A woman with tan skin was on her knees, her face lit by the flickering flames of the candles that illuminated the room. Scorpion, as her comrades called her, extended her prosthetic arm and held out a small box.
“Is that what we discussed?”
“Yes, young master, it just arrived from the kingdom,” Scorpion replied.
“Good work. Leave a few agents in the kingdom and have the rest retreat.”
“As you command.” With great interest, Scorpion watched her master inspect the small box she’d just given him before she addressed him once more. “One last thing, young master.”
“Yes?”
“I have a message from Crow: ‘The crown prince’s fiancée, Sylvia, is highly resistant to hypnosis. She distrusts the people we’ve sent to his side and has attempted to approach Princess Adel several times. Her presence has started to get on my nerves, so I humbly request permission to get rid of her.’”
“Who was Sylvia, again? Ah, right, that’s the name of that mistress of his, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Scorpion replied. “Baron Lockit played his part perfectly, but with Elizabeth Leiston out of the picture, I believe that Sylvia has outlived her usefulness. Besides, if she successfully gets in contact with Adel Haldoria, the princess may uncover our plans. Isn’t it high time we disposed of Sylvia and the ministers and officials who played a part in breaking off the prince’s engagement to Elizabeth?”
“You have a point, but no. I may no longer have use for them, but to Elizabeth Leiston, Sylvia represents the prince’s treason, while the ministers and officials are turncoats who repaid her goodwill with spite. They’re all targets for her revenge.”
“The kingdom is filled with other targets she could focus on. Doesn’t she even loathe the citizenry?”
“Elizabeth did resent the people, but I don’t believe she ever intended to harm them on purpose. She simply didn’t care if they ended up being collateral damage. However, she’s recently stopped fanning the flames of popular revolt. While she’s still undermining nobles with economic attacks, she isn’t throwing entire territories into chaos anymore.”
“Does that mean she’s forgiven the people?”
“Adel Haldoria’s subordinates got in contact with her during the empire’s festival. They must have made some sort of deal with her.”
“Adel Haldoria and Elizabeth Leiston are working together?!” Scorpion exclaimed.
“No. For now, it simply looks like they’ve agreed not to fight. If they do team up in the future, though, it’ll spell trouble for us.”
“Do you think that’s possible, young master? Them joining hands.”
“I doubt it. Elizabeth Leiston has completely forsaken the kingdom, while Adel Haldoria is trying her hardest to restore it to its former glory. Even if they choose to walk side by side temporarily, their paths will inevitably diverge in the end.”
Scorpion nodded. His prediction was in line with the information they’d gathered thus far.
“At any rate, anything that can catch Elizabeth’s attention and rekindle her anger—such as the prince’s mistress getting closer to Adel—is good for us. There’s also a chance it’ll weaken Adel’s position. Let Crow know.”
“Yes, young master.”
Scorpion’s magic prosthetic arm, which had replaced the arm she’d lost, creaked. She considered the man in front of her worthy of ruling over the world, and even that exceptional man was wary of two people: Elizabeth Leiston and Adel Haldoria. She had to prevent them from joining forces at all costs.
“I shall deliver your orders at once,” Scorpion said.
“I’m counting on you.”
Scorpion stood up and turned to leave, but her master stopped her.
“Wait. While you’re at it, relay these orders to Phasmid as well.”
“Where is he?” Scorpion asked. “He has a new face and name every time I see him, so I’m afraid I have a hard time keeping track.”
“He’s posing as an elven merchant in the empire. His current name is Lotton Flywok.”
“Lotton Flywok? I see he chose to be quite the big shot this time.”
“Isn’t that nice? It should make finding him easy.”
After being entrusted with this mission, Scorpion nodded and left the room.
◇◆☆◆◇
Two knights walked through the treasure house. They were in charge of managing the most valuable items of the Dukedom of Haldoria. One held a magic lamp to light the way, while the other checked each item against a list. He also examined the state of the objects to make sure they weren’t damaged. The pair had been at it since the early hours of the morning and had only taken a few short breaks. They decided it was time for a longer break so they could have lunch, although it was already a little late in the day for that.
“Whew... We’ve finally reached the thirty percent mark,” one of them said.
“If we’re too hasty and damage something ourselves, our heads will roll, so we have no choice but to take it slow,” the other replied.
“Well, national treasures are more valuable than our lives.”
“Say, do we really not have to check the stuff beyond that door?”
“Yeah. Apparently, the objects they keep in there are a little special. The archduke looks after them himself.”
“I wonder what could be in there for the archduke to do that in person.”
“It’s only a rumor, but I’ve heard they’re the personal belongings of the first archduke. They say there are his memoirs, an enormous spirit crystal...oh, and a priceless sword imbued with the powers of an archspirit!”
“For real? That’s a little intimidating, but I wish I could see that sword with my own two eyes at least once.”
The other knight laughed. “Same. Anyway, enough chitchat. Let’s go back to work and do one more shelf before the next guys get here to relieve us.”
“Sure.”