Chapter 254: The Duke of Velez Laughs

Rudolf moved in a flash, placing himself between me and the shattered window, ready to shield me with his own body if another arrow came. The opposite window faced the ducal residence. An arrow wouldn’t fly from there... unless it was the Duchess’s gaze. That might actually wreck the carriage. I meant it as a joke, but with her it didn’t feel entirely impossible.

The carriage remained stopped. The coachman didn’t come to check on us—probably frozen in place. Rudolf leaned halfway out of the box and shouted to him:

"Don’t move the carriage!"

He exchanged a few more words. Apparently Rudolf had decided no second arrow was coming. I had no way of knowing for sure.

"A messenger from His Grace has arrived," Rudolf reported while still hanging out the window. He spoke with the man for a moment, then slipped fully outside and opened the carriage door so the servant could see inside. The moment the servant laid eyes on the arrow stuck straight across in front of me, his face went white.

"This is..."

He couldn’t finish the sentence. His complexion had turned ashen.

"We should show this to His Grace. Forgive me, but would you leave everything exactly as it is?"

"Understood. We’ll wait for His Grace."

"Please wait a moment."

The servant hurried off. I remained seated inside the carriage, staring at the arrow embedded in the door. A few centimeters either way and it would have pierced me or Rudolf. Had they waited until we left the ducal residence and I was finally free of the Duchess’s magic before striking? Threading an arrow between the two of us while the carriage was moving had clearly been deliberate.

Was this the work of some "Arrow Hero"? That level of skill would be required. And of course the shooter hadn’t done it for fun—someone must have hired him. Count von Kirchhoff? Was I jumping to conclusions too easily? Last night’s attack hadn’t been proven to be his doing either (though I was already convinced). Why here, while his own wife was visiting the Duchess?

While my thoughts spun in circles, the Duke arrived.

"Ambassador Marie, I’m opening the door."

Without waiting for my reply he pulled it open, saw the arrow stuck horizontally across the interior, and his expression shifted from surprise to pure delight. Why does he look so happy?

"This is quite something."

Not a shred of sympathy—just cheerful excitement.

"Yes. I was startled. I nearly died."

The Duke laughed heartily.

"Don’t worry. Neither the ambassador nor the man outside was hit."

He spoke with absolute confidence.

"You’re certain?"

"Of course. Shooting an arrow through the window of a moving carriage and threading it between the people inside—no one does that by accident. There aren’t many in the entire kingdom who can pull that off."

He was suddenly speaking sense.

"Is that so?!"

"Obviously. Talent like that doesn’t stay buried."

So the information was public knowledge? A thought struck me and I asked:

"Do people with that kind of skill normally hide in the underworld and take secret assassination contracts?"

A classic light-novel setup, but still.

"Oh? Interesting question. You’ve suddenly become much more interesting. I’d like to set aside some time to talk with you—separate from my wife. I don’t have time today, though. Now then... do you have any idea who might have done this?"

"I have one possibility."

I told him about my conversation with Count von Kirchhoff and about the previous night’s attack.

The Duke listened in complete silence, face serious. The moment I finished, he broke into a broad grin.

"This is wonderful! What a splendid day! Someone dares to pick a fight with House Vélez?! Excellent—I’ll take that fight!!"

He looked like a child who had just found a lost toy.

"Actually, I believe the fight was picked with me, not with Your Grace..."

"What are you talking about?! An arrow shot into the carriage of a guest who had just left my residence is the same as picking a fight with my house! I cannot possibly overlook this!!"

Spittle flew with every emphatic word. He seemed determined to force the situation into that framing. Was this simply how things worked among Mainz nobles? He was ready to name a culprit on circumstantial evidence alone.

"Even so, it hasn’t been proven that Count von Kirchhoff is behind it."

The Duke gave a wicked little chuckle.

"Leave everything to me, Ambassador Marie. I’ll confirm whether the Count is pulling the strings. Once it’s clear he is, we’ll go on a punitive expedition! Of course you’ll be coming along. Understood?"

He spoke with pure glee.

"A punitive expedition? I-I’m going too?"

Apparently my participation was already decided.

"Of course! The sparks landed on you. I’ll help, but you’ll be at the center. Don’t worry—just leave everything to me. When the preparations are ready I’ll send for you. Bring one or two guards of your own. That steward of yours looks like he can fight; one more should be enough. Ahh, this is going to be fun!!"

"U-um..."

"What is it?"

"Why do you look so happy? And what exactly is a ’punitive expedition’?"

The Duke’s expression flickered, then settled into a mischievous grin.

"Fufun. If you don’t know, I’ll keep it a secret for now. Lately the Count’s faction has been throwing its weight around and needling mine. I’ve been looking for a chance to give them a solid punch. And my wife was deeply troubled by the previous ambassador’s mess—if the Count was the cause of that as well, this is perfect timing. I can look good in front of my wife and I owe you my thanks! From this day forward I recognize you as a member of the Vélez faction!"

He seized my hand and pumped it up and down. He looked genuinely overjoyed.

"I look forward to working with you."

It was the only thing I could say. Outside, Rudolf was staring in open disbelief.

On the ride home the arrow remained exactly where it was. I wanted to pull it out, but the Duke had ordered:

"Leave it as a souvenir."

"This carriage is borrowed, though..."

"Then House Vélez will buy it. We’ll lend it to the embassy permanently—use it however you like from now on. But under no circumstances are you to remove that arrow!!"

When Rudolf heard that, he said:

"Lord Robin, in that case we should purchase horses as well. We’ll need to hire a coachman and a stable hand. The stables are still usable, so the horses can be cared for whenever you’re ready. This is assuming, of course, that the medicine sales continue to go smoothly."

"No choice. Let’s do it."

"Lord Robin."

"What?"

"It’s a curious thing, isn’t it?"

"What is?"

"When there is no money, one lives modestly. Yet the moment income increases—even temporary income—expenses seem to appear of their own accord. No matter how carefully one tries to spend, it never quite works out. I don’t think I’ll be able to quit my night job anytime soon."

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Not at all. It’s nothing serious. Now that there’s light visible ahead, I can endure it."

"I see."

The two of us laughed together.

Afterward I continued the round of courtesy calls. The Duke had ordered me to show the arrow-pierced carriage to every noble I visited, so I did exactly that. When I recounted last night’s attack and the arrow that struck after leaving the ducal residence, every single noble’s eyes lit up with excitement. They insisted on climbing into the carriage, sitting in my seat, and having me reenact the entire scene—including Rudolf hanging out of the box. After listening, each of them invariably said something like:

"I haven’t heard such an interesting story in ages! Who should I tell first? A punitive expedition? How wonderful—I can’t wait! I’ll ask the Duke about it!"

Clearly the story was meant to spread... From now on I would have to perform the full reenactment—including Rudolf’s box-riding—at every house I visited. They also listened with great delight to the Duke’s talk of "a fight being picked." Yet no one explained to me what that actually meant. Among the nobles of Mainz it seemed to be common knowledge.

By the time I returned home exhausted that evening, a letter from the Duchess was waiting. In short it said: Tomorrow afternoon the Queen will visit the ducal residence. Bring the medicine and that maid of yours.

Terrifying... a woman’s pursuit of beauty knew no bounds.