Chapter 53

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Argenta's Method
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At my words, Pielle nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Of course. Shall I bring Sir Rick?”

The fact that she offered to bring the head of intelligence right away made it clear that the people of Argenta were less resistant than I’d expected to an outsider like me directing their intelligence division.

Was it because, as Pielle had said, I had fought my ‘first battle’?

“Yes, please call him.”

This was a good thing for me.

I mulled over various ways to screw over Cartiel.

Although we hadn’t lost our lives, Diello's carefully maintained image was on the verge of crumbling.

‘...Croire.’

The image of Diello looking at me with his shimmering blue eyes came to mind.

An emotional overload was different from a regular one, so it wasn't fatal, but it was similar in that it awakened the power related to one's origin.

In other words, it would strain his body if it lasted too long.

Cartiel would have to pay the price for stealing Diello's peace.

And, of course, the price for endangering me.

—*Knock, knock.*

Not long after I sent Pielle away, a knock echoed.

“It's Rick, my lady.”

Rick arrived quickly. It was just like the elusive head of intelligence.

“Come in.”

At my words, Pielle, who had entered first, drew the canopy around the bed.

“...?”

As the veil enveloped the bed, Rick's form became visible beyond it.

This specially made veil allowed one to see outside relatively well from within, but from the outside, only a silhouette was visible.

Ah, right, this isn't the office.

Since this is the bedroom, it’s natural to draw the canopy when a man who isn’t family visits.

...Didn’t we skip this last time?

Besides, my attire wasn't so light as to be embarrassing. It was perfectly suitable for going outside.

Was there a separate order from Diello?

What kind of order? Not to let his new bride face another man?

...The Argentas on the fourth floor already know the situation, so why bother?

I glanced at Pielle with a puzzled expression, but she was also beyond the veil and didn't notice my gaze.

“Do you have an order for me?”

Rick asked with a bright smile.

“There's something I need you to look into.”

In the original story, there were several things Cartiel gained when Siete Cartiel became the head.

Things like new supply routes and Cartiel's information network that spread throughout the empire.

I planned to sever some of them.

And a rather decisive one at that.

“I heard that Cartiel's intelligence capabilities developed significantly after Siete Cartiel became the duke.”

Rick gave a silent nod at my words.

“That is correct. It has grown exponentially compared to the previous generation.”

A smile played on my lips at his words.

“To achieve that, there must be places where Cartiel rapidly expanded its influence, not just within Cartiel's territory but across the continent.”

Of course, they wouldn't have done it under the Cartiel name.

Just like how Argenta runs its family business of shadow supplies through a merchant guild under a borrowed name, not Argenta's.

“That is correct, but we have yet to identify their locations.”

He looked troubled. But that was fine.

“Right. It wouldn't be easy to find the locations. So I was thinking, what if we try a different approach?”

“...?”

I could see Rick looking up at me.

Of course, from beyond the veil, he could only see my silhouette, so there was no need to control my expression.

“A while ago, when I went to Tilla Pass to rescue Nirua, I felt something strange.”

In truth, only a sensitive person would have noticed it.

But I knew because I'd read it in the original novel.

The fact that the power of each element increases in places where its origin is abundant.

The Allojes of Water naturally grow stronger where there is a lot of water, and the Argentas of Fire grow stronger where the heat is intense or things are burning.

“My control over water surged in response to the river.”

“...?”

As he hesitated, I stated clearly.

“It was the same in front of the sea. The feeling was definitely different near a large source of my origin.”

I felt more confident and powerful.

Rick's eyes widened at my words.

“Argenta might feel the same way if they went to a hot place like the Cartiel desert.”

I looked down at my hand.

If Cartiel knew about this.

“If this is true, Cartiel would have experienced a change in their abilities anywhere with a strong breeze, so they might have known this fact from early on.”

“Then…”

A smile slowly began to form on Rick's face.

It was clear that simply taking a beating from Cartiel didn't suit his temperament either.

“Look for places with good airflow, places where Cartiel's origin can move easily. Among those, focus on where merchant guilds or organizations have rapidly grown in power.”

That's likely where Cartiel's intelligence division is based.

“It's just a hypothesis for now, so don't act with conviction. But if it's confirmed to be Cartiel's base of operations.”

I opened my hand.

“Let's show them the Argenta way, Sir Rick.”

Rick beamed brightly at my words.

“Understood, my lady!”

He seemed to call me 'my lady' with more sincerity than anyone who had ever used the title for me before.

***

After Croire left the office.

Diello resumed his work.

A few hours later, Redius Argenta entered the office, which had been filled only with the quiet scratching of a quill.

“…My lord.”

Only then did Diello's quill stop moving.

He had spent days on end almost exclusively in his office ever since Croire had collapsed.

It felt as if he wouldn't be able to bear it otherwise.

He felt like he would burst into flames again. Just as he had, right before she arrived.

‘You should rest a little.’

The only time he rested was when Croire told him to.

When he spent the night with her.

But even then, Diello couldn't rest easy.

It was only natural.

How could he rest peacefully in front of the person who made his heart pound as if he were about to lose control?

‘…’

What drove him even crazier was that his bride, who had him wrapped around her finger, would fall asleep so peacefully in his warmth.

‘Maybe it's because you're an Argenta, but it feels warmer when I lie down with you, Diello.’

Perhaps this was why the rumors of her being a villainess had spread.

Because she could drive a man insane with a completely nonchalant expression?

If that was the kind of villainess she was, Diello was fine with it.

No, it didn't matter whether Croire was a villainess or not.

It was then that he swept his hair back.

“It seems your flames subsided long ago, yet you continue to act this way?”

Redius Argenta's calm voice echoed through the office.

Diello turned to him.

His eyes, which had been emitting a blue light, calmed down in an instant.

It meant the light shining from his eyes was no longer due to an overload.

‘To think he's deliberately faking a state of overload.’

Others didn't know, but Redius Argenta noticed it immediately.

“…I can't fool you, Master.”

Diello's subdued voice rang out.

“Why are you doing this?”

Redius Argenta asked.

Even as he asked, he felt he already knew.

Honestly, he knew Diello Argenta's true nature better than anyone on the fourth floor.

It was only natural.

After all, he was the one who had taught Diello to hide his true self.

“If this is to maintain your image of being weak-willed, what you've done so far is sufficient. Simply by returning the power crystals so neatly, Cartiel will not suspect you, my lord.”

That you are a lord so indecisive that even while revealing your true nature in an emotional overload, you would end things by simply returning the assassins' crystal cores so politely.

If the strategy was to make Diello Argenta seem even more of a pushover, it had already succeeded.

But Diello had continued to feign the overload even after that.

Going so far as to deliberately infuse his eyes with mana.

Diello laughed silently at his master's words.

His gaze, deep as the abyss, turned to Redius Argenta.

“Because my bride wishes it.”

Diello's voice as he said 'my bride' was impossibly gentle.

Redius, however, felt a sense of unease from that voice.

Even if everyone else knew Diello Argenta as a gentle person, Redius Argenta knew the truth.

That this young man was Argenta incarnate, with a fiery temperament.

And yet, he spoke with such a gentle voice, as if the very title was precious?

This wasn't an act. It was a title spoken with genuine feeling.

“Because my bride wants me to be a gentle lamb.”

The corner of Diello Argenta's mouth lifted into a smirk.

Driving me crazy.

He thought to himself.

For a moment, Redius tensed, feeling Diello's mana boil as if he were about to lose control.

But that was as far as it went.

“She seems to like the gentle Diello Argenta, so I suppose I must remain this way.”