The Viscountess is Clever [Romance/Kingdom Building]

Crack... Crack...

Two pairs of footsteps snapped stray twigs as they crept quietly around the small courtyard of a secluded cabin. The second person leaned forward, whispering urgently to the armored man in front of him, “Sir Albert, do we have to sneak around a run-down shack like this? That man was just a regular former castle butler until a few months ago... We could easily just storm right through the front door.”

“Shh...” Albert silenced him sharply.

Reaching out, Albert slowly and fluidly pried open the window frame, slipping inside the dark interior with his hand resting firmly on the hilt of the sword at his waist. The new squire entered right behind him in the exact same cautious manner. The two men immediately split up, systematically sweeping through the rooms of the six-room cabin to locate the property's owner.

Click... Thud!

A small oil lamp accidentally fell onto the floorboards as the squire was thoroughly searching the final bedroom. He let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s the exact same state as his small residence at the edge of the castle grounds, Sir Albert. nothing.”

“That damn former butler, Randell, is the single greatest liability we have left in our master plan now...” Albert clicked his tongue in irritation, scanning the empty cabin. “Even though we were careful to strictly communicate with him using encrypted codes... a broker of his caliber might still possess tangible evidence proving that we purchased the detailed castle layout map from him.”

“But he is nowhere to be found, Sir... how on earth are we going to properly silence him now?” the squire asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice. “Given the information broker's past dealings, he won’t hesitate for a single second to sell whatever damning intel he has to the highest bidder for the right price!”

Albert cleared his throat, his expression turning cold. “It seems the rat is experienced enough to know exactly when to run. Let’s immediately check the road leading down the mountain range. There are not many places a person can realistically flee to in a mountain-walled city that has only a single road descending to the lowlands.”

The squire nodded firmly, and both men walked back out into the courtyard, their hands never leaving their swords.

Swoosh... Swoosh...

A sudden, aggressive gust of wind roared through the clearing, violently rattling the wooden windows of the empty cabin for several seconds. The hanging oil lamps swung wildly in the darkness, chiming sharply against one another before the sudden gale finally calmed down. The faint ringing of the metal still echoed softly in the quiet room when:

Click... Thud!

A small, concealed wooden lid slowly lifted from directly beneath the fireplace’s heavy logs. Moving out of the shadows, the opening revealed a long, hollow underground passage with a single iron ladder descending into the dark earth. A hooded figure slowly climbed out of the secret chute, carefully placing the lid back down and neatly restacking the heavy firewood over it to conceal the mechanism.

“Phew... I almost got caught right there,” Randell chuckled quietly to himself, the intense adrenaline of the thrill rushing wildly through his veins.

He walked briskly toward the open window, the cloudy sky slowly illuminating his features beneath the shadow of his hood. “I can’t believe I am finally feeling truly alive after working tirelessly and mindlessly at that castle for so many years...” he muttered into the empty air.

I might really be cut out to be a professional information broker after all... I should stop just treating this as a temporary survival gig, but pursuing it as a genuine, permanent occupation.

Clenching his fists tightly, he looked down at the vital documents he had successfully kept secured in his hands. I should start by formally registering an information guild with the massive amount of money I’ve managed to earn from them so far.

Walking over to a small wooden table, he pulled out a quill and began rapidly scribbling notes onto a blank piece of parchment. The mere thought of dealing with the violent underworld of the Empire is pretty terrifying but... this thrill, this profound feeling of belonging... I simply cannot ignore it anymore. This is my true calling.

Stepping toward a hidden structural ladder near the corner, he climbed fluidly up into the rafters of the cabin ceiling. Slipping through a roof hatch, he expertly jumped off into the branches of a nearby tree, successfully escaping deep into the dense forest without ever setting foot on the ground level where he could be tracked.

I will call it... The Butler’s Guild.

The Edge of The Town, Ironwood Viscounty

“Ah... Randell? He was acting pretty agitated last night when he stopped by,” the local bartender explained, wiping down the wooden counter. “He was talking about trying to leave Ironwood first thing in the morning by sneaking onto one of the early gem transportation carriages.”

The second the bartender finished speaking, both Albert and the squire bolted out of the small tavern, rushing directly toward the transit staging grounds where all the heavy transport carriages were being loaded.

“Aren’t we being far too obvious with our movements right now, Sir Albert? Is this really alright?” the squire asked anxiously, scanning the awakening streets.

Albert just scoffed, his gaze locked forward. “Young Lord Ivan will take care of any administrative fallout. We need to find that damn bastard first before he slips through our fingers entirely.”

They quickly tracked down the local mining operations head, a trusted administrative servant of the LeonCraft Duchy.

“Ah... that fellow Randell! He actually did come by early this morning, desperately asking me to do him a quick favor in exchange for all the times he covertly helped us look the other way regarding Miss Maria's operations,” the supervisor recalled, pointing toward the rows of covered wagons. “He climbed right into one of the carriages that is scheduled to take a shipment of raw gems down the mountain early this morning. It hasn’t departed yet.”

With hurried, heavy steps, the group rushed down the line of wagons. In one swift, violent swoop, Albert tore open the heavy side curtain of the carriage. There, sitting quietly in the darkest corner, was a hooded figure seemingly dozing off.

Without a single moment of hesitation, Albert lunged forward and aggressively grabbed the sleeping man by the collar, hauling him into the morning light.

But as the hood fell back, the squire choked on his breath. “Sir... Albert... He doesn’t match the target portrait at all...”

Albert froze, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at the captive. The man had messy brown hair, not Randell's distinct black hair.

Terrified by the knight's drawn sword and suffocating aura, the young commoner began to tremble violently, crying out, “W-who are you, Sir Knight?! I swear, I wasn’t trying to criminally exit the city! I swear it! I was only paid a few Shella by a cloaked gentleman to sit here in his clothes and quietly get down right before the carriage began to depart...!”

“I know very well that the road down the mountain is the strict priority of the LeonCraft Duchy!”

Albert growled, throwing the decoy back down onto the floorboards with a disgusted sigh.

Pressing a palm flat against his forehead, the veteran knight groaned in pure frustration. “This is exactly why I despise dealing with slippery snakes like him... if only Lord Ivan had listened to my warnings from the very start. The rat completely played us.”

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