Meanwhile…
Gazell was engaged in a battle at the Anderson march against the mercenaries. Pax had plotted a strategy from the information he’d received from Alf, and Gazell had gone along with a small number of the Anderson guard to carry it out.
They moved swiftly so as not to be discovered, striking down each mercenary as they found them.
“Almost there?”
“Yes. The next one is the last.”
“Let’s hurry up.”
At this time, Gazell knew that Nort had made a move in Rimmel, and that was why he was so anxious. He brought everyone to the final ambush location, which was a certain building within the march. He stationed guards at the entrance and exit, and then charged in himself. He ran through the building, clearing room after room. He opened the door to the final room and found ten men inside.
“There, that’s Nort!” Alf’s subordinate pointed to one of the men.
“What?” Gazell was baffled; the information he had received beforehand said that Nort was in Rimmel, raising up troops. However, Alf’s man had dealt with Nort directly, so he wouldn’t mistake someone else for him. If that was the case, who was back in Rimmel, raising the troops?
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I am indeed called Nort.”
Since he went ahead and introduced himself, Gazell figured it must’ve been true.
“I see. So you’re the one behind all this?” Gazell muttered. He then attacked Nort, and the other man dodged him at the last second and pulled back. Meanwhile, the guards killed the remaining nine men.
“W-wait, let’s talk about this!” cried Nort.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know! If I tell you, will you let me go?”
“Who in their right mind would let you go? You just want an excuse to talk.” Gazell mercilessly swung his sword. Nort wasn’t able to dodge this time, and the man’s sword was knocked out of his hand. Gazell slashed him so that he couldn’t run away. It was a serious wound, just deep enough that it could be healed…or not.
“What do you have to say?” Gazell kneeled down in front of Nort, his sword dripping with the man’s blood. His eyes were unusually cold—cold enough to make a man tremble with fear. Even his own guardsmen behind him silently broke out in a cold sweat at the sight. “If I were you, I’d start talking, for your own sake.” Gazell glared at him again.
Nort’s body shook as he opened his mouth to speak. “How… How long do you think I’ve been in cahoots with Lord Cordis?”
“Hrm. Since Wels started diverting the ores, no?” Gazell answered.
Nort laughed. “Of course not. We joined forces much earlier than that. Ever since the war against Tweil ended.”
“What…?”
“Lord Cordis hired me to present Tweil with weapons. Unfortunately, someone saw me do it. Your wife. She saw me handing over the weapons.”
“Merelda…?”
“That’s right. We sent weapons to Tweil thinking they would win the war. We never expected them to lose. But after they did, we didn’t want our connection to be exposed, so we withdrew. However, I just couldn’t find the girl who had witnessed me. I searched and searched, and imagine my surprise when I discovered she was your wife…”
What he hadn’t realized was that the kingdom officially changed her parentage right after the Tweil war. They didn’t want anyone knowing she was the daughter of Count Ceyzan, so she was adopted by a baron. She lived a quiet life so no one would discover the truth, staying away from social gatherings as much as possible and devoting her life to raising Pax and Merellis.
“I only realized it when I saw her at a party once. I spent an entire year investigating her…and then I found out about Wels’s secret little ambition. Thanks to him, I didn’t have to dirty my own hands. I’m quite grateful to him, in fact. Oh yes, that little tidbit helped me negotiate.”
“I see. So you didn’t harm Merelda directly.” Gazell spoke so quietly no one could hear him. “But you were the one who put Wels up to it, and I can’t overlook that.”
And with that, Gazell killed Nort.
“Pax!” Gazell called.
“Yes, Father?”
“If Nort’s here, that means someone else is commanding the troops in Rimmel! Take the guard there to Merellis at once!” he barked.
“Yes, Father!”
Gazell looked back down at Nort’s body. “Were you just used by Cordis, or…? Well, either way, you picked a fight with us. That’s all,” he muttered and then left the building.