The voice was low, and his eyes seemed strangely unfocused. He looked dangerous, like he was going to act at any moment.
For a moment, I was almost swayed by Raeyan’s atmosphere and almost nodded my head before snapping out of it.
I urgently shouted, “O-Only spare one of them!”
Just one, neither more nor less!
After the ambush that happened last time with Carlot, this was the second ambush.
This time, I had to find out who was behind it, so that I could live safely after I left the family name of Perdia behind.
It could be someone other than the person behind the previous ambush, but honestly, the likelihood seemed low.
‘It might be an opportunity, on the contrary.’
This time, I could find the mastermind and nip them in the bud.
The enemy’s numbers were estimated to be well over thirty. It seemed excessive for them to have come just to eliminate me alone.
‘What on earth have I done?’
In the original story, my role wasn’t that significant, and I never became the target of anyone.
In any case, I had to escape from this situation.
But there was something unsettling about Raeyan’s demeanor. He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if in distress, and muttered softly,
“One guy……?”
“What? Is there a problem?”
“I’d rather just kill them all.”
If I entrusted it to Raeyan, it seemed like he would not only eliminate the mastermind but also wipe them out completely. This was an opportunity, and I wasn’t about to let it go to waste.
“I was hoping to rely on your protection, but I guess there’s no choice.”
I had no choice but to use my hidden power. I pulled a vial from my bosom and handed it to Raeyan.
“Drink.”
To my surprise, Raeyan immediately poured the liquid from the vial into his mouth without questioning its contents.
“Shouldn’t you at least ask what it is before drinking it?”
Sometimes, when he showed infinite trust like this, I felt unsure of how to react. Of course, it was good to avoid unnecessary confrontation, but…
After confirming that Raeyan had consumed all the contents of the vial, I surveyed the assassins surrounding us.
The assassins, prepared as if they were ready to attack at any moment, were undoubtedly skilled individuals.
Among them, I marked the one who seemed to have the most power.
And…
Crash-!
I threw another vial towards the assassins. One of them deflected the vial, but naturally, it shattered on the ground, spilling the liquid.
The effect was immediate.
“Gah!”
The assassin closest to the broken vial collapsed in a heap, screaming. One by one, like dominoes, the assassins began to fall.
“Just as they say, the duchess’s poison is the best.”
Ever since the first attack, I always carried more than ten vials of poison with me.
It was in preparation for any possible attacks, but I never actually thought I would use them.
“Raeyan, you just need to take care of the ones who fell to the ground.”
Of course, the assassins didn’t just stay still.
The assassins who were farther away from the poison exchanged glances with each other and immediately rushed forward.
“……I’ll be back.”
Raeyan, who briefly glanced at me with meaningful eyes for some reason, quickly began to deal with the assassins.
[Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a strong human.]
Even Greed was amazed by Raeyan’s movements, which were flawless.
“If you haven’t seen it for a while, does that mean you’ve seen it once before?”
[Before being sealed.]
“Before being sealed – Oh my!”
The conversation with Greed did not continue.
While Raeyan was dealing with the enemies in front, an assassin took advantage of the opportunity and attacked from behind.
However, Raeyan, who sensed the ambush, swiftly blocked the attack.
“Are you alright?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ll take care of them quickly.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Despite my greetings being meaningless, Raeyan swiftly dispatched the enemies.
Even if I had taken out assassins with poison, the number was only about three or four. The rest were all taken care of single-handedly by Raeyan.
‘The emperor’s favorite mercenary, indeed.’
Up until now, I hadn’t had much of a chance to see Raeyan in action, but he wasn’t called the Mercenary King for nothing.
After everything was over, our surroundings were a scene of devastation.
The corpses of assassins scattered throughout the sparsely populated forest path. It was fortunate that there wasn’t too much bloodshed because Raeyan cleanly dispatched them.
Raeyan wiped the blood from his blade and approached me.
“Is it okay if I leave just one of the fallen alive?”
“Well, it’s a bit of a waste…….”
I looked at the poisoned assassins with eyes dripping with regret. It would be a waste to eliminate them when they were already in an incapacitated state.
There might be someone among the ones we dealt with who is talkative…
As I hesitated, unable to make an easy decision, Raeyan suggested another option.
“Then how about transporting them to the capital and investigating them there?”
“Can we move them all?”
“If it’s about three of them.”
With that many poisoned assassins, there was nothing to worry about.
“Alright, let’s do that.”
As I nodded, Raeyan sheathed his sword.
I looked down at one of the assassins and opened my mouth.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
I called out to the assassin and was taken aback when Raeyan answered.
Seeing Raeyan looking at me with a blindly obedient gaze, as if he would obey any command, I awkwardly chuckled.
“No, not you, Raeyan. I called the blindfolded assassin.”
I approached the assassin who seemed to be the leader and crouched down in front of him.
Then I removed the mask that covered his face.
Naturally, an unfamiliar face was revealed. He was a fairly ordinary, middle-aged man.
I greeted him with a smile.
“Hello, assassin.”
However, the man could only blink his eyes in response. There was information that could be inferred from his gaze, and one of them was his current condition.
Even though he was likely accustomed to enduring pain as a skilled assassin, his struggle to conceal it was clearly evident.
“You can’t move at all, huh? Is it painful? Agonizing?”
It was understandable.
The Duchess of Perdia’s poisoning was, indeed, the best. It only took a few moments of exposure to leave him paralyzed and immobilized with pain.
Having experienced its toxicity, I could fully understand the assassin’s feelings.
“I know. It must be painful.”
I was fortunate enough not to be poisoned as I was away from the location where the vial shattered.
I tilted my head as I looked at the man who could only blink his eyes.
“I’m going to ask you, just in case. Will you tell me who’s behind this? If you say yes, blink three times in a row.”
Blink… He blinked slowly once.
It was a clear refusal.
“Phew, I see.”
I wasn’t disappointed, as I wasn’t expecting to find out who was behind it so easily.
However, I had no intention of giving up immediately.
Sitting next to the man’s face, I positioned myself properly and began the conversation while observing his eyes.
“I heard that assassins undergo torture training. So, no matter what I do to you, you won’t talk.”
Blink…….
“Well, but if I hit you a few times, won’t my anger be relieved?”
The man showed no reaction. Physical violence, indeed, was an ineffective method of coercion against a trained assassin.
But how about this?
“Let’s see…your hair seems quite lush. If I pluck it little by little every day, you might end up bald…”
“……?!”
“Oh, you don’t like that? I’ll keep that in mind.”
I observed the ever-changing glint in the eyes of the immobilized assassin while teasing him with various types of threats.
It was quite amusing whenever I caught a glimpse of despair in his eyes.
[Malevolence…….]
Even Greed itself seemed to recoil and slowly distance itself from me.
“Oh, I have another poison in my possession. It gradually decays the organs, but the process is very slow. It varies from person to person, but it takes about a year for the heart to stop. How about that?”
How much did I threaten him? As my repertoire started to run out, Raeyan slowly approached.
“Elodie.”
“Mmh?”
“……The sun is setting.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly raising my head, I took a deep breath as I looked at the twilight spread quietly on the ground.
“……uh?”
I messed up.
Curfew time!
The curfew, the designated time for me to return as promised with the Duke of Perdia, was rapidly approaching.
Earlier, Raeyan clearly said that we had to hurry to arrive on time, but now it seemed impossible, no matter how fast we moved.
“It’s because of you, assassin! Argh! Take that!”
Abandoning the threatening attitude, I simply kicked the assassin with all my might.
Then Greed, horrified, covered its mouth with its forepaws and spoke.
[……filthy temperament].
“What?!”
[Oh, never mind. It’s better to hurry!]
Greed was right. It wasn’t the time for pointless arguments.
However, Raeyan had already finished preparing for departure.
While I threatened the assassin leader, he cleaned up the mess, putting the bodies out of sight, and the living assassins were bound hand and foot to keep them from falling off his horse.
The last of them were placed on the horse, and Raeyan threw a blanket over them, so that they looked like a pile of luggage.
“When we arrive in Somnia, I will command my subordinates to completely clean up this place.”
“You’re pretty good at that.”
“It’s something I’ve experienced often.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened in Raeyan’s past.
[Well-aligned.]
Feeling prompted by Greed, I was taken aback.
There had been a time when Raeyan teased me to ride together, and in the end, I found myself riding with him.
But the current situation didn’t allow me to feel embarrassed.
Without delay, I mounted the horse, and Raeyan got on behind me.
After that, it was –
“Raeyan, full speed ahead!”
[Too fast!]
It was a wild ride.
***
Urania was in a good mood.
There was no other choice. Today, when she should have been doing a tedious and boring mission, she was enjoying a peaceful and tranquil time.
And wait, she even received her paycheck?
There’s nothing better than a paid holiday.
‘Lili, you’re the best!’
Lovely, angelic Elodie, who was also kind.
Regardless of the rumors, the Elodie that Urania encountered was truly a good person. She wanted to become even closer friends with her.
‘I was happy when you asked to be friends, even if it was fake!’
Since Urania had been working as a mercenary since childhood, she rarely had female friends her age. So, she couldn’t refuse Elodie’s request.
They even went out to have delicious meals together.
“A date!”
Of course, the presence of the bodyguards stationed near her house was a bit annoying, but she could overlook it to some extent.
It happened while Urania was preparing a simple dinner with the ingredients left at home.
Knock, knock!
The sound of someone knocking on the door made her put down the ladle she was stirring the stew with.
“Is it Lili?”
Since Lili had said she would arrive before nightfall, Urania thought it might be her.
“Miss Lili, you’ve come… heuk?”
However, as soon as she opened the door, the face that greeted her was completely different from what Urania expected.
“Where is Elodie?”
A handsome man suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
With his jet-black hair and intense golden eyes, he was so sexy that it was hard to believe he had three children…
‘Why is the Duke of Perdia here?!’