Chapter 110

Chapter 110. Nightmare (1)

Jeremy accepted my proposal.

That meant the assassination of Count Matthias Perrier and his immediate family had been decided.

Of course, I couldn't simply send assassins without preparation.

Several things had to happen first.

First.

I needed the Queen Mother's implicit approval for the annexation of Perrier.

After the Battle of La Spezia, it had become difficult for Court Count Chatillon to simply cut off my head.

Because of that, he would probably try to prevent me from expanding my territory instead.

It was better to send a message directly to the Queen Mother and receive her approval.

The contents were simple.

I would emphasize that I was a friend of King Louis.

I would promise to weaken the Noble faction in the future.

And I would explain that Jeremy would remain as my vassal, guaranteeing the Perrier family's continued possession of its traditional lands.

That should make the proposal acceptable.

I chose Berix as the envoy.

He was familiar with Le Capital and could move around the royal court without attracting too much attention.

Second.

Jeremy needed his own faction inside Perrier.

If I killed Count Matthias without establishing support for Jeremy first, some completely unrelated person might end up inheriting the title.

That was Jeremy's job.

I gave him money and sent him back to Perrier.

Third.

I had to prevent Toulouse from interfering in the succession.

Even the preparations before the assassination could provoke Toulouse.

There's no perfect answer.

The best option is probably to feed them false information and make them relax.

I decided to send Jeremy another letter.

Until the assassination succeeded, he needed to spread rumors that would keep Toulouse focused on money rather than politics.

* * *

Several days later.

Count Toulouse was not completely ignorant of Eric's movements.

Jeremy had been meeting people all over Perrier.

Naturally, Toulouse's spies noticed.

They even discovered that Jeremy had been in contact with Eric Marcel.

But Count Toulouse did not know about the assassination plan.

Because of that, he watched the situation leisurely.

Then one day, his cousin, who served as liaison in Perrier, unexpectedly came to see him.

"Why are you here all of a sudden?"

"Brother, you know Jeremy Perrier, Count Perrier's younger brother, right?"

"Of course. My spies reported that Jeremy Perrier has been running around making a fuss lately."

"Yes. He's meeting people while claiming he's planning some kind of business with Count Eric Marcel."

The liaison grinned.

"Doesn't that smell like money to you?"

Count Toulouse's eyes immediately lit up.

If the words Eric and business appeared together, there was money to be made.

In Count Toulouse's mind, the reason Marcel had transformed from a tiny poor border territory into a wealthy county in only a year was entirely due to Eric's business ability.

"That business."

Count Toulouse leaned forward.

"Can we get involved too?"

"Should I grab Jeremy and squeeze the details out of him?"

"No, no."

Count Toulouse waved his hand.

"Let Jeremy build the business first."

In other words,

Let him grow it, then we'll take our share.

The liaison laughed.

"Ha ha! Understood, Brother."

Then he asked,

"But are you giving up on Provence?"

Provence was the Great Forest region east of Marcel Harbor.

It was currently Baron Axel's fief and one of the areas where refugees arriving from outside were being settled.

Count Toulouse had coveted Provence for a long time.

The son of a knight from Baron Carcassonne's territory, who had once been sent to Marcel as a Tax Officer, had also been Toulouse's man.

The original plan had been to ruin Marcel's finances, then purchase the right to develop Provence from Count Westfalen.

But Eric had suddenly become lord of Marcel.

And now Marcel was rich.

There was no possibility of the territory selling Provence.

"If I can't buy it, I'll eventually have to take it."

Count Toulouse clicked his tongue.

"But not now. Chatillon has pulled Count Marcel into his orbit, and Marcel's military power has grown too much."

He looked toward the map.

"For now, watch Jeremy."

"Yes."

Count Toulouse's attention had successfully been redirected.

* * *

In Perrier, Jeremy began spending money.

A lot of it.

He met administrators.

Knights.

Merchants.

Minor nobles.

Anyone who might matter after the Count's death.

The explanation was always the same.

A huge canal project was coming.

Count Marcel wanted to connect the Rhône River to Perrier's lord's castle.

Trade would explode.

Land values would rise.

Jobs would appear.

And Jeremy was the person negotiating it.

Money and hope worked better than ideology.

By the time the preparations were complete, enough people had begun viewing Jeremy as the man who would bring wealth into Perrier.

Then came the night of the assassination.

* * *

A bell rang violently through Perrier's lord's castle.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Knights leaped from their beds.

They grabbed their swords and rushed toward the lord's residence.

Nearly twenty arrived one after another.

But Martin and the ghouls were already waiting outside.

They had beaten down the knights who had been on duty.

Martin drew his sword and shouted,

"As long as I stand here, no one will pass!"

The knights' faces twisted.

Perhaps it was because of the embarrassingly dramatic line.

Or perhaps they were simply desperate to reach their lord.

"Who the hell are you?! Move aside!"

"We are warriors who have risen to save Perrier from the evil clutches of Matthias!"

The knights' expressions softened slightly.

Every town had at least one poor child who was a little strange in the head.

"Come on, move. The uncles are busy."

"No discussion!"

Martin pointed his sword at them.

"If you wish to pass, defeat me!"

The knights apparently decided conversation was impossible.

They drew their weapons and charged.

Martin and the ghouls began a wild fight beneath the moonlight.

* * *

Inside the lord's residence, not a single healthy knight remained.

Thirteen assassins had stormed the building.

The knight guarding Count Perrier's bedroom was already lying on the floor.

So was a servant who had secretly possessed considerable combat ability.

Count Perrier was cornered.

He had neither a knight's strength nor a mage's power.

He couldn't resist.

Eventually, he fell to the floor and clasped both hands together.

"Please spare my life. I'll give you every piece of gold and silver I own."

"Sorry."

The assassin standing over him shook his head.

"I owe our client a favor, and we've already been paid."

At that moment, another assassin rushed into the room.

"Brother!"

"What?"

"Both of his sons are gone. Looks like someone moved them out beforehand."

"What?"

The assassin leader looked down at Count Perrier.

The Count looked equally confused.

"Damn it. There was an internal collaborator."

Count Perrier slowly raised his head.

"My sons really escaped?"

"Looks that way."

Count Perrier stood.

A strange smile spread across his face.

"Heh heh heh."

He stared at the assassin.

"Who told you to kill me?"

"..."

"Was it Jeremy?"

The assassin leader frowned.

"Kill this one first."

"Yes, Brother."

"Ha ha ha!"

Count Perrier suddenly laughed loudly.

"Jeremy will have nightmares every night from now on!"

The assassins stared at him.

"He'll never know when someone will come to take his seat from him! Ha ha ha!"

Slash!

The assassin's sword passed through Count Perrier's neck.

His head fell.

The laughter ended.