Chapter 160: The Major
In an abandoned house, Kael, Audrey, and the maid Martha were sitting; in the middle lay Silas, his body bound, still not having recovered from the deadly blow.
The silence was heavy. A trail of blood drying on the floor marked the seconds. Audrey broke the stillness:
"What are you planning to do now?" She wanted to know what his next moves would be so she wouldn’t run into him while she was sorting out her affairs in this city.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Kael replied calmly. He didn’t give a specific answer; he had already made several plans in his mind, but he had to use Audrey to make them easier.
Audrey was not surprised by the lack of answers. She sank into deep thought, her fingers playing with the hem of her dress, trying to unravel what forces were at work in her mind.
The most obvious suspects were the Lion Kingdom and the Holy Empire, plus the family that controlled the city was involved in the affair, but... she didn’t know who the last force was, the one that sold her information. She had two options in mind: the Augustus royal family and the Brihand family, her mother’s family, where she had grown up until a few moments ago..
Why did she think of the Royal Augustus family? It’s quite simple: because of the people who came from the royal mountain, their numbers were very irregular. And as for her Brihand family, the suspicion arose because they sent a messenger.
"Ah..." Audrey sighed and fixed her gaze on Kael. The decision hung heavily in the air. Then she said, her voice restrained, "You can help me torture him. With my strength alone, it’s not possible to do it properly."
Kael nodded without ceremony. He approached and, with precise hands, gagged Silas, who was still unconscious; the gesture was brief.
Audrey looked up at the moon. Her ruby-red eyes shone brightly, like the cold light of the moon.
The abandoned house closed in on them; only cold plans remained.
...
"Have you heard anything from the assassins we sent?" asked a man whose face was hidden in the darkness. Only his green eyes glowed in the shadows.
"No, sir. We haven’t heard a thing from any of the assassins we sent," reported one of those present. He paused and added in a grave voice, "Most likely, they were all eliminated, my lord."
"Hmm... you even say Silas was arrested?" he asked after thinking about it for a moment.
"Yes, my lord. Silas, despite being in rank 7, had two major flaws that doomed him if he faced someone experienced. The first: he always liked to start the fight using martial arts. The second: he was too confident."
The figure covered by the cloak of darkness remained silent for a few seconds. The air grew heavy until it finally murmured, "So there is also a person of rank 7 or higher in the city... and they are on Princess Audrey’s side."
"Yes, my lord."
"...This is a problem. Let’s halt our movements for a few days and see how things develop. Capturing that damned princess is our top priority."
"My lord... it doesn’t seem very wise to send assassins to capture someone."
"..."
The man in the shadows was silent for a few moments. Then, in a cold voice, sharp as a blade, he said:
"Shut up."
...
Back again at the abandoned house, with moonlight filtering through the broken windows and holes in the walls.
The gentle night breeze that passed by stirred up the dust in the place. In a dark room, Kael was tying Silas to the wall in the shape of a cross, while Audrey and Martha watched silently.
After a few minutes, Kael finished, looked at Martha, and said in a neutral tone, "Give me your weapon."
Martha did not protest and handed it over; she was curious to see what he would do with it and what kind of torture he would inflict on her, since people like that are difficult to get information out of.
With the peculiar weapon in his hand, Kael slapped Silas across the face, the sound echoing throughout the room, leaving the mark of his fingers on Silas’s face.
"HHHMMMM" Silas suddenly regained consciousness, feeling a horrible burning sensation, and his eyes darted around until they met Kael’s indifferent expression.
He tried to move, but he was tightly bound, and because he was in a weakened state, he couldn’t do much; even if he had recovered, he doubted he could escape or get out alive.
Kael removed the gag and quickly put his hand in his mouth, pulling out the poison; now, at least, he couldn’t kill himself using the poison.
"It seems you already understand your situation," he said, seeing Silas’ expression, which showed no surprise.
"Yes, why resist if I’m going to end up dead anyway?" he said in a carefree tone, shrugging his shoulders. "This way, you save time, and I save myself from being tortured to reveal information that is mostly useless."
But he had long since accepted his fate; he was simply choosing not to die after being tortured, a rather unnatural regret for a murderer.
Kael gestured to Audrey to speak. He didn’t need words; his gaze was enough to indicate that she could ask the questions. Deep down, he already had a clear idea of what was around her.
"How did you find out I’m a princess?" Audrey asked bluntly, letting slip what was most on her mind. Her voice was firm and cold.
"Hahahaha! Princess, what kind of questions do you ask a simple assassin like me?" Silas let out a hoarse laugh, laden with mockery, before continuing lightly. "What master would be stupid enough to tell an assassin the source of his information? I just do what I’ve always done... assassinate."
His words were cruel, but also logical.
Kael nodded slightly. He agreed: there was nothing more foolish than revealing sensitive information to an assassin. Doing so would be sowing the seeds of betrayal and opening the door to inevitable leaks. An assassin lives by the edge of his dagger, not by other people’s secrets.
For Kael, that truth was simple and unchanging.
Audrey decided to change the question:
"Who is your master?" Her voice sounded firm, though caution shone in her eyes.
"Hmm..." Silas made a long sound with his mouth closed, as if he were dragging the thought inside him. His brow furrowed slightly. After a few seconds, he replied slowly. "I don’t know how to tell you. I’ve never seen his face. It’s always covered by a cloak of darkness. The only thing visible... are his eyes. Green eyes."
He paused for a moment, as if that image were reappearing in his memory. Then he added:
"But we call him: The Major."
"The Major?" Audrey repeated, confused. Her lips barely uttered the whisper. She had never heard anything like it, and that name, more than a title, sounded like a shadow too big to ignore.
However, Kael, on the other hand, remained calm. Beneath the mask of coins, a broad smile spread subtly across his face when he heard that name... or rather, that title. His lips did not move in full view of the others, but inside, his satisfaction was evident.
I see... Now it all makes more sense. I would never have thought of that name. This is getting much more interesting... and to think that I was directly connected to this event.
The revelation did not disturb him; on the contrary, it was as if scattered pieces on a board finally fit into a larger pattern.
Kael didn’t expect such a person to be involved in this. He wasn’t an ordinary person, much less a figurehead. However, upon careful consideration, it made sense.
Beneath his mask, Kael’s smile widened even further.
"That’s all I can tell you. As you know, I’m just a simple assassin," Silas said nonchalantly.
Audrey, knowing she wasn’t going to get any relevant information, let out a short sigh and said, "Jasper, kill him."
Kael opened the enormous scissors with a sharp snap, and in a flash of speed, he slammed them shut, cleanly decapitating Silas. The blade cut with brutal precision, and Silas died with a peaceful expression, just as he wanted.
The head flew off, falling disgustingly to the floor. It rolled a few inches before coming to a stop with a thud, leaving behind a dark trail that formed a small pool of blood. Blood gushed from the severed neck like an open faucet, splattering and staining the floor mercilessly.
Kael completely ignored Silas’s head and handed Martha his weapon. After doing so, he turned around to return to the luxurious inn.
"May we accompany you?" Audrey asked.
She knew that in her current state, she couldn’t defend herself, and that made her furious. She couldn’t stand feeling so weak, let alone having to depend on someone else.
It was a situation she had never accepted in her entire life, but circumstances forced her to do so. She had no other choice: either she acted this way, or she would be handed over on a silver platter to be killed or used as a mere pawn on someone else’s chessboard.
Although Audrey wasn’t afraid of death, she wasn’t stupid enough to give up so easily. As long as there were options she could exploit, she would take them without hesitation.
"Yes."
Kael said without turning around as he left the abandoned house, followed by Audrey and her maid, Martha.
Once outside, Kael recited the magic formula in his mind and cast the spell: "[Fireball]"
The fireball struck the abandoned house, setting it completely ablaze. After doing this, he began to walk calmly with the flames lighting up his back.