Volume 2 Chapter 79 Dark Knight II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
About 60 percent of the lords remain in the hall, kneeling following Homolka.
”Glory to Your Excellency,” “Glory!” “Glory to Your Excellency Maribel.”
”────”
As Maribel looked around, tears welled up in her eyes.
”Thank you, thank you…!”
”I will follow Your Excellency,” “Glory to Your Excellency!” “Glory to Your Excellency Maribel.”
”Everyone, thank you.”
* * *
After a while, when the chant ended, Maribel suggested moving to another venue she had prepared.
It seemed she intended to start over in a different place from the beginning.
The remaining lords stood up one by one and began to leave the blood-soaked venue.
Kian also wrapped up as much of the leftover food as he could, quietly slipping out of the hall with the flow of the lords.
* * *
After the evening party ended, Kian was called by Maribel’s guard and followed him to Maribel’s office.
It had been a tumultuous day, but an event remained where he would meet Azrael’s envoy.
For Kian, it could be said that this was just the beginning.
In the office were Maribel, Christy, Owl, Renaud, Aisha, Oswald, Natasha, and Homolka.
Naturally, McCutchen and Waterman, who had been there in the morning, were absent──.
The young blonde princess, the one responsible for their removal, sat calmly in a chair in the office.
The chair was large relative to her small frame, making it look as if a doll were perched on the seat.
”────”
When it came to Maribel, she still gave an impression of being young and naive, but viewed now, she seemed beyond her years.
What could she be thinking now?
Was today’s farce something she had planned all along?
Although she was being ignored by Eleonora and the others, doesn’t she have any thoughts about that?
It’s concerning, but he can’t read anything from the expression of the blonde young princess.
She seemed to deliberately avoid making eye contact with Kian who just entered.
Incidentally, Oswald, who should have left the room in tears with Eleonora earlier, was leaning casually against the wall beside the bookshelf.
He flashed his usual charming smile and winked as soon as Kian walked in.
”Hey, Kian. It’s a nice evening.”
”Sir Oswald. I thought you had already left.”
”Oh, come on, that was just an act.”
”Even so, I can’t understand why you’d seriously swing your sword at me.”
Owl murmured in a low voice beside them.
”I apologize, Owl. I had no intention of killing you. I swear.”
”――――.”
Owl fell silent.
Oswald was smiling, but his eyes looking at Owl were completely devoid of humor.
”I received a report from Lord Renaud.”
Maribel began speaking calmly.
She stood up from her office chair and walked to the front of the desk, scanning the faces around her.
”It seems an envoy from the Nakash family has requested permission for teleportation. The envoy and the teleportation shaman will soon arrive at the fortress in the Châtillon province. Kian, I’m sorry, but I’ll need you to accompany them.”
”Are you planning to hand me over to Azrael?”
”No, we wouldn’t do something foolish like handing over a knight as competent as you. Please rest assured.”
”Then I’ll gladly accompany them.”
”This will be a dangerous negotiation. There’s no guarantee the enemy won’t attack while we’re there.”
”──The port is in my domain. If those apostles crawl out like earthworms, I’ll crush every last one.”
Renaud said this, his gnarled hands clenched tightly.
Oswald raised an eyebrow at that.
”Speaking of crushing, Your Excellency, was it really fine to let Lord McCutchen escape like that?”
”Does Oswald think it would have been better to kill him?”
”Yes, garbage should be disposed of promptly. Hey, Owl?”
”……”
”Still, McCutchen cannot be killed yet. If he were dead, the number of lords who would have left would have increased even more. Additionally, persuading the lords who left would have become nearly impossible.”
Maribel continues.
”We need to acquire his connections, logistics routes, and wealth naturally. To do that, we must give him a chance to counter-attack and, in doing so, demonstrate our legitimacy.”
”I think that’s naive, Your Excellency.”
”It’s frustrating, but I agree with Oswald. By the way, it might be better to eliminate all the unneeded lords who left at this point.”
”──I feel like the number of nobles has been increasing lately; perhaps we should thin them out a bit?”
Natasha said this and chuckled.
”……”
Maribel does not respond.
She simply leans silently against the desk.
Kian, who had drained many women’s vitality until now, could see that Maribel’s spirit was diminished more than usual.
Although she did not show it, it seemed she was quite mentally exhausted.
(Even though she chose this path, she will suffer from stomach aches at this age.)
’I don’t think that princess over there has such a delicate heart that it would easily crumble. She’s a shameless and cunning woman who uses others for her own gain.’
(…….Well, it’s certainly true she’s not a commendable girl.)
A somewhat heavy silence fell, and Renaud spoke while shaking his braided mustache.
”So, are we moving now or not?”
”Let’s teleport. Homolka, Natasha, Fringilla, Liam, I’ll leave the rest to you. Owl, I count on you to continue taking care of your subordinates.”
”Of course.”
”Natasha, please take care of the barrier at the main castle.”
”Yes, Your Excellency.”
”Homolka, please monitor McCutchen’s movements.”
”Leave it to me, Your Excellency. I will keep a close watch.”
”Oswald and Owl, please patrol near the fortress where negotiations will take place after jumping to Châtillon.”
”Understood.”
”──The room for receiving the envoys is already prepared, as I told my sons. The fortress’s defenses are solid, but the enemy excels at hiding in the dark. Oswald, Owl, don’t get stuck in the mud.”
”Who are you talking to, Renaud? Aisha is here, so it’s fine.”
”Yeah. And embraced by the night, I am invincible. If any audacious intruders come, I will slaughter them all. Renaud, I entrusted you with the princess’s protection.”
Renaud only snorted at Owl’s words.
Maribel looked around the group once more and issued her command.
”Well then, everyone, let’s not miss anything. Aisha, Owl, Christy, please deploy the teleportation gate.”
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply