69 - The Crown I Will Take From You
69
They moved as if they intended to leave not a single living thing in the Minister's Residence.
Who, and why, were they trying to annihilate them?
'But, eliminating even the people doesn't seem like something my uncle, who cares about his reputation, would do—ah. It's you, Samon.'
That petty Samon Claudio seemed to be repaying the grudge he held against Etienne from the last banquet in this underhanded way.
'Cowardly bastard.'
Since he wasn't confident in handling the Hydra without Etienne, he decided to burn down the mansion itself, which had a teleportation magic circle drawn on it.
A chill ran through Medeia's chest. If it weren't for today, the Sealed letter would have been lost forever.
At the same time, she realized she had to escape this place without being detected by them.
If they knew the Sealed letter was in her hands, they would try to take it from Medeia, even if it meant killing her.
"The flames are rushing in. This way."
Cesare seemed to have the same thought. He had already drawn his sword.
The moment he opened the door to the study, a large number of assassins rushed in.
The room was filled only with the sound of blades clashing.
Animalistic, swift movements. Unhesitating blades accurately stabbing at the solar plexus. Those sent by Samon were no match for Cesare.
In an instant, the men in black clothes collapsed to the floor.
Then, the clanging sound of metal caught Medeia's sensitive Sense of energy.
Looking out the window, she saw new assailants entering the grounds in the distance, fighting Samon's assassins. They were the ones with white bands tied around their arms.
'Who are they? Are they not the same group as those sent by Samon?'
With superior skill, they began to relentlessly kill Samon's assassins as if they were hunting them down.
"Kuh! Ugh!"
In an instant, Samon's shadows fell one after another.
Cesare, having kicked away the last assassin in the room, turned around.
"We need to hurry, Princess."
His tone was leisurely, contrary to his words.
\ \ \
The two quickly descended the corridors and stairs.
They avoided places where sounds could be heard, and changed direction when they were exposed. Medeia was also confident in moving silently.
Cesare raised an eyebrow.
It was because the Princess, moving this way and that to avoid the commotion, seemed quite familiar with the geography of this mansion.
"Save me! Please, save—Aaaagh!"
A distant scream faded away. Medeia tightly closed her eyes.
'You know you can't save them.'
She had long abandoned such paltry compassion. She had neither the capacity nor the ability to save others at the expense of herself.
Nevertheless, the desperate screams that wouldn't leave her ears...
"It was said that the Princess of Baldina does not enjoy outings."
The mercenary suddenly said.
Medeia wondered what he was talking about. The guilt that had been grabbing at her ankles was swept away by his presence.
"Looks like the rumors were all false?"
"...You're still sticking your nose into everything. The fact that you haven't been kicked out yet means the leader must cherish you a lot."
"I told you, he's not my master yet."
"Or perhaps you are the master of the leader."
Cesare stopped walking at the softly spoken words.
He turned to stare at Medeia. His eyes seemed to demand an explanation, and Medeia calmly replied.
"How could I be the only one hiding beneath the surface, deceiving the world?"
The leader of Facade had also exposed his appearance to the world far too readily.
Since when had a massive weapon trading group like Facade been moving so simply?
If Gallo was a disguise to hide the real leader, then the real owner of Facade was...
As Medeia stared at the mercenary, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
"You're sharp."
It seemed like he was smiling, or perhaps barely managing to suppress an outburst of laughter.
"Good. Since we're both hiding our identities, let's keep this our little secret."
He stroked his jawline.
At that moment, the two simultaneously turned and looked in the same direction.
"Oh dear. We've got a tail."
He muttered as if he were in trouble. However, he sounded like he was humming, so there was no sense of crisis.
As the two reached the west-facing corridor of the Count's Residence, Cesare suddenly pushed Medeia behind a stone statue.
'What is he doing?'
"Shh."
Cesare brought a straight finger to his lips.
At that moment, Medeia froze. She had belatedly discovered the assailants blocking the corridor.
They were the ones with the white bands tied around their arms that she had seen earlier.
'Were they the ones targeting Facade?'
Medeia's green eyes flashed sharply. She quietly hid herself behind the darkness.
"We have welcome guests."
Cesare spread his arms leisurely, as if to greet them.
The assailants exuded a murderous aura, as if they were determined to eliminate their target.
A moment of silence. Without a word, deadly swords flew in.
Their swords were aimed at Cesare alone.
The assailants' skills were far superior to Samon's shadows from earlier, but even so, they were no match for him.
The fluid Sword aura that cut through the night sliced through the assassins' bodies one by one.
He was like a Demon Beast unleashed from its seal, mercilessly slaughtering the assassins.
Unlike the sword that rampaged mercilessly as if drunk on blood, his movements were surprisingly simple and elegant.
An unfathomable madness could be felt in that disparity.
An ordinary young girl would have had difficulty keeping her wits about her in this cruel spectacle.
However, Medeia, who had gone through countless slaughters in her past life, instead observed them closely.
She felt a familiar sense of déjà vu in the assassins' movements.
'Why are they using the Kazen Imperial swordsmanship that has been discontinued?'
At that moment, Cesare paused.
The arm holding the sword stiffened. His fingertips were turning blue. It was because a curse attack had occurred.
A momentary wavering.
Even that brief gap was enough for a skilled assassin.
The moment the assassin's gleaming sword thrust towards Cesare's chest,
Pyoong-! A steel arrow pierced the assassin's neck.
The assassin turned his body towards the direction the arrow had come from with disbelieving eyes.
Pyoong-! Pyoong-!
The steel arrows that were shot out again were aimed at the remaining assassins, and an explosion erupted as they barely dodged the arrows.
Puff puff puff-! White smoke billowed.
The broken ceiling and walls, and the dust that rose thickly, filled the field of vision with whiteness. Nothing could be seen.
Finally, when the dust and smoke settled, nothing remained.
"Damn it, we missed them! Where did they disappear to!"
The assassins vented their frustration.
"Did you see the First Prince staggering? It seems like his illness flared up, so he won't be able to run far in that condition. Find him quickly!"
\ \ \
The statues displayed in the corridors of Count Etienne's Residence were diverse in their types and forms.
Among them, behind the statue of Eros in the form of a young boy, there was a secret passage that connected to the outside of the mansion.
It was a passage that led from the Minister's Residence to a quiet street in the Royal Palace.
In her past life, Medeia had escaped to Kazen with Iason through this path.
While the explosion caused by the steel arrows obscured their vision, Medeia quickly supported Cesare and disappeared into the passage.
'We have to move.'
As if he had heard the low whisper, the mercenary moved without asking questions.
They walked down the dark corridor where no light entered.
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the person next to them breathing. Since they couldn't see in front of them, their other senses became more sensitive.
A firm arm. Rising heat. The occasional low groan and breath that brushed against her ears.
This was the first time in both her past and present lives that Medeia had gotten so close to a man other than Iason.
Perhaps it was because of the breaths that kept touching her ear, or because of the sweat she was producing while supporting his heavy weight, but Medeia's face kept getting hot.
Then, when she heard Cesare's groan as his body stiffened in pain, she erased her thoughts and took another step.
They walked through the passage for a long time.
They passed through the first and second doors to avoid being tracked, and only stopped when they reached the third door.
Squeak. The opened door was directly connected to the street.
Humble houses were clustered together, and there was no one around because it was late.
After surveying the surroundings, Medeia hid in a secluded alley. She put Cesare down and checked his condition.
His fingers, which had stiffened, were turning dark blue.
Kuh, he vomited blood. A black clot of blood seeped between the rough stone floor.
'Poison?'
At the thought that flashed through her mind, Medeia rolled up his sleeve.
Two small holes remained on his bulging forearm, where black and blue blood vessels protruded.
