Chapter 138

“It roughly translates to ‘seabird droppings.’ It is the excrement of coastal birds. The smell is exceedingly foul.”

“Oh, that? I remember that. Those fellows often used the docks to transport goods, and every time they did, the stench was overwhelming. The smell was so foul that once I actually asked outright what it was, and they said it was fertilizer. The smell never left the cellar, so I suffered for quite some time.”

Honestly, he could not imagine what men plotting rebellion would want with fertilizer. Thierry’s answer to the Emperor’s question slipped out. He remembered the guano quite clearly, down to particulars. The Emperor’s face hardened menacingly, his lips clenched as he suppressed the sound that threatened to escape.

“Anything else? Did they ever transport clothing or blankets?”

“They pretended to be peddlers, but why would they carry such things if they were not really going to sell them? I never saw them handling any of that.”

“Then what did they mainly transport?”

“To that I cannot say. They kept most of it quiet, even among themselves. I do not know what vile plan they were hatching, but they always moved black coal dust, strange coal that smelled of sulfur, and other odd materials of that sort.”

Victor, filling in for the Emperor, who had fallen silent for some reason, asked further questions to ascertain the situation. Thierry opened his mouth readily, like a toad snapping at flies. It was an answer so facile that those in the next room, whose flesh and bone were being burned and who strove not to cry out, might, if they heard it, want to tear him apart alive.

Having heard everything he wanted, the Emperor turned away coldly and left without a word. Thierry, who had been cooperating as best he could to please the Emperor, was startled, and his eyes went wide at the sudden movement. Victor, too, was equally taken aback by the Emperor’s abrupt behavior. But he quickly regained his composure and began to manage the situation.

“His Majesty will keep his promise. He never speaks in vain.”

He gave an order with a glance to keep a close eye on the prisoner, then hurried after the Emperor. The Emperor, striding briskly without a backward glance, was already halfway down the corridor. Victor, panting, followed him, cautiously observing the Emperor’s expression.

“I apologize for the question, Your Majesty, but what exactly is guano?”

Although Victor was of common birth, he had received an education on par with many nobles thanks to being the Emperor’s milk brother. Still, in terms of breadth of knowledge, he could not match Ebroin V. The Emperor gritted his teeth and spoke through clenched teeth.

He was furious to his very core.

“DidWenot mention it earlier? It is the excrement of seabirds. It is said that it enriches the soil, so it is commonly used as fertilizer.”

“But… ?”

“But it has a far more widely used purpose. You know this, do you not? That in the Confederation of Five Nations, there is no source of saltpetre.”

The mineral known as saltpetre, or Estina saltpetre, was a rare ore found only within the Estina Empire. Victor’s eyes widened in shock because he understood what it was primarily used for.

“Does that mean that guano is a substitute for saltpetre?”

“That is so.”

“Then that means the ‘cargo’ was gunpowder all along…!”

Strictly speaking, not the gunpowder itself, but its ingredients. A clever choice. Bold to a spine-chilling degree.

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Foolish Alienor. Idiotic Merrick!In the end, they were not even puppets. The Nightwing had used them to mislead his eyes, all the while preparing to obliterate both forces.

The Emperor sneered at Queen Gwyneth, who had masterminded this audacious plot, in a tone as cold as ice. Though he spoke thus, if she were standing before him now, he was not sure he could behave with any semblance of civility.

Indeed. I admit it. I was too complacent while the war was already underway. I never imagined they could be plotting something like this.

With eyes as sharp and fierce as piercing blue ice, the Emperor ground his teeth violently. Should the entire imperial family be reduced to a handful of ashes, the consequences for the empire were obvious.

The centuries of peace would collapse, and the empire would return to the age of the Old Kingdom, resuming the struggle of every man against every man. Someone would inevitably seize the place left vacant by the complete annihilation of the Imperial House Ardi.

“Wait—”

Then, a sudden thought struck him, and he came to an abrupt halt. Victor, who was hastily following, had no idea what was wrong this time and looked at the Emperor with a startled expression. The Emperor turned his gaze on him, his eyes so fierce that it felt as if he could kill someone at any moment.

“Did you say it was Eugène who first brought this matter up?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.”

“That fool… He is a sailor, and the main adversary of the Imperial Navy is, no matter what anyone says, the Confederation of Five Nations. If he had been an ordinary nobleman, he would not have known. But he is the one who has fought the Confederation more than anyone in the empire. There exists no possibility that he could not have known about guano!”

The Emperor instantly deduced that Eugène had already understood everything, yet deliberately left them with only a small clue, and he erupted in fury. That day, Eugène had also been at that mansion. It was not surprising if he had discovered something they had overlooked. While the Emperor knew of guano only from books, Eugène had the experience to recognize its significance.

“Find him immediately! There is no knowing what foolishness he might be up to, so verify his whereabouts at once!!”

It was the first time Ebroin V, always calm and composed, had shown such anger.

Victor, reeling from consecutive shocks, could not recover his wits, but he had no choice but to obey the Emperor’s furious command.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will locate him at once.”

“Once he is found, bring him beforeUsimmediately.Wewill personally interrogate him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Understood.”

Victor, concealing his panic, hurriedly stepped aside. Left alone, the Emperor clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, glaring at the dark stone wall with eyes that boiled with rage. In the end, unable to contain his fury any longer, he smashed his fist against the wall until it broke.

The wall was instantly covered in blood.

***

“We have arrived.”

The coachman spoke up, urging the man who had been sitting absentmindedly.

Only then did Eugène raise his eyes. He glanced out the window to confirm the location. He had only drifted into thought for a moment, yet they had already reached their destination. Had he been so deep in his own thoughts that he had lost all sense of time?

Eugène realized with a bitter smile that the turmoil in his heart was not because of the rebellion before him, nor because of the great cause itself, but because of one person’s existence. So this must be why knights who leave behind their beloveds to go to war are said to lose their lives without fail. Even in the face of a crucial battle, a battle of life and death, they cannot focus; their thoughts forever wandering back to that one person.

He will be incredibly furious.

If His Majesty were to learn of what he was about to do, his anger would surpass anything Eugène had ever seen before. And yet, even knowing his temperament well, Eugène could not stop himself. He barely recognized the man he was becoming.

But there was something he needed to know.

It was something worth staking his life to find out.

“I have a letter that needs delivering, but I will pay you. The destination is rather difficult to find, so it may be a bit troublesome. Still, the recipient will pay you twice what I am giving you now.”

“A letter, you say?”

“Yes. Just go to the address written here. If you take this item with you, the person will agree to meet you.”

Eugène drew from his breast pocket a sealed letter and a coin engraved with the head of a crow, and handed them to the coachman.

The coachman hesitated, looking troubled after checking the address written on the envelope, but when Eugène pressed into his hand a coin of silver worth three times the carriage fare, he reluctantly accepted the letter.

“Will they truly pay twice as much?”

“I have written that request in the letter, so there is nothing to worry about. You only need to make sure it is delivered accurately.”

“Well, all right then, my lord. Worst comes to worst, the missus will tear my hair out again for sneaking off to the red-light district in broad daylight.”

The sum Eugène offered was more than what the man would normally earn in a week. For that much, a little inconvenience was worth it. The coachman shook off his misgivings and nodded.

After handing the letter to the coachman, he stepped down from the carriage. The butler, who had been waiting for him, greeted him with a stern expression. Eugène drew another envelope from his breast pocket. It was a personal invitation he had finally obtained after several refusals, following his first request to visit.

It had taken him several days to secure this permission.

From the first meeting itself, he had known she would be a difficult woman, but the temperament of Viscountess Gagnon proved to be even more exacting than expected.

When he sent a letter requesting a private meeting, she had hinted that she was not inclined to accept. It seemed her honest feeling was that she would rather open her salon to guests than receive him in private.

Viscountess Gagnon had politely declined his request, using the artful indirection so typical of high society. Nevertheless, Eugène did not give up his efforts to win her invitation. By now, she was likely in a very unpleasant mood, having been compelled to receive an unwanted guest purely out of his obstinacy.

“The Viscountess is expecting you, Baron.”

The butler’s tone was stiffly formal, as though he sensed his mistress’s disapproval. Though he maintained the proper courtesies, there was not the slightest hint of welcome in his manner. Eugène, seeing this, thought again. It seemed as if the servants of this household were poorly trained. Frankly, he had never seen servants in any noble household so freely express their emotions.

“Lead the way.”

The butler guided him not to the Viscountess’s private drawing room but to her public salon. It seemed she had consented to the visit only out of obligation, unwilling to receive him in her personal space. Fortunately, it was still early, and no other guests were present. Only Viscountess Gagnon awaited him, leaning wearily on a chaise longue, one hand massaging her temple.

“It has been a while, Viscountess.”

“Welcome, Baron Amieux.”

She furrowed her brows slightly, as if her head was aching, yet extended one slender hand with a gentle smile. Eugène concealed his thoughts, took her pale hand, and pressed his lips lightly upon it.

“Are you unwell?”

“Sadly, yes. Forgive me, I am not in the best condition. The change of seasons grows harder to endure with every passing year. When the weather turns cold like this, it worsens all the more.”

I am unwell, and you have troubled me persistently despite it to meet you.Stripped of the flowery rhetoric unique to high society, that was what her words ultimately meant.

“To hear such words about the passing years from a lady as beautiful as yourself feels almost disconcerting. You remain as radiant as ever, enough to make your old title, ‘Princess of the Moon’, seem unashamedly fitting.”

Eugène spoke with a gentle air, as though offering consolation, while, in truth, subtly pricking at her pride. He had never been a particularly skilled actor, but concealing his emotions was something he could do at any moment.

The Viscountess Gagnon’s eyes sharpened for a brief instant at the mention of the fondly remembered nickname from her youth. However, seeing the calm, untroubled expression on Eugène’s face, she decided he was not deliberately mocking her.

Even so, she could not feel pleased. Once, she had been envied even by the imperial princess and alike, yet now she was painfully aware that she had been married off as though sold to a mere viscount’s house, withering away day by day in this shabby little salon.

“How cruel of a young gentleman to tease an aging woman. Was there ever anyone who was not beautiful in her youth? What adorns a woman best is not jewels or fine cosmetics, but the fresh radiance that only the young can possess.”

The smiling woman’s lips trembled faintly. Though her words were nothing but a truism, it was clear from her demeanor that she felt a deep self-reproach. Her pride was sharp, unlike that of any ordinary noblewoman. But it did not inspire admiration. There was nothing appealing in one who clung so fiercely to memories of the past and regarded her present self with such scorn. It only stirred a sense of pity.

Eugène looked at her and felt a fleeting sense of life’s transience. The woman before him had once been counted among the candidates for Empress. She had witnessed every glory and humiliation that human life could offer, all while struggling to maintain the fragile existence of a noblewoman who could barely care for herself. She had never been the protagonist of her own story, yet the tides of fate had swept through her life, altering it entirely.