Tessen (4)

“Did you kill him?”

The man at the far end of the table asked again, not allowing Alicia a chance to escape this time.

Alicia’s thoughts split in two directions.

One was that Reichardt had heard her muttering to herself.

How did he hear such a small whisper, one even the person next to her wouldn’t catch?

She couldn’t understand it, but judging from his words, he clearly had.

Come to think of it, Reichardt had heard things from absurd distances before.

The other was the relationship between the assassin and Baron Greitz.

The world gossiped negatively about marrying the Grand Duke of Tessen.

However, there were countless families eager to become the Grand Duchess’s in-laws.

There was no particular grudge between Alicia and Baron Greitz.

At least Alicia was certain she held no resentment toward the Greitz family.

But the baron’s view was likely different.

He probably sent the assassin to remove the obstacle in the way of placing his daughter in the Grand Duchess’s seat.

Then again, it was Alicia who had first disrupted the baron’s plans and taken the position.

Also, although she’d never considered it deeply before, both the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess roles were dangerous.

An assassin could enter the house at any time.

“Alicia.”

Reichardt called out to the silently pondering Alicia.

“Not yet.”

Alicia finished her thoughts and opened her mouth.

There was no use denying things now.

Unnecessary arguments were a waste of time.

The issue wasn’t the baseless accusation itself but how to respond to it.

She considered how best to talk about the assassin and the Greitz family.

It was annoying to have to explain something she hadn’t done.

“Very well.”

Reichardt said lightly as he poured tea into his cup.

Very well?

Alicia blinked, unable to read his intent.

Reichardt sipped his tea and offered some to Alicia.

She followed his lead and drank the tea but didn’t let her guard down, puzzled by what he meant.

“…….”

Reichardt spoke with his lips still touching the teacup.

“First, let’s dispose of the evidence. I’ll assign you a cleaner. If more troublesome guests come, don’t deal with them immediately like this. If it’s urgent, killing them is fine, but don’t bother burying them yourself. Digging them back up is more of a hassle.”

Alicia stifled a cough.

Even if it was an assassin, treating a person like garbage left her speechless.

His calm voice carried not the slightest hint of emotion.

“A cleaner?”

“They’re all quite capable.”

Reichardt answered her question diligently.

She had meant to ask if “cleaner” was someone who handled corpses, but didn’t have the nerve to ask again.

Reichardt’s face showed genuine pride in the capable cleaners.

He also seemed to take for granted that Alicia had disarmed the intruder.

“…Right.”

Alicia sipped her tea and murmured a short reply.

Saying something like “I’ll look forward to seeing how capable they are,” or “Impressive to have cleaners,” felt like going too far.

“It’s been quiet so far, but incidents like this will happen more often. The benefits given to the prospective Grand Duchess are greater than expected. Why not gradually bolster the guards at Lilizet Villa?”

Alicia set down her teacup at Reichardt’s words.

He clearly didn’t believe anything the butler of Baron Greitz had said.

“You knew an assassin came in?”

“Sometimes baseless accusations or reports turn out to be true. I heard about the assassin.”

Alicia remembered Reichardt’s strange hearing ability she had momentarily forgotten.

“How… did you hear that?”

Reichardt lowered his teacup and gave a faint smile.

“I just did.”

Before Alicia could ask more, Reichardt pressed a bell on the wall.

Before long, the reception room door opened, and a cabinet wall concealing a secret passage swung aside.

“Did you call?”

Henrik spoke from beyond the passage.

“Assign Juan to guard the lady. There’s cleanup needed at Lilizet—tell him to prepare before heading over.”

“Then what about contacting Baron Greitz?”

Reichardt made a face that asked if he really had to answer that.

Alicia, having listened to the conversation, cleared her throat.

“Your Grace.”

“Speak.”

“Do we really have to kill the guest?”

“No. But is there any particular reason to keep him alive?”

“I don’t think there’s any need to personally take a life.”

Reichardt nodded at Alicia’s words.

“Handle it as you see fit.”

Henrik, who had heard the whole conversation, brought Juan.

Alicia and Juan had grown familiar while hunting together in the western forest, and spoke casually.

Juan asked whether she would dine first or return directly to the villa.

Alicia remembered Reichardt’s instruction to dispose of the evidence.

When she said she’d return, Juan followed her as if they were just out on an outing.

On the way from Tessen’s main castle to Lilizet Villa, Juan didn’t stay close to Alicia at all.

He didn’t look like a special escort or a cleaner of any kind.

He didn’t even ride a horse.

Juan chatted endlessly beside the coachman.

Even in front of Lilizet’s main gate, he stayed on the driver’s seat and didn’t speak to any soldiers.

He rode all the way into the estate without stepping down.

When Alicia alighted from the carriage, he finally approached and said abruptly:

“Lady Alicia, the cleaners will arrive within 40 minutes.”

“Forty minutes?”

It was still bright daylight.

She thought such things would be handled under cover of darkness.

Even if the person to be disposed of was a vile assassin, it felt wrong to make it so blatant.

“I’ll clear out the northern stables of the villa. The body needs to be moved there—would you like my help, or…?”

“It’s close by. I’ll do it myself.”

“Then I’ll wait at the northern stables.”

Juan still seemed as relaxed as someone on a casual outing.

Alicia had many questions.

Would it be alright to send away people from the north stables or nearby?

How would the cleaners enter the villa?

Were there any specific preparations she needed to make?

But trusting in the competence Juan had shown in the western forest, she turned away.

Alicia loaded the bound assassin onto a handcart and covered it with a thick cloth.

Though she had prepared everything perfectly in the secret chamber, she still used a rarely traveled passage just in case.

On her way from the building to the northern stables, it was eerily devoid of people.

Juan was waiting in front of the stables.

When he saw the handcart Alicia was pushing, his face broke into a wide grin.

“Excellent work.”

But it was Juan who had truly done excellent work.

On their way to the villa, Juan had instructed the coachman to inspect the carriage and horses.

Thanks to that, the northern stables had been vacated.

He had also warned that the smell from replacing the hay would be intense and advised people to stay away, leaving the area almost deserted.

As he took over the cart, Juan reported the prepared conditions and listened to Alicia’s plan.

Alicia told him the assassin’s name was Bique and showed him the cultist mark he had planted.

The symbol belonged to a once-thriving heretical cult.

They held the horrific belief that killing young boys and girls extended their own lives by the number of lives they took.

Their veneration of young blood had made them notoriously infamous.

The empire was a nation with a strong imperial authority.

The Emperor didn’t keep inquisitors to protect the state religion, but rather to monitor the growth of heretical groups and dismantle them if they became too large.

It wasn’t religion itself that was the problem, but being associated with an inquisitor brought nothing good.

Even the most prestigious noble houses had been wiped out overnight under the scrutiny of a heresy inquisition.

Alicia proposed engraving Bique’s name onto the cultist symbols and leaving them in front of the tribunal.

Juan fell silent for a moment, then praised the plan as brilliant.

He requested that he be the one to inscribe Bique’s name onto the symbols.

While waiting for the cleaners, Juan carefully and artfully carved Bique’s name into each one.

The “cleaners” mentioned by Reichardt and Juan were actual cleaners—stable workers.

They arrived in wagons, one loaded with hay and another with cleaning tools under a covered roof, wearing simple, innocent expressions.

Two of the four were impressively muscular but had average height and friendly faces.

One was tall and slim, with such a plain face that you’d forget it after one glance.

The youthful, medium-height young man was called the youngest, but upon closer observation, he gave all the orders.

“Greetings to the Lady.”

The four cleaners bowed politely and immediately looked for the “trash.”

Alicia thought it was harsh to call a person trash, but said nothing.

Juan showed them the prepared cart and explained in detail how to handle the disposal.

“Wow…”

“Isn’t a quick death with a sword more merciful?”

“What a truly cruel person.”

“Being tortured by a heresy inquisitor? Biting one’s tongue and dying sounds like the peaceful way out.”

Each cleaner commented after hearing the plan.

Despite their remarks, they didn’t stop wrapping the assassin—already bundled in a large sack—with an additional layer of straw sacks.

Noticing their remarks, Juan glanced at Alicia to gauge her reaction.

“…….”

Officially, Alicia was a noble lady born in the Rain family after 200 years.

Unofficially, within Tessen, she was known as a powerful figure capable of defeating demonic beasts in the western forest.

But such rumors were unofficial, so the cleaners refrained from presumptuously speaking to the Lady first.

“I made the plan.”

Alicia murmured quietly while gazing out the stable window.

The cleaners, who had been resentfully eyeing Juan, immediately fell silent.

“There’s no way Sir Juan could come up with something of this scale. We all have deep grudges with those stone-heads in the west. We’ve long wanted to meet the Lady, whose reputation we’ve heard so much about.”

“What mercy should be shown to an assassin?”

“Please forget the nonsense we spouted about your wise plan.”

“Should we cut his tongue out so he can’t bite it off?”

At their sudden change in attitude, Alicia gave a faint smile.

Juan muttered complaints as he re-explained the plan to the four.

The cleaners left with simple, good-natured smiles.

Before long, Baron Greitz would hear news of a missing page.

In the imperial capital of Baden, the Forest Chapel was famous for its long history and grand scale.

A day at the Forest Chapel began at 4 a.m.

Girls wearing navy bonnets and modest indigo cloaks walked in neat lines.

At 4 a.m., the sky was a flawless cobalt blue.

Under the dim light of the breaking dawn, the girls walked in perfect formation.

The line heading to the chapel halted because the line headed for the library had stopped and begun murmuring.