Marida's blood-soaked gaze turned to the Count.
'Hi!'
Seeing Marida wobbling to her feet with a dagger in one hand, the Count retreats back, letting out a short scream.
Naturally, there is no escape.
It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of your time.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make use of it.
It's not just a matter of time before you're able to get your hands on a new one.
'Well, wait ....... Let's talk.
Finally realizing that he was cornered, the Count opened his mouth, making a motion with one hand to hold Marida back.
'Talk? What do you want to talk about?
"Hey, what do you want? Gold?
I already have enough money.
If you wish, I can talk you into selling to the crown. With my backing, you can make a dent in the royal family's trade association.
"I don't know if you're going to be around tomorrow or not, but you can't contact the royal family now.
....... Then I'm willing to give you the Countess' trading concessions. It's a profitable trade! I'm sure the Chamber of Commerce would love to have it!
Marida's expression, which had previously kicked off the Count's words with a sneer, changes drastically.
It's only natural.
It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.
And that trade route was originally developed by Marida's father.
I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.
"How could you be so skimpy?
It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on it.
I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.
I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.
''Hee!''
The Count stopped in his tracks, and Marida slashed at him with her dagger.
But perhaps because Marida is an amateur combatant, or perhaps because the Count's reflexes are reasonably good, the blade sliced through the empty sky.
Despite his tangled legs, the Count fell on his back, barely escaping the deadly blade.
That's as far as the Count's luck would go, though.
Without giving the Count a chance to adjust his stance, Marida mounted her horse and brought the dagger down on her shoulder with all her strength.
"Geez!
The blade of the dagger pierced through the slender jacket and stabbed into it, turning the area around it a vermilion color.
I've been ...... been waiting for this day for a long time. ......!
Pulling the dagger out of the Count's body, Marida didn't hesitate to thrust it again to the opposite shoulder.
'Guh!'
I will avenge my parents' enemies with my own hands ...... just for that! Eighteen years!
Three times Marida raises her dagger.
"Ta, help me ......! I'll do anything! Yeah, so--!
With various things flowing from his face, the Count began to beg for his life.
It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.
You will find that you will be able to get a lot more than you expected.
Then give it back to me.
What?
I guess he didn't understand what was said. The Count's movements stopped for a moment.
Marida thrust her demands at the object of her revenge.
'Give me back my mother and father, give me back my eighteen years. Give me back my eighteen years.
It's obvious to everyone that Marida is asking for the impossible, beyond the impossible.
Of course. If you can forgive a grudge for begging for your life, it will have faded and disappeared over the course of 18 years.
You can find the money at ......
"Do you think money will bring a dead man back to life?
The Count's disgusting plea for help was answered by Marida with a cynical smile, "Then you'll be able to bring me back to life with your pride and joy!
Then you'll be able to come back to life with the money you're so proud of!
"Hee! Wait--!
A rustling dagger stabbed into the Count's chest.
Marida immediately pulled it out and raised it.
"You can have all the money you want! So, give me back my dad! Mom, bring her back to life!
Marida thrusts the dagger over and over again, cutting the words short.
Each time the blade is thrust into his face, chest and neck, the Count's body turns red.
The Count screamed at first, but eventually his reaction disappeared, and the only sounds in the office were Marida's vindictiveness and the thrusting of the dagger.
'If you can do it, try it! You can't, right! That is. If you can't do it, you can't do it, ......! Can't, from ......! I am ......!
I'm not going to be able to tell who it was, as the Count has turned into a motionless lump of flesh, so disfigured that it's impossible to tell who it was.
The upper half of his body is stained vermillion without a minute's worth of space, and Marida, who is riding a horse, is red with returning blood.
But eventually, the time came for Marida's dagger to stop its movement as well.
It was originally a few daggers taken from Kuzion.
The bill for hitting it with forcefully and forcefully came to the surface early on.
I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.
It's as if the spring mechanism that had been driving Marida had stopped, and she was stuck staring at the dagger that had lost its cutting edge.
As the broken dagger spills out of her hand, tears begin to flow incessantly from Marida's eyes.
'Eggs. ......'
An inarticulate voice spilled out of his mouth, as if he had let go.
"Ugh ......, uggh ......, oooohhhh!
The voice eventually becomes a wailing wail, and Marida is not afraid to go around and cry like a child.
Aldis, a stranger, will never know if her tears are for the joy of having defeated her enemy, or for the hatred she has lost the opportunity to digest, or for the sorrow of her dead parents.
A futile question arose in Aldis' mind.
Will she cry or laugh when she finishes defeating her enemies, as Marida did? --Or will I feel nothing?
Aldis mocked herself inwardly for thinking this far.
It's not something to think about now, and it's not worth it if you get an answer.
It's not the right thing to do.
It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends.
I'm not going to be able to get out of it, but I'm going to be able to get out of it.
'It's time for us to escape,'
"Yeah, I know.
Even though people are not coming soon, we can't stay like this forever.
It was Nicole who answered Aldis, who urged her to escape.
'What's your escape route?'
Nicole approached Ardis, supporting Marida, who was beginning to calm down.
'Now we can escape undetected.
Let's hurry up then.
Oh. ...... and before that,
While leaving the room, Aldis creates a small fireball and throws it onto the flammable sofa and curtains.
The sofa, which would not cost ten gold coins if sold off, was engulfed in fire, and the fire spread to the curtains and immediately tried to reach the ceiling through the walls.
After confirming this, Aldis left the office after Nicole and the others.
Although somewhat calmed down, there are still many servants in the building where the fireball was shot due to the diversion.
Thanks to this, Aldis and his team succeeded in escaping from the mansion without being seen, just as they did during the invasion.
Leaving the mansion wrapped in chaos, they calmly but hurriedly make their way through a much noisier nighttime city than usual.
Even Marida, who had been sobbing, had regained her composure by the time she got out of the mansion and was now walking at the front of the pack.
It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
When they arrived at the Ritte company building, Aldis and the others moved wordlessly to Marida's office and sank into the sofa without a word from anyone.
After a not-so-short silence, Marida opens her mouth in a small way.
Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to defeat the enemy. The long hours of work finally paid off ....... It's also thanks to Nicole.
Don't worry about it. It's just me and your daughter.
Thank you, Ardis. It wouldn't have gone so smoothly without you. I'm sorry for getting you involved in my personal vendetta.
I just took the job and did it. I just wanted to make sure you were properly briefed beforehand, even if it was ....... Well, as long as you keep your word, that's fine by me.
Of course we will take care of that. The Ritte Company will take care of the food arrangements and the purchase of the heavy iron ore.
That said, if Leytin falls into the hands of the monarchy, how can we expect her to continue to do business?
Although it was not decided that Leytin was going to be defeated, the situation was clearly unfavorable.
If the monarchy's army entered Leytin as invaders, the Litte Chamber of Commerce based in this city would not be able to do business at their leisure.
We need to get into the monarchy somehow, and then we won't have the luxury of responding to Aldis' request.
That's all right. The Litte Company is going to move its headquarters from Leytin.
"Relocating home? Where to?
I haven't decided yet, but the assets of the Chamber of Commerce have already been taken out of Leyteyn, deposited with some trusted people. The Litte Chamber of Commerce in Leytein right now is just an apparent hurricane.
"You were going to leave Leytin from the start,"?
It's not going to be the same as it has been in the past, if the top has been radically changed. And, well, ....... I'm not qualified to live in this country anymore.
Marida gives an unlikely, fading smile.
It's - oh, I see. Are you aware of that?
Trying to question the question, Aldis quickly understands what it means.
'Well, you know,'
Marida must have known that Leytin would be attacked by the enemy through the power of dreaming.
Of course, we won't know the exact date and time, but the circumstances before and after should give us some idea of the timing.
However, even though Marida had anticipated the invasion of the monarchy, she did not try to prevent the invasion.
Because with Leytin under attack and the whole city in turmoil, this is the perfect opportunity for Marida to get her revenge.
In peacetime, the death of Count Emiliez would have caused a great deal of consternation, and there would be a thorough investigation to catch the culprits.
But this is wartime.
The death of the Count would be covered in the chaos of battle, and if Laitin is destroyed, there is a good chance that even the search for the truth will be abandoned.
The problem was that this was why Marida was sitting on the sidelines watching the situation unfold.
Of course, it is not possible to prevent the invasion of the monarchy's army even if Marida was running eastward by herself.
But she could have sounded the alarm, and if she had been aware of this possibility, her army might have been ready to meet the enemy.
That's what Marida abandoned.
For the utmost selfish reason: to use it to avenge her own enemies.
Contempt?
I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.
It's true that what Marida did - or, more correctly, 'did nothing' - may be something for which she should be blamed.
But in the first place, there are few people who know that Marida could have predicted this situation in advance with the power of dreaming.
Aldis, one of them, looked straight into Marida's eyes and said, "No.
"If I were in your shoes, ............ I would surely have made the same choice.
Aldis felt sorry for himself in his heart only, saying that he was trapped in revenge and had no right to despise Marida.