/
“What?” Cox stared back.
“You show up out of nowhere and talk shit like that—Where are you getting off?” Baron Ashval raged. “What do you mean the rat is Count Cox!? Do you have any idea how much he’s done for the family? We’ve been patient with you so far because you’re the Young Lady’s guest, but you’ve crossed the line!” He glared hatefully at Icarus. If he had his sword, he would be pointing it at Icarus. “You dug your own grave. You thought I wouldn’t see through your plan to sow chaos at the last minute?
“Where are the knights?” he demanded. “It’s not enough to let this brat intrude; you’re going to make us listen to this drivel too?”
A fistful of knights stormed into the room with weapons in hand.
Charles snapped out of her shocked stupor. “Wait, hold!” She struggled to keep up with the rapid turn of events.
It’s not that I don’t trust Icarus—how could I doubt Joshua’s people? Charles considered Icarus the most reliable friend she had, even if they weren’t able to meet frequently. Just how many people had Icarus’s plans saved? But… Charles turned her head to Cox, who looked just as confused as Charles was.
It was hard to believe, even if no one else knew him as Charles did. Cox had never left her side since she was a toddler; in some ways, she trusted him more than her own father.
“Icarus,” Charles looked at Cox and then Icarus. “I really hope…” For a moment, they regarded each other, and then Cox gave her a reassuring smile. But when she saw Icarus’s blue eyes, her blood ran cold.
“I have three reasons.”
The knights hesitated. The truth was, they were the people with the most doubts about this situation. They owed Cain too much for holding the Gorge on his own.
“What the hell are you—”
“Wait a minute, Baron Ashval.”
“Young Lady…?”
“Let’s hear Icarus out. You can make a choice afterward, no?”
The vassals carefully avoided looking at Cox.
“Don’t move,” Charles said to the confused knights, who backed away.
Icarus gave her a grateful look before speaking. “I knew there was a traitor from the beginning. No matter how strong Marquis Crombell is, even with the Mercenary King’s favor, one of the pillars of the Empire is not defeated so easily.”
“You’re not saying anything we don’t already kno—”
“And.” Icarus’s eyes glowed with determination. “One particular event put the Pontiers onto the defensive, ultimately pushing them back into this basin deep in Eiden Gorge.”
“What of it?” Charles asked.
“The attempt on Duke Pontier’s life, the center of this… mess. Isn’t it strange how the Duke himself was poisoned in the middle of the war when security was at its maximum? You’re telling me that the patriarch of one of the five greatest families in the Empire was poisoned, despite multiple tasters? And no trace of poison was found afterward, mind you.”
This time, not even Baron Ashval was willing to speak up. He was commander of the knights and, therefore, responsible for the Duke’s security.
“The poison used on the Duke was Blue Mountain Gary. It is scentless and tasteless, making it difficult for even a knight to detect it. Even a small amount of this white powder is lethal.”
“Everything brought to the Duke was taste-tested by three different servants,” Count Verdot interjected. “The traitor would have to bypass all three of them for the poison to reach the Duke. It’s not impossible, but it certainly wouldn’t be easy. The servants have been in the family for the longest time. You may be able to buy out one, but all three?”
“Then what—”
“It’s not impossible to bypass the taste-testing. The place we need to look isn’t the way the food is made, but where it’s served.”
“Hah!” Baron Ashval sneered. “The Duke always had the knights and I by his side while he ate. No one could have fooled our eyes—”
“So you guarded the Duke?”
Ashval gave Icarus a poisonous glare, but the young strategist was undeterred.
“And all the knights are under your command… You see where I’m going here?”
“That’s—” Charles tried to intervene.
“Even within the family, only four people had permission to speak with him directly: Young Lady Charles, only daughter of the Pontiers, Count Verdot, directly in charge of the Pontiers’ affairs, Baron Ashval, commander of the knights, and, finally…” Icarus looked sadly at Cox. “Count Cox, responsible for the Pontier family’s finances. As a merchant family, the Duke placed a huge amount of faith in Count Cox, as much faith as his own daughter.”
“But, Cox… No, Cox was always with me, unlike everyone else. Ever since I was a child, I was usually away from the house—”
“That makes him even more suspicious, Young Lady.” Icarus firmly replied. “Because he was always accompanying the Young Lady, he had many chances to meet with foreign agents. It made it easy for him to keep out of sight.”
Cox chose that moment to speak up. “Didn’t I tell you? You have to believe in yourself, Young Lady. But, Icarus, don’t you think it’s a bit of a stretch to say that I’m the only one implicated by your evidence?”
“Second reason.” Icarus pushed past the knights and strode toward the table.
“What?!”
“May I direct your attention to the map for a moment?” Icarus pointed to a set of four bright yellow lines—the aforementioned secret supply routes. “As you can see, we discussed four different supply routes at our conference. I added some tricks to them.”
“Don’t tell me…” Most of the vassals looked confused, but Count Verdot and Baron Ashval seemed to have a realization.
“Young Lady?”
Charles jumped guiltily when Icarus called out to her. “There was actually one additional route that we didn’t speak of at the meeting. Count Verdot and Baron Ashval… I only told Count Cox about the fifth route. I apologize. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you—”
“Not at all, Young Lady.” Count Verdot shook his head knowingly. “It only makes sense, given the situation.”
“None of the supply routes I talked about are the same.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Simply put, they were bait. Even if the enemy didn’t try to attack the fifth supply route, I thought they would at least try to verify their intelligence. I was right.” Icarus stared at Cox as she spoke.
“There is a direct path between here and the Aksel estate. When I told Count Cox, a strange man dressed like an herbalist showed up.”
“Maybe he’s just an herbalist—” Cox began.
Icarus cut him off. “Third and last. Count Cox was spotted leaving the area late at night.”
Cox’s face hardened. “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went for a walk.”
“Did I say it was last night?” Icarus smiled, but it did nothing to hide her anger. “That last one was a lie.”
“Once again, I admire you for taking on such a challenge. I’m kind of sad, actually. It would’ve been nice if you said something to me…”
Joshua laughed out loud. “The match can be used for any kind of battle, even one not between superhumans.”
The Lion King looked confused for a moment and then burst out laughing as well.
“Must be nice—I mean, being young. Here, take this. A gift from me to you.”
Joshua plucked a hexagonal plate out of the air. It had a lion with a sword in its mouth on it.
“As someone who doesn’t listen, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”
Joshua gave him a puzzled look.
“I’ve only lost once and only tied once in my entire life. I fought for two days and two nights—not against one of the Nine Stars or Twelve Superhumans, but against a ‘normal’ Master. What you see isn’t everything, so don’t look forward too much. It helps to look back sometimes.” The Lion King smiled bitterly. “I say that because I’m worried that you’ll break your neck by staring forward.”
“I appreciate any advice.”
“You have no sense of humor.” Geiger waved his hand as he resumed walking. “Thank you, but I have a lot to do. Let’s go; I’ll handle everything else.”
“Thank you.”
“Remember what you have to do. I don’t know about the rest, but you must engrave your name on Naga’s tombstone. Don’t forget: the royal tomb is on the outskirts of Reinhardt.”
Geiger then realized that the new king wasn’t there—emotionally—anymore.
“If you’re too busy, you’ll regret it.” He shook his head and started walking back to the castle. “By the way… That snake jerk has been with us for two days, but he still hasn’t said goodbye. How sad…”
In the end, the Lion King’s seal of words, which was where he said his last words, was no longer anywhere in the castle.