RFMH 09

Chapter 09

As if it had been waiting for that moment, the darkness rippled and then gathered in an instant at Cleora’s feet. When it vanished, a space was revealed.

“Good. It doesn’t seem to be seriously damaged.”

Inside was an unimaginable amount of gold. This was the Eisenwald family’s secret vault, a place only those of the direct line were permitted to enter.
At the same time, it was where the spoils Eisenwald had claimed throughout centuries of war were gathered.

Gold coins from kingdoms that no longer existed. National treasures from other countries.
Works of art believed to have been lost in wars, and extravagant luxuries of royal families. A treasure trove lacking for nothing.

It was a quantity so overwhelming that anyone else would have stood there gaping, but Cleora felt little emotion at the sight.
She knew that the Eisenwald family possessed more than just this one secret vault.

The one she had mentioned to the current head, Eanok, was the core vault; the others were comparatively small.
Having seen all of them, this one only felt slightly disappointing to her.

Of course, even this alone could somewhat correct the problems Eisenwald was currently facing.

“So… what should I do?”

Cleora crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly.

If this place was intact, that meant the others were intact as well.
And if that was the case, restoring Eisenwald to its former position wouldn’t be particularly difficult. Still, was it really right to take this out?

To be blunt, if she showed this, they would probably believe—at least to some extent—that she truly was Cleora herself. But doubts would still remain, and they might even try to coerce her with ulterior motives.

The Eisenwald of today was not the same family it had been seventy years ago, when Cleora had been the head.
It was feeble and fragile, a declining house that possessed nothing but the ducal title and the glory of the past.

Would pouring money into a place like this really be medicine—or poison?

Cleora brushed her hair back and turned her head.

“That depends on them.”

The click of Cleora’s tongue echoed through the silent underground chamber.

“Are we really doing this?”
“We have to.”

The five commissioned knights who had been thoroughly chewed out by Cleora were gathered in a room, whispering darkly.

Recently, no matter where they went, shadows kept following them around. The knights felt as though they might die of stress if this continued.

“But… what if we get caught?”
“Even if we do, what’s the big deal? She’s just a pathetic commoner. She thinks handling one strange trick makes her special, but it’s nothing.”
“Still…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

The brown-eyed man, the apparent leader of the group, curled his lips into a confident grin.

The other knights looked at their friend with unease, but since he had already made up his mind, all they could do was sigh deeply.

“Let’s go. Everything’s ready.”
“Already?”
“I’m not mentally prepared yet…”
“Prepared for what? Just follow me. I’ll handle it.”

The man spoke boldly, opened the door first, and went outside.

The remaining knights watched him in silence for a moment, then exchanged glances and cautiously rose to follow him.

“Let’s hear what this is about.”

Eanok looked at those standing neatly lined up before him.

They had paid a fair amount of money and came from respectable families, so Eanok had met and spoken with them a few times before.
Now that these knights had requested a group audience, he had no choice but to receive them, though his expression was far from pleased.

“There’s something we’d like to report.”
“Go on.”
“Not long ago, we experienced something extremely unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant?”

When Eanok frowned, the brown-eyed man nodded vigorously.

“Some insolent child insulted the knight order—right in front of Your Grace.”

That again. Eanok sighed, leaning forward and pressing his fingers to his brow.

“If it’s about that matter, I was planning to summon him separately and issue a warning.”
“That’s a relief, but what I wish to say is that the child possesses a very ominous ability.”
“Ominous ability? What do you mean?”
“We called him over to reprimand him for insulting the knight order. But then the surroundings suddenly grew dark, and he attacked us.”

Eanok’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Since then, whenever we do anything, shadows follow us around. As if we’re being watched.”
“……”
“It feels like some kind of wicked power… We suspect he might be a dark mage. You can’t allow such an ominous child to remain in the castle, can you? We think it would be best if Your Grace investigated him and expelled him.”

Their logic and argument were flawless.

The four men other than the brown-eyed one looked at their friend with admiration.
Their eyes were filled with the expectation that everything would finally be resolved.

Eanok rested his chin on his hand and silently regarded the commissioned knights before letting out a low breath.

“So you’re saying he used shadows.”
“We’re not certain of the details, but it was definitely an ominous power. If you investigate, something is sure to come up.”
“Very well. Thank you for informing me. I’ll look into it.”
“It would be best to deal with it promptly. Then we’ll take our leave.”

The brown-eyed man bowed and turned, exiting the office.

Eanok watched the commissioned knights disappear in silence, then frowned once the door closed.

I’ve really hit rock bottom—listening to tattling from mere commissioned knights.

He wanted to shout at them to get out, but that wasn’t the important part.

“Shadows… huh.”

Eanok rolled his eyes over the reports on his desk and twisted his lips into a faint smile.

“How clichéd, even this time.”

To think the only proof of being of the direct line was shadows.

With a crooked smile, Eanok drew an X over Cleora’s name on the report.
Ironically, it was the moment she grew even farther from being acknowledged as part of the direct line.

“See? I told you this would work.”
“It’s true. He really listened to us.”
“Now we just wait for the duke to lift the curse he put on us, and that’s it.”
“You’re amazing. How is that scary duke so gentle with you? Your merchant group really must be powerful.”

The brown-eyed man puffed up his shoulders, growing even more smug at his friends’ praise.

“Well, yeah. Hey, more importantly, it’s already dark out—how about a drink… huh?”

Still grinning arrogantly, he turned his head and sensed something was wrong.

The corridor they’d been walking through was gone, replaced by nothing but darkness stretching out before them.

The same was true for the other knights.

As the commissioned knights looked around in shock at the sudden darkness, a gentle voice echoed through it.

“My, how could you not even last two days?”

“W-what is this?!”

At the voice rising from below them, the knights jumped in fright and scattered.

In the space they had vacated stood Cleora, smiling brightly, as if she had been there all along.

“I’m sure I warned you. I told you not to let your mouths run wild. Don’t you remember?”
“W-what are you talking about? We didn’t do anything…!”

The brown-eyed man flinched but shouted with as much shamelessness as he could muster. Cleora dropped her smile and looked at him indifferently.

“You didn’t do anything?”
“T-that’s right. Nothing at all…”
“You did nothing, yet you just went into the duke’s office and told him I attacked the knights?”
“Ghk—h-how did you kno—mmph!”

One of the knights gasped and reflexively opened his mouth, only to be silenced by another.

When Cleora tilted her chin as if to say See?, the brown-eyed man’s face went pale.

But only for a moment. As if relying on something, he soon spoke again with a fairly bold expression.

“Y-yes, we said it. Is there a problem? You, a mere commoner, not only insulted Eisenwald’s knights but threatened them with some sinister technique. That’s a crime deserving death without question.”
“Is that so?”
“We’ve already informed His Grace the Duke. You’ll be finished soon enough. So stop this nonsense and beg for your life!”

Cleora silently looked at the brazen brown-eyed man, then slowly smiled.

In the darkness, her blood-red eyes gradually narrowed.

“You’re right. This is my fault.”
“R-right. Good that you admit it.”
“I should have made things more certain from the start. I was too lenient, and this is what you get, don’t you think?”
“W-what…?”
“This time, I’ll make sure of it.”

As Cleora raised her hand, the darkness rippled—and in an instant, it swallowed the knights whole.