Episode 13: Whom Is the Knights' Sword Targeted?
After Grand Duke Caelon left the office, the thick, dangerous scent of the winter forest that had filled the room slowly subsided. Eleanor briefly recalled Caelon's rough hand brushing down her disheveled tie collar, then turned her gaze to the desk with a faint smile.
In front of her lay the original ledger for the 'Black Rose Guild's' nominee accounts, which Caelon had left behind.
Knock, knock.
"Mother, it is me."
Liliana cautiously opened the door and entered. She looked slightly nervous, as the Grand Duke had just been there, but her light green eyes gleamed fiercely upon spotting the ledger on Eleanor's desk.
"Th-this is...! Isn't this the Black Rose Guild's real ledger? How could you take this precious thing in one fell swoop...!"
"It is a spoil brought back by a beast from the North wagging its tail. Now, take a look."
Liliana swallowed hard and opened the ledger. Her genius mind quickly scanned the numbers, and soon Liliana's pale face flushed red with rage.
"...Mother. This is not merely a matter of embezzling entertainment expenses. To cover his gambling debts, the Duke has tampered not only with the relief funds for the estate's subjects but even with the 'costs for replacing the Knights of Castillo's armor and pensions!"
"Hoho."
Eleanor narrowed her eyes. To the nobility of the Empire, the Knights are the teeth and shield of their family. To think he had siphoned off their very lifelines-equipment and retirement pensions to gamble away at a gambling den. Valdemar was a far more hopeless piece of trash than she had thought.
"M-Madam! Something terrible has happened!"
Just then, Head Butler Hans rushed in from the hallway, looking pale.
"His Excellency the Duke... His Excellency has gone to the central parade ground to arm the Knights! He intends to forcibly free His Excellency the Young Duke from the dungeon and seize the Madam's office by force...!"
"What?"
A cold, bitter laugh escaped Eleanor's red lips. Facing the imminent threat of his corruption being exposed in detail, it was a shallow ploy to mobilize force by using the 'justification' of the clan headship. It was the typical desperate struggle of an incompetent patriarch attempting to trample his family with violence after losing control of the finances to his wife.
"Mother, w-what if the Knights follow the Duke's orders? It is dangerous!"
Liliana, pale with fear, grabbed Eleanor's arm. However, Eleanor calmly picked up the original ledger and patted the back of Liliana's hand.
"There is no danger. That fool happened to gather the knights in one place, saving me some trouble. Let's go, Liliana. We must go teach Castillo's sword exactly who it needs to strike down."
***
The massive central parade ground of the Duke of Castillo's mansion.
"Draw your swords immediately, Knight Commander Leonhardt! This is a solemn command from me, the Head of the House!"
Valdemar glared and spat at Knight Commander Leonhardt. Behind him stood dozens of elite knights in full force, but their expressions were all rigid.
"Your Excellency, Duke. I humbly ask, but to order the military to surround the office of the Lady of the House, Lady Eleanor? Furthermore, forcibly freeing His Excellency the Young Duke, who has been imprisoned for causing a disturbance in the Imperial Palace, goes against our principles."
Count Leonhardt, the Commander of the Castillo Knights and a 6th Circle Sword Expert, shook his head firmly. He knew better than anyone that it was Eleanor who had practically sustained Castillo and hunted down monsters for the past ten years. He was not a fool to meekly draw his sword just because a nominal Head of the House issued an unreasonable order.
"You, you insolent wretch! Have you forgotten the Order's oath! I, Valdemar Castillo, am the sole ruler of this clan and your liege! How dare you disobey my command?!"
Just as Valdemar was fuming with rage and fiddling with his sword hilt, a voice as cold and heavy as ice rang out from the entrance of the parade ground.
"The word 'liege' can only be uttered when one has borne the responsibility befitting that title."
Click, click.
Eleanor, dressed stiffly in a reddish-navy uniform dress, was walking into the parade ground accompanied by Liliana. The oppressive pressure of the chilling 7th Circle mana she exuded caused even the dust of the training ground to be crushed and settled.
"Madam!"
Leonhardt and all the knights simultaneously sheathed their swords and knelt before Eleanor to pay their respects. Valdemar's face contorted with humiliation at the overwhelming disparity in loyalty.
"E, Eleanor..! Commander! Bound that madwoman and that fallen noble daughter-in-law immediately! I command this in the name of the Head of the House!"
However, the knights did not even flinch. Eleanor walked past Valdemar and stopped before the kneeling Commander Leonhardt.
"Commander Leonhardt. And knights wielding the sword of Castillo."
Eleanor's voice echoed loudly across the entire parade ground.
"Do you know what kind of sword the Head of Castillo, whom you are willing to sacrifice your lives to protect, has been plunging into your backs?"
"Huh..? A sword in the back? What do you mean, Madam?"
As Leonhardt raised his head in bewilderment, Eleanor gestured toward Liliana with her chin. Liliana stepped forward without the slightest hesitation and held up the original Black Rose Guild ledger she was holding.
"This is the original copy of the 'secret gambling den nominee accounts' that His Excellency the Duke has operated through the Empire's underworld for the past five years."
Liliana's clear and resonant voice echoed across the parade ground.
"In the year 415 of the Imperial Calendar, 150,000 gold intended for replacing the Knights' winter uniforms and silver-plated weapons during the Northern Beast Extermination Campaign was embezzled in its entirety. In the year 416 of the Imperial Calendar, 100,000 gold intended for consolation money and pensions for the bereaved families of thirty knights killed during the Beast Extermination Campaign was also embezzled in its entirety."
"What...?!"
At the shocking contents emanating from the ledger, the eyes of the kneeling knights began to tremble as if struck by an earthquake. Liliana glared coldly at Valdemar and drove the nail in the coffin.
"While you fought in the bitter cold, shedding blood with tattered weapons, and wailed at the death of your comrades, the one who calls himself the head of the clan embezzled that money to pop champagne at a secret gambling den in the capital and pour it into the bosom of a prostitute."
"Ah, no! That's a lie! That arrogant daughter-in-law forged the ledgers!"
Valdemar, pale with shock, lashed out in protest, but the ledger Liliana held out bore Valdemar's handwritten signature and the Castillo clan head's seal, leaving no room for excuses.
"Your Excellency... is this... is this truly the truth?"
Knight Commander Leonhardt slowly rose from his seat. Thick veins bulged in his hands as if about to burst, and his eyes were filled with a sense of betrayal and terrible rage.
"It wasn't me! Those, those bastards...!"
As Valdemar stumbled backward and stammered, Eleanor unleashed her mana and took a step forward.
Whoosh!
A wave of red mana surged like a beast beneath her feet.
"Commander Leonhardt. Do you remember who, in the past, secretly covered the cost of those stolen weapons and the bereaved family pensions by draining their own private funds and the merchant guild's money?"
" It was Madame Eleanor."
Leonhardt answered, gritting his teeth.
"Yes. To prevent the Castillo name tag from rolling in the mud, I have remained silent, cleaning up after this piece of trash. But as of today, I will end that disgusting silence."
Eleanor pointed her finger at Valdemar. Her gaze was merciless, like that of an executioner.
"That man is not the head of the family. He is merely a shameless parasite who has sold the blood of the knights. Knights of Castillo, listen carefully!"
Smack!
With Eleanor's roar, dozens of knights simultaneously straightened their stances.
"Effective this very moment, I, Eleanor, completely strip him of his authority as the head of the Castillo clan. To those who follow me, I will compensate you with double the stolen pension and budget, and equip you with the finest weaponry. However, if you intend to stand on that scum to the very end. draw your swords right now and strike me down!"
A suffocating silence swept across the parade ground. Then, without a moment's hesitation...
Swoosh!
Clang!
Led by Commander Leonhardt, dozens of knights drew their swords in unison. However, the sharp tips of their blades were not aimed at Eleanor. Their furious blades were aimed perfectly at the nape of Valdemar's neck as he stumbled backward.
"H-Hiiik...! You, what are you doing! I am supposed to be the head of the clan...!"
Valdemar, terrified by the knights' blades, slumped unsightly onto the ground. Leonhardt glared down at Valdemar with disgust, and with his sword still in hand, bowed deeply toward Eleanor and Liliana.
"The Knights of Castillo will serve only Madam Eleanor, who values our blood and sweat, and... Miss Liliana, her true successor, as our lords!"
"We will serve you as lords!!"
The killing intent and roars emanating from dozens of knights shook the parade ground. The authority of the clan head, legitimacy, and even the ultimate military might. It was the moment the last lifeline held by her husband, Valdemar, was completely and miserably severed.
"Drag him out."
Eleanor coldly pronounced the sentence, looking down at Valdemar, who was slumped on the floor, trembling, as if he were trash.
"Drag that parasite out and shove him into the latrine used by beasts. Make sure he cannot take a single step outside the mansion until the Imperial Trial is held."
"Yes, Madam!"
The knights roughly grabbed Valdemar by both arms and began dragging him away.
"E-Eleanor! Eleanor! I was wrong! Forgive me! Just this once!"
A desperate scream pierced the air, but Eleanor did not look back even once. She lightly embraced Liliana, who was watching this perfect victory from beside her with eyes full of emotion.
"Did you see, Liliana? This is how power is seized."
"Yes, Mother, I have engraved it clearly in my heart."
The cleaning of the trash can was now over. All that remained was the 'Judgment of the Grand Court,' which would cast the divorce papers into the heart of the Empire's high society and cast them into the abyss of being lower than a commoner.
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