Chapter 47: Revolution Era - Black Rose (1)
In the capital of the Francia Republic, Lumière, at the Saint-Just Club.
“Representative Saint-Just, what on earth has happened!”
“How can every attempt end in failure?”
Amidst the barrage of interrogations, Saint-Just bit his lip.
“Speak up! Weren’t you the one confident about dealing with that temptress!”
It was all well and good when they set out with great momentum to assassinate
Christine Aquitaine, but every one of their attempts had utterly failed.
Despite trying every method, not a single person sent to assassinate her
managed to maintain contact; they all vanished without a trace.
“How many have been captured? How much information have they spilled?”
“At this rate, instead of capturing that witch, we’ll be the ones getting
caught!”
And yet, despite all this, Christine Aquitaine made no move at all.
Normally, if an assassination attempt was discovered, one would expect some
sort of uproar or warning in response, but that woman acted as if nothing had
happened at all.
It was as if she had spun a dense web around her, silently lurking in the
darkness like a spider, ready to ensnare anything that approached.
This, in turn, heightened the unease and fear among Saint-Just and his fellow
Representatives to an extreme degree.
“Damn it, that cursed black temptress...!”
Saint-Just recalled Christine’s abyssal, inorganic, and cold eyes, and he
broke out in a cold sweat.
“The Duke of Lafayette will soon arrive in the capital! Do you think that
witch of Aquitaine will remain quiet even then?”
As everyone’s sense of crisis and fear escalated, Saint-Just clenched his eyes
shut and spoke.
“At this point, perhaps we should consider accepting their offer?”
A silence fell.
It was their absolute taboo. It was an offer that, under normal circumstances,
they should never accept.
Yet, no one dared to voice that they shouldn’t.
If they remain idle in this situation, the majority of the radicals,
especially the instigators like Saint-Just and the Representatives present
here, are bound to face dire consequences.
Maximilian Zidor is not one to overlook faults just because they share the
same faction.
“...Now is not the time to be choosy about our methods. It’s a matter of life
or death for all of us, so let’s temporarily borrow strength to fight against
a common enemy.”
Rather than sitting idly by and falling prey to the witch, it’s better to join
hands with the demons.
They rationalized their act of seeking help from the enemies of the Republic.
***
The assassination attempts by the radical Representatives were crude and
easily decipherable.
Christine, who had been learning to handle guilds and intelligence networks
since she was ten, was long accustomed to manipulating information and people
like pawns.
She was not so amateurish to fall for the pathetic attempts of those who had
never properly dealt with assassination.
Her pride would not allow her to be bested by such trifling schemes.
Still, constantly thwarting assassination attempts was draining in itself, and
Christine Aquitaine momentarily closed her eyes while seated in a carriage.
“Are you alright, sister?”
“...Yes, I’m fine, Louis. Just a bit tired.”
Christine answered Louis with her eyes still closed.
Since Louis was to be sent abroad for his studies in the magic l kingdom,
there was no need to insist on him managing the guild right now.
However, Christine did not want it to seem as though she was sending Louis
away as if he were being exiled.
She especially did not want Louis to think that he could simply become a
wizard and forget about the affairs of Aquitaine.
“Countess, we have arrived.”
Hearing Baron Caron’s voice from outside, Christine let out a soft sigh.
Tired as she was, there was work to be done.
Christine slowly opened her eyes and met Louis’s gaze, who was looking at her
with concern, though trying not to show it.
Christine smiled at him as gently as possible, just like she used to before
that day.
Louis looked at her for a moment and then quietly averted his gaze.
Christine silently watched her younger brother.
The tender-hearted brother who resents her but cannot bring himself to hate
her.
The son of a traitorous stepmother.
The vassals periodically remind her that Louis could become a threat to her in
the future and must be eliminated.
Christine was not unaware of this fact.
Yet, she chose not to harm Louis because she believed she had no right to hurt
her brother.
When Yvonne used Mirbo to try and harm Christine but failed, and with Pierre’s
help, Christine took complete control of the guild.
She was already aware of Yvonne’s desperate move to poison her father, frame
Christine, and then pass the county directly to Louis.
Knowing this in advance allowed her to secretly preserve the transaction
ledgers between Baron Duna and Abyss Corporation that would have otherwise
been destroyed.
Even knowing that her father would be blatantly poisoned, she pretended to be
unaware and left for the Duke of Lafayette’s domain to complete her plan.
Just as her father had overlooked the plan that led to her death.
If the sister, who was thought to be just a victim, was actually complicit in
their father’s death, even contributing to it, and was responsible for their
mother’s death,
And if he knew that she spared him because she too was a sinner, and took
solace in not having harmed an innocent child,
What would he say?
Would he curse her? Hate her? Or despise her?
“...Countess?”
Lost in thought, Christine slowly closed her eyes at the sound of Baron Caron
calling her from outside, once again.
“Let’s go.”
Baron Caron opened the carriage door, and Christine took his hand and stepped
down.
She was tired and weary.
Having avenged the betrayal by her trusted family, all that remained was a
profound sense of emptiness.
Sometimes, she thought it might be easier to just disappear.
Without her, the unfortunate brother, caught in the feud between his mother
and sister, could reclaim the rights he was originally entitled to.
Each time, she would think of Pierre, but that only added to her
self-loathing.
She had known for quite some time what feelings Pierre harbored for her.
However, the moment Christine marries someone, Louis, who would then pose a
threat to her children, must inevitably die.
Even if Pierre didn’t wish for it, the vassals, with a clear justification,
would not stand idly by. Therefore, she could not be with Pierre.
When Louis comes of age, she must return Aquitaine and his rightful
inheritance to him.
Christine collected her thoughts and faced the guild’s employees as she always
did.
“Welcome, Countess of Aquitaine.”
However, as the employees greeted her and Baron Caron assisted Louis from the
carriage, a group suddenly burst out from an alleyway.
“Who are you people!”
There was no response.
Seeing guns in the hands of the assailants, the guards quickly drew their
swords and firearms.
“Be careful, Countess!”
Baron Caron drew his sword and moved towards Christine, but before he could
reach her, one of the assailants threw something shaped like a rod.
Just as Christine reflexively ducked, the object exploded in the air with a
loud bang.
“Screams and groans filled the air as debris scattered, and those guarding the
carriage and guild were thrown in all directions, screaming.
“Baron Caron, ugh...!”
Christine tried to stand up but fell back down, feeling a sharp pain in her
leg.
The hem of her dress was soaking up blood, reminiscent of that day.
“Countess!”
Baron Caron rushed to her, and Christine, enduring the pain, quickly
commanded.
“I’ve injured my leg. It seems I can’t move from here right away, so assist
the guards and deal with the attackers.”
“But I must protect the Countess-”
Christine frowned at the screams echoing around them and firmly replied.
“If they dare to do this in broad daylight in the middle of the city, they
must be fully prepared. If the Baron focuses only on me and the guards are
overwhelmed, it’s all over anyway. Go!”
“As you command!”
No sooner had Baron Caron left than Christine drew the pistol she had
holstered under her skirt, strapped to her thigh.
She forcefully pushed the thought of the shrapnel embedded in her leg and the
bleeding out of her mind, only to let out a bitter laugh at the absurdity of
it all.
Just moments before, she had been contemplating the ease of giving up.
Screams, shouts, curses, and gunfire erupted all around her.
The once peaceful daytime streets had descended into chaos in an instant.
Although the radicals had been increasing their assassination attempts
recently, Christine could never have imagined they would dare such madness in
broad daylight in the heart of Lumière.
What was that explosive device? It was something even she had never seen
before. There was no way to prepare for such a thing.
Where was Louis? The boy, he must not die.
Her usually sharp mind was not functioning properly, whether due to the
intense fatigue or the blood loss.
“There she is- Ah!”
Christine reflexively fired her pistol at the man who was pointing and
shouting at her.
The man fell instantly, and Christine hurried to reload her gun.
“Kill that witch!”
But another man had spotted her and aimed his gun before she could finish
reloading.
“Ugh.”
Just as Christine flinched, a familiar blond head stepped in front of her.
The sound of gunfire rang out, and as the bullet flew towards them, the boy’s
brooch shone, and a protective barrier sprang up, deflecting the bullet.
“What, huh?”
No sooner had Christine finished reloading, she fired, and the man’s head
burst with blood as he fell to the ground.
“...Louis.”
Her brother, gasping for breath, turned to look at her in shock.
“Sister, you’re hurt?”
His expression of worry and anger couldn’t hide his concern.
“If you were going to end up like this, you should’ve invested in your own
artifact!”
“...I’m always with my guards.”
Christine averted her gaze, offering a justification.
She hadn’t bought one for herself while acquiring artifacts for Pierre, who is
always on the battlefield, and for Louis, in case someone tried to harm him
despite her orders.
Her pride wouldn’t allow her to die to such clumsy and pitiful schemes, yet
she harbored the contradictory thought of not wanting to desperately spend a
fortune just to save herself.
It was only when she saw her brother, who had run towards her in this
dangerous place and was expressing genuine worry and anger, that she realized
the folly of her actions.
“Countess! The area is almost secured! Are you alright?”
At the sight of Baron Caron reappearing, Christine let out a sigh of relief.
“...I’m fine, Baron.”
In reality, she felt dizzy, probably due to blood loss, and doubted she could
even aim her gun properly anymore.
Still, she didn’t want to worry the Baron and Louis by revealing such a fact.
Then, a gunshot rang out, followed by the sound of something shattering.
“Gah!”
“Baron Caron!”
Beyond the kneeling Baron, whose magical protection had been broken, stood a
man.
Christine saw him loading a musket with an unfamiliar, pink-glowing bullet.
An object that should not exist in the Republic, all too familiar to her,
glowing with the characteristic hue of an artifact crafted with demonic magic.
The magical protection of Baron Caron, a knight, had been shattered.
Having previously encountered the Holy Empire’s consecrated bullets, Christine
immediately understood how they worked.
Slowly, she saw the man finish loading and aiming his gun.
Louis, trembling, stepped in front of her to protect her.
No, not even an artifact with protective spells could block that.
In that moment of realization, Christine forcefully pushed Louis aside-
And the gunshot sounded.
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