LUW 38

Chapter 38

Just as the man, seemingly having given up, swung his sword at Cecilia with force, an arrow suddenly flew in from the bushes.

As the startled man stopped to avoid the arrow, Cecilia seized the moment and swung her sword at him without hesitation. Thanks to that, she managed to slash his left shoulder deeply.

As both his shoulder and mask were torn, the man hurriedly covered his face with his hand.

Sounds of people approaching could be heard from beyond the bushes. The man clicked his tongue and quickly fled the scene.

‘Is he gone…?’

To stop the bleeding from her thigh, Cecilia tore her tattered dress and pressed the fabric to the wound.

But she must have lost too much blood—her vision started to blur and spin. It looked like the subordinates of Zilgerk had arrived.

At the very least, she had to make it out of here and pass out somewhere safe, but her vision flickered in and out.

It felt ironic how she had barked at Pierre with such confidence, only to cause a mess.

She had intended to return triumphantly and report her success—he would have given her that characteristic smile.

She wanted to see that face…

‘…Wait, why do I want to see it?’

Just before she completely lost consciousness, she saw a man approaching her. Even through the hazy blur, his refined appearance reminded her of Pierre.

With that thought, Cecilia fainted.

* * *

“What in the world happened here?”

Zilgerk, who had been on his way to the main mansion, rushed back to the factory after hearing news of a fire.

Thanks to a swift firefighting effort, the flames had mostly died down, but the factory had already been reduced to ashes. As Zilgerk stood in shock before the remnants of the building, a cold voice sounded beside him.

“So it wasn’t just the workshop, was it.”

Startled, Zilgerk turned to see Pierre standing there with a grim face.

Pierre and his subordinates were helping contain the fire and clean up the scene. Even in the chaos, they had managed to gather some information, but most of the evidence had already been destroyed or used up.

Zilgerk had been told that Grand Duke Cardinand had happened to pass by and spotted the large blaze, intervening before it could spread into a forest fire.

Nothing about that explanation sounded like coincidence, but with no leg to stand on, Zilgerk had no choice but to accept it quietly.

And now, the Grand Duke showed not even a hint of the gentleness he usually wore like a mask.

“Whatever you were hiding, don’t assume it’s all gone just because the evidence burned. You’ll pay the price for this crime.”

Zilgerk hiccupped slightly in fear. As Pierre turned to leave and handle the rest of the situation, Zilgerk quickly called after him.

“W-Wait! By chance, was there any trace of Lady Niverius inside the factory?”

“……”

Zilgerk’s eyes were filled with fear as he spoke carefully.

“I-I thought she followed us after the workshop tour… but she hasn’t returned to the main mansion, so I wondered if… maybe she was caught in the accident…”

The corner of his mouth twitched unnaturally as he spoke. Pierre looked down at that strange expression with a cold, piercing gaze.

“If that had happened, you wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“R-Right…”

“You’d better stop paying attention to Niverius. You barely have time to scramble for your own survival now. Isn’t that all a border marquis like you can manage at this point?”

Zilgerk swallowed dryly and called for his subordinate.

“D-Dunken! Dunken, where are you?”

Pierre stared coldly at Zilgerk’s retreating figure and then spoke to his assistant, Honik, who stood behind him.

“Her condition?”

“The wound isn’t too deep, but she’s lost a lot of blood. We must hurry.”

“I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”

With that, Pierre headed toward a carriage waiting behind the mountain. He opened the unmarked carriage door to find Cecilia unconscious inside. Supporting her in his arms so she wouldn’t fall, he said,

“We’re returning immediately.”

* * *

After scolding Dunken, Zilgerk rushed straight to Richmond’s territory. His face pale, he sat nervously in the reception room, anxiously shaking his leg.

He’d already been waiting for two hours. Though he had rushed here in a panic, time passed mercilessly.

Unable to wait any longer, Zilgerk was about to storm off and find him himself, when the door finally opened and Valdir Richmond entered.

Despite being a major player in the weapons market, Richmond did not appear that old. He was a middle-aged man with slicked-back blond hair, exuding a noble air. But his narrow, slitted eyes held a viciousness that no true noble possessed.

With a displeased expression, Valdir approached. Zilgerk leapt up in agitation.

“Why are you so late? I told you this was a serious matter!”

Despite the urgency, Valdir casually poured himself a cup of tea and responded coolly.

“You’re the one who showed up uninvited. Don’t push your luck.”

“……”

Richmond was a nouveau riche who had bought his title with money. As a noble with a long-standing history as a border marquis, Zilgerk should have outranked him—but he couldn’t bring himself to point that out.

The reason was simple: ever since he accepted Richmond’s proposal, Zilgerk had slowly become his puppet.

Zilgerk bit down his fury and finally spoke.

“…There was a fire at the factory. Not just this month’s production, but everything for the past three months was burned.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Richmond’s indifferent tone made Zilgerk’s blood run cold. Based on his usual temper, he should’ve exploded upon hearing the news.

Suspicious, Zilgerk narrowed his eyes and continued.

“But the arsonist… Something’s off. If it was one of the emperor’s hounds tailing us, they would’ve searched the place, not burned it.”

He had gotten statements from the unconscious guards and noticed something strange.

All described the culprit the same way—a short figure in black, wielding a sword with skills far beyond a typical mercenary, more like someone raised from birth to be an assassin.

As Zilgerk listened to their testimony, a memory surfaced—of when he had once visited Valdir Richmond’s estate long ago.

Richmond had boasted about adopting orphans and raising them as assassins, even showing off a few boys with lifeless eyes, not yet old enough to be called men.

That memory still unsettled him. Combined with the guards’ descriptions, it became hard to ignore the connection.

Zilgerk swallowed dryly.

“So I just had this odd thought… Could it have been your doing?”

“It was.”

“…What?”

Zilgerk turned ghostly pale. But Richmond continued without a hint of emotion.

“I sent my subordinate to burn the place. You said everything turned to ash? Good.”

“W-Why would you do that…?”

As rage twisted Zilgerk’s face, Richmond suddenly slammed his cup down.

“Cecilia Niverius.”

“…!”

“You brought her directly to the factory.”

“T-That was—”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. That woman sniffed you out and approached you. You’re really that blind? You fool.”

Richmond looked at him with pure disdain. He had known Zilgerk was a lecherous dog, but he hadn’t expected him to be this reckless.

It was time to cut Zilgerk loose—though only after wringing every last drop of use from him.

He glanced at the shaken Zilgerk and said quietly,

“You’re the one who ruined everything. So you clean it up.”

“Clean it up…?”

“Cecilia Niverius. Everything went downhill the moment she fell into Grand Duke Cardinand’s hands. Tie off that loose end first.”

Zilgerk swallowed hard.