Despite the considerable commotion that had occurred, no one came to investigate the area regardless of how much time passed. There was a reason for that.
It was due to the soundproofing barrier that had been sealing off the vicinity since the moment Sien first set foot there.
Sien hadn’t set it up. It had been installed by the imperial rat who had arrived before Sien.
‘Hmm, what should I do with these?’
Sien thought while looking at the two corpses lying there. Even if the Count’s body was one thing, leaving behind the corpse of the man who appeared to be an imperial human would be a headache in many ways.
‘I should probably just get rid of them.’
After making the decision, Sien lightly snapped a thumb and finger.
*Fwoosh!*
Flames erupted. Fire magic was not something Sien used often, but Sien’s mastery of elemental magic was already at a level surpassing that of a typical high-ranking mage. Igniting a fire on the spot to incinerate a corpse into nothingness was trivial.
Literally, not a single fragment was left behind.
Leaving behind the remains of the angel, which had vanished without a trace after being burned, Sien glanced at the fallen old knight. Even if he had survived, he would have likely died by Sien’s hand eventually. Nothing would have changed.
The only thing that weighed on Sien’s mind was the fact that a predestined fate had changed once again.
‘Not by the hand of a Highmaster, but by the hand of the Empire —’
In the great flow of history, this might be considered a minor detail. Whether he died by the Republic’s hand or the Empire’s, neither nation wanted this war to end so easily. It probably didn’t matter whose hand dealt the final blow.
Still, even knowing that, a bitter taste remained in Sien’s mouth.
Before long, the flames began to consume the room, and the heat started to prickle against Sien’s skin. It would soon be difficult to keep the secret even with a soundproofing barrier.
“Poisoning, huh.”
Before leaving, Sien finally picked up the silver chalice resting on the table.
The poisonous cup that had brought death to the undying knight — Sien took one or two small sips of the remaining liquid.
Holding the poisonous liquid in the mouth and slowly savoring it like a wine tasting, Sien’s eyes narrowed slightly.
‘This poison recipe, could it be…?’
After swallowing, Sien applied a light pressure and crushed the chalice.
“Fire! There’s a fire!”
“It’s the Count’s bedroom!”
By the time the soldiers belatedly arrived in a panic to assess the situation, there was nothing left.
Not the imperial rat, nor the Count who was supposed to be protected within his full mithril armor.
Soon, the flames rising from the peak of the fortress became a signal fire. Before long, taking that fire as a cue, the sound of ship horns echoed.
It was the sound of the Seven Kingdoms’ fleet, which had been waiting beyond the black and dark horizon.
It was the sound announcing the beginning of the invasion.
***
A man stood upon the bow of the fleet’s flagship.
He was a man of massive stature, holding the legendary sword known as Excalibur in one hand and an ash spear named Rhongomyniad in the other.
The man went by many names, but the most common was Arthur, the King of the Round Table.
The King of the Kingdom of Loegria, who claimed the leadership of the Seven Kingdoms, an island nation split into seven states.
And the knights who assisted the King were each powerful figures whose names were known throughout the entire continent, far beyond the island.
Gawain, Lancelot, Percival, Bedivere, Mordred, Galahad, Merlin….
Not all of them belonged to the Kingdom of Loegria. They were each associated with one of the seven kingdoms — Wessex, Sussex, Beornice, Derenlice, Mercia, East Anglia, and Loegria — and the only thing that bound them together was the ‘Round Table.’
The Knights of the Round Table.
Sien let out a chuckle while watching their forces land from the fleet in sequence.
Sien had blended into the invader’s fleet, and even the King’s own ship, without a single shred of dissonance.
“An ordinary Count was supposed to stop these monsters?”
It was a ridiculous notion. Sien’s actions hadn’t really mattered from the start.
“What do you find so amusing in the presence of His Majesty? You coward.”
Right then, the dignified voice of a man rang out.
Mordred Le Fay, the son of King Arthur and the First Prince of the Kingdom of Loegria.
“Oh, was I smiling?”
Sien shrugged nonchalantly at the remark, still wearing the darkness beneath the hood like a mask.
“I simply came to find His Majesty to fulfill our contract.”
“You babble utter nonsense,” Mordred spat coldly. “Our contract was strictly to guarantee the ‘safe landing of the fleet.'”
“It certainly was.”
Sien shrugged again.
“And that is why I fulfilled my promise, so that Your Excellency and our country’s fleet could land safely.”
“It was unnecessary,” Mordred said. “Even without your cowardly tricks, we would have been more than —”
*Crunch!*
It happened at that moment.
From beneath the silent King’s cloak, an impossibly large hand shot out and violently grabbed Mordred’s hair. Simultaneously, the King dropped his left knee and slammed his son’s head into the floor with all his might.
*Boom!*
A hole was punched into the deck, and Mordred’s face was shoved into it.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
It didn’t end there.
Grabbing the hair, the King lifted the face and slammed it down again, and again. King Arthur did not stop until Mordred’s face was a bloody mess, crushed against the broken deck.
“Please forgive my son’s insolence, Nightwalker.”
King Arthur bowed his head respectfully while keeping his left knee down. He didn’t even think to let go of his son’s hair as he held the head against the deck.
‘Wow, their etiquette training is certainly something,’ Sien thought, feeling somewhat bewildered by the sight.
“Please forgive Prince Mordred’s youthful indiscretion, Your Majesty. Isn’t he at that age?”
Sien responded with a business-like smile, feigning ignorance of the fact that Sien was actually much younger than the Prince.
“I have only come to discuss our transaction. Following the orders of our beloved Mother of Assassins, the Grand Duke of Nightwalker —”
“1,500,000 Republic gold coins.”
“That is correct.”
Even when calculated in gold, it was an astronomical sum equivalent to nearly 5 tons.
That was the cost of war. No, even this was merely the minimum cost for nations of their scale to initiate a war.
“This is the total cost for the Republic fleet lent for troop transport, the various armaments provided for everyone from conscripts to knights, and other supplies including siege weapons and strategic materials necessary to conduct the war.”
At Sien’s words, King Arthur asked back in a chilling voice.
“And did you also sell the same weapons to my enemies, arm them with the same helmets and armor, and lend them money and supplies so they could continue the war?”
Those who sell weapons wish for many fights to occur. Only then can they sell many weapons.
An undertaker wishes for many people to die. Only then can they perform shrouding and funerals to earn money.
The merchants of war and death were no different.
“That is not something Your Majesty needs to concern yourself with.”
“Do not test His Majesty’s mercy, assassin of the Republic.”
Right then, another voice filled with bloodlust rang out.
[Sir Galahad, Knight of the Holy Grail.]
He was a powerhouse who boasted the second-highest skill within the Knights of the Round Table after King Arthur. Among gossips, he was a knight said to perhaps possess even greater skill than King Arthur himself.
However, Sien remained unfazed by the pressure he emitted.
“As I mentioned, the Grand Duke wishes for an immediate answer on how Your Majesty intends to pay the balance as soon as I return.”
*Shring.*
The scabbard made of snakeskin was wrapped in gold bands, and the cross-shaped hilt was inlaid with various shining jewels.
A famous sword comparable to King Arthur’s Excalibur, known as the ‘Sword of the Strange Belts,’ pointed its tip at Sien.
“Did you not think this would be our answer?”
“Whatever answer you give me is Your Majesty’s prerogative.”
Sien turned away nonchalantly at Galahad’s intimidation.
There, the severed head of a man was perched atop a spear for all to see. It was a very familiar face.
“I-I have come here representing the great King Charles IV! I declare this before the Grand Duke! Any harm or intimidation toward me is an insult to King Charles and the Charlemagne Kingdom…”
The cowardly envoy of the Charlemagne Kingdom, who had previously visited the Nightwalker territory and desperately sought self-preservation by using the King and Kingdom’s names as a shield.
Even if he had managed to leave the territory of the Nightwalkers safely, it seemed that was not the case in the Seven Kingdoms.
“As I said, I am just an assassin who came to hear an answer.”
Sien continued calmly in front of him.
“At the same time, the answer directed at me will be the answer directed at our beloved ‘Mother of Assassins.'”
Sien spoke with a spirit that did not falter even slightly against the strongest individuals on the continent gathered there.
“Please keep that fact in mind.”
Right then, King Arthur’s voice rang out through the air that felt like it might explode at any second.
“Sheathe your sword, Sir Galahad.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Sir Galahad returned his sword to its scabbard.
“— It is winter.”
Arthur spoke after a moment of silence.
“In about nine months, when winter arrives in this land, we will load the spoils we have seized onto the fleet your country lent us and send them to the Republic.”
“That will be sufficient.”
Hiding behind the mask of darkness, Sien bowed politely.
“The deal is struck.”
Under the pale, shining stars, Sien left behind the blades radiating a blue coldness from beneath their sleeves.
***
“You have returned safely from your mission.”
Laila’s eyes as she looked at Sien, who had returned safely to the territory, were different from usual. It was only natural.
No matter how great Sien’s talent was, Sien was not even formally a Highmaster. Furthermore, Laila was the one who knew better than anyone just how dangerous the place was where she had sent the heir to the family’s future.
“I did not expect you would have to fight a sixth-rank Virtue.”
“It was an opponent I could sufficiently defeat.”
Even so, that was the way of the Nightwalker family.
“The fleet of the Seven Kingdoms successfully landed in the territory of Count Calvados and captured the fortress. I received confirmation that they will repay the debt by winter using the spoils obtained through looting the Charlemagne Kingdom.”
“It sounds like they’re planning to take what they can.”
“It’s the most fertile and prosperous land in the world, after all.”
“I hear the twelve knights of the Charlemagne Kingdom, led by the Sword Saint Roland, have also begun preparations for their campaign.”
— The Paladins. The peak power of the Charlemagne Kingdom and the flower of chivalry.
The Twelve Knights of Charlemagne and the Knights of the Round Table.
Along with the ‘Iron Cross Knights’ of the Holy Empire, they were the three major knightly organizations on the continent that were subjects of endless debate among gossips regarding who was the strongest.
The clash between two of those forces was not something that would end as a mere dispute between two countries.
“Apart from flaunting their presence, neither side will likely move rashly until at least summer.”
“Probably.”
If they rushed into a total war just to gain an immediate victory, it could lead to the worst outcome where a third party, like the Holy Empire or the Republic, would reap the benefits.
“Still, the dice have been cast.”
What’s done is done.
A war that has already begun cannot be taken back. Furthermore, for the knights who still dominated the spirit of this era, retreating after being defeated in battle was an unimaginable disgrace.
That was why the Nightwalker family, knowing that fact, simply waited in silence.
Until the numbers on the thrown dice were revealed.
Either way, for them, this war was literally someone else’s business.
***
A short while later, an unexpected letter arrived at the mansion.
And the giant sea serpent emblem engraved on the wax seal meant it was by no means “someone else’s business” for the Nightwalker family.
Just as the Nightwalkers supported this country from the shadows, another pillar supported this country from the sea.
It was an invitation sent by the people of the Serpent family.