***Arc 6 One Who Pierced Through, Chapter 135 The Royal Capital’s Black Wing***
Pale in the moonlight.
The royal capital of Albenaria――the white city was filled with silence, even the cold air was hard.
A red-roofed mansion in the first-class city within the city walls.
There was a large mansion of the Duke of Arkasakos, which was one hundred and fifty shaku high (~45 m) ――a shadow overlooking it from the Great Bell Tower.
Wrapped in a black cloak, peeking out from the hood were silver hair and white beauty.
And the jewel-like purple eyes.
"……It’s cold"
Burying her nose into the black scarf, Krische glanced at the structure of the mansion below her.
A U-shaped two-story building. Arkasakos' bedroom is said to be in the west room, opposite to the east where Krische was.
There was an orchard in the front yard, but there was no other place to hide.
It was probably purposely made to have a good field of vision. There were about ten armed guards with torches in pairs.
Despite the cold weather, several windows were open and human figures could be seen. They were probably monitoring the surrounding area.
The level of vigilance was unusual for a first-class city with a high level of security.
Maybe they are aware of the fact that they were being resented, or maybe it was their personalities.
Either way, it didn't matter.
"Let's finish it quickly."
One yawn.
She threw herself out of the big bell tower and kicked the wall vigorously at about the halfway mark of the Great Bell Tower.
Converting the acceleration of the fall to the horizontal direction, she grabbed the hem of her overcoat with both hands and glided in the wind――jumped onto the mansion's red roof and rolled over.
After breaking in unnoticed, she walked across the roof to the west.
This was the tallest mansion in the area and had a large garden.
Even those with magical powers could not jump here from the roofs of other houses, so no one cared about the sky, and no one seemed to think that anyone would jump from the bell tower.
Looking at the men who were wary of the surroundings with a serious face without even chatting, she gave a harsh evaluation that although they were excellent guards, they lacked imagination.
Perhaps the Black Flag Special Forces should be given more advanced training that requires more imagination.
With the grueling training schedule in her head, she landed on the balcony where the bedroom was.
There were also four men here who were vigilant outside the iron fence, looking down at the back of the heads of the men who were walking around seriously about their job, thinking there was no problem. She looked at the door from the inside.
It was a whitewashed double door with a bar lock on the inside.
It seems to be of high quality and there are no gaps, normally there was no way to open it, and she put her hand on it
By manipulating the metal fittings with magic to remove the lock, she slid inside as if nothing happened and pulled out the knife.
There was an old man sleeping quietly――the figure of the Duke of Arkasakos.
Kreschenta told Krische while tightly embracing her arm.
"If we leave him alone, he will eventually try to kill me. It's safer and more convenient to get rid of him before that. I thought it would be easy for Onee-sama――uuu."
"You idiot. Please don't ask Krische to do that kind of thing."
Selene sighed again and pinched the happy Kreschenta’s cheek.
‘What are you doing?’ Kreschenta shook off her hand and glared at Selene.
"Why are you and Krische so short-sighted..."
"I thought about it properly you know, how rude."
She inflated her cheeks.
Kreschenta told Selene as she sat on Krische’s lap.
"There's no absolute defense against assassination. It's good that Onee-sama and Argan cooked for us, but what if the ingredients that come here were mixed with poison? Well water, cosmetics, what if something was planted in the finished dress?"
Kreschenta pulled Krische’s hands and held her waist while she held up her fingers.
"Selene-sama, who grew up in the military, may not understand, but if there’s anxiety left in the royal palace, you will have to be suspicious of such trivial things. I think it would be fine if I could be dismissed by political means, but it seems like it will take time and is troublesome. It's quicker this way."
Kreschenta turned around on her knees and hugged Krische, saying, ‘It would be quicker to kill him.’
Krische stroked her head and thought.
"Did he do something bad?"
"He'll do it from now on. He’s hiding it on the surface, but I'm sure there's a lot of bad things. Otherwise, He won’t stay in the center of the royal palace that was so chaotic."
Krescehnta raised her finger.
"If it's a battle, you'll kill the enemy standing in front of you, right? It's the same thing even if you don't point your swords at each other. There's no point in putting it off. If there is a problem, shouldn't it be taken care of before it grows?"
"But, Kreschenta, Krische doesn't think assassination is a good way to go. If your opponent is following the rules on the surface, you should also follow the rules on the surface, right? "
"Onee-sama, can do it without being noticed. There’s no problem, right?"
‘The dead don't talk,’ Krescehnta said naturally, putting her hand on Krische’s cheek.
"I do my best for Onee-sama. Onee-sama too do her best for me. Only then will the birdcage be perfect. Onee-sama should understand that even the slightest crack will threaten it."
"...It’s Kreschenta’s bad habit to try to kill people right away."
"I'm sure I didn't kill even one-hundredth of One-sama’s, you know?"
‘Muu’, Krische pulled her little sister's cheek while looking at Bery.
Bery was making a fresh pot of tea, seemingly unconcerned.
Bery had decided to just trust Krische, so she didn't say anything.
She neither advised her nor encouraged her. T
Krische, who knew that, thought and said.
"If you do bad things, you can easily solve various problems. But Krische wants to try to do good things rather than bad things as much as possible. Krische thinks , Krische wants Kreschenta to be like that too."
"Being fixated by that, what is Onee-sama going to do when it becomes too late?"
"Certainly, it worries Krische too. So, a compromise... the point is, making him think to not do bad things right?"
Selene, who was silently listening to the story,’ what are you going to do?’ Tilted her head.
"Simply tell them that you can kill them at any time. If that's all Krische has to do, Krische will go."
It's very cold today.
Krische pouted her lips and looked displeased, but said it can't be helped.
Kreschenta happily rubbed against Krische's cheek and smiled happily.
"Ufufu, I thought you would say that to me."
‘Uhh, where was it?’ As if trying to remember, Kreschenta looked towards the door.
She beckoned Anne, who had just returned, to bring some kind of package.
While everyone looked puzzled, what came out of the package was parchment and a knife that had been rolled up and tied with a string.
It was getting more and more puzzling, and Krische asked.
"... what is that?"
"A little letter and a knife. I have already prepared it. Please put it by his pillow along with the knife."
Cheerfully, Kreschenta showed the knife.
The knife is exquisitely crafted, and the crest of a rooster was engraved on the knife.
The rooster was the coat of arms of the House of Arkasakos.
A personal item with a family crest on it――and when it comes to a knife this splendid, the ones that have it are limited.
It probably belonged to someone close to the head of the Arkasakos family.
Krische did not know how she had obtained it, but it was not something that could be easily obtained.
No matter how she thought about it, it must have been prepared in advance in anticipation of what would happen.
"It says 'I'm always watching from your side in a world where you don't know who's your enemy'. The knife belongs to the son of the Duke of Arkasakos, and although it was a bit difficult to get hold of, if you leave it together, the relatives will make a fuss on their own."
"... you're pretty well prepared."
Kreschenta smiled when Selene said that exasperated.
"Of course, the best thing is to get rid of him but I’m sure Selene-sama and Argan-sama will get in the way. So the next best thing is important."
"Muu..."
"Unya"
Krische pinched Kreschenta’s cheek with some dissatisfaction.
It's sly, she said, as she pulled Kreschenta soft cheek with both hands.
"It makes Krische, who had seriously thought of a compromise, look like a fool."
"Fuefunya, iks fanyi if Onfee-cama krilr hum yui kmuy."
"Killing is on hold for now. Krische has decided to be a good girl for now."
Krische let go of Kreschenta’s cheeks and kissed her on the mouth, looking into Kreschenta’s eyes.
"Krische wants Kreschenta to try to be a good girl too…"
"If we can live with that, it might be a great thing, but we should do what we need to do before we become a good child. Argan-sama's head is a little flower garden. Please don't be affected by her too much."
Glaring at Bery with moist eyes, the red-haired servant just chuckled.
"Well, if you say it's a flower garden, I can't deny it. Maybe it’s as Kreschenta-sama says..."
"... I don't like that relaxed feeling. I'm being sarcastic though――Mugu."
"Krescehnta is really a bad girl. First of all, we need to start with that bad mouth huh."
What does it mean to have a flower garden in your head?
Krische, who had been pondering for a moment, clamped her hand over her sister's mouth and raised her eyebrows slightly.
Kreschenta turned over again, leaned her back on Krische, and took her hand.
"It's a fact after all. Even if I overlook Onee-sama sister to Argan-sama at this time, it's necessary to make efforts so that Argan-sama, whose head is a flower garden, can live safely and securely, right? Please wait until then to corrupt Argan-sama."
Thinking that it was reasonable, Krische thought a little.
Kreschenta hugged Krische again as if to say that she had a good idea.
She was a Queen who had been restless on Krische’s knees since a few minutes ago.
"That's right. If I let Onee-sama become my escort for a while, most of the problems will be solved. Argan-sama will take care of the small things in the mansion, and then I will be a good child."
"Krische doesn't like it because it's troublesome. Krische has a lot of things to do, and Krische wants to cook with Bery."
"Ugh... it's cruel, always Argan-sama, it’s unfair."
Kreschenta, who answered immediately, glared at Berry with sideways glances dissatisfied.
Krische stroked her head and said, for the time being.
"...It can't be helped. Anyway, Krische'll finish Kreschenta’s request by today. Wouldn't it be a little easier then? Really..."
Krische had just returned today, said as if to say that the journey had been difficult, but Krische, who was snuggly in the carriage and clinging to Bery, had no troubles along the way.
Bery, who was listening to the conversation, laughed, and Kreschenta looked up at her sister as if she were troubled.
"I'll stay up and wait until Onee-sama comes home. Please leave it to me."
――Krische recalled the exchange.
Krische put the drawn knife and the letter by his bedside.
She thought it might be a good idea to kill him, as Kreschenta said, but again, that’s not good.
Duke Arkasakos was troublesome――in other words, it took time and effort to oust him from the royal palace. It's not that he couldn’t be handled.
After worrying about it a little, Krische leaves the place.
Just as when she entered, she closed the balcony door and jumped onto the roof and looked around again.
She looked at the back of the men's heads and nodded that there’s no problem, yawned and shivered because of the cold.
Then she lightly made a run-up, flew in the air, then she ran along the roof and lightly ran up the castle wall and headed to the estate.
It did not take her long to finish the work and return.
"K-Krische-sama must have been tired, umm... well, K-Kreschenta-sama really did her best to wait for Krische-sama but..."
Kreschenta was happily curled up in bed snugly asleep.
Krische, who had been battling drowsiness and working in the cold, silently pulled her cheek.
The Queen was fast asleep.
The next morning, screams rang out in Arkasakos' bedroom, and the queen's excuses rang out in the royal estate.
In the capital, a trivial rumor about the sighting of a large bat, a magical beast, dancing in the darkness of the night, was passed on as a funny story.
