reigned over the continent’s west, and the Kingdom of Helnesgoula, which ruled the continent’s north. Both of these powerful countries rivaled O’ltormea’s military might. No matter how strong the empire was, it couldn’t easily topple these two rivals. This meant they could only expand to the south and the east.

The continent’s south was a war-torn contested zone. The countries that occupied it were small, but they were locked in a state of incessant warfare. Because of this, their troops were seasoned and powerful. On top of that, whenever a larger country tried to invade, the southern kingdoms would set aside their differences and unite to repel the threat.

The holy capital of Menestia was also in the south. Menestia was the center of the greatest religious force on the continent, the Church of Meneos. While they claimed they didn’t interfere with worldly affairs, the pope governing the church was powerful enough that even a king would be hard pressed to oppose him. The Church of Meneos also had many knight orders serving under it, the most powerful being the Temple Knights. Their territory was small—roughly the size of a baron or viscount’s territory—and confined to Menestia and its surroundings only, but their military power could match the three great powers of the continent. Not even O’ltormea, as ambitious and hell-bent as it was, would recklessly pick a fight with them.

So with the continent’s north, west, and south out of the question, the empire could only expand east. Attacking the east wasn’t a simple task, but it was relatively easier to do so. Myest controlled the eastern coasts, and through trade with other continents, they’d become quite wealthy. This allowed them to hire powerful knights. Rhoadseria was an agricultural country graced with fertile lands, and it had the greatest population in the east. Xarooda was surrounded by steep mountains. Since most of its land was unlivable, it had the smallest population. But the mountains contained many mines, and their people were skilled smiths.

On their own, none of these countries were a match for O’ltormea, but as a united region, the east formed one of the most wealthy and fortified areas in the western continent. As a matter of fact, the empire had repeatedly tried to conquer them and failed.

If O’ltormea was trying to attack the east again, one approach would be to isolate and cripple Rhoadseria. This made them a prime suspect in Rhoadseria’s unrest. However, that would mean Viscount Gelhart was in cahoots with the empire. And if he was, he would demand his old territory in Heraklion as his reward.

The citadel city of Heraklion and its surrounding territories were arable regions that were especially bountiful, even when compared to the rest of Rhoadseria’s rich lands. Viscount Gelhart’s ancestors had tended to the land and developed it for generations. For Viscount Gelhart, regaining this land and his title were the most important things. This would give him a reason to cooperate with O’ltormea.

But if that were the case, he’d have no need to develop the land he was currently charged with. If he was hell-bent on returning to his old territory, he wouldn’t waste his time and effort on the smaller land he was inhabiting at present. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were to sell all the women in his domain into slavery in order to cover the war expenses, and conscript every man, young and old, into his army.

But my spies tell me Viscount Gelhart is working on stabilizing the villages in his new domain in the frontier lands. If nothing else, he’s not neglecting his duties.

Even though Rhoadseria was in such a state, Viscount Gelhart was still trying to stabilize a territory he’d only had for a couple of years. That implied he was solely focused on managing his own affairs.

Besides, being called a traitor isn’t much better than being branded a usurper of the throne. Which makes me think he’s not involved with O’ltormea...

Another possibility came to mind.

No... That man might not be a fool, but he is arrogant and careless. Someone might have threatened him and gradually coerced him into cooperating.

From Count Zeleph’s perspective, Furio Gelhart wasn’t very smart. When it came to managing his territory, he was quite skilled, but his talents stopped there. True, he did lead the nobles’ faction, but that was due to his territory’s wealth and House Gelhart’s name.

This was why when Gelhart swore fealty to Queen Lupis at the end of the civil war, Lupis had demoted him to a viscount and transferred his territory from his ancestral home in Heraklion to the frontier lands. Doing so would greatly cripple his influence and strength. The problem was that Viscount Gelhart still maintained his influence over the nobles’ faction, despite his demotion—even though there were higher-ranking dukes and counts in the faction.

Count Zeleph suspected that someone smarter might have been supporting Viscount Gelhart even before this, and that someone might very well be the mastermind behind all of this.

This is all just conjecture though.

For a moment, fear gripped Count Zeleph. He felt like he was peering into a fathomless darkness.

There’s a limit to what I can do alone. I wish there was someone I could turn to for help.

As talented as he was, Count Zeleph couldn’t grasp everything that went on in the world, nor could he resolve every problem that popped up. That wasn’t an issue of skill; it was simply impossible to be everywhere and do everything at once. The obvious solution was to find companions that could work alongside him.

Of course, his brother-in-law was the first to come to mind. But as soon as he thought of Count Bergstone, Count Zeleph shook his head.

Alan is too frank. He functions well in the public eye, but not when it comes to dirty work. That’s why we divided our roles the way we did.

Count Bergstone was trustworthy. He was intelligent and, without question, skilled at internal affairs. He was even quite talented with military affairs. But he wasn’t fit for this role. He was wise and amicable, but he wasn’t good at scheming and handling secret information. And though he was talented, he was too confident and proud.

Count Zeleph had held his tongue for years out of respect for his brother-in-law, but the misfortune that had befallen their territories for the last ten years was, honestly speaking, the result of Count Bergstone’s problematic attitude.

Their father-in-law Marquis Ernest had lost a political power struggle against Duke Gelhart. And the nobles’ faction was hostile with him because of his prideful demeanor. That didn’t mean that relations between the two counts and the other nobles were completely irreparable, though. If nothing else, Duke Gelhart hadn’t tried to crush their households. Considering Marquis Ernest and his entire clan had had to choose between execution and exile, this was a bit of a miracle.

This was only speculation on Count Zeleph’s part, but he believed that Duke Gelhart held Count Bergstone in high enough regard that he didn’t want to lose such an asset to Rhoadseria. The truth of the matter was that most of Rhoadseria’s nobles were useless good-for-nothings. So even if they were political rivals, Duke Gelhart wanted to put Count Bergstone’s skills to use.

Assuming that this hypothesis was correct, there was still the possibility of smoothing things over. Had Count Bergstone apologized to Duke Gelhart when time came to decide government positions, his standing might have improved. He wouldn’t have had to spend a decade living in seclusion within his territory, and the mayhem that reigned over Rhoadseria now might not have been quite as severe.

At the time, Count Zeleph had proposed that he and Count Bergstone negotiate with the nobles’ faction. But Count Bergstone had adamantly refused, choosing to remain loyal to the late Marquis Ernest.

I can understand his sense of duty to the marquis. And that loyalty is part of what makes him a good man, but...

Count Bergstone was better than the other foolish nobles, for sure. But he was too stubborn and obstinate—not at all the kind of man who’d plot behind the scenes.

It was then that another noble came to mind—the man who’d raised Lupis Rhoadserians from her inferior position and handed her Rhoadseria’s crown. He was a commoner, an adventurer of unknown origins, but through his exceptional achievements, he had risen to a noble rank in Rhoadseria.

Ryoma Mikoshiba... How would he act in this situation?

As a man adept at intelligence and scheming, Count Zeleph recognized that this hulking young man had a talent for subterfuge. He was as talented as Count Zeleph himself was.

I’d like to know what he’s up to. But no matter. I’ll find out sooner or later—

The moment that thought crossed his mind, a jolt pulled Count Zeleph from his thoughts. The carriage suddenly stopped, causing the count to lurch forward. He bumped his head against the opposite seat, and for a second his thoughts were muddled.

“What’s going on here?” he moaned painfully. “Hey, what happened?! Answer me!”

The fact that the coachman said nothing made Count Zeleph suspicious. Holding his aching forehead with his hand, he exited the carriage. Perhaps he’d cut his forehead during the impact, because dots of crimson stained his shirt. He felt something warm and moist drip down into his eyes.

Taking out a silk handkerchief from his pocket, Count Zeleph pressed it against the wound.

“Hey, what happened—”

As the mist slowly lifted from his clouded mind, he gasped at the sight before his eyes. What he saw left him speechless. Two men lay collapsed on the coachman’s seat, arrows lodged into their chests.

“This can’t be... How did this happen?!”

The coachman was a trusted employee who had served under him for many years. He was both a proficient member of his intelligence unit and an experienced warrior. The other man wasn’t as skilled as the coachman, but he was still a fine warrior. If they were up against mere bandits, the two of them could easily fend off ten to twenty of them.

Yet his capable guards had been dispatched before they could even resist, and that stunned Count Zeleph.

“Dammit! What’s going on here?!” he unintentionally cursed under his breath.

Having too many guards meant it was harder to act, and it made one conspicuous. This was why he only took two guards with him. That proved to be a fatal mistake, however. The guards weren’t heavily armed, but they did wear chainmail under their clothes. Anyone capable of slaying them that easily had to be quite skilled.

This isn’t a random bandit attack. Someone’s out for my life. But who?

Another flurry of arrows whizzed through the darkness, stabbing into the coachman’s seat. Count Zeleph quickly used his guards’ bodies as shields, but a few arrows pierced through their dead flesh. Thankfully, they only lightly grazed the count’s arms and legs.

It’s just bows and arrows. At least there aren’t any thaumaturgists here.

If the enemy’s sole weapon was a bow, he could remain behind cover and stay alive. An arrow fired from a tightly drawn bow could pierce a corpse, but its impact would still be greatly reduced. On top of that, a ranged attack from a great distance would be less accurate. Their number of arrows was limited as well. If given the chance, he could weather the storm and possibly launch a counterattack.

But if he were up against a thaumaturgist, that wouldn’t be an option. No matter what element of thaumaturgy they wielded, they would have the power to blow the carriage itself away, and their attack range and area of effect would be larger than any barrage of arrows.

Still, the fact that they chose to attack with arrows first means they probably don’t have any thaumaturgists with them.

Maybe this wasn’t quite the worst-case scenario, but it wasn’t far from it.

Unlike Alan, I’m not all that good with a sword. But I have no choice. I can’t just roll over and let them kill me.

Drawing the sword from his dead guard’s waist, Count Zeleph bided his time until a barrage of arrows ended. He used this pause to take cover behind the passenger car. He was on a highway, surrounded by thick woods, and it was late at night. No one was around. The chances of someone coming to help him were close to zero.

Even if he were lucky enough to run into adventurers or mercenaries passing through here, his outlook might still be grim depending on his attackers’ strength. Both of Count Zeleph’s guards were ranked Level 4 by the guild—not the most skilled warriors around, but certainly good enough to serve as vanguards in a knight order.

Even though the guards had been taken by surprise, the fact that they’d been immediately killed meant that the bows used to kill them were composite bows made of steel—the kind used to dispatch giant monsters.

If it were just one person with a bow, my guards would have been able to evade or cut down the arrow, which means...

These were heavy bows that a normal person would struggle to hold aloft, to say nothing of pulling the string. In all likelihood, there were multiple shooters. Count Zeleph’s chances of survival were slim.

Count Zeleph wasn’t a warrior. He had learned thaumaturgy as part of his noble’s education, and he’d learned how to wield a spear and a sword. But his skills as a warrior were subpar. He was, at best, slightly better than a novice knight. And even then, a novice knight could likely beat him due to the age difference.

But Count Zeleph’s true problem lay not in his physical condition, but in his heart. He knew the techniques needed for fighting, but his heart cowered at the thought of using them.

Count Zeleph directed his eyes to his sword, which clattered loudly in his shaking hands. This is pathetic. If Alan were to see me like this...

His brother-in-law always placed importance on a noble’s pride and self-discipline. What would he think of Count Zeleph if he saw him now?

Would you scold me for this or tell me I’m always a handful with that smile of yours? Heh, if I want to know the answer to that, I’ll have to survive here and find out.

Another arrow flew through the darkness. Seeing it stab into the passenger car’s door, which was reinforced with steel, confirmed Zeleph’s suspicions about the type of bow they were using.

If I had known this would happen, I’d have put more care into practicing thaumaturgy.

There was no use crying over spilt milk, but Count Zeleph had only one way of escaping this—slaying his assassins, though it was unlikely that he’d succeed.

But as he bravely prepared for the worst, Count Zeleph’s fate changed.

♱

Let us turn back the hands of time to several minutes before Count Zeleph steeled himself. Five shadows darted through the dark forest, striding faster than a steed could ever gallop. Their bodies were reinforced by martial thaumaturgy.

Two other figures emerged from the trees, regrouping with the first five.

“Over here, Lady Laura,” one of the Igasaki ninjas called out to the twins.

“How many attackers are there?” Laura asked.

“As far as we’ve seen, there are more than ten of them,” the ninja replied. “But they could have a few men hiding in the woods as a rear guard.”

Laura clicked her tongue.

No good. And Master Ryoma did warn us not to let Count Zeleph out of our sights.

This had all started a few months ago. One of the Igasaki clan’s men had discovered that Count Bergstone seemed to be preparing for some kind of large-scale gambit. Hearing this, Ryoma had immediately ordered that the Counts Bergstone and Zeleph were to be guarded from the shadows at all times.

The details of what Count Bergstone was planning were unclear, but given Rhoadseria’s current political climate, whatever he was doing couldn’t have been good. And after the meeting that had taken place in the palace a few days ago, there was a suspicious air around the two counts. Ryoma unflinchingly sent his two most trusted aides, the Malfist sisters, as reinforcements.

The two counts were indispensable pawns in Ryoma’s efforts to form a future country. Losing them now, just when he was on the verge of making his move, would be terrible. Of course, he didn’t know for sure that something was going to happen. It was just one of countless possibilities he’d considered and accounted for.

And, as a matter of fact, his judgment proved correct.

The twins were ordered to guard both counts, but Laura had decided to prioritize Count Bergstone. It wasn’t that she’d underestimated Count Zeleph’s worth; Count Bergstone had just seemed the more plausible assassination target between the two.

Because of this, they had failed to notice Count Zeleph secretly departing the capital under cover of night—a fatal mistake. Fortunately, they had ordered a few Igasaki ninjas to keep an eye on Count Zeleph. Thanks to that, they arrived on the scene before he was successfully assassinated.

“Laura, over there!” Sara said, pointing ahead.

Laura glanced in that direction, her gaze settling on a toppled carriage. Count Zeleph stood next to it, using the carriage’s door as a shield.

“He’s fine!” Laura said. “He’s using the door to defend himself!”

In truth, he wasn’t fine. He was only barely holding death at bay. But the result was decided at this point.

“Have the Igasaki ninjas spread out and keep watch over the area. The attackers are probably keeping Count Zeleph fixed in place so that their rear guard can creep up on him from behind and attack him when he’s defenseless.”

The Malfist sisters quickly issued orders, and the ninjas wordlessly nodded and disappeared silently into the woods.

“Are preparations complete?” Laura asked, to which Sara nodded gently.

They wordlessly drew the scimitars sheathed at their waists. They’d first encountered these curved swords when Ryoma had fought off the bandits attacking them. He stopped at the town of Alue to gather new gear, but he hadn’t forgotten about this weapon. When he returned from Xarooda, he had asked Nelcius to make them weapons they could wield either with one hand or two, and scimitars fit the bill.

The blades were even darker than the black night. These swords were blessed with endowed thaumaturgy—the secret art of the elves passed down uninterrupted for centuries. Their grips were inlaid with blood-red jewels that drew the attention of anyone who saw them. Any connoisseurs who laid eyes on their scimitars would likely drop a small fortune to buy them.

But as bewitching as the Malfist sisters’ scimitars were, they were still cold weapons meant for severing the thread of life. And these twins were about to put them on full display.

“Let’s begin, then! We hold nothing back,” Laura whispered as she drew her blade.

Prana circulated through the sisters’ bodies as they bid the Vishuddha chakra in their throats to operate. Their bodies became as light as the wind, granting them the explosive speed of a loosed arrow. In the blink of an eye, they had the assailants in their sights.

They split up into two groups after all.

There were ten attackers firing incessantly at the carriage. If the Igasaki clan’s report was to be believed, there were more than ten.

If they have a rear guard moving in to attack Count Zeleph from behind, there should be about five moving separately.

There were five Igasaki ninjas under the twins’ command—meaning they either matched the enemy’s detached force in number or they had only slightly fewer. Still, these were particularly experienced members of the Igasaki clan, and the assailants had their guard down, since they were confident their surprise attack was successful. They were prepared for the possibility that Count Zeleph might try to escape or counterattack, but a strike from a third party would catch them unaware. The worst thing the sisters could do was give away their presence.

Laura silently sprinted ahead. Holding the sword low with a horizontal grip, she slashed the man standing in front of her up across the flank.

It’s so sharp!

She’d realized the value of this blade the moment Ryoma gave it to her. It was light and supple and, at the same time, exceedingly hard and sharp. The blade maintained it’s edge by absorbing the wielder’s prana, and it naturally repaired any light nicks and scratches. But even though she knew of its powers, experiencing them firsthand made her realize the true worth of this scimitar.

At first, the man Laura had slashed didn’t seem to react in any way to the attack. But his body soon lurched forward, and he collapsed to the ground as blood spurted from his flank.

Without confirming that he’d fallen, Laura quickly set her eyes on another target—all in the name of completing the orders her beloved master had given her.

♱

Before long, the barrage of arrows that rained nonstop on the carriage died down.

“Did they run out of arrows?” Count Zeleph whispered to himself.

His heart beating, he slowly peeked out from his cover behind the door. The noise around him seemed to have died down, and silence now hung in the air. He could hear an owl hooting in the distance.

Is this a trap? But either way, if I just stay here, it won’t end well for me.

After checking two more times, Count Zeleph stepped out from the cover of the carriage. He knew this could very well be a trap meant to lull him into a false sense of security, but at the same time, the door couldn’t protect him forever. He’d have to make a gamble at some point to get out of this.

It was then that he heard the sound of rustling grass and cracking branches coming from the woods.

“Who’s there?!” he called out into the darkness, awkwardly directing his sword toward the noise. The blade shook in his hands. His throat burned, having gone dry from fear, and his heart thumped heavily.

The figure approaching him from the woods spoke to him with a calm, gentle voice.

“Please put your sword away, Count Zeleph. We’ve disposed of the assassins.”

Those words came out of nowhere. Truth be told, he wished he could openly believe this fortunate turn of events. But he didn’t know who he was speaking to, and he wasn’t nearly careless or stupid enough to blindly believe a complete stranger’s words.

“Do you take me for a fool?!” Count Zeleph shouted, his sweaty fingers clenched hard around his sword’s grip. “Who are you?!”

Though he was being cautious, something tugged at the back of his mind.

Where have I heard this voice before?

Perhaps because of his nerves, his thoughts weren’t as clear and sharp as usual. But this beautiful, chime-like voice was one Count Zeleph definitely knew.

“Have you forgotten who we are?” another familiar voice asked.

The owners of those voices approached him, the moonlight shining on their silvery and golden locks.

Finally recognizing the twins, Count Zeleph raised his voice in shock. “Aren’t you...? I see, you were with Lord Mikoshiba!” he exclaimed.

All the strength drained from his body, and he fell to the ground. This wasn’t how a man of his age and status would act in public, but he couldn’t help it. For years he’d presented himself as a mediocre fool to evade unwanted attention. This was the first time he’d ever faced the threat of assassination. On top of that, his martial prowess was lacking. This whole situation had made him feel extremely threatened.

Every person had things they were good at and things they weren’t suited for. A schemer couldn’t be as daring and brave as a warrior. The fact he hadn’t wet himself despite having just escaped the jaws of death was praiseworthy enough. The Malfist sisters knew this, and they didn’t mock or blame him for this shameful display.

“Lady Laura, Lady Sara, we’re done as well.”

A black-clad shadow suddenly appeared from within the forest and kneeled in front of the twins. Apparently, everyone was accounted for, which implied they’d done their job without any problems or complications.

Laura gave a satisfied nod and turned to look at Count Zeleph.

“Now, Count Zeleph, what do you intend to do next?”

After being attacked like this, the natural course of action would be to flee home. But as a man Ryoma Mikoshiba had seen as a person of value, Count Zeleph chose otherwise.

He parted his lips without a hint of hesitation.