Episode 112. ceryl (5)

“Pale. Conserve your stamina and prepare for battle.”

After receiving the report that Professor Ian had returned to the hotel, Seryl opened her mouth.

Although the sun in the clear sky was still in the east.

Finding only Fang’s bloody tuft of fur in the damp woods, the assassins quietly bowed their heads and waited for their next order.

Looking down at them, Kegar asked Cheryl.

“Are you trying to target the surviving Wardens?”

“Yes, since I refused to give away the dead, I will take the living as well.”

“If so… . How about taking out Professor Ian along with the Wardens? If he resists the princess and survives unharmed, wouldn’t he make a disturbing move after seeing that?”

“exactly… . It wouldn’t be bad to take this opportunity to cut off the buds in advance.”

In Seryl’s cold voice, there was subtle anger like a slight fever.

“Kegar, do you remember what you reported to me about Ian’s first impression?”

“… I told you that you don’t know where you will bounce.”

Recalling the innocent face of Frill, who came to see her and said goodbye for a while before entering Kiruna, Seryl said to Kegar.

“The reason his actions were unpredictable was because he was not afraid of the imperial family. If you don’t do what you should do in the face of the imperial power, there’s no way to know where you’ll bounce.”

“… .”

“As a princess, Frill, who should be respected by those around her, is standing like a scarecrow without knowing that she is using her, how arrogant she must have become… .”

The reason Seryl called Ian out and pressured her was to clearly show that she was not an easy opponent like Frill.

In the process, Seril clearly warned that he would not show any mercy to those who oppose the imperial authority.

Even though Ian understood all of her intentions, he revealed that he would confront her until the end.

All that remains is to accept the price for daring to reject the offer.

“There were a lot of people like this under the second or third command… . I beat them all, and now they come out even under the maknae.”

Currently, the imperial family has completely fallen into Seril’s hands… . When the second or third child remained in the imperial palace, there were several retainers who tried to keep her in check.

Most of them were weak families who wanted to take a risk and hope for a rebound in their political standing, but since there were quite a few of them, it took quite a long time to deal with them all.

“The person who rolled on the barren battlefield is starting to attract attention in Kiruna, so he must be intoxicated by this and try to reach out to the imperial family.”

Kegar, who couldn’t easily nod his head at her confidence, held back his words.

‘If Ian had really approached Frill to increase his influence in the imperial family, he would not have rejected Eclipse’s recruitment offer.’

But Cheryl’s growing anger toward Ian wasn’t a bad thing for him, so Kegar didn’t bother pointing it out.

The vassals in the imperial palace would never see Seril, who had lost his cool… . After preparing for battle, the assassins looked down at the floor with nervous faces on their knees.

“Kegar?”

“Yeah.”

“I will leave Dana to you. You can summon him separately and kill him, or if he’s not a worthy opponent, you can just tie him up so that he can’t help Ian.”

“If the princess summons Dana to my lab through the imperial knights, I will make sure she can’t help Ian no matter what.”

Under Caldera’s intervention, Kegar was unable to attack Dana, but neither did his opponent.

From her point of view, having blended into human society, it was impossible to refuse the princess’s orders.

In the end, in order for Dana, who is trapped in the lab, to help Ian’s party in danger, she has to go outside while shaking off the imperial knights and Kegar… . This would lead to the worst outcome, turning the Imperial Knights and Caldera into enemies as well as himself.

‘Excluding the assassins, the key is what sort of additional measures Seryl has prepared.’

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Vampire wardens who are good at stealth won’t reveal themselves for quite some time, so you’ll have to target Ian to catch them.

In front of the imperial knights, Seril cannot attempt to kill Ian.

This means that only the assassins brought by Cheryl will have to face Ian’s command.

Seryl, who received a report on Ian’s party’s power, must have prepared other powers besides the assassin.

“Prisoner number 14, you can use it.”

however… . Kegar’s worry that Princess Il might have underestimated Ian’s party’s strength because he had not heard of Seryl’s prepared move completely disappeared with Pale’s report on the battle preparations.

The last wagon on the right where the assassins disembarked.

Let’s open the screen over there and show the inside… . Along with a terrified moan, purple breath rose.

* * *

“… That is all. We have not been able to pinpoint the identity of the person called prisoner number 14.”

Zinner, who was in charge of Seryl’s tracking and monitoring, concisely reported the situation through the receiver.

Dana grabbed my hand and couldn’t hide her nervousness at Seryl’s murderous intent toward me, which I felt vividly despite the situation that I had heard from the report.

“Junior, what should I do?! The situation is so unfavorable, would you like to hide somewhere alone? I’m going to use the Cognitive Impairment Magic-“

Before Dana could finish speaking, the knights who had been silently guarding the front door of the hotel shouted at the window.

“I give you the order of Princess Seryl, who is in charge of the investigation on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor. A report has been received of a person believed to be a vampire trespassing in the forest near Caldera Nest, so everyone inside the hotel is requested to cooperate with the knights in the search operation. Please gather at the lobby within 30 minutes.”

I picked up the receiver without hesitation while the crew members, lost in the rapidly changing situation, looked out the window.

“Trackers, get out of the forest immediately and take shelter in the direction of the underground lab. Right now, the knights are trying to spread a search net around the nest, but even they will be reluctant to reveal the area around the underground laboratory to the imperial knights.”

“I was just about to move and figure out the movements of the knights. Don’t worry, Professor. A few dozen knights won’t be able to catch us.”

“Ceryl is trying to use all of the manpower in this lab complex. They’re not civilians, and high-level mages and imperial knights are trying to cooperate in a search operation, so it won’t be easy just to avoid them.”

“All right. By the way… . If we disappear completely and move that way, the assassins will go to where you are. Shall we buy some time?”

Seryl, who forcibly participated in the search operation with me and Mel, summoned Dana to Kegar’s laboratory and stopped her movement.

“It seems that Seryl intends to defeat us and the guards, who are completely isolated, individually with assassins.”

The attention of the guards who had returned earlier and everyone gathered by the window was focused on me.

“There’s no need for us to follow Seryl’s intentions… . I have an idea, so please move first.”

I looked at the stiff-faced wardens.

“Brother, what are you going to do? If you disobey Cheryl’s words, you could be taken away with the charge of disobeying the emperor’s agent!”

“I guess so. But, taking advantage of Seryl’s eagerness to kill me… . Ignore the imperial knights and other mages, and Seril with us. With only the number of people on both sides, we will be able to face off.”

“Yeah… ?”

I calmly explained to Dana, who stared at my face dumbfounded.

“Seril cannot move the Imperial Knights without a cause like the emperor’s will. Because of this, Cheryl avoids taking out privates in front of their eyes.”

If she had been able to show off her cruelty without hesitation in front of the imperial knights, I would have lost my life to the assassins the moment I met Seril.

“You mean you can’t openly attack us in front of the imperial knights?”

“Yeah. So if I don’t leave the knights around, Seryl won’t be able to kill me. After a day, observers will arrive here, and there will be more eyes to see… . From then on, the opportunity to get rid of me is gone.”

“Then, please… .”

I nodded to Dana, whose expression had already darkened.

“Ceryl will try to separate me and the other scholars somehow. From her point of view, it would be the best case scenario for me to stay here and be dealt with with the Wardens.”

But rather, if I applied for an exclusion from the search operation with the excuse that I was sick, Seryl, who could not miss the opportunity to end me, would not refuse it.

If she made up her mind anyway, it would be impossible for me to defend myself among the imperial knights.

If a situation arises that forces me to isolate myself, Seryl will push me into as dangerous a space as possible, even with a bit of force.

If so, it’s safer to play the game in advance so that you can be with the party.

“That, then. When the knights return, they won’t find out that Professor Ian is gone. Sheryl should know that, but what excuse are you trying to make there… .”

“Wouldn’t it be enough if I explained that I, who was resting at a hotel, fought against the guards hiding from the search net and became friends? Or, you could say that the surviving Dipel attacked me while hiding… . One Dipel corpse would be enough resources for them.”

From Seryl’s point of view, the attack on the research center was something that could be finished with Dipel’s actions anyway, so there was no reason to shy away from it.

I don’t know what the Wardens are up to as evidence of infiltration, but even without it, it was clear that they thought it would be fine if they could kill me for interfering with their progress.

It bothers me that I have to set myself on a trap that Seryl has dug… .

“If we can stop it this time, there is no other way for them either.”

We cannot allow the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in yesterday’s battle to go unnoticed.

Because Kegar erased all the evidence, it became difficult for the Empire to publicize Seryl’s atrocities, but if she endured today, at least she could inform the other races of what Seril and Kegar were plotting.

‘The different races will turn their backs on Seril, and the pursuit and infiltration will not cease.’

In that case, the hidden truth will always be revealed.

The moment I was resolute, Jiner’s words came through.

“Professor, you should also keep in mind that we still have no information about the prisoner number 14 they brought in. I couldn’t figure it out precisely because of the distance, but just by briefly lifting the screen… . There was an ominous feeling that was difficult to express.”

To him that it was a different feeling than when I faced Dipeln, I answered clearly.

“To fight after figuring out everything about the enemy, the time and circumstances given to us are not enough.”

“… .”

“Now I have no other options but to get over it.”