AWDC Chapter 85

I told Elliott and Richter about the attack.

“Have you figured out who the assailant was?” Richter asked Elliott.

“Thanks to Toma making it look like the assailants killed each other, the investigation is proceeding without any connection to Toma.

We thoroughly examined the bodies, but there was nothing to indicate their identities. Their clothes were cheap, and their swords and shields were not masterpieces, so we couldn’t trace their origins from there.

So, we made it known that people were found dead after a brawl on the Mulan Riverbank, and asked if anyone had any idea who they were.”

“Do you think that will make the masterminds appear?”

“Of course, they won’t announce themselves. But the masterminds won’t believe that their subordinates fought and killed each other. I don’t know how far the attack plan went, but they’ll immediately realize that they tried to attack Toma and were killed instead. I thought that would trigger some kind of response.”

“And there was no response?”

“Yeah, we had a net around the Lamina family’s surroundings, but we didn’t see any unusual movements.”

We all shared the common understanding that the masterminds behind this were Earl Lamina and Queen Mother Margarita. But questions remained.

“I thought so. It’s hard to catch their tail.”

“But I thought the families of the deceased might be different. Their clothes were cheap, but their hair and beards were neat, and their skin wasn’t covered in dirt. In other words, they seemed to have a certain amount of income. If that’s the case, they must have families. If their relatives don’t come home for a long time, they’ll be worried. If they knew that people were killed in the capital, I thought they would definitely come forward.”

“But no one came forward, right? Does that mean they carefully selected the attackers and only chose those without families?”

“Six people died. There’s no way families near the capital wouldn’t hear about the commotion. I doubt the Lamina family living in the capital could pull that off.”

“In that case, it seems safe to assume that someone other than the Lamina family is involved.”

“Could Solveny and Coleman be making any suspicious moves other than the Lamina family?” Richter said.

Having lived in the capital for so long, I had become acquainted with most of the nobles.

However, both my wife and I kept our interactions with the nobility to a bare minimum.

I didn’t know the customs of the nobility, which was convenient for me, but I once asked Margarita if she was dissatisfied.

“Don’t you find it boring that you don’t go to balls much since you came to the capital?”

“I’m not a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl. I have no interest in balls. I feel so much more relaxed with you and the children.”

I’m really grateful that my wife is so understanding. However, it’s true that my personal relationships with the nobility were weak because of this.

I didn’t know Solveny or Coleman’s personalities very well.

“Marquis Solveny speaks actively at meetings, but what kind of person is Earl Coleman?”

“Coleman has territory near the Mandleuk Peninsula, but it’s not very rich. That’s why he’s ambitious and moves around a lot in the capital. He’s quite the schemer.

He could probably set up the unknown attackers this time,” Richter told me.

“And I’m concerned about Hofa’s movements.”

“That priest is doing something sneaky behind the palace’s back?” Elliott clicked his tongue. By this time, we had learned about Hofa’s affair.

The information that Hofa disappeared from a corner of the town came from the people at Ladapole’s house. He had become one of the most successful merchants in the capital. He made a lot of money selling paper and axles, and was trying to obtain a lot of information.

When I asked him to gather information about Hofa, he told me that Hofa had suddenly disappeared from a street corner on the north side of the palace. And at the same time as Hofa’s disappearance, the Queen Mother, who had been so flamboyant and held flower viewings and tea parties all over the palace, also disappeared. The meaning of this was clear.

“It would be fine if he was just spending all his time in the harem, but it seems he’s also messing with the nobles.”

“We’ve been in control of the government for so long, so there must be people who don’t like it,”

“It’s not that fun to be in control of the government,” I said, agreeing with them.

We didn’t move the government because we wanted to. We had to make immediate decisions to rebuild the capital quickly.

That also meant increasing the number of nobles who couldn’t interfere in politics. It seemed that Hofa was fueling that discontent behind the scenes.

“We’ve been very accommodating to that priest. Is he still dissatisfied?”

“Gregg, you opposed the work with the Belgar country last year, right? There’s someone with roots in that.”

The neighboring country of Belgar was in turmoil, as if replacing our country. Belgar was weakened by the war with our country 50 years ago, and in recent years, its politics had been disrupted by succession problems.

Some people suggested invading Belgar at this time. Even Prince Raphael was interested, and there were many supporters. But Gregg rejected it.

“Don’t be ridiculous, think about how many soldiers it would take to attack Belgar. Think about the war expenses.” Gregg’s words put an end to the talk of invading Belgar.

“Are there still people bringing up that story?” Elliott looked displeased.

“Wouldn’t Hofa consider it?” Richter retorted.

It was obvious that Hofa intended to increase the power of the church he belonged to.

“He probably wants to extend the power of his church to other countries.”

“Priests are so greedy,” Elliott said irritably.

“It’s not good to assume that Hofa is the mastermind, but we need to be vigilant,” Richter said realistically.

We couldn’t grasp who was behind this incident, and focusing too much on it seemed like falling into the enemy’s trap.

There was no doubt that an enemy whose identity we didn’t know was plotting something.

“From now on, let’s be thorough in ensuring our personal safety. If any one of us three falls here, the other two will also collapse.

We three must unite and confront the enemy.” We shared common interests, and all three of us had established a relationship of trust.

“Since we don’t know the identity of the enemy, there is uncertainty about our personal safety in the capital.

Each of us should prioritize our personal safety if an unexpected event occurs in the capital.

We should be prepared to abandon our assets in the capital and run away quickly.”

With that, Elliott concluded.