A man walked down the corridor, fiddling with his mustache.
This man was Pierro Gotram, the lord of the Gotram territory, holding the title of baron.
Although he managed the Gotram lands, he was not satisfied with just that.
'Finally, the opportunity has arrived'
As a lord on the outskirts, Gotram harbored ambitions, aspiring to succeed and manage a larger territory one day.
Such outskirt lords were so weak that they could hardly stand up to a head of a mercenary guild.
He craved power, but becoming a grand noble was out of reach due to his lacking capabilities.
His solution was to collaborate with the Rebels.
In every crisis, there was an opportunity.
He believed that if the Rebels could overturn the empire, he would be able to seize substantial power for himself.
As the Rebels started to gain traction, Gotram wasted no time in forming an alliance with them.
However, establishing a cooperative relationship didn't immediately bring the opportunity he was hoping for.
Despite his willingness to support the Rebels, his outskirt territory's limited power meant there was little he could do.
But then, the opportunity he was waiting for finally arrived.
A letter from the Rebels.
The message instructed him to capture Jack, the head of the mercenary guild in the Gotram territory.
Reading the letter, Gotram could not help but shout for joy.
He had the chance to get rid of a thorn in his side and aid the Rebels at the same time.
It was a win-win situation.
Without hesitation, he took action.
With the support of the Rebels, he captured Jack and sent a letter back to them.
In response, he received news that someone from the Rebels' headquarters would come to visit.
"Ahem."
Gotram cleared his throat as he entered the room to meet the representative from the Rebels.
Inside, he found a man with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Good day. I am Pierro Gotram, the baron and Lord of Gotram."
He introduced himself, trying to make a good impression.
The man, however, looked at him bluntly without showing any interest.
"I have successfully captured Jack, as you instructed. He is now imprisoned below, ready for you to take him away at any time."
He was really trying his best to make a good impression on the representative.
In contrast, the man from the Rebels' headquarters looked back at him with vacant eyes.
'After all, he is just a commoner.'
Even if he was from the headquarters, he was still a commoner, and he was sure the man would be overwhelmed by the noble treatment.
Gotram clapped his hands, looking towards the door.
Soon, various lavish dishes were brought in.
"The job is done, let’s enjoy ourselves! Even though we are a outskirts territory, we've prepared a lot, knowing that someone from the headquarters would be visiting. Hahahaha!"
Gotram continued to fawn over the man.
All the while, the man from the Rebels' headquarters, Daemon—who could use necromancy—looked at Gotram with disdain.
He frowned, unimpressed by the display in front of him.
'Such a rat.'
He gave off a pathetic, rat-like impression.
Daemon clicked his tongue.
To think that a guy like this holds the title of a Lord.
It was utterly pathetic.
“I don’t need this. I’m staying the night and will take the guy with me tomorrow morning, so make sure you prepare for the transfer.”
“Ah… I will prepare everything to the best of my abilities!”
Lord Gotram’s face almost crumpled at Daemon’s arrogant attitude, but he managed to hide his expression as best as he could.
However, Daemon saw right through him.
Fawning over him to his face, but ready to stab him in the back at any moment.
It made him feel nauseous.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})‘Ha… If it weren’t for Ephomos, I wouldn’t have come here.’
Daemon looked at Baron Gotram and gestured toward the door.
Gotram, looking puzzled, caught his gesture.
Daemon said quietly,
“Get out.”
“…Ah, understood.”
Baron Gotram lowered his head to Daemon’s threatening tone and obediently left the room.
Daemon watched him leave.
“Worthless scum."
To think that this kind of guy is strutting around, calling himself a noble.
If you don’t have ability, you should at least have loyalty.
He betrayed the empire that granted him his noble status and clung to the rebels.
‘Just endure until this is over.’
The rebels had no intention of accepting such men.
They were just pawns to be used and discarded.
When everything was over, they planned to eliminate them all.
Those who had committed crimes would be beheaded, and those who were unnecessary would be expelled.
It was a natural step toward creating a new world.
Daemon brought his hand to his neck.
He lightly pulled out the necklace he was wearing and looked at it.
Hanging from the necklace was a ring, its shine faded.
“...Just wait a little longer.”
Daemon spoke to the ring, his words filled with determination.
"A commoner, how dare he. Argh..."
Lord Gotram, trying to suppress his anger, walked along the corridor.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Although he was part of the rebel leadership, his current status as Baron Gotram held more weight.
He was not pleased about having to speak politely and bow his head to someone else.
"That guy... once all this is over, I might be in a position above him."
Despite the man being a part of the rebel leadership, Gotram had spent more time in the political field.
There was no way that someone with such rude manners could survive in politics.
Even if Gotram might lose in a physical fight, he was confident in the political battles.
"We'll see about that later, whether you secure your position or I secure mine."
With a sinister smile, Baron Gotram moved towards the underground prison.
Although it was infuriating, he knew he had to bow his head to that man for now.
His plan was to nicely wrap up the Mercenary Guild head and hand him over.
While Baron Gotram was thinking about this, a loud explosion came from outside.
Bang!
Simultaneously, screams could be heard.
"What the...?"
Surprised by the sudden noise, Gotram's eyes widened.
A soldier was running towards him from a distance.
"Lord, my Lord!"
"What is going on?"
"Sir, it's an ambush! Some strange guy has entered the mansion!"
"A strange guy?"
Baron Gotram frowned.
Could it be someone coming to save that guy, Jack?
"How many are there?"
"Th... That..."
The soldier hesitated at the lord's question.
"Can't you speak faster?"
"... Just one."
"... What?"
Lord Gotram's annoyance surged upon hearing this.
He was already angry because of the rebel guy, and now a single person has attacked, causing all this commotion.
"Then capture him quickly and throw him into the underground prison! We have soldiers from the central here to support us, don't we?"
He mentioned soldiers from the central as support, but in reality, they were rebels.
Since he couldn't openly bring rebels into his territory, he had made up an excuse for the lower-ranked people.
"Th... Those soldiers are also joining the fight."
"What?"
The rebels were helping too.
Soldiers from the territory were also fighting.
"Then you're saying you've captured him?"
"No, sir! The one who attacked is too strong! We need support right away..."
"But it's just one person! It’s only one person!"
"He... He's a wizard. The soldiers can’t cope with him because he's a wizard! If this continues, the damage could get worse."
"Tch. Then send other soldiers..."
Lord Gotram started to say he would send support but then stopped mid-sentence.
“Is there only one intruder?”
“Uh…”
Upon hearing this, the soldier stopped his speech.
There was only one person confronting them in front of the mansion, but it was uncertain how many more might be present.
“Haha…”
Lord Gotram chuckled as he watched the hesitating soldier.
"Tell them to reinforce the security in the underground prison immediately."
The guy in front of the mansion was a decoy.
Their real intention must be to sneak out Jack from the underground prison.
He had no intention of falling for their trick.
“But, if we strengthen that area, the damages will be…”
As the soldier spoke, Lord Gotram's eyes widened in anger.
“Are you arguing with my orders? Do you have a death wish?”
“…No, I’m not. I’ll go deliver the message right now.”
As the soldier was about to leave, he was stopped.
“Wait a moment.”
Lord Gotram turned his head to look at the soldier.
The soldier looked back at Gotram with a slightly cold expression.
“Is there something you want to say?”
Gotram felt a chilling sensation running down his spine.
'Am I not feeling well?'
However, he didn't think that this feeling was caused by the soldier.
Shaking his head, he spoke.
"Tell the guest in the guest room at the end of the corridor as well. An intruder who intends to capture the criminal has appeared."
Gotram spoke with a smile.
The rebels would be sensitive to any information that Jack might have discovered.
If Jack disappears, it’s the rebels who would be in trouble, not him.
It was certain that he would come help.
He didn’t know the true capabilities of the person in that room, but regardless, it didn’t matter.
If they failed to protect Jack, they could just blame Daemon.
If they succeeded, all the better.
Secretly, Lord Gotram hoped that Daemon would suffer a great blow.
“Understood…”
After responding, the soldier started to run out of sight.
Lord Gotram watched him leave with a sinister smile.
‘I’ll just hide somewhere else and show up after everything is over. After all, their target is Jack.’
With that thought, Lord Gotram looked for a place to hide and walked away.
As Lord Gotram disappeared, the soldier, who had received orders from him, was moving quickly.
The soldier ran down the corridor, then stopped to look around.
Confirming that no one was around, he slowed his pace.
The soldier stopped, looked at the place where Lord Gotram had disappeared, and smirked.
“…What an idiot.”
As the soldier muttered to himself, his appearance gradually changed, and he transformed into a blonde woman.
A blonde woman in a robe.
It was Rie.
The illusion magic that Luna had cast had worn off, and she had returned to her original form.
"Why is Astina taking so long to get things started?"
Her illusion almost reverted in front of the Lord.
Rie looked outside the window with an annoyed expression.
Outside, Astina, clad in a robe and wearing a mask, was visible.
She was dealing with the soldiers using basic magic.
“More importantly, there is a guest…”
Rie didn't know who the guest was, but she suspected it might be someone from the Rebels.
Looking outside, she saw some soldiers who didn't belong to the territory.
These soldiers, dressed more shabbily than those from the territory, were however, performing better in battle.
The lord claimed they were from central, but just by their clothes, it was clear that these weren’t soldiers from the central forces.
From that, she thought the guest might be someone from the Rebels leading those soldiers.
‘First, I should join up with Rudy.’
Rie turned around and started running toward the underground prison, a smile playing on her lips.
