A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

84 – Festival of Silver and Iron Blood (7)

# # #

“Assassination is a basic skill.”

The emperor said.

“If you get caught, you’re a fool, and if you don’t get caught, that’s it.”

“How many people did you kill that way?”

I immediately asked back a ridiculous question.

“Do you officially know how many people I have assassinated? No one.”

“Unofficially, isn’t it enough to fill the Gibraltar Gorge?”

“So that’s what you’re saying.”

“Isn’t that what you’re saying?”

There were some parts that we couldn’t understand.

“You are making a big mistake. No, let’s take a moment to put things in perspective.”

What is assassination?

“Assassination literally means killing secretly. And there seems to be one difference in thinking between us, the Gray Margrave.”

How will you appear to others after the assassination?

“I instilled fear in others through assassination.”

“Don’t you dare think of teasing me?”

“Oh, exactly. That’s what you need to learn from me.”

“I don’t think I need to learn much.”

What is the point of learning the effects of assassination?

“Are you planning on catching a mosquito every time it comes out? You should be thinking about eradicating the mosquito.”

“Although mosquitoes are annoying, I have no intention of going to the trouble of going down to the drains or streams to exterminate them.”

“Are you going to say that even after getting bitten by mosquitoes? Tsk tsk.”

“Whether the people outside get bitten by mosquitoes or not, I just have to create a space where mosquitoes can’t enter.”

I wondered if it was right to talk about the assassin as a mosquito, but to him or me, it wasn’t a particularly wrong expression.

“And isn’t your Majesty thinking of changing the species of mosquito itself so that mosquitoes don’t even dare to think about biting?”

“Huh.”

He laughed at my question.

“Yes. Regardless of whether the apple grows upward or sideways, it will eventually bear fruit.”

He laughed with sincere joy, as if an audience member had sneaked up on him and whispered the correct answer to a magic trick that no one knew about.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep making analogies like that. Why not just tell it like it is?”

“It’s just a personal hobby.”

The emperor always liked strange metaphors.

Although correcting the metaphor caught the emperor’s attention, he seemed reluctant to guess the exact meaning.

Except me.

“Then tell me directly.”

“We are sowing fear across the entire continent so that they will not even dare to think of assassinating the Emperor of the Unified Empire.”

“Correct. But-“

“Visa is also true.”

Even if the person called the emperor interrupted the conversation, he didn’t care as long as it was the correct answer.

“Anyone can be assassinated if they go against the emperor’s wishes.”

“Don’t you feel like you’re going against my wishes?”

“If you don’t like it, you’re the kind of person who will immediately cut off your head with a knife.”

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m still young. It’s still a vague time to think about my death.”

No matter how many people died around them, in the end, those who left were the ones who left.

“Your Majesty, after killing his parents, siblings and children, were you afraid that your own death would come?”

“Guess what. What do you think it was like?”

“You may have been afraid at least once, but you probably tried to overcome that fear, right?”

“That’s right. You know me well. If you had been born in the empire just 20 years earlier, you would have been my prime minister.”

“I hate it. I decline. I will continue to live comfortably as the Margrave.”

To me, the emperor was a nuisance in many ways.

“If you come to me after drinking without contacting me one more time, I will not open the door.”

“You’re really going too far. Oh, then is it okay if I call you and come over for a drink?”

“If you are coming as His Majesty the Emperor, you will have to attend an official ceremony, so just come as a private person.”

“You’ll only open the door to the human Habsburgs? Haha, but I know you’re the kind of person who will open the door no matter which side you come from.”

Although I felt relieved, I also disliked it somehow.

“You don’t know how much fun it is to have you around. Sometimes I do stupid things.”

It felt as if a six-armed monster was happy to see a three-legged person in the world of ordinary people.

“Anyway, keep in mind. Assassination is aimed at success, but the attempt itself is effective.”

And the monster started talking about how he survived and how he lived.

“It stops your blood. After being targeted once, you could be assassinated again.”

The emperor liked dealing with human psychology.

“Once someone almost drowns, they don’t want to go into the water for a while, or maybe their whole life.”

Especially.

“It’s the same with assassination.”

“A person who is once in danger of being murdered must live in danger of being assassinated for the rest of his life?”

“Yes, that’s correct. So, there is one method of assassination that I like the most. If you happen to do an assassination, keep it in mind. This is a secondary reason.”

Especially when it comes to fear.

“Assassination is based on the premise of ‘killing unconditionally.'”

And man’s greatest fear is death.

– Was the emperor’s theory.

“That’s why we need to be even more certain. Assassinations have to happen in situations where people don’t even know when and how someone died or that it’s an assassination.”

“Is that the Habsburg teaching?”

“Oh, this? This is it.”

The theory of the ’emperor’.

“It is my proud emperor, the great king, and my father’s theory.”

Don’t let your enemy even realize it’s an assassination.

# # #

Grumbling.

Sparks fly everywhere.

Magical sparks splash across the wooden store stand and fabric tent.

“Wow!!”

“aaahhh!”

“Boo, it’s fire–!”

Shouting, screaming, and the sound of extinction.

The sound of a rapidly burning flame hit my ears, but I was relieved to hear the sound coming right in front of me.

“Ha, ha, ha.”

Astasia’s breathing.

Startled, he takes a deep breath and quickly looks left and right.

“Ah, ah-“

“Astacia.”

“Ah, ah…”

“…Princess.”

“…!”

Astasia suddenly opens her eyes.

At the same time, breathing began to calm down, and two eyes began to look at me.

“Lord Gray…?”

“Ji, now… “

“Do you believe me?”

“…”

“I promise. I won’t let you die.”

“…”

Astasia hesitated for a moment and closed her eyes tightly.

“Do it, master!!”

An urgent voice came from behind.

It’s Robert.

“Gwae, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.”

As I pushed Astasia and threw her her body her her her, Astasia ended up lying on the floor and there was no problem other than the scratches on the back of my hand that supported her back her her.

Astasia smacks her butt lightly on her floor, which must be sore-

“Oh, such an accident…! I almost got burned…!”

Robert headed towards where Astacia was standing, placed her mana on her feet, and began to step on her.

“Well, that is…”

“It’s the remnants of Explosion magic. To be exact, it’s diffusion and connection.”

A nested chant that does not end with just one magic, but adds another magic to continue with additional effects.

“It’s not an accident, it’s an incident.”

I took Astasia’s hand from her back and helped her up.

“The worst thing is an assassination attempt.”

“Assassination…Assassination…”

“It is not yet clear who the assassination was directed at.”

“…Yes.”

Astasia raised her her upper body her her, and I held her her hand her her and supported her back her her.

“Lord Grey.”

Sir Mente and Naria approached.

“I’m sorry.”

“What is there to be sorry for?”

You can tell just by looking at the condition of the two people.

Sir Mente has already drawn his sword, and Naria is covered in dust.

And behind it, the two couples are looking at Naria with her confused eyes.

A magical ember was burning next to them, and the couple was hugging their child, who was crying and looking only at Naria.

“Lord Mente. Please prevent Her Highness Naria from recklessly throwing herself at the residents of the territory.”

“Lord Gray. Now-“

“If Her Majesty the Princess gets burned, Saint Geo will come to Gibraltar.”

“…”

“For Countess Charlotte’s sake, please refrain.”

Naria nodded her head heavily without answering.

Your body will probably move without you realizing it, but at least you will be able to control it as long as Lord Mente is with you.

“The master’s escort is-“

“I’m fine, Sir Robert? I’ll trust Her Highness Astasia to you. Think of her as me, and protect her with your life.”

“Yes? Ha, but this situation right now…”

“I have to go and fix it.”

I can solve it the fastest.

“A father must protect his mother. The closest thing to the crime scene is Gibraltar. And I know who the culprit is.”

“Well, is that really true?”

“Of course. The magic exploded, shouldn’t we bother the wizard? Hey-“

“This way—!”

A loud voice was heard from the other side.

“Sir Carlos!”

Carlos, the second-in-command in the knight order ranking competition, came running with the other knights.

“Lord Robert! How did this happen? Whoa.”

Judging by his slightly red face and light attire, he seemed to have been unwinding after the Knights’ Tournament by pouring beer down his neck and shirt.

“Ah, Sir Mente! This is… Master Gray?”

“You’ve arrived at the right time, Sir Carlos.”

He was started when he saw me, but then he immediately stood at attention when he saw my hand trying to raise it.

“I will follow Master Gray’s instructions.”

“Sir Carlos? Well, that is…”

Some of the knights behind Sir Carlos looked at each other in confusion, but Carlos lowered his head and only looked at me.

Simply because Gray is also a human with Gibraltar’s blood?

After losing the match against Sir Mente, what courtesy do I get from Sir Mente?

Or-

“Oh, yes. Were you in his father’s study three years ago?”

“…I had a colleague. I was working outside.”

A person who knows something, but tries to pretend not to know.

“Okay. Then, the knights behind you should immediately protect the people of the territory. Command the soldiers who will arrive here and extinguish the fire.”

“Boo, the fire is…”

“It’s a magic spark. It can’t be extinguished except by a sword wind containing mana.”

A fire burning with magic burns the surrounding area and grows a fire, but even if you extinguish it by pouring water on it, the ember itself containing mana remains.

“The soldiers tear down the tent and set it on fire, then the knights find and remove the embers of Explosion magic that have fallen throughout the fire.”

“I will follow your instructions!”

“Sir Carlos. You follow me.”

I ran straight ahead.

For a moment, Sir Carlos hesitated in confusion, but he soon followed me and shouted back.

“Follow the instructions of Gibraltar!!”

“Uh, I understand!!!”

Instructions from Gibraltar, not from Gray.

Only after hearing that sound did the drunken knights begin to move, but there was no problem.

“Sir Carlos. Black?”

“I always carry it with me!”

Sir Carlos pointed to the sword swinging wildly at his waist

“Pull it out.”

“…Yes!”

“From now on, follow my instructions.”

Front.

“Put it in with an aura.”

Beyond the square, in the middle of the training hall where the knights previously held a ranking competition.

“Get ready to run with all your might.”

Archen Gilarus.

“Hey, wizard.”

Holding a cane, he quietly looks up at the night sky.

Mana continues to gather at the tip of his staff, preparing for the next Explosion spell.

“Um, the author is the culprit of the accident…?”

“Sir Carlos.”

I pulled out the dagger I kept in my inner pocket.

“That thing, kill it.”

“Yes?”

Will it reach?

“B-but he’s a wizard and a noble… !”

I don’t know if I’ll reach it-

‘Damn.’

Since Sir Carlos hesitated, it was already too late for him to run.

‘Mana at the tip of the dagger.’

Although it is not an auror, it makes mana materialize and remain only at the tip of the dagger, similar to an auror.

“Oh…!”

Instead of being surprised when you saw my sword, you should have just jumped out and cut me.

‘The difference between you and Lord Mente lies there.’

This is not the time for a 13-year-old child to be shocked and confused about this level of mana control.

‘If only I had run before I threw it.’

New love!!

‘The guy who would have reached faster than the sword.’

A dagger cuts through the air.

With all his running inertia and arm strength, he threw the dagger.

It will reach.

I’m sure I’ll reach it-

“Tch…!”

With a sound, the dagger plunges into Baron Archen’s neck.

Because I aimed accurately at the side of Uldae, the dagger cut into the skin of my neck and went inside-

“…”

It was too shallow to kill the squinty-eyed Baron Arcene, who seemed to have lost his mind, by stabbing him in the neck with a single blow using only low-level mana.

It’s not just because he’s a mid-level wizard-

“Ooh, huh…”

Because the flesh was hard, almost like an undead.

“Huh, huh… ?!”

The dagger pierced about 3cm into his neck and then fell to the floor.

Thanks to that, the area pierced by the dagger was barely visible due to the light of mana.

The blood is not flowing out, and dark red blood is boiling.

“Huh, breath…”

Sir Carlos opened his eyes and shouted.

“It’s a vampire—!!”

How good it would have been to blow off his head when he shouted.

Again.

“Turn it off, uhuh…”

My reflection in Baron Archen’s dark eyes felt so small today.

At the same time.

‘It came.’

At the strong smell coming from him, his heart began to pound.

‘My treasure.’

The scent of silver that makes the blood boil.

“Use it.”

I opened the bag containing the somnus powder in my arms with my hand, and then licked the white somnus powder from my fingertips.

“Sir Carlos.”

“Yes, yes…!”

“Gibraltar commands. Don’t think about anything else.”

Grandpa.

“Kill that vampire and turn it to ashes.”