Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Redius Argenta was already widely known as the Monarch's mentor.
"Greetings!"
"Oh, are you off to train?"
His approachable personality and his ability to mingle freely with people regardless of their status were also famous.
Even though he was the little uncle of the current Monarch Dielo Argenta, he was practically an advisor to the royal guard.
He deserved respect, but he would approach people even more warmly when they tried to distance themselves.
Because he was not the Monarch.
And because he knew that he could obtain more truthful information the closer he was to people.
"Lord Redius, weren't you heading to the battlefield?"
That was why he heard the news faster than other Argentas.
The news, of course, came from the people residing on the fourth floor of the Argenta mansion.
"Battlefield? I just came in to report?"
"No, not the place you were originally at. I mean the place the Monarch went to personally."
"...The Monarch?"
His ash-gray hair, still wet from washing after returning from the battlefield, shook.
Was there such an urgent battlefield at this time that the Monarch had to move personally?
An unexpected piece of news fell before him, who had become serious.
"Yes. I heard he went to chase Mirta."
"There must have been people chasing her already?"
The Argenta on the fourth floor answered his question.
"Yes, but he said he would handle it himself."
Redius Argenta tilted his head slightly at those words.
He wasn't one to act so impulsively?
A shocking statement reached him as he felt puzzled.
"But it seems the Madam went to the same place."
"What?"
Krua Alroze.
No, the one who had now become Krua Argenta.
He didn't know when she would leave, but she was clearly the mistress of this family now.
Redius, who knew about the fake Pero plan as a blood relative of the Argenta main family, was lost in reminiscence.
'Dielo!'
He recalled the woman with deep violet hair who had shouted that on the battlefield as she rode her horse.
She was an impressive person.
The way she fearlessly jumped into the battlefield made him wish that she was the real Duke Alloze's wife, not a fake Pero according to the plan.
"...It would be good to send manpower to meet the two of them."
He tilted his head as he said that.
He was becoming more and more curious about what kind of person the Madam was, who had made the Monarch act so impulsively.
* * *
"I heard Mirta betrayed us."
"What? Didn't she leave after signing the blood contract a while ago?"
"That's why the Monarch punished her himself, I heard."
The news that Mirta had betrayed them soon began to circulate around the Argenta mansion.
"The atmosphere is unsettling."
"It's the first time I've seen a traitor."
"Back when the previous Duke was still around..."
"Shh, be quiet."
In particular, there were many loose-lipped servants staying on the third floor and below of the mansion.
But the fourth floor and above were as quiet as ever. Without wavering.
"It's not a big wound."
Dielo waved his hand at my words to look at the wound that had been given first aid as soon as he returned.
"But you still have to treat it."
I grabbed his arm, ignoring his words.
When I unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled up his arm, a longer and deeper wound than I thought was revealed.
"......Oh my god."
He calls this not a big wound?
Dielo smiled awkwardly at my surprise.
"It's common on the battlefield."
He even went to get the first aid kit himself.
He reacted so sensitively to my wounds.
"I should call a doctor."
It looked so much deeper than my bruises or welts.
It didn't seem like it would heal easily.
"It's okay."
But Dielo shook his head.
"I don't want to make a fuss."
Pielle, who was standing close to us, bowed his head and stepped back.
"There's no point in letting the castle know that I'm sick."
Dielo's soft words made me feel like I was waking up.
Indeed, Mirta couldn't be the only traitor in the mansion.
There was a traitor on the fourth floor. There must be traitors who had not yet been weeded out.
As long as they remained, there would be no good in letting the news of Dielo's injury be known.
"Then I'll take care of it."
I have to repay the favor of being treated, right?
I said that and snatched the bandage from his hand.
After disinfecting it neatly, I bandaged his arm.
Of course, I couldn't do it as neatly as the doctors, but the treatment was finished in a presentable manner.
Dielo, who was watching me close the first aid kit, suddenly opened his mouth.
"...I thought he would make a wiser choice."
When I looked up at him, his eyes were downcast.
"Mirta?"
Dielo nodded slightly at my words.
"Yes. He, I've known him for a long time."
I hesitated for a moment about what to say to those words.
You can know the depth of ten fathoms of water, but you can't know the heart of one man?
Did he think there was a separate face for betrayal?
But I couldn't say that because he looked genuinely heartbroken.
"...Did you think that someone who had seen Dielo for a long time wouldn't betray you?"
"Yes."
I gaped at that neat answer.
Oh my, you fool!
It seemed like there would be many things to teach him, taking this opportunity.
Since I had captured the strongest Monarch in history... but with a softer personality than I thought... as a hidden card.
If I taught him a little bit about how to live in the world, our plan would not be disrupted.
"I think there will be people who were going to leave for Kartiel again, did you find out who they are?"
Dielo nodded at those words.
"The informants will find out soon."
Fortunately, even Argenta's intelligence department wasn't a soft and fluffy pudding.
Just like Pielle was Argenta's sharp claws.
Besides, according to the original story, the head of Argenta's intelligence department was a person who was thoroughly crazy about Argenta.
He would weed out the traitors on his own.
But it was difficult for Dielo to stay still like this.
Of course, his personality was perfect for putting the Duke Alloze off guard...
This has to be acting, it's going to be a problem if it's genuine!
"Let's find out in other ways too."
The so-called Dielo Spicy Taste Imparting Project!
Very fortunately, I had in my head in detail what methods Krua in the original story used in times like this.
Dielo's eyes widened at my words.
* * *
Since Mirta and Kartiel, who led him, were dead, there was no one to interrogate directly.
But there must have been people who were trying to move with Mirta.
The way to catch them was simple.
Spread rumors.
"I heard that Kartiel was trying to use the Argenta who ran away?"
"That's right. I heard they were going to extract information from Mirta and kill him."
"Vicious bastards."
...A rumor like that.
Argenta was shaking, so they had prepared to run away to Kartiel, but it turned out that Kartiel had no intention of saving them?
Then there was bound to be someone who was uneasy.
Argenta's intelligence department could not spread such nonsense without direct orders, so they were screening out traitors through other cumbersome procedures.
Thanks to this, as soon as I spread the rumors, they quickly caught the traitors.
"That's a brilliant idea."
While Dielo was purely admiring, Argenta's intelligence department brought two traitors in front of us.
Of course, they looked like they had been beaten up somewhere.
"They don't open their mouths easily."
The informant reported. It seemed like they had asked if there were any other traitors.
"Hmm."
They were kneeling in front of the sofa we were sitting on.
Dielo seemed to be troubled.
"...What should we do?"
The informant looked up at Dielo, the Monarch.
Dielo had a slightly troubled look on his face.
"Shall we take care of it ourselves?"
The informant asked. It seemed like this wasn't the first time this had happened.
Well, there was no way Dielo would tell them to torture them with his personality. But if this continued, the Monarch might be looked down upon.
I raised my hand to stop the informant.
"If it's okay, let me ask them once. How about it?"
When I turned to look at Dielo, he was tilting his head slightly.
"...They won't open their mouths easily even if you kill them."
He said carefully.
It was as he said.
Even though the word 'kill' came out, the captured traitors didn't waver at all.
"......"
I looked at those traitors.
Krua's mind was well stocked with prescriptions for these kinds of people.
"There are many ways to instill fear in people besides killing them."
At my words, not only the Argenta informants and Dielo, but even the captured guys looked up at me.
"Watch carefully."
I'll teach you how to make people talk without having to cut them directly.
Dielo smiled faintly at my words.
"I'll keep it in mind."
"Keep it in..."
...I didn't need to, but I stopped myself.
Yes, there was a need to keep it in mind a little.
I felt like I was darkening the only good person in this novel, but I couldn't help it.
If this person continued to live softly like this, he would be backstabbed and killed!
Among the characters in the novel who were missing a screw here and there and were all full of mala flavor, he was not spicy at all, but milk itself.
I knew how insidious and cruel the original Duke Alloze and Pentas Alloze were.
At this rate, we're done for!
"Prepare two rooms. It would be good to block the middle with a glass wall. Even if you don't block it... it would be good if you could hear the sound."
At my words, the informants looked at each other.
