Episode 85: Poison Swamp

“Th-that’s impossible… Impossible!”

The time was just before dawn.

In one room of the Eastern Front Army headquarters—Bertram’s bedroom—the deputy commander Almants’s scream echoed.

Several officers and soldiers stood frozen in the room, all of them pale-faced as they stared at the scene.

Lying there was the utterly transformed body of Commander Bertram.

What had he thought in his final moments…? His expression was etched with deep despair.

And a short distance away—Suneiras’s corpse lay crushed under a wine rack, covered in red liquid.

After completing the transfer of the smuggled goods and extinguishing the fire, Almants and the others had come to this room to report.

They called out from outside the room, but there was no response. Sensing something wrong, they entered and were met with—a utterly gruesome sight.

“F-from the looks of it, this Serodonia soldier must have infiltrated and attacked Commander Bertram…”

A nearby soldier muttered while looking down at Suneiras’s body. His voice trembled with shock.

“B-but the commander fought back… and it seems they ended up killing each other…”

Suneiras’s body being crushed under the shelf was probably because he staggered backward after receiving a fatal wound.

That must have caused the shelf to topple and collapse on him—from the situation, there was no other conclusion. However…

“It can’t be… That can’t be…!”

Almants shook his head. For someone who knew about Bertram’s connection to the Serodonia Kingdom, this situation was far too unnatural.

“—I’m surprised. To think that Commander Bertram has lost his life.”

Suddenly, a calm voice rang out from behind.

Almants turned around immediately—and his expression froze.

“S-Siegfried…!?”

Once again, something that shouldn’t have been possible was happening.

Siegfried von Kreving, who was supposed to be dead, was standing there.

“I-impossible! You were supposed to have died in the Serodonia army’s ambush… How on earth are you here!?”

“It seems that’s what was reported.”

Siegfried responded calmly.

“Indeed, my unit was caught in an enemy surprise attack and fell into temporary chaos. Some of the soldiers apparently assumed I had been killed in battle. In fact, I did sustain an arrow wound.”

Siegfried showed his bandaged arm. Blood was seeping through faintly underneath. Needless to say, this wound was a self-inflicted fake arrow injury for disguise.

“But fortunately, I had sent a detachment ahead via a detour route. They ambushed the enemy from behind, allowing us to barely secure victory. We also successfully captured Forssa Fort.”

Of course, it was all fabricated. Siegfried had fully grasped the enemy’s movements from the start.

But for now, he had no intention of revealing that truth.

“I left half my subordinates at the fort and returned here… but to think Commander Bertram had lost his life. …It’s regrettable.”

The content of Siegfried’s story certainly made sense.

Anyone unaware of the details would have believed Siegfried’s account without question. However—Almants knew the behind-the-scenes truth.

When viewed in light of that fact… one possibility emerged in his mind.

“Y-you…?”

In a half-dazed voice, Almants muttered.

“The one who killed Commander Bertram… was it you…!?”

Otherwise, it didn’t add up.

After all, the Serodonia Kingdom army and Bertram were connected behind the scenes.

For Suneiras to kill Bertram—that simply couldn’t happen.

However, Siegfried furrowed his brows in apparent surprise and tilted his head.

“Me, killing Commander Bertram…? …You must be joking, right?”

“N-no, it’s the only explanation! The only one…!”

“—And what is the basis for that?”

Siegfried’s voice lowered.

“Why is it ‘the only explanation’?”

“I-it’s obvious! That’s because…”

Almants started to raise his voice but swallowed his words.

“Guh… U…!”

There was no way he could say it.

‘Since Bertram and the Serodonia Kingdom were connected behind the scenes, it’s impossible for someone from the Serodonia army to kill him.’

That would be nothing less than confessing that he knew about Bertram’s secret dealings and that he himself was a collaborator.

“Could you explain, Deputy Commander Almants? Why you would utter such an absurd claim—that I killed Commander Bertram.”

“Guh…”

“You don’t want to say it, huh? Fine, then shall I explain in your place? —Why you blurted out something so outlandish. I even have ‘evidence’ to back it up.”

(What!? This guy… he knows that much…!?)

‘Evidence’—meaning the smuggled goods.

Did that mean Siegfried had even secured those?

“Uh… Uuh…”

Almants’s face twisted. His appearance resembled a frog that had accidentally swallowed a poisonous insect.

—It was at that moment.

“Is it true that something happened to the commander!?”

Along with the voice, hurried footsteps rushed up the stairs.

Then, several men burst into the bedroom.

They were all lower- and mid-level commanders belonging to the Eastern Front Army.

“Th-this is—!”

Upon seeing Bertram’s corpse lying there, they gasped.

“…Guh.”

Almants groaned.

This made his position even more precarious.

The more eyes there were, the more disadvantageous the situation became for Almants.

In contrast, Siegfried remained consistently composed.

Seeing that demeanor, Almants intuited.

(—Could it be that this was all calculated too…!?)

He had probably even anticipated the timing of the commanders’ arrival and appeared like this.

To set the stage for Almants’s condemnation.

“Well then… shall we begin the explanation?”

“Guh… U—… Hah… Hah…”

Almants’s breathing quickened.

If possible, he wanted to order the soldiers right now to seize Siegfried and silence him. But that would be no different from admitting he had circumstances he wanted to hide.

Besides, Siegfried had likely shared the facts of the secret trade with his subordinates as well.

Seizing just Siegfried here would be pointless.

—It was all over.

He couldn’t help but think that.

However, the words that came from Siegfried’s mouth—were unexpected.

“I understand. The reason you said something like that earlier… was because you were distraught, right?”

“Eh, e…?”

“You were shaken by the death of the respected Commander Bertram. That’s why baseless words slipped out of your mouth. —That’s what happened, isn’t it?”

“U… No…”

Almants was confused.

(Why!? Isn’t he planning to denounce me here!?)

Siegfried held all the materials to expose everything. He couldn’t think of a reason not to condemn him.

While gazing at the agitated Almants, Siegfried smiled.

“Let’s leave it at ‘that’s what happened.’ In exchange—”

He quietly approached and whispered close to his ear.

“Could you grant me one request?”

“R-request…?”

“Yes. —You’ll listen, won’t you? Deputy Commander Almants.”

If he refused that request… Siegfried would undoubtedly proceed to condemn Almants without hesitation.

“Gu… U… Fine.”

Almants could only nod weakly.

He—hadn’t realized yet.

That it would have been easier to have his sins judged right here and now.

Almants had stepped into it.

Into an inescapable bottomless poison swamp.