Chapter 98: Trap (2)
“……I’m sorry, I’m still too inexperienced.”
Wiping away her tear stains, Lyslin muttered quietly.
She was sobbing in such a battered state—worse than when I had seen Allen in the hospital room just a few days ago—that I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.
“More importantly, what on earth happened?”
I asked her in a calm voice.
In a situation like this, I had to remain composed, even if it was deliberate.
“You’ve regained consciousness? But then, why are you here instead of in the hospital room?”
“Well, that’s……”
Before answering me, Lyslin glanced around.
Even when she had been stifling sobs, she insisted we move somewhere secluded where no one would overhear. Yet, even now in this deserted place, she still didn’t look reassured.
“That’s……”
After a brief hesitation, she gave a small nod, as if she had finally made up her mind.
“……I suppose I have no choice. We’ve come this far, and hiding it any longer would only make it harder for you to trust me.”
Muttering those words, she pulled something out from deep within her clothes and showed it to me.
In her hand was a small badge.
An eagle.
A lion.
And a sword.
It was proof of being a soldier—an officer, no less.
“I belong to the Intelligence Command, espionage division.”
“……What?”
“It must be hard to believe. But it’s true. I infiltrated the Academy under the guise of a maid as part of my mission.”
At her words, I could only fall silent.
A soldier—no, a covert operative from the intelligence unit?
What kind of slapdash setting was this?
‘Wait, now that I think about it…….’
Didn’t she once mention in passing that she had worked in the military?
It was such a fleeting comment that I had barely remembered it.
“……For now, I’ll believe you.”
“Y-you’ll believe me?”
“In a situation like this, it’s hard to imagine you’d make up such a ridiculous lie.”
I nodded slightly as I said so.
“Then, is it alright if I continue calling you Miss Lyslin for now?”
“Yes, please do, Sir Lian Gwendil.”
“In that case, before we continue, I’d like you to answer a question of mine.”
“……If it’s something I can answer, then of course. But please keep it brief.”
With a firm nod from her, I spoke in a calm tone.
“Could you sing me a military song?”
“A m-military song?”
“Yes, anything. Preferably a marching song.”
Flustered by my request, she hesitated for a moment before starting to sing, stumbling over the words.
“Uh… hm. Again, again! Pickled onions again, when will we ever get pork? Always eating mud and dirty water, that’s our lot. Comrades, oh comrades. Onions bring tears to our eyes… you cry, I cry too….”
“Yes, that’s enough.”
I waved my hand, satisfied.
Then I reached out, placing my hand over her wound, and invoked the Miracle of Healing, frowning slightly.
“Your injury runs deep.”
“Yes, I nearly died.”
Once I finished the emergency treatment, I nodded and looked at her.
“Then could you explain now?”
“Yes, of course. It’s precisely why I risked my life to seek you out, Sir Lian Gwendil.”
She gave a small nod and muttered.
“But before that, let’s move. My comrade is waiting at the abandoned old school building nearby. We should join up there first.”
“A comrade?”
“Yes, someone who infiltrated before me.”
She spoke in a quiet but steady voice.
“To prevent the threat approaching this Academy.”
“As you know, Sir Lian Gwendil, Arpentia Academy is one of the most prominent places on the continent. Naturally, every nation and faction sends spies here.”
Guiding me along deserted paths, Lyslin began to explain.
“Our mission was to uncover, monitor, and prepare against such spies.”
“Then, the attack on you means……”
“Yes. Shameful as it is, information must have leaked somewhere.”
She clenched her teeth in humiliation.
“In a sense, I was lucky. My comrade who had taken up position on the outskirts of the Academy vanished without a trace. Most likely…… he lost his life.”
But what could we do?
Lyslin murmured quietly.
“It’s something we were prepared for. Myself, him who died, and the other comrade still waiting now…… all of us were ready for this.”
“……Earlier, you said you needed my help to stop the threat approaching the Academy.”
I asked her.
“What is the connection between this threat, my involvement, and Allen?”
“To explain that, I first need to tell you about Allen Amiel’s circumstances. It will take a bit of time—will that be alright?”
“It’ll take us a while to reach the old school building anyway.”
I nodded.
“Time shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Understood. Then…… as you know, the Amiel family is an old and prestigious frontier count family.”
“Yes. Their influence is on par with any other great family.”
“And you also know that Allen Amiel is, officially, an illegitimate child.”
I frowned slightly.
“They’re targeting the Amiel family through Allen?”
“The matter is more complicated, but you can think of it that way for now.”
Lyslin answered, pausing briefly.
“And Sir Lian Gwendil, you are the one who has the closest connection to Allen Amiel within the Academy.”
“So the culprits are targeting me because of that?”
“Of course not. Well, it’s one of the reasons, but only a secondary one.”
She whispered quietly.
“The rampage incident during the Dungeon Field Class.”
“……”
“And Archbishop Rahma. Cultists of the Evil God…… I’ll stop there.”
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
It was supposed to be confidential, and yet it seemed the rumor had spread all over town.
I muttered in disbelief.
“……You said hardly anyone knew.”
“We’re the Intelligence Command’s espionage division, after all.”
Lyslin answered with a bitter smile.
“I’ll continue explaining. The ones involved in that incident were you, Sir Lian Gwendil, and Cecilia Everglenn. Just the two of you. Out of the two, touching Cecilia Everglenn recklessly would bring about consequences far too great, given her Everglenn background. But in your case, Sir Lian Gwendil, it’s relatively… well.”
“Yes, my family is a parvenu house, so we’re nobles only in name.”
“……That wasn’t my intention.”
I chuckled lightly.
“I didn’t take it as mockery either. I don’t bother hiding it, nor do I care, so there’s no need to apologize. It’s the truth, after all.”
It wasn’t flattery—it was sincere.
Since I had rarely received proper treatment from my own family, there were times when even I wondered if I was really being treated as a noble.
“Ahem, there’s one more reason.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you belong to the Holy Sun Church.”
The Holy Sun Church and the Empire.
Everyone who knew the political landscape understood that while the two maintained a cooperative front, their relationship was uneasy.
“And I’ve heard that even within the Holy Sun Church, opinions about you are divided, Sir Lian Gwendil.”
“I’ve been told that too.”
“Then we can move along faster. The enemy intends to use both you and Allen Amiel as tools to stir conflict between the two factions.”
“……Do you really think that’s possible?”
I couldn’t help but ask.
Her words sounded far too……
“Forgive me, but it sounds contrived and baseless.”
“Yes. In truth, it’s little more than a forced justification. Contrived and baseless.”
But—
Her voice was calm as she muttered.
“Whether such a flimsy excuse exists or not makes all the difference in the world. And for that excuse, people died yesterday, people die today, and people will continue dying tomorrow.”
“……”
“……My apologies. I became too emotional.”
Lyslin offered me an apology.
I caught a glimpse of her tightly clenched fist trembling faintly.
“Now that I think about it, I never asked this.”
“……”
“Who exactly attacked you, Miss Lyslin? And the other victims……”
“The other victims weren’t from the Intelligence Division like me.”
Lyslin cut me off and answered.
“They were probably attacked indiscriminately. I don’t yet know what the assailants are truly after—whether it was to spread confusion, or if they had another motive altogether. We simply lack the information.”
She spoke with a self-mocking tone.
“It’s shameful for me to say this, but the enemy has been several steps ahead of us. They stole the initiative, took down many of my comrades, and now the situation is nearly at the point of playing out exactly as they wish. Truthfully, even now, it already feels too late…….”
But we couldn’t just sit still after suffering such losses.
Her voice remained self-deprecating, yet I could sense a faint ember within it.
“We still don’t fully understand their intentions or their next move. All we’ve managed is to grasp a single small lead. And I couldn’t afford to lose it—that’s why I came to you, Sir Lian Gwendil. As long as you and Allen Amiel remain safe, we’ll have a way to drag those bastards out by the scruff of their necks.”
“……”
“I digressed too much. You asked who attacked me, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
I paused for a moment.
There were people passing along the road we were taking.
“You said you’re an agent of the Intelligence Division. That means your skills must surpass those of ordinary people. Yet you were subdued instantly. That suggests your opponent was no ordinary figure.”
“Your judgment is correct. They are no ordinary person. ……In fact, they’re even someone known publicly.”
Lyslin nodded quietly.
But before answering, she asked me a question of her own.
“Sir Lian Gwendil, earlier I said the culprits hoped for conflict between the Holy Sun Church and the Amiel family—in other words, with the Empire. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“Then, who do you think the culprit is?”
“……I don’t know. Who is it?”
“The Holy Sun Church.”
Lyslin replied in a quiet voice.
“More precisely, the extremist faction within the Holy Sun Church.”
“……”
“And the one who attacked me also belongs to the Holy Sun Church.”
Watching me closely, she continued in a firm voice.
“The one who attacked me was Sister Roberta.”