There was a wide paved road, refined by magic, between the imperial family and the Intezeruto House.
It was a path created during the founding era thousands of years ago.
Until a hundred years ago, numerous merchant caravans had passed through it, but now that direct exchanges between the Intezeruto and the imperial family had ceased, it was merely a desolate old road.
The roadside trees, untouched by logging for a hundred years, had grown into massive giants, casting shade over the path.
Yet the magically constructed road remained firm and flat, with only a light accumulation of fallen leaves.
Thanks to that, the frozen corpses of Lobigos and Ventios did not shatter from colliding against the roughly shaking coffins.
Kirie opened the box containing Ventios’s head and the coffin holding Lobigos’s body, staring inside for a long while.
The frost-covered faces said nothing.
Kirie gathered cold energy and blew it into the coffin once more.
He did the same to the box beside it.
How many times a day am I doing this?
The comrades who had wanted to change the world together were leaving his side one by one.
They didn’t leave; they were sent away.
He didn’t think of Anplus’s face as he pondered this.
If a sword shatters upon striking a rock, it’s not the rock’s fault but the wielder’s.
“Sir. If we continue on this path, we’ll end up at Lord Ventios’s family estate, not the capital.”
“Yes. This is the right path.”
The coachman continued in a troubled voice.
“Sir. Have you forgotten the messenger’s words from the day before yesterday? There was an order from Her Highness the Regent Crown Princess: as soon as you enter imperial territory, proceed to the capital, have an audience with His Majesty, and report your achievements.”
Instead of replying, Kirie gathered mana.
The coachman widened his eyes and chattered his teeth at the chilling aura felt even in midsummer.
“S-Sir.”
“Please don’t say anything, please don’t think anything, please just do as you’re told. That’s your job. Understood?”
“Yes. Understood.”
The coachman bowed his head, trembling.
At that moment, a booming shout came from the carriage right behind.
“Captain Kirie! If you don’t change course to the capital immediately, I’ll report to His Highness that the captain harbors rebellious intentions!”
It was “His Highness,” not “His Majesty.”
Not a slip, but a term for different people.
“Captain! I know you can hear me! If you don’t stop, I’ll blow that carriage away with my wind!”
Kirie closed his eyes for a moment and thought of Ventios.
Used until broken, then discarded once shattered.
Tested until betrayal, then purged upon failure or treason.
He’d pass on that.
“Try it if you can.”
Muttering softly, he formed an ice blade in his right hand and encased his left arm in ice armor.
Then he opened the carriage door and leaped out.
“Captain! Aaaargh!”
***
“You said you found a good investment opportunity—don’t you need more investment funds?”
At my question, Sirina let out a dizzying sigh.
“I do need more. There are so many businesses where I could multiply the money dozens of times. War-related ventures have the highest returns. But since it’s a war you’re heading into, I don’t feel good about profiting from it.”
I shook my head firmly.
“Earn as much as you can. Earn a lot, and hand me new clothes and jewels when I return.”
Sirina smiled faintly and poured sugared fruit juice and iced water into my glass.
“As you command. But it’s strangely quiet. No conscription officers on the streets either. It felt like we’d be marching to fight any moment.”
I chewed and swallowed the ice before answering.
“The harvest hasn’t even started yet. I don’t know how many they’ll conscript, but if they set out on an expedition now, the branch families’ finances will suffer next year.”
“Then when do you think the war will start?”
“Want to guess? You just read another book recently.”
As soon as I said it, Sirina answered as if she’d been waiting.
“Right after the autumn harvest, or prepare through winter and set out in spring.”
“Which seems more likely?”
“The latter.”
Sirina’s voice was filled with certainty.
“It’s a war between great houses entangled in a hundred-year grudge. It won’t end with a show of force and some apologies. They’ll definitely try to seize land.”
“Seize land? Yeah. I think so too. If they’ve summoned vassal branch families, there must be something to divide.”
She continued in a confident tone.
“Blue blood is needed to win, but red blood is needed to occupy. A lot of red blood will be mobilized, and just conscription and supplies will take ages. Plus, internal issues need resolving first.”
“Internal issues?”
Sirina waved her hands in alarm.
“I absolutely don’t mean there’s a problem with the great Intezeruto. I meant there’ll be work to root out spies planted by other houses.”
I nodded.
“Spies.”
There must be plenty.
It was the same when the new breastplate arrived at Serenus Marsh.
To conceal my breastplate and the lord’s letter, we had to pour wax over it and seal it thickly.
Even envoys sent directly by the lord have to be wary of spies infiltrating midway.
Of course, the other houses are the same.
“The information branches will handle that on their own. It’s not a knight’s job.”
Trichitas’s face flashed in my mind for a moment.
What is he up to these days?
“I think so too. But the information branches seem to think differently.”
I barely swallowed the iced water I was holding.
“What do you mean?”
Sirina pulled a letter from her bosom.
From the thick, high-quality material, it didn’t seem like ordinary content.
“Lord Trichitas sent it. It arrived for you this morning.”
I blinked.
“You two know each other?”
“He delivered my letter when you went to Serenus Marsh.”
I didn’t know that.
I’d have to thank him next time I see him.
I took the letter from Sirina and peeled off the sealing wax.
[Let the knight who can’t use magic read this.]
The first sentence started like that.
Since knights naturally can’t use magic, this was a phrase only I would understand.
Considering it might be intercepted midway, there was no better code.
“You bastard.”
On second thought, maybe I don’t need to go out of my way to greet him.
***
I donned my breastplate, fitted my gauntlets, armed myself with a long new sword and two old swords meeting regulations, then headed to the outer castle.
Passing the training ground, the guest residences for visitors, the Hall of Glory, and the main palace where the lord’s office was, I entered the administrative building filled with weary officials.
In the ink-scented hall of that building, there was a man who didn’t fit the place.
Tall and slender, with long blue hair, a uniform, and a slightly dangerous aura.
It was just like him not to roll up his sleeves even in this weather.
“Trichitas.”
“Young Master Anplus.”
At least he used “Young Master” since there were eyes watching.
“This time, I didn’t hear a word from the lord. Are you summoning me arbitrarily and using me as you please?”
I said it with a hint of irritation in my voice.
I’d always welcome a chance to swing my sword and build merits, but I didn’t like being called here and there, treated like a convenient fixer.
Because in merits, “under whose command” is as important as “what was achieved.”
“To be precise, it’s not ‘arbitrarily.'”
An unfamiliar voice came from the side.
I turned that way.
Wavy light reddish-brown hair parted 6:4 and tied back, purple eyes blazing with fervor—a woman with a sadistic impression.
Her white shirt and black pants clung tightly to her body, highlighting her slim waist and feminine hips, but my gaze went to the long leather boots reaching her thighs and the red necktie.
She wore a black vest with gold buttons over the shirt, with the brand name of the capital’s top designer embroidered on the side.
At a glance, it was clear she was blue blood raised as an elite in a good family.
“Greetings, Young Master Anplus. I am Scantilla of a nameless family.”
A nameless family.
It was the term for several branch families under the pureblood branch houses that handled information.
They monitored even fellow blue bloods and were objects of fear and hatred among the branches.
“Scantilla. Since when has my person been handed over to a nameless family?”
“Didn’t you receive any word from Lady Ribelia?”
I haven’t been able to meet the lady since the envoy incident.
We’ve only lamented the cruel time apart—
“I haven’t.”
I planned to make time to visit.
But once I made time, from then on, Ribelia had no time.
Right after delivering the food transport in the Hall of Glory that day, she became the overall in charge of that mission, tied up from morning to night.
Gathering workers and wagons, taking over grain management from warehouse keepers, going on inspections to local hub cities to discuss new warehouse construction, and so on.
Just as I received a chance to build merits at Serenus Marsh, she too received a chance to build merits at Intezeron.
All I could do was quietly support her.
Scantilla pulled out a document from her bosom with a slightly hesitant gesture.
“We were asked to make sure to tell you, since it would look bad if it seemed like we were ordering your cooperation. But she’s someone with so much on her mind.”
It was good phrasing that considered both my and Ribelia’s authority.
I smiled softly in response.
“She’s busy. I’ve fully understood what you were worried and concerned about, so don’t mind it further.”
The document was a request in the name of the heir Ribelia.
“I’ll accept it duly. If it’s a request from the rightful Intezeruto heir, gaining the chance to obey is an honor. What is the mission?”
By accepting without asking the details, I showed the utmost trust.
Trichitas bit his lip.
Muttering, When did he learn such etiquette?
Scantilla spoke on his behalf.
“The mission is to eliminate all the spies the imperial family has planted in Intezeron.”
Trichitas added.
“It’s to minimize risks like information leaks before the war or assassinations of key figures.”
I responded with another question.
“But why am I needed for such a mission? Ah, please don’t think it’s complaints. I’m genuinely curious. It’s embarrassing to say myself, but I know nothing about searching or tracking.”
Scantilla pulled out a list from her bosom.
“We have no intention of assigning you tracking. That part is already sorted. We’ve identified their disguised identities, locations, even faces.”
“Then why haven’t you rooted them all out sooner?”
This time, Trichitas answered.
“Once we’ve identified them, the spies’ existence isn’t much of a threat. In fact, we can feed them false information.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
As I nodded in admiration, Scantilla shrugged.
“If we steadily catch them in normal times, the surviving ones or new arrivals will use more covert methods. But if we let them loose usually and wipe them out all at once when needed, we can prevent their techniques from evolving.”
Fully understanding, I nodded.
“Then do I just protect you? I’m confident in bodyguard duty.”
“Among other things. Spy hunts often involve situations where sweeping with magic is tricky. They might hide in crowds and shoot crossbows, or release bribed thugs to attack. Of course, burning them all would end it, but a close-combat expert is always reassuring.”
Scantilla sent me a captivating gaze.
“You’ll join us, right? Sir Knight?”
I draped my cloak to hide the breastplate and said.
“Where do we start?”
She smiled sadistically.
“We have to catch the ones who can flee anytime first. Where do you think we should go?”
I looked at the list.
It was full of spies disguised in various statuses: representatives of well-known merchant groups I recognized, high-class courtesans dealing with blue bloods, down to slum underclass.
Among them, some had asterisks next to their names—those born of knight bloodlines, it said.
They’ve probably received proper training, and mediocre soldiers couldn’t subdue them.
After brief thought, I answered.
“The slums. The ones hiding there to gather or relay information don’t have much of a disguised identity. Naturally, they’ll flee the moment they’re exposed.”
Scantilla nodded.
“You’re sharp.”
“I see some who handle money on the list— what happens to the assets they’ve accumulated?”
“Hehe. If they defect and join Intezeruto, they pay 20% as a sign of loyalty, and the main house and we split it 1:1.”
“If not?”
Scantilla smiled sadistically.
“For merchant groups, if they’re soundly operated, only the owner changes. Of course, personal assets are confiscated and split between us on the front lines and the main house.”
“You don’t smash the groups entirely.”
“No need to rob the subjects of sound jobs.”
I was about to ask one more thing, and Scantilla added perceptively before I could.
“For groups in poor financial shape, we just go through bankruptcy procedures. Then, there’s nothing we can take legally.”
“Legally?”
“Hehehe. Since we worked hard to catch them, the lord permits emptying the shop vaults at least.”
I checked the list once more.
“We should catch the spies quickly and move on. This group seems to have piled up a lot—in the slums.”
“I think so too.”
If I bring back seed money, Sirina will be pleased.
Scantilla and I laughed like old friends as we headed to the carriage.