“Who sent you?”
Rutus asked as he subdued and bound the man dressed in black. He broke the man’s weapon and threatened him with the candlestick he held.
Although it was more of a demand for an answer than a question.
The intruder was certainly being treated more leniently. The fact that he wasn’t killed immediately was a stroke of luck.
The reason Rutus didn’t kill him immediately—
“Uuuung….”
…was different. He couldn’t commit murder with a child under one year old right next to him.
Thus, Rutus barely managed to keep the assassin alive.
Snap,
Crack!
“I never said you could die.”
When did I say you could die? Rutus growled, clamping the man’s mouth shut as he tried to bite down on something, presumably a hidden poison capsule.
Even as he did, his mind was busy trying to figure out who was behind this.
“Your Grace!”
Crash.
The knights, alerted by the commotion in the middle of the night, rushed into the room.
Rutus, who had just pulled out what he assumed was a poison capsule from the assassin’s mouth, spoke up.
“Who is in charge here?”
“Yes, yes?”
“Who is in charge of the estate’s security?”
Rutus tightened his grip, causing a pathetic scream to escape the man pinned beneath him.
“The deputy commander…Sir Robert.”
“Bring him here.”
“……”
Despite Rutus finishing his command, the knights stood there, dumbfounded. Rutus frowned and spoke again.
“Did you not hear me? Do I need to go get him myself?”
“N-No!”
Terrified by Rutus’s sharp gaze, a knight quickly turned and left. But even that didn’t calm Rutus.
“Were you not guarding properly?”
He snapped at one of the knights in the room. they heard the noise and came running, it meant they were stationed inside the main house, but it also meant they hadn’t been properly on guard. What were they doing?
The knight, sensing the tension, opened his mouth slightly and replied.
“Normally, the Prince’s guard consists of four during the day and six at night, and they take turns guarding the inside and outside of the bedroom.”
“Then why was there no one? Not a single guard inside or outside. And where was the head maid supposed to be with the child….”
Rutus trailed off, his head turning. Come to think of it, there was a faint presence he had mistaken for the head maid’s before he opened the door.
Which meant,
“…She seems to be still alive. Take her to the attending physician.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
There was an injured person.
A figure lying under the baby’s crib, seeming to have collapsed while attempting to shield the child from the assassin. He couldn’t see her because she had been hidden from his view by the shadows.
In addition, due to the fact that he had accidentally cut his leg deeply with a candlestick while subduing the assassin, the smell of blood mixed with the scent of the assassin, delaying his detection.
Rutus belatedly checked on the condition of the attendant and then gave an order to a knight who was visible.
Soon, the injured attendant was carried away by the knight, and the knight who had been conversing with Rutus continued speaking.
“As you can see… since the head maid cannot stay awake for 24 hours, she usually calls an attendant to take her place for a while until morning around this time.”
“…….”
“Also, there is no problem during the day, but it seems that the Prince has trouble sleeping at night, so all but the head maid and the attendant who was just here wait outside until he falls asleep, thinking that a stranger might be a problem….”
Since the Prince had fallen asleep very late in the morning today, there were no guards inside. Moreover, it just so happened that the assassin entered at that moment and they were unable to respond in time.
“…Is that all you have to say for your excuse?”
As soon as the knight finished speaking, the veins in Rutus’s neck bulged up.
If what he said was true, where did all the six knights who should have been outside the room go? Rutus stared at the knight with a hardened expression as he listened to his excuses full of loopholes.
“Well, …Your Grace told us to go downstairs.”
“…….”
“To be precise, you said, ‘Get lost and stop talking back.'”
The knight’s voice became increasingly faint as he continued speaking.
Immediately after hearing that story. Just then, a scene flashed through my mind, which had been dull and suppressed by a headache.
I think I said something like that.
[Your Excellency. About the Prince,]
[Shut up because it’s noisy.]
…I think I did.
At that, Rutus raised his hand and stroked his face, then opened his mouth. Just then, the deputy commander of the knights whom he had called earlier opened the door and entered.
“I…was mistaken.”
“…….”
“I will not impose any further punishment. Take the child and move him to my bedroom on the second floor.”
“Understood.”
At Rutus’s words, the knight who had been watching the situation until now picked up the child and walked out of the room.
Only after confirming that the knight had left the floor did Rutus release the tension he had been holding back and choked the assassin until he passed out.
Thud.
Crack.
Snap.
The eerie sounds of intangible energy piercing flesh and bone echoed in his ears several more times.
Rutus looked at the assassin who was lying sprawled on the floor, unconscious, in pain from his wrists and ankles being severed and his bones broken.
Rutus opened his mouth and gestured towards the deputy commander of the knights.
“Lock him up.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
I will interrogate him myself.
Rutus, his face devoid of any emotion, gave the order and turned his head to look out the window.
The sky was turning bluish-purple, indicating that the sun was about to rise.
“…….”
Come to think of it, how long has it been since I’ve seen the sun?
Unsure of this as well, Rutus narrowed his eyes and blinked slowly.
Until all the knights who had been in the room, including the commander of the knights, had left.
Rutus, who had been standing there blankly, trying to remember something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, began to drag his feet across the floor.
The throbbing in his head was like a headache that had been suppressed by medicine.
But even then, he felt no particular emotion. He just wished one thing.
I hope I don’t go crazy like this.
* * *
They say you accepted the commission because the pay is good.
[Aside from being a high-ranking official, cough…!]
[…….]
[…I don’t know, though. The reason is obvious, isn’t it?]
I wonder if you know how many requests I’ve received to kill the Duke’s son at the guild right now.
He spat out a bitter sneer from his mouth that was spewing words like a waterfall after feeding him confession pills, which I had been holding with the authority of the Grand Master of the Knights, even though it was secretly used by the Imperial Family.
The man who sneered as if I couldn’t possibly know that ended up foaming at the mouth and dying not long after.
“…….”
The conversation we had for about three minutes, during which I was able to interrogate him without any side effects, clearly indicated what was happening.
So, from that point on, Rutus kept the child by his side and observed him directly. In fact, he even dealt with another few nighttime visitors himself after that, so it was probably the right choice.
“Uuung…….”
“…Easy,”
However, what was unexpected was that the child had developed a sleeping disorder that he never had before.
During the day, he would smile and play as usual, but as soon as night fell, he would cry and cry until the whole mansion shook.
No matter how much I coaxed and comforted him, it was no use. The little thing would cry every night, seemingly tireless, until his skin was raw and his throat was hoarse.
…Actually. I couldn’t help but guess something from the fact that he was shedding tears as if he was missing something only when he was asleep.
But even if I noticed it, it was something I couldn’t solve. I tried holding him in my arms and lying down like Ellie used to do, but nothing changed.
The embrace the child was looking for was not Rutus’s, and it could never come back to them again.
“…….”
So more than that, there really wasn’t much he could do.
All he could do was to hold and soothe his crying baby every night until dawn. Only when the baby finally quieted down around daybreak would he slowly catch up on his backlog of work before the baby woke up again late in the afternoon.
Just like now.
“……”
“……”
Pat-pat.
Rutus, as usual, covered the red eyes of the child, who had been crying all night, with his cool hand to soothe them.
The child had just fallen asleep from exhaustion a little while ago, so waking up now wouldn’t leave him with enough energy to properly throw a tantrum.
After gently patting the small back for a while…
“Your Excellency, a letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
“…Come in.”
Rutus responded to the quiet voice outside his office door. The aide entered quietly, bowing in greeting.
“I didn’t hear a report about a messenger arriving.”
“Well, it’s a… letter that was delivered unofficially.”
Receiving an unofficial letter while still on leave. Without even opening it, Rutus felt a headache coming on and lowered his gaze. The child, now back asleep, was breathing evenly.
Rutus paused for a moment before laying the child back in the crib and nodding. The aide approached and handed him the letter on a silver tray.
“……”
Rutus ripped open the letter carelessly, without even a paper knife, and his face twisted in irritation as he read it.
“Is there a problem?”
“I’ll be visiting the palace this evening. Inform the head maid to prepare accordingly.”
Since it was an unofficial visit, formal attire wasn’t necessary.
The aide, glanced at Rutus and said,
“But, Your Excellency, if you go to the palace this evening, the documents…”
“I’ll handle them now. I’ll go to the office across the hall. Watch the child in case he wakes up.”
“If it’s about the documents, I can go—”
“……”
“…I apologize. I momentarily forgot about the restricted access.”
Ignoring the aide’s apology, Rutus silently walked away.
In just a few steps, he arrived at the office and opened the door. The interior was decorated with bright beige wallpaper and white curtains.
Rutus headed straight for the desk and gathered the scattered documents. The room, reflecting its owner’s personality, was warmly decorated but somewhat disorganized.
Unlike his own office, which smelled only of ink and paper, this room had a sweet scent lingering in the air.
‘It’s been over a month already, yet still…’
It made sense. With minimal foot traffic to preserve the lingering scent, Rutus had restricted access to the bedroom and office. Other than the weekly cleaning, Rutus was the only person who stepped inside.
Ignoring these thoughts, Rutus continued gathering the documents.
Thud.
A notebook, pale yellow as if diluted with water, fell at his feet.
* * * *
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