Carlotta's Daily Report
Chapter 60: Duchy of Francis

Chapter 60: Duchy of Francis

Among the members of the Sunset Rose in Casper Village, the current leader is a man named Ernst Liszt.

He killed the village chief and disguised himself as the chief using a Illusion Mask, appearing to be in his fifties or sixties, hunched over and cautiously watching the more than three thousand people passing by.

It wasn’t until his subordinates returned with the news that the group was just passing through that he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems these are nobles heading to the frontline of Francis," Ernst concluded.

The northern part of the Duchy of Francis, where the army of the Velmoria Empire is currently engaged in battle, is now referred to as the Francis front. During this period, nobles from various parts of the Wendell Empire have been heading to Francis. As a member of an assassin organization, Ernst has access to a lot of intelligence and naturally knows this.

Since it didn’t concern him, he didn’t want to pay too much attention and turned back into the house.

The person who reported the news to Ernst was a young-looking man, though this wasn’t his real appearance. His actual name is Jimmy Calvin, undoubtedly an assassin of the Sunset Rose.

Unlike Ernst, who is the strongest assassin in Casper Village, Jimmy is arguably the weakest here.

Precisely because he is the weakest, he was previously assigned to inquire about the reason for the Carnation Knights’ visit. Anyone stronger would not dare to approach the Carnation Knights easily, fearing that their rank might be discovered, which would make it impossible to maintain their disguise.

In comparison, Jimmy, who is only at the fourth tier-apprentice, was the perfect choice to ask for the reason. Even if his rank was discovered, it wouldn’t be a big issue.

Seeing Ernst return to the house, Jimmy knew that this matter had nothing to do with them and breathed a sigh of relief, planning to return to his own house to rest.

Walking through the village’s stone-paved road and bypassing a few trees, Jimmy was about to reach his house when he noticed a girl with red pigtails looking around outside his house.

Jimmy didn’t recognize the girl, but he could guess that she was likely related to the large knight group.

He walked over and asked, "Miss, is there anything I can help you with?"

...

Carlotta was looking for Jimmy Calvin.

In the information provided by the system, it mentioned the combat abilities of the Sunset Rose members in Casper Village, with Jimmy being the weakest, which she naturally knew.

So, she wanted to expose the identities of these assassins, and starting with Jimmy was the best option.

Hearing the voice, Carlotta looked up and immediately smiled.

Yes, this young man was Jimmy. The information mentioned his current disguised appearance, which matched perfectly.

Carlotta walked over and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, is there a water source nearby?"

"A water source? It’s over there."

Jimmy raised his hand and pointed in a direction.

Following his direction, Carlotta moved closer.

At that moment, Carlotta suddenly struck, pulling the Cross Rose from her necklace and thrusting it forward, piercing Jimmy’s body instantly. Jimmy’s body stiffened, and his expression froze on his face.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I just came from the capital. How could I be asking about a water source because of thirst? Seems like a rookie assassin, didn’t even notice the flaw," Carlotta murmured leisurely.

She pulled out her sword, and Jimmy’s body fell to the ground lifelessly.

Then she turned back toward where the carriages were parked. It was rest time, and large groups of people were sitting around eating lunch. Carlotta had excused herself to come out.

Returning to the carriage, Carlotta quickly entered the compartment, where Amelia and Camella were sitting at a small table, eating what could still be considered a rich lunch.

"Miss Fenwick, Miss Ackerman, something’s wrong. I encountered someone from the Sunset Rose," Carlotta said with a serious expression.

Camella didn’t know what the Sunset Rose had to do with Carlotta, only that it was an assassin organization, so she looked over in surprise.

Amelia frowned and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

"You’d better come and see for yourself."

"Alright."

Amelia put down her knife and fork and immediately followed Carlotta.

Seeing this, Camella quickly followed as well.

The three women left the carriage and, led by Carlotta, quickly arrived at the spot where Jimmy had died. Jimmy’s body was still lying there.

Seeing Jimmy’s body, Carlotta said, "I killed him because as I passed by, I vaguely heard him say something like ’we Sunset Rose.’ I didn’t hear it clearly, but I felt he was from the Sunset Rose, so I tried to take him out."

Camella looked at her with a strange expression, "Weren’t you afraid of killing the wrong person?"

Carlotta shook her head, "No, because this person was wearing a Illusion Mask. Look..."

She went to Jimmy’s body, placed her hand on his mask, and with a slight tug, peeled off Jimmy’s face, revealing a much younger face underneath.

Seeing this, Camella couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice, "It really is a Illusion Mask, a unique alchemical item of the Sunset Rose."

Amelia’s expression also became serious at this moment. Inferring someone’s identity as a Sunset Rose member based on the Illusion Mask isn’t entirely accurate. But as Carlotta had just mentioned, she heard Jimmy refer to himself as a Sunset Rose member, which added more credibility to the situation.

Carlotta took the opportunity to say, "This person is clearly from the Sunset Rose but can disguise himself as a villager from this village. It makes me suspect that there might be more Sunset Rose members in this village."

Amelia nodded, "That is indeed a possibility... Aunt Julia."

She called out.

In the next moment, Julia appeared as if out of thin air, standing beside Amelia.

Amelia said softly, "Aunt Julia, you heard our conversation just now. If there’s something wrong with the village, I think we should start by investigating the village chief. Could you please check if there’s anything wrong with the village chief?"

"Leave it to me."

Julia had been in a bad mood since her period started yesterday, but when facing Amelia, she undoubtedly had enough patience and a smile.

After Julia went to find the village chief, Amelia quickly took Carlotta and Camella back to where the knight group was stationed.

The three had just returned when suddenly, a loud explosion came from afar.

Carlotta turned to look and saw a house in the distance explode, with two figures fighting and soaring into the air.

It was Julia and Ernst!

Carlotta perked up and said to Amelia, "There are indeed other members of the Sunset Rose in this village. If even the village chief is one, the remaining villagers are hard to say."

Amelia looked serious and quickly called for the management of the Carnation Knights to issue her orders.

Subsequently, this three-thousand-strong knight brigade briefly under the leadership of their respective squad captains, quickly surrounded the village of Caspar.

Inside Caspar, members of the Sunset Rose testify to everything unfolding. When Ernst and Julia started fighting, they knew things were getting troublesome. As the Carnation Knights began to act, they realized they needed to do something.

During the encirclement by the Carnation Knights, assassins from the Sunset Rose began to rise up, either attacking the knights or fleeing without a care.

Among them, even bold assassins charged straight at Amelia, attempting to take hostages for safety, but those who made such choices died faster than the others. Hidden guards protecting Amelia appear, suppressing these assassins with absolute dominance.

Assassins in other positions also couldn’t achieve much, as the knights were too numerous, with over three thousand forming an encirclement, making it impossible to escape easily. Even if some assassins were of higher ranks, the knights also had high-ranking members, ensuring the situation was under control.

Carlotta had compared the strengths of both sides and confirmed the knights’ absolute advantage before revealing the presence of the Sunset Rose.

Now, standing by the carriage, she looked around, smiling as she saw each resisting individual being subdued by the knights.

"These Sunset Rose members probably aren’t here for you," Amelia remarked.

Although the realization of the Sunset Rose’s presence had only been briefed, it was enough for her to make some judgments.

Carlotta exclaimed, "That should be the case. Perhaps this is just a temporary base for the Sunset Rose that we happened to discover. But regardless, seeing the Sunset Rose members in trouble makes me feel much better."

Camella, listening nearby, caught the key point and glanced at Carlotta in surprise, only now realizing that Carlotta was being targeted by the Sunset Rose. Was someone hiring the Sunset Rose to kill Carlotta?

"Miss White, who wants to kill you?" Camella couldn’t help but ask.

"Don’t know. We caught an assassin but didn’t get anything out of him. But guessing, it’s likely related to the Carlisle family. Perhaps the death of Soren made the Viscount Carlisle want to retaliate against everyone who had conflicts with Soren," Carlotta recalled.

"Did you have conflicts with Soren?"

"Those who had conflicts with her, I imagine, are not few."

"That’s true..."

Camella pondered, based on what she knew, this seemed the most plausible explanation.

Then she smiled, "But it’s fine. Once we reach Francis, we probably won’t see Sunset Rose members. The battlefield is heavily guarded, and even the most professional assassins will find it hard to infiltrate."

Carlotta was noncommittal. She didn’t know if the Sunset Rose, after learning of Danica’s capture, would send stronger assassins to the front to deal with her, but killing her wouldn’t be easy.

In a short time, as the Carnation Knights exerted their strength, all Sunset Rose members in Casper were captured. During this process, half were killed due to excessive force.

The remaining assassins couldn’t be kept by Amelia, so she had some knights take them to the Viscount Fenwick’s estate for interrogation by the family.

After a short rest, the Carnation Knights resumed their journey towards the Duchy of Francis.

...

The Wendell Empire covers a vast area, but the capital, Kestholm, is located in the northeast. Heading north doesn’t require too long a journey to enter the Duchy of Francis.

After about ten days, they arrived within the Duchy of Francis and continued towards the capital, Silverleaf Castle, where they would meet the Duke of Francis before being dispatched to the front lines.

During these ten days, Carlotta mostly stayed in the carriage, making it inconvenient to practice her elven knight skills, so she spent more time studying card magic.

Over the days, Carlotta created several cards useful for marching.

Stabilization Card: This card, attached to the carriage, reduces the vibrations during travel, prevents motion sickness, making it an essential travel card.

Light Card: Emits light for illumination, essential for nighttime.

Clock Card: Displays accurate time, letting one know the current time.

Freeze Card: Can be used with the Water Gathering Card to create ice or preserve food.

Breeze Card: Input a certain amount of magic, and it will blow a gentle breeze for a set time, increasing coolness.

The Breeze Card is usually alternated with the Cold Air Card, as the latter requires a closed space, which can cause odors in the carriage over time, making rotation ideal.

These days, Carlotta’s understanding of both card magic and elven knight path grew every day, feeling she was not far from advancing to the next level.

Additionally, she received a lot of intelligence daily, though perhaps due to leaving the capital, she no longer received much information about it.

Most intelligence was related to the knights, such as who got along with whom and who had conflicts.

Carlotta felt this information wasn’t entirely useless; knowing subordinates’ situations allows for more reasonable arrangements. However, since the Carnation Knights weren’t under her direct command and she even relied on the authority to manage them, she couldn’t make any arrangements, only silently noting some unstable elements.

Suddenly after the carriage entered the Duchy of Francis, commotion was heard ahead.

Then someone came to the carriage to report, "Miss Fenwick, there are bandits ahead. What should we do?"

"Bandits?" Amelia frowned, not expecting to encounter such a situation upon entering the Duchy of Francis.

With the Duchy of Francis at war, chaos inevitably arose, and bandits appeared seemingly not unusual.