Neighborhood Visitor (7)

“Do you like it?”

“Of course.”

Ricardo nodded. Rieden gave a faint smile. A man who, even in his 50s, was still fond of pleasures.

It made dealing with him easier.

“Then, could you take care of this?”

Rieden took a vial out from his pocket. Of course, it wasn’t the brain-destroying drug. This was a deadly poison. It didn’t just destroy the brain. If ingested, it would kill without a sound.

It was easier to make than the brain-destroying drug, so it was used often.

“This drug has a slightly bitter taste. It’s not suitable as a poison. A good poison is colorless, odorless, and undetectable – a true work of art.”

“How… do we use it?”

Ricardo asked, puzzled. Rieden just kept smiling.

“As soon as they taste the bitterness, they die. That’s how deadly it is. I’d like you to give it as a gift to that baron or whatever he is at your lord’s castle.”

He’d checked in the capital, and they said the Emperor suddenly sent a rural noble directly under his command.

The dukes said he was just playing in the back rooms and that Dedran City, which was originally directly under the Emperor, seemed likely to be transferred to a duke, so they hastily sent down any noble.

Without knowing the situation in Dedran City.

It was just a desperate move to avoid losing a direct domain, so the noble who had been pouring money to make them run away sent a message to continue as usual.

Then there’s no need to hesitate.

He will die in Dedran City.

“The poison is bitter, but unlike common poisons. They won’t know it was poison, so just treat it as sudden death. It’s a shame for a young person to die early.”

It’s been a few days since I came here.

Currently, I’m zoning out in the office.

Knock, knock, knock-!

At the sound of knocking, I turned my head. Since I was appointed, I had been doing absolutely nothing. Pretending to dislike doing anything more. I was just waiting. The normalization of Dedran City would start after eliminating Rieden and his group.

“Come in.”

As I answered, pretending to be Baron Ivolk, a gray-haired man entered. He was Ricardo, the steward who had managed the Lord’s castle in Dedran City for generations.

“Is there anything uncomfortable for you?”

The steward asked with a kind smile. Of course, there was nothing uncomfortable. Even if there was, it didn’t matter.

I wasn’t going to stay long anyway.

But this man.

During Count Dedran’s arrest, he had severe conflicts, such as being beaten by the Count, so he wasn’t sent to the capital like other nobles.

Since then, he had continued his duties as a steward, as if he had some backing.

Even for the administrators after Count Dedran.

When I asked Berna, she said he had been very sinister since childhood, just like Count Dedran.

There were even shameless stories that he had tried to touch her and her sister, whom Count Dedran considered tools.

Isn’t he a madman?

I wonder why he wasn’t taken in along with Count Dedran.

My goal back then was to deal with Count Dedran, so I didn’t pay attention to what happened to the others.

Ricardo kept grinning in front of me. Knowing his background made it just disgusting.

“There’s nothing particularly uncomfortable.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Ricardo nodded and placed a tray with tea and snacks in front of me.

“I’ve prepared tea. It’s a specialty from the Southern Kingdom, known for its unique fragrance. And the snacks are also top quality.”

“Is that so? Thank you. Leave it there and go.”

Ricardo started to look a bit disappointed. When our eyes met, he soon took the tray and left.

But I didn’t miss it.

He kept glancing at the teacup.

What is this?

“What is this?”

Rurin, who had been dozing off by the window, sniffed and approached. Rurin’s nose, reacting to food, was top-notch.

Voices came from inside the room. It was possible because the door was slightly open.

“Wake up, it’s almost night and you’re still like that.”

“You wake up too. I’m always like this.”

Listening to the voices, Ricardo bit his nails. He thought they should hurry up and drink the tea and die or eat the snacks and die, instead of teasing him.

“That smells good!”

“Really? Want to drink it?”

Finally!

Ricardo cheered silently from in front of the door. A voice offering the tea. Very desirable. Those who need to die should die quickly.

“But it’s annoying because that guy brought it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like him.”

The woman’s voice was heard again. Saying she didn’t like him made Ricardo’s anger rise to the top of his head.

How dare she evaluate me?

Those trashy things. Ricardo spat on the floor.

He didn’t like the couple from the beginning.

“Well, it smells good.”

The man seemed to have taken the tea first, making a sipping sound.

“Ugh, it’s bitter. Only the smell is good? Does the Southern Kingdom have tea like this?”

“It’s bitter? Then I won’t drink it. I hate bitter things.”

Crunch.

Then the sound of biting into the snacks was heard.

Pfft!

Ptooey! Ptooey!

“Th-this is bitter too! That guy I don’t like! Making even the food bitter, he really needs to die. It’s too bitter! What do we do? My mouth is numb. Waaah! It’s annoying!”

A whining voice.

But it was strange.

Rieden said they would die as soon as they tasted the bitterness.

But both of them just commented on the bitterness and didn’t die. Surprised, Ricardo unknowingly opened the door.

The teacup was clearly empty, and the office floor was dirty with the snacks spat out by the woman.

Even now, she was spitting and stomping her feet. It was pure fuss.

Was the amount insufficient?

That couldn’t be.

Rieden said even a little would kill them. He had used the entire vial.

It was baffling.

There was no way for Ricardo to know that El’s Dragon Heart and Rurin being a dragon made them immune to poison.

The headquarters of Merhin, an underground organization in the southern part of the Empire, recently moved to Dedran. Merhin is a secret group of assassins, mainly carrying out high-profile assassinations and handling shady tasks for nobles.

Mekan, the head of Merhin, had recently formed a close relationship with Rieden.

“Hmm. So, the two of you planned to rob the safe and run away?”

“Please, spare us, Chief! There’s a reason for that! We have reasons!”

Mekan was interrogating two members in the headquarters’ warehouse. A very typical scene.

Mekan stood up as if he didn’t need to hear more.

“It’s true! My son, my son is sick! Chief!”

“Oh, then what about you?”

Mekan pointed to the man who had been begging for his life the whole time.

“I felt sorry for him…”

“Hahaha, look at these guys? The safe of Merhin is my safe. You try to steal my money and then spout that nonsense? Is that the end? Is it?”

Mekan flicked the foreheads of the kneeling men with his fingers. Subordinates touching his things.

There was no need to watch any longer. The thing Mekan couldn’t tolerate most was touching his possessions.

“Bury them both.”

Mekan finally told his other subordinates and stood up. As the head of a large assassination organization, his swordsmanship was naturally quite impressive.

“You’re doing something interesting.”

A man appeared in such a warehouse.

It was Rieden and his right-hand man, Berneto.

“Oh, Rieden, what brings you here?”

“I have a small favor to ask.”

“Is that so? Then come in.”

“No, before that… you were doing something interesting. Can I interfere a little?”

Rieden asked with a peculiar smile. Mekan couldn’t refuse Rieden’s request because Rieden’s skills were exceptional. The recent influx of money into Merhin was thanks to this man.

Moreover, Rieden’s skills were comparable to his own, and Mekan thought this alliance should be maintained for a while, so he nodded.

“Do as you please.”

After hearing the answer, Rieden approached the two kneeling men.

“I have an interesting game. You might be able to live.”

Rieden grinned and took out two daggers from his pocket, tossing them in front of the two men.

Then he squatted down and picked up one of the daggers.

He drove the dagger into the ground. The blade retracted into the hilt.

“One of these has a fake blade. I’ll give them to you, so stab each other. One of you might live. If you just stay here, you’ll both be buried and die, but now you have a chance to live. Isn’t it a good gamble?”

Rieden stood up again with the dagger, mixed them in his pocket, and then threw them back in front of the two men.

The two men looked at each other. Rieden turned his gaze from them to Mekan and asked.

“The two of them touched the safe to help each other, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Very insolent. They could have just asked for more work. It’s betrayal and treason.”

“Hehe, wouldn’t it be fine to let one live? The sight of men who tried to help each other now trying to kill each other. Isn’t it delightful?”

Rieden spoke with a sinister smile, and Mekan nodded.

“Oh, I see.”

Because that sadistic idea appealed to Mekan’s taste as well.

“Look over there.”

The two men were already holding the daggers and glaring at each other.

“Finish it in one blow. You have to stab with all your strength in a vital spot. Only then will I let one live.”

Rieden spoke again.

The two men shouted at Mekan.

“Th-then will you really let us live?”

“Well, that’s the deal, so yes.”

As Mekan answered, the two men glared at each other again. The camaraderie was gone from their eyes.

“Brother, are we doing this?”

“Shut up…! If you hadn’t said it was a perfect plan in the first place!”

Anyway, both were assassins. They knew the vital spots to kill their opponent in one strike better than anyone.

The two men glared at each other and stabbed the daggers into each other’s hearts.

Blood spurted out.

Neither of them survived.

Surprisingly, blood flowed from both of their chests.

“You, you bastard…!”

Thud.

The two men fell simultaneously.

Seeing this, Rieden started laughing loudly.

“Oh? When did you switch them?”

Even Mekan opened his mouth in surprise.

Then he suddenly realized. When Rieden stood up to mix the fake dagger, he had thrown two real daggers in front of them.

“Hahaha, as expected of you, Rieden. I’m still an amateur.”

“Why such praise? The sight of hope for life rising and then dying is truly enjoyable, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. It’s enjoyable. Hahaha!”

The two men laughed like that as they returned to the headquarters building.

As soon as he sat down, the impatient Mekan started asking questions.

“Of course, you didn’t come all this way just for such entertainment. What brings you here?”

“A new Lord Deputy has arrived.”

“Oh, again? That’s really tiresome.”

“It’s not the count I wanted, but someone else suddenly changed. This time, to show them an example…”

Rieden made a gesture of slitting his throat. Mekan immediately understood and nodded.

“What kind of person is he?”

“Nothing special. We investigated through various channels, and they say he’s just a country baron. They say it’s the Emperor’s whim, but if this guy is gone, things will go as I planned…”

“That’s not difficult. A baron without a knight order isn’t a hard target. Hehehe.”

“However, he’s still a noble, so please handle it with surety. I tried using poison first, but that steward failed miserably. It looks like he might have spilled the poison on the floor, but instead of admitting his mistake, he just made excuses. Tsk tsk.”

“Understood. I’ll send my second-in-command. His skills are assured. He’s known as Merhin’s number two.”

At Mekan’s words, Rieden stood up with a satisfied smile.