After leaving the marquis's office, Milena wandered around the city.
She was feeling uncomfortable in returning to her room in the barracks
because of the proximity of it to Lacy's room.
The room assignment, which used to be convenient for her, is now
something she resents.
"…I guess everyone doesn't believe me anymore."
She mumbled quietly as she walked along the deserted street.
In her own way, she insisted that she was innocent, but it still did not
dismiss the suspicion that she was betraying Lacy and the marquis.
As a result, Milena's standing is now placed in a delicate position.
(I could tell from the conversation I just heard that he is still pulling strings
from behind the scenes.)
What came to her mind was, of course, none other than Yuushin.
But why did he say that in front of Lacy, even letting her tell it personally to
the marquis?"
She felt it already redundant to tell that to the two who were already
suspecting him as the culprit.
"Either way, no matter what I will say from now on, they will no longer
believe me."
Not only Lacy, who thinks that Milena is betraying them, but even the
marquis would not accept her innocence without proof.
(What's worse is Yuushin is the type to be careful not to leave any evidence
when he meets with someone.)
In this world where technology is slow to develop, it is difficult to prove
anything unless there is material evidence or sighting.
"If this is what he had in mind when he first approached me, then he's quite
a feat."
"Really? Then I'm honored to receive the compliment."
◆ ◆
When I called out to her, Milena turned around in an instant.
Moreover, her hand is already on the sword at her waist. It's a brilliant
reflex.
I heard that her swordsmanship is not as good as Lacy's, but from my point
of view, she is an opponent I couldn't compete with either way.
"Mr. Sanada… you've been following me!? Since when?"
"As soon as you left the castle. I just couldn't afford to miss you."
I had a few of Lucy's vassals with invisibility enchantment Anastasia had
cast on them to help me keep an eye on her. If you ar e ab le to rea d th is
mes sage, you a re re adi ng from an unau tho rized ag gre gate site. Re ad at
my Word Pr ess at st abbing with a sy ring e. ho me. bl og to suppo rt me
and my trans la tions.
It is at times like this that I realize how useful it is to have a workforce.
In the absence of machines and tools, we have to make do with human
hands.
"So, what do you want from me? If you are trying to disturb our camp, I
think you are doing a wonderful job, though it's frustrating to admit it."
"I'm gladdened for the praises Milena is giving me."
In terms of opponents that will really screw your head, she is the second
most dangerous opponent next to the marquis.
However, unlike the disabled and paranoid aristocrat who is leading this
territory, Milena is also quick on her feet. And I mean that in both ways.
"It's fine if you don't answer. It's my fault that I let my guard down before.
But this time, I will really have your head."
Milena then pulled out her sword and pointed the tip at me.
"I've told you before. Lucy will be very upset if you kill me. With the
forces she's got now, she will do quite the damage if she goes on a
rampage."
"Yes, I suppose so. But I think the damage would be greater if I let you
live."
The eyes of Milena were fixated on me as she said so.
That's not good. She might be serious about taking my life.
If possible, I want to keep things peaceful.
"Now, now, calm down for a bit. There's one more solution to this, but it
will require Milena to join me. And I really mean what I said on the last
part."
At these words, she stopped moving.
"You really want me to join you? It isn't a trick to confuse and divide us?"
This time, Milena seemed perplexed.
The situation must have gotten serious, seeing she's this troubled.
In that case, now is my chance.
"I'm not lying. I'm seriously trying to recruit you."
It's true that I praised her before and that, if possible, I want to make her
our ally.
"… you're serious."
"As I was in the first place. You can't expect to be treated well there in the
future anyway, can you? Since it has already gotten this far, why don't you
try to change sides for real?"
When I said this, Milena made a small gesture of thinking.
"I can't, I cannot betray Lacy. I must be firm, even more now that our father
is bedridden…"
She said so, but did not reject it outright.
It was a proposal she would have brushed aside before, but for her to think
twice right now, it was evident that she was mentally weakened.
It seems that the fact of her sister, Lacy, accusing her has made quite an
emotional damage on her part.
"I'm not asking you to make up your mind right now. I mean, why don't we
first calm down and talk this through instead of standing here and pointing
swords at each other?"
I approached her as I said this.
Milena is still pointing her sword at me, but she is no longer intending to
cut me down.
Good. Just keep on wavering like that. The more you hesitate, the greater
chances I will succeed.
"Come on, let's get the dangerous stuff out of the way."
I was already close enough to touch her if I stretched out my hand, but I
couldn't make any moves with the sword still pointed at me.
So first, I reached out to the sword, intending to place my palm on the flat
part of the blade to push it aside.
"…!"
"Ow!"
However, as I got closer, Milena reflexively moved.
Because of this, the palm reaching for the sword touched the blade and cut
it.
Fortunately, she did not move it in an attempt to cut, and she did not put any
force into it. So, the wound was shallow.
"Tsss. I knew I shouldn't have done that with my bare hands."
But as it was cut by a blade, in other words, a laceration, even though it was
shallow, there was still a lot of blood.
Seeing this, Milena's expression changed dramatically.
"Eh, ahh… No… I… again…!!"
She dropped the sword on the spot and held my right hand in front of her
chest.
The bullish expression that she had barely maintained had disappeared, and
she was relatively shaken. This cha pter transl at ion is made poss ible by st
ab bing wit h a syr inge tra nsl ations. ch eck only up-to-da te tran slati ons
on my Wo rdpr ess si te.
"No, no… because of me, you got hurt again… haaa… haaa…"
"Calm down, Milena. It wasn't that deep. Crap, she's hyperventilating."
Seeing I had no choice now that the other party was in distress, which was
unexpected, I wrapped a handkerchief around my hand so she wouldn't see
the blood, took the sword from her hand and re-sheathed it in the scabbard
on her waist, and wrapped my arms around her back.
Supporting Milena, who was breathing unevenly, I headed for the inn I had
prepared nearby.
I entered through the back door so as not to be seen and headed straight to
the rented room.
Once inside, I sat Milena down on the bed and prepared water.
I didn't forget to wash my palm and bleed it.
The wound was shallow, so soon, no more blood was coming out.
"Here's some water, drink it and relax."
"…Yes, thank you very much."
By the time we got here, Milena seemed to calm down a bit.
She took the water without any particular resistance and drank it straight
down.
"Gulp, phew… thank you…"
"You're getting really lousy today. Shall we continue the talks?"
"Yes. You wanted me to betray my uncle, right?"
It seemed that she had no intention of pulling out her sword anymore.
I nodded at that and continued talking.
"What I want you to do is to work as a spy in your current position."
"If you can't prove your innocence, just betray them outright, is what
you're trying to say?"
"Yes."
"Fufufu. You set all this up, didn't you? You have been rolling me around in
your palm and leading me in the direction that suits you. You are like the
devil, aren't you?"
Milena looked tired as she said this.
She was right, and the third step in my strategy was to draw the isolated
Milena to my side.
"Well, the devil is certainly evil, but the only thing you can be sure of is that
they will surely fulfill their part of the bargain."
"And what does that mean?"
"If Milena goes to our side, I will provide you with the same medicine that
is being given by the Marquis."
"What!? You mean… but how!?"
Hearing what I said, she suddenly stood up and approached me.
"I've got a guy who works with me who knows a lot about medicines.
Remember when I went to your father's bedroom? That was to get a sample
from your house and had him check out how to make it."
I managed to find out the ingredients, though it was a bit of a challenge
because of the amount of the sample I got.
"After I did that, it turned out to be a surprisingly common combination of
ingredients. Still, it doesn't change the fact that the marquis has the
monopoly on this technology. I bet he's going to let the nobles who get in
his way die, and only those that have allied to him survive."
"…Yes. Uncle is indeed using the Nobleman's Disease for his convenience.
For the lesser the number of aristocrats in his land, the more power uncle
would be able to obtain here."
Milena faces away and looks down with a guilty expression.
"Hm, so you knew. Well, considering you are also one of his goons who do
his bad deeds, then this is not news for you. Especially with your father
being held hostage."
"It isn't like I had a choice. I had to make a deal or father would die…
though I still regret that I also let Lacy go down this path with me."
"Then this might be your chance to make up for it. We will defeat the
marquis and replace him as the head of Krasland, and for that, I need your
help."
Milena was lost in thought, but after a few seconds, she finally nodded her
head.
"I will consider your offer. But before that, I have to make sure that your
"medicine" works on my father first."
"Oh? We have a deal, then. Here. Take it."
I handed Milena the medicine for the Nobleman's Disease I had prepared.
"I hope the Count gets better."
I said that and saw her off, then I relaxed, knowing that I had finally
completed one of my important plots against the marquis.