TMHR - Chapter 20

Episode 20: Cutting Off the Tail and the Venomous Boomerang

In front of Warehouse No. 3 on the outskirts of the capital, shrouded in pitch-black darkness. Amidst a cool autumn breeze, the elegant and crisp snap of Liliana's fingers cut through the silence. 

Snap-. 

No sooner had that small signal fallen than an alien energy began to seep up from the deep darkness surrounding the warehouse. Soon, dozens of black figures emerged. They were the 'Shadows', the henchmen of Grand Duke Caelon of the North and an intelligence guild boasting the Empire's greatest secrecy. 

Thump, thud! 

Like tossing a sack of cargo, the Shadows roughly slammed five or six bloodied men onto the cold dirt ground where the defense force members were lined up. 

"Aaaargh! S-save me!" 

The men rolling on the ground, screaming, were the back-alley mercenaries who, just an hour earlier, had pierced the warehouse roof and sprayed deadly poison at Vivian's behest. The mercenary captain, beaten beyond repair by the ruthless interrogation methods of the North, barely managed to lift his swollen eyes and raised his trembling, blood-stained fingers. The target of those horrific fingertips was Vivian, frozen solid under a thick cloak. 

"That, that blonde woman! She gave us gold coins and ordered us to release a deadly poison-mixed with the saliva of plague-infected rats into the flour intended for imperial supply! We, we just took the money and did as we were told!" 

As the captain's desperate revelation cut through the night air, a chilling murmur spread simultaneously among the hundreds of Capital Guardsmen. The captain's gleaming spearheads withdrew from Liliana and began to slowly turn toward Vivian and the Marquis Morte. 

The color drained from Vivian's face like a sheet of paper; she had just moments ago been pouring out mockery, convinced of Liliana's death. Yet she had believed without a doubt that it was a perfect trap she had set. That devilish Liliana had already cast the fake, rotten flour destined for disposal as bait, and was waiting in the darkness like a hunting dog, gripping her own leash. 

"Ah, no! I don't know! Those bastards are lying right now, acting on someone's orders!" 

Vivian recoiled, turning pale. She desperately grabbed the Marquis of Morte's sleeve and clung to him. He was her only lifeline, and the mastermind behind her setup. 

"M-Marquis! You speak! Since that bitch Liliana is leading Castillo's merchant guild, you are the one who suggested poisoning the food to frame her for treason and bring down the guild!"

"...What kind of nonsense is this crazy woman spouting right now!" 

The Marquis of Morte's murky eyes trembled violently as if struck by an earthquake. The commander of the Imperial Guard and hundreds of soldiers were now glaring at him with blatant suspicion. If they were to get even slightly entangled in Vivian's words here, they would be branded with the heinous charge of 'Class 1 Treason' for poisoning the food supplied to the Imperial Household, facing the crisis of their family's complete annihilation. 

The mind of the Marquis, a jaded old raccoon worn out by decades of the Empire's political arena, raced through his mind. In this situation, there was only one 'way to survive' he could choose: a thorough and ruthless cut-off. 

Smack-!! 

A chilling scraping sound echoed. Marquis Morte's thick, rough palm had mercilessly slapped Vivian's white cheek. 

"Aaaargh!" 

Screaming at the blow-which was akin to a full-force swing from an adult male, Vivian tumbled miserably to the floor. Red blood streamed down from her split lips, and her carefully combed blonde hair was scattered in a mess amidst the dust. 

"How dare a lowly illegitimate daughter of a Baron, with no roots, use my name as the Minister of the Interior to plot treason?! As if harboring a grudge and poisoning the imperial food supplies wasn't enough, you dare try to pin that filthy crime on me?"

"M-Marquis...?" 

Vivian clutched her stinging cheek and looked up at the Marquis in disbelief. Her vision flashed, and she heard ringing in her ears. 

"Marquis! You promised to take me in! I handed over to you all the precious internal secrets of the Castillo Merchant Guild and the location of their secret fund ledgers, all the things I extracted by catering to that foolish Prince Claude's whims every night in his bed...! How could you do this to me!" 

Vivian screamed, clutching the Marquis's trouser leg while shedding tears of blood. However, there was not a shred of pity left in the Marquis Morte's eyes. 

"Shut up!! I don't even know who this vulgar bitch is! Drag her out!" 

The Marquis, his face turning bloodshot, mercilessly kicked Vivian in the solar plexus with his boot. 

"Cough...!" 

Caught off guard, Vivian crouched on the floor, letting out a pained groan. It was the perfect end, demonstrating just how shallow and futile the alliance of villains was. The chilling nature of an old politician who had only sucked the sweet nectar of 'inside information' extracted by exploiting Claude's bravado, only to mercilessly discard her as cannon fodder when things went awry. 

Terrible despair and regret welled up in Vivian's blue eyes as she realized she was not a glamorous partner to the powerful, but nothing more than a cheap pawn and meat shield to be used and discarded at any moment. 

Marquis Morte hurriedly cleared his throat and shouted at the Commander of the Guard with bloodshot eyes. 

"Captain of the Guard! What are you just staring at blankly! It has become clear that this madwoman harbored a grudge over being ostracized from society and intended to endanger both Castillo and the Imperial Household. Lady Liliana's innocence has been proven, so immediately bind that blonde-haired traitor and those mercenaries and drag them to the deepest part of the Imperial dungeon!" 

"Yes! Everyone, bind her!" 

As soon as the Captain of the Guard gave the order, the soldiers mercilessly rushed forward, roughly twisting Vivian's arms as she lay on the floor and slamming them behind her back. Rough ropes digging into her skin tightly bound her wrists. 

"Ah, no! Let go! Let me go! Liliana!! You vulgar bitch!! You tricked me! You set a trap!"

Vivian writhed like a beast, shedding tears of blood. However, Liliana remained unfazed, simply unfolding her fan to half-cover her mouth and looking down at her miserable downfall with the most elegant and arrogant smile.

Laughing at Vivian was not even Liliana's job. Completely ignoring Vivian's gaze directed at her, Liliana turned to Marquis Morte and whispered softly.

"Thank you for your efforts, Marquis. My trading company could have been in grave trouble, but thanks to your wise 'judgment,' we were able to capture the real traitor." 

At Liliana's greeting, which was laced with blatant mockery, the muscles in Marquis Morte's face trembled. 

"The genuine food supplies destined for the Imperial Household will safely enter the palace's granary tomorrow morning under the escort of my trading company. Rest assured, there will be no disruption whatsoever to His Majesty the Emperor's Relief Festival ceremony. However."

Liliana's pale green eyes gleamed coldly and sharply, like a leopard about to tear at its prey's throat. She took a neatly folded sheet of parchment from her bosom and tossed it into the Marquis's chest. 

"The invoice for the 'ten thousand sacks of junk flour' that you tore apart and poisoned to ruin in this warehouse tonight will be sent precisely to the Marquis Morte's mansion tomorrow morning. Though they are trash, they are precious items that I painstakingly acquired yesterday from the subcontracting merchants for an exorbitant premium of 'double the market price'... so naturally, I will demand 'three times the market price' as compensation." 

"Ugh... I Th-this wicked woman." 

Marquis Morte's lips turned pale. Three times the market price? It was an astronomical sum, enough to cause him to stagger even if he emptied his entire personal fortune as the Minister of the Interior. 

Far from seizing Castillo's trade rights, his trusted informant had been dragged away to prison for treason right before his eyes, and he himself had been buried under a massive debt due to a momentary lapse in judgment. 

Unable to control his boiling blood, the Marquis clutched the back of his neck and, supported by his knights, climbed into a carriage as if fleeing. In front of a dark warehouse on the outskirts of the capital, all that remained was a perfect and thorough landslide victory for the acting merchant, Liliana. 

"You are truly... amazing!" 

As the situation completely ended and the defense force withdrew, Kian, who had been blocking Liliana's path while gripping his greatsword, finally sheathed his weapon and shouted in a voice filled with emotion. 

The massive beast that had just moments ago radiated a piercing killing intent and growled as if to sever the Marquis's head at any moment now looked like nothing more than an innocent puppy. His rough cheeks were already flushed red like rubies. 

"I thought my heart would stop fearing you would get hurt, Young Lady... You are a greater strategist than any general in the Empire! I will never forget the look in your eyes today!" 

At Kian's exaggerated yet sincere praise, Liliana softened her cold expression and smiled sweetly. 

"Because Kian stood in my way so reliably, I was able to face the Marquis without trembling. Thank you for being my shield, Kian." 

Liliana elegantly reached out and lightly patted Kian's thick, rough forearm. 

"...!" 

At that single small touch, Kian's face flushed again, as if about to explode like a volcano. Not knowing what to do, he hid his red cheeks. 

In the midst of the commercial war, a soft, fresh spring breeze was gently blowing between the two. 

*** 

At the same time, in the peaceful and quiet Duke Castillo's mansion. Eleanor's splendid office on the third floor of the main building. 

The room was bathed only in the soft light of a magic stone lamp. Leaning slightly against the window sill of the open balcony, Caelon was reciting to Eleanor the news of Warehouse No. 3's perfect victory, which he had just heard from informants in the darkness. 

"Things turned out quite interestingly." 

"Your small, delicate daughter-in-law delivered a crisp blow to the old Minister of the Interior and left him burdened with a massive pile of debt."

At Caelon's low, smooth voice, a deep, proud curve formed on the corners of Eleanor's lips as she sat at her desk, resting her chin on her hand. 

"To the perfect hunting dog I have painstakingly raised, such a hunt is a joke. Of course, the intelligence provided by your shadows, who captured the mercenaries at just the right time, also played an excellent part. Thank you, Grand Duke." 

No sooner had Eleanor's languid praise ended than Caelon, who had been leaning against the balcony, slowly moved forward. He approached with silent steps and leaned his massive upper body deeply onto Eleanor's desk.

"Then may I expect a reward for this excellent assistance, Madam?" 

Caelon whispered low like a beast. The distance had narrowed to the point where their breaths could touch. In his golden eyes, the dangerous and intense lust he had struggled to suppress a few days ago in her bedroom was once again blatantly flickering. His gaze lingered intensely on Eleanor's red lips. 

However, Eleanor calmly accepted the beast's gaze that seemed ready to devour her, raised her hand, and lightly pushed his solid chest away. Then, she opened a drawer, pulled out a 'bundle of keys to the dungeon' that clanged heavily, and tossed it onto the desk. 

"There is a very enjoyable task you must perform before the reward, Caelon." 

Eleanor's red eyes were deeply stained with cruel pleasure. 

"Isn't it too much of a waste for only the two of us to know this joyful news? I intend to personally inform my foolish son, who is locked up in the dungeon cursing me every day, of this vivid reality." 

Eleanor rose from her seat and lightly tugged at Caelon's roughly disheveled tie. 

"I am telling you the utterly despairing and terrible news that the noble and beautiful mistress he claimed to have loved his entire life was ultimately thrown into the dungeon for treason after selling the family secrets she stole from his bed to the old Marquis."

The hunt from the outside was completely over. Now it was time to tear apart the minds of the men trapped inside, who still could not grasp reality, with the most brutal truth.

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