Chapter 249: Meeting with Lily

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At 4:50 p.m. a week later, I finished work early to meet Lily-san and arrived at the lobby of the finest hotel in Sibyaku. I managed to get there 10 minutes before the scheduled time. Fortunately, I had booked a top-tier room, so I hoped I could make her feel welcome.

Since she would likely be very nervous, the first thing to do was to ease her with a nice dinner. Thanks to my disguise, my identity hadn’t been revealed. As I looked around the lobby, it seemed that she hadn’t arrived yet. I carefully scanned the area to confirm this and then took a seat on a suitable sofa where I could see the entrance.

As time passed, it became 5:00 p.m. The appointed time had come, but Lily-san was still not there. It could be that she was delayed due to makeup or choosing her outfit, or perhaps the traffic was heavy. I decided to wait a bit longer.

By 5:30 p.m., I began to worry about her. If she had changed her mind, well, that was something I would have to accept since I was the one who brought it up. However, if she had encountered any trouble, it would be serious. To avoid any misunderstandings, I left a message for Lily Amian at the hotel front desk under the alias I had been using and decided to check her residence.

—

When I arrived at Lily-san’s house on my Galloping Bird, the situation was different from a week ago. There was no one at the entrance.

While bouncers at taverns might only be present during business hours, I had never heard of a house that had guards but none at night. Thieves tend to find it easier to break in at night. When people were awake, they could defend themselves or escape, but when they were asleep, they were defenseless, making night-time security even more crucial than during the day. However, Lily-san was a newcomer who had recently become wealthy, so it was possible she was unaware of such matters and left a gap in security.

It might seem excessive to worry about someone not showing up for a meeting, but considering the way Lily-san had acted a week ago and that was showing a strong sense of commitment regardless of rain or other obstacles, her absence was unusual. It wasn’t just a casual date. If she had intended to come, she would have approached it with the seriousness of attending her own wedding. Since she hadn’t shown up, and her home appeared suspicious, it was better to check.

After a moment’s hesitation, I turned the lever on the iron gate and pushed the door open, which creaked as it easily swung open. The gate wasn’t locked. I stepped inside. As I approached the mansion in the pitch-black darkness, there was no light emanating from any part of the house. Even with lighting dependent on wax or oil, some light usually leaks out. The house blending completely into the night was odd. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the N0ᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The unsettling feeling grew stronger.

I moved quietly as I tried to avoid making any noise, but there was complete silence from inside. If a thief was rummaging through the house, there would be some sound, but here there was nothing.

I briefly considered leaving to call for backup and assess the situation, but the thought of Lily-san being in danger made me discard that idea. After a moment’s thought, I opened one of the windows on the first floor and then pushed open the front door wide.

“Lily-san?! Are you there?!” (Yuri)

I shouted, but there was no sign of the maid with a lamp appearing. At least, the house’s occupants were either absent or unable to respond.

“Excuse me!” (Yuri)

I said at the entrance before slipping in silently through the pre-opened window. I drew my dagger, crouched low, and checked inside, but there was no sound or trace of anyone.

I moved through room after room, finding no ambushes or people. The room hadn’t been ransacked either. Only the people had disappeared, as if they had been spirited away.

After checking all the main rooms, I proceeded to the smaller rooms. I opened Lily-san’s bedroom and the servant’s quarters but found no one inside. I checked the bathroom, kitchen, and toilet, and as I approached a room that looked like a storage room, I finally sensed something odd. I caught a faint whiff of a familiar scent.

“…” (Yuri)

A chill ran down my spine. The smell of blood in Lily-san’s house made me imagine terrifying scenarios. When I opened the storage room, a thick stench of blood flooded out. The windowless room was pitch dark, and I couldn’t see who lay there in the darkness. But it was clear that someone had died here.

I went to the entrance and tried to light the lamp with a lighter. My hands were unsteady, and it took me a long time to even open the lighter’s lid. After what felt like ten times longer than usual, I lit the lamp and went to check.

I looked at the body lying in the storage room.

There was no sign of Lily-san.

I kicked one of the two bodies overlapping on the floor to check underneath. There were indeed only two bodies. There wasn’t a third. Lily-san wasn’t here.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized the young guard I had seen a week ago. The other body, the one I had kicked, was that of a maid. The maddening anxiety that had been swirling in my head began to subside slightly. At least, Lily-san was not among the dead.

I thought for about ten seconds before deciding to report the incident.

—

Soon, Myaro arrived with several people in tow, entering through the double gates I had left wide open.

“Yuri-kun, it seems Lily-san has been abducted.” (Myaro)

“What about the checkpoints?” (Yuri)

“They’re already set up. For now, no one can leave the main roads of the capital. But…” (Myaro)

“Yes, I know.” (Yuri)

“…Why are you here?” (Yuri)

Behind Myaro was Enrique, one of the Queen’s Swords.

“Hello there!” (Enrique)

She waved her hand in a playful manner. I wanted to slap her and tell her to stop fooling around, but Enrique was a pervert who would be pleased by anger, making her difficult to deal with and very annoying to have around.

“Tillet-san happened to be nearby on a business trip. Someone else is calling her. It would be good to have a Queen’s Sword involved in the investigation.” (Myaro)

“Fine, whatever. Just come on.” (Yuri)

We had to examine the bodies, but just then…

“Yuri-chan, over here.” (Enrique)

Enrique pointed to the ground near the gate.

“What is it? I’m busy.” (Yuri)

“Enrique found something right away. You wouldn’t know if you weren’t familiar with assassinations.” (Enrique)

Enrique shone her torch on the ground, brushing away the fine gravel with her foot. A dark, damp stain became visible as the surface sand was cleared away.

“It looks like someone was killed here. Maybe the gatekeeper? If we check the ground…” (Enrique)

Enrique continued to illuminate the ground as she moved along the wall, away from the gate. She seemed to be following footprints.

“It looks like he got taken out from behind. Now, here’s a question for you! Enrique-chan has discovered a very important clue. What do you think it is?” (Enrique)

“This isn’t the time for games. Just tell me what you found.” (Yuri)

Given that she had immediately spotted bloodstains in the dark that I had missed, it was likely a significant discovery.

“Wrong answer! I’m not telling you~!” (Enrique)

“Tell me.” (Yuri)

“This is a rare opportunity! I’m definitely not telling!” (Enrique)

Enrique said so as she turned away in a cutesy manner.

In a fit of frustration, I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the gatepost.

“We don’t have time for your perverted games! Just tell me what you found!” (Yuri)

I yelled loudly and tightened my grip on her carotid artery. After a moment, just before she passed out, I let go. She collapsed to the ground, coughing a few times.

“Get up. I didn’t squeeze that hard.” (Yuri)

As I said that, Enrique stood up, leaning her body against the pillar.

“Ah… that was amazing.”

“Now, what did you find? I didn’t crush your throat. If you mess around again, I swear I’ll kill you.” (Yuri)

“That just makes me happy.” (Enrique)

“Alright, I’ll explain this as simply as possible so even the most idiotic woman in the world can understand. I’m in a huge hurry. So, speak. Now.” (Yuri)

“Fine, fine. Basically, from what I can tell, this was done by a professional.” (Enrique)

“In what way?” (Yuri)

“Well, like you, when taking someone out from behind, you’d aim for the neck, right? It’s the easiest target with the least chance of failure. But stabbing the neck causes a lot of blood to spurt out, right?” (Enrique)

“If you splatter blood all over a visible area like this, it would cause a commotion. So not going for the neck was a smart move. Look at the blood pool. It’s all in one spot, but it’s really small considering someone was killed.” (Enrique)

Enrique pointed to the small pool of blood, about 30 centimeters in diameter.

“If they were stabbed in the torso from behind, there’d be a lot more blood if they were stabbed multiple times. The ground isn’t disturbed, and there’s no blood splatter, so it looks like they died almost instantly without any struggle.” (Enrique)

“In other words, they accurately stabbed a vital point to ensure instant death and left the blade in to act as a plug. Judging by the corpse, they aimed for the heart. Stabbing the heart from behind is quite difficult because of the rib bones and the reversed position. It’s hard to believe that an ordinary thief or kidnapper would have such skill, so it must be the work of a professional.” (Enrique)

Enrique concluded. Surprisingly, her analysis was precise and spot-on. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it. She was, after all, a Queen’s Sword. It was true that a professional knew their craft best.

“Well done. Alright, let’s go inside and look for clues.” (Yuri)

“Roger that.” (Enrique)

Enrique followed me with a playful response. Myaro approached me and said,

“Um, was that the rumored play just now…? It seemed really intense…” (Myaro)

She said something that made her sound like a fool.