I Plotted The World Destruction With The Male Lead - Chapter 33

The crow’s feathers, soaring through the dawn sky, shimmered with the light of the boundary like a radiant halo.

The man on the rooftop recalled the name they bore—Blue Raven.

The blue in Blue Raven held no deeper meaning; it simply signified that their master possessed blue blood. Nothing more.

It had been three days since the Margrave of the frontier set out on a monster subjugation mission. By now, he would be nearing the monster’s nest, preparing for battle.

Even if he learned that his beloved daughter had vanished, he would not be able to return.

Their target was the Margrave’s daughter, Charlotte. She was a valuable Guide, someone their lord had ordered them to retrieve. Thus, they had to ensure she was taken without sustaining serious injury.

To accomplish this, they had infiltrated House Enrick as servants. Of course, even as house staff, they had no direct access to Charlotte. However, they needed to gather information—about the estate’s structure, the soldiers’ shift rotations, and other crucial details.

Meanwhile, an unusual rumor had begun spreading through the capital. It was said that Grand Duke Granmire, the emperor’s nephew, had acquired a Guide.

The Blue Raven knew that their master also sought to claim the Eastern Guide. After all, he had dispatched them here while he himself headed east.

Had that not been the case, their master would have come north personally instead.

Everything is ready.

For this moment, they had swapped out the estate’s protective stones for inferior substitutes, neutralized the resident mages, and orchestrated “accidents” to injure those closest to Charlotte.

This left her no choice but to rely on unfamiliar attendants.

“The package is asleep.”

The words were disrespectful, considering the Guide would soon belong to their master. But the man merely nodded at the report.

The safest room in the manor was not the Margrave’s chamber but Charlotte’s.

After his wife’s death and the revelation that his daughter was a Guide, the Margrave had relocated his quarters to hers.

But on this night, that precaution was meaningless.

Their master wielded a unique ability—magic.

Using this power, he had conjured Twilight Smoke.

Twilight Smoke could lull all who inhaled it into slumber. However, it only remained effective for precisely thirty minutes at the break of dawn, making its use tricky.

The only ones immune were those carrying enchanted stones imbued with protective spells. Every member of the Blue Raven carried such a stone.

Moving past the sleeping soldiers, they entered Charlotte’s chamber. She, too, had succumbed to the Twilight Smoke.

The man lifted Charlotte into his arms, placing another body in her place—one identical to her in appearance.

A woman of similar hair color and physique had been brought in, her features altered through magic before she was killed via cerebral hemorrhage.

Carrying Charlotte out of the bedroom, they slipped into an unused, empty chamber.

There, they pulled back the worn-out carpet, revealing the magic circle they had inscribed days before.

Roughly ten minutes remained. They had to activate the magic circle within that time.

As the mage of the Blue Raven stepped forward, an eerie sound resonated from the floor, and the magic circle began to move. A dimensional gate opened, linking this place to a secluded villa not far away. The space above the magic circle distorted, splitting apart to either side.

Through the rift, they saw their guild members waiting on the other side. Without hesitation, they passed Charlotte through and quickly closed the dimensional gate.

Restoring the carpet to its original position, they exited the room as if nothing had happened. They also erased all traces of the Twilight Smoke having been burned.

As the faint scent dissipated into the air, the people within the manor slowly began to wake. None of them even realized they had briefly fallen asleep.

The soldiers lifted their heads, and a maid—who had been slumped in the hallway with her face buried in a basket of bread—regained her senses.

Just as everyone assumed it was an ordinary morning in the Margrave’s estate, a piercing scream rang out from Charlotte’s room.

It was likely her temporary personal maid.

The screams and sobs echoed throughout House Enrick.

*

Even if it had been another noble household, the capital would have been thrown into chaos. But now, a ducal family had been annihilated without a sound, and the aristocracy was in an uproar.

They all demanded the perpetrator be caught. The Emperor had already assembled an investigation unit under the command of Ludwig, the Vice Duke of the Second Imperial Knights.

Ludwig, as the heir to House Emperton, was a choice all nobles could accept. Additionally, he was the Empress’s nephew, signaling that the Empress herself was paying close attention to this matter.

Since House Armoire was adjacent to two other noble estates, the social circles turned their focus on those two families.

One was a ducal family, the other a marquisate—making the latter easier to approach.

The ducal estate belonged to an elderly couple with no children, who had been away at their provincial villa. Their adopted heir was busy managing the territory, leaving only the servants as witnesses.

In response to Ludwig’s inquiry, they had just sent word that they would allow him to inspect the estate.

The other neighboring estate, the marquisate, willingly cooperated by offering its servants for questioning.

The Marquis and Marchioness had been in deep sleep when the crime occurred and had witnessed nothing. Even if they had been awake, their view would have been obstructed by the tall garden hedges and walls surrounding the Armoire estate.

Van did not tell Ludwig about the letter and ring Eleanor had received. The ring, as a piece of evidence, needed to be discreetly dealt with.

During the funeral for House Armoire, Van had hidden the ring among the flowers placed on the coffin. That way, Eleanor would not be implicated.

What Van could do, however, was hint that the culprit might be Carlyle.

Even without the letter and ring, there had been connections between Duke Armoire and Carlyle.

“Duke Armoire was trying to smuggle a Guide from the East?”

Ludwig frowned at Van’s words. He already knew the Emperor had ordered an investigation into Duke Armoire.

“Yes. He had ties to Grand Duke Javez for quite some time. His Majesty had intended to investigate Duke Armoire to gather evidence against the Grand Duke, but…”

Now, as they could all see, House Armoire had been reduced to ashes.

If this had been mere retribution for trying to steal an Eastern Guide, the punishment seemed excessive.

Van believed Carlyle had used this incident to demonstrate his strength to the Western nobles, who had been on the verge of fracturing.

Until now, they had supported Carlyle because Van had no Guide. But in the end, Carlyle had failed to secure a Guide of his own.

This was Van’s opportunity to make his move.

With the Western nobles already showing signs of division, Carlyle had crushed House Armoire as an example.

“This is too extreme to be just a warning. Armoire was a ducal house. Though not as powerful as the three great ducal families, this is still unheard of.”

The three ducal families that dominated the empire were Granmire, Javez, and Emperton—the family that had produced the Empress.

Even if the empire were to recognize a broader group of five great houses, House Armoire would still not make the list.

Among the ducal families, House Armoire had the weakest imperial bloodline.

Their founder had been the Emperor’s beloved youngest son, but rumors suggested he was born from an affair, meaning he wasn’t truly of imperial descent.

As proof, House Armoire had never once produced an heir with the abilities of the imperial family. In contrast, even noble houses that had failed to receive a ducal title occasionally gave birth to such heirs.

Thus, when people spoke of the empire’s ten greatest families, they included House Enrick, a marquisate, instead of House Armoire.

Duke Armoire considered this a grave humiliation and resented Marquis Enrick.

“That’s all I can tell you. If you suspect another family or organization, I have nothing more to say.”

“You’re sure you don’t have any evidence I don’t know about?”

Ludwig asked, but Van simply shook his head. He wasn’t lying—because the only real evidence, the ring, had been buried with Eleanor’s coffin.

“I’ll keep your words in mind. Do you have any other information about Grand Duke Javez?”

“Even if it’s unverified intelligence?”

Van knew a great deal about Carlyle, but at this point, it was nothing more than speculation. He had no tangible proof to accuse him.

However, Van recalled that Carlyle had a mage division.

A force so powerful that it had been worth trading away three knightly orders. But even they would not be invincible at this point.

“Fine. I’ll handle the intelligence analysis myself.”

Ludwig remained unfazed, even though Van’s words carried a clear hostility toward Carlyle. He knew about the deep-seated conflict between them. Van wanted Carlyle’s influence to weaken as a result of this incident.

Perhaps His Majesty wants the same thing.

Ludwig’s role was merely to conduct a reasonable investigation into House Armoire’s destruction—just enough to calm the enraged nobility.

Nowhere had the Emperor ordered him to swiftly capture the culprit.

Ludwig was keeping all possibilities open.

Carlyle Javez is certainly the prime suspect at this moment. But there isn’t enough evidence to pursue him yet.

“…The Blue Raven.”

Ludwig’s brow furrowed at the mention of the name. He had heard of the infamous assassination guild before.

Van spoke with conviction.

“I’m certain Carlyle is the true master of that guild. And he has been secretly forming a mage division.”

“And you have no evidence to prove this to me?”

“At present, I have no evidence that I can show you.”

That was different from saying there was no evidence at all.

It simply meant he could not reveal it to Ludwig.

Ludwig met Van’s gaze and slowly nodded.

“I’ll be cautious.”