There Is No Mercy

Chapter 50 

“Ah… I got it.”

“Make sure you hurry and find it. I hope you remember that I don’t have much patience.”

At the harsh words, the butler swallowed hard, then quickly left the room.

Once the butler was gone, Belietta shifted her gaze.

She narrowed her eyes at the beautiful painting of a mermaid hanging on the wall.

*‘Belietta is smart, excellent, and highly capable, but she lacks wisdom. The reason I said she can’t surpass Sierra is precisely because of this. Let go of your stubbornness and pride. Then, you’ll see much more. Only then…’*

“You think you know something…?”

As Belietta threw a book at the painting on the wall, it hit and fell down.

Her eyes were filled with rage as she watched the book fall.

The sound of glass shattering filled the room.

Only then did the noisy thoughts in her head quiet down, and her expression relaxed.

A slow smile crept onto Belietta’s face as she leaned back in her chair and reached for the pile of books.

She picked one up and turned to the first page, the corners of her mouth curving softly.

“You’re wrong, Ross.”

I’ll show you I’m right.

That I can surpass Sierra.

Belietta’s hand slowly turned the page, and the sound of paper flipping softly echoed in the quiet room.

* * *

A carriage stopped at the meeting place in the Brilloxen territory.

As I moved to get out and enter the building, guards standing at the entrance stepped forward to block my way.

It was a strange experience to be blocked like this, so I raised an eyebrow slightly.

The guard behind me smacked the head of the one in front.

“Ugh!”

“It’s Lady Brilloxen! Sorry, this guy has only been here for a month.”

I smiled at the two guards who bowed deeply, indicating it was okay, and then walked into the building.

The hallway was quite busy with representatives from various guilds participating.

First, I went to the assigned room, unpacked a few things, and grabbed only the materials I needed for the meeting before stepping out when I spotted a familiar face across the hall.

“Long time no see, Sierra.”

It was Kestian, the eldest son of the Pallieva family.

I had seen him at the last governor’s meeting and now again at this guild meeting.

As he greeted me with a refreshing voice, I walked closer.

Kestian was holding a rather thick document in his hands.

Noticing my gaze on him, Kestian looked down at the document and smiled.

“Want to take a look?”

“What is that?”

“It’s the investment plan for the bomb business I showed you last time.”

“Is that already out? But wait, isn’t that a product directly developed by the Pallieva family?”

Kestian shrugged and handed me the report that was on top.

It was an official document stating the royal and military position that prohibited the Pallieva family’s monopoly.

Since it had the Emperor’s seal, it seemed it hadn’t passed through the assembly.

After I handed back the report, Kestian opened his mouth calmly.

“It was submitted to the assembly after passing the military review, but it didn’t even reach the upper assembly and got rejected immediately. I heard the Bozbourne family strongly opposed it. Officially, the production of bombs requires military permission, but that probably isn’t the whole story.”

Without needing to say it, it’s likely a factional struggle to keep Pallieva in check.

As long as the Bozbourne family was firmly planted in the assembly, it was useless to think it would pass.

If the Bozbourne family were out of the picture, the assembly, with Pallieva as the main force, would have the capacity to pass it, but with the royal family above them, the Bozbourne family had more influence than the royal family itself.

“So, you’re trying to attract joint investment?”

“It’s a fallback to get permission without going through the assembly. There’s no other way.”

“Must be tough for you. It’s impressive to see the Pallieva’s first prince attending such a trivial guild meeting. You really take initiative.”

“To win people’s hearts, you have to move directly.”

Kestian smiled, his eyes meeting mine with a strange look.

For a moment, I felt like he was talking about me, and it made me flinch.

Kestian continued to look into my eyes, smiled, and waved his hand.

As if to say, “This way,” he casually turned his head and nodded towards the back.

“The atmosphere in the meeting room felt tense. Is it always like this?”

“I don’t know.”

As I smiled and changed the subject, Kestian tilted his head.

With a smile that was both familiar and ambiguous, Kestian slowly smiled, then nodded his head vertically.

“I’ll be waiting in that room over there, so contact me if you need help. Good luck with everything.”

Kestian walked away with a calm smile as I quietly watched him go.

After turning my body around, I entered the meeting room.

As I stepped inside, the door closed behind me, signaling that all the members of the meeting had arrived.

“Now, let’s start the meeting.”

With that announcement, the agenda came up, and one by one, presentations began.

I flipped through the documents, reading through the content related to the agenda.

Since I had the final vote, I needed to grasp everything accurately.

After a while, when the agenda meeting was coming to an end and the voting results were about to be announced, I would finally decide whether to proceed or not.

There were often complaints, but it was difficult to go against Brilloxen and operate the guild, so most just pretended to accept it.

As the meeting continued, the door to the meeting room opened, and Jin rushed in.

Wondering what was happening, I tilted my head as Jin approached and quietly whispered in my ear.

“… You need to come quickly.”

“What’s going on?”

“I think you should see for yourself.”

Jin didn’t say anything about what was happening, just insisting I come with him. I stared at him, knowing he wasn’t the kind of person to act rudely.

Shifting my gaze back to the speaker, I saw him nodding at my attention.

“Let’s take a break for a moment.”

Hearing his voice echo through the meeting room, I got up from my seat.

Following Jin, I left the meeting room and moved to a space behind the building where a carriage was parked.

“This way.”

Jin stopped in front of a small carriage tucked away in a corner and held his hand up, signaling me to wait, then slowly opened the door.

“Ugh…!”

With a loud crash, someone tumbled out of the open carriage door.

I stepped back to avoid the person rolling down the steps of the carriage, squinting in confusion.

“…Gilbert?”

The man who slowly lifted his head to look at me was Gilbert.

But unlike the familiar face, he looked horrifying.

His entire body was covered in blood, especially around his mouth, where blood was gushing out.

His trembling body and head, along with his eyes filled with terror, were a nightmare.

Gilbert looked at me and struggled to open his lips with a glimmer of life in his eyes.

“Ugh… ugh…”

He couldn’t form a coherent word.

Jin grabbed his jaw, forcing his mouth open, then shook his head.

“They cut out his tongue.”

Gilbert reached out with a face stained by despair.

Was he trying to grab me? As I stepped back to avoid his outstretched arm, tears mixed with blood dropped from the corners of his eyes.

Gilbert waved his hand in the air a few times, seemingly trying to do something.

Wondering what he was doing, I quietly watched him, then took out a handkerchief and spread it on the ground.

“Write here.”

Gilbert dropped his arm and grabbed the handkerchief lying on the floor, writing something with his blood-soaked fingers.

His shaking hand wrote a few lines before he started foaming at the mouth.

Jin rushed to save him, but Gilbert convulsed violently before finally relaxing and collapsing to the floor.

Jin checked his pulse and shook his head.

“He’s gone.”

“…”

It was all so sudden.

Gilbert’s appearance, his death, and the current situation.

I pulled my gaze away from Gilbert and lifted the handkerchief he had touched.

The shaky handwriting was incomplete, and there weren’t many words.

[Other… danger… family…]

Knowing he was about to die, a few words were scrawled out.

I couldn’t tell who killed him just by looking at this handkerchief, but for now, this was enough.

I crumpled the handkerchief and called over the knight standing behind me.

“Contact Ripert immediately and enhance the security for the staff being replaced today. Right now!”

The knights quickly nodded and began assigning roles, then mounted their horses and disappeared.

As I watched them go, I bit my lip and tied my hair tightly.

“The remaining two should head to Gilbert’s family’s house. And Jin, find out Rita’s location right now and report back. I’ll go myself.”

“If you do that, there won’t be anyone left to protect you.”

“I’ll handle that. Just move quickly.”

I nudged Jin, who was hesitating and trying to stay until the end, then looked down at Gilbert, biting my lip.

I had thought about expelling this man, but I never intended for him to meet such a gruesome death.

And above all, his value was still valid.

I had no intention of banishing him just yet.

I pulled my gaze away from the bloodied Gilbert and moved immediately.

Now was not the time for a meeting.