Evil Black Maria - Chapter 104. Miss Richelieu In A Good Mood

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*(Richelieu-sama in Good mood)

“I see. That’s a lovely story, isn’t it?”

In the southern section of the royal capital Rosario, in the corner of the main street.

In a small open cafe, Richelieu smiled happily as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“…… was that really funny?”

Mary sat with a parfait in her hand, looking very happy.

Shizuru, who held her on his lap, asked her with a slightly wry smile.

“Of course it is. It’s funny, tragic, exhilarating and bizarre.”

“I see……..”

Richelieu took another bite of her sandwich and hummed as she did.

It was unusual for her to be in such a good mood.

“Since the headquarters of the mercenary guild which dispatches a large number of personnel primarily to the frontier is destroyed, it is the centre that suffers more. This makes our job easier for the time being.”

“Well, certainly, that’s a fair point…….”

Perhaps Richelieu had planned for this to happen when she destroyed the mercenary guild?

This thought suddenly crossed Shizuru’s mind.

It was quite possible that she had.

“Above all, is it not amusing to see the Knights of the Royal Guard, the most elite and brilliant in the kingdom, toiling away?”

Richelieu continued, the corners of her mouth lifting in amusement.

As she shook the ice in her glass, Shizuru’s mind began to wander.

“…… Well, Miss Richelieu. By any chance, when the East Blood Knights were on night watch over Mary’s case, the work of the third unit temporarily stopped ……did you take it personally?”

“Hmmm. What a funny thing to ask, Shizu.”

She picked up a piece of melting ice and crushed it with just her fingertips.

The cold pieces shattered and flew in all directions on the table.

“……they interfered with me. Do you think I will forgive them without giving them what they deserve?”

A voice that chills you to the bone in an instant.

Mary shuddered in Shizuru’s lap.

“The First Order, North Cloud Knights. The Second Order, East Blood Knights. The Third Order, South Night Knights. The Fourth Order, West Forest Knights”

With each name muttered, Richelieu picked more ice out of the glass and arranged it.

“The trump cards of the kingdom, into which only members of the greatest nobility, or those of exceptional ability, are allowed to enter.”

The most powerful elite forces in the service of the world’s greatest nation.

That is to say, it was the most powerful group in the world.

Richelieu crushed one of the ice cubes.

“With the children of aristocrats whose martial arts skills are limited to sword fighting are mixed together, their performance is far from perfect…..some of the top ones are comparable to Cassy and Vlad.”

Yet another ice cube crushed between the finger tips.

A piece melted from her body heat and dripped.

“The only thing that keeps the capital safe at times of peace is the security force. But when the time comes, they will appear. It’s just too annoying.”

In the midst of all this talk, the third piece of ice is broken.

Now there is only one left.

“The most troublesome are the East Blood Knights. The East Blood Knights are a pure meritocratic order with no connections. They are quicker on their feet and stronger than the other three orders.”

The final ice is picked up and then rolled over the palm.

“I’ve never known anyone who was capable of killing me until now.”

Shizuru knew for sure that she was referring to Rosa, without needing to question her.

Eventually, Richelieu put the ice back into the empty glass without breaking it, and it made a high-pitched sound.

“Well, I’d win in a fight.”

“Oh, I see…….”

Shizuru was at a loss for an answer and laughed.

Typical Richelieu with her pride, he thought.

“I am amused, at any rate. I hate that woman with all my heart.”

Of course, there is no need to ask about Rosa.

Shizuru’s laughter increased at her childish comment.

“Hmph.”

“(……but the way you eat is still cute as ever)”

The sound of bells announcing noon echoed through the city.

“Oh, is it that late already?”

Richelieu, who had been enjoying her conversation with Shizuru, put down her coffee cup and stood up.

She had business to attend to at noon.

“Well, Shizu, I’ll leave you at it. I have to go and see some of the shops.”

In Black Maria, 20% of the profits go to Richelieu.

She used the money to buy empty houses here and there to use as a base for her troops or to run a shop for camouflage.

“Well, I really just have to show up.”

As it is only a facade, it is basically left to the hired hands.

And most of the Zero Unit bases, whose locations changed regularly, were attached to such shops.

Of course, the people employed there knew nothing about Black Maria.

If there was anything discovered, they just had to erase it.

“But with nearly a hundred shops, it’s hard to keep track of all of them. Let’s just close some of them down.”

“Let’s not do that…….”

It was bad for the employees to be destroyed by the trouble.

With a wry smile on his face, Shizuru also stood up with Mary in his arms.

“I’ll walk you home. We are going towards Josette’s apothecary anyway.”

“Is that so? All right, then, let’s go.”

When the blind Richelieu walks alone, it is not unusual for her to get entangled due to her appearance.

She nodded at Shizuru’s suggestion and wrapped her arms around him, hoping to avoid any unnecessary conflict.

“Would you like to hold hands with me, Mary?”

“Ya”

With a short but sure rejection, Mary quickly clings to Shizuru.

Richelieu, who likes children, was a little depressed by the blatant rejection.

“Why don’t you like me …… Shizu, are you ready to be a child again?”

“No, not really.”

“Well……I’m sorry to hear that.”

As Richelieu, Shizuru entered a back alley.

As they walked down the dark, sunless street, they noticed a man running towards them from the other side, looking as if he was in a hurry.

Shizuru and the others stepped aside and let the man pass.

And then — the man fell.

“…… Eh?”

Shizuru’s eyes widened at the suddenness of the event.

The man rolled with the momentum from running, his body stopped in a bent position, and a pool of blood began to form around his neck.

He had been decapitated, leaving only a thin layer of skin.

“Miss, Richelieu?”

“He was trying to take my wallet, so I cut him.”

Richelieu lightly tapped the ground with her cane and said in a matter-of-fact way.

It was a line that showed that there was a fundamental difference in the way people valued life.

“Well then, Shizu, you’d better tidy up,”

As soon as she said that, Richelieu walked off quietly on her own.

Leaving Shizuru behind, who reached out for her but stopped and looked back.

A lump of meat, which only moments ago had been alive, was now lying on the ground.

“…… Mary. Could you dismantle it for me, please?”

“Yes.”

Mary smiled and nodded as she pulled out the two knives she carried in the back of her dress.

Shizuru looked at her and the corpse, let out a soft, melancholic sigh, and then quietly made a cross.

“…Amen”