Chapter 282

Hans catches on and Kyle puts his operation in motion...

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Episode 282. About 5 months (5)

“Damn it! That anxious look was gone...! He's never acted like this before! What! What? That bastard!”

At Hans's loud shout, Sir Taylor, a vassal of House Toulouse and the First Prince's former personal knight rushed in.

Sir Taylor had become Hans's personal knight at the behest of the Third Prince.

However, Hans also knew he was there to report his every move to Joseph.

"What's going on?"

“Go and catch the man who just left! Harold, catch him right now!”

“Yes!”

The knight quickly left and gave orders to his subordinates stationed nearby, and a group of 20 or so men immediately dispersed and went in search of Harold.

Thirty minutes later.

“We searched the area for his tracks, but couldn’t find anything. He’s gone. Except... This was hanging from the iron gate.”

It was the eye patch Harold always wore.

“This?”

"Yes. What does it mean?"

“.....”

Upon seeing the eye patch, Hans tumbled into deep thought without hesitation. Strangely, it was harder to concentrate now than it usually was.

The knight found Hans's darting gaze incredibly disturbing. It was hard to stand still and watch him think. After a long moment of silence, he pressed him.

"Shall I report to His Highness? Or His Excellency the Duke of Toulouse…?"

“...Do it.”

“What?”

"Be quiet! Be quiet! I'm thinking!" Hans shouted, roughly scrubbing his face.

The knight wanted to cringe, but he'd been ordered to 'Treat him with respect until the great undertaking is completed.' Those were his commands, so he resisted the urge.

After a moment, Hans stood up and began rummaging through the papers in his office, pulling them out one by one.

“He came here for a reason, on purpose… The firm look in his eyes. I told him to never come here. The eye patch…” 

Then Hans suddenly craned his neck and laughed, "Kuahahahaha," and the knight took a step back.

"What's wrong...?"

“It was a signal. Some kind of signal. He stopped here to send a message. Damn it. I should have killed him a long time ago!”

“A signal? To whom?”

“Who else could it be! The ones who are looking for me!”

“Ah...!”

"Ugh... Hehe. As expected, I kept him alive for far too long! Tell the Duke to accelerate the operation immediately."

“Right away?”

Han swept the papers and the envelopes full of hallucinogenic powder into the bag he always carried with him.

"Yes. Right now! That Second Prince is very clever. I wonder why he chose to arrange a present for me so quickly... Hmm. Then shouldn't I give him a gift as well?"

“What?”

Hans's eyes overflowed with a strange madness as he blurted out incomprehensible words.

Rummaging through his overstuffed bag, Hans pulled out a folded document and frantically read its contents.

After reading the entire document, he started giggling like a madman again.

“Kekeke. Yes, yes. I'll give him a grand gift indeed. Too bad... I was going to save this one for a little while longer. Kekeke. Now, send the assassination team to the location I told you about!”

"Yes, sir. What should I tell His Highness?"

“Hmmm. Tell him we'll be in trouble for a while, but to hang in there, and not to worry, it's all going according to plan!”

The fact that Harold could do this with confidence showed that he was certain his family would be saved.

That meant that every Black Crown village in the Empire had already been revealed to the Second Prince, and he could invade them at any time.

‘I was going to use them for a bit longer before exterminating them, what a shame.....'

“Where are you going, Secretary? I'll assist you.”

“Kekekeke. Indeed. I'd love to see everyone’s expressions if I forgot. It would be unfortunate if I ran away after causing so much trouble. Kekeke.”

Hans Button got up and stormed to the back of the house where he opened the shed located next to the back entrance.

“When you're done, come to the cabin outside of the capital. Oh, and tell them to burn everything down tonight, including this place. It may be a little too late, but that's okay. It will be great if it works, but fine if it fails. I've already used up the people tied to the villages, and even if they do turn, it'll be our world soon enough, so what's the use? Kekeke!”

With those words, Hans disappeared into the small shack.

A few moments later, he heard a popping sound inside the shed, and the knight could tell by the stench that it was connected to the Imperial underground sewers.

***

The Department of Security. At the same time.

Two days after the man with the black eyepatch had appeared, he led a member of the Second Princes inspectorate to the home of Hans Button.

The special team of the Capital Police Department rushed to Hans Button's hideout, but the house had already been burned to the ground.

Walter reported the incident.

“There are three dead, two seriously injured, and no trace of Hans Button. We are pursuing him effective immediately.”

“No. Don't go after him yet. If we catch him now we risk revealing only half of his and Joseph's scheme. He won't end up surviving this, so we should wait. We're already in the middle of the operation.”

"Yes, Your Highness."

“What about the Knights of Toulouse? What are their movements?”

This time Nick reported with a serious expression.

“According to our surveillance agents, the Knights of Toulouse split into groups about half an hour ago and are now relocating to various parts of the Empire. They're moving towards the Black Crown villages.”

“Send the signal! We need to move before they do. Walter, write up a full report of all these events, and Nick, you will report to the Capital training grounds immediately and prepare the waiting Phoenix Knights.”

"Should I advance towards the Principality first, Your Highness?"

“No. You must prepare to move into Ga'an but remain on stand by. I'm going to Knox. The majority of the residents are innocent civilians. They must be spared at all costs.”

"Yes. Your Highness."

As soon as Kyle's order was given, the messenger who had been on standby started running at full speed toward the signal beacon.

Minutes dragged by.

The beacon on Ikelria, the tallest mountain peak in the capital, was lit, and soon two giant flames quickly rose, signaling the start of the operation.

With this, the Phoenix Knights who were waiting by every Black Crown village in the Empire simultaneously received the order to move.

***

The Black Crown Village of Knox. At the same time.

The Black Crown village lay in darkness. The moon, which had been shining brightly in the Capital, was obscured by thick clouds, casting no light at all.

The Knights were divided into several groups, one group stood by in the Capital, one had ridden to the castles of the local lords who had helped found the villages, and the rest surrounded the Black Crown villages throughout the Empire, including Knox.

The Phoenix Knights, who were used to conducting operations at night, moved in swiftly.

The village was quiet, unaware of the knights surrounding it. The villagers’ resistance was minimal even after they noticed the knights.

The surprise operation team overpowered the gatekeeper of the underground prison first.

A knight, fully clothed in steel armor, stepped up behind the gatekeeper without a sound and held a dagger to his throat.

The gatekeeper considered resisting for a moment until he glimpsed something glittering in the distant moonlight.

‘Armor?'

He gave up resisting.

The village was completely surrounded by fully armed knights. However, despite that, there was no distinctive clinking of metal, as if the knights had been trained to move silently.

The gatekeeper squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.

‘If this place is breached and captured, my family in one of the other villages will die.'

He'd seen it happen here with his very own eyes.

He was about to swallow the poison he'd stashed up his wrist, but, as if aware of his intentions, the knight quickly whispered to him.

“Every village in the Empire is under attack at the same time. Your family must be in another village. We'll get them out safely. Just like we've done here. There's no need to die.”

"I- Is that true?"

“Yes.”

At those final words, relief flooded his body. The knight took the keys from the fumbling gatekeeper's grasp and let out a sudden whistle, “Fweet!"

The knights, who had been stationed in the distance, took the sound as their cue to gallop toward the town.

***

Torches were erected in dense clusters around Black Crown villages across the Empire.

In the depths of the night, law enforcement officers from the local magistrates' offices sorted through the townspeople. The Phoenix Knights gathered those who had defended the town together, and the vice-captains interrogated them.

Had any of their colleagues fled? How many of them were there? Where were their families? How long had they been captured and used? And crucially, who created the village?

The demoralized defenders of the village, or at least those who were hopeful about being reunited with their families, sang like birds.

As Kyle watched the mess being cleaned up, Chris asked.

“When should we start the next operation?”

“Immediately. Tonight, let them rest easy and let their guard down. But starting tomorrow, don't give them a chance to breathe. When we're organized, we'll panic Joseph first. Then the fox will be on the move. He'll feel his lungs tighten, and he'll scramble for air. So plaster his face all over the Empire, and offer the highest possible bounty for him. Let the bounty hunters chase him from coast to coast for money they'll never touch or ever see.”

"Yes, Your Highness."

“The hostages and the villagers are moving according to Your Highness’s orders.”

“Very well. They are never to be left unsupervised until I return. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness, I will see to it.”

By the time dawn broke through the deep darkness, all the work was done, and not a single villager remained in the village.

“Your Highness, a signal fire.”

A signal fire rose above the horizon, turning the already red dawn sky even redder. It meant that all Black Crown villages in the Empire had been suppressed and the operation had been carried out as planned.

Only then did Kyle mount his horse.

“Light a signal fire here too.”

“Yes. I will send a messenger right away. Your Highness, I will take care of things so you can rest. You've stayed up all night.”

“So be it. I'll be followed by an escort anyway. You will escort the lord of this place to the Capital. I will hear your report at the Palace tonight.”

‘Why night and not afternoon?’

Chris was about to bow when he looked up and asked.

“Aren't you going straight to the palace?”

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