“······Did Dali Henderson say nothing?”
“Nothing.”
The Imperial University Investigation Department, the Imperial Police, and then the Royal Guard.
Each one called me in separately, bombarding me with questions, and before I knew it, the whole day had passed.
Do these guys have no concept of sharing investigation results? Why do they have to work so inefficiently?
“Did you finish, Emilia?”
“Yes. They said I could leave now.”
As I came out, Emilia was also finishing her investigation.
I heard that she even had a psychological test.
They were worried that witnessing that brutal battle might have left a scar on her heart.
But with Emilia having seen even worse battlefields, I wasn’t particularly worried; she wouldn’t be shocked by something like that.
One thing was confirmed by this incident, though.
That is, Madam Lichtenburg had completely turned hostile.
I never expected her to send Henderson after me as soon as she fell into a corner.
At this point, she must want to have it out with me.
But I only have suspicion and no concrete evidence that Madam Lichtenburg tried to kill me twice.
Mobilizing the power of the Imperial Police to take her down would be impossible.
‘She’ll have to see what happens if she touches me.’
That said, I can’t just ignore revenge.
Somehow, I have to make her give up on confronting me.
Otherwise, she could become a stumbling block in the future.
And through that method, a brilliant idea came to me.
“Let’s head back to the Imperial University.”
“Yes, Hainkel.”
I will use Erica.
Madam Lichtenburg’s most precious daughter, Erica.
*
“Damn it. There’s still no word from Emilia…”
A cafe and bar.
At the intelligence agency’s base, Eric buried his head in his hands.
Since 1 AM today, the number of people passing through the main gate of the Imperial University had skyrocketed.
They were hiding their identities well, but the intelligence agency managed to confirm that some of them were Imperial Police through thorough investigation.
“Shit… What the hell is happening inside…?”
Police crashing into the university since dawn.
Someone clearly must have died.
And it had to be a significant figure.
Did one of the professors die? Or maybe a student?
“Why the hell isn’t that guy here…?”
Schlus, who usually came to the cafe almost every day, was missing.
Could it be that Schlus was the one who died, or was it Emilia…?
Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine.
If Emilia died, Hertlocker would go absolutely insane.
Ding…
“Welcome… Ah.”
Just then, the door burst open, and a man in a fedora stepped in.
Even with a mask on and the hat pulled low, Eric recognized him immediately.
Hertlocker.
He had recently succeeded in infiltrating the Crow.
“Do you have any information?”
“…”
Eric shook his head as he looked at Hertlocker.
It had already been over 12 hours since the incident.
No one knew what was causing such chaos at the Imperial University.
Not even about Emilia’s survival status, who was infiltrating inside…
“I’m sorry, Hertlocker. I know you’re anxious, but if you just trust and wait, I will definitely—”
“That’s enough. I found out.”
“What?”
Hertlocker said nonchalantly as he sat at the bar.
Eric’s eyes widened as he was about to head to the cabinet.
“Henderson is dead.”
“What? Wait a second. Henderson? That guy was after Schlus Hainkel, right? Ah… No way.”
“Yes. It seems he tried to assassinate Schlus Hainkel by infiltrating the Imperial University and got intercepted.”
“By the guards or Schlus Hainkel?”
“How could the Imperial University guards deal with Henderson?”
“What the hell…”
Eric felt dizzy for a moment and staggered.
It was shocking enough that Henderson, who seemed to be cautious for years after the Crown Prince assassination, suddenly accepted an assassination job.
It’s even more ridiculous that he got ambushed while trying to infiltrate at night.
There were so many shocking things happening.
“What’s the source of the information?”
“Rumors among the crows.”
“…”
Rumors. That word was hard to trust.
But when “Crow” is attached to it, the story changes.
The crows, who run a closed society, have only one means of communicating with each other.
Only verbally.
So if they say Henderson is dead, it’s incredibly close to the truth.
At least they would get the fastest and most accurate information about events that happened to the same crows.
“So the reason why there’s still no information about the incident…”
“Yes. I think it’s a measure taken considering the social ripple effect.”
That also explained why the Imperial Police and Imperial University were putting so much effort into security.
If the news spread that a commoner suddenly assassinated the Empire’s enemy, it would clearly be shocking.
Eric’s stunned expression alone made that painfully obvious.
“Henderson didn’t barge in at the crack of dawn and yell ‘kill me, please’… Did he attempt the assassination with all his strength and still got caught?”
“Yes… He probably struggled until the very moment he died.”
Eric sensed unease from Hertlocker’s subdued answer.
Henderson would not hesitate to use any means necessary when carrying out a job.
If he found himself in a life-threatening counterattack situation, he would use any vile or despicable tactic he could.
And the despicable tactics available inside Schlus Hainkel’s mansion would mean…
“Oi. Don’t tell me you’re thinking something weird.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s nothing, you fool. It’s not that.”
Taking an attendant hostage. Eric and Hertlocker simultaneously had the same thought.
Since Eric had just thought of the method, Henderson must have anticipated it and executed it without hesitating.
Yet Henderson is dead, which means the hostage situation didn’t work out well.
In other words, it meant that Schlus gave up the life of the hostage.
“What do you mean ‘it’s not that’? Are you sure? Can you guarantee that Emilia is alive? Huh? Can you definitively tell me?”
“…”
Hertlocker’s voice grew louder until it almost turned into a scream.
Eric couldn’t meet Hertlocker’s gaze directly and could only hang his head.
He wanted to say, “Don’t worry, Emilia is okay,” but he couldn’t be sure of that himself.
“Let’s just wait, Hertlocker.”
“What am I waiting for? An obituary? I can’t wait until then! I need to see with my own eyes whether she’s dead or alive. Don’t stop me. I’m heading straight to the Imperial University—”
Beep-beep…
Just then, a mechanical sound came from below the bar.
As Eric took out an artifact, Hertlocker immediately shut his mouth.
It was none other than a communication artifact that received Emilia’s regular report.
“Oh. Four words. Sur… viv… al… re… port.”
“…”
Survival report.
A brief message indicating she is alive.
As Eric finished interpreting it and looked up, he saw Hertlocker had turned his back.
His ears were flushed red with embarrassment.
*
“Why… Why is it still…?”
Madam Lichtenburg bit her nails as she crossed her legs.
The Crow, who went to assassinate Schlus Hainkel, had gone silent.
It had already been 24 hours.
At this point, there were only two cases.
First, Henderson had given up on the mission and ran away.
“Don’t tell me…”
That was a ridiculous possibility.
How could the Crow abandon a request they had accepted?
If they did that, they would be hunted down and executed by other crows.
That’s how crows deal with traitors to maintain their trust.
So this case doesn’t make sense; the second case is…
“Did he fail? Henderson?”
That Henderson failed in assassination and got killed.
This was equally absurd.
After all, the crows had infiltrated the Imperial Palace and murdered the Crown Prince; could they possibly fail to take down a commoner…?
“Mother. I’m home.”
“Oh, Erica! You’re back?”
Just then, the door opened, and Madam Lichtenburg’s face brightened up at the sound of her daughter entering.
The serious expression she had was nowhere to be seen.
“I’ll go rest now.”
“Wait! Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Did anything happen at school today?”
“Uh… Not really, nothing major happened?”
Realizing she made a mistake due to Erica’s flustered response, Madam Lichtenburg knew she should have mentioned a name.
It might seem a bit strange, but it felt necessary to directly address it.
“Schlus Hainkel. That commoner didn’t skip class or anything?”
“Nope. He was there for class just fine. Why?”
“…”
Madam Lichtenburg felt her breath catch at Erica’s confirmation.
Schlus was alive.
That meant Henderson had failed.
The biggest problem was that Schlus clearly knew that Madam Lichtenburg sent the Crow.
By now, Schlus must be seething with rage.
As a commoner with nothing to lose, it was the most frightening thought about what he might do.
He might even harm Erica.
As that thought crossed her mind, Madam Lichtenburg felt beads of sweat trickle down her back.
“Erica, do you… ever think about dropping out?”
“What? Dropping out? No, not at all. Why would I drop out?”
That was natural.
Madam Lichtenburg let out a deep sigh at Erica’s utterly normal reaction.
After all, Erica had wanted to attend the Imperial University so much.
She couldn’t force her to drop out.
“Listen carefully, Erica. I’ve been looking into Schlus Hainkel.”
“Okay.”
“But there were some not-so-pleasant things in his past.”
“Not-so-pleasant past? What do you mean?”
“Um…?”
Not-so-pleasant past.
Did he have a criminal record or did he frequent brothels?
Madam Lichtenburg struggled to find specifics as her hypothesis that Schlus was a scumbag selling his lifespan to a demon lost convincing weight in her mind.
“He’s done horrifying and immoral things that you can’t even describe!”
“Oh, I see.”
Can’t even describe…?
Did he commit dismemberment or something?
Before she knew it, Erica’s face had gone pale.
“So, I’d really like my daughter to stay as far away from that commoner as possible.”
Madam Lichtenburg said cautiously.
It seemed that Schlus Hainkel was close enough for Erica to consider inviting him over.
She really didn’t want to interfere with her daughter’s friendships, but she had no choice. It had to be for Erica’s safety.
A brief silence settled between the two of them.
Just as Madam Lichtenburg’s lips started to tremble, Erica spoke first.
“I understand, mother.”
“Y-You’re not even going to ask why?”
“Well, it’s your word. You must have a reason. I’ll do as you say.”
“Erica…!”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Madam Lichtenburg hugged her daughter.
Unbeknownst to her, Erica was harboring other intentions.
“I’m sorry, Mother. I know Schlus is a terrible person. But, to bring about his proper end, I have no choice but to be close to him.”
She would help Iris, causing Schlus to sacrifice himself to prevent a future disaster.
Make him die according to his lifespan, revealing the truth of his contract with the demon to the world.
To accomplish this plan, she couldn’t distance herself from Schlus.
