It was a dire situation.
News had just arrived, mentioning that the butler Ian had shown the dagger to Count Stein.
It was originally thought that the issue of the assassin’s dagger had been taken cared of, as it was nowhere to be found on the body. But, that was clearly not the case.
'The job must be completed… by today at the very latest, just to be safe.'
Lady Orelly, first lady of Iphelleta House.
Though it was not known to the world, her father was the head the Assassin's Guild in secret.
If one were to mention the problem at hand… then it would be the fact that the Iphelleta House despised such people, and Orelly was now at risk of having her family's secret exposed.
What if this information were to be found out?
Then, the situation would get ugly.
The marriage between Orelly and Stein was purely for business purposes.
'If… If they find out the poison for Iris was from me…'
Orelly gulped audibly.
If word of this got out, then her fragile relationship maintained by her two sons would shatter completely.
She did not want to lose the man, Stein.
Definitely not to his concubine.
That was what she was most afraid of, rather than her secret being exposed.
"…-ther?"
'No, that cannot happen.'
"Mother!"
The second son of the house, Lloyd was shaking her shoulders.
"Hm? What is it?"
"We were talking about Riley. Are you alright mother?"
There was worry shown on his face.
Perhaps it was due to his mother not looking too well.
"No, no. I am doing fine."
"You seem quite sick."
"It might be due to lack of sleep. What happened yesterday, it was simply too much for me."
Orelly lied as if she weren’t aware of what was going on.
She hadn’t revealed even to her sons that the body in front of her room was related to her.
"Even in death, he brings such harm to us. Of all places, to die in front of your room."
Lloyd grumbled.
"Have some rest mother. I will stay by you."
How could she tell him that she is the daughter of a cruel assassin?
Impossible.
"No, there's no need. I'm more interested in our previous conversation. It was about Riley right?"
Orelly smiled back at her worried son.
"Ah, yes."
Lloyd nodded.
"Apparently, Riley had a go with a sword yesterday."
"Oh, Riley did?"
"It was before the body was found."
Lloyd scratched the back of his head.
"Well… It was probably because of the poisoning that happened to Lady Iris. That seemed to be the reason. I guess the lazy child became quite enraged that time. Haha."
"So? How was it?"
The edges of Orelly's eyes twitched, albeit faintly.
She was already well aware of the story, told to her yesterday by the hooded man.
But, hearing it from her son had a different feel to it.
"…It was abysmal."
This time, she had a faint smile on her lips.
"Oh, is that so?"
That was it.
The proof that she is superior to the concubine Iris, that she should be the one who received the most love.
Iris’ son was a pathetic, useless plebeian, while Orelly's sons were both able swordsmen.
This alone was enough to prove her presence in the house.
"Hoho, that's how it is."
Orelly's eyes turned towards the windows.
Outside, she could see Riley sleeping on the apple tree in the garden.
It was as if the thought of learning swordsmanship was out of question.
—
Late afternoon at Iffa village.
For some reason, there were multiple carriages lined up within the village.
They all looked quite luxurious.
"What is it? Why is the 'Mythril Carriage' of the Tes Trade Guild here in the village?"
A villager asked, pointing towards the shiniest of all the carriages.
"Who knows?"
"Did they find a gold mine nearby?"
"As if it's a gold mine. If they actually did find one, I'll give you my wife."
"How come the bet seems favourable to you?"
It didn't seem like any of the villagers knew the reason.
All of them had a curious look.
It was one of the biggest trade guilds in the continent.
The fact that the head of the Guild's personal carriage was here was a big deal for the villagers.
"Um… it's just a rumour, but it concerns the wife of the Iphelleta House."
"Hm?"
Remembering a rumour, some of the villagers began whispering amongst each other, with their hands masking their mouths.
"What was her name, the first wife… Ah! Lady Orelly. Apparently, she is the Guild Head's daughter."
"What? That’s the first time I’ve heard of this!"
"Hey, think about it. Why would Count Stein agree wearing a ring for the not-so-pretty Lady Orelly? He would seem to be on the losing end, no?"
The villager who had been talking about Lady Orelly used his hands to create a round shape with his thumb and index finger.
"This must have been going back and forth."
"Wow…"
The villagers made a sound of shocking when they heard those words. As they did, the members of the trade guild turned their heads toward the villagers.
"Shh, watch your mouths…"
"…"
Even when they were quiet, they could still hear them?
With the Tes traders glaring at them, the villagers quickly left the area with their mouths covered.
"Then, why is the Mythril Carriage all the way over here?"
"Well? Maybe he wants to see his daughter?"
The two villagers continued to gossip as soon as they left the sight of the traders.
"Then he could just go straight to the mansion. Why stop at the village? It wouldn't even take 30 minutes to go by the carriage."
"Iphelleta is quite the difficult house to meet you know. Even the highest nobles would need to arrange a time to meet them."
"Ah, I see."
"They probably sent a messenger to the mansion to warn them in advance while they stop the carriage here."
The two villagers who had been talking about Orelly and the Iphelleta House could not sense the bloodthirsty looks which were directed at them.
—
"That dream again…"
Riley sighed as he woke up from his long nap, that had lasted up until the sunset.
"… Haaa."
He was in a bad mood.
There were three reasons for this.
First, his 'perfect angle' was lost.
Second, it was that 'dream of his previous life'.
Third…
<No. 2 first, then 4 and 5 next. Make no mistake.>
He could hear unfamiliar voices in his head.
It was the reason why he woke up.
"Tsk… It's not what I wanted."
Riley mumbled with a frown.
What he expected was that the dagger Ian had shown to Stein would act as a significant piece of evidence, which would prevent the culprits from taking further actions in the mansion.
Basically it was to prevent any more incidents from happening, but it didn't seem to work as he planned.
"Well, it was a 50/50 chance anyway."
Riley stood up and patted off the dust that was on his pants.
<Are you ready?>
'Jeone Um'
He had a skill that intercepts the 'Jeone Um' between people. He could listen in to whatever he wanted to hear.
<First, make sure that the tools are all ready by the time I get inside. We have to get the job done faster than ever before.>
These words that were tickling Riley's ears could only be transmitted by those who can control mana, like a messenger.
TLN: Basically Jeone Um is a skill that consumes mana, it allows the caster to communicate with others, without verbally doing so. Riley is able to intercept this. All Jeone Um conversations are enclosed with the < > tag.
<We have a single objective, to retrieve no 3's body.>
Only one voice could be heard.
Most likely the leader of the mansion's invaders.
<Try not to get detected by the servants in the mansion. Not even by the the maids or butlers. They were all warriors before working here.>
"…Tsk."
Riley clicked his tongue again.
It seemed like the leader was quite familiar with the Iphelleta House.
<Then, let’s begin.>
<…Wait, before that.>
Just before their mission started, Riley joined in.
Using Jeone Um, a skill that required using significant mana.
<…?!>
Silence came.
Only the shaking of the leaves could be heard in the air.
Even as Riley was thinking about what to say, the other was not sending any messages back.
Most likely being on guard, realizing that all his messages were being intercepted.
<I just have one thing to say.>
<…>
<I don't care what you do in the mansion. Just don't make a situation where I have to act. Consider this a warning.>
There was no reply, but the Jeone Um was definitely sent.
There was a change in the atmosphere after Riley's warning.
<Don't.>
Riley stepped forward as he continued.
<Annoy me.>
He walked towards Iris's room.
<Well, let's just respect each other's personal space.>
Although Riley wasn't sure if they knew what he meant by personal space, he meant to convey that they should simply respect each other and just move on.
