38. Uninvited Guest (4)
“Elder, why are you so anxious?”
“There’s a 10-meter Gigant at the city gates. It’ll be here in an hour or two. And why do you think Alicia sent a Magic Knight and Gigant? She knows something about us.”
“No, she doesn’t. Alicia’s just suspicious, but she has no proof. That’s why she rushed off to save the forward base instead of staying with her sick lord.”
“But she sent a Gigant at a time like this. Honestly, even if every Shadow of Bachram here attacked at once, I couldn’t guarantee we’d beat a single Gigant...”
Wayne, eavesdropping on their conversation, doubted his own ears.
What? That’s not Bruce’s voice.
It wasn’t the voice of Bruce Taylor, the eldest son he’d heard at the restaurant earlier that day. And the content of their talk was highly suspicious. What the hell were the Shadows of Bachram?
“Elder, we came to seize this territory, not to fight. If the lord dies suddenly, we’ll be under suspicion. We can’t afford any mistakes in a plan we’ve spent three years on. Just relax a little.”
“But we can’t! Even if the lord dies, if Alicia rebels, we can’t beat her Gigant. And my voice keeps cracking—I’m forgetting what real Bruce sounded like. It’s getting hard to imitate him.”
“That’s because the spell’s effect is wearing off. So don’t talk much. From now on, I’ll handle most responses.”
Ah! So that’s why Louise answered for him at dinner.
Now Wayne understood why the wife, Louise, had spoken up for Bruce during the meal.
Shaking his head bitterly at what he’d overheard, Wayne concluded the one called “Elder” was clearly an impostor posing as Bruce. So what happened to the real one? Most likely dead.
And this tied right into Alicia’s suspicions.
—Bruce is acting strange. Like he’s a different person.
She’d said he seemed off. Alicia’s family had come to the Lorenne Territory, leaving their beloved hometown and home due to unavoidable circumstances. Lord Fredric, aware of their plight, had let them live in the castle. Recognizing Alicia’s extraordinary talent, he’d even funded her studies in the capital.
That was why Alicia always felt grateful and respectful toward Baron Fredric.
Bruce, the eldest son, had been her childhood friend, growing up with her in the castle.
—But last year, when I returned from ten years studying in the capital to marry Lord Fredric, he treated me like a total stranger. No, it felt like he genuinely didn’t know me.
She’d also mentioned that aside from mealtimes, he hardly left his room and was rarely seen.
That’s why Alicia suspected he wasn’t the real Bruce. But she had only her instincts—no hard evidence.
“Anyway, we should hurry. If our cover gets blown, the whole plan goes up in smoke.”
“The Barantia Empire knows nothing of desert transformation magic. No one will find out.”
Desert transformation magic?
Come to think of it, with his red Odd, Bruce’s face and Louise’s had a slightly different hue. Human faces and heads emit a lot of heat, so Louise’s showed as faint red, but Bruce’s was more yellowish. People varied slightly in body heat, so it wasn’t unusual—but the mention of transformation magic made him want to check.
Wayne slowly extended his Odd toward the fake Bruce, then trickled it down toward his legs.
Scanning from the bottom up, nothing seemed off at first.
Huh? What’s this?
But passing below the navel, he sensed something alien and potent. Mana? An aura hole? Definitely not Odd.
Wayne withdrew his Odd. Pushing further might alert them.
Instead, he directed it toward the face—and spotted something odd. It was like there was an extra layer beyond the skin, and a small bone fragment. Odd didn’t flow there either.
Ah! Is this a human skin mask, like in those wuxia novels?
If he hadn’t looked closely, even Wayne might have missed it. A human skin mask meant peeling the face off a living person and attaching it to another to impersonate them.
In a world with magic, auras, and Gigants, it wasn’t impossible—but it was a fresh shock, his first encounter with such a technique.
If Alicia hadn’t tipped him off, it would’ve taken time to figure out. Or really, he was just spooning into a ready meal. Taking out these two suspects would solve it.
The Elder still looked uneasy, despite Louise’s attempts to talk them around. (Wait, Luigi? You’re right to catch that—it was Louise earlier. Let's stick with Louise.)
“Since you’re so worried, Elder, let’s kidnap Sabina tonight first. That way, even if the lord dies, Alicia won’t bring her Gigant back.”
“Oh! Good idea. With a hostage secured, we’ll have less pressure.”
“Then I’ll order the assassins... Huh?”
Louise suddenly jolted, whipping her head toward the window.
Wayne quickly retracted his Odd.
What? Did she sense my Odd?
She’d just brushed it while moving. Either she had sharp instincts or some special ability.
Odd sent to control golems or into others had high density, so sensitive people could detect it. Fortunately, his spread-out red Odd seemed unnoticed.
Soon, he sensed her peering around and closing the window.
Guess I need to be careful sending Odd like that.
People who could perfectly impersonate faces and aimed to swallow a whole territory weren’t amateurs. This was no small outfit.
Bold as hell, trying to devour an entire territory! And they’re kidnapping Sabina tonight?
Kidnapping Sabina to blackmail Alicia meant the girl in the garden was her sister.
Feeling the situation escalating, Wayne smacked his lips. He sensed presences hidden throughout the castle corners—suppressed auras, slowed heartbeats. Assassins, no doubt.
The castle seemed already under their control.
But he wasn’t worried. Every move in this small castle was within his detection range.
Feels like fighting with wallhacks on.
The eldest was dead, their identities exposed—no need for plans or waiting. He just needed overwhelming force.
Wayne went straight to find Sara Raudi.
“What? Shadows of Bachram?”
“Yeah.”
Sara looked stunned.
“How do you know about them, boss?”
“You’ve heard of them?”
“Heard? I suffered like hell because of those bastards in the desert. I still get chills thinking about it.”
“Desert?”
“The Ratan Desert. In the Sailon Occupation Zone war, quite a few imperial Magic Knights fell to them. They’re assassins from the Sailon Kingdom.”
“Assassins?”
Wayne wondered why desert assassins were targeting this small territory.
“Individuals with exceptional skills, hiding perfectly in the sand and bursting out for surprise attacks. But in the end, they got wiped out by Gigants.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. Our Blue Knights destroyed their base.”
What a grudge. So the Shadows of Bachram were Sailon Kingdom assassins, wiped out five years ago by the Blue Knights. Some survivors must have fled to the Empire and set their sights on Lorenne Territory.
“If they’re assassins, no need to drag this out. Sara, I have a job for you.”
“Huh? What?”
After giving Sara instructions, Wayne headed to find the second son, Albus.
With Lord Fredric vomiting blood and asleep since afternoon, no evening banquet was held.
Late at night. The back gate of Lorenne Castle opened, and six black-masked figures dashed out carrying a large sack.
“Hurry!”
Sandals scraped the ground.
Having enemies inside was terrifying. Sabina was skilled in swordsmanship, a half-elf swordsman with elven senses and trained in Odd. But one glass of milk laced with sleeping drugs from the butler had knocked her out cold—kidnapped pathetically easy.
“Hey! You bastards! Stop!”
Sara Raudi blocked their path, sword drawn.
Her eyes widened.
“What? Real Shadows of Bachram!”
The masked figures gripped the sword hilts on their backs and glanced at each other.
“Who are you?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll let it slide this once, sis, so drop the sack and scram.”
“You know who we are, yet you come alone? Foolish!”
Shing! Shing!
They drew crescent-shaped, razor-sharp blades from their backs.
“Whoa, scary. But who said I’m alone?”
Sara smirked and raised her hand. Musketeers and spearmen emerged from trees and bushes, surrounding the Shadows of Bachram.
“So there really were suspicious intruders in our territory!”
Standing beside Sara with a shocked expression was Sergeant Henrik, who’d been guarding the city outskirts. He’d brought soldiers on Wayne’s orders.
“Surrender and you live. Drop your weapons!”
The Shadows of Bachram bit their lips.
“Damn it! Break through!”
The assassins charged.
“Knew you’d say that! Take them down!”
Bachram meant victory, and shadows meant assassin squad. They were a murderous group from Sailon Kingdom, not hesitating at assassination for victory.
But this wasn’t the desert, and they couldn’t pierce ten times their number.
“Grab them!”
“Shoot anyone without a hostage!”
Bang! Bang! Clash!
“Argh!”
“Gah!”
A dozen soldiers fell to the assassins’ hidden weapons and blades. But the assassins didn’t escape unscathed—five dropped to gunfire and spears.
The last one fighting Sara hurled a hidden weapon.
Clang!
Sara deflected it and patted her chest.
“Whew! Close call!”
The throwing assassin had already turned and fled toward the castle.
“Lady Sara, what now? One got away.”
“Nah. I let him go.”
Sara pulled the unconscious Sabina from the sack.
“Whoa! Prettier than Alicia! Like a doll!”
Her porcelain skin and sculpted features left even Sara, another woman, breathless.
“Alright! Move out! Back to the castle!”
“Sorry. We got ambushed by soldiers. Sabina was taken.”
“How the hell did they know we were kidnapping Sabina?”
The Elder looked shocked at the masked man’s report.
Louise bit her lip and spoke.
“That’s not all. Someone brought a Gigant inside the castle.”
“What? A Gigant! Damn! So Alicia set up this operation to weed us out?”
“Elder, we’re out of time. We need to move now.”
“Louise, what should we do?”
“First, poison the lord and frame the second son. Most guards are on our side, and with planted evidence, the rest will believe it.”
“But the Gigant inside?”
The Elder’s face darkened.
“Right now, only Wayne’s in the castle. Reports say he’s wandering the first floor. A Gigant’s useless without a Magic Knight. So send our top assassins to ambush around it—and when he shows, kill him!”
Louise mimed slitting her throat.
“Kill him.”
“Ah! How did our perfect plan go so wrong? We should’ve acted sooner...”
“It’s all Alicia’s fault. If she hadn’t come back, you’d naturally be lord by now, Elder.”
Regretting what was done wouldn’t change it. They moved to execute the plan immediately.
The Elder and Louise opened the door and entered.
“What? Where’s the lord?”
The lord’s room was empty. Instead, their planted healer lay dead.
And all their assassins hidden in corridors and corners were slain.
“Disaster! They know everything!”
“Elder, gather the warriors and head to the Gigant. Without it, we still have a shot.”
The Elder led the remaining assassins to the training grounds where the Gigant was.
But Wayne stood there alone, waiting imposingly.
“Louise, what now?”
“End him before he boards the Gigant.”
“Got it.”
The Elder raised his aura, channeling it into his sword, while Louise hid her hands behind her back, preparing a flame spell.