Sien and Laila Nightwalker were strolling through the plaza of the Duke’s mansion.
Behind them stood the imposing equestrian statue symbolizing the Knight of Death, the Pale Rider.
“Do you know my official position in the government of this country?”
“You serve as the First Lord of the Treasury in the Ministry of Finance of the Republic’s government.”
“That’s right, you know it well.”
At Sien’s reply, Laila smiled in satisfaction.
“Then what do you think is the most important duty of the Ministry of Finance?”
“Collecting taxes.”
“Exactly.”
Laila smiled as she spoke.
In this world, collecting taxes is never an easy task.
From knights to feudal lords who command their own soldiers, to the nobles within castles, and even entire cities that arm themselves and stage protests, claiming they cannot pay taxes, it is not uncommon.
To forcefully collect taxes from such people, in the end, power is needed.
Like the Assassins of the Nightwalker Family, a power so overwhelming that all tremble in fear and no one even dares to resist.
“In the end, what our family does is collect the two things that can never be escaped in life.”
“Death and taxes.”
“That’s exactly right.”
Laila laughed out loud, unusually for her.
“And just recently, some fool in this country tried to avoid one of them.”
“I suppose they tried to evade taxes.”
Laila nodded.
“Francesco Zacani, Chairman and head of the Zacani Company.”
He wasn’t from one of the Republic’s three great merchant families—Barudi, Perucci, or Achaiole. Nor was he from some obscure house whose name you’d never even heard.
“It’s always the ones in the middle that cause trouble.”
In fact, the heads of the three great merchant families knew her all too well. At the mere mention of Laila’s name, their knees would quake and their faces would go white.
The real problem was those who’d gotten their hands on ambiguous levels of power and authority.
The type who rarely got to witness the true might of the Nightwalker Family, yet, as if they’d all agreed in advance, once they gained even a little authority or influence, they’d grow blind and foolish.
“I’ll say this in advance: this will be a far harder fight than that Snake Eye you hunted before.”
“I suppose he’s hired some skilled bodyguards.”
“Not just any ordinary fighter.”
Laila spoke.
“And strictly speaking, not even a knight.”
“Not a knight?”
“A Skaadi Island Orc Warrior.”
“Orc Warrior…”
At those unexpected words, Sien caught his breath.
“Well, officially, he’s received a knighthood to serve the Zacani Family, so they say.”
Laila shrugged her shoulders and left the sentence unfinished.
“As you know, the sword style used by the Orc Warriors from the Skaadi Archipelago is shrouded in mystery.”
Their orc swordsmanship was more honorable and warlike than any knight, and particularly dangerous. Furthermore, standards such as Sword Expert or Master used among humans simply didn’t apply to them. It was only now that Sien understood why Laila had hesitated to entrust him with this mission.
“But no matter what, he can’t be a match for your ‘Spear of Destiny.’”
“I’ll win with my sword, not with a spear.”
Sien replied. At his answer, Laila blinked in mild surprise.
“Don’t you want to test the power of a divine weapon?”
“If it’s the power imbued in the Spear of Destiny, I’ve felt it enough already,” Sien said.
“And no matter how much I wield it, in the end it’s a power that has nothing to do with me.”
“Now that it’s yours, it is your power.”
Laila heard her own words spoken from Sien’s lips, and she answered with a wry smile.
***
At that time, in the Holy Empire, at the mansion of Grand Duke Grandel.
“You called for me, Your Grace.”
After knocking on the study door, a knight clad in armor entered with proper decorum.
“Come in, Lord Meyer.”
The knight who saluted the Sword Demon Grandel was one of the knights who served the Grand Duke Grandel’s family.
He had reached the rank of Sword Master—a man of high standing.
“I have a very special and grave task for you. Will you accept it?”
“I am a sword wielded by my lord’s will. Rather, it is an honor to be entrusted with such responsibility.”
Lord Meyer bowed his head in reverence.
“Even if you succeed, you will not return alive.”
At Grand Duke Grandel’s words, Lord Meyer’s eyes briefly flickered. But the disturbance lasted only a moment. That was what it meant to be a knight.
“This life, whether alive or dead, will be wielded only for my lord. Command me as you will.”
“Assassinate the eldest son of the Duchy of Nightwalker.”
A heavy silence fell after Grand Duke Grandel spoke.
“I have prepared an ‘opportune moment’ as he has left his domain and exposed an opening.”
“Understood.”
“As I said, once you set foot on the Republic’s soil, even if you succeed, you will not return alive.”
After committing such a deed, there was no way he’d return home with his head still attached. Even if he did, he would not last long. That was the Nightwalker Family.
“I am prepared.”
“Do not worry about your family and siblings left behind in your domain. I will care for them as if they were my own kin.”
“It is the greatest honor, Your Grace.”
There was no hesitation or wavering. The knight called Lord Meyer silently saluted and withdrew.
To send a knight as an assassin against the continent’s foremost assassin family—what a laughable story, even Grand Duke Grandel thought so himself.
In fact, ever since he suffered an irreparable political blow from the Nightwalker Family five years ago, this was not the first time he’d sent assassins in this way. Needless to say, none had ever returned alive. Not then, and not now.
But even if the odds of failure were 99%, there remained a 1% chance of success. Sacrificing a master-level knight for such an impossible gamble was hardly a loss to the Grand Duke Grandel’s house.
“There are still more than enough chess pieces to spare.”
At that moment, a chilly night breeze blew in from the glass window behind him.
The golden coat worn by Oslud the Sword Demon fluttered lightly in the night wind. Upon the hem of his coat, the griffin sigil of the most noble and honorable family in the continent was emblazoned.
***
Soon after, the chairman and head of the Zacani Company, Francesco Zacani, who had been on business in the Empire, returned to the Republic.
And the knight guarding his residence was not only the Skaadi Island Orc Warrior that Laila had mentioned.
Using his business trip as a pretext, after wrapping up a secretive meeting and transaction with the Holy Empire and Grand Duke Grandel’s house, a knight in black armor, concealing his identity, was now guarding the chairman.
***
The heart of the Republic, the city of water, Veneto.
Everyone in this city is born a merchant. The Doge and the powerful families go without saying. Artists, women, clergy, even the lowest servants all scrambled to invest their spare coins in the businesses of the nation and were actually able to participate.
If they invested even a few gold coins in the massive trade and finance enterprises run by the state, and the ventures succeeded, they doubled their profits. If those ventures failed, through meticulously planned insurance and risk-mitigation schemes, they minimized their losses.
This country never betrays its investors’ faith.
And beneath the pillars of trust that this nation built, the blood and sweat of countless Nightwalkers is hidden.
Yet, there was now one who threatened the pillar of trust that they had raised.
Not one of the Republic’s three great Commenda companies, but a leader of a mid-sized trading house rivaling them in stature.
Chairman Francesco Zacani.
In the pre-dawn darkness, Sien moved. In the city of water, Veneto, built atop a lagoon, only a fool would travel by land.
Following the great canal that cut across the capital, he piloted a gondola, gazing at the lemon-colored lamps that still burned on the street even at this late hour.
Before long, the gondola reached the shore. Tying off the line, Sien stepped out.
It was the residential district, overlooking the night sea and docks, lined with the city’s most luxurious mansions.
The head of a mid-sized Republic trading house, the Zacani Family’s patriarch and chairman, also resided there.
He didn’t sneak over the wall or slip in through a back window.
He simply showed himself openly before the bodyguards standing watch in front of Chairman Zacani’s mansion.
“I’ve come to see Chairman Zacani.”
Sien announced.
“The hour is late. Please state your business and identity before we disturb the chairman.”
The guard at the main gate asked politely. At his question, Sien fell silent.
After a moment of silence, the sea wind blew. Sien’s robe fluttered lightly. The expressions on the guards’ faces paled.
“!”
Beneath the robe, the coat emblazoned with the emblem of a star and dagger fluttered faintly.
“S-sorry! We’ll report to the chairman right away—”
“That won’t be necessary. Remain at your post.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
In a cold voice, Sien shook his head. Then he silently passed through the main gate into the mansion.
It was a deep and dark night. The city never slept, but the mansion was sunk in pitch-black silence.
There wasn’t even a sign of the servants.
“This is strange.”
It was too quiet, almost unnaturally so.
It was one thing for the guards at the entrance, but there should have been people on standby for security inside the mansion. For someone as important as Chairman Zacani, there ought to be guards and knights watching round the clock, but not a trace of them could be seen.
“Already caught wind and fled, huh.”
There’s no way a figure as prominent as Chairman Zacani wouldn’t know. No one could fool the eyes and ears of the Nightwalker Family.
“And knowing that, he still evaded his taxes, and on top of that, conveniently went on a business trip to the Holy Empire—”
It was all too suspicious. And the fact that even Sien could guess so easily meant that Laila certainly knew.
It was then that a voice sounded from within the darkness of the mansion.
“Excuse me.”
The pronunciation and intonation were terribly awkward. At least enough to make it clear he was a foreigner.
“I am Biorn, descendant of Ormr i auga Sigurd, the ‘White Bear Hunter’ Hringa.”
He made no attempt to ambush in the shadows of the dark mansion. Instead, he revealed himself and announced his name openly.
It wasn’t hard to guess his identity.
The Orc Warrior Laila had mentioned earlier.
A giant, over two meters tall, clad in seamless full-body armor.
“Where are the other guards?”
“They’re not here.”
Biorn, the Orc Warrior, replied.
“By now, they are protecting the employer, helping him escape.”
“So I was right.”
Hearing him answer so honestly, Sien let out a short laugh.
“Then why are you still here?”
“Because I was told the true warrior would come here.”
Biorn answered.
“And if I silence the ‘true warrior,’ my employer will safely leave this land. Stopping you is my duty.”
“I am no warrior.”
Sien replied coldly, pulling out the ‘Kingslayer’ hidden beneath his coat and gripping it tightly.
“I’m just a coward who has no intention of shedding my own blood, even if I die.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.