Sword Emperor, Becoming the Young Lady of a Viscount House

Chapter 18

Beatrice and her party woke up early in the morning and finished their preparations to head to the capital.

The country village’s cabin was cozy enough, allowing them to get proper rest.

Because of this, everyone’s expressions were relatively fine.

Except for one person.

Beatrice.

Beatrice furrowed her delicate brows and spoke to Lilith.

“Is this all you have?”

“Yes! That’s all we have!”

Lilith was visibly upset, her lips pouting and her hands on her hips.

Despite her repeated warnings, two sets of clothes had already been ruined.

And they were clothes she had washed with great care!

“…Stop getting annoyed at me.”

“My Lady. Didn’t I tell you not to dirty your clothes? And now look at this! Two clean outfits are completely ruined! Oh dear, I can’t take this anymore. Lilith’s back might just break and she’ll die from exhaustion. Washing them is one thing, but drying them will take quite some time. So please, don’t argue and just wear it quietly!”

Beatrice had no words to refute and accepted the clothes with a light cough.

However, she couldn’t help but sigh.

“Am I supposed to go to war in a dress?”

They were running low on spare clothes.

Her riding attire and the comfortable clothes tailored for basic living were meant to be worn for long periods.

Because of this, she hadn’t packed many.

However, she had packed plenty of formal wear and dresses for her arrival in the capital.

Now that two perfectly fine outfits were no longer usable, she had no choice but to wear a dress.

“Um, Miss Arvanceco’s maid?”

Dora, who had been watching the squabble between Beatrice and Lilith, flinched and answered.

“Yes.”

Although she wasn’t a maid but a nanny, she was also performing the role of a maid.

“Could you help me put this dress on the Lady?”

“O-of course.”

Lilith’s face displayed a hint of madness, causing Dora to nod hesitantly.

“Now then, my Lady, come this way.”

“…Alright.”

“It can’t be helped, I suppose…”

Beatrice clicked her tongue and obediently followed Lilith.

As she followed, she resolved to fight more carefully next time to avoid staining her clothes with blood.

“About the Resistance. The ones who attacked you.”

“Yes.”

On the way to the capital.

After a long stretch of silence, Beatrice finally spoke.

She had been deep in thought all this time.

“Are they truly such an impressive group?”

“The bodies have disappeared.”

The corpses they hadn’t even bothered to clean up the previous night.

By morning, the path was spotless, as if someone had taken care of it.

There wouldn’t be any sanitation workers in a rural area like this, especially not during such a short time.

This left only one possibility.

Someone from the knights’ affiliation had acted to erase traces.

The Resistance was a group that didn’t hesitate to commit suicide to cover up information.

This was plausible enough.

Even so, one question lingered in her mind.

“To this extent?”

The Resistance were still citizens of the Kingdom of Krapos.

If a war was breaking out in their own country, what benefit could they gain from assassinating a high-ranking noble?

From Beatrice’s perspective, their actions made no sense.

“They’re not exactly impressive. While they’re not small, they aren’t a large-scale group either.”

“Then how did they manage to ambush your group?”

For an organization capable of attacking the daughter of a duke’s household, they would naturally seem quite significant.

However, Airy shook her head.

“Our group was moving in a minimized formation. The real problem is that they used forbidden sorcery outlawed by international law.”

“Sorcery?”

“An artifact called the ‘Control Orb.’ It’s a dangerous relic from the Age of Magic, capable of restricting not only spirits but even mana. It’s an item heavily regulated worldwide. Mere possession of it results in immediate execution.”

“Such an item wouldn’t be easy to acquire.”

“Exactly. Its manufacturing methods have been long lost. I’d only heard rumors about it before, and this was my first time seeing one.”

“Then it must be rare. How did they manage to obtain it? Judging from what you’ve said, they don’t seem like an exceptionally large organization.”

“That’s what I’m curious about as well.”

“Strange.”

Beatrice sensed an oddity in her conversation with Airy.

No matter how she thought about it, something didn’t add up.

If they were rebels, why would they expend knights and a valuable artifact to target Airy specifically?

“By any chance…”

A thought suddenly crossed Beatrice’s mind.

“This war…”

“Yes?”

“Who is it against?”

“…Pardon?”

Airy looked at her in disbelief.

“…It’s the Kingdom of Central. Beatrice, you didn’t know that?”

“Couldn’t it have been sent by them?”

Beatrice stroked her chin thoughtfully.

Though it was merely a guess, her words carried substantial weight.

If they were rebels, there were far too many strange aspects to the situation.

For instance, they had no justification for targeting Airy Arvanceco.

It was known that the king was in a coma.

Rebels could have justified their existence because of the Crown Prince acting as a regent or dissatisfaction with the recently executed fallen noble family.

But killing Airy?

That didn’t make sense, even less so when expending such significant resources to do it.

She was merely the daughter of a noble and hadn’t yet inherited her title.

Furthermore, with the amount of force used, it would’ve made more sense to wait for the war to start and assassinate the Crown Prince directly.

In other words, killing Airy carried considerable risk while offering little reward.

It was unlikely rebels would take such a foolish action.

…On the other hand.

If they were enemies, the story changed.

“Solid, is Airy considered strong?”

[She’s an Arvanceco. If she carries their bloodline, she couldn’t possibly be weak.]

Killing Airy could potentially provide a strategic advantage in the war.

“…Are you saying the assassins were sent by Central?”

“It seems highly likely.”

Airy’s expression grew serious.

However, she soon shook her head.

“It’s unlikely.”

“Why?”

“Because… they’ve already declared war. If they attack before the agreed-upon time, the Empire won’t sit idly by. That’s something Central would want to avoid.”

Airy’s reasoning made sense.

“…I can’t be sure. No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t seem like the rebels.”

‘I don’t know. Well, it doesn’t matter. Whoever comes, I just need to kill them.’

It was a remarkably simple logic.

[Young Beatrice, you are ignorant. Your ancestors were not like this.]

‘It’s not ignorance; there’s simply no need to worry about it.’

She was confident in her abilities.

Even if they used a Control Orb or whatever it was, it wouldn’t be a problem. Her only weakness was her limited mana pool.

-Clatter.

At that moment, the carriage came to a stop.

Beatrice opened the window and asked.

“What’s going on?”

“We spotted a few goblins and will take care of them. Please wait for a moment.”

Chris lowered his head slightly as he spoke.

“Goblins?”

‘So magical beasts are the same everywhere.’

The familiar name brought a smile to Beatrice’s face.

“This is perfect. I’ve been feeling stiff.”

Without hesitation, she grabbed her sword and stepped out of the carriage.

“My Lady!”

Cries of alarm from those around her echoed in the air.

* * *

“Your Highness, here is a letter reporting that all 67 nobles have arrived in the capital.”

“That was fast.”

Luel smirked.

Though they had sent mediocre representatives, at least they were quick to assemble.

“The preparations?”

“We’ve converted the residence of Count Tori.”

The estate belonged to a noble family that had fallen due to the rebellion.

The upcoming wartime training was scheduled to take place there.

“Has Arvanceco arrived? I heard there was an attack.”

“Yes. She arrived together with the Cenci Family.”

“With the Cenci Family? I suppose they met on the way. Is Airy unharmed?”

Airy Arvanceco.

Despite her young age, she was a brilliant mage.

Even setting aside her status as a noblewoman, she was a key figure in the upcoming war.

It would have been disastrous if she had been injured.

He had been deeply alarmed upon hearing reports of the attack.

“Yes, she is unharmed.”

“That’s a relief. Have the attackers been identified?”

This was wartime.

It wasn’t a matter that could be easily overlooked under normal circumstances, let alone during a war.

As soon as Luel heard of the attack, he had issued an order to identify the culprits without fail.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…Surely you haven’t failed to identify them yet?”

Luel’s gaze hardened, turning icy.

“That’s correct. We haven’t found any traces. Not even bodies or signs of a battle.”

“Are you saying Airy lied?”

The aide only bowed his head in silence.

“No, Your Highness. The enemy was simply thorough. Lady Arvanceco would never lie. This is my failure.”

Luel took a slow, steady breath.

Getting worked up wouldn’t change anything.

That was something Luel knew better than anyone. He calmed himself and spoke.

“It’s likely the rebels.”

“…That is plausible. However, there’s something peculiar.”

“The Control Orb, you mean?”

The Control Orb.

A relic from the Age of Magic, it was an artifact so dangerous that its mere use marked one as a traitor.

According to Airy’s letter, the attackers had used this forbidden item.

“Yes. It’s unclear how the rebels could have obtained it. After all…”

“If they had it, they would have used it long ago.”

There was a reason the Control Orb was considered taboo.

In the current era, humanity relied entirely on mana—particularly spirits.

Luel mused that if the rebels had possessed the artifact, he would already be dead.

“Indeed.”

“Are there any suspects?”

“…We should consider the possibility of another group’s involvement. However, it seems unlikely.”

“Another group… You’re not suggesting…”

Luel’s complexion paled.

“Don’t say such ominous things!”

Merely mentioning it felt like a bad omen.

Luel frowned as if he had just heard something utterly distasteful.

“How could ‘they’ possibly be in our kingdom? They have neither reason nor purpose to be here.”

“I apologize. It’s just… the use of the Control Orb made me wonder.”

“No. That would be an excessive assumption. They reside within the Empire, not here.”

The aide said nothing and bowed deeply.

After a brief silence.

Luel sighed and rose from his seat.

Even if unexpected events had occurred, he couldn’t neglect his prearranged duties.

“Sebastian.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The aide, Sebastian, knelt on one knee.

Once again, Luel issued a royal command.

“Summon the Royal Faction nobles to the western palace and the Aristocratic Faction nobles to the eastern palace.”

“Yes. Shall I proceed with the plan and greet the Royal Faction nobles myself?”

“Yes. I will handle the eastern palace. You know what you must do, don’t you?”

“Of course. You instructed me to explain the plan in detail to the Royal Faction nobles.”

Luel spoke in a cold tone.

“Explain it well. The days ahead will be exhausting.”