Groundwork
The Dukedom's mansion. Annex.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the distinguished guests who have gathered here today."
The voice of Dathus El Lagrind, the head of the Lagrind Dukedom, echoed from the familiar podium.
The same bluish-white hair as Leje's, a sturdy physique. Dark, tanned skin.
A large scar sat above his closed left eye, giving him a rather harsh impression.
"Time is given equally to everyone. It is the inevitable fate of all living things."
Saying so, the Duke looked at Leje, who was sitting next to him.
It seemed as if he was saying that the sight of his daughter, who had grown up so quickly, was unfamiliar.
"And. The day has finally come for Leje to take her place as a respectable adult. To be honest, I wish it had never come…"
At his words, low laughter began to ripple through the hall.
Watching the scene, the Duke smiled faintly and raised his glass to the air.
"That would be purely my own selfishness."
At that signal, everyone in the hall raised their glasses together.
The next moment, the Duke shouted in a booming voice.
"Then, what I can do for my daughter is to pray that she will stand strong no matter what trials come her way!"
"To my daughter, Leje, congratulations on becoming an adult!"
[Cheers!!]
Along with the loud cheers, the glasses illuminated by the lights began to sparkle.
And at the same time, the banquet officially began.
"Time flies, doesn't it? That little girl who used to follow me around calling me 'sister, sister' has grown up so much."
"Have you known Leje for a long time, Princess?"
Rudell asked Cayley, who spoke as she emptied her glass in an instant.
In the original story, it was only mentioned that Cayley had known Leje for a long time, but there was no detailed description of when they met.
"Well, yeah. I first met Leje when she was five years old."
"I see…"
Rudell first met Leje when she was seven.
Simply in terms of how long they had known each other, Cayley's relationship with Leje was much longer than Rudell's.
"She was so cute when she was little, but these days she throws a punch if you tease her even a little… I don't know how she became such a violent child."
"Ah, I think I know what you mean."
Rudell, who had been one of Leje's main victims since the past, could fully empathize with her words.
"Well, in a way, it means that Leje is comfortable with us, right?"
"That might be true."
Rudell chuckled at Cayley's words.
Just then.
"Oh my. Who is this? It's Cayley, isn't it?"
"…?"
A high-pitched voice came from behind them, and the two turned their heads with puzzled faces.
And what they saw was a woman.
With a voluptuous figure that rivaled Cayley's, her long blonde hair was tied up in a so-called bun.
Below it, sharp, reddish eyes glinted like a snake hunting its prey, and her face exuded the confident air that only someone of high status could possess.
"Helena."
Her name was Helena Lensi Obertas.
Like Cayley, she was also a princess of House Obertas, one of the five Dukedoms of the Kingdom.
"That's unexpected. You always said you were busy when I asked to meet."
"I have some free time today."
Cayley answered Helena, who spoke as if she was offended, with a faint smile, but Rudell could tell.
That the smile held no goodwill.
"By the way… who is this?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Obertas. I am Rudellheit Weinstein of the Weinstein Viscounty."
"Weinstein? I've never heard of it."
I'm used to this kind of treatment now.
Thinking so, Rudell bowed his head.
"He's a friend of Leje's."
"I see. I heard that she made a new friend, and it seems to be you."
"It seems so."
Rudell politely bowed his head at her question.
At least within the scope of Rudell's knowledge, Leje had no other friends besides him.
"Hmm… well, whatever."
With a low groan, Helena scanned Rudell from head to toe with a gaze that seemed to assess the value of an object.
And then, as if she had lost interest, she shrugged and turned her gaze back to Cayley.
"So, have you thought about my offer?"
"My answer hasn't changed. You know that."
"Really? That's a shame. My offer is always open, so come find me if you change your mind."
As if the business was over, Helena let out a low chuckle and walked into the crowd.
Soon, her figure disappeared among the people.
"She's really persistent, isn't she?"
A dissatisfied voice escaped Cayley's lips as she watched Helena leave.
Then, she narrowed her eyes at Rudell and said,
"Don't tell anyone about what just happened. Got it?"
"Yes, I understand."
Helena's offer.
It was about some kind of business.
Rudell didn't remember the details clearly, but the main point was the conflict between Helena, who believed it was fine as long as it wasn't illegal, and Cayley, who couldn't ignore the ethical issues.
It was a matter that Rudell didn't need to worry too much about yet, as there was still a year or so before the conflict would truly ignite.
"Ugh, I'm so tired. I feel like I age a few months every time I deal with her."
"Ahahaha…"
Despite her words, the relationship between the two was a love-hate frenemy relationship.
It was a relationship that would naturally continue even without Rudell's intervention.
"I'm going to go rest for a bit. What about you?"
"I… I'll stay here a little longer."
Because there were still many things he had to do.
"Alright. Then tell Leje that I went to rest first."
"I will."
Cayley walked towards the exit of the banquet hall, leaving Rudell, who bowed his head…
After confirming that Cayley had completely disappeared, Rudell did some light stretching and turned his head.
"It'll take ages for Leje to get out of there…"
A long line stretched from the podium where Leje and the Duke were seated.
It was a line of people waiting to give Leje gifts.
It had always been like this, but it would probably take at least a few hours for the line to disappear.
"I should do some preparations in the meantime."
The assassins' attack was scheduled for seven o'clock tonight.
He needed to lay the groundwork to ensure that they could safely overcome this incident before then.
"Now… let's get moving."
Muttering to herself, Rudell headed out of the banquet hall, unnoticed by the crowd.
***
West Wing of the Dukedom's mansion.
"Haaaaam…"
Alex, a guard of the Dukedom, opened the visor of his helmet and let out a long yawn.
The warm spring sunlight had a magical power that made even the most well-trained guards feel drowsy.
"Hey, snap out of it. You'll get punished again if you're caught slacking off."
"Don't worry. All the higher-ups are deployed to guard the annex, so no one will come this way."
"Says the guy who got us both punished a few days ago for chatting?"
A few nights ago, during their night shift.
They were caught chatting by the captain of the guard who was passing by, and after their shift ended, they were punished by having to run twenty laps around the training ground in full armor.
It had been several days since that incident, and this guy was already slacking off again…
If he wasn't a childhood friend, Jamie would have cut ties with him long ago, but now, with all the mixed feelings of love and hate, even that was difficult.
"I, I didn't know. Did you think the captain would come by in the middle of the night?"
"Just focus on your guard duty."
Unlike Alex, who was always careless about everything, Jamie had a certain pride in his position as a guard of the Dukedom.
Even though it was just a simple guard duty, it was still a position in the Dukedom.
It was a position that was appointed after a strict selection process.
"You're always so serious. If you live like that every day, your emotions will dry up."
Does this guy never get tired of saying these useless things every day?
As Jamie let out a short sigh with that thought, it happened.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a dark shadow began to cast over them.
Jamie was sure the sky was clear without a single cloud today…
Thinking so, Jamie looked up, and then he couldn't help but gasp.
A dark hood and a mask covering the face.
Someone unknown was charging straight towards them from above.
If it weren't for the green eyes glinting from under the hood, they would have mistaken it for a monster.
"Wh, what is that!?"
"Intruder…!!"
Alex, who hadn't grasped the situation yet, let out a panicked voice…
Jamie, who quickly understood the situation, shouted as he tried to use the magic tool provided to the guards.
However, the unidentified intruder was a step ahead of them.
"Ughyaghyaghyak!?"
"Kyaaagh!?"
With a sharp sound, a flashing current flowed towards the two, and with screams, they collapsed on the spot.
"What… what the…"
Unlike Alex, who lost consciousness immediately, Jamie managed to hold onto his consciousness, but that was all.
His body wouldn't move, and his vision was gradually blurring.
"I have to… tell someone…"
Jamie said as he saw the dark shadow approaching him.
Meanwhile, the shadow lowered its posture as if to get a closer look at him…
[I'm sorry. It had to be done.]
As the shadow spoke, Jamie lost consciousness.
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Pls upload.ore chapter
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