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IWRYWYM Ch. 114 — The Fall of the West
“What the hell happened? Why can’t we find out where they are? They couldn’t have vanished into the sky, nor could they go underground!”
The roar that could be heard several times every hour was not from one person. The key figures in the Verdin Duchy were initially puzzled, disbelieved in the middle, and angry at the end.
Nickel, the knight commander of Count Guillaume who’d lost his master, released his soldiers and combed the area for revenge but couldn’t find a single strand of silver hair.
“Do you think they’re so daring to enter the duchy?”
“They should be wandering outside the duchy, so why don’t we take the troops out there?”
“What if it’s a trap? What if they’ve been waiting for our troops to be released before seeping inside and trying to attack the duke’s castle?!”
“Do you think those released outside will just leave? Of course they’ll move around checking if any rats are coming in!”
Shouts broke out in the conference hall today. Duke Verdin was angry at the slow report and did not attend, and there was no Count Guillaume to fill the duke’s vacancy to stop them.
It was obvious that it would continue for a while, so even today, the knights guarding the duke’s castle turned their heads for the first time, pretending they couldn’t hear.
They would have avoided it if they had taken on the overall security mission. Unfortunately, they couldn’t move around because they had to protect the front of the conference hall.
“H-Hey…”
The knights stiffened at the sudden appearance. No matter what, this was an important meeting. A limited number of people could come here at this time, and they were all in the conference hall.
Just before the knights’ hands naturally went to the handle of the sword, the one who appeared held out the tray in front of them.
“This is for you guys.”
The knights, who confirmed that they were familiar servants, loosened their guard. There were several baskets and bowls lined up next to the tray. Those behind the servants also added what they had brought.
“Eat some of this, knights.”
“What’s up with this?”
“Isn’t the meeting going on for too long? There’s food and drinks inside, but you must stand and guard here all day…”
“Cough! That’s what we should do, of course!”
“Oh, I understand. But you guys are spending effort to keep us safe. This is what we can do, so please accept it.”
The knights looked at each other and nodded as the words struck close to their feelings. It had been going on for a while.
“We will let this slide despite your low status because of your affection.”
The knights ate and drank what the servants had brought and rested. Being a knight was a difficult and boring job, so they were quite pleased with the servants they would not normally have dealt with. One of the knights spoke as they ate and drank.
“This situation must be hard for you, too. Do you have any problems?”
When he was in a bad mood, he often vented his anger on his subordinates, and those knights were usually one of them. The servants rubbed their palms without expressing themselves.
“How can that happen when the knights look after us like this?”
Hearing real problems from his colleagues’ gossip was annoying, but he felt better when the servants said the things he wanted to hear.
“What are you doing? Isn’t there any? I told you to speak comfortably.”
When the knight asked another question, the middle-aged servant who held out the tray for the first time hesitated before opening his mouth.
“T-There’s nothing big, but… too much trash is being piled up in the castle.”
“Trash? Why is that?”
At the unexpected words, the knights looked at their colleagues who usually patrolled the area with puzzled faces.
“It’s not something that esteemed people like you should be concerned about… You know that we’re banned from entering and leaving the castle because the situation on the border is difficult these days, right? So, there’s a lot to throw away, but there’s no place to throw it away. We stepped on them to reduce the volume, but the smell and rotten things flowed out, making it messier…”
The end of the speech was vague, but the following story was clear. The knight remembered that the knights, as well as the nobles, had said that they smelled rotten smell here and there, and he remembered hearing that some servants had been scolded by the knights patrolling near the wall.
“So what?”
But he didn’t think he needed to talk about it now.
“No matter where we throw it in the castle, it will make the esteemed ones frown. So when I was on my way to throw the trash out, I couldn’t help but notice that… there was a small door leading out of the castle behind the castle, which we originally used to throw away trash or dispose of dirty things. If we go through that, we can deal with the urgent matter now…”
“Is there anything urgent and not urgent about trash? Hmph!”
As the knight in the back, who had only been listening, muttered, the servant said cautiously.
“… as well as other things, the bathroom’s hygiene is really serious…”
The knights shut their mouths at those words.
How many people were in this castle? From nobles to knights, to soldiers who were many times their usual. It was natural for anyone who ate to excrete.
“What about the side door?”
“It’s barely enough for one person to pass through with a cart.”
It meant that it was suicide to break in from the outside, even if only a few guards were stationed.
“Okay. Let me ask the old man.”
The servant, whose eyes widened as if he had received an unexpected favor, replied, “Thank you! We’ve been asking around and were at a loss!”
“I don’t know if it will be allowed. I’m just going to mention it.”
The knight waved his hand, but the servants thanked him repeatedly as if his thought was enough.
And the next day, permission was granted, and two knights and two soldiers were assigned to guard the side door.
The walls surrounding the central city, home to Duke Verdin, were as majestic as the size of the capital city.
Inside the thick, high wall, which seemed to surround the castle gate with open arms, there was a spectacular view of the central city, and from the duke’s castle tower, one could look down the area beyond the center of the city.
Geographically, except for the road leading up to the castle gate entrance, the left and right sides and the back side have a slope, which is advantageous for guarding against external intrusions or taking defense.
Therefore, although the troops were now reorganized and distributed evenly in all directions, security wasn’t strict except where the gate was originally located. In the meantime, the direction of the side gate leading from the vacant lot at the back of the castle was empty.
The slope leading to the side door was steeper than the other side, and the smell from the bottom was unusual.
“What the-! You said this place used to be a garbage dump?”
“Yes.”
The servants nodded at the knight’s question.
The servants scooped up filth with carts all day from the castle and brought some large barrels to the side door, knowing they would be in trouble if their superiors noticed.
The servants who moved the filth from the castle to the bin as quickly as possible took a little more time after that, divided the filth in the bin using a cart, and carried it to the side door.
The knights who had been carefully watching them were now far away and disappeared somewhere, and the soldiers who were wary of the surroundings were given food brought by the maids.
Since the soldiers had not tasted alcohol for a long time, they secretly sipped alcohol while watching their surroundings.
Normally, they would have toured the neighborhood several times, but since the knights were also present, they merely scanned the gathered people going back and forth.
As it was getting dark, no one noticed that the black shadows that had jumped out of the slope outside the side door were being carried inside on the carts several times.
The floor of the large round barrel was covered with the same colored cloth as the surface so that the shadows could hide between the floor and the cloth and settle quietly.
“Are you done?”
The knights who had disappeared approached and asked without coming close to the barrels and carts that smelled terribly because of the filth splashed on them or buried around them.
“Yes, we’re almost done.”
When the servants answered, the knights and soldiers nodded.
***
A hollow tree trunk stood around the inner edge of the barrel. The thickness was only half the size of a fingernail, but the skin was hard. The top of the trunk reached the middle height of the barrel, and it was very useful as it connected under the cloth laid on the floor.
[T/N: It’s like using a straw to breathe underwater. You’ll understand later.]
Elisha, crouching between the floor and the cloth, with her head on the inside edge of the barrel, wanted to praise Prince Raymond this time. The barrel used to contain filth, even if it would’ve been almost scooped out. And although it would not be impossible to breathe, Elisha had wondered if she had to prepare this.
Aside from the smell, if they moved slightly improperly, the filth would’ve gotten into their nose or mouth… Elisha was wondering if she should apologize to Prince Raymond for this unsatisfactory situation.
“Blaargh! Gack!”
But she didn’t have time to apologize. Raymond, who was crouching next to Elisha, trembled like a fit. His condition was not good from the time he entered the barrel. It seemed like he couldn’t stand it, even with the tree trunk.
If you’re going to be like this, you shouldn’t have said you’d do it. No one had forced him to, but he was screaming, “How does it make sense for me to leave this important mission?”
Elisha clicked her tongue because of Prince Raymond, whose movement was so big that the barrel shook and reached for him.
Puk!
She couldn’t see, but as she hit the side of his neck hard with the blade’s sheath, Prince Raymond’s body, which was shaking violently, soon calmed down. He lost the tree trunk he was biting on because he fainted, but he earned it.
Time passed, and after quite a while, there was a sense of movement outside.
“2nd Consort.”
Elisha walked on the cloth and got up. The filth was dripping down, but she didn’t care. Rather, she was at a loss for what to do with the people waiting outside the barrel, who were flustered and sorry.
They said they might find another way if they waited a little longer or took a little more risk, but Elisha said she was the one who’d chosen this method. While continuing to assure them that she was fine, the Imperial Knights came out of the barrel where she was and from other barrels.
Only 30 knights with the best skills came with her. It seemed like a small number to promote great achievement, but this was possible because there were people who sympathized with them inside. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible.
Those who did not accompany her were waiting in the central city overlooking the duke’s castle.
As Decal had said, in every place where people live, there is a gap somehow. That’s why they could now be in the duke’s castle.
Then, suddenly, Elisha remembered that there was someone who had not yet come out of the barrel. She wanted to take him out but was a little worried because she thought it might be better to leave him like that because he would be quiet.