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Chapter 48 | Conspiracy

[Rienne] “Oh, I think you may have misheard. You didn’t need to come in.”

[Mercenary] “But if you want, I can stay by your side. This room’s pretty small, but it would be perfect to practice sword techniques.”

The mercenary’s way of speaking was very casual considering the time and place, and it was hard for Rienne to stifle a laugh. But in the end, she shook her head with a kind and amiable smile.

[Rienne] “I’ll call on you if I’d like to see your swordsmanship.”

[Mercenary] “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll be waiting right outside for you.”

Up until the moment the Tiwakan mercenary left the audience room, the sound of his blade continued to ring out in the air.

[Ellaroiden] “To rule with such tyranny—!”

Ellaroiden was filled with such anger, he tried to yell, but the nobleman he brought with him quickly moved to stop him.

[Noble] “He’s still outside. If you wish to speak, you need to lower your voice.”

[Ellaroiden] “Tch…..! Where is Lord Kleinfelder? Or have you already executed him?”

Ellaroiden looked back at Rienne and clicked his tongue.

Given the new circumstances, their attitudes changed a little, but it didn’t change the core of their feelings about Rienne. To that end, both of them brought their plenty of their families’ enlisted soldiers with them.

They couldn’t enter the audience room, but they were waiting somewhere else—the closest room that courtesy would allow them to be in. This was also a right given to them by the Treaty of Risebury.

But today, things were different for Rienne.

Rienne could easily point out their rudeness without any reservations, all thanks to the Tiwakan mercenary, holding strong just outside the door.

Although Rienne still doubted Black, she was able to reap so many benefits from him, not to mention the comfort his mere existence brought her.

But she was well aware of how inconsistent and selfish her feelings were.

[Rienne] “I suppose the time has already passed to tell you two gentlemen that you need to be on your best behavior today. Now that the Tiwakan have become the Guardian Knights of the Arsak family, the demand for courtesy towards royalty has become stricter. Things will be different from before. Oh, and since you’re curious, Lord Kleinfelder’s head is still very much attached.”

[Ellaroiden] “Well…….Good, then.”

The men looked at each other before finally turning back to face her.

[Rienne] “Now, tell me why you wanted to see me. As you know, I’m not feeling very well so I’d rather not sit here for longer than I have to. Why did you come all this way when the date for the Grand Council hasn’t been set yet?”

[Ellaroiden] “This is about the council. Convening it must first be discussed with the head of the aristocratic delegation.”

Rienne quietly smirked.

[Rienne] “You two must’ve really gotten older, for you are making a groundless wish. You do realize what one of the main agendas of the council is for, right?”

[Ellaroiden] “I never believed it from the start. We came to assure that you, the daughter of Arsak has no right to charge the head of the Nauk’s delegation with a crime.”

………They want me to quietly agree and let them go, Rienne thought, all while pondering how she could best convey to them that what they wanted of her was not only impossible but completely unnecessary.

It was a self-centered thought, one she’d never had before, but it was rather enjoyable to say the least.

[Rienne] “Is it because of the Treaty of Risebury?”

[Ellaroiden] “Exactly.”

[Rienne] “I see. Are you saying a council wouldn’t be an appropriate course of action? I only wish for the head of the delegation to pay his dues. And you don’t have to worry about evidence, we have plenty of that.”

With a clearly displeased expression, Ellaroiden furrowed his grey eyebrows.

From what Rienne could remember, Ellaroiden was half the man Linden Kleinfelder was. He was greedy, stubborn, and the pride he felt in his family was beyond the acceptable range.

And so, like Linden Kleinfelder, half of everything he did was rooted in disrespect and cunning.

[Ellaroiden] “Then the noble families of the council must reject your request to convene.”

Even before calling in Arland, Rienne already knew he’d say something like this.

[Rienne

] “Oh, then I suppose there’s nothing I can do about that. Alright then, let us pretend no council is called upon.”

Hearing Rienne so readily agree, the older men looked at each other with confusion.

[Ellaroiden] “Then, Lord Kleinfelder….”

[Rienne] “With no council, there’s no way to put Linden Kleinfelder’s guilt on trial, so I have no choice but to leave him in the dungeons. When the noble families refuse like this, what else is there for me to do? Even if I wanted to investigate and resolve this crime, that is no longer possible. My apologies to the both of you. I will convey your will to Lord Kleinfelder in the dungeons.”

[Ellaroiden] “Princess!”

Ellaroiden roared out in seething anger.

[Ellaroiden] “What are you saying now?”

[Rienne] “The blood of the Arsak family has the right to convene the council, just as you have a right to deny the request, so I’ve been given no choice. I did my best to respect the Treaty of Risebury, so why must I endure such critical remarks from you?”

[Ellaroiden] “Respect? Where is the respect in your actions now!?”

[Rienne] “I consider it very ‘respectful’ that Linden Kleinfelder still has his head. With what he did, his crime warranted an on the spot execution at the hands of the leader of the Tiwakan.”

[Noble] “. . .”

[Ellaroiden] “…….!”

The older men stayed quiet, her words echoing in their minds and turning them silent.

[Rienne] “I understand that there cannot be a council. If you’ve said everything you need to, you may leave now.”

Rienne gestured her hand, waving it vaguely, showing them she had no intention of hearing anything else. The nobles, watching her quietly, spoke up—albeit reluctantly.

[Ellaroiden] “We….We didn’t say that exactly. Please don’t misunderstand our words, Princess.”

[Rienne] “Misunderstand? Did you not just tell me you would not consent to the council being called?”

[Noble] “We merely wished to say that the council is invalid without the will of head of the delegation.”

As the other noble finally said something, Ellaroiden started nodded his head with all his might in agreeance with his words.

[Ellaroiden] “That’s right. The decision to convene the council requires the consent of all heads of the families. You understand that, right?”

Rienne narrowed her eyes, her irritation clear as day.

[Rienne] “So what do you want?”

[Ellaroiden] “I’ll need to meet with the head of the delegation before making a decision.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

Not that it wasn’t irritating before, but now it was really irritating. From her memory, nothing good ever happened when the six families put their heads together.

Even thinking about it brought on bouts of unpleasant feelings.

The law was the law, so he couldn’t exactly say no.

As Rienne asked of him, the Tiwakan mercenary guided the two nobles down to the dungeons. Both of the nobles argued that they would need an escort with them if they were going to set foot in such a dangerous place—causing quite the fuss as they did.

Now the procession heading down to the dungeons was pretty sizable. After the mercenary was told to escort them where they wished, he brought along several other mercenaries that easily overshadowed their own personal guards.

The moment the nobles saw that, their faces darkened, and even Rienne had to hold her stomach tightly just to keep herself from laughing out loud after she saw it.

[Ellaroiden] “You….How could…….you treat me like this……”

The two nobles muttered to themselves all the way down the cramped and steep stairs down to the dungeons.

[Mercenary A] “If you have time to complain, then walk faster. You have a lot of people walking behind you, you know?”

But whenever he heard a peep from them, the mercenary would scold them, tapping his hand against the hilt of his blade.

The nobles had never been treated like this before, and they were so stunned and shocked, they could hardly breathe. Hearing the sound of someone’s blade was already terrifying, but even more so if it was in the hands of a Tiwakan mercenary.

[Noble] “I, I’ve never gone down this path before……”

[Ellaroiden] “Exactly. We need to be careful…….I feel like I’m going to fall………”

A lame excuse for why they couldn’t walk any faster.

[Mercenary A

] “Then lie down and roll. If you do it right, it’ll hurt less than falling.”

The two nobles were given no choice but to bite their anger back and quiet down.

If they lost their tempers here, they were certain these beastly men would definitely end up shoving them down the stairs.

And they weren’t wrong. The men of the Tiwakan were the kinds of people who would calmly reprimand the nobles only to send them careening down the stairs without even blinking.

Thanks to that knowledge, they managed to pick up the pace some.

[Mercenary B] “Huh, what the hell? Why are so many people coming here?”

And once they arrived at the dungeons, they didn’t receive a warm welcome.

[Mercenary B] “Are you crazy? How the hell are all these people supposed to move around here?”

The dungeon itself was laid out across a wide stretch of space, making it fairly large, but the passages were very narrow. That design was intended to make any kind of escape difficult.

[Mercenary A] “It just ended up this way. I didn’t bring all these people because I wanted to.”

[Mercenary B] “Well, they can’t all come in.”

[Mercenary A] “Should we cut up the group and send some outside?”

[Mercenary B] “That’s too much of a pain. Just toss ‘em into an empty room and make them wait.”

[Mercenary A] “Fine then.”

He didn’t argue much, so their party was divided in the end.

There were three soldiers and five Tiwakan mercenaries. Add in the two nobles, and that made for a total of ten people heading off towards the cell where Linden Kleinfelder was being kept.

[Mercenary] “Here it is.”

The door to the prison cell guarded by two guards was opened. It was so small that ten people could certainly not all fit.

[Ellaroiden] “Now that these two noble elders and the head of the delegation have gathered, this room is no different from a convention of aristocrats. Those who do not fit into those qualifications must leave the room.”

As soon as the prison cell was opened, Ellaroiden miraculously found his voice—putting forth the authority he honestly forgot he had for a moment.

And the Tiwakan didn’t feel like arguing with him.

[Mercenary] “If you want. But we’ll be keeping the window open.”

It wasn’t an actual ‘window’ but rather just the hole in the door where food would be filtered through to the prisoners.

[Ellaroiden] “What do you mean? What’s the point in leaving that open?”

[Mercenary] “Would you rather I kept the door open, instead?”

[Ellaroiden] “What nonsense!?”

[Mercenary] “Those are the rules of the dungeon. If you don’t like it, you can just leave.”

[Ellaroiden] “How ridiculous! What rules!?”

[Mercenary] “Oh, they’re new. Now that the Tiwakan is in charge of guarding Castle Nauk, we made some new rules to avoid accidents.”

It was possible these mercenaries were just making things up on the spot, but Ellaroiden had no way of knowing for certain.

But he also knew that continuing to argue with them wouldn’t work. Looking back at the three soldiers with him that weren’t mercenaries, Ellaroiden sighed.

[Ellaroiden] “…….Fine. Open the door.”

[Mercenary] “I was gonna do that without you telling me. Tch.”

At the gesture of the mercenary, the guards opened up the prison door locked by chains.

_^*

* * *

_^*

[Ellaroiden] “Lord Kleinfelder!”

[Noble] “What on earth happened? I can’t believe they’ve imprisoned you!”

Linden Kleinfelder’s face muscles barely moved as he looked at the noble’s eyes, glancing down at him in shock.

[Linden] “……Took your sweet time getting here.”

The nobles’ eyes trembled as Linden accused them of being too slow, but it wasn’t as though his appearance right now was any better. It was equally as embarrassing.

The arrogant and blunt noble of Nauk was lying on the prison floor, both of his hands horribly mangled. There were splints keeping them in place, but they were done so carelessly, it was likely they weren’t even done by a proper doctor.

It was their first time seeing a noble Kleinfelder in such a sorry state.

[Ellaroiden] “What are you saying…….We came all this way to such a dangerous place just to meet you.”

[Linden] “You were obligated to come! Do you know what it means for me to be stuck here!? The Tiwakan are going to overthrow this entire kingdom and swallow it completely! Do you think you’ll be safe during all that!?”

Ellaroiden jolted back, pointing at the door behind him.

[Ellaroiden] “Sire, you must speak quietly. The window is open.”

[Linden] “You think I don’t know that? If I didn’t, you’d be implying my head is merely made of stone—not made for thinking at all.”

[Ellaroiden] “Sire, what are you saying!? Besides us, is there anyone else who would take your side now?”

[Linden] “Your face doesn’t look sincere enough to be thinking that. Or did you come here to the dungeons empty handed?”

[Ellaroiden] “What…..what are you saying……”

But Linden Kleinfelder had a plan.

Now that he finally had a visitor, he couldn’t let this opportunity pass him by. Linden frowned, beckoning the nobleman who had accompanied Ellaroiden closer.

[Linden] “Can’t you see what kind of treatment I’ve been given here? What I wouldn’t do for a well-baked piece of bread!”

Reading the air, the nobleman noticed what Linden was doing and approached. He quickly put his mouth to his ear, quietly whispering.

[Linden] ‘……….Hurry and go……and then………you need to……’⁽¹⁾

Hearing his words, the nobleman pulled back in surprise, his mouth agape in utter shock.

[Noble] “What………..?”

[Linden] “If you understand, then go and get me something good to eat! Don’t be so stupid and lazy! If something happens to me, the aristocratic delegation is finished!”

Linden yelled out in anger, as if trying to clear away his whispers. Ellaroiden didn’t know what to say, his face red in confusion.

[Ellaroiden] “……..Oh, I see. You must be tired, so I will work very hard to do that.”

Ellaroiden’s words were very obedient, his eyes wide and his voice elevated.

[Noble] “Oh, but…….? We’re just going to leave like this? But what about the council? We need to discuss the council!”

The other noble grabbed at Ellaroiden, who was acting a little senseless.

[Ellaroiden] “That’s not the issue right now. The head of the delegation is tired and his head doesn’t seem to be working properly right now, so we must fill his stomach first………..Hello! Open the door! We’re leaving!”

The prison door opened slowly.

[Mercenary] “You’re leaving already? After coming all this way?”

The window was open, so he would’ve heard everything anyway, but the mercenary just wanted to tease him for a little bit.

[Ellaroiden] “We’re already done. Now hurry and take us out.”

[Mercenary] “Oh, I thought you guys must’ve been real good friends if you came to visit him, but I guess not.”

Then, the door opened and the two nobles were tempted to fall to their knees before beginning their ascent back up the stairs.

Later that night, a basket of food was delivered from House Ellaroiden to the dungeon. That was the moment that the mercenaries developed a new rule on the spot that prohibited the sending of food to prisoners being held in the dungeons.

The errand boy of House Ellaroiden was forced to make the long journey home, his shoulders drooping the whole way there.

* * *

_{T/N: (1) This is a purposefully fragmented sentence. You’re not supposed to know what he asked.}