An Untimely Assault
Edgar lay on his bed after returning to the lodging, staring up at the night sky that seemed unusually dark tonight. It wasn’t that the moon was dim or the stars were scarce—the sky itself simply felt oppressive and gloomy. Even thick storm clouds wouldn’t have made it this bleak.
“Edgar, you in here?”
A booming voice rang in his ears as he sat with his legs crossed, staring blankly out the window. When Edgar slowly turned his head, Leonel appeared, breathing hard as if he’d been running in a hurry.
“What’s up, Leo?”
“I was gonna play cards with Enya. You wanna join?”
“Cards?”
It made sense. Card games weren’t much fun with just two people, so they’d called him over. Edgar would have preferred to let the two of them play alone for Enya’s sake, but forcing himself to stay away might have looked even stranger. Besides, he’d been feeling oddly restless, so playing cards seemed like a good way to shake it off.
“Sure, let’s go.”
“Hell yeah! Card games are always better with three anyway!”
Leonel let out a cheerful whoop and bounded ahead toward Enya’s room, hopping with excitement. Edgar watched his friend’s retreating back with a small smile, then rose from his seat and followed at a more leisurely pace.
As he was about to cross the central hallway, Creed appeared, just returning to the lodging himself. When Edgar asked where he’d been, Creed gave a wry smile and shrugged his broad shoulders.
“Just met up with an old acquaintance.”
At this hour? Edgar sensed something unusual in the air. With a sly grin that didn’t quite match his youthful face, he asked in a teasing tone, “Oh? Was it a lady friend?”
“You idiot. If I had a lover, I wouldn’t be stuck living in a place like this.”
“Ah… my apologies.”
Come to think of it, Edgar had never once heard Creed mention anything about women. Maybe he simply wasn’t interested. Given his age, he could easily have several children by now. Well, he must have his reasons.
Otherwise, a former knight commander wouldn’t be spending his days looking after children in a remote corner of the grand duchy. It probably wasn’t a topic Edgar should pry into. In situations like this, the polite thing was to back off quietly.
“Anyway, where are you headed? The kitchen?”
“Leonel suggested we play cards. I guess he came to me since you weren’t around.”
“Cards, huh? Sounds good. I’ll finish up what I’m doing and join you shortly.”
Despite his massive build, Creed had a surprisingly strong fondness for playing with the children. That was probably why Leonel and Enya hadn’t felt too lonely before Edgar arrived. Most adults would find it bothersome to join in, yet here he was, offering to come on his own. It spoke volumes about his character. Or maybe he was simply bored himself.
“Should we wait for you?”
“No need. You three go ahead and play. I’ll bring some snacks.”
“You really are too considerate for your own good.”
Edgar had been feeling a bit hungry anyway, and the timing was perfect. Moreover, Creed’s cooking skills were already legendary among the residents of the lodging. He was the one who prepared their meals every morning. From what Edgar had heard, Creed had taken up cooking as a hobby back when he was still in the knight order. There were even times when Edgar thought his food tasted better than what the professional chefs at the main house prepared. It wasn’t just comparable—it was genuinely superior.
After watching Creed head to his own room, Edgar made his way to Enya’s quarters. The other two were already there waiting, and they greeted him warmly. When Leonel asked if he was hungry, Edgar grinned and shared the good news he’d just received.
“Creed said he’ll bring snacks.”
“For real!? Enya was just saying she was hungry too. Perfect timing!”
“L-Leo… you don’t have to say it like that, it’s embarrassing…”
They really were an oddly perfect pair. Edgar watched the two of them with a warm feeling in his chest, then slowly walked over to the window and looked out at the night sky once more. He’d see her tomorrow anyway, so there was no need to worry. It would be foolish to lose sleep over some vague sense of foreboding. For now, the best thing was to forget about it by playing cards with his friends.
He drew the curtains and left the window, joining his friends who were already sitting on the floor. They settled on poker, and before long Leonel was skillfully dealing the cards. The first hand Edgar received was four of a kind. His grip on the cards tightened slightly.
Thud.
A sharp dagger buried itself in the neck of a patrolling guard, and the man’s body sank silently into the darkness. Using blind spots for precise throws was basic for any assassin, and this man was no exception.
Squelch.
He pulled the dagger from the fallen corpse’s neck with a blank expression and stabbed the heart once more. Having seen countless bodies before, he could tell at a glance that the guard was dead, but thoroughness was essential in an operation like this.
This spot should work.
While looking for a place to hide the body, the man dragged it behind a large tree just behind them and propped it against the trunk. The night was dark enough that this would suffice. Besides, the patrol route made it hard to spot from the usual paths. Even when morning came, it wouldn’t be easily noticed. The later a crime like this was discovered, the better.
Over there.
Staying in the castle’s shadow, the man crept forward on silent feet. A balcony caught his eye at the edge of his vision. That was the room where the target—the young lady of the Robeheim family—slept. The curtains were fluttering through an open window. Someone must have let their guard down completely. Opening a window like that while trying to stay silent was usually quite difficult, but it seemed the gods were smiling on him tonight. Though for the young lady, they would be gods of misfortune.
Two guards. Their security really is sloppy.
Relying so heavily on the barrier was almost laughable. It was a stroke of luck for him, at least. He moved to the corner while minimizing even the sound of his footsteps on the grass, then pressed himself against the wall and out of sight.
There were several other buildings in the rear garden, including the servants’ quarters, but none seemed worth worrying about. The only real concern would be if he had to carry the target out and someone from those buildings spotted him…
There’s enough time.
Once he reached this position and crossed the castle wall, the chances of being tracked would become extremely slim. Although his inability to use magic left him at a disadvantage in direct combat, it also meant his location would be difficult to pinpoint through magical detection during a pursuit. This was precisely why he had been assigned mostly intelligence-gathering missions rather than combat-focused assassinations.
The two guards ahead, however, were quite troublesome opponents. If he couldn’t take both out at once, the survivor would surely call for reinforcements, and the situation would spiral out of control. On the other hand, trying to slip past while staying in the shadows risked being seen because of the light coming from the buildings in the rear garden.
Just as he was pondering how to overcome this predicament—
“Hey! Come over here for a second!”
“What is it?”
While the man was deep in thought, a voice suddenly called out from the opposite side. He cautiously peeked halfway out from behind the wall to assess the situation. A guard holding a lamp was waving for the other two to come over. Thinking an intruder might have been spotted, the two guards hurried toward him. The man didn’t miss the brief opening.
The heavens really are helping me today.
He never expected things to go this smoothly. It truly was his lucky day. Just as excitement began to swell at the thought of completing his mission, the man calmed himself and pulled something from his coat. It was a rather thin rope with a hook attached. It looked like it would snap with a single snip of scissors, but it was actually tough enough that even a famous sword would struggle to cut it without magic reinforcement.
He tied a weight to the end of the hook and hurled it upward with all his strength.
Clink.
Did it catch?
He’d worried it might not reach, but it seemed to have hooked onto the balcony railing. Satisfied with how smoothly everything was progressing, the man smiled and gave the rope a firm tug to make sure it was secure. It held taut no matter how hard he pulled. Gripping the rope with one hand and bracing his feet against the wall, he began climbing the building.
It was quite physically demanding. By the time he was halfway up, his breathing had grown heavy, but he didn’t stop. This was the perfect opportunity now that the guards’ attention had been diverted. There was no time to hesitate.
That went smoother than expected.
When he finally climbed over the balcony railing and set foot on solid ground, the rear garden of the castle spread out below him. The guards seemed to have gone to the opposite side and hadn’t returned yet. If he grabbed the sleeping young lady now and fled, no one would know what had happened during the night.
Swish. Swish.
The wind-blown curtains brushed against his face, but he ignored the sensation and slipped inside. Just as expected, a young girl lay sleeping soundly in the bed. He had heard she was still young but quite skilled in magic. If he woke her and she unleashed attack spells without thinking, the mission would fail. He had to finish this without letting his guard down for even a moment.
The instant the man reached into his coat for the tool he had prepared for this exact situation—
“……!?”
He sensed killing intent from behind and hurriedly drew the weapon at his waist to counter the attack.
Clang!
The scream of metal striking metal echoed through the previously silent room. Standing before the man was the black-haired boy he had seen during the day. With no time to be surprised, he barely managed to deflect the sword and create distance, moving toward the bedroom door.
How is he here?
So he wasn’t simply a friend after all—he must have been a bodyguard. Otherwise, there was no way he could enter the grand duke’s daughter’s bedchamber in the dead of night. Then again, even a bodyguard seemed excessive. Did that mean the boy had entered from outside and was waiting here? But breaking through that barrier should have been nearly impossible.
Regardless, that wasn’t what mattered right now. A perfect plan had been interrupted by an unexpected obstacle. And simply dismissing the boy as a child to be underestimated would be dangerous—the aura radiating from him was formidable.
Huff. Huff.
His chest heaved with ragged breaths, startled by the unforeseen battle. The boy took another step forward, pointed his sword at the man’s throat, and growled in a fierce tone.
“You’ll wake her up. Quiet down.”
The clear killing intent behind those words made the man realize how foolish he had been just seconds ago for thinking today was his lucky day.