The Lazy Swordmaster Chapter 12:

Popcorn (Part 2)

 

"Ah, he's here . "

How many minutes had passed?
Ian's exhausted body dragged himself back to Iris's bedroom .
Riley, who had been sitting in a leisurely manner until now, stood up to greet him, as if he had been waiting for a while .

"How was it?"
" . . . "

Riley asked Ian who looked as if he could not believe what had happened .
As if he was out of his mind, Ian could not muster a reply .
Both Iris and Sera who did not know what the boy was asking about, could only tilt their heads with puzzled looks on their faces .

"Ian-nim, where have you been? You left so quickly after returning with Young Master . "
"Ian, are you alright? You don't look too well . "
"Well, that's . . . "

How should he explain?
Ian continued to open and close his mouth repeatedly, until he finally managed to make a sound .

" . . . It was Lady Orelly . "
"Pardon?"
"What?"
"It was all Lady Orelly's doing . "

Ian covered his frowning face with his hands and continued to explain .
He did so while mentioning to himself that he simply could not believe what he had just seen .

"The 'poison' which was put inside Lady Iris's soup . . . "
"Huh?"
" . . . ?"

There was only one conclusion one could arrive at after hearing this and the words that were cut off from before .
Lady Orelly…she was the one who had poisoned Lady Iris’ dinner!

" . . . "

Ian, who had said those words .
Iris, who had heard those words .
Both stood as silent as statues .
This was a matter that would turn the mansion upside down .

" . . . It can't be, right?"
"Lady Iris . . . "
"Ian, surely . . . Lady Orelly would never . "

Iris who was tucked inside her bed firmly held onto the edge of the blanket .
Even if she had often received scoldings from Lady Orelly, as a woman who shared the same husband, Iris believed she would be the last person to be responsible for it, and thus she pressured Ian once more .

"Mother, it's alright . "

Riley held onto his mother's shoulder .
She calmed down, stopped questioning Ian and bit her lip .

"Ian . "

Riley called his butler .

" . . . "

Ian nodded with his jaws clenched at the call of his master .
The serious face he was making was to show nothing he had said was false .

"Impossible . "

Iris' shoulders dropped at the shocking news .
At the same time, Sera's jaw dropped .
Lady Orelly's jealousy and hatred toward Lady Iris was something all the maids in the mansion knew . . . but they never expected that it was significant enough to attempt an assassination .

"What about Father?"

Riley asked Ian with a calm attitude, as if he had expected it .
Since he was the first one to find out the truth himself .

"He is currently holding a discussion . "

Ian's weary voice made a reply .
It had been a long time since he had last fought .
And with such shocking news on top, even the most experienced swordsman would be tired both physically and mentally .

"It was the paper . Master Riley found certain pieces of paper in the mansion and . . . "

Ian leaned onto the door and continued speaking .
It all started with the scraps of paper Riley had 'found' .

"The handwriting on the paper was Lady Orelly's . So, after reading it . . . "
"No . . . "
" . . . The letter made a request for poison which could be used against Lady Iris . And . . . "
"Wait, Ian-nim . "

Sera cut Ian's words .
The cold sweat appearing on her face showed just how nervous she was .
She could guess .
What would come after that was something much worse than mere poison .
That was her expectation .

" . . . It's a lie, right?"
" . . . "

Ian fell silent .

---

The atmosphere in this place was as chilly as a wintry night .

"Why?"

Stein asked after looking blankly at the paper in his hand .
Orelly could not answer .

"Why did you poison Iris' soup?"

Count Stein asked once more, his tone condemning .
The question was not directed to Orelly this time, but rather to the hooded man .

" . . . "

The second question was also met with silence .
Although the hooded man's face was still hidden, considering both he and Orelly were standing close together they seemed to be on friendly terms with each other .

"I don't think there would be any reason for such an action . "
" . . . "

As there was no answer, Orelly clenched her fists .
She seemed furious .

" . . . Orelly . "

Finally, the hooded man spoke .
Within the voice fraught with worry, Stein scowled as the voice seemed familiar .

"This voice . . . You're-!"

Realising his cover was blown, the hooded man raised his hands .
The black cloth covering his face fell back slowly .
A face which Stein knew all too well appeared .
The man who was the master of Tes Trade Guild, and his father-in-law .

"Father . . . ?"
" . . . "

Stein's face which that had been regaining calmness twisted once more .
He felt betrayed .
By the famous Tes Trade Guild . . . .
By his family . . .

"Hah . . . "

That they were intimately close with the much-despised Assassin's Guild . . .
That he was not aware of those facts . . .

"I feel like a fool . "
"A . . . fool . . . ?"

A wavering voice replied after the word fool .
Orelly who had been silent until now opened her mouth .

"I'm the one who feels like a fool, me . "

Stein's cold stare turned to Orelly .
Orelly slowly raised her head with tears in her eyes and looked back at Stein .
Her face displayed an aggrieved emotion as if she didn't deserve any of this .

"If you had looked at me just once . . . after the wedding . Was there ever a time when you gazed at me with love?"

She began to make a deluge of complaints; it was as if a dam was bursting out .
She spoke with her fists close to her chest, trembling harder than her voice .

"Not just me, but Ryan and Lloyd too! Have you ever been nice to your two sons?!"

Stein did not reply .
He continued to look at Orelly, his gaze unchanged .

"What wrong did they do to deserve it! What did I do wrong! Compared to that useless Riley, that **** Iris! I am much more . . . !"

Orelly began to frantically gasp for air, as she had run out of breath, then added that it wasn’t over .

"I got everything I wanted . I could get everything I wanted . I will get everything I want . So, so . . . "

Orelly's eyes began to shake .
Her original message disappeared, replaced by something hideous within that had been building up since she was young .
As the daughter of the famous Tes Trade Guild, she got everything she wanted, and did everything she wanted .
The ugly life she had lead displaying her greed to its fullest was finally breaking out from its shell .

"Your heart too, I will . . . I will-!"

Orelly who was making a heated speech suddenly closed her mouth .
She could feel a killing intent from in front of her .
A Stein she had never seen before was standing in front of her .

"Is that all?"
" . . . "

At last . . . .
The thought 'Did I raise my daughter poorly?' finally crossed Tes’s mind .

"No . . . "

Orelly slowly stepped back, finally coming back to her senses .
With a pale face, she realized the mistake she had made in her head .

"No, no . . . No! No! I-!"

Then, she began to rip her hair furiously .
She grabbed at her hair with such force, that her fake fingernails began to fall onto the carpet .

"I . . . I never wanted this . . . "

Stein issued a command to Orelly who seemed at a loss .

" . . . Get out . "

Leave .
Begone from this place .

"What?"

Orelly replied with a stupid look on her face .

" . . . "

Stein did not reply .
He simply sent a look indicating that if she did not listen, he would kill her right here and now .
Such was the killing intent swirling all around him .

"Father! The assassins have retreated- . . . "

In the room which felt as though it would explode any second . . .
The first and second sons of the house entered the office .
They looked like they were in combat up until recently, with their clothes being in utter disarray .

" . . . Father?"
"Y-, you were here too mother . But . . . why does the atmosphere in the room seem off?"

---

"It seems as though it has finally begun . "

How angry must he be for it to be like this?
Even at a distance, Ian was shaking as he could feel Stein's killing intent as clear as day .
It finally seemed like the persecution for the hidden deeds of the past had started .

"Young Master?"

Where Count Stein was . . .
As Ian was imagining what the view was like beyond the wall, he slowly turned his head as he couldn't feel someone's presence anymore .

"Young Master?"
"Riley?"

As there was no reply after Ian called out, Iris began to look around the room to locate her son .
He had been sitting on the bed while licking his lips just a moment before . . . and now he had disappeared .

" . . . Huh?"

Sera also realised Riley had disappeared, and opened her eyes wide .

"Young Master!"
"Young Master!"
"Riley!"

Riley had vanished into thin air .
At a moment when assassins could still be skulking about in the mansion .
The word 'kidnapped' came into all three of their heads .