Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 27.2: “Knight Harrison Gunnel: Part 1”

~Gunnel’s Perspective~

　The next thing I thought of was revenge.

　Retaliate against Hubert Roswell, the frontiersman who had wronged Master Desmond.

　Count Roswell is using his daughter’s marriage to strengthen his political base. I don’t know much about it, but that is what Master Desmond was thinking.

　He is now enjoying the springtime of his life by eliminating his political enemies, Master Desmond and Viscount Tysburn – Viscount Constance Tysburn, the brother of Count Roswell. So, I’m going to take this opportunity to fire back and bring him despair.

　I had that opportunity the day before yesterday. It is said that the Frontier Count was having fun with the blacksmiths at a training ground outside the city. I couldn’t help but look up at the sky, realizing that I had missed out on such a great opportunity, but then I reminded myself that I still had a chance. Yes, the golden opportunity still remains the wedding ceremony of Rosalind Roswell and Rodrick Lockhart.

　Rumor had it that at the end of the ceremony, there would be a parade through the city of Welburn in an open-air carriage. The parade would include not only Rosalind and her family, but also the Frontier Count himself and his grandson Francis.

　There will be a large number of guards along the route, but there will be many more onlookers coming from the neighborhood. If they were to blend in, there would be ample opportunity for an assassination attempt.

　Until then, the Frontier Count and his family would not come out of the castle. As expected, they could not make collaborators inside the castle, so they would have to look for an opportunity to get out of the castle.

　Fortunately, there were a few of his men left in the city. I am not sure if I can trust them, but since they are afraid of me, it is safe to assume that the possibility of their betrayal is small.

　I decided on July 20th as the final day and began preparations.

　On July 17, I was busy arranging the materials for the crossbow and poison to be used in the assassination.

　That night, my men, who had been sent to search around the castle, reported to me that a rumor was circulating that Master Desmond had committed suicide.

“…It’s said that he was made to drink poison in the dungeon of the Knight Order on the night of the 14th, right after he confessed to everything. Apparently, they will only make it public after the wedding ceremony is over…” (Lackey)

　It is reasonable to take the life of Master Desmond at this time. Furthermore, not to make it public at this time. If that is the case, as this rumor says, Master Desmond has already taken his own life.

　My heart is turning black with despair. The remorse of not having made it in time torments me.

(Maybe I didn’t make it in time… I knew it, but I still regret it… If that’s the case, I’ll just have to take revenge as planned…) (Gunnel)

　The next day, July 18, I was still busy with preparations. I succeeded in obtaining the materials for the crossbow and the poison. This poison was taught to me by Oulette of Lux, and while it can be made from relatively easy-to-find materials, it is so powerful that it can kill even an ogre with a single dose. Unfortunately, it has the disadvantage that it deteriorates quickly and loses its effectiveness in a few minutes when exposed to air. Because of this characteristic, it is necessary to get close to the arrow to use it and to shoot the arrow as soon as it is applied. This makes it difficult to use for sniping.

　Information about the parade route was relatively easy to obtain.

　This information was before it was known that I had disappeared, and it was highly accurate. Of course, there is a possibility that they would notice me and change the course, but even so, it would be difficult to make any major changes to this course. From now on, I would only be able to shift the time at best.

　While I was worrying my head about the attack on the parade course, a report came up from one of my subordinates that Zacharias Lockhart had left the castle and was strolling through town.

“… He was going out on the town happily, arm in arm with another pretty girl. I followed them, just in case, and they went into a number of small shops and clothing stores…” (Lackey)

　According to the report of my men, Zacharias was strolling the streets with a girl of his own age, probably Melissa Marlon. They were hardly armed, and they were unexpectedly shopping.

　I couldn’t believe my ears and wondered if it was a trap.

　Zacharias was the man who had Master Desmond and I outmaneuvered. The attack in the woods near Rawcliffe – a lodging town in the northern part of the empire – and the rebellion of the 4th Battalion at Welburn Castle. In each case, he continued to subvert our plans.

　Without him, we would have succeeded in the raid in the forest near Rawcliffe and would have obtained the distilling technology possessed by the Lockhart family.

　The rebellion of the 4th Battalion, Master Desmond’s plan, would also have succeeded without him. Had that happened, the House of Roswell would have been seized by His Excellency, Viscount Tysburn.

　Zacharias, the source of all this, is touring casually in the city.

　But he is a genius to the extent that Master Desmond is afraid of him. In fact, he is said to have great influence over two guilds, the Blacksmith’s Guild and the Magician’s Guild.

　I am sure that the information that I have disappeared has already reached him. If that is the case, it is easy to imagine that I will either rescue Master Desmond or retaliate against them.

　And yet, they say they are going out on the town with an unconcerned face.

　This is clearly a trap.

　They must be using themselves as bait to lure me out.

“Just in case, I picked up some gossip, but apparently he promised to go out into town with four women one by one…” (Lackey)

　I did not know the details, but the guard at the gate told me that Zacharias had promised to go into town with four of the women in his party. He himself told the guard that.

　His men reported that the girl seemed to be very happy and looked like a young girl who had just found a lover.

　I still suspected it was a trap. But even if it was a trap, I was beginning to think that this might be a great opportunity.

　There was a strong possibility that the plan to attack the Frontier Count would fail.

　I had scouted the parade route and found that the Knights were already positioned in the best places for sniping. Furthermore, I tried to sneak into houses along the route and scare the residents to secure a sniping spot, but not only was the nighttime security unusually tight, but they frequently came to check inside the houses to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.

　I also have no talent for archery.

　I am even thinking of sniping with a crossbow, which is relatively easy to handle. Furthermore, I was planning to prepare multiple crossbows so that if I missed with the first shot, I would be able to fire a second shot immediately.

　I thought about blending in with the crowds of people lined up along the roadside, but I was restricted from bringing weapons, especially a bow and a magician’s staff that could be used for sniping, and the mere sight of the masses around me would be enough to make me fail. I was beginning to think about giving up sniping with my crossbow.

　Then came the news about Zacharias.

　He is a well-known magician, and he is also a pretty good swordsman. As far as I could tell, he is also a good scout, and it would be difficult to catch him by surprise. But that is where he may be caught off guard.

　My abilities are probably known.

　I am a level fifty-five swordsman. Generally speaking, I am one step short of being called a master, a level that everyone recognizes as first-class.

　But he is a Lockhart.

　There must have been several people in their house who were at the level of sixty or above. According to our information, he had trained with second-rank adventurers, who are called “top-notch,” and they were evenly matched.

　In other words, they may think that my level of ability is not a threat.

　This can be called wishful thinking. But I decided to bet on it.

　Even if I cannot bring vengeance to Frontier Count Roswell, I would be happy if I could kill Zacharias, who is the direct cause of our situation. He may say that it is unreasonable for me to bear a grudge, but that doesn’t matter to me right now.

　Besides, if I kill Zacharias, I will be able to eliminate one of the Roswell family’s influential relatives. I steered the plan to assassinate Zacharias Lockhart for that twisted reason.

　If today is Melissa Marlon, then tomorrow it will be either Sharon Jakes, Lydiane Dupre, or Beatrice Laval.

　If it is Beatrice Laval, the tiger-beastfolk, I have no choice but to abandon the plan. As far as I have been able to find out, she is a fierce fighter of over level sixty and is as alert as a real tiger, so a surprise attack would be impossible.

　If my opponent tomorrow is Sharon Jakes, I have a good chance of success. She is an excellent magician, but I am not going to give her the opportunity to use her magic.

　I will be most likely to succeed if it is Sharon Jakes, but I will also be able to do it with Lydiane Dupre.

　She is an excellent magic archer, but she cannot be a threat once we get into close combat. She has four attributes and can use the water and light attributes, making her an excellent healer, but in the case of the poison I will use this time, it should be over before she can heal him with magic. The poison I use is fast-acting, and nobody has ever succeeded in detoxifying anyone in the imperial capital, even though there was a healer right next to him.

　Then came the nineteenth of July.

　I was lurking near the gates of Welburn Castle, knowing the danger. There were many government offices and buildings related to the Order in this area, and there was a possibility that my disguise would be discovered. I was aware of the danger and had come to watch for an opportunity.

　I won the bet.

　Today’s opponent was not Beatrice Laval.

　Next to Zacharias was Lydiane Dupre.

　I stared at the backs of the two, their arms happily crossed, and then quietly began to follow them.

T/N: Right into the trap, we know the MC will not die but he might, especially after the girls find out.