LIGHTNOVELSTORY EP.22
After the smooth start, we initiated similar operations with a few more families.
Various individuals, including dukes, barons, and others, offered us information. However, openly tempting only the Empress’s faction posed a risk of being discovered, so we drew in a diverse group of people.
“…Honestly, why is it that the old folks readily cough up money for the Empress’s endeavors, yet are so strict with me?”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Today, Maria, who had gone to meet potential recruits for charity work (separate from our operation), leaned back deeply into the plush carriage seat, relaxing her body.
“Want to try some of this?”
“Pardon?”
This particular family had no direct ties to the Empress, so we had some time to spare. We waited quietly, munching on snacks brought out by the servants, and I had saved a few that caught my fancy.
Upon presenting them to her, a spark lit up in Maria’s eyes. It was precisely the response typical of girls her age.
Seeing that makes me acutely aware of Maria’s youth. She often maintained a serious demeanor that caused me to forget at times.
“It seemed unique, more southern in style, so I saved a bit for you.”
“…Thank you.”
Nom.
Maria took a small bite of the cookie. Fortunately, it seemed to satisfy her palate, causing her eyes to sparkle for an instant as she swiftly devoured the whole thing without dropping a crumb. Maintaining her grace while eating, I couldn’t help but think, a true princess indeed.
“It’s delicious.”
“Maybe you could ask Matilda to make some later.”
Though currently the Head Maid, Matilda had been someone who took care of all matters when Maria was too wary to trust anyone else, and she was quite the cook.
Maria nodded in agreement, seemingly in full accord with my suggestion.
For a while, only the sound of Maria enjoying her snacks filled the carriage. Having spent so much time struggling to finalize contracts, I thought to give her a moment to unwind as we quickly approached the palace.
“So, how about taking a little break today?”
After a few days of relentless work, both Maria and I were quite worn out. It was evident that her cravings for sweet treats over the past few days were linked to her dealing with the capital’s political players, even if unspoken.
However, Maria shook her head in response to my suggestion.
“No, now’s just perfect. I feel like my brain is working at full blast.”
Gripping my hand, she stepped down from the carriage and spoke while moving with the maids.
“Let’s chat during dinner later.”
“Got it.”
Watching her head toward her room, I made my way to the training grounds. To be fair, the rooms were right next to each other, so it wouldn’t have mattered to go together…
But here’s the issue: whenever Maria arrives at the palace, she always insists on bathing and changing her clothes first.
What sort of palace has such poor soundproofing that you can hear every conversation from the next room? It’s rather troublesome. So, I opted to focus on my own tasks in the meantime.
And speaking of tasks, mine mainly involved training.
“Ugh!”
After a bit of stretching, I retrieved my trusty weapon from the corner of the training grounds.
Unlike the sword I used in my last match against Yom, this was entirely different, specially crafted for slaughter and hunting.
No, was it even right to call this a sword?
If I had to specify, it was more of a tachi (太刀).
With a hefty blade designed to pierce through thick, tough monster hides, its edge was fashioned like a saw, meant to shred muscle and bone, and the aggressive curves and protrusions on the blade ensured it inflicted even more damage as a monster flailed about with the weapon embedded in it.
Any craftsman seeing this would probably curse me for calling such a thing a sword, but to me, this was the real deal.
Whoosh—!
Swinging the sword purely with my physical strength, the sound of slicing air echoed, causing nearby hides and cloth scraps to flutter.
“Ah, this is the feeling I love.”
With its asymmetrical and shoddily finished appearance, this sword had a horrendous center of balance. Because of that, it required significantly more effort to wield compared to other swords of the same weight.
But that was precisely what I intended.
The monstrous appearance and weight sacrificed some flexibility in movement, but its destructive power was exceptional. Despite its awkward balance making it difficult to handle, the damage it inflicted on monsters was nothing short of catastrophic.
With every swing, the sound it produced was different.
Especially when infused with magic, it was even more potent.
“Hah!”
Covering my sword and body with magic, I swung with all my strength.
Crack!
With a ripping sound, the scarecrow was shredded.
Indeed, this was the thrill of using this troublesome piece of work.
The serrated edge and uneven blade combined with my wielded expert technique and magic-imbued strength caused the air currents flowing along the sword to twist oddly. Just the air swirling around was enough to tear apart a nearby pile of straw; imagine what would happen if it caught a person.
It was no wonder Maria suggested I use a standard sword for my duel with Yom.
However, after wielding the sword a few times, I felt a twinge of dissatisfaction.
“…Hmm, I feel a bit out of practice.”
It seemed like the sense of satisfaction I used to have after swinging the sword had diminished slightly. I swung in various stances several times, but none felt perfect.
After a while of practice, I finally understood what was lacking.
“I have no opponent.”
Thinking back, I hadn’t wandered around for this long without a proper opponent in quite a while.
I often went out of my way to search for monsters or even lured bandits when there were none to be found.
In a feudal system, it was quite common to have many bandits and vagabonds. While the country might be peaceful, the lives of serfs and peasants varied dramatically depending on their lord, which reflected the sorrow of their existence.
Of course, most of them fled to free cities or neighboring lords’ towns, but there are always outcasts in the world. As long as they didn’t commit serious crimes, they would be corrected, while those who had gone too far were sent to the lord’s judgment.
Anyway, it simply meant that it was quite rare for me to remain cooped up in one city doing nothing for over a month.
“I’d love to spar with the Iron Cross Order…”
Unfortunately, unlike before, they were now all working people with their own duties. I no longer had the luxury of calling them out for a one-on-one, or even multiple opponents.
Regrettably, I had no choice but to make do with my current situation.
To wrap up, I took a stance without using magic and wielded the sword purely with my physical strength. Stepping firmly with my legs planted on the ground, I used my shoulders to propel the sword upward before swinging down vigorously.
With one strike, I cleaved through all the scarecrows I had set up and returned the sword to its resting place.
“Maria should be all cleaned up by now, right?”
To avoid being late for dinner, I needed to wash up and prepare myself too.
—
Dinner was laid out simply. There’s a common misconception that such occasions are always extravagant, but even royalty and nobility are still people, so not every meal needs to be lavish.
Especially Maria, who did not have a particular passion for food.
While I enjoyed eating anything unique from this world, for Maria, meals were merely a means to fill her stomach and stave off hunger.
This stemmed from her troubling memories related to food since childhood.
“Did you practice swinging your sword again today?”
“It’s only natural for a knight to swing a sword every day.”
“…Well, that’s what they say.”
Maria casually glanced at the Iron Cross knights standing behind her. Their leader, Zophie, quickly averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact with Maria.
“We don’t neglect our training either. Sir Wilhelm is just exceptional.”
“With someone of higher caliber training so diligently, when do you expect to catch up?”
“N-No, Your Highness, I am also quite the expert…”
The two seemed to share a friendly rapport, as Maria smiled slightly while saying that.
Indeed, it seemed that recommending a female leader for the knight order was a good choice after all.
“Well, if someone assigned to guard royalty trained every day, wouldn’t that be a dereliction of duty?”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
“Thank you….”
Zophie, who had been suffering under Maria’s reprimands, bowed her head to me. Maria chuckled softly as she looked at her.
“Heh.”
As we continued to laugh and chat during the meal, it soon came to a close. As dessert was brought out, she signaled Zophie with a glance. Zophie caught the cue and had the attendants clear the table of all dishes.
“Now, shall we start our discussion?”
“Sounds good.”
Once the attendants had cleared the plates and replaced the tablecloth, Maria unfolded a piece of paper on the now clean table. It seemed she had cast a spell on the paper beforehand, as food began to move across it, forming letters the moment it was opened.
“I’ve organized the information I gathered from raiding a total of six families.”
The letters danced around, following her fingers as she traced them. Letting out a sigh, Maria continued.
“The Empress really has a meticulous approach.”
She poked the paper with her finger.
“At first, I thought they were separating the families to entertain more guests. But no, it turns out they all have the same list of visitors.”
“…Then why do they need six families?”
Maria pointed at each family, one by one, with her finger.
“They all have different roles.”
“Roles?”
Maria nodded.
“The Duke of Etruria acts as a public face, selecting potential candidates to entice for requests. Then Baron Norman von Ulm receives the actual clients, documents their names, and hands over the list of the next guests to visit. After that, the clients go to Baron von Brau’s Family to verify the requests. In this way, the heads of the six families each take on different steps to receive the requests.”
“Even with such a troublesome process, there are people who would make requests?”
“Well, it’s due to the strong aristocratic faction in the center. Unless Your Majesty intervenes directly, there’s likely no one more skilled than them in this matter.”
True, it made sense. If they were the underdogs, there would be easier and simpler people to approach, like the Archbishop, which wouldn’t require such a hassle.
There’s demand, but supply is lacking, so they can act this way.
“They keep their roles secret and have kept the information each has under wraps. For security reasons, but also so they can easily cut ties if exposed.”
“But if they operate with fragmented information like this, is there any meaning behind making requests?”
Maria agreed with my remark.
“That’s right. As it stands, they can’t do anything. So they just took the requests while the actual information compilation and execution are handled by others, making it impossible to punish anyone based solely on this information. You can’t punish someone just for receiving requests, after all.”
Well, if someone accepted a bribe and did nothing for it, that’s not really a request, is it? It’s more like just taking money. Of course, in a more developed legal system, there might come a day when the law strikes down on such nonsense, but that day wasn’t today.
“However, there is a clue.”
“A clue?”
“They all send the information they gather to the same person.”
Aha.
“Then we just need to get evidence from that person in the same way.”
There was no reason to be unable to repeat something I had already done several times. I confidently patted my chest and assured her, but Maria’s expression did not brighten.
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, about that person who compiles the information….”
Maria moved her finger over the paper and wrote down a name.
Norman von Ulm.
“It seems our previous methods might be a bit difficult.”
Unfortunately, the name written down belonged to someone we didn’t have a good relationship with.