Ch#52
Banquet (6)
Dalton Nimrud did not like the current situation one bit.
Where had it all started to go wrong?
As he mentally retraced his steps to find the answer, there was one point that stood out with glaring clarity.
「The plan has changed. The assassination will be carried out on the day of the banquet.」
Wolyeong.
It was because those wretched assassins had pushed back the date of Elric Portman’s assassination.
Originally, Dalton’s plan was to dispose of the bothersome Elric Portman before the banquet and kill Elbus Graham right here.
He had never intended to get his own hands dirty in the process.
However, since the situation had shifted to requiring both of them to be assassinated at once, he had no choice but to step forward himself.
He had come out here at Wolyeong’s request to lure them to the same spot, only to find things in this state.
Perhaps the heavens hadn’t abandoned him just yet.
“What a remarkable coincidence.”
When he actually stepped out into the garden, Elbus Graham and Elric Portman were standing together, engaged in conversation.
How did those two know each other?
The question flickered briefly in his mind but didn’t linger.
There was a fact Dalton was well aware of.
“Indeed, I have heard that Young Master Graham does not discriminate by rank when making acquaintances. I simply didn’t realize that temperament extended even to a Baron.”
He recalled hearing that Elric Portman had lived as a wanderer for ten years.
It was plausible that their connection had been forged during that time.
Once a convincing narrative formed, Dalton began to believe in its credibility.
Regardless, the plan remained unchanged; he simply had to handle this quickly and return.
Just as Dalton allowed a satisfied smile to spread across his face—
The two of them began to speak to each other.
Elbus started first.
「Who is this?」
「I am the Count of Nimrud.」
「I don’t make it a point to memorize every noble from a foreign kingdom, you see?」
「Would you recognize me if I said I am the one targeting you?」
「Oh?」
Too much composure.
Dalton clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Neither of you seems to realize what is about to happen to you; you look just like insects. An invalid and a cripple—a fitting pair, I must say.”
「He says we’re a pair.」
「I’ll be healed soon. Unlike you.」
「Harsh words.」
Dalton’s brow furrowed.
‘These two…?’
Did they suspect something and have other guards stationed nearby?
They couldn’t be such fools that they didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
Dalton fingered a small crystal ball in his pocket.
Wooooong—
Sensing the vibration, he knew Wolyeong had already arrived on the scene.
In that case, was that confidence just a bluff?
Yes, it must be a bluff.
Dalton spoke in a hardened voice.
“……Enough with the games.”
Dalton pointed a finger at Elbus Graham.
“Young Master Graham, you must die here.”
「Me?」
“Yes. It isn’t personal. A sacrifice for the greater good…… let’s put it that way.”
If he remained away for too long, it might arouse suspicion.
Dalton moved into action immediately.
“It is for the glory of the East, so do not grieve too much.”
Dalton’s crooked smile deepened as he imagined a bright future.
If Elbus Graham was assassinated at the royal banquet, it would provide a casus belli for war.
Dalton’s goal was to seize power by stepping in to stop the war while the kingdom was reeling.
If he could oust the King in the process, establishing a new Nimrud dynasty was not a distant dream.
In fact, he was confident.
He had already finalized the deal regarding this matter with ‘them.’
“Allow me to introduce them.”
Dalton felt a surge of excitement at the thought of pulling the trigger on his grand plan with his own hands.
“Wolyeong. The reapers of the West.”
Flash!
As he held the crystal ball high, a grayish-white light erupted from it.
It was a signal flare.
“Now! Kill them!”
Enough time passed to count to five after his ecstatic shout.
Dalton inflated his expectations, waiting for the scene of them being hacked to pieces before his eyes, but—
“……?”
Nothing happened.
Panic began to well up inside Dalton.
He looked around, but the surroundings remained silent.
“What is the meaning of……?”
As Dalton let out those hollow words, there were things he didn’t know.
First, that the two men already knew his entire plan.
Second, that Wolyeong had already attempted the assassination once and failed.
And third—
「That should be enough.」
The failed assassins of Wolyeong were now being used as Elric’s hands and feet.
「Dispose of him.」
“You son of a bitch!”
Thump!
Danal, the branch leader of Wolyeong, lunged from the bushes with glinting eyes and kicked Dalton in the head.
It wasn’t just once or twice.
Danal’s furious kicks continued violently, fueled by his mounting rage.
Thwack! Thud! Crack!
“Aaaagh!”
“You! Tried! To get me! Killed!”
Dalton collapsed pathetically under the kicking, unable to do anything but groan.
Even as he trampled Dalton, Danal felt no joy.
Rather, he felt a profound sense of relief at having narrowly escaped death.
‘Dammit! Of all people, why did the original target have to be Elbus Graham!’
Even if Elric hadn’t come, it would have been a problem.
Ultimately, it was an order from the top, so he would have had to kill Elbus Graham—and if he had, he would have faced a fate more painful than death at the hands of Kasha once the truth came out.
To put it in one word:
‘I was being discarded!’
He had been used as a sacrificial pawn.
And a very thorough one at that.
Crunch!
“AAAAAAAGH!”
Having crushed Dalton’s knee joint, Danal turned around, huffing for breath.
There stood the expressionless Kasha and Elbus Graham, who was smiling as if amused.
Danal’s mind raced.
‘The mission is a failure anyway, and since Kasha knows everything, going back to Wolyeong is out of the question.’
Danal, the assassin of Wolyeong—what had placed him in the position of branch leader was none other than his survival instinct.
In other terms, it was his ability to read the room.
‘This is the only way to survive!’
Thud!
Danal dropped to his knees and bowed his head low.
“Great Master! I have handled it as per your instructions!”
Since things had turned out this way, he might as well switch to Kasha’s side!
Danal finished his preparations to welcome a new master.
Elric looked down at the unconscious Count Nimrud and Danal with a calm face.
Elbus asked him.
「Did you bribe Wolyeong?」
「I didn’t spend any money, so it’s hard to call it a bribe.」
「I see. So you forced them into submission with power?」
「They came to me first.」
A deep sigh escaped Elric.
「More importantly, are you fearless? Coming here knowing there were assassins……」
「It was because I trusted you.」
Elbus let Elric’s words slide with a smirk.
Elric felt a throbbing headache coming on.
It was fine since it ended well, but he could have been in serious trouble.
「I wouldn’t have the face to see your wife.」
When Elric said this, Elbus replied.
「Is that so? Personally, I’d like to have a deep conversation with your wife. For instance, about the Sword Demon Kasha……」
「I would prefer it if you didn’t stop being my friend.」
「Oops.」
Elbus shrugged his shoulders.
Elric grimaced.
His gaze eventually returned to Danal.
What should he do with this fellow?
After a moment of thought, Elric asked Elbus.
「Do you have a suitable plan in mind?」
「A plan for what?」
「Regardless of the details, it’s clear there’s a faction targeting the East. I……」
「I understand. You wouldn’t want your hometown to be embroiled in war.」
Elbus tapped Elric on the shoulder and added.
「Do you remember the proposal I made earlier?」
Elbus’s voice had turned serious again.
「I wasn’t joking. Of course, whatever choice you make, I will respect that decision. So, I will ask you.」
His face was firm, as if determined to get the answer he hadn’t yet received.
「Do you have no intention of returning to the battlefield?」
In that moment, Elric fell into a deep hesitation.
At the end of it, his lips parted to let out an answer filled with turmoil.
「……Give me some time to think.」
Elric could not bring himself to give an immediate answer.
He didn’t quite know why he had given such an answer.
Wasn’t it obvious?
As soon as his knee healed, he would head back to the battlefield.
He had always promised himself that, yet when the choice was presented, the words saying he would go wouldn’t come out.
‘……Fine, leave the cleanup to me for now and you should head back.’
Elbus hadn’t seemed to mind much as he sent Elric away.
Elric hurried back toward the banquet hall, leaning on his cane.
An emotion he couldn’t quite explain kept pulling his steps in one direction.
His knee was throbbing, but he didn’t even notice the pain.
The question stifling his chest had turned into a terrible thirst, and his instincts pointed toward one woman as the way to quench it.
“My lady.”
Elric reached Tiria.
The woman, who had been sitting alone in a corner of the hall watching the ball, finally met his eyes.
“Ah, you’ve come,” she said softly.
Elric’s lips pressed thin for a moment before curving into a faint smile.
“……I apologize for being late. I lost my way.”
“It happens. The Royal Castle is quite large, after all.”
Only then did his heart feel at ease.
With two paths he had always put off now laid out right before him, Elric realized something upon seeing her.
“What were you doing here all alone?”
He realized that he did not find the option of leaving her behind to be a pleasant one.
“I was waiting for the head of the family.”
Elric wanted to know Tiria.
More than he knew her now, much deeper.
What she thought about, what she liked, and what she hated.
He wanted to know everything beyond that.
For some reason, it felt as though he wouldn’t be able to leave Tiria Portman’s side until he did.
“Please, sit here.”
The moment she gestured to the seat beside her, Elric felt as if everything related to the battlefield was being erased from his mind.
