Greed Brings Poison (2)

Nior Bellen is a greedy fellow.

He would never simply ignore the rumors about the mithril mine.

[So that’s why you recruited workers so openly, you wanted that brat to hear about it?]

‘That’s right. It’s best to deal with trouble before it starts.’

In fact, Nior even thought I had been humiliated at the Founding Festival and returned home early.

So of course he would act without hesitation.

“Count, is today the day you return to your mansion?”

“Yes, I have some matters to deal with in my territory first.”

“You’re really busy, my lord.”

So true.

Practicing the Moon Severing Divine Sword and managing my territory—

I’d have to have several bodies to handle all this.

“By the way, what exactly are you doing under the dungeon?”

Ravin asked with curiosity, but I only let out a dry chuckle.

“That’s a matter related to the Fairy Queen, so I can’t speak lightly about it.”

“I—I see. Of course, if it’s you, there must be a grand reason.”

This time, there really is a grand reason.

I was in the middle of learning the Moon Severing Divine Sword, after all.

“Anyway, we’ll be going ahead then…”

Just as Ravin was greeting me and turning to leave, a bright light sparkled through the air and tapped my nose.

“Kiten Forest has some suspicious humans!”

The fairy who appeared suddenly was Sasha, the same one who had guided me in the dungeon before.

She was the exclusive fairy assigned to me by Beatrice.

Sasha was surprisingly capable, and most of the fairies in Kiten Forest monitored the area under her orders.

Thanks to that, when suspicious people showed up, they’d report to me or the Fairy Queen like right now.

“Suspicious humans?”

“The ones covered in chunks of iron. The humans called them knights, I think?”

“Oh, really?”

Speak of the devil and he appears.

I thought it was about time for a response, but for them to show up at such perfect timing—

“But those humans are trying to set fire to the forest!”

“Fire?”

I was dumbfounded at such a ridiculous deed.

What, they’re setting fire to a forest that belongs to someone else’s territory?

This was the kind of act that could easily escalate into a territorial war.

“Do those idiots think setting the Kiten Forest on fire would achieve anything?”

Kiten Forest was under the protection of the Fairy Queen.

There’s no way a fire could start unless an exceptional mage poured out intense fire magic.

“Sasha, guide me straight there.”

“Okay!”

Sasha answered energetically and flew ahead, and I followed close behind.

To meet the fools trying to set fire to the fairy forest.

* * *

“Sir Vile, the fire won’t catch.”

At a knight’s discontented report, the man with the menacing look twisted his face even more.

“What? Don’t talk nonsense! How could fire not catch in a forest!”

“But I swear, it really won’t ignite.”

“You idiot!”

Jack Vile.

A knight of the House of the Count Bellen, and an advanced-rank Sword Expert in his early thirties.

He had superb skills but was excessively violent and cruel.

After shouting a few more times at the trembling knight, he snatched the torch from his hand.

“Saying fire won’t even catch on wood, what a load of crap.”

Currently, they were at the entrance to Kiten Forest.

By now, the merchants and citizens working in the forest had long since fled in terror.

‘Set the forest ablaze and wait at the entrance; anybody fleeing can be cut down.’

Though Kiten Forest was wide, paths for people were limited. Especially with new roads laid for mining, it was easy to predict where people would flee.

‘Fairy magic? It’s useless as long as I don’t actually enter the forest!’

Jack knew that if you entered Kiten Forest, you’d end up lost and wander back to the entrance.

So all he needed to do was burn it to the ground.

‘According to the information, timmons, the corps leader of the Merchant Guild, and Clay Vanhart are inside.’

For some reason, Clay Vanhart hadn’t come out for a while after entering, but Jack didn’t care. His job was to set the forest on fire and slaughter all those who tried to escape.

As for the trembling villagers, they could be dealt with afterward.

“Hm?”

No matter how many times Jack tried to set a tree alight, not even a single leaf would catch fire.

“What the hell is going on?”

“It must be fairy magic.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

Jack threw the torch to the ground in exasperation.

“Annoying, but it can’t be helped. We’ll just wait at the entrance and ambush whoever comes out!”

“Understood!”

It might take a long time, but there was no other way. Searching inside would only send them back to the entrance thanks to the fairies’ magic.

‘Come on out already.’

Jack and the knights waited with what little patience they had, hiding among the grass and trees at the entrance, ready to kill anyone who appeared.

How long had they waited like that? Suddenly, a tiny light sparkled above Jack’s head.

‘What’s this light?’

Thinking it was a firefly, he reached up to catch it.

Whish! Thud!

“Ar—arrows incoming!”

Suddenly, dozens of arrows rained down on the hiding knights’ position.

“Damn it! What’s going on?!”

“Arrows are coming from inside the forest!”

The arrows seemed to know exactly where the knights were hiding.

A fair number of arrows flew at Jack as well, but he deflected them all with his outstanding skill.

“Right side! Arrows came from over there. Kill them—now!”

“Yes, sir!”

At Jack’s command, the knights rushed toward the forest, only to inexplicably reappear from the opposite direction.

“You idiots! What on earth are you doing?!”

“I—I don’t know! We definitely ran forward, but we ended up here… urk!”

As one knight was replying, an arrow struck him right in the throat.

Only then did Jack realize he was in a dire situation.

‘If you try to go deep into the forest, you wind up back at the entrance. So, if someone is shooting arrows from deep in the woods, you can’t even strike back?’

He hadn’t brought any archers or soldiers with bows. Even if he had, it would have been pointless without knowing the enemy’s location.

“Damn! Retreat—!”

“Retreat? Where to?”

“…!”

Reflexively, Jack swung his magic-infused sword in the direction of the voice.

But his blade only sliced air, leaving behind a trace of blue magic power.

“I didn’t expect only weaklings to come… So you’re Jack Vile, aren’t you?”

“Who—who are you?! Show yourself!”

“I’m standing right behind you, actually.”

Clay, whose appearance had been concealed by fairy magic, now emerged.

“Fool! You really dare show yourself?!”

With all his strength, vile stabbed his sword at Clay, who appeared behind him.

Clay’s skill was at low-rank Sword Expert.

At this range, there was no way Clay could dodge his sword.

Thud!

“Hahaha! If I bring back your corpse… huh?”

Jack laughed, impaling Clay’s body, when he realized something was wrong.

Clay’s body suffered no wound, and he didn’t feel a thing.

Shlick!

“Sorry, that was a lie.”

Jack didn’t have much time to think.

The moment he felt a cold sensation at his neck, his vision spun upside down.

‘What…?’

It didn’t take long to realize what had happened.

His headless body staggered, collapsed, and there stood Clay, his face calm beside it.

“As you said, what kind of idiot truly reveals himself?”

Jack’s eyes remained open in regret as he listened to Clay’s mocking words.

* * *

‘Fairy magic… It truly is like miasma.’

Now that I had experienced it firsthand, I realized fairy magic was different from ordinary magic in its versatility.

At my request, sasha cloaked me in the spell fairies used to hide themselves.

Then, keeping my body low, I quietly crept up on Jack.

Sensing my presence, Jack swung his sword, but I dodged it by a hair’s breadth, and then, as I had already asked Sasha, let my illusion appear behind him.

Jack reflexively struck at ‘me’, and while he focused on the illusion, I instantly beheaded him.

‘Dealing with Jack Vile is a big gain.’

If I’d let him live, he might have become serious trouble later on.

Taking him out with a sneak attack was a huge advantage.

“Count, it seems none of the knights escaped.”

“So, they’re all dead?”

“Yes. There were about thirty.”

Behind Ravin, mercenaries loaded with quivers stood in a line.

They were the guards I’d hired to protect the Timmons Merchant Guild against just such an incident.

It was almost hard to believe they’d managed to deal with the knights this easily.

“Should we order them to keep quiet about this?”

“No, there’s no need.”

At this point, rumors would spread no matter what.

As for Count Bellen, he’d have no way to justify this outrageous conduct and would have to try to clean it up somehow.

“Jack Vile was a knight of the House of the Count Bellen, so there’s no way to deny responsibility.”

“True. But Jack Vile never had a good reputation anyway. They might cut him off, claiming he acted recklessly out of greed.”

“Indeed…”

The matter was too grave to just be brushed aside.

I was not just an ordinary noble’s son but a count.

Besides, I’d made my name recently as a war hero in the war with the Kainzel Kingdom.

To assassinate such a person and seize the mithril mine—if this reached King Leogart, the punishment would be severe.

‘So, what will you do now, Nior Bellen?’

Should I thank him for causing such a commotion without thinking about the consequences?

If I played this right, I might be able to gain even more benefit.

* * *

Near the Vanhart territory, a splendid carriage came to a stop.

Anyone could tell, just from the lines of retainers and knights, that the owner of this carriage was no ordinary person.

In fact, the owner of this carriage was no ordinary noble.

She was none other than royalty of the Empire.

“… Your Highness, are you sure you wish to go alone?”

“Yes. After all, we’re practically at the Vanhart territory now, aren’t we?”

“Just a bit further and the village with Count Vanhart’s mansion will come into view…”

“That’s all I need.”

The princess, Riya Asktalin, smiled sweetly at Ian Sylvest, whose face remained stiff with concern.

But as an imperial nobleman, it felt wrong not to do his duty and let her depart alone.

“Is it really necessary for Your Highness to go yourself? I think I’d be sufficient as your representative.”

“Sir Sylvest.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are you trying to get in the way of my fun?”

“… No, of course not.”

“Then that’s settled.”

She wore a beaming smile, but her eyes were piercingly cold. A lesser person would have shrunk under that gaze.

However, Ian was a Swordmaster in his own right—not someone to be cowed by mere looks.

He took a deep breath and calmly continued.

“Will you be staying for long?”

“I have no obligations to inherit the throne. I’m free to stay as long as I like.”

It wasn’t untrue, but not a pleasant thought for her attendants.

‘The crown prince isn’t incompetent…’

In fact, he was quite impressive—a worthy heir to Asktalin’s blood.

And, above all, his ambition outstripped Riya’s.

That, perhaps, was why the emperor chose him as crown prince.

‘The princess was never this passionate before.’

Ian found himself constantly surprised by the new Riya. She was so different from the one he used to know.

‘A pity, really.’

If Riya had shown these qualities from the start, she might have become the next emperor.

“Well, I’ll go on alone from here. Thank you for escorting me this far.”

Riya bid her retainers a light farewell and, wearing high-heeled shoes, walked calmly across the rough earth.

She might look like nothing but an immature noble girl, but her true nature was that of a dragon.

‘… At least there shouldn’t be any danger.’

A princess with enough power to subdue even him with a word—surely nothing would happen.

The real concern was whom she was about to meet.

‘Clay Vanhart.’

The Sword of Man Genova, heir to the hero who wielded it.

Thinking of the princess who traveled all the way here under the pretext of protecting the one who held Genova, Ian let out a small sigh.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

Dragon waifu appears!

「✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡」

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep