abcnovels
Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Chapter 20 – Territorial War (1)
To reiterate, in my previous life, I was resistant to all kinds of poisons.
Even though most were filtered out by my subordinates, peculiar poisons such as this one occasionally found their way into my mouth.
Moreover, the one who first concocted this White Flame Burst Poison was…
“……Raven.”
One of my five closest subordinates, so there was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.
‘If Raven had been a traitor, I would have faced countless crises long ago.’
No matter how strong my resistance to poison was, Raven was a true master in that field.
If someone was to be called a Poison Master, none would deserve the title more than him.
“P-Poison? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“……”
I silently stared into Lady Isabelle’s eyes.
As they say, a guilty conscience needs no accuser.
Unable to withstand the silence,
Grab!
She abruptly snatched the teacup from my hand.
“It’s quite unpleasant! No matter how grave my mistake, I am not so shameless as to poison a guest!”
“Is that so?”
“You don’t seem to believe me. Let me prove it then.”
Without hesitation, Isabelle gulped down the contents of the teacup.
However.
“Here, have this to cleanse your palate.”
“Pfft!”
I quickly turned my head to the side.
Soon, the tea she spat out covered me like a fountain.
In my hand was still a cookie meant for the tea.
“White Flame Burst Poison. When it comes into contact with white salt refined in a special way, it melts all the internal organs— a deadly poison.”
“……”
“This cookie must also be made with salt instead of sugar, right?”
Lady Isabelle couldn’t respond.
That’s probably why the maid named Emile was so excessively fidgety earlier.
‘Still, she has quite the personality.’
People naturally have an aversion to poison.
Even if it’s temporarily harmless to the body, she inhaled the White Flame Burst Poison without any hesitation.
“Are you in a hurry?”
“……!”
“The marquis’ knight you trusted was killed, the assassins you secretly sent failed, and now even the last-ditch attempt to poison me has failed. So, what else do you have to show me?”
Tremble.
The shaking in Isabelle’s body grew stronger over time.
And then, all of a sudden.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Crash!
At last, at a sweep of her hands, the table overturned and tumbled to its side.
“I-Is there a problem, Lady Isabelle?”
Hearing the commotion, the count’s knights quickly grasped the situation and surrounded us.
They intended to separate us.
Not only that, they even threw murderous glances my way.
“After causing trouble, you’re the one raising a fuss?”
The knights were the first to react to my sarcasm.
“You! What have you done to the lady?”
“However, it doesn’t seem like a wise decision.”
Before Isabelle could say anything, I pointed to the teacup with my finger.
“Now that the lady has a surveillant attached…… if you escalate this, a formal investigation will begin. Are you sure about this?”
The evidence was clear as day.
Tremble.
Isabelle, whose eyes were twitching, quickly raised her hand.
“Everyone…… stand down.”
“But, my lady.”
“I said, ‘stand down!’ Do you take me as a joke?”
The lady shouted, losing even her usual grace.
“Y-Yes, ma’am.”
Only then did the knights hastily withdraw.
Of course, they did not completely disappear from sight for the sake of security.
“Now, you’re ready to have a proper conversation.”
“Huff, huff, huff.”
The lady continued to take deep breaths.
Surprisingly, she quickly regained her composure.
“You. What do you want from me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Stop the pretense! You must want something from me to stay quiet this long. I know very well you’re no ordinary child, so tell me what you want!”
“Oho?”
A sigh of admiration slipped from my lips.
Indeed, she was the lady of a count’s house.
‘Your way of dealing with things is impressive.’
The water had already spilled.
Now she had nothing left but to fall.
But even in this situation, she was trying to leave room for negotiation.
It might sound like she’s given up, but this was another form of enticement.
Her words could be interpreted as, ‘If you want something, say it. Instead, let’s set a new negotiation table.’
And this was exactly the reaction I wanted.
“Very well. Now we can have a proper conversation.”
A twisted smile formed on my lips.
“I’ve heard about the circumstances of the Arsene Count’s house. What fault do the children have? I may not be able to help with their life-defining exams, but I shouldn’t cause any harm either.”
“……Enough with the preambles. Tell me what you want.”
I nodded at her subdued voice.
“Then let’s get straight to the point. If you grant me this one favor, I will forget all the mistakes you have made so far.”
Pause.
At that moment, Isabelle’s every action came to a halt.
“Wh-What did you just say?”
“Nothing more, nothing less. Just one favor. If you do this one thing for me, I promise not to testify about any of your crimes.”
“……!”
The endless trembling of her eyes gradually subsided.
Isabelle’s snake-like eyes busily moved to ascertain the truth of my words.
Then, she also realized that I was sincere.
“……Oh my.”
She instantly transformed into a completely different person.
The venomous villainess was no longer there.
Only a dignified noblewoman, like a single rose in full bloom, stood before me.
“I didn’t know you were such a courteous person. I can’t bear to think of how big of a mistake I almost made……”
“Hahaha. A dog only sees its shit, but a butterfly sees flowers.”
“Thank you for opening my foolish eyes, honored guest.”
“I’m glad to have been of help.”
“It might not be much of a reward, but please, tell me anything, honored guest. I will listen attentively.”
“As time passes, it seems we understand each other better, which makes me very happy, Lady Dogshit.”
“Oh my. Isn’t it Lady Butterfly, now?”
“Ah, right. My apologies, hahaha!”
“It happens. Hohoho!”
We laughed together for a long time.
Of course, the emotions in our eyes as we looked at each other were entirely different.
***
At the terrace of Count Arsen’s mansion.
“……”
Jake, a servant of the mansion, was silently observing the commotion in the garden.
When the lady finally ruined the tea time with her own hands, he left the building without looking back.
He quietly moved to a secluded area through the back door and immediately took out a communication crystal ball.
“It seems the lady has failed.”
-……
There was no response.
In a situation where anyone could walk in at any moment, a brief silence followed.
Unable to withstand the pressure, Jake spoke again.
“I’m sorry! I should have paid more attention……”
-……From this moment on, sever all ties with the Arsene County. Prioritize this above all other missions.
“……Understood!”
-Additionally……
A shocking order came next.
-Eliminate Isabelle.
“Gasp!”
Jake drew a sharp breath involuntarily.
-This is your last chance. If you fail to kill her, don’t think about returning alive.
Thunk!
Before he could reply, the communication crystal ball dimmed.
“K-Kill the lady……?”
This was no ordinary matter.
Up until now, it had only been a prelude, but from now on, it felt like a full-scale war.
Of course, from the Marquis’ point of view, it was an extremely efficient decision.
If you can’t eliminate the witness, eliminate the culprit!
As the culprit, Isabelle’s confession held significance.
Pressuring the lady through a thorough investigation would eventually force her to confess her crimes.
That must be Count Arsene’s current plan.
A mere testimony from a commoner child who almost got sold into slavery would hardly threaten the Marquis.
‘Since the mistress of his family committed a crime, Count Arsene would surely face criticism, but he, who values principles, wouldn’t care much.’
This was certain.
Count Arsene would gain two significant advantages from this decision.
In the short term, justification.
In the long term, trust.
In a situation where even the family’s honor was at stake, it would be hard for anyone to think there was any special motive behind his actions.
While it might negatively impact Count Arsen’s reputation in the short term, people’s perceptions would soon change.
People are always quick to criticize others’ mistakes regardless of the truth, yet they exhibit extreme selfishness when it comes to their own matters.
In the future, whenever someone faces injustice or needs a fair investigation, they will surely seek out the name ‘Arsene.’
Thus, he’d be able to get both justification and trust.
‘However, if the lady is murdered at this point, the situation will be overturned.’
Jake’s back was drenched with cold sweat.
He had to kill the lady right in the middle of the Count’s mansion.
Could he do it?
No, he had to do it.
‘For the sake of my lord……!’
***
Meanwhile, the hostile atmosphere between the two families had finally reached the royal palace.
Even the knight examination, the biggest event of the year, was postponed due to these ominous rumors.
In the palace of the second prince of the Hart Kingdom.
“Your Highness, some rather concerning information has been obtained through the Shadow Unit.”
At these words, the second prince, Terry Kuhn Hart, tilted his head.
“Concerning information?”
“It appears that a dispute has arisen between the Marquis Foltaine and the Count Arsene.”
“A dispute, you say……”
Prince Terry, muttering absently, kept tilting his head.
The Shadow Unit was an intelligence organization directly operated by the royal family of Hart.
This was nothing unusual.
Royalty had been running such private intelligence organizations since ancient times.
They couldn’t oversee the entire kingdom by staying cooped up in the palace.
Rebellion does not happen suddenly.
It takes considerable time for the seeds of treachery to sprout and grow.
Before a certain force grows beyond control, it must be checked and suppressed.
That is the only way for a particular bloodline to dominate the royal family for a long time.
Currently, there are two princes and two princesses in the Hart Kingdom.
The king had assigned roles to each of them.
The heir apparent to the throne had been firmly established as the eldest son from the beginning.
This was because in the Hart Kingdom, where the power of the noble faction was strong, internal strife among siblings would lead to self-destruction.
Instead, he had directed the second prince to lead the largest royal intelligence organization, the Shadow Unit, to bolster royal authority.
However.
‘I have not given up on the throne yet.’
A parent’s heart can never be the same as a child’s heart.
The second prince wanted to prove his abilities and overturn the decision of making his elder brother the heir.
Even if it would ultimately be seen as unfilial!
‘Since I have a dream.’
Shaking off his thoughts, Prince Terry immediately questioned back.
“Tell me the exact details.”
“It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but there are many witnesses who saw members of the Foltaine family being taken to the Arsene family. Additionally, there’s talk that a knight from the Foltaine family was killed in the process.”
“What?”
Prince Terry, unable to hold back any longer, stood up.
Isn’t this situation far more serious than he thought?
“You can’t call that a simple dispute, can you?”
“……Yes. If the rumors are true, it’s not an ordinary issue. Even if the person is guilty, Marquis Foltaine would never admit it. If that happens……”
“……It would be war.”
Prince Terry muttered as if groaning.
There was only one kind of war between two families.
A territorial battle.
A cliff-edge showdown where both families stake everything.
No, a literal ‘war.’
The losing side would lose everything.
However, a territorial war required prior approval from the royal family.
Nobles were also subjects of the kingdom.
In other words, they were the king’s property.
Moreover, territorial wars could be exploited by local powerful families to expand their influence, so they were strictly forbidden by national law without prior approval.
“Count Arsene is not one to arbitrarily arrest an innocent person.”
“I agree.”
Prince Terry stroked his chin and fell into thought.
Marquis Foltaine was a representative of the noble faction.
In contrast, Count Arsene, who held the significant position of Deputy Minister of Security, was one of the core members of the royalist faction.
‘If I rashly support Count Arsene, it could give the noble faction a justification for rebellion.’
Prince Terry’s concerns deepened.
However, he couldn’t just stand by, as if Count Arsene were to be counterattacked and fall, it would be a severe blow to the royalist faction’s power.
Moreover, if that happened, the second prince, who was in charge of the intelligence organization, wouldn’t be able to avoid responsibility either.
“……Let’s monitor the situation a bit longer. But instruct the Shadows to focus all their resources on these two families. It’s an emergency.”
“Will Count Arsene hold out?”
Prince Terry nodded without hesitation.
“They wouldn’t immediately engage in a territorial war. They would either try to negotiate or build a case first.”
No matter how much power Marquis Foltaine held, now that the news had reached the royal palace, they wouldn’t act rashly.
Prince Terry’s voice, having regained his composure, even carried confidence.
However, that confidence didn’t last long.
“Y-Your Highness!”
A new report came from another shadow kneeling outside the open door.
“Just now, an application for a territorial war between Marquis Foltaine and Count Arsene has been submitted!”
“……!”
Prince Terry’s eyes widened in shock.
“A-Already……?”
“I-I saw it with my own eyes.”
Prince Terry’s face changed instantly.
“Let’s go! If that’s true, I need to see Father immediately.”
“But, Your Highness, wouldn’t it be better to gather more information first before seeking an audience……”
“No.”
Terry shook his head without a moment’s hesitation.
He had already been blindsided once by dithering.
If he hesitated any longer and something happened, the situation would be irreversible.
“The situation is crystal clear. Marquis Foltaine, unable to withstand the pressure, must have acted. Rather than being branded a criminal, he would rather preemptively claim to have been framed by Count Arsene!”
Having regained his composure, Second Prince Terry quickly made his decision.
The problem was that the informant’s report wasn’t finished yet.
“A-Actually, Your Highness, the application wasn’t submitted by Marquis Foltaine, but by Count Arsene.”
Flinch.
Terry froze instantly.
His close aide also stared at the informant in shock.
Slowly,
Very slowly, the second prince’s neck turned toward the shadow.
Creak.
It sounded like the rusty hinge of an old door that wasn’t properly oiled.
“What?”
The prince’s jaw dropped to the floor.
This happened just a few days after the attempted poisoning by Lady Isabelle.