II – The Assassin and the Maid
Assassins gathered from various locations had converged on the capital of Faloon.
Iris had hired them without hesitation about money, so their numbers were considerable.
After all, for those who succeeded in kidnapping Mars’ child, a reward of 10,000 gold coins awaited. Even if they killed the child, 5,000 gold coins would be paid. Though a job targeting royalty, it was an extraordinarily high reward for success.
In peacetime, the Faloon castle would be garrisoned by the Hundred and the Mage Corps, making infiltration nearly impossible. But now, with the fate of the nation at stake in war, only Bread’s Blue Knights and the Third Queen Cassandra remained in the castle. Of course, the assassins, as underground operatives never remiss in gathering intelligence, had estimated the degree of difficulty this job would entail.
First, regarding the major obstacle of the Blue Knights, they had surmised these were no different from ordinary knights.
This was because when the current Second Queen Camilla of Faloon had invaded, the Blue Knights were easily defeated by her. No matter how renowned the “mad princess” Camilla was as a powerful warrior, to have their guard breached by just one person showed their insignificance.
That said, as one of Faloon’s infamously strong knight orders, they were judged to possess a certain level of ability.
The next anticipated obstacle was the Third queen Cassandra, the only person thought to remain in the castle. The shocking winner of Faloon’s unconventional contest to select queen candidates, she had even advanced undefeated without using weapons through sheer hand-to-hand combat ability. An enigmatic person they would prefer not to face. However, the assassins thought:
“It shouldn’t be a problem as long as we don’t target Cassandra’s daughter.”
This was because Cassandra’s daughter Hilda was third in line to inherit the Faloon throne, unable to become the successor under normal circumstances. With the first heir Arthur and second heir Leon gone, it would be advantageous for Cassandra herself. Thus, they assumed she would not actively intervene if they did not lay a hand on her daughter.
Moreover, the dozens of assembled assassins decided to join forces.
Ordinarily competitors, following instructions from Iris’ side, they chose to split the immense reward while increasing the odds of successful kidnapping or assassination.
Now, figures clad in black blended into the night shadows, approaching Faloon Castle.
Needless to say, they would not pass through the front gate firmly guarded by the Blue Knights.
An assassin who had infiltrated the castle as a servant let down a rope from one window, allowing his comrades inside.
“Over here.”
The assassin disguised as a servant guided his comrades.
“The brats are in the back chambers. Only a limited number can approach there, so the guard situation is unknown, but there’s little traffic, so it should be undermanned.”
The assassins concealed themselves behind pillars and carefully advanced. Fortunately, the number of guarding Blue Knights was small, easily evaded.
(How sloppy.)
Most assassins participating in this operation thought so.
Always the aggressor, Faloon had likely never conceived of being attacked themselves. Their lax guard hinted at such arrogance.
As the castle was not overly large, they reached the door leading to the rear chambers surprisingly easily. Strangely, there were no lookouts. The assassins felt a flicker of misgiving, but the door was locked.
Did they think a lock eliminated the need for lookouts? But lockpicking was routine for the intruders. Unlocking it did not take much time.
Further oiling the hinges silently, they slowly, gradually opened the door just a crack.
Once the minimum gap was secured, the assassins slipped smoothly inside one by one.
The interior chamber was spacious. However, the bare stone walls and floors were severely plain, more resembling a training ground than within a castle.
And waiting inside was a woman.
Clad in a black dress with a white apron, she was unmistakably a maid. Yet two short swords hung crossed at her waist.
Behind her was another door, likely leading to the chambers of Mars’ wife and children.
“How sad…”
The maid let out a sigh-like voice.
“Seeing foolish trespassers in Faloon reminds me of my own foolishness long ago…”
As the maid muttered to herself, one assassin wordlessly flung a knife at her throat.
The grazing knife was caught by just two of the maid’s fingers with inch-perfect timing.
“Properly coated in poison, I see. But futile effort here.”
Detecting the poison from the blade’s viscosity, the maid gripped the knife’s hilt and flung it back at double the assassin’s speed.
“Guh…”
Unable to evade its swiftness, the assassin was struck in the throat and killed instantly.
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However, the other assassins, now recognizing the maid as a threat, advanced noiselessly like shadows without wasted movement.
Four of them, coordinating their breaths, aimed at the maid from the front, sides, and rear.
The perfect coordination was shattered when the maid, in a blink, unsheathed her short swords in a dizzying spin-slash at the frontal assassin. Flowing from that momentum into a low stance, she delivered a whirling back kick to the three rear assassins, a white leg flashing from the slit in her maid dress.
Despite her slender feminine leg, that kick was steel-hard, sweeping the three assassins off their feet. Airborne for but an instant, the maid ruthlessly cut them down in that split-second.
Her deft, lightning-fast swordsmanship with the paired short swords was truly transcendent skill.
“…What is that woman?”
At last, a voice leaked from the remaining assassins.
Unusually for underworld operatives who prize silence on assignments, the maid was that abnormal an existence.
“Can’t you tell? I’m a maid.”
Having instantly dispatched five, the woman answered without a hint of breathlessness.
Moonlight illuminated her features – an unassuming yet well-formed face but with a thin, hard expression.
“No, wait…you’re Nia, aren’t you? I heard you infiltrated Faloon on Iris’ contract, but you survived?”
Recognizing the maid’s face, one assassin removed his mask to address her.
“I’ve discarded that name.”
The maid retrieved a dagger from one of the slain assassins and, as if severing ties to her past self, smoothly flung it at the man who had called her Nia.
The dagger struck his bared face, instantly killing him without a chance to cry out.
“My name is now Violetta. Though some call me Vio. No other name is permitted me…regardless my own will.”
Her murmur carried a tinge of sadness.
Vio had infiltrated Faloon aiming to assassinate King Mars but was counterattacked, losing all her comrades. Seizing a chance for revenge by infiltrating the castle, she was somehow forcibly inducted into the Hundred and made a personal maid to Third Queen Cassandra. Now she had sworn absolute loyalty to Cassandra, overwhelmed by her might and terror.
Judging combat unavoidable, the remaining assassins encircled the woman calling herself Vio, gradually closing the distance to strike at any opportunity,
advancing inch-by-inch while holding their breath, the air thick with tension.
Ignoring the assassins’ taut atmosphere, Vio lightly sprang forward to deliver a piercing kick to the frontal assassin. A single, lance-like strike sent the black-clad man flying backward.
Seizing this opening, the other assassins rushed in, dull black blades honed for assassination slashing at Vio in turn.
Without flinching, she deflected the poisoned, deadly edges with her short swords, countering with kicks as if dancing.
“Strong…”
One assassin groaned, half their originally thirty comrades already fallen.
Yet the professional assassins did not remain on the defensive. Though only grazing, they succeeded in inflicting some wounds on Vio – enough, as the blade toxins would surely kill her soon after.
The assassins temporarily fell back from Vio, waiting for the fast-acting poison to take effect.
But –
There was not a hint of abnormality in Vio. Rather, to demonstrate her vigor, the maid gathered her skirt and curtsied with exaggerated grace.
“You can’t wait, can you?”
Her polite words dripped with sarcasm.
“As I mentioned initially, poison and such hold no peril in Faloon.”
She seemed to sneer, then charged.
As if playtime was over, Vio wielded both short swords incorporprating kick techniques, no holding back.
The assassins were helplessly cut down, until only five remained.
(Completing this contract is no longer possible.)
The remaining assassins abandoned their mission, fleeing – only to find more waiting outside the door.
The Blue Knights defending this castle.
“Really now, Lady Cassandra causes no end of trouble.”
Their captain Bread frowned deeply.
“Telling me ‘let the intruders through, I wish to test my maid’s prowess.’ And you lot as well, infiltrating en masse like this – the audacity! Did you not find it strange? Too easy, perhaps?”
Though subjected to Bread’s scolding, the assassins could not move, the maid behind, Blue Knights before, with no avenue of escape.
Still, they considered – that fearsome maid aside, they might break through the Blue Knights.
The five assassins rapidly communicated through glances and simultaneouslybolted in separate directions, judging that at least one may evade this way.
“It seems I’ve been underestimated.”
Bread sighed and swung his sword lightly.
With a single swing, one of the assassins was sliced cleanly in two, as if he were nothing more than a paper doll.
“Surely you didn’t think I would be easier to deal with than Vio, who just recently joined the Hundred, did you?”
Bread shook his head as if speaking to the assassin’s lifeless body.
Meanwhile, the other assassins had all been cut down by the hands of the Blue Knights.
“I’m ranked 10th in the Hundred, you know? Sure, people say my fighting style is serious, plain, and uninteresting, but still.”
This last remark hinted at a personal insecurity of Bread’s. Naturally, the fallen assassins, as well as his subordinates, the Blue Knights, gave no response to his rhetorical question.
TLNOTE : While waiting for the next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Castle of Canaan ~ The Lost Kingdom’s Princess, the World’s Hidden Treasure, and the Grand Adventure of the Mightiest Band of Thieves Versus an Empire ~
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
- The Last Magic (translated by my friend narwhal)
Please check the Internet Archive if what you’re looking for is no longer on this website. *wink *wink
Volume 4 English translation is already finished btw…
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