Chapter 62: Preparations for the Summit (3)
I left the chairwoman's office and was on my way back to the General Affairs Departnt.
“Prepared to kill….”
Frederick kept turning Michel's words over in his mind.
Once a steel-blooded soldier, and at another ti a fearso devil instructor, he had reigned with terrifying power — but he, too, had grown older.
Compared to Eugene Carter at the height of his power, of course he would be no match.
But that was only true of Eugene in his pri.
Wasn't the current Eugene Carter a completely different person?
It was true that the man had achieved quite a lot in a short ti after his return, but that was a separate matter from combat ability.
He had been shining more as a staff officer and administrator than as a frontline fighter; his physical condition was still likely close to the worst.
So what? I had to be prepared to kill if I wanted a good fight?
Had that man recovered his physical capabilities that much? In such a short ti?
‘…No, that was impossible.’
As long as the incurable curse remained plainly in place, there was no way he could return to his pri by any ans.
No matter how adept the Magic Tower was with magic, they wouldn't have the capability to cure an incurable curse.
‘Or did he think I would go easy on him?’
To be honest, Frederick had considered holding back.
Showing their full strength to a youngster who hadn't even recovered half of his forr best would only turn into bullying a weakling.
But.
What if he had raised his physical abilities by so unimaginably strange ans that Frederick didn't know about?
What if the chairwoman had known that?
“…Then, there was no need to decline.”
Frederick clenched both fists and smiled with self-satisfaction.
A blue gleam of mana shone vividly from his whole body.
Clatter, clatter.
Inside the carriage entering the Bernhardt estate.
It was a regular leave after six months, yet the servant Oliver had trembled with anxiety throughout the trip.
‘I hoped it was nothing serious… but that probably wasn't likely.’
He already knew the truth well.
His mistress, Chloe Bernhardt, never summoned her attendants for trivial reasons.
It ant the fact that the assassination attempt had failed had been discovered. There was no other reason.
‘…But who on earth?’
There were more than three hundred servants assigned to Karbenna.
Among them, the spies planted by the Bernhardts numbered around twenty.
Working mostly on odd jobs and as guides, they collected information while moving about Karbenna and sent it to the Bernhardts.
In that way, the Bernhardts planted eyes and ears throughout the Empire.
When the Bernhardt intelligence bureau compiled and passed it on, the main family figures would discuss the matter and take action — that was how the Bernhardt house operated.
Of course, not every piece of information went to the intelligence bureau.
Oliver absolutely did not want his clumsy judgnt — which had botched things — to be known.
The negligence was clear; once it beca known, he couldn't avoid responsibility.
He was a retainer of Chloe Bernhardt. His life and death were at her discretion.
And she had never shown rcy to any subordinate.
As the mansion drew near, Oliver's anxiety intensified.
He swallowed and fell into thought.
‘Would running away now help?’
No — that would only make things worse.
It would change nothing, and would only further provoke her wrath.
He had family, all of whom were subordinate to the Bernhardts.
What good would it do to escape alone and survive? In return he would lose his entire family.
“…Then.”
Then, at least, it had to end with my life alone.
That was the best he could do in this situation.
Oliver resolved silently to that and climbed the mansion steps alone.
“…….”
When he reached Chloe's private room, the younger attendant who had escorted him had tears in his eyes.
“My, my, this fellow. If soone saw him, they'd think he were going to die.”
“Ha, but….”
“Don't worry and focus on your duty. I'll speak well of you and you'll co out fine.”
He pretended not to see the long-ti colleagues' gazes and stepped forward.
This one ti, he prayed she would show rcy.
“Oliver, master,” he said.
“Co in.”
He opened the creaking door as carefully as possible and went inside.
Several glasses and bottles were irregularly scattered on the table; she had already drunk quite a few.
Nearly half of them lay shattered on the floor.
When Chloe tipped a glass, the wine inside trickled down.
After pouring out the contents, she crossed her legs and said, “You know there's nothing more to say, right?”
“…….”
At this point there were no options left.
So Oliver went silently to the floor full of glass shards, knelt, and then pressed his face to the floor and cried out.
He didn't care that dirty dust and fragnts dug into his skin; he bowed his head earnestly.
“My life may be disposed of as you wish! But please spare my wife and children…!”
“Hmm….”
She let out a snort as if the sight of him inflicting pain on himself amused her.
“Are you bargaining with now?”
“N-no, of course not! I was simply….”
Oh no.
Was this a mistake too?
Chloe watched Oliver, whose complexion grew rapidly darker, and finally nodded as if unable to help it.
“Alright, fine.”
“……Excuse ?”
“I will spare you.”
At the unbelievable words, Oliver lifted his head briefly.
A wicked smile curved at the corner of Chloe's lips as she looked down at him.
“Instead, you know the conditions, right?”
“…….”
“The rciful mistress will graciously spare your family, but you must fulfill your part at least once.”
“My part…?”
At those words, she slowly rose and moved toward the tea cabinet.
“Number one: kill Eugene Carter.”
I took out a jewelry box from the deepest part of the tea cabinet and set it on the table.
“Number two, kill Michel Bernhardt.”
When I opened the lid, there was a small gem inside.
“Now, choose.”
A teal gem that would be a lethal poison to soone.
There were many things to prepare before sending Walter back to Karbenna.
“Um, are you really okay if I take all of this?”
“We're only borrowing it for a short while. You know that, right?”
“Huh?”
I felt riel's piercing gaze from behind, so I quickly signaled Walter.
He, as if nothing had happened, put on a showy smile.
“Of course I’m borrowing them. I’ll return them soon, so don’t worry, haha!”
Walter happily packed herbs, potion bottles, and mana stones full of various magics neatly into the case.
I sighed at the sight and averted my eyes for a mont.
Rubia and Eric were returning together just then.
Eric collapsed on the floor before they even reached the entrance.
In contrast, Rubia — who had been the mainstay of training — had only beads of sweat on her brow.
It was a performance that made it impossible to believe she had been unconscious from injury not long ago.
“…We did proceed without holding back like Eugene said, but was it too brutal for the second-years?”
“It probably was.”
Still, I didn’t much care. The person involved had wanted it.
‘Did she change her mind again in that ti?’
Regardless of the before-and-after, the fact she had been beaten badly by Francia hadn’t changed; she might have concluded this wouldn’t do.
Well, with Eric as he was now, any change in him wouldn’t be a negative for .
I smiled satisfactorily at Eric, then began to urge Walter, who was lagging behind.
“Hey, if you’ve packed enough, you should get going.”
“Oh? Oh, okay, just let grab this last thing….”
“Get moving!”
When I kept snapping at him, Walter, unable to stand it any longer, snappily got his bag together.
“I’m going! Whoever saw us would think we were from the Magic Tower, really!”
“You were whining about losing your precious weekend not long ago.”
After sending Walter off with his grumbling, I thanked riel.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“…With Gustav cooperating too, I couldn’t very well refuse.”
I still felt like he was taking too much, but….
“By the way, what do you plan to use this junk for?”
She looked at the leather sacks stacked outside the storage and asked.
The sacks contained all kinds of artifacts, irregularly packed.
“They’re all useless junk as far as I can tell.”
“That all depends on how you use them. There’s no such thing as a useless item in this world.”
The Tower dwellers would treat artifacts strewn across the Tower as commonplace, but to they were all raw gems.
eting the right user, a low-grade artifact could be transford into a high-grade one.
‘For now, I needed to assign them to Karbenna.’
I couldn’t store all this by myself.
It was too early to actively use them.
So I decided to package this as a token of friendship Mallet would be sending to Karbenna.
After supporting Eric to his feet, we moved toward the outer wall of the storage.
While quick-witted Rubia and riel began lifting the artifacts up together—
“Do you know why I called you here?”
I asked Eric casually.
“…Was it to protect my person?”
“Correct. Did Walter tell you on the way here?”
“No, he didn’t… but it’s obvious. It’s probably for the sa reason you’re not leaving this place, Instructor.”
He really was soone who understood words well.
Reford Eric Halenber was quite useful to .
It would be best to keep him under my command if possible.
…but he had to make the decision himself.
Otherwise he would certainly have regrets.
So I briefly recounted what had happened during the trip.
“…….”
Hearing the whole story, Eric’s expression showed a bit of bewildernt.
“I find so parts rather odd.”
“Hmm.”
“Isn’t the Bernhardt response rather hasty and extre for people of their standing? Even if the Instructor were a washed-up veteran who had lost all his pri strength….”
A prickling sensation.
“…even if he was being misunderstood as that.”
Watching Eric avert his gaze subtly, I snorted.
“If the Bernhardts had truly been after , they wouldn’t have contacted in such a stupid way.”
“You an…?”
“How much do you know about Chloe Bernhardt?”
When the na Chloe ca out, his expression darkened far more than before.
“…I’ve never t her personally, but my father always despised her. He said she was the most troubleso of the Bernhardt direct line I’d ever dealt with.”
She apparently had a notorious reputation even within friendly Bernhardt factions.
Then persuasion might be easy.
I crossed my arms and got to the point.
“If the Hokhma incident is made public at the summit, which target would be hit first?”
Quickly grasping my intent, Eric opened his mouth at once.
“That would be the Halenber family.”
“But that would be a huge loss even for them. The amount they earn from Hokhma distribution would exceed our imagination.”
“Are you saying the Bernhardts would defend our house?”
“On the contrary. They would begin searching for a family to replace you.”
In other words, the mont this incident was publicized—
Halenber’s chance of recovery would beco zero.
“Why are you telling this to , a mber of the Halenber family?”
To Eric’s natural question, I answered obliquely.
“If a tail is going to be cut off anyway, might as well have it bite the body hard once. Right?”
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