Fantasy Novel [Chiaroscuro of Dawn] ep.13 "Chapter 2: Thunderbolt"

Stop the assassination of the Emperor!

The next day, the cooks found the four of them fast asleep in the kitchen, causing quite a commotion.
Servants are forbidden from even entering the room where Scuro is, let alone seeing his face, so it was no wonder they panicked.
They were given a stern lecture by the usually gentle Michele, but even that felt like a fun break from the ordinary.

When Michele hugged each of them at the end of the lecture, Chiaro hugged him back with all his might.
He wanted to send a little bit of encouragement to someone who had endured so much pain.
Well, he was immediately pulled away by Scuro, who said, "What was that hug for!? Nii-ni is mine!"

Time passed busily like that, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the meeting between the Emperor and the Pope arrived.
The Emperor, who had entered the religious state early in the morning, was already resting at the palace. Most of the Ancient Temple's personnel had been taken to the palace, making it quieter than usual.

"Scuro! Are you ready?"

"Obviously! Stopping the Emperor's assassination! Bring it on!"

From here on, the two of them would carry out their plan to stop the Emperor's assassination.
Though, basically, it was just a forced breakthrough; they hadn't thought of any precise actions.

After all, if they could just somehow meet the Emperor and say, "Your life is being targeted by that old man," that would be enough.

During the strategy meeting, when Chiaro worried, "Do you think he'll believe what a child says?", Scuro seemed completely unconcerned.

"They aren't a great power for nothing, so they've probably already caught wind of my existence. It might just be information like, 'Cardinal Gentili seems to be living with a relative's child,' though."

"I see. In that case, they might think, 'I'll keep that in mind just in case.'"

The two of them tiptoed out of the Ancient Temple and immediately headed for the palace.
They couldn't enter through the main entrance where guards were lined up, so they went around to the service entrance.
Of course, there were two guards standing there as well.

"Who are you two? Are you here to take orders? Today is a special day; we won't let anyone with unverified identities pass."

Scuro glared up at the young soldier. The other man called out, "Hey!"

"This person is the son of a relative of His Eminence Cardinal Gentili! It's rude to stare, look away!"

"H-h-h-my apologies!"

The soldiers hurriedly looked up and saluted, staring into the distance. Both of them were shaking, which was a bit pitiful.

"Yeah, yeah, we're here to deliver something His Eminence Cardinal Gentili forgot. We can't have him embarrassed while he's working, saying, 'Oh no, I forgot that!' can we?"
"You wouldn't want him to get the nickname 'Forgetful Eminence,' so you'll keep quiet, right?"

"Yes! As you command!"

Their voices were perfectly in sync, truly like soldiers.

While Chiaro was dumbfounded, Scuro said, "Good, thank you for your hard work," and opened the door with confidence.
They hadn't had a detailed discussion, and he had just said, "It'll be fine! Leave it to me!" and Chiaro had followed him, but he hadn't expected Scuro's big-shot attitude to explode like this.

"I, I thought we were going to do it a bit more gently."

"Huh? I told you, it's a forced breakthrough. Are you really not listening?"

"I was listening! But is it going to be like this from now on!?"

The Emperor is in the guest room on the second floor. But they wanted to avoid being seen by guards and servants from the first floor all the way up.

"That's why I told you to leave it to me... there!"

As soon as they entered the gallery space facing the corridor, Scuro flipped up a tapestry.
Chiaro's jaw dropped at how roughly he grabbed what was likely an antique. However, when he saw what appeared on the wall, he had to be convinced.

"A door...! Does that mean this is..."

"Yep, a secret passage! You can get from here to the guest room's dressing room."

He had been sneaking into the underground archives for years, finding the palace blueprints and memorizing every secret corridor, so Scuro was truly impressive.

The two of them entered the dusty, narrow secret passage that was barely wide enough for their shoulders.
It was quite difficult to proceed in the dark, relying on the faint light leaking through.

On top of that, the corridor seemed to lead to various places, and forks in the road appeared one after another.
However, Scuro didn't show any signs of panic, remaining calm to the end, saying, "Right, here left, next left too."

Thanks to that, they were able to hear the words, "This is the goal," with only a few spiderwebs on their heads.
They held their breath and checked the situation on the other side, but it didn't seem like anyone was changing clothes right now.

"Okay."

They said in unison, and Chiaro went out first.
The door was covered by a heavy Gobelin tapestry, and it was blocked by a crimson sofa.

They were careful not to make any noise, but according to Scuro, "The dressing room is soundproofed."
Conversely, the guest suite was built so that sound echoed easily everywhere.

"So it's perfect for eavesdropping, then."

When Chiaro pulled on Scuro's arm, he grinned and said, "That's right."

Chiaro looked around the room and exclaimed "Wow!" with just the movement of his mouth. Built for royalty-level guests, it was so luxurious it made him dizzy, even though it was just a dressing room.

The surroundings were colored with glossy red wallpaper, and all the furniture, such as the sofa and the cabriole-legged vanity, was decorated with gold work.
Dark blue velvet curtains hung by the window, and even if Chiaro gathered all the cloth he had ever seen, it didn't seem like it would match this generous amount of fabric.

Immediately, a muffled man's voice leaked from the next room.

"What should we do? Is it okay to just go out suddenly?"

When Chiaro whispered that, Scuro took two glass cups out of his navy robe.
It was a reconnaissance mission, after all; how well-prepared he was.

When they pressed the received cups against the wall and put their ears to the bottom, the muffled voices suddenly emerged as a conversation.

"Your Majesty, please take another look at the anticipated Q&A list."

"I understand. But this meeting, it's obvious that it won't even be a discussion. That old man Gregorio has been getting angrier every year."

It's the Pope! Chiaro and Scuro exchanged glances, excited.

"It's a disgrace to the clergy. He's the type of demon who has done such horrific things to create artificial gods!"
"Moreover, he set his sights on our country, saying that the religious state alone didn't have enough sacrifices. It seems there is no limit to that old man's greed."

At the ominous turn of events, both of them swallowed hard. Before he knew it, Chiaro was hugging Scuro's shoulder.

"...However, the fact that he is impatient is also a source of relief for our country. The so-called artificial god cultivation project must not be going very well."

"Yes, I think it is safe to assume that he is cornered. Both the Pope and the future of the current artificial god temple."

The Emperor sighed roughly.

"If a new artificial god is born and its abilities are manifested, the current artificial god candidates will likely be abandoned. They might be kept alive as spares, but they will live in confinement for the rest of their lives. It's a pitiful thing for such young people."

Scuro sat down with a thud.
Expression had vanished from his pale face, but it was no wonder. He had heard that much.

The moment he was about to call out, "Scuro," something cold touched the back of his neck.

This hard coldness, there was no mistake. It was a blade.

Scuro seemed to be in the same situation, and in the corner of Chiaro's vision, he was reflected, frozen with his eyes wide open.
The "someone" behind them had entered the room soundlessly from the door behind them and seemed to have drawn a sword so as not to be noticed by the two.

"You lot, whose side are you on?"

The two were quietly surprised by the voice more than the question.
Though it was a whisper, it was full of the dignity of a knight, and it belonged to a woman.

"If you show any strange behavior, I will immediately turn this wrist and cut your throats. Answer me."

The part of the saber near the hilt was touching Chiaro's neck, and the part near the tip was touching Scuro's neck.
Feeling his whole body slowly sweating, Chiaro opened his mouth.

"U-um... we came to protect His Majesty the Emperor."

"Protect His Majesty, you say?"

It was a harsh voice, but there seemed to be room for them to be heard. Scuro swallowed hard.

"Signora, I am a distant relative of Cardinal Gentili. I live in the Papal Palace and know of the Pope's plot."

From the atmosphere of her gasping, it could be inferred that she knew Michele. It's working, Chiaro thought, and pressed on.

"Big sister, we heard the Pope's evil plot! Actually..."

Then the world went dark. When he woke up from the darkness, he was on a bed.

"Ah!" he shouted as he woke up, and was gently greeted with "Good morning."
This was a spare bedroom in the Ancient Temple, and the one accompanying him was Michele.

Scuro was sleeping in the next bed.
The sun shining through the window was still bright. Not much time could have passed since then.

"Did you enjoy your adventure? You were handed over to us by Valmorana, the captain of the Imperial Guard Regiment of the Holy Lombard Empire. She said you were collapsed in the garden."

Michele was talking about that female knight.
He remembered losing consciousness just as he was about to report the Emperor's assassination plan.

"I won't ask anything. So you shouldn't ask anything either."

It was a tone that tightly stitched up Chiaro's desire to know. Since he had caused such worry and trouble, he had no choice but to nod.

Michele hugged Chiaro, saying, "I thought my heart would stop," kissed the forehead of Scuro, who was still sleeping, and left in a hurry, saying, "I have to attend the banquet."
Chiaro glared at the bed next to him.

"Scuro, you're awake, right? Stop pretending to sleep."

Scuro opened his eyes with a snap and got up, saying, "Heh heh."

"I like it! Having Nii-ni kiss me while I'm sleeping."

"You're taking advantage of Michele-san's kindness in not hugging you so as not to wake you... and getting a kiss."

"I feel the love twice over. The consideration of trying not to wake me, and the attitude of still wanting to show his affection."

"Are you listening to me!?"

Suddenly, a stinging pain ran through his neck.
It wasn't that bad, but it was likely caused by the hand strike Valmorana had dealt him.

"More importantly, what about earlier! What does it mean? We told a great knight of the Empire about the assassination plan, but it was actually swept under the rug?"

"That's probably what it means. That means that knight named Valmorana isn't there to protect the Emperor. Rather, she's..."

His chest felt uneasy, and his palms suddenly became sweaty.

"Michele-san clearly knows that it's a lie that we were collapsed in the garden, right? Knowing that, he says don't ask anything, don't ask anything..."

"Do you think Nii-ni knows about the plan to assassinate the Emperor?"

Scuro's white hands were gripping the sheets tightly.
Chiaro silently got out of bed and gently pulled him into a hug.

After the meeting, the Emperor left the palace without waiting for nightfall.
The breakdown of negotiations regarding the review of the Os Sacrum Church's doctrine and the island of Ogre echoed throughout the country and abroad in an instant.

To avoid the outbreak of war between the great powers, a third country and the guild alliances of each country formed a council.
They decided to act as mediators between the two countries, but people's anxiety is only accelerating now.
Indeed, dark clouds were beginning to hang over the entire continent.