Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 354

"… It's the worst."
"Alex, you're back."

While I was working alone in the office, Alex, whom I had dispatched to Count Viran's territory, came back with a tired look.
He wearily sat on a sofa and, resting his arms on his knees, supported his chin with them.

"Uegh… Tired."
"What's up? You seem awfully exhausted."

I sat in front of him. Alex's fatigue was unusual. When I asked him about what happened, Alex turned his eyes to me.

"Of course I'd be exhausted. When I went there, Count Viran was already dead."
"Ha?"

For a moment I couldn't understand what was said.

"Dead, you say?"
"Yeah, I wish I could have contacted you telepathically, but at that distance, you know… it was impossible."
"Because it was quite far. That's why I had you go there in person. And? Tell me more about Count Viran's death."

I want to know. When I urged Alex to continue with that in mind, he sat upright, straightened his posture, and spoke.

"It was how it sounds. When I got there, his funeral was taking place. It seems he'd been killed. The culprit was on the run, and the cause of death was decapitation."
"Decapitation? Was it Apostate?"

Hearing about the extremely characteristic way of killing, I inadvertently brought up the name of a famous assassin from Sahaja.
Black Apostate.
The equal of Cain, who was called Red Shinigami, and probably Maximilian's protégé.
I encountered him when Lidi was kidnapped, and he was certainly quite skilled. I think only Cain can compete with him. Glenn is also skilled, but as a knight, Glenn only knows how to fight normally. If the conditions favored Apostate, Glenn would probably lose.
He's a mysterious man who dresses like a priest in spite of brutally taking lives. An inverse cross pendant hangs at his chest, and his manner of speaking sounds disinterested.
Did that man kill Count Viran on Maximilian's orders?
All to prevent information leakage upon contact.
When I thought that far, Alex denied.

"No… I think it was someone else. His head… I know it's not a pleasant thing to say, but it was lying close, and he had several stab wounds in his chest. Apostate wouldn't kill like that, right?"
"Certainly, you have a point…"

Apostate is famous for bringing the head with him. There are no exceptions.
Moreover, there are other wounds. Then it's very likely it was someone else.

"… If Cain saw it, he might know whether it was done by Apostate or not…"

When I said what came to my mind after some thinking, Alex blinked his eyes.

"Ha? He can do that?"
"It takes a thief to catch a thief. I thought Cain could tell whether it was Apostate by looking at the wound."

With his skill, it wouldn't be impossible. When I continued, Alex groaned in admiration.

"Is that how it is…? Haa, he's incredible."
"That said, Cain only listens to Lidi's orders. If we are to ask him, it has to go through Lidi…"

Cain swore his loyalty to Lidi. He seems to care about Wilhelm or me because his master, Lidi, cares. Just that.
If I didn't understand that, Cain would immediately stop showing in front of us and only appear for Lidi. I understand that, so I've drawn a clear line.
Alex frowned at my words.

"Seeing his body… is, uh… impossible. I said I came right as his funeral was taking place, right? I asked to inspect the body after revealing my identity, but as expected, since the season was summer, the corpse was awfully decayed, so I allowed the burial. Too much time passed to dig him up either. I don't think Cain could learn anything by seeing it. It's not a problem of his judgement."
"I see. Then, Alex. What happened with the man approaching Count Viran? Marquis Westin of Sahaja who had been frequently visiting him. Did he attend the funeral?"

Since a person he'd associated with died, he should attend the funeral service. I thought so, but Alex denied.

"Him, huh. I searched for witnesses, but nobody had seen him in the last few days. I'm considering he somehow learned I was coming."
"In that case, Count Viran was guilty."
"… Yeah."
"Since he was afraid of meeting you and disappeared, there was unquestionably something shady about it. Considering the timing, it's reasonable to assume Count Viran was killed to stop him from talking about his relationship with Sahaja."
"What was the purpose?"
"Wilhelm and Lidi. Maximilian only aims at them."

When I clearly answered Alex's question, his eyes widened.

"Ha? Lidi? What are you saying? She already married you, right? He'd aim at her despite that?"
"That man never gives up until catching his prey. It's a big mistake to think a marriage would stop him."
"Seriously…?"

Alex's face twitched. I affirmed with a bitter feeling.
Even now Maximilian is aiming at Lidi, and his desire to unify the Heingrad continent under his rule hasn't changed from the past.

"He ascended the throne for these two reasons. Hendrik also said Sahaja had contacted Irvine, so it's reasonable to think he began preparing to obtain Wilhelm. That man excels at sowing seeds of betrayal and reaping them."
"While working on other countries, he'll destroy ours from inside? Nasty."
"But that's how Maximilian is."

I declared that.
I know how sharp that man is. That's exactly why I didn't want him to be the King.
I didn't mind his father, the previous King, but King Maximilian is bad news. He plans his moves and prepares sufficiently before acting. He can wait as long as it takes to achieve his goals. He's such a man.
Honestly, I don't want to think about such a man aiming at Lidi, but I don't feel like handing him even a strand of Lidi's hair, so when push comes to shove, I intend to crush him with all my power.
I won't let Lidi be stolen for me. But supposing he does something like that――

"Don't blame me if Sahaja gets destroyed…"
"Freed?"
"No, it's nothing."

I raised the corners of my mouth into a smile. Seeing my face, Alex told me in a truly tired voice.

"… I beg you, never let go of Lidi. If it happened, the damage would be unthinkable, I can see it from your face now."
"Of course. I won't let any man but me touch my precious wife. There's no way I would, right?"

For some reason Alex's face twitched terribly.

"… Please keep your word. What is it, somehow the wrath of inseparable lovebirds sounds terrifying."
"I don't think there's a more harmless married couple than us as long as we're left alone."

I'm fine just having her on my side. I'm not thinking of expanding our territory, and we just wish to be left alone, and yet the surroundings for some reason only get in the way.

"I want to tell you to look up the word harmless in a dictionary, but I guess you are. You basically only see each other. Speaking of being peaceful as long as you're left alone… It especially applies to you."
"As long as Lidi is at my side, I won't do anything."
"After all Lidi is your safety device… Really, I wish he had given up when you married… Well, it's not like I don't understand how it feels to be unable to give up… Hey, there's one thing that bothers me, does King Maximilian really love Lidi? That tomboy? Seriously? There's another such an eccentric royal aside from you?"
"Who knows? At least I'm certain he wants Lidi's neutralization ability and Cain who comes with her. If put to use, Lidi's ability has countless applications. It's especially easy to use for military purposes."
"He can go and die."
"I completely agree."

What suits Lidi is smiling in a peaceful place. Her being used for military purposes is out of question.
As Alex spat out those words, I agreed with him from the bottom of my heart.

"Lidi has Cain, so I'm not worried about her. If anything happens, he'll contact me telepathically, and so far, there's been no suspicious movements around her."
"I see. Then let's move on from Lidi's matter. We have to be more worried about those with questionable loyalty now. Those who could easily change sides, like lower nobles or high nobles who lack talent, but are envious of those more successful than them. Those guys will easily obey those who recognize them. Just tell them you can't stand their talent being buried, and it's done."

Alex's face distorted from the honest disgust.
Sadly, there's a certain number of such people everywhere. Getting rid of them never ends. But if left alone, they fester and sometimes develop into something irrecoverable.
We have to work skillfully to not let that happen.

"Alex. You can investigate them, right? Please do over the list of those who could be easily used by Sahaja. There's no way only Count Viran would be contacted. He was easily cast away precisely because there are others."

Otherwise, they wouldn't kill him so early. There are many like him. I suppose he was made an example.

"… You're right. I'll widen the scope of the investigation."
"And if you find somebody, please investigate them while at it."

It'd be troubling if they died during the investigation like this time.
When I added that, Alex made a displeased face, but he exhaled in resignation.

"Got it… I don't want to waste my time either, so I'll be working on both."
"Please."

When I concisely asked him, Alex roughly scratched his head, and with resentful words, "Sahaja suddenly began moving after the King changed. Spare me," he left the office to contact his subordinates.

Chapter end