Inside the glass bottle was a red powder.
“This is… Blood Powder, isn’t it?”
“You recognize it.”
Blood Powder was a powder made from coagulated animal blood, used to lure powerful monsters.
“Sprinkle this on as many horses as you can.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Roman, the aide, took the Blood Powder and walked away.
Count Gaisa watched as his subordinates sprinkled the powder on the horses. Fortunately, they weren’t caught. Count Gaisa smirked as he watched Alexis’s back leading the way.
They finally entered the monster-infested area. Count Gaisa scanned his surroundings with a tense expression. But after a long time, not a single monster appeared.
‘This is strange. By now, trolls should have swarmed us… Why…?’
The area they were passing through was a frequent troll spawning ground. By now, the scent of the Blood Powder should have spread. Blood Powder’s scent spreads far and wide the moment it is sprinkled, luring monsters.
Just then, Alexis turned his horse around and approached Count Gaisa.
“Count Gaisa, you seem very tense.”
“Haha, well, it is a dangerous area, so I’m a bit nervous.”
“Don’t worry. I had the area cleaned up for you early this morning.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“I mean I took care of the trolls that appear in this area beforehand. I haven’t gotten to the smaller monsters yet, though.”
“Oh, I see.”
Just then, a group of goblins appeared. The goblins were easily dealt with by the Knights of the Iron Eagle.
Smiling, Alexis patted Count Gaisa on the shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. There won’t be any danger.”
“Th-Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Count Gaisa bowed his head with an expression of utter defeat.
‘Damn it. I can’t believe he took care of the trolls beforehand.’
Alexis looked down at the bowing Count Gaisa and smiled coldly.
Count Gaisa stared blankly at the Duke’s castle. The castle gates were opening.
Nothing had happened on the way here. They had arrived at the Duke’s castle without a hitch. Roman, the aide, looked at Count Gaisa with a flustered expression.
“My lord, what do we do now?”
“What do you mean, what do we do? There’s nothing we can do.”
If the Duke found out that the food they had brought was rotten, they couldn’t avoid being interrogated. He had tried to deal with it one way or another, but his plan had gone awry.
“Count Gaisa, you’ve worked hard to get here. Let’s go into the castle now.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Count Gaisa was displeased with Alexis, who was encouraging him with a smiling face.
The carts loaded with food were safely transported to the inner castle. Count Gaisa fidgeted nervously as he watched the workers unload the cargo from the carts. It was only a matter of time before the spoiled contents were discovered.
Just then, the Duke’s butler, Norman, spoke up. “Norman, check the food carefully for any problems.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The butler, Norman, instructed the workers to open the lids of the food boxes.
Count Gaisa squeezed his eyes shut.
‘I’m a dead man.’
The moment he thought that, the butler called out, “Your Grace, there are no problems at all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. The wheat is fine, the vegetables are fresh, and you’ve sent us seafood for a change.”
Count Gaisa’s eyes shot open, and with a flustered expression, he personally checked the food. Just as the butler had said, the boxes were filled with fresh vegetables and seafood. The wheat sacks were also intact. There was no rotten food at all.
“How could this have…?”
Count Gaisa’s gaze turned to his aide, Roman. The aide was just as flustered.
“Roman, what on earth happened?”
Count Gaisa pulled on Roman’s arm and whispered. Roman replied with a look of confusion. “I don’t know either. What could have happened…?”
Just then, Alexis approached and encouraged Count Gaisa. “Count Gaisa, you’ve worked hard. Please tell His Majesty the Emperor that we received the goods well.”
“Ah, yes, Your Grace… That’s a relief.”
His voice was trembling, and it was hard to tell if he was laughing or crying.
At that moment, Elia was watching Count Gaisa and Alexis from her bedroom window.
Count Gaisa was checking the food with a very flustered expression.
“He must be flustered. He wouldn’t have known the goods were switched.”
Smiling, Elia turned on her communication orb and spoke with Lapis.
“They’ve arrived safely here. How are things on your end, mister?”
-We’ll be arriving soon. When they check the goods, they’ll probably be surprised.
“I’m looking forward to that. It’s a shame I can’t see the Grand Duchess Christina’s face in person when she finds out that the goods she went to so much trouble to steal were safely delivered to the Duke’s castle.”
-I’m disappointed about that, too.
“There’ll be another chance someday.”
The day would come when she would see the crumpled face of Grand Duchess Christina.
A merchant caravan entered the Eastern Javier duchy. The caravan, escorted by the Red Lion Knights of the Javier ducal family, passed through a vast granary and arrived at a dense forest. The leader of the caravan was Count Rihan, a vassal of the Javier ducal family.
“My lord, horses and carts can’t go any further from here. We will move the rest.”
“Go ahead.”
Count Rihan raised his hand to stop the procession. He dismounted his horse, looked at Taron, the captain of the Red Lion Knights, and gave a signal with his eyes. Taron nodded and gestured to his knights. The knights drew their swords and slaughtered all the workers who had pulled the carts. The strong smell of blood filled the air.
Count Rihan, with an unperturbed expression, got into a prepared carriage. He seemed relaxed, as if this wasn’t the first time he had done such a thing. He was about to say that everything went well and they should leave, but Taron, the captain of the Red Lion Knights, rushed over.
“My lord, it seems there’s a problem.”
“A problem?”
“You should check the goods.”
Frowning, Count Rihan got out of the carriage and quickly checked the goods loaded on the carts.
“Ugh.”
The moment he opened a box, a foul stench filled the air. He held a handkerchief to his nose and checked the goods.
“H-How could this… How could something like this…”
All the goods were rotten. The wheat, vegetables, and seafood were all so spoiled they were inedible. Something was very wrong.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
“C-Count Gaisa!”
Count Rihan looked at Taron, the captain of the Red Lion Knights.
“I think I need to go back to my mansion and contact Count Gaisa. Until then, don’t tell His Grace the Duke. I’ll report to him personally.”
“Understood, my lord.”
Leaving the cleanup to Taron, Count Rihan hurriedly got into his carriage and headed for his mansion. The mansion was located close to the ducal estate. When he arrived at the mansion, he went into his office and turned on his communication orb. He felt he needed to talk to Count Gaisa directly.
Right before his eyes, perfectly fine food was being moved into the storehouse of the Cartellani ducal castle. Was this what it felt like to be completely deceived?
Count Gaisa could only watch with his own eyes. Only his aide, Roman, stood by his side, fidgeting nervously.
Alexis, unaware of Count Gaisa’s impatience, kept smiling and offering him a rest.
“Count, you should go in and rest from your long journey. Norman will show you to your room.”
“I appreciate your consideration, Your Excellency. Then, I will go in and rest first.”
“You do that.”
Count Gaisa was guided to his room by the butler, Norman. After entering the room, Count Gaisa slumped onto the sofa and rubbed his face with his hands.
“The plan has gone completely awry.”
It was enough to drive him mad.
Just then, a light shone from his bag. He quickly opened the bag and took out a communication orb.
“Roman, stand guard at the door.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He had Roman stand guard in case someone came while he was communicating.
Count Gaisa quietly went to a corner, pressed his back against the wall, and turned on the communication orb. He carefully scanned his surroundings and began the conversation in a low voice.
“What’s the matter, Count Rihan?”
-There’s a problem.
“A problem?”
He heard the sound of Count Rihan swallowing hard.
-The food that arrived on our end was all rotten. How about on your end?
Count Gaisa’s eyes widened. He then let out a deep sigh.
