Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – Fortress (2)

News of the sudden movements of the Foltaine Marquisate reached Narakas as well.

“Is this true?”

Narakas asked in a stern voice.

Standing before him was a member of the continent’s most renowned intelligence organization, the Mask of Night.

“Yes, sir!”

Codenamed Green No. 4.

Ben answered in a rigid posture.

He was already tense.

After all, the head of the Mask of Night personally came here.

Hiding his identity.

That happened a few days ago.

But now, Narakas was asking him questions directly, despite Ben’s insignificance.

“Hey, Greenie. Do you want to die?”

“Pardon?”

......But today, he seemed in a particularly bad mood.

“There’s something I’ve heard.”

“Heard something, sir......?”

“I’ve known for a while that the core noble faction, including the Foltaine Marquis, was plotting something, but...”

Even without hearing the rest of his sentence, Ben felt a sense of unease.

“They’ve been preparing secretly for so long, and now they’re acting so aggressively because a few spies were captured?”

“......!”

As Narakas muttered to himself, Ben became certain.

‘The head is testing me.’

Ben considered himself to be an ambitious person.

So, he had to demonstrate his ability here.

“I-In my personal opinion, this might be the prelude to a civil war they’ve been preparing for a long time.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you know well, sir, coups have often been carried out suddenly and unexpectedly like this......”

“But dismissing it as merely ‘unexpected’ would overlook the fact that they’ve defied a royal order, wouldn’t it?”

“......As you said, the faction including the king of the Hart. Kingdom must be in great confusion by now.”

“Oh. So, the real goal is internal chaos?”

“Yes!”

Shiver.

Ben trembled as he answered.

He worried his speculation might be wrong.

But his concern was needless.

“For a Greenie, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

“Thank you!”

Ben’s face lit up brightly behind his mask.

“Anyway, the Arsene Count’s house must be in trouble too. While we know this, that bastard......”

“......?”

“......Ahem. From the perspective of the prince of the Meeke Duchy, who’s hiding his identity.”

Ben’s eyes shone at that moment.

To reiterate, he was ambitious.

A beast constantly seeking opportunities to gain merit.

‘A competent subordinate should understand what their superior is implying.’

With this thought, Ben spoke up.

“I will pass on the information we’ve just gathered to the Count’s house as well!”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Pardon? We were commissioned to provide information for the upcoming war......”

“Hey, you idiot. This is just our speculation. Just convey the fact that the noble faction is preparing a coup. Why are you trying to reveal everything, even down to the last detail? Do you want to hand over your underwear as well?”

Wh-What?

Wasn’t the head fond of that prince?

‘I-I’m sure it seemed that way?’

The fact that the head personally engaged in the deal.

And that he revealed the location of the Great Hero’s tomb.

These processes clearly demonstrated the emotion of ‘fondness’.

“If left alone, you’d ruin a certain someone’s business. Hey, do you want to be demoted to Yellow?”

“Gasp! I-I’ll correct my actions!”

“Come to think of it, it was you, right?”

“Pardon? Y-You mean......?”

“The one who got the information about the colorless mask from that guy.”

Crack.

Suddenly, the head started cracking his knuckles.

A sight Ben found increasingly incomprehensible.

“Forget it, just take a beating for now.”

“Pardon......?”

Things were taking a strange turn.

Things were going well, so why......?

“Come here.”

“H-Head? Ahh!”

Smack!

After that, Ben was beaten senselessly without knowing why.

For quite some time.

***

Count Arsene’s training ground.

“I-I can’t go on. My muscles are screaming. If I keep this up, I’ll really die......”

“Mother...... are you well? I’m doing fine...... H-Huh? Mother? Is that you......?”

“......Damn it.”

Harun and Kirian reacted in turn.

Gasping for breath, Jan cursed as he sprang to his feet.

“Shouldn’t we pull out before it’s too late?”

“I’m really worried about the lord. How can he trust that brat’s words......?”

The sound of noisy conversation reached their ears.

Immediately, the three of them looked puzzled.

“What’s that?”

“......It’s the retainers.”

A meeting had just ended.

The retainers who had left the lord’s chamber first were venting their pent-up frustrations.

From the overheard conversation, the three could guess what had transpired inside.

“......Even so, how can they talk so carelessly without the person in question present?”

Kirian was furrowing his brow in displeasure, when suddenly.

Step.

“......Jan?”

Jan walked towards them without hesitation.

“Oh? Young master!”

The retainers greeted him with delighted faces.

They had always regarded Jan as the only rightful heir.

“How have you all been?”

“Goodness. You’ve grown so much, young master. I’m sure you must be worried, too.”

“Worried? Not at all. Thanks to your help, I’m able to train comfortably.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll do our best to support you, young master. Just leave it to us!”

It was almost a perfunctory exchange.

Jan smiled immediately.

“Then, I’ll be counting on you for this war as well.”

“Ah......?”

“I feel very reassured. With such excellent retainers leading the charge, who would dare encroach on our count’s territory?”

“......”

A sudden, tense silence fell.

The retainers exchanged awkward glances and forced smiles.

“Young Master Jan. You’ve always been prickly on the outside, but secretly considerate, haven’t you?”

“......No. This is the first time I’m seeing him like this.”

Harun and Kirian, who were watching the conversation from afar, were equally bewildered.

Albeit for completely different reasons.

***

Now, only the Count of Arsene and I remained in the meeting room.

The Count immediately spoke.

“Now, tell me.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“I know. I understand what you’re thinking.”

“Excuse me?”

“You didn’t fully explain your plan because you were worried there might be a spy among the retainers, right?”

“......?”

I was even more puzzled.

“No?”

“Huh?”

“I meant it when I said we should wait.”

“......”

Count Arsene stared at me for a long time, as if trying to discern the truth of my words.

Then, suddenly.

Quiver.

His mustache began to tremble slightly.

“You fool!”

“Ah, you startled me!”

“You laid all the groundwork with your grand talk about three reasons and whatnot, and for what? Just wait? That’s it?!”

“Sir. Calm down first......”

“Calm down, my foot!”

The voice of Count of Arsene grew louder.

“I’ll go to the palace right now! At the very least, I’ll request support from the royalist faction!”

“That won’t do.”

“What do you mean, it won’t do! Those lunatics defied a royal decree. They are traitors! In such a situation, His Majesty would surely send reinforcements!”

I interrupted the Count.

“That’s not it. I’m saying that it would be useless.”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

“Do you still not understand? The Marquis of Foltaine declared war without any justification and started a full-scale conflict. Why do you think that is?”

Count Arsene trembled.

“......Are you saying they have another ulterior motive?”

“They want to draw all the attention here. It’s a precursor to a full-scale civil war, a ‘coup d’état’.”

“......!”

The Count’s eyes widened.

“A...... coup d’état?”

“They intend to accelerate their plans before we can prove their connection to the Empire and before the royalist faction can strengthen their defenses. They aim to crush the ‘enemy’ with overwhelming force.”

This would also boost the morale of their soldiers.

“If the Count’s house falls, or even before that, the enraged King will issue a new royal decree to arrest the traitors.”

“Th-Then?”

“Yes. When internal chaos reaches its peak, that’s when the coup d’état will happen.”

The Count’s eyes twitched.

“This is another opportunity for the Marquis of Foltaine.”

“An opportunity?”

“That’s how war is. High risk, high reward. Leading the charge involves sacrifices, but later on, they can claim the most s

ignificant rewards during the post-war meritorious service assessments.”

Having said this, I slowly stood up.

The Count, already in shock, remained completely frozen.

“But, if we manage to stop them decisively, what do you think will happen afterward?”