That night, none of Nafu City's nobles could sleep. The five gunshots seemed to strike straight into their hearts, leaving them terrified and restless through the night.
It was not until notices were posted outside the city the next morning that they finally let out half a sigh of relief.
The assassin had escaped, which meant they had not been exposed. Thank goodness! Run, and the farther the better—never come back! Useless fool, unable to even assassinate one person properly!
Once they learned that they had not been exposed, the nobles truly breathed easy. They ordered their servants to prepare gifts and planned to visit the viscount to "offer their condolences" over yesterday's assassination attempt.
Of course, their main purpose was to sound her out and see whether Claire suspected them.
"Viscount, this is the gift I brought to express my concern. It was truly terrifying—the Baronial Manor was actually infiltrated by an assassin!" Baron Eugene said, putting on a frightened expression.
Claire glanced at the gift he offered. It was worth several hundred Gold Coins. If he were not guilty, who would bring such an expensive gift as a token of concern? Last time, when she had swindled them out of five hundred Gold Coins, they had looked as though their parents had died. Yet this time, they were being so proactive?
The other nobles also presented their gifts one after another, quickly piling the drawing room table full.
"Ah." Claire put on a show and sighed. "I never expected something like this to happen either."
"Were you injured, Viscount? Ever since we heard the gunshots last night, we have been worried. Not just us—your subjects have been terribly concerned as well," Eugene continued probing.
Claire shook her head. "I wasn't hurt. I was still awake when he came in, so I drove him away with my gun." Just as he wished, she told him everything he wanted to know.
The nobles present were secretly delighted. It seemed the two sides had merely come face-to-face. They definitely had not been exposed.
Claire continued, "You needn't worry, everyone. From today onward, knights will patrol near the Baronial Manor every night. Nothing like this will happen again."
Eugene's smile stiffened for a moment, but he quickly plastered another smile on his face. This move had put an end to their plans for another assassination attempt.
"Um... Viscount, do you have any suspects?" Lord Wilbur leaned forward and asked tentatively.
These nobles were timid to the extreme. They had to make absolutely certain they were free of suspicion before they could sleep peacefully.
Claire narrowed her eyes. So they really are as useless as I said. With that question alone, even if I hadn't suspected them before, I should be on guard now.
Still, she put on an innocent expression. Resting her chin on her hand, she thought for a while before saying, "I'm not sure. I haven't been back in the viscounty for long, and thinking about it, I don't seem to have offended anyone. Who do you think is most likely to have tried to assassinate me?"
Claire tossed the question back at them. The dozen or so nobles froze and exchanged glances.
"Bandits!" Baron Eugene blurted out first.
"Yes, yes, it must have been those bandits outside the city!" The other nobles hurriedly echoed him.
"They saw that the viscounty had a lord again, so they wanted to kidnap you, Viscount, and demand ransom."
"That's right. Those bandits outside the city are vicious beyond belief. They have robbed our shipments several times before."
"Exactly! Viscount, you must be on guard against those bandits outside the city!"
Claire smiled. "Is that so?"
Baron Eugene wanted to say more, but footsteps sounded outside the door.
It was Knight Captain Hant. Compared to before Claire's arrival, he had grown much sturdier, and even the aura he gave off surpassed that of the previous Knight Captain who had died so miserably.
"Lord!"
Claire swept her gaze over the nobles seated on the sofas. They knowingly nodded as well.
"Viscount, please attend to your affairs. Now that we have seen you are unharmed, we can return in peace."
That's right. Now that we have seen you don't know we sent the assassin, and that we have even pinned the blame on someone else, we can return in peace.
"Viscount, we shall take our leave!"
"Take care. I won't see you out." Claire waved with a genial smile.
After confirming they had all left, Claire brought Hant to the conference hall and sat down. She asked, "How many Apprentice Knights are in the barracks now?"
"Reporting to the Viscount, there are currently thirty-one Apprentice Knights, three Bronze Knights, and one Silver Knight—myself—in the barracks."
Claire nodded. Though this was still short of the military strength a viscounty ought to possess, it was enough for now.
"How has Kellan's training been lately?"
When Claire mentioned Kellan, a trace of admiration appeared in Hant's eyes. "He trains diligently every time. He should be the next one to advance to Bronze Knight."
The last time Claire had seen Kellan, he had already been an Apprentice Knight. But she had not expected Hant to rate him so highly.
Claire rubbed her nose and continued, "How far can the viscounty's Battle Aura cultivation manual take you?"
"It was left behind by the viscount before last. It is sufficient for us to cultivate up to the Great Knight level."
Claire pondered for a while. Generally, a few Gold Knights were enough to uphold a viscounty's reputation, and Great Knights, a rank above them, were even more than sufficient. But Claire's ambitions did not end there.
"Use it for now. Later, I'll find a way to get you a Battle Aura manual that can be cultivated to a higher level."
Claire did not yet have sufficient funds. The Battle Aura manual that could reach Great Knight level had been purchased during the Griffin Family's wealthiest period, costing over six hundred thousand Gold Coins. Even if he sold himself, he could not afford a higher-level Battle Aura manual now.
"Thank you, Viscount!" Hant was secretly thrilled. He had been right—his lord intended to revive the entire viscounty!
"How is the matter I asked you to handle progressing?"
At that, Hant's expression became serious as well.
"Reporting to my lord, everything is ready!"
"Good..." Claire replied softly.
The two then discussed the matter carefully in the conference hall.
Meanwhile, the people of Nafu City were enraged after seeing the posted notice, so furious they nearly exploded.
What? The viscounty had finally received such a good viscount—one who had exempted them from so many taxes and would lead them toward better lives—and someone actually wanted to assassinate her!
And it had happened inside the Baronial Manor! This was intolerable!
Not long after the notice went up, citizens spontaneously formed groups and began patrolling inside and outside Nafu City, intending to find the assassin who had tried to murder their viscount.
But by noon, a new rumor had spread: the bandits outside the city had sent someone to assassinate the viscount.
Moreover, the rumor spread at an astonishing speed both inside and outside the city. The people's hatred for the assassin shifted to the bandits outside the city, and all they cursed about were those damned bandits.
Only after doing all this did the nobles finally feel completely at ease. By directing public opinion toward the bandits outside the city, no one would suspect them. This was not their first time doing such a thing; they had plenty of experience.
All they needed was to spend a little money and have some small gangs spread the word, and they could swiftly redirect the public's outrage toward someone else.
Meanwhile, they were in their own estates, drinking fine wine, embracing maids, and enjoying themselves.
I changed a little from before; it doesn't affect the plot. It took a reader pointing it out before I realized that Regan had revealed Claire's identity when he first met Melly, but I later forgot about it. That has now been corrected.
Also, I previously calculated Yuna's wages incorrectly. Four hundred Copper Coins equal four Silver Coins, meaning her yearly wages were only half a Gold Coin. So I changed the payment from one year's wages to one month's wages.
So an ordinary family's annual income being around two or three Gold Coins is reasonable, and a shady clinic earning five or six hundred Gold Coins a year is perfectly normal too.
Before you continue