Chapter 102 – Confrontation Outside the Imperial Capital

It would soon be completely dark. Once that happened, this area without any lights would be swallowed by total darkness.

Kuriya wanted to move the carriage to a place where it could be hidden before that time came.

However, before doing so, she intended to stop by the town. There, she planned to let Syndis, who had been made to inhale the Bishinka, get down.

At the moment, lying before her were the unconscious figures of Syndis and Aralicia. Both had been deprived of consciousness by Kuriya.

She opened the small window and called out to the coachman.

“How much farther to the town?”

“I can see lights in the distance. It shouldn’t be much farther.”

“I see. …That said, isn’t our speed dropping quite a bit?”

“Yeah… it’s the horse. We’ve been pushing it at full speed for a long time, but to begin with, it’s a horse specialized for gracefully traveling through the noble district. It’s not a warhorse, so it doesn’t have that much stamina or running power.”

Hearing this, Kuriya nodded in understanding. The horse pulling this carriage hadn’t undergone any special training, nor was it a thoroughbred.

Rather than raw speed, it was the type where appearance, including the sheen of its coat, was considered important.

Its temperament was gentle as well, and while it liked to run, its muscles were nowhere near as developed as those of a warhorse.

“…We should let it rest for a bit.”

“Can’t be helped, I suppose. Then we’ll stop somewhere suitable, and while we’re at it, let’s use the Bishinka.”

Bishinka possessed powerful hypnotic and aphrodisiac effects, but it had not yet been used. That was because this special incense exerted its intense effects only on women.

In other words, if it were used inside the enclosed space of the carriage, it would also affect Kuriya herself.

Precisely because she『knew its effects well』, Kuriya was extremely cautious in how she handled the Bishinka.

After a while, the carriage came to a halt. From here, the town was only a short distance away. It was probably the perfect timing to use the Bishinka.

The moment Kuriya stepped down from the carriage, the man serving as the coachman also set foot on the ground. He then received the Bishinka from her.

“Are you really going to use it? There aren’t many left. It’s a valuable item…”

“It’s fine, just use it. Turn Arloston’s wife into a sow that can’t think of anything but cock. Her daughter gets kidnapped, her wife turns into a pig… that’ll be one hell of a warning to the Knight Commander, won’t it?”

Taking hostages was Seazack’s preferred method.

Arloston held a position of authority, so it was unclear how useful hostages would ultimately be, but it would certainly corner him hard on a psychological level.

Besides, Kuriya herself liked this kind of approach. She also harbored the desire to thoroughly defile refined women of the upper class.

“If you like her so much, you can have the first taste yourself. If there are signs she’s already been fucked once, then after we leave her in town, the other men will flock to her on their own.”

“Heh heh… yeah, you’re right. Then I’ll light the incense… hm?”

“……?”

The two of them possessed considerable ability as assassins and operatives. In particular, Kuriya was one of Seazack’s eight strongest elites… a member of the Violet Lightning Eight Blades.

An out-of-place sound reached the ears of the two of them, something that did not belong in this situation at all.

And since the sun had not yet completely set, they could make out three horses ahead on the highway, bathed in the light of the setting sun.

“Wha—”

“No way… no, even so, this is way too fast…!”

Those horses were larger than the one pulling the carriage, and they ran with overwhelming power.

Fearless mounts that thundered across the land with what seemed like limitless stamina and speed… unmistakably warhorses.

And Kuriya and the others recognized the face of the man riding one of those warhorses.

“A-Arloston…!?”

“Ch…! Hey, use the girl!”

“—Got it!”

The man immediately rushed into the carriage. By that point, the horses ridden by Arloston and his companions were already closing in right in front of Kuriya.

“Did we make it in time…!”

“You there! Drop your weapon and get down on the ground!”

Arloston and the others dismounted and instantly drew their swords. Glaring at Kuriya with clear hostility, they began to close the distance—however.

“Don’t come any closer!”

At that moment, the man emerged from inside the carriage. He held the unconscious Aralicia in his right arm, while pressing the blade of a knife in his left hand against her throat.

“Aralicia…! You bastards, what did you do to Syndis!?”

“Didn’t you hear me!? Don’t take another step closer!”

“Guh…!”

Arloston and the others had caught up to Kuriya’s group by the skin of their teeth, but with a hostage taken, they were forced to halt.

“I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d chase us down this fast. …Looks like I underestimated the Empire’s intelligence network.”

“You… you’re agents of Seazack, aren’t you?”

“Who knows? We could just as easily be mercenaries hired by the Northern Empire, right?”

“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have left the Imperial Capital and headed for the Carmanda Territory. You intended to pass straight through Carmanda and return west… back to the lands under Seazack’s control.”

Even as the conversation continued, Kuriya was thinking about what move to make next.

Their primary objective was to bring Arloston’s daughter, Aralicia, back to Seazack.

And for what purpose? To create an opening in Arloston.

Seazack did not underestimate Arloston. On the contrary, he held him in high regard. That was precisely why he wanted to bind him with shackles.

However… if Arloston were eliminated right here, then the entire operation of taking Aralicia back would become unnecessary in the first place.

“Give me back my wife and daughter…!”

“Fufufu… you’ve got quite the bark, don’t you? But chasing us with just two guards? That’s recklessness taken too far. You are the Knight Commander, aren’t you?”

The reason they had resorted to a hostage operation against Arloston was simple. His guard was exceptionally tight.

No matter how top-class one’s skills were as an assassin, killing him inside the Imperial Capital would be an extremely difficult task.

That was why Kuriya, while lying low within the capital, had narrowed her targets to Syndis and Aralicia instead.

However, by sheer coincidence… using Syndis and the others as bait, she had succeeded in luring Arloston outside the Imperial Capital like this.

Yes. There was no longer any need to bind him with shackles. He had come to a place within reach of her own accord.

“Relax. Your wife is asleep inside the carriage. Well… her arms are bound behind her back, she’s completely unable to resist, and she’s been spending all this time alone with this man in that cramped carriage, you know?”

“…………!”

First came the provocation. In truth, the one who had been inside the carriage with her was Kuriya herself, but there was no need to bother saying that.

More importantly, Kuriya’s words just now would have made Arloston and the others imagine the worst possible scenario. The man holding Aralicia also wore a lewd, vulgar grin.

“…I’ll say it once more. Release the two of them. The knight order is on its way here as reinforcements. If you release them now, I promise your lives will be spared.”

“Oh my… how kind of you. Or is that just an empty promise, and the moment you’ve secured their safety, you plan to kill us on the spot?”

“That’s not what I intend—”

“No matter what you say, those two are our lifeline. We can’t just release them so easily.”

What action to take from here on out. Kuriya already had her answer.

‘We kill Arloston and his guards for coming traipsing out here. We use the Bishinka on the woman and dump her in town. We take the daughter back with us. Three opponents. …Easy enough.’

This situation merely added the task of killing Arloston and the others to the original plan. It wasn’t a pinch, nor was it a moment to panic.

That said, setting Arloston aside, it was clear that the two guards were no small fry. Which was why—

“Hey. Break one of the girl’s fingers.”

“Wha—! S-stop—!”

At Kuriya’s command, a wave of agitation ran through Arloston and his companions.

In that single instant, the gaze and awareness of all three of them were completely focused on Aralicia.

“Gah—!?”

A knife had been driven into Roglain’s unarmored section… straight into his side.