The one more shocked by the sudden proposal than me was Second Lieutenant Crimine.
「Me!?」
「Yes, you. You’re rather small, aren’t you? Poison will work far more quickly on you than on that lieutenant there. Perhaps even more than on me.」
Certainly, with the same amount of poison, the heavier one has a better chance to survive. Second Lieutenant Crimine stood barely one meter fifty tall, and weighed less than Lord Grien.
Lord Grien looked at me with a triumphant expression.
「What you can withstand, this lieutenant could not.」
「With respect, the duel is between myself and you. Second Lieutenant Crimine is only a witness.」
「Of course the duel is with you. But you will surely win, won’t you? In that case, there is no problem letting her eat your share.」
What a pain… Well, fine.
「That’s true enough. Second Lieutenant, eat in my place.」
Her eyes went wide, but remembering she was a soldier, she straightened.
「Y-yes! If that is your order!」
「My apologies. If you’re felled by poison, I’ll see your last request carried out, whatever it may be.」
Second Lieutenant Crimine blushed slightly and snapped a salute.
「If that is the case, then gladly.」
Lord Grien burst out laughing.
「Hah-hah-hah-hah! As expected of the feared Death God Battalion! To use your own subordinate as a disposable pawn!」
「She’s no pawn. The one dying today is you.」
Wanting to get this farce over with, I handed Lord Grien the silver tongs.
「There are twenty-four pastries in total. Please designate which ones are to be eaten first.」
「Very well.」
Lord Grien smiled slyly and began to examine them closely.
「Since they are baked, the poison must be one that withstands heat. And to conceal it in such small pastries, it must be a very potent toxin. Is that not so?」
He looked at me smugly. While preparing tea, I answered with as little expression as possible.
「I have no obligation to answer. The duel has already begun.」
「Heh, I can see your inner panic.」
Grinning, Lord Grien compared the pastries.
「On the Black Knight side, there’s the crescent moon—Duke Kaisas’s crest. This is the formation after the Fourth Battle, when he defected from the White Knights. His mother was poisoned… hm, it feels meaningful.」
What a long-winded old man. The more he hesitates, the closer his death. I’ll leave him be.
But suddenly he shrugged.
「…No, the crest is a decoy. You only placed it there to mislead me. In that case, I’ll have this young lady eat the one I would normally choose.」
Without hesitation, he picked a fish-shaped cookie from the White Knight side.
「You take this one. And I will take this.」
The one he chose was a tower-shaped cookie.
「I’ll honor Duke Bachelm, who lost the war and drank poison from the cup.」
Second Lieutenant Crimine took the designated fish cookie, glancing at me nervously.
「Is this one safe to eat?」
「Who knows…」
I kept my face straight. Pouting, she popped it into her mouth.
「If I die, please be the one to witness the autopsy, First Lieutenant.」
「Understood.」
I nodded, then addressed Lord Grien.
「Now, you as well.」
「Hm.」
With wrinkled fingers, he picked up the cookie and crunched into it. Confident, of course.
Let’s keep the pace up.
「Please select the next pastry.」
「Hmph. Very well, wait a moment.」
After a sip of tea, Lord Grien crossed his arms.
「Now, which to choose? I’m eager to see the young lady writhe in agony. Time for a sharper move.」
He chose a dark leaf-shaped cookie.
「A willow leaf—Duke Fenchinen’s crest. But this one is strangely thick. As though it was made bulky to conceal something inside. I’ll give this to you.」
「U-understood.」
Crimine picked it up nervously.
「Ugh… I charge… headlong…」
Mumbling, she ate the cookie and swallowed it down. Then she looked up at me.
「First Lieutenant, there was something bitter in that one. I might really be dead this time.」
「Relax. It takes time for symptoms to appear.」
「How is that relaxing!?」
I ignored my subordinate’s cry and pressed Lord Grien.
「Now you.」
「I’ll take this one.」
He picked a white frog-shaped cookie.
「The toad crest. Bad taste. Witches are said to use it in their potions. You must have thought it looked poisonous, so I would hesitate.」
「Just eat it.」
What a waste of time.
Lord Grien ate it grudgingly, washing it down with tea.
「But really, these taste terrible. Couldn’t you have prepared something better?」
「My apologies. I didn’t want to spend public funds on pastries for a condemned man and myself.」
When I told him the plain truth, Lord Grien snorted.
「Trying to anger me and cloud my judgment is pointless. But this is troublesome. I’ll choose the rest all at once.」
「As you like.」
I agreed readily. Lord Grien selected ten out of the twenty remaining cookies.
「These are mine. The rest are yours.」
「Y-yes…」
Face tense, Second Lieutenant Crimine picked up her share and crunched nervously.
「First Lieutenant, how many of these actually have poison? Won’t we all collapse together?」
「If we collapse together, the mission is accomplished.」
「Ugh… you sadistic superior…」
Insulting a superior officer is punishable by imprisonment, you know.
The unpleasant tea party continued for some time, until every cookie I had prepared was in their stomachs.
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Lord Grien sighed.
「Good grief, those were vile pastries. Next time prepare better tools. And next time, First Lieutenant, you will eat them yourself. I’m starting to want to kill you.」
Next time? I couldn’t help but laugh.
「There is no next time. The execution has already been carried out.」
「What…?」
With a clatter, Lord Grien leapt up from his chair.