Chapter 52

Translator: penny

Chapter: 52

Chapter Title: Assassin Family Raven (10)

I was ushered inside by Row Travis, who insisted that even the fact of him killing someone was a frame ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠job.

Did he think he could talk his way out of this?

Sian Raven, whose synchronization rate had now surpassed 35%, was screaming for me not to just listen but to kill him outright.

Even Yoo Sian, who held 50%, figured we could just clear the quest, but the Survival Rules were nagging at him, so he was letting him live for now.

I used Shadow Craft to form a blade and held it to Row Travis's throat.

"Speak. Give me a reason why I should spare you, even if it means abandoning my mission."

"W-Wait a second..."

Row Travis fumbled at his waist and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

Then he began reading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it slowly.

"If things continue like this, the Raven Family will be swallowed by the Crow Family. And it all starts with the assassination of Row Travis."

It was only natural that those who gathered and managed information would gradually gain more influence than those who carried out assassinations.

Even I thought the imperial family could wipe out the Raven Family, but keeping the Crow Family around in some other form would be more useful.

"Uh... They plan to turn Sian Raven—direct blood of the Crow Family and currently with the Raven Family—into the 'King of Shadows' and point a blade at the imperial family."

Sian Raven reacted to the words "King of Shadows."

Someone who had reached the pinnacle of Shadow Mastery could be called the King of Shadows, and that was the realm the current family head was aiming for.

I knew it as a state where one could exist anywhere, with all shadows of the world at their feet. And they planned to make me like that?

Not bad, since I just needed to acquire skills.

"You're talking about some distant future. I wanted information that could save your life right now."

I nicked Row Travis's throat slightly with the sharp shadow blade.

"Urk... So this is what it really feels like to be cut?"

Row Travis muttered softly.

As expected, this didn't seem like the real Row Travis.

He'd been the typical arrogant type who resorted to violence over persuasion and bribes to settle things, so this change just to survive was odd.

It would make sense if someone like me had possessed Row Travis's body, but could they even obtain future knowledge like this?

And it felt too specific to be mere speculation. It was like reciting info he'd seen somewhere.

Row Travis crumpled the paper and tossed it to the floor, then looked me straight in the eye.

"Sian? First off, I'm inadequate when it comes to the validity of the Raven Family's assassination targets. My radical actions over the past few years were because my family was dosing me with drugs. Drugs that made it impossible to hold back anger, then amplified the regret as backlash. I've been taking them continuously."

"Keep talking."

"And those drugs were a joint product of the Travis Merchant Group and the Crow Family. They were meant to make the Raven Family's assassins more emotional. The idea was to induce guilt over murders and slowly bring down the Raven Family."

It seemed like a pretty apt way to topple the murder-obsessed Raven Family.

Sian Raven was the type who killed on orders, while the main family's people lived suppressing their urges to kill even more.

People who could snap into a massacre at any moment were venting by only hunting assigned targets. But what if they felt regret?

Wouldn't they be deeply disappointed in themselves?

As a way to make them collapse from within, restoring their humanity seemed most effective.

"Fine. What happens if I kill you 'as planned'?"

"The Crow Family will spread rumors that they induced this through drug-fueled impulses, eroding the Raven Family's credibility for failing to hit the real target. On top of that, they'll expose the true identity of Princess Rosette, who's currently judging in place of the Raven Family, and push her out of the line of imperial succession."

The imperial family was involved?

So one of those vying for the throne was plotting to eliminate the Ravens and absorb the Crows.

"Who? Which prince is colluding with the Crow Family?"

"I can't say that yet."

I formed a blade in my left hand with Shadow Craft and stabbed Row Travis's right shoulder.

"Guh..."

Row Travis clenched his teeth, tears streaming as he tried to endure the pain.

"Why not? Should I assume everything you've said so far to survive was a lie?"

"You can't kill that guy yet. He'll be useful later. Right now, what's important is that Sian Raven doesn't screw up at the start of this scheme. You need to find the one who really killed him—the one who became a thug due to drugs and swung a furious fist ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at him after he assaulted his little sister that day."

"You're saying you didn't kill him?"

"Yes. I didn't. How could a guy who just drank and toyed with women kill a healthy man while drunk? I got punched once, passed out, and woke up slapped with a murder charge and thrown in prison..."

I left the blade in his right shoulder and lowered the one at his throat slightly.

"The Crow Family's plan is for me to kill the framed Row Travis, tarnishing both the Raven Family's credibility and Princess Rosette's reputation. Assuming that's all true, how do I become the 'King of Shadows' and the Crow Family's puppet?"

I could sense Row Travis hesitating on whether to speak.

Then, as if resolved, he let out a sigh and said,

"Because you join the hero party."

"Hero party?"

The conversation had suddenly veered into wildly bizarre territory.

Weren't we talking about the power struggle between the Raven Family, Crow Family, and imperial forces?

Why the hell would I join a hero party?

"After you fall from grace and some time passes, the Demon King rises, and several hero parties form. To correct their mistake, the Crow Family will demote Sian Raven to Sian Crow and attach him to a hero party as an intelligence agent. Sian Crow will pretend to just provide info, but when things get tough, he'll draw his sword to protect his contacts and handle the dirty work from the shadows."

"And that's supposed to be me? What the hell are you talking about...?"

Row Travis was spouting complete nonsense.

Why the sudden Demon King out of nowhere?

"So my plan is to rack up debts with both the Raven and Crow Families from this incident, secure a spot as an intelligence agent, and go with the hero party in your place, Sian."

This guy's insane.

I decided to drop the weird talk and ask one last thing.

"Is there a reason you suddenly started hoarding jewelry at the auction house?"

"Ah, yes. There's a ring used by the first head of the Raven Family and the first head of the Crow Family as a token of friendship. It'll probably show up at auction—likely something the Travis Family unearthed after their downfall. I was planning to collect it from now. If I'd found it before you came, I was going to negotiate my life with it, but no luck."

The way he calmly spoke of his own family's annihilation made him seem extremely odd.

He really acted like someone else had taken over Row Travis's body, just like me.

I picked up the crumpled paper from the floor.

The paper was filled with a list of everything he'd just told me.

'He even noted the hero's name. Roman as the hero, huh.'

The brown-haired guy with decent stamina didn't seem to have any special powers.

"Who is this 'her' you want to save?"

Row Travis pondered for a moment, then parted his tightly pressed lips.

"Princess Rosette Yurisian."

"Got it. I'll make sure to protect Princess Rosette."

"Wait, you have to spare me!"

I thrust the sword in my right hand into Row Travis's chest.

He stared blankly at the blade piercing his heart, then glared at me with eyes full of rage.

"Like this..."

Blood poured from his heart as Row Travis collapsed.

A possessor like me—one who seemed to know the future, no less.

Sparing him could give me a valuable card to play later, but I didn't like the idea of him holding future info and using me as his pawn.

Since I wasn't really 'Sian Raven' anyway, the future was already starting to change.

He could live and twist it to his liking, but it seemed better to eliminate someone in a superior position while I could.

The quest was complete, but the skill's rank hadn't jumped in one go, and nothing in the description had changed.

Did that mean its efficiency had improved?

"Young master?! Is everything alright?!"

A voice that sounded like a maid's came from outside the door.

I hadn't made any loud noises, but they'd sensed the presence.

I wanted to search a bit for that ring Row Travis mentioned.

I opened the desk drawers, pocketed a handful of similar-looking rings, and leaped out of the mansion.

"Gasp! Someone jumped out of the young master's room!"

"Check on the youngest master!!!"

"Is Master Row safe?!"

The guards spotted me bursting from the room and started shouting.

Torches lit up, clouds parted, and the moonlight grew strong, making Shadow Cloak unusable—a problem—but fortunately, confirming Row Travis's status took priority, so no one chased me.