Chapter 24
The pale green leaves gave off a gentle glow in the faint moonlight.
Chichi dug his claws into a thick branch to calm his excitement. Scritch, scritch, scritch. Even as he scratched at the tree, his yellow eyes with black vertical slits remained fixed on the tents blooming like mushrooms in the middle of the forest path.
Those intense eyes held ecstasy and relief.
“I almost ruined everything.”
To assassinate the prince, he had planned from the beginning to carry out the deed on the fourth night, when the moon would begin to wane.
He had sprinkled magical-beast eggs over the lunch boxes and desserts to be distributed, then carefully adjusted their maturity so they would hatch on the fourth night.
Everything had been proceeding smoothly, but an unexpected complication had arisen.
The egg inside Adrienne had hatched too quickly.
If the magical beast hatched right now, it might ruin everything, so Chichi had to charge into the barracks without a second thought to stop it from hatching.
Because of that, he had nearly been struck by a spear thrust by a blinded soldier.
Adrienne was the sacrificial lamb the Empress herself had brought in because a host was needed to ensure the plan succeeded. Chichi would normally have chosen the host himself, but since the Empress had gone that far, he had no particular reason to refuse.
With the Empress’s help, Chichi had already sprinkled magical-beast eggs on that low-ranking noble’s daughter.
‘That bitch must have been more twisted on the inside than she looked.’
At first, he hadn’t understood why the Empress had chosen that woman, but now he thought he knew.
Fully matured magical-beast eggs were contagious.
Adrienne was a living mass of desire, and her ugly desires were excellent nourishment for the eggs to grow quickly.
Thanks to that, the magical-beast eggs had spread faster and more widely than he had expected.
‘Still, with the Empress in that state, that great Empire will fall before long.’
In Chichi’s eyes, the Empress was every bit as crazy as the Noble Consort, who was notorious throughout the Empire as a wicked woman.
The incident at the banquet alone showed as much.
To kill Prince Loen, the Empress had spread magical beasts throughout the banquet hall while risking her own life, and this time, she had spent a fortune bribing the people participating in the pilgrimage.
In any case, it was a good thing for Chichi.
Only when a big shot like the Empress loosened her purse strings could he make a big score as well.
Quite apart from that, watching the great Empire collapse was sure to bring him immense pleasure.
“I wish tomorrow would come quickly.”
One day remained until the operation.
Chichi could wait as long as necessary for perfect success.
***
“An egg?”
Fulcare’s voice rose slightly, apparently because he had never expected that answer.
That wasn’t strange.
After all, it wasn’t a magical beast that had been planted, but an egg. How much demonic energy could an egg smaller than a grain of rice produce?
Besides, demonic energy itself was a conglomeration of people’s malice and fear. So wherever there were people, there was demonic energy. The difference was that, unlike in the demon realm, the amount here was extremely small.
“On my way here, I saw that quite a lot had been scattered around. Still, Blanc and—what was his name? Alros, commander of the First Order of Knights, I think?—that man seemed fine.”
“Haaah, do I have to inspect everything they eat one by one now?”
Fulcare irritably swept his hair back.
“But how did you find out that the magical-beast eggs had spread? It doesn’t look like you dispelled any spells.”
Instead of answering, Vieta held up her dagger. The three gems embedded in its worn leather hilt glowed softly through the darkness.
“So it was the goddess.”
Fulcare clicked his tongue in displeasure with a ‘tsk.’
“By the way, what are you going to do? It seems like destroying the eggs inside their bodies will be quite a job. I wish Theo or Iseria were here.”
Destroying the eggs themselves would have been easy, but the problem was that they were inside human bodies.
To remove the magical-beast eggs without harming anyone, using purification abilities would be the safest option.
“First, we need to remove the eggs somehow. If they come at us with overwhelming numbers, we won’t stand a chance. No, perhaps setting a trap while we’re at it wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’m getting a little tired of playing cat and mouse, anyway.”
Fulcare rested his chin in one hand and tapped his face with his index finger.
As always, Vieta calmly waited for the archmage to come up with the best course of action.
***
The next morning, despite the early hour, the servants and maids busily carried lunch boxes.
Instead of carrying lunch boxes, Vieta used Fulcare’s orders as an excuse to head for Blanc’s tent.
Several knights stopped Vieta along the way for leaving the formation, but she was able to reach Blanc’s tent without hindrance simply by showing them Fulcare’s insignia.
“Oh, Vieta?”
Blanc’s eyes widened at the unexpected visit.
Vieta raised her index finger to her lips, then tossed a golden orb into the air. The orb suspended overhead transformed into a magic circle and instantly filled the tent.
“It’s a soundproofing spell.”
After confirming that the soundproofing spell had been cast perfectly, Vieta offered Blanc a canteen she had brought specifically.
“What is this?”
“It’s a long story, but drink it first. It isn’t poison.”
Blanc tilted his head slightly as if deliberating, then accepted the canteen and emptied it in one gulp.
“…Isn’t this just water?”
“To be precise, it’s holy water. More importantly, are you free right now?”
Vieta sat on a small chair and laid out the current situation and their plans for what lay ahead in exhaustive detail. As Blanc listened with an expression of utter bewilderment, his face gradually hardened.
“Then you’re saying that everyone is harboring magical beasts in their stomachs.”
“Yes, I saw that your attendant had one inside her, too. But don’t worry. It’ll all be over by tonight.”
Vieta drew the edge of her hand across her neck.
“…When you put it that way, I’m not sure what I can say.”
“I know you’re worried because there are magical beasts, but it won’t be as dangerous as you think. I’ve already tampered with the lunch boxes and cookies being distributed. You’ll feel much more at ease after just two hours.”
"That’s good, then."
"We could remove the eggs right now, but if we let this opportunity slip away, we’ll have to keep worrying about assassination and attack attempts. Wouldn’t it be better to wipe them all out at once rather than being dragged around by this forever?”
“…Was that your idea?”
At Vieta’s logical explanation, Blanc’s stiff expression took on a meaningful look.
“Well, Fulcare asked me to tell you.”
Vieta gave an awkward smile. The fact that Blanc was asking a question he didn’t really need to ask showed that, despite having known her only a short time, he had already grasped some of her personality.
“But Blanc, you may have to risk your life. Are you all right with that?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Contrary to Vieta’s concerns, Blanc’s attitude was composed.
According to the plan Fulcare had devised, Blanc was bait meant to draw out the leader. Aside from the Emperor’s Eye, Blanc had no ability to protect himself.
Moreover, it was impossible to know how many enemies would come after him.
Even so, Blanc calmly accepted his role as bait.
Vieta decided she needed to revise her opinion of Blanc slightly.
Most nobles tended to put forward a stand-in in situations like this.
Since the primary reason clients hired guards was to protect their lives from danger, they usually couldn’t bear to risk even the slightest danger.
But Blanc was different.
He was throwing himself into danger without batting an eye.
“…Vieta?”
“Ah, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
Realizing that she had been staring too openly, Vieta waved her hands, and Blanc grinned before continuing.
“It might seem strange for me to tell you this out of nowhere, but ever since I was born a prince, I’ve had to walk a tightrope. When I was young, I couldn’t sleep for fear that someone might try to kill me, but honestly, it doesn’t bother me at all anymore. It’s more like, Oh, here it comes again. Something like that?”
“…Was that what it felt like to grow numb?”
“From what I’ve heard, most people end up developing nasty personalities. It’s not something to brag about, but I think becoming detached is better than developing an irritable temperament.”
Blanc’s face was remarkably serene as he said this.
“Besides, until now, I’ve had to fight alone, but this time, you’re here, Vieta.”
“You don’t seem to think I might betray you or fail to protect you.”
“I’ve never once had such a thought. Even if that happened, it would still be my responsibility.”
"Anyway, this calls for special hazard pay. You know that, right?"
Because the mood seemed to be sinking, Vieta deliberately spoke cheerfully as she pressed her thumb and index finger together.
Blanc also nodded with a faint smile.