Chapter 93

There was no moon or stars in the sky. Did that mean he was not asleep yet and his eyes were open?

Azela looked up at the dark sky without a single light and drew a straight smile on her lips. At that moment, she wiped the smile from her lips and turned her head quickly. She felt a strange sensation. It was clearly a sign of a stranger hiding themselves.

“His Majesty the Emperor is trying to kill me.”

Suddenly, she remembered what Zagnac had said to her, along with the image of when he went to the outskirts and injured his hand. Azela ran out of the bedroom with a sword in her hand, which she had placed by her bedside.

If the assassins came in, they had only one place to go.

“Zagnac!”

She shouted out loud and kicked Zagnac’s bedroom door hard. As she sprinted inside, she saw Zagnac standing with his bare hand, holding the sword that was swung at him. She didn’t even have time to think.

Azela took her long sword from the sheath and swung it roughly.

“….!”

The assassin turned back with surprise as another sword came to him.

Azela, who had run, stood in front of Zagnac and straightened her sword. The sword that could finally be wielded properly in real situations rather than practice seemed joyous.

“Who are you?”

She struggled to see the assassin, but she couldn’t tell as the face was hidden in the first place. The assassin clicked their tongue out and re-established their disorganized posture. It seemed that they were willing to take up the fight.

Azela, too, straightened the handle of her sword without stepping back.

Now that the sword was stained with blood, she had no intention of going back. The two watched each other’s actions without moving.

“….!”

The assassin struck the sword first, and she took it back. The hematic sound of the two swords hitting each other continued. Azela was calm in spite of the ironic technique of only aiming for fatal blows, such as her neck and heart.

‘…They’re not good at swordsmanship.’

If it had been sent by the Emperor, they certainly would not have had just this level of skill. These were not sent by the emperor.

Azela knew instinctively.

‘Then, who…?’

Did this mean that there were more people aiming for Zagnac besides the Emperor? Azela bit her lower lip and frowned. Still, the purpose was clear. What the assassin wanted was ‘death.’ Azela put strength in her arms and pushed her sword.

“Gasp, gasp…!”

As she began to strike her sword with skill in earnest, the assassin gradually became short of breath. His hand trembled with strength. Eventually, after a while, he dropped the sword in his hand to the floor.

“Who sent you… Even if I ask you, of course, you have no intention of telling me, do you?”

Azela dangerously flashed her blue eyes and held the sword to the assassin’s neck. While his face was covered, she could tell the trembling brown eyes were frightened. It was obvious that he was a novice at this.

“Spa, spare me…”

“If there was blood on the sword, you should have prepared for your blood, too.”

She had no intention of saving the assassin’s life. Of course, if Zagnac hadn’t bled, she could have spared the assassin. Azela glanced back to see Zagnac, who was still watching the situation behind her. His palms were torn, and blood was pouring onto the carpet.

She couldn’t even let the assassin live.

“Blame your master.”

Just as Azela was trying to strengthen the sword she had placed around the assassin’s neck, speaking in a sullen tone, a strange movement was felt through the window sill. Astonished, she hurriedly moved back to protect Zagnac.

Turning her head, she saw the figure of another man crouching on the window sill.

“There was a guest who came first.”

It was another assassin whose face was covered though they didn’t seem to be on the same side. The man sitting on the window sill seemed unaware of the assassin sitting on the floor.

Azela frowned at the assassin sitting on the window sill.

‘The assassin sent by the Emperor.’

The sword used was different. If the sword used by the assassin who came first was a sword that anyone could get in the market…

The sword hanging from the waist of the assassin seated on the window sill was unusual. The curved shape, like a sickle, looked strange, but the handle was quite old. It had been used for a long time. It was obvious that his swordsmanship skills would be as good as that period.

“Did I interrupt this side or that side?”

The assassin uttered in a playful voice, pointing fingers alternately at Azela and the assassin, who was sitting on the floor.

Of course, no one answered.

“I’ll wait for my turn, so do what you’re doing. I am patient.”

He said in a mischievous tone as he clenched his chin. There was a sense of relaxation in that look. Perhaps he thought he wouldn’t lose with his current skill. A drop of sweat ran down Azela’s forehead.

At that moment, the assassin who was sitting on the floor shouted loudly.

“Didn’t, didn’t you come here with orders to kill too? I have the same goal as you! Kill, kill the woman! Let’s form an alliance!”

“…Alliance?”

“Yes! Then, I’ll give you half of my pay!”

It was troubling that she didn’t know what would happen when they worked together. Azela frowned, but she couldn’t count on Zagnac’s help because she was hired to help him.

‘Shall we run away first?’

She devised a way out of this situation. It was a long way to the bedroom door. The moment she turned her back, she would almost be cut. She resented herself for not diligently practicing her swordsmanship a little more.

But then…

“Ugh…!”

The man sitting on the window sill jumped over and took a sword, and mercilessly stabbed the assassin, who was sitting on the floor’s heart.

The smell of blood quickly spread throughout the bedroom. As red blood gushed out on the carpet, Azela looked at him with surprise. Of course, she thought they would work together. She didn’t understand.

“I don’t need an ally. Furthermore…”

He turned and wiped the blood-stained sword on his clothes and looked at Azela.

“I had an order not to kill the woman escorting Duke Ferial.”

“….!”

…Ordered not to kill her? The Emperor?

Why?

Even though Azela looked lost, the assassin remained calm. He grabbed the back of the assassin who had fallen on the floor, easily lifted the body, and dragged him to the window. Then, he threw the body over the window.

The heavy sound of a corpse falling to the ground echoed, and then the screams of the servant could be heard through the window.

“I guess I got the wrong day today. I’ll come next time.”

He spoke lightly and suddenly disappeared through the window as he heard the footsteps of people rushing in. Why? He certainly could have killed her. Why? Dispose of the assassin, and drop the corpse to be discovered… Did he leave after checking the crowds?

Azela glanced at the window where he had disappeared with a puzzled look.

‘…They’re like an ally rather than an enemy.’

Those eyes and the voice seemed unfamiliar to her. Had they ever met? Where? Although she tried to recall her memory, voices calling for Zagnac interrupted the memory.

“Duke!”

“Master…!”

The bedroom door swung open, and the knights and maids rushed in. Everyone screamed at the sight of the carpet soaked in blood and the sight of him bleeding in both palms. Zagnac, who had calmed everyone down, took a step forward and approached Azela, who still had a blank look.

“Thank you.”

He was calm, as if he had expected this to happen.

Azela lowered her head to look at his blood-stained palms. It was a wound that made the forehead frown just by looking at the long tear.

“You should have called me because I was by your side.”

“I’m shocked, too.”

‘…Lies, you didn’t even panic.’

She grimaced at his calm smile, saying that he didn’t expect this. Yes, as it was, he didn’t even think of her help. Azela, who gazed at Zagnac’s wounds with a blunt face, received the medicine and bandages the handmaid had brought.

“Give me your hand.”

At that, she mercilessly poured disinfectant on his palm. The maids and the knights who were watching the scene struggled with the pain. Meanwhile, the real party, Zagnac, was still smiling with a calm face.

Azela sighed, applying the medicine and wrapping a bandage over his wounds.