The Worm in the Lion’s Belly 3

※Contains grotesque imagery.

Gild frowned, sensing something was off.

He was escorting Riley and Liliana to the Royal Knights’ barracks, but the Crown Prince’s guards were moving strangely. In fact, it had been strange from the very beginning. There were two familiar faces, but the rest he had never seen before. The First Squad of the Royal Knights had a fair number of members, so it wasn't surprising that there were knights he didn't know, but Gild felt a sense of unease.

And now, the guards protecting their rear had slowed to a crawl, far from the carriage Liliana was in. The guards who were supposed to be protecting the front of the carriage had also disappeared at some point. The distance between them and the carriage had been gradually increasing from the start. Gild had thought that alone was strange, but when the Crown Prince’s guards deliberately started to create distance, he finally spoke up.

“Oi, why are we stopping here?”

“—You bastard, the illusion isn't working on you?”

The man who turned back with a suspicious look in his eyes made Gild scowl deeply.

“The hell?”

It couldn't be helped that his voice sounded like a ruffian's. Before Gild could open his mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, the guards drew the swords at their waists and surrounded him. It seemed the men he thought were guards were actually assassins in disguise, Gild thought, looking up at the sky.

“We have no grudge against you, but you can curse the fact that you were here. Die.”

“What a pain in the ass.”

An assassination, seriously? Gild groaned, and the next moment, without any warning, he leaped from his horse. The startled horse neighed and reared up. The horses of the two guards closest to him, who were about to cut him down, were also startled and stumbled. One of them, who had raised his sword and lost his balance, fell from his horse. The other barely managed to cling to his horse and regain his posture.

“Above!”

Another man shouted. The others instinctively looked up to see Gild, who had leaped high into the air, descending headfirst. His face was a clear mask of annoyance.

The men threw hidden weapons at Gild. Normally, he should have been pierced by the countless weapons and fallen. But Gild curled his body, did a full flip to dodge all of them, and as he straightened out, he drew the sword from his waist. Using the momentum and the speed of his fall, Gild sliced the leader of the group in two, kicked him off his horse, and then leaped to the next horse, beheading the man on it and killing him instantly.

“Ah, is it bad if I kill them all?”

He probably had to find out who the mastermind was, Gild finally realized. The enemy was coming at him with the intent to kill, but he couldn't kill them—it was an incredibly frustrating situation. In his mercenary days, he could just kill everyone who came at him with killing intent. He never had to think about taking them alive. But Gild, hired as a guard, was not allowed to do that. Shaking his head in resignation, he changed his grip on his sword.

Instead of stabbing or slashing, he would use the flat of the blade to strike. That way, he might break some bones, but they wouldn't die in one hit—probably. If a bone pierced an organ or an organ ruptured, they would die eventually, but at least the fatality rate should be lower than stabbing or slashing.

“I could drop the sword, but I'd just end up killing them with my fists anyway.”

For him, who possessed the unique ability to transform into a wolf, his most proficient fighting style was hand-to-hand combat. When he started his mercenary business, he started carrying a sword because he thought it looked cool, but he couldn't shake the feeling that using a weapon lowered his attack power and mobility. But at the same time, it served as a safeguard against accidentally injuring his opponents more than necessary.

Meanwhile, the assassins disguised as guards tensed up as they witnessed Gild’s combat prowess. Most of them had dismounted and were slowly backing away. Still, they seemed determined to achieve their goal of killing Gild, as they made no move to flee. To prevent Gild from escaping on horseback, a few of them remained mounted, facing him.

“Alright, who’s next?”

Gild grinned. He had no intention of losing to a bunch of assassins. Especially since it was clearer than day that the men surrounding him were not professionals. In that case, this was Gild’s show.

If they were skilled assassins from a clan like the Calamity Clan, who used weapons he had never seen or heard of, Gild would have had to face them with no room for error. But the hidden weapons the men before him were using were not particularly novel. In that case, the chances of Gild losing were less than a snowball's in hell.

＊＊＊＊＊

The assassins who attacked Riley and Liliana were clearly a hastily assembled group. Some of them moved with the skill of professionals, but others were clearly knights, not assassins. And of the three remaining, one was a sorcerer.

Warily scanning his surroundings, Riley sized them up. The man holding Liliana was likely a former knight turned mercenary. The man approaching him with his sword raised was an assassin; his stance was different from a knight’s. The last one was probably the sorcerer.

His priority was to protect Liliana, but to create a situation where she could move on her own, he had to take out the sorcerer first. However, the assassin was the closest.

And right now, Riley couldn't use magic. Without magic, he couldn't unleash the overwhelming power and speed he needed to dominate his enemies.

While pondering his options, Riley slowly lowered the hand holding his sword to his side. The assassins, though still cautious, seemed to relax slightly, confident of their advantage. The man holding Liliana sneered, “That’s right, just drop it,” he ordered Riley.

But then, Riley noticed it—a faint curve on his fiancée’s lips. And her gaze was fixed on the sword in his hand. Riley felt a flicker of doubt but didn't let it show on his face.

And then, Riley released his grip on the sword—and the next moment, the body of the man holding Liliana convulsed. The man’s massive frame collapsed, and Liliana dodged to avoid being crushed underneath.

The instant Riley saw it, he kicked the hilt of the falling sword up into his right hand. With momentum, he threw the sword backward. The blade pierced the chest of the unprepared sorcerer. At the same time, the magic-nullifying spell that had dominated the area dissipated, and Riley drew a hidden dagger with his left hand.

“You bastards—!”

The last remaining assassin gnashed his teeth and raised his sword, but with an unfamiliar weapon, he couldn't keep up with Riley’s speed. Riley closed the distance in an instant, deflected the enemy’s sword with his dagger, and lunged into his chest. And the dagger in Riley’s hand sank deep into the assassin’s throat.

“Ugh—,”

Unable to even scream, the assassin’s eyes widened as blood poured from his mouth, and he died. When Riley took a step back, the assassin’s body fell to the ground with a thud.

“Sasha, are you alright?”

“Yes, not a single scratch.”

Hearing Liliana’s reply, Riley’s cheeks finally relaxed. A look of relief washed over his face. He retrieved his dagger and longsword, wiped the blood off, and put them back in place. Then he walked over to Liliana and looked down at the knight-like man collapsed at her feet. He crouched down and checked his breathing and heartbeat. Confirming that he was alive, he efficiently tied the man up.

“What did you do to this man?”

But Liliana didn't answer. She silently held out her right hand to Riley. There was nothing unusual about her delicate hand, just two rings on her fingers. Riley tilted his head and stared at her slender, pale hand for a moment, then his eyes widened as he realized something and he stared at the rings.

“Could it be—this ring?”

“Yes, if you do this, a needle comes out. The tip is coated with a paralytic agent, so please be careful.”

As she explained, Liliana actually operated the ring, and a thin needle popped out on the back of her hand. It seemed Liliana had used this ring to paralyze the enemy without him noticing. But for a powerful drug to take down a burly man in an instant, it must be quite potent. While understanding Liliana’s trick, Riley couldn't help but offer a word of caution with a wry smile.

“I’m just glad you’re safe, but I’m worried that needle from the ring might accidentally prick you. Please be careful with it.”

“Of course.”

Liliana nodded as if it were a matter of course. Then, as if a thought had just occurred to her, she looked up at Riley standing right next to her.

“Were you a Magic Knight, Will?”

Liliana knew that Riley was skilled in swordsmanship and could use magic. But she had never heard that he had the aptitude to be a Magic Knight. The Riley from the game in her past life hadn't been a Magic Knight either. He was supposed to have been a crown prince with an exceptional talent for swordsmanship.

At this, Riley nodded with a faint, wry smile.

“I was trained to fight as a Magic Knight, for what it’s worth. But I don’t seem to have the talent for it. The most I can do is enhance my body like I did just now.”

Liliana nodded in understanding. Magic Knights and Magic Swordsmen used a combination of sword techniques and magic. Body enhancement was the most basic of the basics for them, and to make a living as a Magic Knight or Magic Swordsman, one had to be able to use magic with a sword. That required training, but it was said that innate talent was the most important factor.

“Even just body enhancement is wonderful, I think. I hear it’s difficult for most people.”

“It makes me happy to hear you say that.”

Riley blushed bashfully. Liliana smiled back, but then their gazes fell to the assassins lying at their feet.

“Still, I never expected assassins. I did think there were a lot of unfamiliar guards, though.”

“The fact that I only know the faces of the vice-commanders and above backfired on me.”

Riley muttered bitterly at Liliana’s words. It was one thing for the Knight Commander or the Vice-Commanders, but there was no way that Riley, the Crown Prince, would have memorized the faces and names of every single knight in the Royal Knights. It was a matter of course, but this time, the enemy had exploited that weakness.

“Do you know whose hand was behind this?”

“One of them had a northern accent. I haven’t identified which one, but it was likely a noble from the Grand Duke’s faction who sent them.”

The northern part of the Kingdom of Slibegrad was a patchwork of small territories. Unlike the Alcasia Faction centered around the Ealdred ducal family, which was a monolith, these were fiercely independent lords, making it difficult to keep track of their movements and bring them into one’s own camp. But on the other hand, because they didn't form alliances, their actions were sometimes uncoordinated. The fact that the assassins this time seemed like a thrown-together group was likely due to multiple people pulling the strings behind the scenes, with no one capable of organizing them.

“The Grand Duke’s faction? I hear their numbers have been slowly increasing recently.”

“—I really wonder about your information network.”

Riley let out a wry smile at Liliana’s murmur. He grumbled that her network was on par with or even better than the royal family’s “Shadows.” But Liliana just smiled mysteriously and didn't elaborate. Instead, she said something else.

“The late Duke Ealdred also said it. That someone would plot to assassinate you, Your Highness.”

“His Excellency did?”

Riley’s eyes widened in surprise. Liliana nodded.

Duke Ealdred had told Liliana to protect Riley. He would have guards, of course, but they would all be knights. Knights couldn't effectively defend against attacks from sorcerers. Therefore, what he asked of Liliana was her talent for magic. With Liliana’s abilities, Duke Ealdred believed she could protect Riley even if he was attacked by a sorcerer.

“But it is not good to be in a situation where you cannot even trust your own guards. I believe you should select your Royal Guard as soon as possible.”

Liliana shook off the memory and said something else. Riley had been looking at her with a probing gaze, but he quickly softened into a gentle smile. He drew the young girl’s shoulder closer and nodded.

“You’re right. If I use this incident as leverage, no one in the Advisory Council will be able to object. I’ll speak to Commander Hegarty about it later.”

If Riley were to get a Royal Guard, some members of the First Squad of the Royal Knights might object. But the First Squad’s original duty was to guard the royal family at evening parties, banquets, ceremonies, and the like. The current king had fallen ill soon after his coronation, so no Royal Guard had been selected, but traditionally, a Royal Guard was selected and appointed separately from the First Squad. The Royal Guard was assigned to each member of the royal family and accompanied them in their private lives and on inspections.

Even if there was opposition from within the Knight Order, as long as the Knight Commander was on board, it could be suppressed.

Liliana nodded quietly.

“That would be best.”

Then, suddenly, the two of them sensed a presence and looked up. Three horses were galloping towards them from behind. One had a person on it, and another had a person tied to it. The third had only a saddle. Seeing the distant figures, Liliana let out a sigh of relief.

“It seems Gild was held up as well.”

“Which means most of the guards assigned to me were assassins. This is a grave matter, my dear fiancée.”

Even though it was a matter that could have cost him his life, Riley whispered with a hint of amusement. Liliana narrowed her eyes in momentary exasperation but quickly regained her composure and nodded seriously.

“This inspection of the Knight Order was unofficial, so we will need to investigate how the information was leaked.”

“There may be spies not only in the Knight Order but also in the palace.”

Just as Riley was saying that it was going to get busy, Gild’s horse caught up to them. Of the other two horses he had brought, the man tied to one of them was limp and unconscious. From his clothes, he was likely one of the assassins disguised as a Crown Prince’s guard. Riley tilted his head and asked Gild.

“Gild, what is that?”

“An assassin. I thought it might be a good idea to bring one back and make him talk.”

Gild reported in the tone of a child telling his parents he had brought back an interesting rock he found, making Riley and Liliana involuntarily exchange glances.

“Well, it’s certainly more convenient to have him.”

“Two is more useful as witnesses than one.”

Liliana agreed with Riley’s words. Then the two of them pointed to the bound man lying at their feet.

“I’m sorry to ask, but could you take this man back as well?”

“—Another guy?”

Despite his disgusted expression, Gild obediently dismounted and hoisted the burly man up. Then he tied the other man to the horse that had been carrying the one he was holding. Gild mounted his horse again, still in a bad mood.

“Two girls would be more than welcome, but two guys are a total buzzkill.”

Riley gave a wry smile at Gild’s weary expression. They would continue to the Knight Order’s barracks as planned, but he had no intention of getting back into the carriage that had been rigged with a teleportation circle. It was only natural, as they didn't know what other traps might have been set.

“Sasha, let’s go by horse. You’re in a dress, so how about you ride with me?”

“I would be fine on my own.”

It wasn't a riding habit, but she could manage if she rode sidesaddle. Gild had brought two horses, but one of them had two assassins tied to it. If Riley rode the other one, then Liliana could ride one of the horses that had been pulling their carriage. That's what she thought, but Riley wouldn't back down.

“That dress is lovely, but it’s not easy to move in. And we can’t be sure we won’t be attacked again. If not you, but your horse were to be shot, you could be thrown. If you don't mind, won’t you ride with me?”

After being told all that, she had no choice but to concede. Liliana reluctantly agreed.

“Very well.”

Riley nodded and mounted the horse Gild had brought. Then, from horseback, he reached out his hand and helped Liliana mount. He then cast a barrier around the area to prevent it from being disturbed. He intended to preserve the scene until an investigation team could be dispatched from the Knight Order’s barracks. If the assassins’ bodies disappeared before then, it would mean there was a sorcerer who had been observing the attack from somewhere.

Riley mounted the horse as well. He wrapped his arm around Liliana’s body to support her.

“We’ll interrogate the captured men at the Knight Order. This deviates from our original purpose of observing the training, but there shouldn't be any problem.”

“Got it.”

It was Gild who answered. He had his horse fall in line diagonally behind Riley, and they set off. The three of them, on horseback, headed for the Knight Order’s barracks at a gallop.

—-

Toc

Chapter 188