Kays Translations

Chapter 312: The Viscount and the Assassins’ Guild

　Three months passed after Viscount Saissi’s supposed suicide in custody.

　The question of succession remained bitterly disputed. Marquis Halagoura’s faction demanded that Saissi’s eldest son immediately inherit the title and territory.

　The only crime proven publicly was Saissi’s attempt to assassinate Count Graunewald’s adopted heir. However, he was also suspected of arranging the deaths of several other nobles, and the Prime Minister’s faction argued that his territory should therefore be confiscated.

　Marquis Van Dyne, a leading figure among the neutral nobles, and Count Graunewald supported that position, turning the matter into a major conflict within the royal court.

　The Halagoura faction argued:

　“Suspicion isn’t guilt. The accusations concerning the other deaths may themselves be a conspiracy. House Saissi’s bloodline mustn’t be extinguished on the basis of unproven claims.”

　The Prime Minister’s and neutral factions answered:

　“The contract ordering the attempted assassination of Count Graunewald’s heir is genuine. Written contracts also exist for the murders of other nobles, although their encryption is still being analyzed. Discussing succession is premature when further exposure could result in the punishment of the entire house.”

　Neither side yielded, and the future of Saissi’s title and territory remained unresolved.

　The accompanying issue of the Assassins’ Guild could no longer be ignored either.

　Neither the kingdom nor its nobles wished to examine that hidden world too closely. Rumors claimed that members of the royal family had used the organization in earlier generations, and similar suspicions surrounded many noble houses.

　Until recently, such matters had remained safely confined to whispers.

　Now, however, the attempted assassinations of Aeris, Count Dareder, and Tauro—as well as the suspected murders of several nobles belonging to the Prime Minister’s faction—had brought the guild’s name repeatedly into public affairs.

　The Prime Minister’s faction had therefore intensified its secret investigation, including its search for connections between the Assassins’ Guild and Marquis Halagoura’s faction.

　Tauro was able to provide new information.

　The dragonfolk had never stopped investigating the organization that targeted him. They suspected that some Assassins’ Guild techniques might have originated from forbidden dragonfolk knowledge, and they owed their survival during the epidemic to Tauro.

　Although no new assassination attempt had recently been made against him, the dragonfolk had begun moving toward the destruction of the guild itself.

　An investigative force traveling south from the northern regions had discovered and destroyed one major Assassins’ Guild branch and one training facility without outside assistance.

　A swift dragonfolk messenger carried the report to the three operatives already in the Royal Capital: Malak, the tall and handsome red-haired man acting as the temporary group’s leader; Zumei, the short blond man whose appearance resembled that of a beautiful boy; and Reeva, the slender woman with a long blue ponytail.

　From them, the information reached Tauro.

　He brought it to Count Dareder’s private residence in the Royal Capital.

　“As I mentioned briefly during our recent dinner, my acquaintances discovered one large branch and one training facility in the north. They’ve already destroyed both.”

　“What?” Count Dareder stared at him. “It required my elite retainers and territorial forces, an A-rank adventuring team, and several B-rank adventurers to destroy the branch in my territory. Who are these acquaintances capable of eliminating two facilities so quickly?”

　His astonishment was understandable. An operation on that scale should have required military mobilization, yet none of the northern nobles aligned with the Prime Minister’s faction had reported such action. The royal family probably knew nothing about it either.

　Tauro supplied detailed locations and descriptions of the ruins, giving Dareder enough information to dispatch investigators.

　“My acquaintances don’t want their identities made public, so I can’t name them. I can guarantee their ability and the reliability of their report.”

　He couldn’t reveal that the dragonfolk were acting on his behalf.

　“I understand,” Dareder said slowly. “You were personally targeted, so I have little reason to believe you’d fabricate this. Our own investigation proceeds cautiously because the Halagoura faction is watching us. We suspect that faction has a particularly close relationship with the Assassins’ Guild.”

　“My acquaintances also learned that a contract-based self-destruct spell activates when captured guild members attempt to reveal specific information. That makes interrogation extremely difficult. Even so, the evidence they gathered indicates that a large base exists in the Royal Capital and is divided among several locations.”

　“All of that came from the same acquaintances?”

　“Yes. Their information is reliable, so I believed it should be given to you as a leading member of the Prime Minister’s faction.”

　Dareder sighed.

　“We reached the same conclusion only after years of work. We know that a major base exists somewhere in the Royal Capital, but we’ve never identified every component. Whenever we locate one site, the guild detects our investigation and disappears like smoke.”

　“There’s more. I’ve just received word that my acquaintances identified several of those locations.”

　“What?”

　Count Dareder could only stare. The dragonfolk had surpassed, in a short period, intelligence his faction had struggled for years to obtain.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter