Chapter 2: The Poisonous Banquet and the Unpalatable Man, Part 2
The noble’s villa wasn’t particularly luxurious, but it was quite spacious.
If a noble were to host a hunt, they’d likely invite nobles from other houses, and in that case, their attendants would also need to stay. It had enough rooms to function perfectly well as an inn.
Nice. I’d like one of these myself.
At the end of a long corridor, the soldier guiding me saluted.
“This way, sir.”
“Thank you.”
I offered a smile and returned a light salute.
Perhaps finding that a bit unexpected, the soldier stared at my face for a moment.
“What is it?”
“Ah, no…”
“Even Grim Reapers smile, you know.”
It was my best joke, but it didn’t land at all. I decided to enter the room, leaving the soldier behind.
We really are hated, aren’t we…
Oh well.
“He did his job. Let’s do ours.”
“Y-yes. You’re right.”
Lieutenant Krimine nodded hurriedly.
“Your face is red. What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I’m a little worried she might catch a cold since we walked through the rain. People in this world don’t seem to wash their bodies much, so I get the feeling they’re weak to getting wet.
I’ll have them prepare a warm drink when we get back to Battalion HQ. Thinking that, I knocked on the door, which looked decidedly heavy.
There was an immediate reply.
“Who is it?”
“Lieutenant Fonkt, Vice-Commander of the Imperial Ceremonial Battalion’s Third Company. As promised, I have come for the duel.”
“Very well, enter.”
Entering timidly, I found an elderly gentleman in a spacious room, enjoying something like chess.
Chess doesn’t exist in this world, but there’s something very similar called “Vaertis.” If I were to translate it into Japanese, it’d be something like “War Board Game.”
The white-haired old gentleman was rather thin, not the sturdy type. He didn’t look particularly agile either. It made sense that he hadn’t specified a duel with swords or guns.
However, his deep-set wrinkles and hawk-like gaze exuded experience and dignity, giving the impression of a formidable opponent.
“My apologies for troubling you so many times. It pains my heart to see young people fall in cleaning up after an old fool like me.”
That’s probably sarcasm. He’s provoking me outright.
To Lord Griem, we’re enemies after his life, so it’s natural, but it also seems like he’s trying to unsettle me mentally.
So, I put on a calm smile.
“My apologies. We will be ending this today.”
This guy is my colleague’s killer. I’ll never be able to drink cheap, nasty booze with Lieutenant Meinen again. Not that I particularly care, but it’s thoroughly unpleasant.
Lord Griem looked at me and smiled pleasantly.
“Good, you’re quite something. You seem better than that previous lieutenant, whatever his name was.”
“I am most grateful. Lieutenant Meinen was my contemporary, but he was in such a state as to fail even a simple mission like this.”
I’m definitely going to kill you.
Smiling cheerfully, I opened the briefcase I had brought with me.
“The dueling method you specified was ‘Ingested Poison,’ correct?”
“Indeed. A valiant contest where one willingly brings a sweet, potent poison to one’s own lips is truly befitting an Imperial noble.”
If you’re a noble, duel with a sword or something. What a troublesome old man.
Most likely, this old man is knowledgeable about poisons. That’s why he’s managed to defeat the executioners with poison the past two times.
As for me, on the other hand, I’m not knowledgeable at all. Sorry, I don’t have any past life knowledge or anything.
In the first place, I don’t understand the poisons of this world at all.
“As this is the third time, I thought it might be impolite not to devise something a little more elaborate, so I have prepared this for today.”
When I unwrapped the embroidered cloth bundle, a black lacquered wooden box appeared from within.
Well, I mean, it’s basically a furoshiki bundle, but that’s not a common way to use them in the Empire.
“Oh, interesting.”
“The interesting part is yet to come.”
I opened the lid of the wooden box.
“Ooh!”
It was no wonder Lord Griem exclaimed.
Inside the box, which was partitioned into a grid, were small cookies. Of course, if that were all, it wouldn’t be particularly interesting, but naturally, there’s a secret.
“I had these made in the image of the knights from the ‘Gray War.’ The light and dark shades of the dough represent the Black Knights and White Knights.”
It’s an old tale about how the Black Knights and White Knights fought a terrible war in this land before the Empire was founded. I don’t know if it’s historical fact, and there are various theories as to why they fought.
But Lord Griem peered into the box with great interest.
“This resembles the arrangement of pieces in ‘Vaertis.’ It’s as if both armies are on the verge of clashing, wouldn’t you say?”
“Befitting of a duel scene, wouldn’t you agree?”
Lord Griem grinned.
“Quite an ingenious setup. It’s a pity I have to kill you.”
“There’s no need for concern. I will not die.”
You’re the one who’s going to die.
Lord Griem said to me with an expression full of composure.
“You are the one who prepared these baked sweets. You also know which one has the poison. In that case, I will be the one to designate the sweets that both of us will eat.”
“Yes, otherwise the contest wouldn’t be fair. I will be sure to eat whichever one Lord Griem chooses.”
Come to think of it, there were several Russian roulette-style foods with extreme spice in my previous life. I loved super spicy food, so I was always happy to get the “winning” one.
Ah, I miss the sweets from my past life.
As I was thinking about such things, Lord Griem smirked.
“No, no, if it’s just eating, it doesn’t necessarily have to be you.”
“What do you mean?”
Then, Lord Griem pointed at Lieutenant Krimine.
“The sweet I choose, I will have that young lady there eat it in your stead.”
Hold on a minute!?