The Norland Count Family’s residence was located in the noble district of the capital city. Although they possessed their own territory, they largely entrusted its management to their stewards and lived in the capital. Linus Norland, Count Norland and Cornelia’s older brother, had been a member of the Knights and had known Duke Harald Alway since then. Their fathers had also been close friends, which was another reason for their acquaintance.
However, the relationship between the Norland Count Family and the Alway Ducal Family was on the verge of being shattered by Cornelia Alway.
It had been revealed that she had been plotting for a long time to assassinate Hannelore Alway, the main wife of the Alway Ducal Family, and usurp her position. The revelation came at the hands of her own daughter.
Cornelia’s daughter, Emilia, had almost gone along with her mother’s scheme but revealed her mother’s actions to her father and Jared Murphy. Due to her cooperation in exposing the truth, she was granted forgiveness. Her son, Tobias, despite being the eldest son, seemed resigned to not inheriting the family headship. However, he had no ambition to begin with and, upon learning of his mother’s deeds, told his father that he would not become the successor.
This made it impossible for Cornelia to achieve her goal of becoming the main wife and having her son inherit the family headship. However, Cornelia herself had escaped to her maiden home before everything was exposed and was unaware of her son’s actions.
As a result, she hired Dolf Ein and his associates, who had defected from Waalthe, and attempted to target Hannelore again. However, Jared, who had been forewarned thanks to Pfeil and Rosa Roen, informed the Duke of everything. This gave the Duke the impetus to seriously move towards apprehending Cornelia.
And so, Jared Murphy stood before the Norland Count Family, clad in his combat uniform and fully prepared for battle.
His magic power was at its peak. His mansion, which he had been worried about, was being protected by his master Almeida and the dragon girl Rio. If anyone were to attack his mansion, the attackers would not emerge unscathed. Therefore, he could concentrate on apprehending Cornelia and freeing Luzer Fischer, who was his benefactor and whom he had been searching for.
The assembled troops were few in number, consisting of about twenty knights, the Alway Ducal Family’s private soldiers, led by the Duke himself, who would be commanding. Some of them were individuals whose names Jared, despite his limited knowledge of knights, recognized, making it clear that they were an elite force.
He had already exchanged greetings with the knights and, being Olivier’s fiancé, had been addressed as “son-in-law” and met with expectations. He had been worried due to the potential friction between knights and magicians, so being accepted was a relief.
Pfeil and Rosa, who were not present, along with the combatants from Waalthe, were already in position. The defectors were being handled by Waalthe, and the Norland Count Family’s private soldiers were scheduled to be dealt with by the Ducal Family’s private soldiers.
Jared only needed to focus on fighting Luzer and the other executives among the defectors.
The Duke, armed and clad in armor, had decided to apprehend Cornelia himself.
All that remained was to wait for the reply from the envoy sent to the Norland Count Family, and then the battle would commence.
He heard that the Royal Palace had ordered them to resolve the situation without causing a major incident. For the Alway Ducal Family, responsible for the defense of the capital, the fact that a consort had caused trouble and then allied with defectors from an assassination organization was unfavorable. In any case, they had intended to handle it discreetly.
“The envoy… no, it seems the head of the family himself has arrived.”
As the Duke said, an unarmed man from the Count’s family approached, walking with his hands raised. This must be Linus Norland, Cornelia’s brother.
One of the knights checked him for concealed weapons and then escorted him before the Duke.
“Linus Norland, head of the Norland Count Family. I have come to deliver a direct reply.”
“Speak,” the Duke replied.
Linus, kneeling and bowing his head, stated clearly,
“The Norland Count Family has absolutely no intention of clashing with the Alway Ducal Family. We fully understand the gravity of Cornelia’s actions. However, no matter how much we persuaded her, my sister would not listen. We are truly sorry, especially since Duke Harald granted us a reprieve.”
“Your sincerity is understood. Cornelia is the one at fault—or so I’d like to say, but I have a question for you.”
“Ask anything.”
“Do you know that Cornelia has hired new assassins?”
“—What? That’s impossible. I heard that the Adventurer’s Guild and the Mage Association would not accept Cornelia’s requests, but I never imagined…”
Seeing the shock on Linus’s face, Jared judged that he was not acting. He undoubtedly did not know. Linus’s breathing grew ragged, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. If this were an act, he should quit being a noble and become an actor.
“No, I knew she used Waalthe when she acted disrespectfully towards Lady Hannelore before. But for her to have contacted Cornelia, who is under house arrest…”
“Did you have guards watching her?”
“Of course. Even now, I have three knights assigned as guards.”
“Jared.”
“Yes,” Jared replied, surprised to be suddenly called.
“Since we don’t know the whereabouts of the defectors known as Dolf Ein, what do you think will happen to Cornelia with just three guards?”
“I can’t say without knowing the skill level of the knights on guard, but I believe it would be possible for her to escape if she realized her current situation.”
“Count Linus Norland. If you have no intention of opposing me, then you won’t object to Cornelia’s apprehension, will you?”
“Certainly not!”
“Then let’s go. If there’s a possibility of her escaping, I want to apprehend her even sooner.”
At the Duke’s words, the knights moved in unison.
Jared had no intention of going into the mansion. He would remain outside to intercept Luzer and the others who would likely interfere.
He had already informed the Duke of this plan, and it had been approved. From the Duke’s perspective, although they had defected from Waalthe, having five individuals who were either successors or possessed equivalent skill was troublesome. However, if Jared and others not present were to handle those five, apprehending Cornelia would be much easier.
“Even though the people of the Norland Count Family will not resist, we don’t know who among them might be an assassin! If they resist, capture them if possible, and if not, eliminate them.”
“Ooh!” the knights replied, raising their swords, and advanced towards the Count’s residence.
At the same moment,
“Unfortunately, we cannot hand over our client so easily.”
A man wearing glasses appeared as if he had sprung from nowhere, blocking the knights, a serpentine smile spreading across his face as he spread his arms wide.
The knights’ advance halted.
“You are Dolf Ein, aren’t you?”
“It is a great honor to have my name remembered by Duke Harald Alway. If possible, I would have liked to be hired by you, but as Lady Cornelia is our client, it is our duty to protect her. Therefore—let us fight.”
“Very well. We will defeat all of you and apprehend Cornelia. If you resist, we will simply eliminate you.”
“Ah, how frightening. But I am far more frightening.”
Dolf grinned, raising the corners of his lips, and snapped his fingers. His subordinates, who had been hiding somewhere, simultaneously launched their attack.
