“What is it, my lord?”
“Ahh, just cursing my own powerlessness.” Suddenly all the expression left Romello’s face, wiping away all emotion and leaving only a harsh coldness. Even his eyes had a cold, piercing glint to them. “You still have one of our men hidden in Count Talbot’s domain, don’t you? The one connected to Baskar.”
“Y-yes.” Alf seemed a bit bewildered at Romello’s reaction but still answered him immediately.
“In that case, I’m going to give the money we were planning on seizing from Count Talbot as part of his punishment to you. Have your spy rewrite his ledger to make an entry at fair market price called ‘Deposit from Duke Baskar.’ I’ll write a letter instructing Louis to cancel the money seizure for that reason. Tell Count Talbot to return that same sum of money to Duke Baskar.”
“All right. When should I do this?”
“Now. It might even be too late. Don’t worry about staying here. Just go get it done.”
“Very well, my lord. But before I go, may I ask why?”
“I have a feeling Duke Sligar came up with the idea to invade Tasmeria as part of the power struggle. If he could find a legitimate reason, then he’d call it ‘justice.’ And if that happened, he would gain more power and influence within this country. At the same time, the more that weaker Dukes like Grindel and Philling oppose him, the worse their positions would be. They’d be suspected to have connections to our kingdom. He predicted that.”
“And for the legitimate reason?”
“He hatched a plot to show that the kingdom of Tasmeria and Duke Baskar were conspiring to kidnap citizens of Rimmel and sell them as slaves. In other words, Duke Baskar was nothing more than a pawn from the very beginning.”
“I see. So that’s why we need to move before Duke Sligar can get his ducks in a row.”
“That’s right. We’ll be a bona fide third party. We approved their entry into the country completely unaware of the situation. That explanation won’t work if Talbot keeps the money. In order to feign ignorance—which is true, by the way, he didn’t know what was going on—it’s essential that Talbot returns it. I’m sure if Duke Baskar is indeed still in dire financial straits, he’ll accept it. Now listen; he must accept the money within five days. It’ll take two days to reach Count Talbot’s manor from here, four total to travel back. So it is possible for Duke Baskar to accept the money within five days.”
“Yes. If I travel through the night without sleeping, I think I can make it there in a day and a half. Since Count Talbot is currently under house arrest and the future count is inexperienced, I think things will proceed smoothly once I use your name. …May I have your permission to act upon my own discretion?” There was a suspicious glint in Alf’s eyes.
Romello smiled slightly in response. “Yes, that’s fine. I’m sure you know how to best use fear. You can use it as a collar to put on the new Count Talbot so nothing of this sort ever happens again. By the way, I’ll write the letter to Louis, so please have your spy deliver it.”
“Very well. But, my lord—why must it be within five days?”
“I’d like the plot laid before I finish meeting the rest of the dukes in Rimmel, and especially before I meet with Duke Sligar in particular. If I were to take my time and go back to Tasmeria first, that would make it look like I was conspiring with Grindel and Philling, so that’s why I must visit with Duke Sligar and the others during this visit. It would be a bad move to see them before the money has been returned, though, so I’ll say I’m not feeling well tomorrow. I’ll call off my meetings with Duke Crowe and Duke Baskar to buy me some time. If I’m ill, no one will think twice if I rest here for about a week.”
“Back home, if you were feeling ill, you would have your subordinates do the meetings for you. We should tell Lord Louis about your plans and requests. Then I can schedule a new meeting with Duke Sligar.”
“All right.”
After this meeting, everyone was informed that Romello collapsed from exhaustion due to the long journey and would be resting at the inn for several days. While he waited for Alf to return, he met with no one from Rimmel. Kreuz and the rest of the guards were concerned when they saw how deep in thought he was as he sat in his chair, but they didn’t dare interrupt him. There was a tense mood about the prime minister.
Meanwhile, a strange visitor arrived at the inn, claiming they had a letter for someone lodging there. When the person working at the front desk checked the guestbook, they told the visitor there was no such person staying there.
“Nonsense! They’re here!” the visitor insisted.
The employee had a bad feeling about this visitor and suspected they were up to no good. A guard standing by the entrance notified Kreuz about the situation.
“I’m terribly sorry, but we’re the only ones staying here. Pardon my rudeness, but are you sure you have the right inn?” Kreuz asked. The visitor gave him a suspicious look. “This is the Faboma Inn. Are you sure you haven’t confused it with the Farima Inn?” he continued.
The visitor pondered this for a moment and then nodded. “Perhaps. Sorry for all the commotion. Are you some kind of adventurers?”
“Something like that.”
“I see. I thought you looked pretty muscular. Thanks for your help.” The visitor casually patted Kreuz on the chest and then left.
The owner of the inn apologized to Kreuz.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I almost forgot the name of the inn too.”
“It happens a lot. Two generations ago, a pair of brothers both started inns, and the names were similar. It’s so confusing that I’ve been thinking about changing it, but I’ve gotten so attached to the Faboma name I just can’t do it.”
“Ha ha. I suppose it would be hard to change the name if you like it. Well, if you’ll excuse me.” The moment Kreuz left the lobby, the easy smile vanished from his face. In truth, before Alf left, the man had told Kreuz that a visitor like that might show up, and he told him how to deal with the visitor too. Kreuz had done everything as Alf had told him, and any problems had been avoided.
The issue was now he had to interrupt Romello despite his frightening air in the room and tell him what happened. He couldn’t exactly run away from it, so he decided to just go ahead and do it.
“Excuse me, Lord Romello.”
“What is it? Did someone come?” Romello frowned, not making eye contact with him.
“Y-yes, just as Alf said.”
“I see. Can you give me the item he gave you?”
Alf had planned for someone to come because the visitor was his spy—the one working incognito in Rimmel. He couldn’t deliver his information out in the open, so Alf had told both him and Kreuz his plan to deliver it secretly.
The spy would arrive at the inn, pretending to be looking for a guest who would not be there. Kreuz would deliver a set line that Alf had told him beforehand to confirm the spy’s identity. Everything Kreuz had said to the visitor had been scripted by Alf. In other words, the entire conversation they had was a code.
And when the spy confirmed Kreuz had said the correct response, he would hand over a piece of paper. This exchange had happened when he “casually” patted Kreuz on the chest, using that opportunity to slip him the note.
Romello read the note’s contents. It regarded Duke Sligar, who he was slated to meet with soon. Duke Curtis Sligar’s domain lay in the eastern part of Rimmel and bordered Tasmeria to the south. He was over sixty years old, making him the oldest of the five dukes. He had two sons, with his eldest son, Cordis, having a gentle disposition who enjoyed cultivating medicinal herbs as a hobby. He had strong relationships with merchants who sold the herbs.