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Chapter 8
The reporter rolled his eyes and said,
“It should be fine, right?”
“I guess so?”
Even though they knew it was risky, they couldn’t resist their curiosity. In the end, the reporters decided to publish the question in the advice column.
And on the day the question was published, everyone who had ever held a weapon became excited.
“This is obviously aimed at someone!”
“No, there are still three Swordmasters. It might not be about that person.”
“But this is a newspaper from the Empire! More importantly, look at the condition. It says an ordinary woman.”
“Then she can’t win. Even if you gathered a whole unit of properly trained knights, they still couldn’t defeat a Swordmaster.”
“Not if she fought normally!”
But what if it wasn’t a fair fight?
One man carefully offered an idea.
“What about using poison?”
Another person, who had been reading the newspaper beside him, joined the conversation.
He eagerly shared his opinion.
“I’ve heard that once someone becomes a Swordmaster, they also become highly resistant to poison. Besides, the real problem is getting them to take it. Look here—it says she’s ordinary. That means her appearance and everything else are ordinary too. How would someone like that even get close to a Swordmaster?”
“What if she’s actually a beauty who only thinks she’s ordinary?”
“You mean using her looks? That seems a little far-fetched. Then again… maybe a Swordmaster likes ordinary women.”
“That could be true.”
People gathered in small groups and discussed the question seriously.
Hidden weapons.
Poison.
Overwhelming numbers.
Every possible method was suggested.
Some people even wrote down their ideas and mailed them to the newspaper.
Once again, the reporter couldn’t resist temptation.
He published those answers exactly as they were.
Kite never read newspapers or magazines.
He also paid no attention to gossip in noble society.
He believed it was a waste of time since he already knew what people would say about him.
Because of that, his vice commander, Seren, gathered the important information, summarized it, and reported it to him.
“I still think you should hire a personal aide.”
“But people who spend all day with books are too weak-minded.”
The problem wasn’t that they were weak.
It was simply that Kite was too extreme.
But Seren didn’t point that out.
He had stayed beside Kite since childhood.
He knew why Kite was like this.
The endless insomnia.
His inability to trust anyone.
Both had been caused by people who were now long dead.
They were Kali, Kite’s older brother and the father of the current Emperor…
And Saraen, Kite’s mother.
Lost in thought for a moment, Seren suddenly noticed someone looking at him.
He looked up.
Kite was watching him with calm eyes, as if he already knew exactly what Seren had been thinking.
Only then did Seren continue.
“A rather unusual question appeared in the newspaper’s advice column this time.”
“An unusual question?”
“How can an ordinary woman defeat a Swordmaster?”
After hearing the question exactly as Seren remembered it, Kite crossed his legs and let out a laugh of disbelief.
“Hah.”
“I believe it’s directed at you, Lord Kite. The other two Swordmasters aren’t from the Empire.”
“So let’s say it is. But why is the question like this? An ordinary woman?”
What reason would an ordinary woman ever have to challenge a Swordmaster?
And more importantly…
What exactly counted as “ordinary”?
There were quite a few women who hated Kite.
But there was no way to know which one this question referred to.
The word ordinary could describe far too many people.
Then again…
Could it be the same person who had been secretly following Kite lately?
Too many suspicious things had happened recently.
It continued to bother him.
Seren seemed unaware of the stalker, but he had investigated the matter anyway.
“Because of that, I traced the letters sent to the newspaper. Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify the sender. The letter was definitely mailed within the Empire, but it was posted anonymously from the outskirts. I’ll need more time to find them.”
If anyone could find the sender, it was Seren.
He only needed enough time.
So Kite wasn’t worried about that.
What interested him more…
Was the answer chosen by the newspaper.
“So, which answer did they select?”
“…It’s rather inappropriate. I don’t think you should hear it.”
“Bring me the newspaper.”
Seren was being overly considerate.
Kite had long since stopped being hurt by things like this.
After hesitating for a moment, Seren handed him the newspaper containing the article.
The answer really was as improper as Seren had said.
It listed one brutal method after another.
It almost treated Kite like some gigantic monster.
‘What a ridiculous story.’
Even if someone actually tried those methods…
They still wouldn’t be able to defeat Kite.
Many people had attempted similar things before.
Not a single one had succeeded.
Kite calmly crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
He had already lost interest in the article.
Noticing that, Seren changed the subject.
He began discussing the Knights Order’s upcoming monster subjugation mission.
Evelyn was reading today’s issue of Kas newspaper.
Her question had been published.
So had the readers’ answers.
“This is a little excessive.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, Evelyn clicked her tongue.
Grand Duke Gracias was still a human being.
The suggested methods were far too violent.
Still…
Reading them gave her an idea.
She neatly folded the newspaper and went down into the basement.
The basement was filled with countless items.
Among them…
Were bullets.
It seemed her grandfather had preferred guns when he was young.
That explained why he had never been very skilled with a sword.
Every box of bullets was neatly labeled.
[Sleep]
[Knockout]
[Explosion]
[Poison]
[Ice]
There were ordinary bullets as well.
But the special bullets greatly outnumbered them.
Each one had been enchanted with magic and contained mysterious power.
Even better…
They were all the exact size needed for Evelyn’s gun.
“These must be expensive.”
Even though she had grown up in the countryside, she still understood prices.
Guns were expensive.
They were difficult to use.
Bullets were also costly.
And these bullets had already been specially crafted…
Then enchanted with magic afterward.
That meant they were priceless.
“And there are this many of them.”
Her grandfather had actually been incredibly wealthy.
If the relatives who had taken over his country house and property ever learned about this place…
Their eyes would probably pop out.
Once again, Evelyn wondered…
Who exactly was Grandfather?
She had asked herself that countless times since moving into this house.
But she still had no answer.
Evelyn loaded new bullets into her gun.
There wasn’t much time left until the Emperor’s birthday celebration.
It was finally time to act.
Everything else was ready.
Now…
She only had to bring back her benefactor.
“I’m sorry.”
Even though everything she was doing was meant to save him…
She still felt guilty.
After that, Evelyn followed her carefully prepared plan.
She quietly waited on the roof of a house overlooking a narrow alley.
Before long…
Kite appeared.
He was walking alone along a route that Evelyn already knew well.
It seemed he had read the newspaper.
Even if he hadn’t…
His vice commander, Seren, would certainly have tried to track down whoever had sent the question.
But finding the sender wouldn’t have been easy.
Evelyn had disguised herself thoroughly before mailing it.
‘And my benefactor has a habit of visiting information brokers whenever information becomes difficult to obtain.’
It was rather unfortunate for the information brokers, who nearly fainted whenever they heard Kite’s name.
Still…
Since Kite visited different ones in turn…
He probably wouldn’t meet the same broker very often.
Whether that was any comfort or not…
Evelyn didn’t know.
Holding her breath, she waited.
The moment Kite entered her sight…
She pulled the trigger.
She fully expected him to dodge or block the first shot.
Just as she predicted…
Kite instantly drew his sword and knocked the bullet away.
But then came the second shot.
The third.
More shots followed, fired with carefully timed delays.
‘Will this actually work?’
A Swordmaster’s defense was extraordinary.
They constantly surrounded their body with overflowing aura.
But unexpectedly…
The bullets worked exactly as intended.
