Series: The Princess’s Guard is the Assassin Aiming for Her Life
His voice sounded both questioning and sure.
“The… cleaner?”
All I could think to do was repeat him, and even then my voice caught a little. I couldn’t think of a good response.
Lord Celosia smiled, and then began explaining as if he was teaching a young child. “Yes. The most skilled assassins in the capital go by that name. There are few who know who they are and it’s difficult to request them, but their completion rate is 100%. The target always dies without being about to put up much of a fight. Because of his brilliant handiwork, he’s revered as one of the best cleaners. He’s been at it for over five years so I thought he was older, but… that boy, your guard. It’s him.”
“…Why do you think Al…?”
“I could see it in his eyes. That boy has killed others.”
“What do you… He’s only ten years old.”
I needed to deny it. But my voice was shaking.
“Yes, that form is a huge mystery, but he’s actually an adult man, right? It seems like you were the one who told everyone he was that boy’s older brother.”
How did he know all that? How could he know about Al’s true form that he revealed at the eastern spring?
Suddenly, Lord Celosia’s smile that I thought was calm seemed disturbing.
“What happened at the eastern spring…”
“I know it all. One of my subordinates was following you.”
I was about to ask why but shut my mouth when I noticed Lord Celosia take a step closer.
“You know his true identity, don’t you, Princess Iberis? And… you have an emotional bond with him.”
“What are you talking about? If Al really is an assassin like you said, he could have killed me at any time.”
I had to at least stop him from suspecting Al. Finally, I was able to form a firm denial without my voice shaking.
“He wouldn’t have been able to kill you right away. That was what the contract was for.”
My head went completely blank.
Contract.
It was what Al’s master had given me. I had it with me now.
I didn’t think Al or his master would let information like that slip out.
So the only people who should know about it were Al, his master, me, and…
The client.
“No way, Lord Celosia… It was you!?”
Lord Celosia let out a timid laugh. “I want to assure you that I only hired the cleaner, not the other assassins. I knew with so many assassins after you, you would come to me for help soon enough. Cleaners don’t allow anyone else to harm their targets, so I thought he would be able to protect you from the other assassins, but… I didn’t predict this outcome. To think you would rely on the cleaner more than me… He’s someone aiming for your life, you know.”
“…Was your goal to make me rely on you?”
“That’s not entirely it. My, and His Majesty the King’s goal was to remove the corruption in the castle.”
The king?
He added that name on so naturally.
So, my father, the king, knew everything…
Everything, including that my life was in danger? Even though he knew, he just sat by without doing anything?
I knew we didn’t have a normal father-daughter relationship, but this reality was still a bit shocking for me.
“By corruption… you’re referring to me?”
“No way,” Lord Celosia laughed. “You don’t get it? You’re a victim.”
“…So you mean Cattleya?”
“Yes, the third princess Cattleya. As well as the queen and the supporters who protected her.”
This was far bigger than I thought.
“Going so far as the queen?”
“You probably don’t know, Your Highness, but she has been up to many things even His Majesty the King is unaware of. His Majesty is quite displeased because she’s been far too active lately.”
Both Cattleya and the queen didn’t like me. Their supporters probably felt the same way.
So in order to catch everyone all at once…
“You used me as bait?”
“I can’t deny it.”
“……”
“Thanks to that, we got evidence of these supporters contacting assassins and evidence that shows they had help from the queen. But, Her Highness Princess Cattleya hasn’t made any suspicious moves… She spends most of her time in her wing of the castle, and we haven’t been able to find any evidence against her yet.”
“…Cattleya met with an assassin before.”
“Did you hear that from the cleaner?” Lord Celosia’s eyebrows pinched together for the first time. “Unfortunately, we weren’t aware of that. It seems like Her Highness Princess Cattleya is very good at utilizing her subordinates. None of her retainers would crack when questioned. Even if she loses her pawns, she gains more soon enough. I think all we can do now is keep up the attack and wait for her to slip up. Unfortunately, an assassin’s suspicions is weak evidence.”
He easily laid out his plot to me. Behind that gentle smile was someone who so easily plotted all this with the king.
“…Please don’t make that face. I’m telling you all this as a show of sincerity.”
What sort of face was I making?
Lord Celosia looked away slightly, as if he couldn’t bear to hold my stare anymore.
“…Sincerity?”
“I’ve been very careful with your safety. I formed that contract with the cleaner so he could protect you and hired female guards for when you finally came to me for help.”
“Are you really trying to say I was safe when I was attacked by a whole group of assassins?”
“You mean at the eastern spring? You went there knowing that it would probably happen, right?” He shot back with a wide smile.
…He was right.
“I wanted to stop you, but His Majesty gave permission, anticipating that Her Highness Princess Cattleya would try something. But even though it was short notice, it seems like the queen was able to interfere with your guard arrangement. In addition, although we were able to confirm that monster attractant was used on the carriage, we found no evidence that it was Princess Cattleya’s doing.”
Maybe that was why there were no knights that could use magic with us.
I wondered if the king was frustrated, having put his own daughter in danger and not getting anything out of it? Of course the king put his country first over the love of his family, so I guess I couldn’t really blame him.
Seeing me rub my temples, Lord Celosia awkwardly looked away. “You might not believe me, but I was telling the truth when I told you I’m attracted to you.”
“……”
He’s right. I didn’t believe him.
His eyebrows lowered, as if he could hear my thoughts. “Because I’m attracted to you, I took such drastic measures to break the status quo of you being in danger. With Her Highness Princess Cattleya having feelings for me and with the queen being so vocally on her side, there was no way I could be with you otherwise.”
“…You did all this for that reason?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t do such a thing because of my adoration alone. That’s just part of the reason. Even putting my feelings behind, I believe reducing the queen’s power will be beneficial for this country. That way Princess Cattleya won’t be able to move as freely either, and you’ll be a lot more safe in the long term.”
“I see.”
I didn’t understand a lot about politics. I never learned about it, and neither Iberis nor I were very interested. But because of that, I was made to be a puppet. If I had been more skilled, they would have told me their plot and I could have collaborated with them.
But I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what the queen was doing or just how strong she was.
My real mother was just a concubine who passed on from a disease many years ago.
It was easy to see how they thought of me. On top of not having any political support, I never went out all that much. Because of my ignorance and how I had acted before, they had to keep me in the dark.
“…I understand your thinking, Lord Celosia. To be honest, while I find it a bit frightening and I’m not yet convinced of your intentions… I do understand that this was done for the country and that I was kept in the dark due to my immaturity.”
“I think it’s normal to be angry. And it’s because you can accept this so rationally that I want you to be my spouse.”
It seemed like he was trying to lead to something, but I couldn’t respond positively.
In the end, guilt won out over anger or distrust.
I couldn’t return Lord Celosia’s feelings, even without this plot. I was sure he was being completely honest with me. It might have been horrible, but it was sincere. In contrast, I haven’t been able to tell him one truthful thing.
He was confessing his feelings to me. He was the one who was close to being my fiancé at the moment, and if nothing changed, would become my husband. But I didn’t wish for such a future.
The one who filled my head was a man who resembled the night. The cleaner, who watched me with penetratingly cold blue eyes.
“Lord Celosia, I…”
It was when I finally decided to tell him that one truth…
A high-pitched whistle from the direction of the entrance gate echoed throughout the residence.
At the main gate of Duke Garnet’s residence…
The two gatekeepers who usually took post in front of the gate were unusually tense. It was because they were aware of the warning Celosia, the temporary lord of the house, had given them.
He said that tonight, it was highly likely that a black-haired man or a similar looking boy would try invading the mansion. So they were instructed that if they saw someone like that, they should blow a warning whistle to alert those on the inside.
Apparently, that person was the assassin targeting the princess currently staying in the residence.
They kept their eyes peeled in the darkness, constantly looking around so as to not miss even someone who could slip between the iron gates of the fence around the mansion.
But…
“Good evening.”
They only noticed the man standing right next to them when he spoke up.
He was a young man with black hair and blue eyes. He made no sound and was impossible to detect until he was right next to them.
The gatekeepers were able to consider him odd from the sheer strangeness of the situation. One of them blew their warning whistle and the other drew his sword.
But the man just smiled in amusement.
“…My, my, I guess we’re doing this the hard way… Oh well.”
Dodging the gatekeeper’s hands, the man gripped the iron fence and jumped into the compound in one leap.
“Intruder!”
The knights inside the residence heard the gatekeeper’s cry at once.
“W-what?”
“So he did come. Even though I canceled the request…”
I was shocked by the sudden frenzy. But Lord Celosia let out a breath, as if he could see everything that was happening.
“What a terrifying man. To think you were deceived so much by this peerless killer, Your Highness.”
“You jest…”
I couldn’t help some of the joy leaking into my voice. Seeing me, Lord Celosia lowered his shoulders with a smile.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot give you up that easily.” Without waiting for my reply, the next lord of this mansion leaned out from the balcony and shouted, “Everyone! Lead him into the large garden and surround him! The intruder is an assassin! Assassins aren’t skilled at fending off large groups!”
As per his orders, knights gathered into the garden. Soon, a black shadow darted into that garden, as if being chased there.
“…Al!”
I couldn’t help yelling his name.
He was wearing black clothes that blended into the darkness of the garden. He was the adult Albert, looking just like when I met him back at the eastern spring.
He was surrounded by a crowd of at least two hundred knights. I was surprised to see so many knights ready and waiting here so late at night. Were they all here because they were anticipating Al’s arrival?
Lord Celosia stopped me from leaning forward, shouting, “Listen well, Cleaner! You seem to be skilled at using fire magic, but I have lots of high-class fire magicians here! I think it’s more than enough to seal your magic!”
Magicians had a big weakness. When casting magic, another stronger magician could steal control from you. Of course, if they were skilled with fire, they couldn’t steal control from someone who was skilled with water, but as long as they were both using the same element, the weaker magician was basically powerless.
“Lord Celosia…!”
“Please don’t worry. I don’t intend to kill him. It might hurt a little, though.”
“But…”
“He has outstanding talent. I would like to see him as my subordinate. And in that case, you two won’t be as far apart as you are now, right?”
So what, I was to become Lord Celosia’s wife just to be able to see Al, his subordinate, from time to time?
…I couldn’t stand that.
“Al! Run!”
Al couldn’t use magic, but the knights fired their own magic while chasing him. The light from magic spells lit up the surroundings. Soon enough the garden would be rendered to nothingness.
For a moment, I thought I caught a smile while the light of that magic illuminated Al’s face.
“…How obstinate.” Lord Celosia muttered to himself.
He was right. Despite being so greatly outnumbered, Al was still standing. There were no signs that their attacks even touched him.
Actually, it looked like many of the knights had sustained injuries.
The black shadow held a single knife in his hand as he ran, and every time he vanished, the anguished cry of a knight would arise.
“……”
Something was strange. It was from the very beginning.
Why did he walk directly into this ambush?
He was the one who could infiltrate the royal castle without detection. Master was even able to sneak into this estate just the other day. It should have been easy for him to break in here undetected. As someone who knew his true strength, I couldn’t help but feel unnerved that he chose this path into the estate.
It was as if he somehow had to.
“…He’s strangely skilled. From the battle at the eastern spring, I thought he relied on magic to fight.”
I remembered after I heard Lord Celosia mutter that.
Al said that he didn’t have any talent with magic in his past life, but he had this same harsh job back then too. There were probably times he was ambushed back then as well.
If that was the case then… Al was always the type of person who could take down squadrons of fighters with just his physical prowess alone.
Then, when around half of the knights were injured enough that they couldn’t move, Al turned towards us.
“Can we be done now, Lord Celosia?”
“What…”
He darted past the remaining knights, leaping on trees and the wall before arriving on the balcony. The assassin laughed as he sat on the railing, as if there wasn’t a single thing that could threaten him here.
“Good evening.”
His black hair and blue eyes shone in the moonlight. The one I have been waiting for was right in front of me.
I knew there was a lot I had to say and do when we met again, but as soon as I saw him, everything flew out of my head.
The nearby female knights seemed to try and pull me away, but before they could reach me, I was in Al’s arms.
“…I’m sorry. Were you waiting long?”
I wasn’t expecting such a casual greeting. But I didn’t trust my voice not to shake with emotion, so I just buried my face in his chest and shook my head.
I should have had so much to complain to him about but… nothing came to mind.
As if to bring me back from my state of near-tears, Lord Celosia spoke in a low voice. “…Are you satisfied now, Cleaner?”
“Well… If I’m being honest, I’m a bit shaken by that unexpected welcome.”
“I see. Now that you’re spineless, maybe I should be able to finish you off.”
“I’m absolutely terrified.”
I felt my body getting lifted up. Al held me up with one arm and proceeded to stand on the railing.
“If you do something rash, then Princess Iberis will fall too. Is that okay with you?”
“Bastard! So you intend to use Her Highness as a hostage!?”
“No, no, perish the thought. I’m simply stating a fact.”
…I jumped to this man, overcome with emotion, only to end up as a hostage. Just what was he thinking?
“Lord Celosia, believe it or not, but I prefer to solve things peacefully.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Let’s make a trade.”
His blue eyes sparkled with amusement.
Merry Bad End Translations 
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