"Hm. Not a very endearing one. But since he's useful, I appreciate it. Having a servant isn't so bad. I can put him to work when needed."
"..."
"Ah, Azadin. Saying that right in front of him… that's hurtful."
"You?"
"Ishmael."
"Why?"
"Because he's a kid."
You're a kid too. Azadin wanted to say that, but before he could, Midiam, excited, spoke first.
"Lately, Ishmael has been feeling inferior to you, Azadin."
'Isn't it worse to say that right in front of him?'
Azadin checked Ishmael's expression. Sure enough, his face was contorted as if he had bitten into a bug.
"He used to console himself by excelling in areas where he thought he had the upper hand. But if his provocations are met with indifference, as if he's not even worth considering, of course, he'd feel hurt. When you try to provoke someone and they don't even flinch, that's more humiliating."
As Midiam said this, Ishmael genuinely felt wounded. In truth, the main reason Ishmael resented Azadin was Midiam herself. The fact that she had opened her heart to Azadin and clung to him was the root of his inferiority complex.
Even though Ishmael had served Midiam like the very breath in her mouth, he had never once received a sliver of her attention. Meanwhile, Azadin had won her over effortlessly.
Yet Midiam, the very person involved, was only acknowledging Ishmael's feelings of inferiority, without realizing why he felt that way.
"Hm? Inferiority complex? Towards me? Why?"
"Perhaps because your martial prowess is extraordinary? After all, we did challenge you to a duel and lost."
"To be precise, it was just you. Hmm, well, I don't think I have anything to apologize for. Ishmael, I only meant to compliment you on using precognition magic at your age. If there was any misunderstanding, don't take it to heart."
Azadin sincerely apologized to Ishmael. But for Ishmael, it felt like his insides were burning. In the end, both Midiam and Azadin were only circling around his feelings without really understanding them.
"I-I'm fine."
Even though he was seething inside, Ishmael had no choice but to say that. He could never admit that he was jealous of Midiam and Azadin's closeness, not even if his mouth was torn open.
"Then, I'll stretch and rest. You all should rest too."
Azadin stretched in his room at the Blue Rose Pavilion before taking a break.
***
By evening, instead of a soldier, Beldon of the West Quarter arrived.
"Here, the documents you requested."
Beldon handed over a roughly sketched map. It was a hand-drawn diagram of the count's castle interior, along with the nighttime shift locations of the servants.
"I don't know how the troops are stationed, but during the day, the count stays in his office, and at night, he spends time with his lovers in the rear annex. I don't know exactly where in the annex he stays, as access to it has been strictly restricted recently."
The information about the castle was quite thorough, but anything related to the rear annex was completely missing.
'So, something must be happening in the rear annex.'
Azadin analyzed the information he had received.
'Did Young Master Kozel bring this information without informing his mother? Or was the Countess really involved?'
Given Kozel's style and personality, he wasn't someone the castle servants would particularly favor.
'This kind of information would require the involvement of the maids. That means the Countess must be involved.'
With that conclusion in mind, Azadin decided to probe Beldon.
"Bringing this means the Countess has made up her mind. Then, shouldn't there be something else given to us?"
"Yes. The Countess has commissioned this. But what do you mean by something else? Aside from the information, is there something more you need?"
"The advance payment."
"Oh, that? Here, for now."
Beldon handed over a pouch. Inside were silver coins, but the amount was small—at most, it was worth a single gold coin.
"This was meant for bribing those refugee thugs, wasn't it?"
"Yes. The budget was limited."
"If this has escalated into a fifty-gold-coin job, we'll need a larger advance payment."
"That's… difficult."
"Difficult?"
"Yes. The Countess has had a lot of expenses recently."
The soldiers Kozel had with him were well-equipped. That must have come from the Countess's purse.
Given that she had spent such a fortune only for her son to return crippled, it was understandable that she'd be feeling bitter. Still, Azadin pressed for the advance payment.
"The Count hasn't been leaving the castle lately, has he? This isn't a simple roadside ambush. If you don't provide a proper advance, we can't proceed."
"But if we pay an advance, we'll have to intervene to make sure we don't get cheated, right? Our employer does not want such a complicated deal. Since you approached us first, they believe that's something you should accept. If we had sought out an assassin ourselves, of course, we'd have to pay in advance, but since you came to us first and interfered in our plans, they believe this should suffice as the down payment…."
"We're risking our lives on this job. If you bring an amount like this and call it an advance, that's a problem."
"Ah, I understand. I'll report it to my master."
"Then, I'll count on you."
Azadin allowed Beldon to leave. The man scurried out of the Blue Rose Pavilion in a hurry. Trying to negotiate and cut down an assassin's advance payment was undoubtedly an ordeal Beldon, a mere bureaucrat, never wanted to experience again.
"Trying to hire an assassin without an advance payment? Unbelievable. The Countess doesn't seem all that meticulous. Baroness Nord seems more capable."
Azadin gave a low evaluation of Kozel and his mother, the Countess.
"They probably think that if they give a big advance, they won't be able to control us. Even just a ten percent deposit—five gold coins—is a significant sum. And if they get swindled, they can't exactly complain that they got scammed while trying to assassinate the Count. Their caution is somewhat understandable."
Midiam sympathized with their perspective.
"If we push too hard, won't they just cancel the request? Originally, we planned to attack Baroness Nord's residence, but you turned it into an assassination request for the Count. Honestly, money isn't the main issue here. Our real goal is to seize a copy of the Book of the Divine King, so haven't we already achieved our first objective by extracting information from them?"
Since they had obtained the castle's map and the servants' work schedule from the Countess, the first objective was indeed complete. But Azadin shook his head.
"No. There's still something else to be careful about."
"Huh? What do you mean…?"
"It's Derick's group."
Azadin spoke.
"Ah."
At that moment, the soldiers caught in Ishmael's precognition magic came into view. Knights and soldiers, moving in orderly rows and columns, were heading toward a single location—Baroness Nord's estate.
"The troops are heading to Baroness Nord's mansion!"
"As expected. That bastard Derick is behind this."
Azadin was convinced that Derick was responsible.
"Aren't you jumping to conclusions? Could you explain why you think Derick did this?"
"Sure. First, he backed down despite my insult."
"Huh?"
Midiam, who was listening, was taken aback.
"When I insulted them, I was actually planning to fix their bad habits right then and there. Knowing Derick's personality, my provocation should have been more than enough to make him lash out. Especially since his ankle was just healed by Arael. A former herald who had to retire due to injury—don't you think he'd be eager to test his recovered strength?"
"Well, that… that does make sense. But is that really enough proof?"
"Arael tried to recruit me, so Derick's group wouldn't attack me directly. But wouldn't they naturally try to pit others against me instead?"
"Ah."
Midiam, who had been opposing Azadin's theory, found herself convinced.
Arael wanted to recruit Azadin. Her followers were obeying her orders, but they didn't want Azadin to join their ranks and take a position just because he was of their bloodline.
However, if they left any traces of themselves eliminating Azadin, the consequences could come back to haunt them. So, the logical course of action was to instigate a conflict between others.
"So, you believe Derick tipped off the Count about you, which is why the soldiers are now heading to Baroness Nord's mansion to capture you. Is that correct? What do you plan to do?"
"I can't just stand by and let them harm Baroness Nord, who has taken in the orphans I brought here."
"Why on earth is a herald involving himself in such matters?"
Ishmael asked out of curiosity. From the perspective of the persecuted Aragasa, Azadin's concern for the Hubris people—who had oppressed them—was incomprehensible.
"Why? Because protecting the people of Hubris is the true duty of the Emperor's Herald."
"But that's…"
"Even if it weren't, it's the right and beautiful thing to do. According to my own sense of aesthetics."
"Aesthetics?"
"Yes. In that sense, protecting Baroness Nord, who became the guardian of the children, is my duty. Now, shall we begin?"
Azadin removed his helmet and donned the hawk mask, the symbol of a herald.
"Let's go, Midiam, Ishmael!"
"Yes!"
"Bring plenty of arrows."
With that, Azadin kicked open the doors of the Blue Rose Pavilion and stormed out.
***
Derick's group had delivered the following information to the Count:
The night before last, the Apostles of Mezeri had moved through the underground waterways, carrying a copy of the Book of the Divine King. The Apostles of Mezeri had been kidnapping people as sacrifices to harness the book's power, and this was confirmed by the testimonies of those who had been taken but later rescued.
In the midst of this, a certain man defeated the Apostles of Mezeri and saved the captives. Baroness Nord then invited this man to her mansion.
With this version of events, the situation would naturally unfold just as Derick desired.
Sure enough, as Derick predicted, the Count dispatched soldiers and knights to Baroness Nord's mansion.
"What is the matter, Sir Knight?"
In front of Baroness Nord's estate, young children dressed in servant uniforms were cleaning. They were the orphans Azadin had relocated there.
"Step aside, kids."
"Th-this is Baroness Nord's mansion. She is also the Count's consort."
"Of course, we know that. We've received reports of suspicious individuals hiding here, so we're here to investigate."
Without hesitation, the soldiers shoved aside the young servants and stormed into the mansion, searching the premises.