Chapter – 93
Meanwhile, at the inn where Cudo and his group were staying…
*Kwaang!*
Marder burst through the door as if breaking it down, waking Cudo, who had been fast asleep.
“Keehk!”
The fox, startled, jumped up, but Marder paid it no mind.
“Hey! Get up! Hurry!”
“…What is it?”
Cudo opened his eyes slightly.
“We’re fucked.”
“Huh…?”
“We’re seriously fucked.”
“Since when has us being fucked been a one or two-day thing? Serving in this blood-soaked land itself means our lives are already twisted to hell.”
Upon hearing this, Wilson, who had been lying asleep nearby, muttered in his sleep as if in agreement.
“He’s right, we were fucked a long time ago. What’s this bullshit you’re spouting now, acting all surprised?”
Seeing Cudo and Wilson’s lukewarm reactions, Marder raised his voice.
“Hey, you crazy bastards! It’s not that kind of problem! We’re seriously fucked!”
“What on earth happened? Ugh.”
Cudo frowned as if still feeling the effects of alcohol.
“Those magic stone traps we planted. The ones that bastard Carlisle commissioned.”
“Thanks to that, we ate and drank our fill, didn’t we?”
“Do you know who those traps were meant to attack?”
“Don’t tell me… you went snooping around the scene of the incident?”
Cudo’s face hardened.
“I-I was just curious, so I only watched from a distance. I have this friend, you know.”
Marder said, pointing to Hugin, who had flown to the windowsill.
“Haa.”
Cudo let out a deep sigh as if he wished the ground would swallow him.
“Corporal Marder.”
“Yeees?”
“Didn’t I tell you? Never get involved. Just do what you’re told, take the money, and that’s it.”
“T-that’s right.”
“I’m sure I told you that curiosity kills the cat.”
“You were right.”
Marder said with a tearful face, looking like he was about to burst into tears.
“We’re going to die early.”
“…?”
“That bastard Carlisle really screwed us over. We’re going to die now. We’re gonna die.”
“What exactly did you see?”
“Well, what happened was…”
Marder told Cudo what he had seen.
“Hmm.”
After hearing the story, Cudo nodded as if agreeing with Marder.
“We’re definitely fucked. I wondered what they were plotting, but I never thought they’d do something like that.”
“We’re all going to die now… we’re going to die…”
Marder tugged at his hair in agony.
“What the fuck does that mean? Who did our magic stone trap attack? The Ki… Hup!”
“Shush.”
Cudo quickly covered Wilson’s mouth.
“Watch your tongue. From this moment on, assume there are eyes and ears everywhere. Understood?”
Wilson’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit’s, and he nodded.
“Are we… going to die now?”
“We’ll probably die. Though I don’t know who will kill us.”
“What do you mean, who will kill us? Of course…”
“We should worry more about our crazy young master than them.”
“Carlisle?”
“He might try to silence us.”
“Gasp.”
“Pack your bags first.”
“P-pack our bags?”
“If we stay here, we’ll all die.”
Cudo quickly moved, starting to stuff his belongings into his backpack.
“Damn it! No wonder!”
“We’re going to die… we’re all going to die!”
Wilson and Marder also began packing their bags, following Cudo’s lead.
Just then.
*Knock knock knock.*
Someone knocked on the door from outside.
“…!”
Cudo, Marder, and Wilson froze as if time had stopped.
“An assassin in broad daylight…?”
Cudo muttered in surprise, and the door creaked open.
“Where are you going?”
Carlisle, who had arrived with Maranello, asked Cudo’s group.
*Goosebumps!*
To Cudo’s group, Carlisle looked like the Grim Reaper.
In fact, since he had brought with him a man once called the Grim Reaper of the North, it was no exaggeration to say he had come to claim their lives.
“Maranello.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Carlisle turned to look at Maranello.
* * *
Archduke Guntram was unable to come down from the spire until late at night, watching the royal procession from afar.
They were too far away to see clearly, but for Archduke Guntram, distance wasn’t really an issue.
His eyesight, acknowledged as the strongest on the continent, was so exceptional that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine it.
For him, looking dozens of kilometers from a high place with a clear view wasn’t particularly difficult.
‘Why are they saying they’re cleaning up the scene?’
Archduke Guntram was quite surprised to see the knights cleaning up the scene.
If such a horrific situation had occurred, it would be normal to either request support from Decaron or quickly evacuate the scene.
But they’re recovering bodies and tidying up the scene?
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like an intention to cover up the incident.
Which meant…
‘Could it be that they truly didn’t foresee it? Such a major incident?’
Of course, there was also the possibility that this was another one of the Royal Family’s schemes.
Historically, the Royal Family had often pretended to be cornered only to manipulate the noble families.
However, after hearing the truth from Maranello, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
‘If that guy’s words are true… if we’ve all been deceived by the Royal Family…’
It meant they had been played by the Royal Family’s lies for the past several hundred years, so he should be boiling with anger, but strangely, rather than feeling angry, hope welled up inside him.
‘If that guy’s words are true… then the complete independence of the North and liberation from subordination to the Royal Family might not be just a dream…’
Archduke Guntram thought that far and then laughed without realizing it.
“Hahaha!”
It was truly a laughable matter.
Who would have thought that his second son, who was nothing but a headache, the one who made him deeply understand the saying ‘blessed are the childless’, would sow the seeds of hope?
Moreover, to be the successor inheriting the legacy of the Chaos King…
“If all of that turns out to be a lie, I will make sure you pay the price. Definitely.”
Archduke Guntram glared terrifyingly at the Royal procession cleaning up and leaving the scene, then quietly descended the spire.
‘I must be cautious. If I act rashly, not only our family but the entire North could be destroyed. For now, I have no choice but to carefully watch his movements.’
Archduke Guntram did not act rashly.
He was a man who did not lose his composure even in the face of a terrifying truth that could plunge the entire continent into great chaos.
* * *
‘Is this how I die?’
‘Damn it!’
‘What a shitty life!’
Cudo’s group, anticipating death, tightly closed their eyes.
If their opponent was Carlisle alone, they might have tried to fight or escape somehow.
But with the so-called Grim Reaper of the North, Maranello, standing firmly by his side, escaping was something they couldn’t even dream of.
If Maranello wished, he could slaughter Cudo’s group in the blink of an eye.
“Give me that.”
“Understood.”
At Carlisle’s command, Maranello slipped his hand into his bosom.
*Drip…*
Cold sweat trickled down the backs of Cudo’s group.
However, what actually emerged from Maranello’s bosom was a pouch filled with gold coins.
“You’ve all worked hard.”
Maranello handed out pouches filled with gold coins to each member of Cudo’s group.
“…What is this?”
“Can’t you tell? Gold coins.”
“So why are you giving these to us?”
“Well, it’s because you fellows carried out the request splendidly. Why, don’t you want it?”
“As if that could be the case?”
Cudo grinned and stuffed the pouch of gold coins into his pocket.
However, Marder and Wilson weren’t as smooth as Cudo.
“P-please spare us!”
“Please let us live! I don’t want to die like this!”
Marder and Wilson, as if in unison, dropped to their knees and begged Carlisle fervently.
“*Sigh*.”
Cudo closed his eyes tightly and let out a sigh from the depths of his heart.
Needless to say, Cudo’s inner thoughts were undoubtedly along the lines of [These damn idiots].
“Hmm.”
Carlisle narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing Marder and Wilson’s reactions, then turned to look at Maranello.
“It seems they saw something they shouldn’t have?”
“This old man thinks so too.”
“Can’t be helped then.”
The faces of Cudo’s group turned ashen.
“Are you going to silence us?”
“Who? Me?”
Carlisle retorted to Cudo’s question as if to say, what nonsense is that?
“You’re going to kill us, aren’t you?”
“Why would I?”
“Huh…?”
“What good would killing you do? It’s not like you can snitch anyway.”
“Why do you think we can’t snitch?”
“Because we’re accomplices now. If we die, we die together; if we live, we live together. You don’t really think they’d let you live if you went and snitched, do you? If that’s what you thought, I’m a bit disappointed. That’s too naive.”
“Uhm.”
“I assure you, if this matter leaks out, I won’t be the only one to die. Not just me, but everyone involved in this incident, down to the last ant, will be wiped out.”
“Now that I think about it, that’s true, but…”
“Don’t worry, let’s just take this secret to the grave. I came here just in case, not to silence you or anything, so rest assured.”
“That’s a relief then.”
“Let’s work well together in the future.”
“…?”
“Now that we’re in the same boat, it would be good to work together often. I’ll make sure you’re handsomely compensated, so don’t worry too much.”
“Private Carlisle.”
“Yes?”
“You… are truly, thoroughly insane.”
Cudo said, clicking his tongue as if genuinely disgusted.
Although he prided himself on having experienced all sorts of hardships, compared to what Carlisle had done, it all seemed like child’s play, which is why he said it.
“Is that a compliment?”
“It could be, or it couldn’t.”
Cudo answered with a pale smile.
“Whatever it is, I’ll take it as it is.”
“Keuk.”
“Anyway, rest well and return safely. I have more leave left, so I’ll rest a bit more. Well then, see you at the unit.”
Saying that, Carlisle left Cudo’s group’s room, leaving Maranello behind.
“I hope you understood the Young Master’s words well. Let me say this just in case, don’t do anything foolish. If you stay quiet, there will be no problems.”
“Is that really so?”
Cudo retorted in a somewhat provocative tone.
“As you well know, they are the ones who know everything.”
“Well. Who’s to say, really?”
“…?”
“You’re a fairly sharp fellow, so I trust you won’t do anything stupid.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll be going now. Rest well and return safely. I wish you good fortune on the battlefield.”
Maranello left these parting words and followed Carlisle out of the room.
“W-what’s going on?”
“What on earth is he talking about?”
Marder and Wilson asked Cudo.
Since they lacked the insight to accurately grasp the current situation, it was only natural for them to be bewildered and confused.
“How should I know? All I know is that we must watch our tongues carefully from now on, awake or asleep.”
“W-well, of course.”
“I don’t mind dying on the battlefield, but I don’t want to die under torture.”
Marder and Wilson shuddered as if the mere thought was horrifying.
“But will we be okay just by watching our tongues?”
“Th-they must know everything.”
Marder and Wilson trembled, unable to hide their anxiety.
Even though they lived with death by their side every day, they weren’t free from the fear instilled by the Royal Family.
“I don’t know either.”
Cudo shrugged his shoulders.
“The only thing certain is that we’ve gotten involved in the most dangerous and interesting affair in the world.”
“What do you mean?”
“You think this is fun?”
Marder and Wilson stared at Cudo as if they found him absurd.
“Whether we die this way or that way, death is death either way. Might as well live an interesting life, don’t you think?”
Saying that, Cudo chugged vodka as if it were water.
“Gulp.”
Cudo wiped his mouth and said.
“Well, at least the path to promotion is open, so let’s celebrate. Even if he’s a lunatic, we’ve effectively become the personal guard of the second young master of the Sigmarund family. Keuk keuk keuk.”
A piercing madness flashed in Cudo’s narrowed eyes.
