Meanwhile, Elizabeth and her party were staying at a hotel within the Portrian territory instead of heading to the capital.

Assassins had been hired to attack the volunteer corps members several times, but with Walter using his unleashed magic, they couldn’t deliver a fatal blow.

“If we only had more manpower, we would have attacked the volunteer corps building by now.”

Eisen muttered regretfully. Elizabeth fully agreed with him.

‘If we make a wrong move, Count Garturk will have to take all the blame, so we can’t move recklessly.’

Thinking of her daughter, Elize, who was staying at the count’s mansion, she had no choice but to wait patiently.

“I thought Count Garturk would send support.”

“Lord Gilbert did want to send support, but the situation is too dire, isn’t it?”

Now that the young son of the emperor was likely to ascend the throne and his mother, the empress, was about to take power, she and her aides were under maximum scrutiny.

If the empress used her people to find out what was happening in the provincial territory of Portrian, it was obvious that people would question her ethics.

‘Doing such dirty deeds, isn’t she tired already? Even Patricia, the empress…’

Elizabeth silently ridiculed the empress, who had an obsessive-compulsive disorder. If she saw the safe’s note that would immediately reveal who Walter was descended from, Patricia would surely support killing him.

But the note was so important that she couldn’t entrust it to anyone, nor could she reveal its contents to anyone.

‘I need to leave some room for a little show.’

She planned to take the note to the capital herself after the inauguration of the new Portrian lord, Gilbert, and receive what he had promised.

To do that, she would have to completely eliminate Lexion’s bastard children.

“Well, unfortunately, we can’t attack the volunteer corps building directly, so let’s go after Walter during Lady Helen’s Portrian speech in the square.”

The inauguration of the new Portrian lord, which would take place in a few days, was practically their last chance.

Once Helen established herself at the count’s mansion and organized the knight order, the volunteer corps, which had lost its key members, would likely fall into disarray. In that case, the probability of Walter taking individual action would increase significantly.

“After dealing with Walter, taking care of Edith will be a piece of cake.”

Elizabeth’s voice, saying so, was filled with confidence.

As the inauguration of the new Portrian lord approached, the square was bustling with excitement.

“I wish we could enjoy prosperity in Portrian like we did in the heyday.”

“Isn’t this guy too greedy? I’m satisfied as long as I stay away from alcohol and gambling.”

“Still, thanks to Lady Elize, the mistress of the mansion, resolving the lower river issue smoothly and stepping down, we can rest easy.”

People decorated the central square, hoping that Helen would bring a new breeze to Portrian territory, which had tilted as much as it could.

Thanks to this, on the day of the inauguration, the square looked so clean and bright that it was hard to believe it was the same place as before.

Preparations to welcome the new lord of Portrian were also in full swing inside the volunteer corps building.

“Well, let’s start escorting Lady Helen to Portrian Mansion.”

Their mission today was to escort Lady Helen safely so she could attend her inauguration.

While the members were enjoying an early morning meal and boosting their morale, Walter approached Edith.

She had been helping distribute food to the members, but now she was just about to take off her apron and head to her room.

“Edith, aren’t you eating?”

“I ate a little while helping distribute food to the members.”

Her not eating properly had been Walter’s big concern and complaint these days.

It wasn’t as bad as when she had first arrived here, but her still slender body made him feel anxious for some reason.
Here’s the English translation of the passage, keeping the character names and genders consistent:

They seemed to be eating some fruit, so I asked the kitchen to get some fruits that are not easy to come by in the winter.

Edith said that there were others who were suffering, so she couldn’t eat them alone, and she shared most of the fruits she had painstakingly obtained with the hungry members of the corps who had a hearty appetite.

Watching this scene, Walter suppressed the bubbling anger within him.

Ever since she joined the volunteer corps, she had become defenseless in the blink of an eye, and he didn’t like it.

Of course, it was probably because of her circumstances that she was trying to be kind, but whenever the corps members praised her and tried to add a few more words, Walter felt a surge of frustration.

He couldn’t help but feel baffled as he drove the enemies away with his magic. Wasn’t this why he had worked tirelessly to bring her here and hone her magical abilities?