"Miss Esdeath, the matter has been resolved."
Although the young man acted very respectfully, Esdeath was still holding her gold coins and looking at the other party with a cold expression, gripping the sword handle in a reverse grip. If it were an ordinary person, they would have long since backed down under Esdeath's icy gaze, but the other party was still looking down without saying a word.
Just as it was when the guardhouse appeared, Esdeath never believed that there were so many 'coincidences' in this world. Behind every coincidence was an inevitability. Did he 'happen' to run into the enemy's subordinates? Did he happen to run into the guardhouse? And did he also happen to run into someone who came to save the day? Was all of this a bit too coincidental?
"Is there something you need?"
"I am just Mr. Honest's attendant. I have come this time to invite Miss Esdeath on Lord Honest's orders."
"An invitation? With this boring trick?"
"It's really hard to get in touch with you~"
The lifted face had a gentle smile, and the tone, which was as if he were talking to a lover, made Esdeath frown even more.
If she weren't injured at this time, she might have accepted the other party's invitation. Although the way the other party 'invited' her was a bit unorthodox, it was undoubtedly much better to deal with someone who could directly admit to their actions than people who constantly made excuses.
But she was heavily injured now. Although she was proud, she wasn't stupid, and she had a more important goal now!
"Thank you for your kindness, but I have other things to do now!"
After saying that, Esdeath turned and left directly, and the young man just raised his back, which he had bent for a bow.
"If that's the case, then that's really disappointing~ But I believe there will be a day when I have the opportunity to work with you~"
"She's unwilling? Then so be it. Although I think highly of that girl, she is not a necessary 'pawn'. Oh right, 'Mr. Byle', did you take care of what I told you about before?"
At this time, Honest had completely changed his violent demeanor in front of his subordinates. The man with a bloated figure also exuded a refined feeling when he spoke in a literary manner. However, the man sitting next to him didn't care so much about that.
"Hehe~ Mr. Honest, the 'merchandise' you need is not simple. After all, they have to be good fighters and must be within a certain body shape range..."
"Hehe~ Mr. Byle, please don't joke. How could you, who are in charge of the Empire's assassination unit, not have people like that under you? Are you not confident in my previous promise? Don't worry. All the things I promised will be handed over to you~"
The conversation between the two sounded like they were talking about a certain commodity, but the man kneeling on one knee to the side was sweating profusely.
There was no doubt that he had no idea what the two were talking about, but he did understand the identity of his 'master' and the seemingly skinny man in front of him.
What kind of existence could make the two of them speak in riddles?
But it was precisely because he had guessed the other party's identity that he was even more afraid. Based on his understanding of his 'master', the other party was not a kind person. If the person who knew the important information was an important subordinate, it would be fine, but if it was just an ordinary subordinate... they might be completely silenced!
This man, who had shown no fear in front of Esdeath, was now sweating profusely in front of two seemingly harmless people.
"Oh~ right, I forgot you were here too. You can go down first. Mr. Byle and I have some things to talk about."
"Yes!"
Although he didn't know if the other party had really forgotten, he still breathed a sigh of relief. After all, no matter what, he hadn't heard anything too important. Most of what he had heard was just his own imagination, so it shouldn't count.
But just as he closed the door, a shadow abruptly appeared behind him. A man with long golden hair covered the other party's mouth with one hand, and then a knife lightly slid across his arm!
"..."
The young man, whose eyes were wide open, seemed to want to let out a wail, but until the black curse marks covered his face, he still didn't succeed, and in the end, he went limp and lost his breath.
"Wasn't that young man your favorite subordinate?"
"Yes, I liked him very much. He was a very smart young man, but unfortunately~ he was just too smart~"
Although he said it was a pity, Honest's face was filled with a joyful smile.
"Is that woman really that important? To the point where you would sacrifice a subordinate to ensure the absolute secrecy of the information?"
"Hoho~ Maybe? I don't know either. It's just that I think highly of that girl's talent. Maybe in one or two years, she might grow into the 'helper' I need. And now, she also has other uses..."
Honest always had a 'everything is under control' expression, which undoubtedly made Byle very unhappy. Although the two of them were in the same boat, the other party was the leader, and he often had to 'accommodate' the other party. But this time...
Byle couldn't help but lick his lips. He was fed up with living like this. When the former emperor was still alive, he was the most favored minister, but now, he had to stay in the shadows, and many people had even forgotten his name! It was time! It was time to let his name once again resonate throughout the entire Empire! To let everyone know who the ruler in the Empire's darkness truly was!
Byle, who was feeling emotional, didn't notice that Honest, who had been smiling just a moment ago, was smiling even more when he saw his excited expression. But in this smile, there was also a hint of... mockery?
Although he had defeated 'Esdeath', Lancer didn't feel anything in reality. The Esdeath at this time was not the sadistic queen yet. In Lancer opinion, she was more of a proud girl. And he had been thinking before about whether he could find more people to help him?
Lancer still didn't know how many cards Honest had in his hand, but the strongest card that Lancer had, or could possibly use, 'Budo', couldn't be used because the conditions for use were not met (he couldn't prove Honest's betrayal). He had no choice but to replenish his 'deck'.
Esdeath was one of the best choices!
First, her strength had not reached its peak yet, so the difficulty of winning her over should be infinitely easier than after she grew up. Second, the other party was originally an ally of Honest. If he could win her over, it wouldn't just be a +1; it would also be a -1.
It's just that he didn't expect that his actions after defeating the other party would also cause the emperor to think more highly of him without him even realizing it. It was also a pleasant surprise, wasn't it?
Although his 'plan' was still in its initial stage, it was at least a good start, wasn't it?
But a certain man who had finally completed the first step of his plan was facing a problem: standing at his front door and not knowing how to go inside?
It wasn't that there were man-eating tigers inside the door. On the contrary, it was a timid little cat, but those weren't the key points. He needed to face not a certain person, but his own past 'mistake'.
But just as he was hesitating, the door to the villa was suddenly pushed open. Leone, who was holding a large bag with both hands, looked at Lancer with an unbelievable expression, and Lancer face was full of awkwardness, not knowing how to speak. But before he could speak, Leone bowed with a red face.
"Welcome back, Sir!"
Although Leone was still a bit shy today, she still tried her best to show a smiling face to Lancer.
Unlike the deliberate smile she had before, at this time, looking at the girl's face, which showed fear but also a bit of shyness, Lancer didn't know why, but he suddenly felt that his body, which had been tense from facing his own 'mistake', had relaxed a bit.
"Yes, I'm back."
But after Lancer said that, both of them were stunned for a moment, because they seemed to have realized that their 'communication' had become smoother. However, unlike Lancer composure, Leone seemed a bit flustered.
"Uh... Sir, I need to go and take care of the trash..."
"Oh, oh~ go ahead."
After hearing the other party's reminder, Lancer, a bit flustered, moved out of the way, and Leone, swaying a bit, carried the bag and walked toward the trash disposal area outside the villa area.
Although it was a bit strange, it seemed that the two of them had also found a way to get along?