It was the first time he had done this.
The Duke and Cruel had a delicate relationship. Although Cruel claimed to be the Duke's subordinate and followed him, the Duke also respected Cruel, and the relationship was neither one above the other or on the same level, but rather vaguely inclined.
As such, the Duke treated Cruel differently from his subordinates, and the only time he brought Cruel to his knees was when he had suspicions.
The Duke, who was looking down at Cruel, who bowed his head, got up from his chair.
Since the distance was close to begin with, he reached in front of Cruel in two steps, lifted his shoe and placed it on his hand on the floor.
"What should I do with my subordinate?"
Weight was placed on the foot resting on the hand.
"By nature, I am not the kind of person who gives these types of spies or traitors another chance."
"..."
"Kicking away the opportunity you were given."
The Duke was sure.
"Receiving the Hardt Territory as a reward for the Salvation Church incident must have been for Deon Hardt, who rejects the Hart Territory."
Pop. Crack.
An eerie sound was heard and a crushing pain was felt, as if the hand was being strained.
Nevertheless, the Duke, who was silently fixating his gaze on the floor and looking at the motionless Cruel with a venomous look, put his foot away as if something occurred to him.
"You're right-handed."
"..."
"You almost got into big trouble. I almost broke the right hand of a right-handed prosecutor."
He stepped on his left hand instead.
Crunch. When he stepped on it with enough force and ground it into the floor, the sound of a bone breaking echoed throughout the room.
There was no screaming or moaning.
"Rather than trying to kill Deon Hardt, you're trying to protect him..."
"..."
"There's evidence. Originally, you should have killed him or made him of the same level and kicked him out, but even so, you care about him, so what can I do?"
He should give him one more chance.
Finally, he stepped on Cruel's hand, then took his foot off and bent his knees in front of him. He placed one hand on his shoulder, lowered his head, and whispered in his ear.
"Kill Deon Hardt."
"...!"
Eve though he had remained still while his hand was crushed underfoot, he now began to shake.
The Duke continued, pretending not to notice.
"Bring me his head with your own hands. This is the last chance I give you."
***
Only after the Duke left and left alone did Cruel get up.
Before he knew it, the crushed hand was purple, blue, and red, and was swollen.
Without hesitation, he removed the chessboard from the table and brought out another chessboard.
A chessboard he gave as a gift to a child who only stayed at the mansion when he was young. It was a worn-out chessboard that had been left around for a long time, but Cruel did not forget to take it with him when he left the mansion where the disaster occurred.
Takkak.
Pieces moved on the old chessboard.
The Duke himself said it was his last chance. If he failed or showed any strange signs, he would most likely kill him.
Officially, all of the heroes of the Empire were under the Emperor's protection, but the Emperor may not want to protect the hero under the opposing Duke.
'... Is it about time?'
He remembered the old shaman's words.
'If you feel like you're going to die, kill that kid first and then die.'
He was reviewing the chessboard he had left before going to the hunting competition, then he cleaned it up and started putting it back up again.
A messy game of chess where you must send a pawn to the edge of the enemy's lines at any cost and turn it into a queen.
Cruel completed his duty and grabbed a chess piece that was lying outside the board.
'Is it 'acta est fabula'?'
A long time ago, when he was learning culture as the eldest son and heir of an aristocratic family, he chuckled while repeating a phrase he came across in a book.
'There is no need for applause.'
It was a play with no audience to begin with.
It would be right to bring down the curtain quietly, without anyone knowing.
***
"I'm going to commit regicide."
"... In this current situation?"
"Yes."
As soon as he returned to the mansion, he wondered something about the unexpected visitor.
The Duke quietly touched his forehead as he looked at the leader of the Revolutionary Army with a stern expression.
"I thought I told you the timing wasn't right."
"We've waited too long. There are limits to quelling discontent within the Revolutionary Army."
"Haven't you done well so far? If you hold on just a little longer..."
"Just a little longer...?"
The Duke paused for a moment at the mocking tone. Daniel was laughing as if it wasn't an illusion.
He stopped laughing for a moment and slammed his hands on the table.
"The end of the war cannot be easily guessed! How can we be sure when it will end? Even the lifespan of demons is longer than that of humans!"
"..."
"If things continue like this, rebellion may not be possible for our generation."
"If you leave it to the next generation..."
"Emotions are not passed down!"
He seemed quite worked up.
He even saw him laughing, interrupting, and doing things no one would do to a Duke.
However, the opponent was the leader of the Revolutionary army. This was a person who needed to be held on as tightly as possible and consoled and comforted because you don't know where he will end up. The Duke quietly paid attention to the saying that emotions are not passed down.
"The majority of the Revolutionary Army is a group of people gathered together out of anger! There are many cases where even knowledge is lost, so how can emotions that cannot be written down be passed down from generation to generation? The next generation? It might be possible. But it won't be as good as now. So what about the next generation? Even if you go down three generations, you will forget the past! The Revolutionary Army will disintegrate. I would rather give it a try and fail if it fails. I don't want to see those who worked hard just for their plans go to waste!"
Looking at this, he didn't think it was possible to appease him.
"... Are you really saying you want to move?"
"Yes, since we don't know when the war will end, I think it would be better to stage an uprising in the early stages before it gets more serious. This is just a thank you for your help so far, and I'm just saying this out of affection, so you don't have to help me, Duke."
"No, I will help you."
"... Yes?"
In that case, he should kill him.
He couldn't guarantee how the headless Revolutionary Army would turn out, but since the party that should be holding the reins was trying to run amok at the forefront, what could be done?
"It's not that I don't understand your feelings, and it bothers me that you've been telling me to endure it for so long. I will help."
Impatience narrows your perspective. A narrow perspective turns even a genius into a fool.
The Revolutionary Army was now over.
***
The leader of the Revolutionary Army was not stupid.
Although his remarks and actions just moments ago were definitely stupid.
Daniel, with a calm expression on his face as if he had never been so upset, slowly walked down the hallway and arrived in front of a familiar room. As always, he knocked and asked for permission.
"Mother, it's Daniel."
"Come on in."
He tried to keep his usual expression, but it seems he couldn't avoid his mother's feelings.
He spoke with the gentlest smile he could muster toward his mother, who greeted him with a soft smile, and then her expression hardened when our eyes met.
"I know it's rude, but I want to return the gift I gave you last time."
***
When I am in the Empire, I am loyal to the Empire, and when I am in the demon realm, I am faithful to the demon realm.
Maybe that's why only a very few people, including the Emperor and the Demon King, know my identity.
Why am I suddenly saying this?
"Don't fucking chase me!"
I mean that I am the number one power that both sides aim for first.
When in the Empire, I'm the number one prey of the demon realm's generals. When in the demon realm, I'm the number one prey of the Empire's generals!
I'm not happy at all! Aamn!
"Go away!"
I was now running away from demons with the crazy dogs.
I shouldn't have given the, a chance in the last battle. I never thought that my injury would cause the demons to come back in such a big way. I should have just avoided it then.
'... But why did I just get hit? It certainly seems like it could have been avoided.'
I tilted my head and strengthened my legs that were trying to give out at the urging of the crazy dogs.
This time, even if I swore as much as I liked, Stigma's nagging about 'speech habits' didn't follow. Because he stayed in that hell island to buy time.
So, to briefly summarize what has happened so far, I fell into a trap.
I chased after the retreating demons to carry out the 'annihilation' order, but it turned out to be a trap. The fact that even the escape route was clearly blocked gave me a strong feeling that they were intent on exterminating us, filled with their resentment.
'Sssshh... Ack! Ow!'
'Junior, your speaking habits.'
'I haven't said everything yet...!'
'If I hadn't stopped you, you would have said it all the way. Okay, junior. Those who come in from here will be blocked by me and my knights, so run away. You can break through the escape route on your own, right?'
While rubbing my numb mouth, Stigma smiled and pulled out his sword.
Retreat? Even if I die, I have to break through. If you don't get through it, you die... but he'll stay?! I was startled and grabbed his sleeve.
'Then, senior...!'
'Do I look weak enough to be worried about by you?'
'... Still, be careful.'
I just happened to become attached to him.
Although they harassed me with a nobleman's dignity and speaking habits, I know that it was advice given with my benefit in mind. It was too beneficial to not accept it as the nonsense of an old man who wants to act like a senior.
Stigma's eyes widened as if surprised, but then he curved the corners of his eyes and smiled.
'Okay. See you later.'
I turned my back and moved to lead the Murderous Knights to clear a retreat route...
"Why are you the only one chasing me!"
"Stand there!"
"Damn it!"
This is why I can't help but swear! Of course, I'm focusing on running away, and Sir Lien and the mad dogs were mainly doing the breaking through, but even if that's not the case, I can't help but lose my stamina quickly.
Where had the hero candidates gone? Since they were all scattered, was there any way to know?
How long had it been since I had been fighting and running away like crazy? At some point, the people following me disappeared.
Seeing that there was no one blocking the way, it seemed like I had escaped properly...
"Where am I...?"
"Hehe... I don't know... I'm sorry..."
"Huh... Where should we go? Oof..."
"If you don't know, just keep your mouth shut! I'm sorry, my lord. I don't know either."
Yeah, I'm an idiot for asking them.
As I looked around, I realized that this was a street corner somewhere and my body trembled. It was a reflex reaction of rejection because I had fallen into a trap on the street earlier.
"Marquis, are you cold?"
"Hey, someone please take off your clothes."
"Shut up... Don't give me your blood-soaked clothes..."
I'll kill you... I raised my eyes fiercely in frustration, but stopped when I heard a sound.
"... Can't you hear something?"
"Yes? What are you talking about..."
"A low voice..."
"Who is there!"
"... There is no need to go out. Attack!"
"Master?! It was so sudden..."
"Agh!"
I never thought a siege would have formed this far away!
I looked at the guy in the lead and then looked behind him. It was hard to see until the end because the road was a little curved, but at a glance, it looked like the leader was that guy in the front.
'... Then if I just take out that guy, everything will work out.'
For some reason, this situation seemed tense, but I guess it's just my mood. Even if that's not the case, as long as those over there are demons and this side is humans, nothing will change.
I twirled a dagger. I habitually folded and extended my thumb, swept the handle, and adjusted my posture.
I could vaguely hear Cleter's shout coming from one side.
"Milan! Take care of the Marquis!"
"Take care of the Marquis!"
***
Deon Hardt cut off the demons' supply route.
Even while running away from the enemy's trap, he managed to find a supply route and cut it off.
In the process, due to overexertion, he was carried back by his Murderous Knights, but the Empire welcomed the hero who brought good news and provided him with a competent doctor to ensure his speedy recovery.
"I told you to please be healthy... It's not a difficult request, so why..."
There was a rumor that a desperate cry was heard somewhere along with a muttering of a doubly-effective medicine, but it quickly disappeared after hearing the news of a hero. I sat down.
Stigma Primero, who survived by slaughtering his enemies safely, burst into laughter upon hearing this news.
"As expected, that's my junior. But..."
"..."
"Where is the person behind that rumor now?"
"That..."
"I heard he was definitely here."
The room where Deon Hardt was said to be located was empty.