Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Assassin's Gambit
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“The butler, too?”
“Yes.”
At that, one of the knights spoke up, his voice tinged with concern.
“She said she has experience working for the main family. Judging by her attire, she might have even been a Collector…”
“Past experience is irrelevant. What matters is the present. In any case, isn't she just cleaning up after that bratty young master now?”
“…”
“The Bednicker fence only protects necessary parts. Being cast out of the main family means she's outside that scope. Eliminate her. I'll take responsibility.”
The knights nodded and began to approach Ruan, who was deep in sleep.
Their first target, no matter what, was Ruan Bednicker.
Even now that they realized Arjan was no ordinary person, that priority remained unchanged.
Without a sound or a hint of their presence, daggers emerged from their sleeves.
*Swish.* The sharp dagger aimed for Ruan's neck.
*Clang!*
“…!”
The knights were forced to swing their daggers and retreat hastily.
A projectile had suddenly flown toward their vitals.
“Step back.”
A low voice then pierced their ears.
Beyond the dying campfire, they saw a woman with red hair.
Arjan, whom they thought was asleep, was glaring at them with a dagger drawn.
Osel spoke.
“Butler, were you pretending to be asleep?”
“…”
“You're overly cautious. Or did we make some kind of mistake?”
“I've felt a sense of unease this whole time.”
“Even so, you must have been half in doubt.”
“Yes.”
Arjan said in a cold voice.
“So at the moment I felt most at ease, I doubted one more time.”
“…”
At her words, a strange light flickered in Osel’s eyes.
It was like the glint in a beast's eyes.
“Is that so.”
Osel rose to his feet and stomped on the dying embers of the campfire.
*Fwoosh*. The surroundings were instantly plunged into darkness.
The midnight battle had begun.
* * *
Though the area was instantly enveloped in darkness, Arjan remained calm and organized her thoughts.
There were five enemies in total.
Osel had given the orders, so he was likely the leader.
The current situation—the extinguished campfire and the surrounding darkness—was…
‘Advantageous for me.’
In a one-versus-many battle, it was undoubtedly the larger group that had more to worry about.
Coordinated attacks, above all, depended on synergy. An uncoordinated ally was, in some ways, more troublesome than an enemy.
The darkness would at least double the difficulty of their coordination.
Of course, these were knights.
Their true identities were still shrouded in mystery, but they were knights nonetheless.
They must have undergone countless hours of training in coordinated attacks—
‘…’
No, that wasn't right.
She had almost overlooked a crucial fact.
It was Osel, not Arjan, who had extinguished the last embers of the fire.
This meant the enemy had intended for this situation.
Would these cunning men, who had hidden their true nature for three whole days, fail to grasp the disadvantage darkness posed to a group?
‘Wrong. These are professionals.’
Another oversight.
One versus many? Wrong.
Arjan was not alone.
*Clang!*
She parried a dagger that flew out of the darkness.
It hadn't been aimed at her.
Their target, from the very beginning, was Ruan Bednicker.
That was why they had put out the fire.
If the enemy's goal was assassination, not battle, then the darkness was indeed on their side, not hers.
Arjan’s expression hardened.
She realized the situation was far worse than she had thought.
‘I can't get separated from the Young Master.’
To have one's range of movement restricted in the pitch-black darkness was fatal.
…Normally, that would be the case.
Arjan closed her eyes.
*Hoo.* A soft sigh escaped her lips, and a fraction of a second later, her eyes flashed open like a beast's.
*Thwack!*
Arjan dashed straight ahead.
This sudden action froze two of the knights who were hidden in the shadows.
‘She’s making such a reckless charge even with Ruan here?’
‘Does she not care if the scoundrel young master dies?’
Of course, that wasn't it.
She was moving now precisely because she had to protect the Young Master.
While the enemy's positions were still fresh in her mind.
“Hide yourselves!”
Osel shouted, having realized Arjan's intent too late, but she had already reached the two knights.
Ruan had said it.
Arjan’s experience was focused on one-on-one combat.
He was right.
*Slice.*
Compared to monsters, how fragile and full of vital points the human body was.
Even for trained knights, that fact remained unchanged.
The moment Arjan's dagger flashed, the two knights collapsed, spewing blood.
It was a futile end for men who had slaughtered dozens of monsters in the mountains.
After swiftly and surely taking two lives, Arjan returned to her original position even faster than she had charged.
The time elapsed was less than three seconds.
‘Three left.’
She had cut their numbers by nearly half in an instant, but the real battle was likely just beginning.
“…”
She couldn't sense their presence.
It was proof that the enemy was completely unfazed by the deaths of two of their comrades.
Arjan focused, trying to find a clue in the pitch-black darkness.
But she couldn't maintain that concentration for long.
The longer the silence stretched, the more the fatigue and weariness she had forgotten crept back in.
‘Damn it…’
Her body felt too heavy.
She should have taken naps in between. Regret washed over her like a wave.
The enemy still seemed to have no intention of moving rashly.
Perhaps it was because they knew her condition?
In any case, the more time they wasted, the more disadvantageous it would become for her, but she couldn't make the first move either.
It was a tense standoff where every second felt like an eternity. How much time passed?
It felt like ten minutes, but there was still no movement from the enemy.
…Had they left?
*Whoosh!*
At that moment, as if on cue, something flashed in the darkness.
Arjan twisted her head, barely dodging. Something sharp grazed her earlobe.
Just then, Osel appeared before her. The moment she saw the glinting blade, Arjan instinctively swung her dagger.
*Clang!*
The blades clashed in mid-air.
Arjan almost lost her grip on the dagger.
Osel’s physical strength was far greater than she had expected.
There was no room to hold back. Gritting her teeth, Arjan put strength into her thighs and let out a cry.
*CRASH!* Osel frowned and stepped back from the explosive, spring-like force.
“Hmm…”
He let out a groan a few steps away.
Osel looked at Arjan with some surprise.
“How curious. I've never heard of someone with this level of skill.”
“…”
“I'm growing more curious about your identity… but for now, drop your weapon.”
“Nonsense.”
“Nonsense? Have you already forgotten?”
Osel smirked and said.
“I still have two more comrades.”
Arjan looked back to see two knights standing by Ruan's sleeping bag.
The swords they held were pointed at it.
Was Ruan still sleeping soundly?
In any case, one wrong move and the childish young master in the sleeping bag would become a bloody mess.
Her fists clenched automatically.
It was an obvious tactic, and she had somewhat expected it, but there was no way to stop it.
It was the advantage of numbers.
So how should she have judged the situation?
Should she have pushed harder to kill more at the start?
Or should she have grabbed Ruan and fled immediately?
She didn't know.
Arjan had never fought while protecting someone before.
“I'll say it again. Drop your weapon.”
“…”
“Or do you not care if that idiot young master dies?”
She couldn't follow their orders.
It was obvious they would both end up dead.
But if she didn't, they would kill Ruan immediately.
Their expressions alone showed they had no qualms about murder.
‘Isn't that for the better?’
Ruan would die, but Arjan might live.
Isn't it more rational for one to live than for both to die?
For a fleeting moment, various thoughts and faces flashed through Arjan's mind.
The last one to appear was the face of Lucia Bednicker.
*Thud.*
The moment that face came to mind, for some reason, Arjan dropped her dagger.
Osel glanced down at the discarded dagger and then spoke.
“There must be more than just that one.”
Arjan took out the daggers hidden in her inner pocket, on her back, in her sleeves, on her ankle, and on her thigh, placing them down one by one.
“…”
Osel’s brow furrowed at the sight of over a dozen daggers.
The fighting style she displayed in their brief clash and her method of storing weapons seemed strangely familiar.
Moreover, even in this cornered situation, Arjan remained calm…
It seemed less like a natural disposition and more like she had undergone some kind of training to control her emotions.
The deciding factor was her earlier remark.
‘Doubt one more time when you feel most at ease.’
Osel knew that teaching.
He more than knew it.
“Butler Arjan, I think I know why I've never seen you at the main family estate. If my guess is correct, very few in the Bednicker family even know you exist. Those who know your true identity could be counted on one hand.”
“…”
“I have my suspicions, but I'd prefer to hear it from you directly. Are you willing to talk now?”
A faint heat laced Osel's voice.
He had a feeling that he might be witnessing a critical secret of the Bednicker family.
“If you don't want to answer, that's fine too. We have plenty of time. Then I'll ask something else.”
“…”
“You and Ruan Bednicker. Whose limbs do you want cut off first?”
In that moment, Arjan understood the strange sense of repulsion she had felt when she first met Osel.
This man had been wearing a mask all along.
And this vile face he was showing now must be his true self.
Despite the menacing killing intent, Arjan didn't panic.
She calmly assessed her remaining strength and options… and quietly resigned herself to the fact that none of them could turn this situation around.
She had been foolish.
She should have been more vigilant from the start.
Because there was no concrete proof, because no one would dare impersonate the Iron-Blooded Duke's men.
In the end, trapped by such preconceptions, she had made the wrong judgment.
“If you don't answer—”
“Cut off my arm first.”
“Hmm.”
Osel tilted his head at her unhesitating reply.
“I don't understand. That's Ruan Bednicker over there. A piece of trash abandoned even by the blood purist Iron-Blooded Duke. I don't know why the main family suddenly summoned him, but it surely can't be for anything good.”
“…”
“The Iron-Blooded Duke won't lift a finger even if he dies here, so why are you risking your life for that trash?”
“The Young Master is not trash. And he is certainly not someone for the likes of you to insult.”
“What a boring answer.”
Osel drew his sword, his interest having faded.
He had said he would only cut off one limb, but he wouldn't stop at just that.
Arjan sensed her death.
The moonlit blade glinted with various lights as it moved, reflecting her past life.
Her first memory was pain.
Then, experiments that felt like her body was being torn to shreds.
Death was everywhere, and to survive, she had to castrate her emotions.
In the end, she survived not because she was particularly outstanding.
It was a meaningless life, but even such a life had its ray of sunshine.
‘I want you to be my son's teacher.’
‘I believe you can be a guidepost for him.’
Lucia's request from long ago was Arjan's ray of sunshine.
She had yearned for the chance to educate.
She thought that even someone like her could teach another. That she could correct someone who had gone astray.
That it was the only way to atone for her cursed past.
Was it an undeserved wish, a desire?
In truth, Arjan knew.
Everyone has their place, their aptitude.
And Arjan's aptitude was killing.
‘My last chance.’
Though she seemed to have given up, Arjan was quietly gathering her strength.
There is a moment when a target is most careless.
When they think they've won, that it's over, that they've achieved their goal.
If she struck at that opening, she could surely kill two of the three.
One would remain, but that alone would significantly increase Ruan's chances of survival.
‘Ha.’
Arjan almost burst out laughing.
Damn it, she had spent her whole life running from killing, only for her life to end with murder.
If there was a creator of fate, she'd love to see their face.
The only difference was that this time, she was killing to save someone…
But that fact offered Arjan little comfort.
“My identity? You asked the right person.”
At that moment, something came flying from behind with ferocious momentum.
Arjan flinched instinctively, but the black object grazed her shoulder and flew toward Osel.
Osel reflexively moved to swing his sword, but for some reason, his face hardened and he caught the object with his body.
*CRASH!*
Osel tumbled to the ground.
The black object was then revealed to be one of the knights who had disappeared.
‘What is this…’
While she was stunned, another knight came flying like a piece of luggage.
This time, Osel dodged instead of catching him.
*Thud.* The knight who rolled on the ground coughed up blood. Unlike the first one, this knight was conscious.
“Cough…!”
“What in the world is going on?”
“That… that bastard used some strange trick…”
“Pathetic bastard, anyway.”
A tutting sound was heard, followed by footsteps.
“Aren't you embarrassed, making excuses like that after getting your ass kicked?”
Arjan stared into the darkness with a dazed expression.
Just then, the clouds parted, and a blond boy's face was revealed under the moonlight.
For some reason.
To Arjan, it looked as if the dawn had arrived earlier than usual.
“By the way, Osel, let me ask you something too.”
Ruan Bednicker spoke with a wide grin.
“Why are you assassin bastards loitering around a Bednicker?”
Osel’s expression froze.