EEBT CHAPTER 8 : Just Do Me One favor
by Scarlet“Go inside and rest. I’m sorry for calling you out so late.”
“It’s alright. Goodnight.”
After washing up and changing into her nightclothes with Naya’s help, Adelaine entered her bedroom.
As she closed the door, a metallic scent hit her nose. It was unmistakably the smell of blood.
“……!”
She immediately recognized the source of the blood.
“You’re finally here.”
“…What’s going on?”
Alex, sitting with his left wrist tightly wrapped in cloth to stop the bleeding, revealed himself under the moonlight. He was dressed in civilian clothes instead of his uniform, which made him look unfamiliar, but his appearance was still the same.
*Drip. Drip.*
However, as the cloth he was pressing against his wrist became soaked with blood, eventually dripping onto the floor, Adelaine snapped out of her daze.
“Are you hurt?”
“I got a little hurt on the way here. It’s nothing serious, so let’s get to the point……”
“The point can wait! That’s a cut on your wrist, isn’t it?!”
Adelaine frantically looked around, then grabbed a water bottle from her bedside and rinsed his wrist.
A long, horizontal red line became visible on his wrist.
“…Wait a moment.”
Adelaine went to her wardrobe and grabbed a handful of handkerchiefs. They were all beautifully embroidered silk handkerchiefs, but she didn’t care about that.
She tore the handkerchiefs into strips to make bandages. As she ruthlessly shredded the silk handkerchiefs from the East, Alex spoke to her.
“It seems the rumors about you changing are true, my lady.”
His words carried surprise—both at her tearing up expensive silk handkerchiefs and at her providing first aid herself.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve changed a lot.”
Of course, Adelaine wasn’t really listening. Her full attention was on quickly wrapping the cloth around his wrist.
Adelaine’s hands moved swiftly. Soon, Alex’s wrist was neatly bandaged. Looking at the silk bandage, a strange emotion stirred within him. But he forced himself to ignore it and looked at Adelaine.
“You’re quite skilled.”
Alex spoke with restrained admiration, and she nodded.
“I am. So…”
Adelaine pulled a chair over and sat down, facing him.
“Was this what you meant when you said we’d meet again?”
“It’s not what I planned, but let’s go with that.”
Alex stared at her. Adelaine felt an inexplicable pressure under his gaze and averted her eyes. She fixed her gaze on the wall clock as if watching time and asked,
“Then state your business first. Why did you sneak in here, even injuring your wrist?”
After a brief silence, Alex spoke.
“Naya Lake. Why did you hire her?”
Hearing Naya’s name, Adelaine realized the situation was unfolding as she had expected. However, she showed no emotion and answered in a calm voice.
“I just wanted to hire a new lady-in-waiting, and I happened to find a talented graduate from the academy.”
“I recall your family never hired commoner ladies-in-waiting before.”
“Can’t people make different choices sometimes? And I don’t like the idea of passing up talented individuals just because they’re commoners.”
Adelaine answered, revealing bits of the truth. But she didn’t tell him everything. There was no reason to.
“…I see. So that’s how it is……”
Alex pondered for a moment, then spoke.
“Alright. It’s Naya’s choice, and if she’s happy with it, that’s fine. But.”
He stood up and walked to the window.
“If anything happens to Naya, you’ll regret it.”
And he opened the window and glanced down. They were on the third floor. Yet, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his demeanor.
Just as he was about to climb out the window, Adelaine asked a question.
“Are you that worried?”
At her question, Alex turned back.
“Huh?”
“Are you that worried about her? The only family of Sergeant Lake.”
Alex’s expression stiffened slightly. From his perspective, it must have seemed like she was using Naya to pressure him.
“You’ve done a lot of digging, haven’t you?”
“Well, I’ve picked up bits and pieces here and there.”
Adelaine forced herself to ignore Alex’s sharp gaze and looked at him. Why does he have to look so cool even when glaring?
After pulling her wandering thoughts back in line, she asked him. Even if Seyd wasn’t here, she wanted to make a deal with Alex, who had taken down an Asterios Guild branch without losing a single subordinate.
If that was possible.
“Then let’s make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
Alex continued to glare at her as he spoke. Just enduring his gaze was enough to feel the pressure, but she had to hold on for her own goals.
“You know the royal family is hosting a ball soon, right?”
Alex nodded. Adelaine continued in a calm voice.
“That day, there’s going to be a huge fire at the ballroom. And in that fire, the Empress will be assassinated.”
Alex’s gaze toward Adelaine seemed to say, *How am I supposed to believe you?*
Right. That was the expected reaction.
Despite his cold stare, Adelaine pressed on.
“I want you to stop it.”
“Why us?”
“You’re stationed at the palace and on guard duty, aren’t you? Can’t you handle that much?”
Alex let out a disbelieving laugh. Adelaine, unable to understand why he was reacting this way, looked bewildered.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because I don’t think I can accept your proposal.”
Alex raised his hand and began counting on his fingers.
“First. That day—no, for the entire week including that day—our unit is off duty. There are plenty of people who haven’t seen their families in months. Even if I asked, do you think they’d agree?”
“But still……”
She tried to argue, but Alex folded another finger and continued.
“Second. The nobles hate us pathologically. We’ve sniped enemy noble officers on the battlefield more than once or twice. In the last war, we sniped a noble who was the Empress’s sixth cousin. And his aides too.”
“…….”
“That’s why we’re not deployed for official palace events. It could cause unnecessary conflict, and besides, those so-called ‘glamorous’ tasks are all taken by the Imperial Guard.”
“But still… it’s the Empress! The Empire’s Moon!”
When she raised her voice, Alex responded with a look of disbelief.
“Does she pay my salary? Does she provide the quarters for our unit? We’ve been living in tents and dugouts for ten months now because we haven’t been assigned proper quarters.”
Adelaine was shocked by the unexpectedly poor conditions they were living in.
“We’re doing the palace guard duty that the Imperial Guard is supposed to handle. Reasonable task allocation? That doesn’t exist in reality. The higher-ups keep telling us to hang in there a little longer, and the royal family just ignores us.”
Bitterness was etched in Alex’s eyes.
Adelaine could vaguely understand why his character in the novel was always portrayed as passive and lazy.
No money, no housing, terrible treatment, and dumped with all the work.
It was a situation where even the most positive person would inevitably turn into the “Captain Manningham” from the novel.
*Is this the real reality behind the novel?*
“Well, if we’re off duty that day, at least we can avoid responsibility. It’ll be nice to see the Imperial Guard and the Crown Prince take the fall for once.”
Alex slowly stood up as he spoke.
“Naya will do her part even if you don’t give her anything extra. So if you make unreasonable demands or treat her unfairly and something happens to her…”
He leaned in close to Adelaine and said,
“You’d better be prepared.”
As she nodded slightly, Alex walked to the window and threw himself out. Startled by the motion, as if he had jumped, Adelaine rushed to the window and looked outside.
But there was no one lying in the grass below. Only a silhouette fading into the shadows was visible.
“It’s true…”
Adelaine muttered as she closed the window.
The Empress would definitely be assassinated.
Because of that, the Crown Prince’s life would change completely.
And in that changed life of the Crown Prince, there would be a moment when he would have Adelaine’s head.
Such a tragedy must not happen.
Absolutely not.
“So who do I ask for help…?”
She muttered as she returned to her bed.
It felt overwhelmingly daunting.
* * *
“…Interesting.”
In the coachman’s quarters of the Ducal House.
Seyd, who had been eavesdropping on Adelaine and Alex’s conversation using a magical device, had an intrigued smile on his face.
A few months ago, a request had come to his guild.
A rather dangerous request to assassinate the Empress. Originally, he had no intention of accepting it.
“It doesn’t make financial sense.”
If the Empress were assassinated, societal vigilance would naturally increase, making life harder for those like them who operated in the shadows.
Even if it was lucrative in the short term, it didn’t make sense in the long run.
But when he saw the face of the person who came to negotiate, his thoughts completely changed.
“After all, it’s power over blood.”
Seyd smiled bitterly. This was a job worth considering, both in the short and long term.
“By the way… how does that lady know about this? Showing up at our hideout uninvited last time, and now this…”
In the past, Adelaine had been just another spoiled, self-centered noble lady with a head full of buttercream.
You know, the kind of clueless noble girl who, without realizing it, gets involved in illegal black markets supplying goods through human trafficking.
But after she lost consciousness for a week, she began to show a different side.
Hiring a commoner girl as a lady-in-waiting, not just a maid, and showing concern for the servants.
“This might change the Duke’s opinion a bit.”
If she somehow found allies or directly thwarted the assassination attempt, public perception of her would change.
In that regard, the recent meeting between Alex and Adelaine had been truly dangerous.
If the two had joined forces, this assassination attempt would have been a complete failure. In fact, the already struggling Asterios Guild might have collapsed entirely.
But there was still time and opportunity.
He had to ensure she didn’t interfere or make it impossible for her to do so.
And while it seemed Alex didn’t fully believe the information, just in case, he had to take precautions on that front as well.
“Well, since this part isn’t included in the contract, I should discuss it with the employer.”
Seyd summoned a messenger bird with magic. The message he wanted to send was already tied to the bird’s leg.
“Alright, then. Let’s see what the employer thinks.”
As Seyd released his hand, the messenger bird he had been holding flew out the window into the night sky.
The entirely gray bird soon blended into the dark night and disappeared from sight.