Transmigrated as Baron, Married with my Lovely Maid-Chapter 53

"Baron Atreus...! Over there...!"

Alex pointed towards the forest on the edge of the mountain about 100 meters from my current position.

I was riding Shadow Moon, with Alex sitting behind me, guiding me.

Hearing news that Cecil had been seriously injured while guarding the forest on the edge of the mountain made me immediately go check the location.

I spurred Shadow Moon on, and the black horse swooped down from the sky until I arrived at the forest on the edge of the golden mountain of Aaren.

As I advanced deeper into the forest, the tall trees began to obscure my view of the sky.

The sound of rushing water could be heard.

In the distance, about 20 meters to the north, I saw a large group of soldiers in Ventura armor gathering.

No, not soldiers, but Assassins, because their armor was different.

The Assassins were gathered in a small fortified structure in the forest that Ventura troops used to patrol the surrounding area.

Upon arrival, the Assassins looked at me with mixed feelings.

Some were relieved.

Some were worried.

Others looked angry and annoyed with me.

"Lord Atreus Vermillion has arrived...! Thank goodness...!"

"Tch...! Why is that brat here? He must be trying to protect his concubine...!"

Well, I think I sensed some internal conflict within the Assassins that had caused Cecile to be injured like this.

I immediately pulled Shadow Moon back and walked quickly with Alex to a special treatment tent there.

And I was shocked to see the many bodies strewn about inside the tent.

They weren’t those of soldiers or enemies, but rather the bodies of Assassins.

It was as if a major disturbance had just occurred in this area.

"Alex... what happened?" I asked quickly.

"Um... Baron Atreus... it happened so quickly, and I only learned about this commotion because one of Cecile’s envoys reported the disturbance among the Assassins who were patrolling the mountainside forest. When my troops and I arrived here, we found Cecile seriously injured, along with her loyalists. Some of them were dead as well..." Alex explained cautiously.

"Who attacked Cecile?"

"An Assassin who was once a loyalist of Cecile, Baron Atreus. His name is Javer. But I don’t know their motive for attacking her."

"...probably an attempt to stage a coup. Ah, damn it. I have to ask Cecile for further explanation."

I rushed to Cecile, who was lying with slashed injuries all over her body, but it gradually recovered by her self regeneration skill.

"B-Baron Atreus...?!" Cecile looked startled, getting up from her bed despite being covered in healing bandages.

"Don’t get up so quickly, Cecile. Get some rest." I said, rushing over to Cecile and sitting next to her.

I saw Cecile’s panicked and pale expression, as if she was overly concerned about my reaction.

"T-this...this commotion...I-I can explain and handle it, but—"

"No need to bother explaining, Cecile. Calm down. I’m not demanding an answer right now," I said quickly, urging Cecile to sit quietly on her bed.

Cecile lowered her head in shame, slowly controlling her ragged breathing.

"Listen... I came here because I was worried about you, Cecile... not to punish you..." I said, making sure she wasn’t overthinking.

"A-ah yes... s-sorry, Baron Atreus..." Cecile said, still looking panicked.

We were both silent for a few minutes, and I signaled to Alex not to ask Cecile anything about this commotion yet.

Alex nodded, understanding my wishes.

Cecile’s breathing gradually improved and stabilized, and her panicked expression returned to normal.

But I could sense the deep sadness Cecile was hiding deep inside.

"Baron Atreus... I’m sorry for this mess. At this point, I can’t hide it any longer. There’s internal conflict among the Assassins I lead. Initially, they were happy with the special Assassin armor we developed from the Ventura troop armor. Our strength, speed, and agility increased greatly with the use of the special Assassin armor. However, it turns out someone tried to abuse it to overthrow my leadership. They challenged me to a duel between Assassins to re-elect a leader they deemed worthy."

I took a deep breath as I listened to Cecile’s story.

It turns out there were still scoundrel Assassins who used the Ventura armor to betray me.

"Tell me who the provocateur and assassin who challenged you are, Cecile..." I said, black flames blazing and burning in my clenched right fist.

For me, there is no room for traitors who create chaos like this, except death.

"W-wait a minute, Baron Atreus...! I-I know you are a powerful wizard and can defeat those traitors, but not like this...!" Cecile quickly retorted.

"Then what do you want me to do? Forgive him? Just treat it all as a passing wind? Don’t be ridiculous, Cecile. I will not hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in my way!" I exclaimed firmly.

"I-I understand your frustration and disappointment with the Assassins, Baron Atreus... but when it comes to conflicts between Assassins, everything must be resolved the Assassin way... with an Assassin’s Duel..."

"Oh my... another duel? You Thornvale people love duels, as if that’s the only way to feel worthy!"

"I-I know that as a wizard you don’t completely agree with the Assassin way, but for us Assassins, an Assassin’s Duel is the greatest form of recognition!"

"Tch... then, let me challenge the traitor to a duel, Cecile!"

"Unfortunately... that’s not possible, Baron Atreus. This Assassin’s Duel is a duel between Assassins to determine the next leader of the Assassins. If anyone outside the Assassins tries to intervene like that, the Assassins will not choose to be loyal to their leader and form a new group."

"The heck?! I see you hurt so badly and I can’t intervene?!" I snapped, annoyed, impatient.

More precisely, I was annoyed at being forced to remain silent when Cecile was clearly hurt by this stupid commotion.

Cecile was stunned, then fell silent, watching me angrily.

A few seconds later, she let out a few tears, crying softly without a sound.

Seeing her cry softly with such bitterness, I knew Cecile was under pressure over her faltering leadership.

I knew she didn’t want to disappoint me as the newest Assassin leader.

I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

I did this repeatedly to calm my anger.

In the silence, Alex approached me.

"Baron Atreus... I’m sorry to interrupt this commotion, but I must tell you about the possible behavioral changes caused by this Ventura armor," Alex whispered.

"...what behavioral changes do you mean?" I asked in a whisper.

"...ever since our troops started using the Ventura armor, there have been many reactions from the soldiers that we didn’t expect. Initially, we thought the only problem with using this Venture Armor would be the soldiers adapting to it and unleashing its full potential. But it turns out there’s another issue. This Venture Armor is somehow connected to the curse of King Bahamut. And this problem is quite complicated because the soldiers become more easily provoked and brutal when wearing the Ventura Armor. For the soldiers, we can still manage this problem because there are far more sane soldiers who can maintain their sanity and can be dealt with immediately. But for the Assassins... it seems the opposite is happening. More Assassins are being moved by the curse of King Bahamut to fight Cecile. If I may suggest, I think we should be wary of these Assassins, Baron Atreus. Eliminating Assassins who are filled with the seeds of treason is a pretty effective preventative measure to deal with this."

I paused for a moment as I listened to Alex’s explanation.

Damn it.