No matter how many skilled assassins an Assassin Guild had, Lloyd was confident that he could wipe them all out.
But if he did so, all eyes in the Empire would turn toward him.
That was exactly what he wished to avoid.
‘If people learn that I possess great power, my responsibilities will increase while my freedom decreases.’
Furthermore, people would surely appear in this world as well who wanted to make use of his power.
Just as they had in his original world.
To avoid such things, Lloyd had decided to borrow Count Bled’s strength.
If the Sword Master and House Bled’s forces stepped forward, there would be no need for Lloyd to act personally.
‘Of course, I do have items that can conceal my identity, but what matters is that Count Bled himself takes action.’
That way, he would be able to show the Assassin Guilds something.
That if they touched House Bled, the guild would disappear.
Things were quiet for now, but Hailed might later do the same thing as the Countess.
But then no Assassin Guild would readily accept commissions related to House Bled.
‘If that happens, I won’t have to bother worrying about potential attacks from assassins.’
Meanwhile, Count Bled stroked his closely trimmed beard and considered Lloyd’s words.
“Hmm……”
Certainly, Lloyd’s suggestion was not bad.
Even the Imperial Palace had been troubled by the steadily increasing number of Assassin Guilds.
If he eliminated the notorious Jackal Guild, House Bled’s honor would rise even further.
But the problem was having a justification.
If he destroyed an Assassin Guild without any grounds, he might become the primary target of other Assassin Guilds.
Although Lloyd had been attacked by an assassin, he was an Illegitimate Child.
Moreover, he had not been assassinated. Using the fact that he had nearly been assassinated as grounds to destroy an Assassin Guild was far from sufficient.
‘If only I had a justification.’
Had Lloyd noticed Count Bled’s thoughts?
He asked, “Are you troubled because you lack a suitable reason to attack the Assassin Guild?”
“Hmm, I am sorry to say this, but trying to kill an Illegitimate Child is too tenuous a reason to destroy an Assassin Guild.”
It was something Lloyd could have felt quite hurt by.
But Lloyd spoke with an unconcerned expression.
“You only need to make a reason, do you not? For example, the person the assassins tried to kill was not an Illegitimate Child, but the Countess……”
Count Bled’s eyes lit up at Lloyd’s words.
Why had he not thought of something so simple until now?
‘That’s right. I only need to pass it off as murder rather than a dishonorable suicide.’
As Lloyd said, if the target of the Assassin Guild had been the Countess, the wife of House Bled and the daughter of House Roderick, he would have more than enough justification.
That was not all.
He could direct House Roderick’s fury over the loss of its daughter toward the Assassin Guild. It would kill two birds with one stone.
Of course, there would be documents showing that the Countess had commissioned the Assassin Guild, but if they were burned along with the guild building, there would be no risk of discovery.
Count Bled’s face, which had been dark with worry, brightened.
Having found a way to overcome this situation, all that remained was to put it into action.
“Lloyd, thanks to you, it seems this matter will be resolved well. Leave the Jackal Assassin Guild to me and go rest.”
“Understood.”
Once Count Bled had decided to act, the Jackal Assassin Guild would not remain unscathed.
Lloyd would be able to achieve his revenge without lifting a finger, as easily as blowing his nose.
Lloyd smiled in satisfaction and was about to stand when the office door suddenly opened and Hailed entered.
His eyes were swollen from how much he had cried, and his face was flushed red.
Entering in that state, he bit his lip and asked, “Is it true that Mother…… that Mother took her own life?”
“……Where did you hear that?”
“That isn’t what matters right now! Please answer my question quickly!”
Hailed glared as he waited for Count Bled’s answer.
His mother had always emphasized that nobles must be honorable above all else. He wanted to hear it directly from Count Bled: that his mother had not taken her own life.
But Count Bled rebuked Hailed instead.
“You are the heir of this House. No matter how difficult the situation, you should remain composed. What is this disgraceful behavior?”
Hailed looked as though he had been struck by those words.
Disgraceful behavior……? Did being the heir mean he was not even allowed to show grief over losing his mother?
Anger soon began to fill Hailed’s face.
“Then I don’t need to be the heir……”
Just as Hailed was about to say in anger that he would give up being the heir, Lloyd intervened.
“It is his mother’s death. Setting aside his position as heir, it is only natural that he would grieve as her son.”
“Hmm.”
“Furthermore, he heard the absurd claim that the Countess took her own life. It is understandable that he would be angry. So, why not be lenient with him just for today?”
Hailed looked at Lloyd with an unexpected expression.
The person who understood his feelings best was not anyone else, but Lloyd.
Lloyd had even taken his side against that frightening father of his.
‘I do nothing but pick fights with him whenever we meet…….’
An unknown emotion rose to Hailed’s throat, and he could not say anything.
While Hailed misunderstood everything on his own and was moved by it, Lloyd let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
‘Did that get through to him? No matter how angry he was, how could he try to say that he would give up being the heir?’
Given Count Bled’s rigid and inflexible personality, he would surely have stripped Hailed of his position as heir.
‘That would be troublesome.’
But fortunately, thanks to Lloyd’s intervention, that situation did not come to pass.
Then Count Bled’s voice was heard.
“I will let this pass today, Hailed. Return to your room now.”
Perhaps he had agreed with Lloyd’s words.
His tone was noticeably gentler than before.
But Hailed would not be satisfied with that alone.
“You have not answered my question yet.”
Count Bled hesitated for a moment before speaking with a low sigh.
“You have the right to know as well. Yes, Olivia did not take her own life.”
Only then did Hailed’s face brighten.
“Right!? There is no way Mother would have made such a choice!”
But Hailed’s brightened complexion soon darkened again.
He had heard that his mother had died from being stabbed by a sword.
Did that not mean her death had been murder?
Hailed’s face twisted in anger.
“Who killed Mother?”
“I am investigating. If I learn anything, I will inform you as well, so return to your room now.”
“……Understood.”
Although he looked dissatisfied, Hailed no longer insisted and obediently left the room.
Something unexpected had happened, but things had proceeded as originally planned in the end.
‘Then should I give him that and leave as well?’
Lloyd handed Count Bled the antidote he had taken out of his Inventory beforehand.
Since Count Bled was going to eliminate the Assassin Guild in his stead, Lloyd should at least do this much.
“What is this?”
“It is an antidote Sir Cotton made after personally analyzing the poisons that the Jackal Guild assassin had used on me.”
Count Bled’s eyebrows rose at Lloyd’s words.
“Are you saying that the assassin tried to poison you?”
“Is that not an assassin’s specialty? Anyway, he was a foolish assassin. Even after failing once, he continued putting poison in my food.”
Once an attempt to poison someone failed, it was natural to become suspicious of every meal.
Yet the assassin had foolishly continued using the same method.
‘He must have been impatient because the Countess kept pressuring him.’
While Lloyd was thinking that, Count Bled’s expression turned serious.
He had briefly forgotten because of the Countess’s death, but the assassins’ target had been Lloyd.
Lloyd must have gone through a difficult time, yet he did not show the slightest sign of hardship and thought of the House first.
Putting the House before his own feelings.
That was exactly what Count Bled had wanted from Hailed, the heir.
‘If only Hailed were even half as much like Lloyd. Perhaps I should reconsider the succession after all…….’
Count Bled was becoming increasingly drawn to Lloyd.
***
Count Bled immediately destroyed the will and attributed the Countess’s death to assassins.
He then publicly declared that he would wage war against the Jackal Guild that had killed her.
Naturally, the attention of everyone in the Empire—royalty, nobles, and commoners alike—focused on House Bled and the Jackal Assassin Guild.
House Bled was not the only one that wanted war with the Jackal Assassin Guild.
House Roderick, enraged by the loss of its daughter, also declared war against the Jackal Assassin Guild.
With Iriana’s help, Count Bled and Duke Roderick discovered the Jackal Assassin Guild’s headquarters and immediately set out with their knights.
Surprisingly, Hailed also took part in the expedition.
When Lloyd heard the news, he tilted his head in confusion.
It was still too early for the current Hailed to fight assassins.
‘Why is Count Bled allowing that bastard Hailed to take part in the expedition?’
Of course, Count Bled would not let his son die, but no one knew what could happen in real combat.
Not even a Sword Master.
‘It would be troublesome if that bastard Hailed got himself killed.’
It was not as though Lloyd particularly liked Hailed, but Hailed was essential to Lloyd’s freedom.
If Hailed could not carry on the House, Lloyd would become the heir.
‘I have finally gained the chance to live freely. I can’t be bound to this House.’
That was exactly what he wished to avoid.
Lloyd let out a light sigh and stood up.
Seeing Lloyd suddenly prepare to leave, Vector and Martin asked at the same time.
“W-Where are you going?”
“Are you planning to go out?”
Lloyd looked at the two of them.
No matter how much he concealed his face, anyone from House Bled would recognize him at a glance.
That would not do.
This time, he needed to go without anyone knowing.
“I have something to take care of, so I will be away for a while. If anyone looks for me, tell them I am at the training grounds.”
“Understood, but where exactly do you intend to……”
But before Martin could finish asking, Lloyd had already disappeared.
Only the open window suggested that Lloyd had left through it.
***
Using the [Mimicry] skill and Telekinesis, Lloyd left the House without anyone noticing and headed straight for Grid Forest.
Thanks to flying at top speed, Lloyd reached Grid Forest in less than ten minutes.
‘According to Iriana’s information, the Jackal Assassin Guild’s headquarters should be at the largest cliff in Grid Forest, right?’
When he looked around, he saw a massive, towering cliff to the east, large enough to be clearly visible even from a distance.
‘Is it there?’
Before heading to the cliff, Lloyd equipped ‘Ludella’s Mask’ and ‘Ludella’s Robe,’ which he had obtained from Ludella, the fifth-floor boss.
‘Ludella’s Mask’ and ‘Ludella’s Robe.’
The two were a set of A-Rank equipment items that interfered with others’ ability to recognize the wearer and allowed the user to use the [Blink] skill.
‘Now that I’m wearing these items, no one will recognize me.’
With that, all preparations were complete.
All that remained was to secretly help Hailed from behind so that he would not suffer a serious injury.
Lloyd headed toward the cliff where the Jackal Assassin Guild’s headquarters was located.