Evil Black Maria - Chapter 92. After The Carnage

“My dear!”

 

A lustrous voice that sounded like a glass bell made the dark, quiet air shake.

With footsteps so quiet that they seemed out of place for her nearly three-meter tall body, the black wolf – Lady – rushed towards Shizuru.

 

“I missed you, I missed you so much, my love…….!”

 

Wagging her long tail and purring in a sweet, flirtatious way, Lady licked Shizuru’s neck.

Shizuru chuckled ticklishly and stroked her cheek gently.

 

“It’s been a long time, Lady, and I’ve missed you, too. But why are you here?”

 

“I was brought here in exchange for being the boss’s transport…….I’m sorry I’m an impatient wife who couldn’t wait for your return……”

 

Eventually, Lady quietly moved away from him, and she looked down apologetically.

She felt a little guilty for coming to them, considering the fact that she was in charge of the third unit in their absence.

 

–but Lady still wanted to meet Shizuru.

 

She was picked up and raised by Shizuru when she was still a pup, wandering around after losing her parents.

The Dark Wolf is normally a high-ranking magical beast that was considered impossible for humans to tame.

Lady, however, was an exception to the norm, she loved Shizuru so much that she even claimed to be his wife.

 

And for the last three years since she was taken in, Lady has always been by Shizuru’s side.

They had never been away from each other for as long as they had this time. It was only natural that she would be overcome with loneliness.

 

“I’m sorry……even though you trusted me with the unit.”

 

“I don’t blame you. It was Miss Richelieu who brought you here in the first place.”

 

It was rare to be able to say no for a request from a person like her.

He continued with a wry smile, but suddenly he tilted his head.

 

“But since you’re here, what’s going on with the third unit now?”

 

“I borrowed some people from the first and second squads, and sent them to Ludmila and Beth. Boss told me that the burden of running the unit is too much for me at the moment, and that it’s impossible to replenish the staff for the time being, so it was a good opportunity for those two to learn the job.”

 

“I see….”

 

Both Ludmila and Beth were the type of people with rationality, intelligence, and education, which was hard to find in the entire Black Maria.

Considering the future, there is no harm in letting them, especially Beth who was a candidate for leadership, learn the ropes of troop management.

 

“….Thank you, Lady. I appreciate your concern for my well-being.”

 

“You don’t need to thank me……. My body and mind is all devoted to my beloved. It is my greatest pleasure to serve you……”

 

She licks his cheek as if to kiss him, her golden eyes twinkling faintly as she gazes at him.

There was one small intruder who intervened and separated the two.

That was Mary.

 

“Don’t lick Mommy!!!”

 

“Haha …… So, Lady, what about Richelieu-san? Well, I’ve got something to report…….”

 

“……? The boss left me as soon as I got there. She’s probably at the hideout in this town.”

 

“Punyaaaah!”

 

Ilze’s terrified screams echoed through the Seventh Unit’s hideout.

She was shivering and her eyes were on Casca and Richelieu, who were sitting across from her on the couch.

 

“Oi, stupid loli.Your late, were u f**king selling oil or something?”

 

“Ilze-san is a proper fourteen-year-old ~desu! Not a loli ~desu! And how come Boss is here ~desu!?”

 

“You’re being a little loud, Ilze.”

 

“I’m sorry ~desu!”

 

When Richelieu said these words casually while sipping her teacup, Ilze moved swiftly to her knees, kneeling on the ground.

Her attitude was deflated, which was unusual for her, as she basically kept an optimistic attitude no matter who she was with.

She seemed to be very uncomfortable and afraid of Richelieu.

 

“Yuyuyu…..so Boss……why are you here……?”

 

“I stopped by for a bit on my way back from crushing the mercenary guild’s headquarters earlier today.”

 

“You’ve said a ton more than I expected! Why did you do that!?”

 

“It’s because I had a bad dream, is something wrong?”

 

“That is a level of nonsense I could never have imagined!”

 

The Mercenary Guild was one of the largest private organizations in the world, with a number of powerful mercenaries with reputable names such as “Ryuuken(1)” and “Jet Black”.

 

When it comes to collectively fighting all of them, even Casca and Vlad, who are the most powerful in Black Maria, could not do it in a single night.

 

Crushing an organization like that just because of a bad dream. As usual, Richelieu’s behavior was beyond absurd, and even Ilze could not contain her shock.

 

“Either way, the Mercenary Guild was the initiator of this whole thing. We were going to destroy them as retribution, so it’s just a change of order, isn’t it? Oboro, another cup of tea.”

 

“…..”

 

“Oh, O-tan. You are back?”

 

At the same time as Richelieu offered her empty teacup, Oboro appeared silently out of nowhere and poured hot tea into it.

After disposing of the corpses of Roa and Hawkeye, who were killed by Mary’s outburst, she came back and was immediately turned into a servant.

After all, it seemed that she had a tendency to draw the short straw.

 

 

 

 

“…… Has Shizu not returned yet?”

 

Richelieu asked out of the blue as she finished her third cup of tea.

 

Oboro and Ilze were also present here, so there was no issue in asking them about the progress of the mission.

But since she had come this far anyway, she wanted to meet Shizuru and hear his progress report, so she waited for him to return.

 

“Well, Shizu’s method definitely takes some time, so it can’t be blamed for being slow. But I’m tired of waiting, so why don’t we play some cards?”

 

“I don’t want to play because Boss is the strongest in those kinds of games…….”

 

Using the opponent’s heartbeat and voice to determine their state of mind, distinguishing each card by the slightest touch.

 

It was nearly impossible to beat Richelieu at a card game – or any game, for that matter. Ilze, who had been stripped naked in a previous game with her, shook her head with a reluctant expression.

 

–And then.

 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

 

 

 

“Everyone, we’re back.”

 

 

 

With the sound of the front door being opened, Shizuru’s voice reached them from the doorway.

Soon, he appeared in the living room.

 

“……Good evening, Richelieu-san. It’s been a while.”

 

“Yes, it’s been a long time, Shizu. I’m glad to see you’re doing so well.”

 

With a light and graceful gesture, Richelieu stood up and walked over to Sisel.

She gently reached out and gently touched Shizuru’s face with her slender fingertips.

 

“Lady has told you what’s going on, hasn’t she? Let’s finish talking about the job first. How’s the progress?”

 

“…..”

 

 

For some reason, Shizuru showed an uncomfortable expression in response to Richelieu’s question.

Next, Mary, who was standing behind him to hide, trembled a little with a hint of fear.

 

–But there was no point in staying silent.

Eventually, after letting out a small sigh, Shizuru answered while gently patting Mary’s head.

 

“I’m sorry, Richelieu-san,……I failed.”

 

With a delicate gesture, the cool fingertips of Richelieu were placed on Shizuru’s neck.

It was as if a sharp knife had been held against him.

 

“Failed…? You did?”

 

A hollow tone brushed his ear.

Exhaling a small breath, Shizuru nodded.

 

“Yes”

 

Richelieu would not accept a lie, and Shizuru had no intention of deceiving her.

Therefore, he merely confirms the facts as they are.

 

From the sound of Shizuru’s heartbeat and his subtle gestures, Richelieu judged his words to be true.

She opened her mouth softly, realizing that this was a rare occurrence.

 

“Now, why would you say you failed?”

 

“I was supposed to take one of the people who directly dealt with the Seventh Unit – the Fafnir Mercenaries – alive. But she was killed.”

 

Shizuru informs her, calmly.

Richelieu’s question and answer continued further, her emotions unknown.

 

“I see. But why do you call it a failure?”

 

Richelieu’s orders to the temporary unit were to eliminate the people who had destroyed the Seventh Unit.

Killing the Fafnir mercenaries would not be considered a failure, as it would only have fulfilled the mission.

 

— But considering the other mission Shizuru and the others had been given, this was certainly a mistake.

 

“It was before I could get any information out of her about the stolen data. She was killed before I could ask her the details of the location of the stash, how much information they had about us, and whether or not they gave it to anyone else…….”

 

“…… Hmm. That would certainly be a mistake, wouldn’t it?”

 

The tip of Richelieu’s finger gently caressed Shizuru’s neck.

After a moment of thought, she asks again.

 

“But it wasn’t you, was it?　It wasn’t you who killed the woman you were supposed to take alive.”

 

–It was in the form of a question, but with a tone of confidence.

At these words, Mary, who had been hiding behind Shizuru, shrank with trembling shoulders.

 

“Mary, was that you? Oh, no need to answer. I don’t need to hear your words.”

 

The words and actions of a person who has decided that the conclusion she has reached was correct.

And – she was absolutely right.

 

Shizuru chose Clarissa, who held a strong affection for him among the Fafnir mercenaries, as the person to extract information from, and made contact with her.

The seduction was going well. She was drunk and soaked in aphrodisiacs, until she was taken to a suitable inn.

 

“….but.”

 

But that’s where things went wrong.

 

“Because that woman was bullying Mother.”

 

In the past few days, not being able to be around Shizuru much had caused her to become increasingly unstable, and she finally exploded.

Having gotten her hands on both Roa and Hawkeye, she located the inn where they would have been headed from the tavern where Shizuru and Clarissa were to have contact, and broke in.

 

“She did horrible things to Mother…..!　Nasty, yucky, gross stuff!”

 

Mary killed Clarissa.

She also killed everyone else in the inn in order to eliminate any witnesses.

 

“I’m the only one who can touch Mother!”

 

There was only one thing that drove her to do what she did.

It was an unconscious jealousy against Clarissa, who had been laying skin to skin with Shizuru.

 

“…. The mistake of the child is the responsibility of the parent. Please do not punish Mary, Richelieu-san.”

 

Whether it was the fear of Richelieu looking down on her, or the still unresolved resentment towards Clarissa whom she ripped into five pieces and killed.

He patted Mary’s head as she began to shed tears, and bowed deeply.

 

“If you punish me, I’ll accept it all. I will do anything. I’ll find the documents that were taken from us.”

 

So, just this girl.

Shizuru held a sobbing Mary and pleaded to her.

His image was that of a parent trying to protect his child.

 

“Please….!”

 

Everyone in the living room watched with bated breath to see what would happen.

No matter how much he pleaded, what would happen would ultimately be decided by the three sides of Richelieu’s mind.

No one can go against her, and there is no point in going against her.

Therefore, they could only watch.

 

 

“I don’t mind, really.”

 

 

And then.

The answer that came back to him shortly after was as simple as it was surprising.

 

“There are other ways to search for materials besides capturing the underling alive. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a failure.”

 

It was undoubtedly the easiest way, but there were many other ways.

It wasn’t that the mission itself had become impossible to accomplish. From Richelieu’s point of view, it wasn’t a big deal.

 

In the first place, having destroyed the headquarters of the mercenary guild, the importance of the stolen materials had been significantly reduced.

 

There was no reason to panic, nor was there any need to rush.

 

What’s more,

 

“We have one of the mercenaries in the back room. If you want to know where the documents are, all you have to do is to extract them from her.”

 

“….eh…?”

 

Someone had already been captured to extract the information needed.

Shizuru’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected statement from Richelieu.

 

“Well, if you’re looking for punishment, then by all means. I’ll let you be informed of the matter. You can do the interrogation, Shizu.”

 

As she turned on her heel, Richelieu told him.

The conversation is over now, so to speak.

 

“I’m going to take a shower and then get some sleep. Make sure everything is cleaned up by the time I wake up.”

 

“…….I understand. Thank you for your kindness, Richelieu-san.”

 

“I’m always generous.”

 

With a sigh of relief, Shizuru bent over and bowed his head.

Richelieu sensed his movement from behind her back and was just about to put her hand on the doorknob.

 

Suddenly, she stopped.

 

“Mary. If you want to stay with Shizuru in the future, you’ll have to learn to control your actions.”

 

A chilling tone that almost sent a chill down her spine.

 

“You’re just a child, so I’ll forgive you this time, but there will not be a next time, alright?”

 

The tone of voice seemed to drive a wedge deep into her consciousness.

Mary’s body trembled, her face twitching with fear, and she barely managed to nod back.