One had fallen, and now only two remained.
They each held a spear and a greatsword.
Of the two, it was the guardsman with the spear who was struck first by Ran. Ran closed the distance in an instant.
'I have to report to the general!'
The guardsman with the greatsword's eyes gleamed. He threw away his greatsword. At least one person had to survive.
While Ran's attention was drawn to his comrade, the guardsman swiftly mounted his horse.
"Hrgh!"
Showing his back was shameful, but now was no time to worry about such things.
He had thought it was a ridiculous rumor.
People wouldn't really believe that some inquisitor had broken into the imperial capital, taken on two of the Empire's Four Swords at once, assassinated the crown prince, and then vanished without a trace.
He hadn't believed it either. But after experiencing it himself, he understood. It was no lie.
Crack!
He barely got the reins pulled before a heavy blow struck the nape of his neck. He looked down to see the spearhead protruding through his own throat, then fell from the horse without strength.
"Hi, hiiik! What the hell are you!"
The last remaining guardsman collapsed with a thud. The weapon he was holding was now buried in his comrade's neck.
Crunch!
His vision spun, and everything went dark in an instant.
"Hoo."
The brief and fierce battle was over. Ran, rising to his feet, let out a deep sigh toward the heavens.
The moment the fight began, Armand had withdrawn with Margherita and Camus.
He couldn't take his eyes off Ran.
'No way. How can he do all that alone?'
The opponents weren't just anyone. They were the emperor's personal guards—handpicked elites chosen to chase down the man who killed the emperor's own son.
'Monster. He's grown even more.'
Suddenly, he seemed like a different person. Back in the Zima days, Armand had challenged him several times, but now he couldn't even imagine it. He realized the difference in their class. Armand unconsciously gulped.
Ran approached with slow steps, then stopped. He let out shallow, excited breaths. The blood splattered on his face and his bloodshot eyes were clearly visible.
Armand realized the women behind him were frightened by Ran.
Just as if he felt a nudge in his back, Ran gestured. Armand turned around again, eyes wide.
"? Me?"
Ran kept gesturing. Awkwardly, Armand cleared his throat and stepped toward Ran.
Only then did Ran quietly speak.
"I'll take the child."
"Child?"
Armand glanced back. He seemed to be referring to Iel.
"What the hell are you saying? You're going to abduct a guest of Orvik right in front of me?"
"Father entrusted the child to me."
Armand's eyes widened. His trembling gaze slowly slid back.
"F-father? Why?"
"There's no time for a long explanation."
He wasn't even angry at the half-hearted answer. Armand simply froze with a grave expression, at a loss for words, his head turning stiffly.
Then, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Hey, wait. That means Lord Rel too? Don't tell me all of this was your doing?"
To get to the mountains, they could only pass through Orvik. Afterward, they'd be more or less free from surveillance. Ran couldn't take Iel with him beyond that point, so protecting her until then was what mattered.
'If I'd known Armand was here, I wouldn't have dragged Camus into this.'
He only muttered inwardly. He didn't want to involve House Rel.
'It's already done.'
Ran changed the subject.
"? And you. Be honest."
"What, all of a sudden?"
"You said the church's high priest is trying to deal with the lord. Is it true?"
"You think I'd lie to you? Think I'd try to make a deal with your brat?"
"Armand. You seem to be misunderstanding something."
Armand's face flushed red with anger. He was already feeling wounded by Margherita earlier.
"Damn it. Hey, you're not telling me you're backing out, are you? Getting cold feet all of a sudden?"
"Can you say that after seeing this?"
Ran pointed behind him. The corpses of the guardsmen lay mangled all across the ground.
Armand scratched at his head.
"Haa, so what? Saying you won't do it? Because of the pursuit team?"
"That's all the pursuers in Orvik. The rest are in Kalondo. The next group won't arrive soon. We can finish this before then, easily."
"Then what's the problem? What weird crap did you hear?"
Ran sighed. He was facing his hardest problem—the one that was always his weakness.
'Is this what they call a love triangle?'
He'd only read about it in books. For Ran, understanding such complicated feelings was impossible. Only deep empathy could convince someone in a case like this. That's why it was hard to explain clearly to Armand.
Armand grabbed Ran's shoulder and glared at him with his one eye.
"Hey, Ran. You bastard. I still tried to help you because we were once like brothers. I was even going to hide you if the pursuers tore apart all of Orvik."
"??."
"Can't you just shut up and accept my help for once?"
The high priest he'd met wasn't the greedy kind Armand described. He genuinely seemed ready to give up everything for Margherita.
"I also want to beat the hell out of the church priests."
Ran said as he brushed off Armand's hand.
Not all the clergy from the mainland had fallen. He didn't deny that.
But in situations tangled with emotion like this, his intuition failed him.
He still had about a day to buy some time.
For now, Ran decided to keep his promise to his brother.
* * *
The next night, Ran and Armand met again.
The two watched the church from a distance. Like elsewhere, orvik's church was on the outskirts of the domain.
Brrr.
The chirping of insects sounded unusually loud. The darkness was thick and the moonlight was faint.
Ran asked, "What's the plan?"
"Is there any need for that with just you and me? There's only one or two holy knights on duty at most. You handle them. I'll take care of the high priest."
Armand pulled his mask over his face. The black mask left only his eyes exposed.
"Let's go."
The area was nothing but reeds. Moonlight hung over them, coloring everything a hazy gray. The tough northern reeds, battered by the harsh winds, bent and swayed with a rough sound.
The church stood at the end of a dirt path that cut through the reeds.
Step, step.
The two walked side by side along the path.
Armand tightened both his gloves and muttered, "This really takes me back. Feels like old times, huh?"
"Not sure."
"Your swordsmanship's better, but your personality's still shit."
"I know you're doing this for the lord. But are you sure this is what she wants? Did she ever ask you?"
"Haaa, man—you're never going to make it as a man if you can't read a woman's heart."
"A woman's heart?"
"What they say is only a quarter true. Women only speak truth through their eyes."
Ran tilted his head, not understanding. Whether it was a woman or a man, most said the truth when facing his beaked mask.
"Anyway, Margherita got mixed up with the high priest a lot. I could tell just by looking, it made her uncomfortable."
"Hm."
"Some days she'd even complain about the high priest to me. With childish insults and everything. Shows just how much she hated it."
"Hm."
"Lately, after meeting the high priest, she's been bedridden. Legs trembling and all. Classic sign of nervous exhaustion."
"I see."
"The clincher, though—"
Armand suddenly stopped walking. Ran stopped with him.
"She said she wanted to leave everything behind and go somewhere with no one around. Margherita's not an irresponsible woman."
"??."
"I heard all about it as the head of security. The church often targets noble families that have fallen on hard times. You know that, right?"
"It happens. I had my own trouble with that."
"Exactly. So I bet that high priest has been working Margherita over, making her life hell."
Ran nodded vaguely. Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, it wasn't a matter for him to get further involved in.
'This won't take long. I'll take Iel and leave as soon as we're done.'
Iel was waiting at the guest house. He'd told her he would come for her tonight.
The two looked up at the church built of red brick. For a small outskirt church, it was quite large. The Holy Church emblem hung prominently at the center of the roof. Torches on either side flickered in the wind.
"The high priest is in a room on the second floor. While I deal with him, keep the gnats off me downstairs."
"I know this isn't the time to say it, but wouldn't this have been easier for you to do alone?"
"There could be evidence left behind. As you've seen, I have a reputation to uphold in Orvik. If I'm going to do it, I want it clean."
Armand quietly pushed the church door open and checked inside.
"Just as I thought. There's a holy knight sitting up front, looks like he's dozing. If he wakes up, you know what to do."
The two crept inside the church.
At the very front, the holy knight's head was bobbing up and down. He could also see the confessional where the high priest had heard confessions a few days ago.
Armand nudged his chin toward the stairs and gave a thumbs up before disappearing into the shadows on the stairs.
'The church again, in the end.'
Perhaps because of the wind creeping in, the inside of the church was chilly. Ran pulled his cloak tighter and leaned against the wall. He hoped the holy knight wouldn't wake.
'Things are tough from the start.'
He'd hit trouble as soon as he left Gerinhild.
He was prepared for it. Everything he'd done within the capital had been in accordance with careful plans. There had been a few improvised operations, but always with the aftermath in mind. But not anymore. Now his moves were impromptu and unplanned.
There would be more incidents like this from now on. Quersa's carrier pigeon hadn't been seen for a long while. He would have to do everything on his own.
'Will it really be all right to leave things like this?'
Ran looked up at the high ceiling. It was impossible to guess what was happening upstairs.
If Armand was his old self, he would kill the high priest without hesitation. But if not, maybe the misunderstanding would clear up.
Ran hoped for the latter.
'Come to think of it, I never even got their name.'
His mind kept drifting toward the stairs. Maybe if he went now, he could prevent a tragedy.
'If nothing happened, but only Armand gets in trouble...?'
Without Armand, he'd never have made it into Orvik.
Even if they hadn't been on the best terms in the past, Armand had helped him just because they were like brothers. He hadn't pried into all the complicated details.
His gaze shifted to the large Holy Church emblem at the front.
It felt as if Asriel was watching him.
Ran felt his heart race.
Thudthud, thudthud—
It wasn't his heartbeat. A chill ran down his back.
Ran pressed his eye to the crack in the half-open door.
'? A pursuit team.'
Even from far away, he could see the gleaming armor. The pursuit team was crossing the reeds from the horizon.
'Damn!'
He closed the door. There was no time to waste. He calculated the escape route. The best way was to escape over the roof from the second floor.
The holy knight up front, woken by the noise, was stretching.
Ran pulled his mask up to the bridge of his nose and quietly climbed the stairs.
'What are you doing, Armand?'
Since he hadn't come down yet, something must be happening up there too.
Countless possibilities and responses flashed through Ran's mind.
The second floor was larger than it looked from outside, quiet enough you wouldn't hear any noise.
Ran tracked the presence in the darkness.
As soon as he rounded a corner, he saw Armand standing in front of a door.
'Armand?'
Ran, pressing against the wall, approached him.
Even at close range, Armand hadn't noticed him.
Ran watched him while holding his breath.
His sword tip hung limp, reflecting only the dim light, no blood.
He was sure. Armand had failed to assassinate. No, he had not assassinated.
Ran's gaze moved upward.
With his single eye, Armand looked as if he had just witnessed something he should never have seen.
Right up to that moment, Armand stood as if frozen.
'??.'
Ran looked into the room.
Two naked men and women were embracing tightly under the covers, trembling with fear.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Yeah, the lady and the priest are doing it...
And the lady was only using Armand...
【(⩌_⩌ )】