Chapter 121
At the rear of Vünme Castle.
There was a building set aside as an annex.
Inside were the southern lords being held hostage by Kruger.
"Marquis Trout! Get us out of here!"
The man making that plea was in his early thirties.
Young for the head of a noble house, that man was Count Tarnaut.
He was the foremost pro-Empire figure among the southern nobles.
Opposite Count Tarnaut stood a massively overweight man: Marquis Trout, who could be called Kruger's fellow conspirator.
"Are you still saying such things, Count Tarnaut?"
Snorting at Count Tarnaut's words, Trout slowly began to walk.
Several knights stood nearby, watching the unarmed hostages to ensure they did not resist.
"The Emperor has declared the south his enemy. Is this not the time for the south to unite and face him?"
"That is because you and Duke Kruger were running a criminal organization! It has nothing to do with us!"
"Well, well. More than a third of the southern nobles are involved in that criminal organization, you know. Isn't it a bit much to dismiss it as someone else's problem when you're southern nobles yourselves?"
"Don't spout nonsense! You threatened most of them into cooperating by force! Just as you did Count Sitterheim!"
Angrily, Count Tarnaut approached Marquis Trout, but the knights' spears blocked him.
Count Tarnaut clicked his tongue, backed away, and continued speaking.
"So I take it your answer hasn't changed?"
"Of course not! We will not join any Southern Alliance! We are nobles of the Empire!"
"Ha! How noble. And yet all the southern nobles, including those in your territory, have already joined the Southern Alliance."
"That's because you took us hostage!"
"Who will believe that? The Emperor's envoy is at the castle right now. The Emperor, alarmed by the rebellion throughout the south, has taken his seat at the negotiating table. That makes you no different from us. The southern nobles are all in this together now."
Marquis Trout declared this triumphantly.
Hearing that, Count Tarnaut's face twisted.
Many of the nobles present had been lured there by Kruger's false invitation and taken hostage. They had been told they were being gathered to discuss constructive plans for the future of the south, only to become hostages instead.
No one had expected him to seriously intend to rebel against the Empire.
"What guarantee is there that His Majesty the Emperor has taken his seat at the negotiating table? What if this is a declaration of war?"
"Then we fight. We have already contacted other countries."
"The Empire has the power to repel them! If the Imperial Guard marches out, the south will be reduced to scorched earth!?"
"Peace will be concluded before that—in exchange for a promise guaranteeing the safety of Duke Kruger and me."
Saying this, Marquis Trout wore a vulgar smile.
From the beginning, Marquis Trout had viewed Count Tarnaut and the others as nothing more than pawns.
If war broke out, he would sell them to the Empire when the time was right and secure his own safety. Until then, it would be the knights of the nobles taken hostage who did most of the fighting against the Empire.
His own hands would remain completely clean.
His intentions were painfully obvious, and Count Tarnaut openly displayed his disgust.
"You... and you still call yourself a noble!?"
"Of course. I am a noble of distinguished lineage."
Count Tarnaut angrily challenged the triumphant Marquis Trout.
The knights stopped him again, but this time the other male nobles charged at them.
In that opening, Count Tarnaut seized one of the knights' swords.
By then, however, the other knights were pointing their spears at the female nobles in the corner of the room.
"Y-you insolent wretch... But do you not care what happens to the hostages!?"
Marquis Trout raised an arm threateningly.
If he brought it down, the knights would kill the women without mercy.
Count Tarnaut lowered his gaze helplessly.
But then.
"Count Tarnaut. You needn't worry about us."
The speaker was a woman slightly older than Count Tarnaut.
She looked directly at Count Tarnaut with a steely gaze. She showed no fear despite the spears pointed at her.
"Countess Jimmel..."
"I won't pretend this is for the sake of the Empire... But I would rather die than become a burden to the family I left behind in my territory."
"Ha! Just empty bravado!"
"Marquis Trout... You, who care most about yourself, could never understand. When a mother thinks of her children, she can become as strong as she needs to be. If you're going to kill me, then do it!"
Saying this, Countess Jimmel stepped firmly toward the knights.
Uncertain how to proceed, the knights looked at Marquis Trout.
Trout grimaced and thought it over.
If he killed her here, Count Tarnaut would charge straight at him.
Deciding that he had to avoid that, Trout motioned with his chin for the knights to seize Countess Jimmel.
"Bring her here!"
"Let go of me!"
"Well, Count Tarnaut? Will you still fight after this?"
Marquis Trout drew a dagger and held it to Countess Jimmel's neck.
His hesitation was plain on Count Tarnaut's face.
Seeing this, Countess Jimmel closed her eyes and steeled herself.
And then.
"Count Tarnaut... Don't hold back."
"...Understood."
Both of them steeled their resolve.
Seeing this, Marquis Trout took a step backward.
But Trout laughed, visibly irritated.
"H-ha, haha, hahahaha!! Do you want to die that badly!? Fool! People are meant to live! Anyone who throws away their life is an idiot! You think you can protect something by risking your life? Even if you risk your life, there is nothing you can protect! The Empire will not save you!"
"No. His Majesty the Emperor will not abandon honorable nobles."
A voice rang out.
At the same time, a sound filled the entire room.
Everyone grimaced, and several people dropped to their knees. A sudden drowsiness overtook them. Its irresistible magic even ensnared the knights.
"Guh... What is this...?"
"My apologies. It is difficult to calibrate."
Saying this, the girl entered the room swinging her spear, slashing the knights' arms and legs and rendering them helpless.
When she stopped swinging her spear, the sleep-inducing melody ceased.
"Thank you, Linfia-san."
"No, it is my job."
As usual, Linfia replied matter-of-factly and swiftly pulled Countess Jimmel away from Marquis Trout.
The countess was staggering from drowsiness, and Linfia murmured apologetically to her.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
Linfia's magic-spear form emitted a melody that induced sleep when she swung it in circles, but it could not precisely target only several people in the room.
At best, she could direct it forward or focus it on a single person. When everyone was packed together in a room like this, she had no choice but to target everyone.
Even so, the knights had been rendered helpless.
A girl stood in front of Marquis Trout, who still had not grasped what was happening.
"Tch... Who are you...?"
"Fiene von Kleinert. I have come as His Majesty the Emperor's envoy."
"Blau Möwe...? Why are you here...?"
"I've come to rescue the hostages."
"That's impossible... W-where are the guards!? Come quickly!"
"They are asleep. With security this lax, I was beginning to fear our assumptions had been wrong."
As Fiene said this, Sebas appeared beside her.
Sebas had silently neutralized all the guards in the annex. As a result, Marquis Trout had not noticed their approach at all and was caught off guard by Linfia's surprise attack.
"N-no... That's a lie... D-Duke Kruger would never allow this!"
"By now, Duke Kruger should be cornered by Prince Leonart. That was the plan from the beginning."
"Y-you disguised yourselves as envoys and launched a surprise attack!? That's cowardly!"
"It was not a surprise attack. His Majesty's command was simple: kneel. Duke Kruger refused, so we merely punished him for it. That said, I will not deny that it was underhanded. It certainly was. But if it saves lives, then I am willing to be as underhanded as necessary. Besides, we may be underhanded, but you are despicable. We have no reason to heed your criticism."
With that, as if to signal that the conversation was over, Linfia struck Marquis Trout with her spear and knocked him unconscious.
Only after seeing that did Fiene look at Count Tarnaut and the others.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Fiene von Kleinert, His Majesty the Emperor's envoy. I apologize for taking so long to come to your aid."
"H-His Majesty... did not abandon us..."
"You have our gratitude..."
An elderly noble in the back began to cry, overcome with emotion.
Fiene gazed at the nobles with a gentle smile.
Then, after waiting for them to calm down, she began explaining the situation.
"I have a request for all of you. Your vassals are in this castle, and because you are being held hostage, they have turned against us. Please persuade them to stand down."
"Of course."
"...You're Count Tarnaut, are you not?"
"Yes."
"We... cut down your knight. Just before he died, that knight told us that you and the others were being held hostage... You have a fine vassal."
Fiene did not apologize.
She thought that neither Count Tarnaut nor the dead knight would want an apology.
Count Tarnaut bit his lip, then nodded quietly.
"Then let us move at once. We should go somewhere conspicuous and let the castle's knights know that you are safe."
"That is acceptable, but... there are other hostages as well."
"Others?"
"Only half of them are here. Many nobles have been brought to the castle over the course of several days."
At Count Tarnaut's question, Fiene wore a worried expression and looked at Linfia.
Linfia wore a similar expression.
It seemed unlikely that the hostages had merely been moved.
"There must be something going on."
"...I hope they are safe."
"We have no way to confirm that now. In any case, our first priority is to tell the knights in the castle that everyone here is safe. If the knights inside stop resisting, even a little, it will be easier to search for the others."
Linfia laid out their immediate objective for Fiene.
Fiene accepted this and nodded.
But her unease did not disappear.
She had a bad feeling.
Sensing this, Fiene touched her hair ornament.
She touched it to draw the courage she needed to move forward.