In the Rain (2)
The man known as Greg stared at me with eyes that trembled uneasily.
“What happened to Angel’s Breath?”
He seemed to be trying to read my thoughts, searching for any hint of what I might be planning.
“Why would a woman like you even care about—”
“Answer only what I ask.”
I pressed down firmly on Greg’s injured arm. A pained groan immediately escaped his lips.
“Ugh… You really are one of us after all!”
Even as the heavy rain made it hard for him to keep his eyes open, his voice rang out loudly. Greg screamed at me as if cursing.
“Then you should know better than anyone! No matter how much you ask, you’ll never get the answer you want…!”
“You know how this works too, don’t you?”
I crouched in front of Greg and grabbed his chin.
“That interrogating someone until you get the answer you want is a hallmark of people like us.”
I could hear the sound of ragged, rage-filled breathing.
“I know there’s poison in your mouth. I also know there’s a truth serum in your left back pocket.”
At my words, Greg’s eyes widened so much they looked ready to tear apart. It was common knowledge that assassins carried poison in their mouths, but the existence of the truth serum was something only insiders would know.
“Who… who the hell are you…?”
“If you don’t want to use the drug on yourself, you’d better start talking willingly.”
The truth serum used by Angel’s Breath clouded a person’s mind and forced them to become excessively honest. However, once taken, the user would live the rest of their life in a state of permanent madness.
The man before me knew that fact better than anyone.
“Ha… hahahahaha—!”
At that moment, Greg burst into maniacal laughter. It was loud enough to cut through the sound of the rain.
After laughing for a long while, he finally spoke.
“Did the First Prince send you?”
But the answer that came out was completely different from what I had expected.
I frowned and glared at him.
“We will claim the Prophet first, no matter what. No matter how powerful the Crowner ducal family may be…”
Why was he suddenly bringing up the First Prince and the Crowner ducal house?
But there was one word that bothered me even more. It was definitely one of the terms they had been shouting about back at the inn.
“The Prophet? What is that?”
When I asked without thinking, Greg looked slightly surprised before letting out another chuckle.
“What? You really don’t know anything. Nothing at all. So you’re not from the First Prince’s side?”
This filthy bastard dares to test me?
I slammed my fist into Greg’s muttering face.
“Guhk.”
He collapsed onto the muddy ground, gasping for breath.
“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what happened to Angel’s Breath!”
When I raised my voice, Greg looked up with bloodshot eyes and gave me a grotesque smile.
“Hahahahaha! The empire will eventually fall into the hands of the angels!”
What a lunatic.
I gritted my teeth and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him up.
“Tell me! Tell me, damn it!”
Was it because the rain was pouring down so heavily?
Or was it because of this madman laughing like he was mocking me?
Or perhaps it was because I was finally facing the possibility of finding out where the man who killed me was hiding?
“Where is Ian? Where is that bastard?!”
I shouted in a voice far more agitated than usual.
“What…”
Greg looked just as shocked by my words.
“How do you know His name…”
At that moment, his breath stopped.
It happened so suddenly, like someone blowing out a candle.
I stared blankly at Greg’s now lifeless eyes before snapping back to my senses. I quickly tore open his clothes.
“…Damn it.”
Just as I feared, a magic circle was engraved near his collarbone.
“They resorted to this kind of trick.”
This magic circle, devised by the organization, was a kind of self-destruct device. It would take the life of any member the moment they tried to leak information about the organization or even recalled critical details in their mind.
I definitely got rid of this back when I was the former leader.
My former master, the previous head of the assassin guild, had abolished the practice of engraving this magic circle on the members’ bodies. Not because he valued their lives, but because killing people simply by making them think about something wasn’t efficient. Training new recruits wasn’t an easy task, after all.
Then this must be…
A custom that Ian had revived. To prevent any information about himself from leaking?
In the past, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Ian had been a man who loved flowers, animals, and children.
But he had stabbed me in the back without hesitation.
Reviving such a horrific practice wouldn’t be surprising at all.
Shaaaaaaa.
I didn’t even think to wipe away the rainwater streaming down my face.
I simply stood there in a daze among the dead assassins.
While my face remained coldly expressionless, my mind was in complete chaos.
Somnia’s information couldn’t have been wrong.
That meant even if the Angel’s Breath I knew had disappeared, those who still used the name might still be alive.
…Which means Ian is definitely alive too.
I hadn’t thought he was dead, but hearing confirmation that he was alive and well sent a chill through my chest.
Hesitating here is meaningless.
I wiped my wet face with one hand and turned away.
With efficient movements, I rummaged through the belongings of the dead assassins.
These are the only useful things.
After collecting what I could from their packs, I dragged each of their bodies one by one and dumped them into the creek.
Their corpses were instantly sucked into the muddy water and vanished.
With a current this strong, not even the most skilled tracker or assassin would be able to recover the bodies.
Kwaaaaaaaa.
Watching the swirling rapids, nightmarish memories and the sting of betrayal surged up within me.
I mounted my horse with an expressionless face.
“Hah!”
With a short shout, I left the place without a single glance back.
Part of me wanted to chase after any trace of the organization right this instant, but I couldn’t.
It was time to return.
For the people waiting for Rachel Brown, not Kayla Angel.
For my client and master.
For the Third Prince, Edwin.
“This rain is really coming down hard.”
“Storms like this usually pass quickly.”
“Perfect. Let’s take this chance to rest a bit.”
The Gloria Third Knight Division had abruptly halted their training due to the sudden downpour and hurriedly gathered inside their tents.
They would normally have been rolling down the mountain right about now, but thanks to the rain, they could finally catch their breath.
“How do you feel, Your Highness?”
A knight asked Edwin, who was blankly staring outside the tent.
“Now that you’ve tried training with us.”
“Hmm?”
Edwin seemed to think for a moment before breaking into a bright smile.
“It’s fun!”
At the prince’s sincere answer, silence fell over the tent.
The knights stared at him with disbelieving eyes.
“Are you serious, Your Highness?”
Did he really find this overnight training enjoyable? Being stuck in the mountains, fighting all kinds of monsters, sleeping poorly while surrounded by smelly, burly men, unable to wash, and being deliberately given poor meals—how could any of that be fun?
The knights gaped at Edwin with their mouths wide open.
“Yes, I mean it.”
The Third Prince, Edwin, answered with his large eyes crinkled in a smile.
“I’ve always had to train alone before. But this time, training together with everyone made me feel like I’m truly part of the Third Knight Division. It felt good.”
Was his honesty too much?
Edwin suddenly clapped a hand over his own mouth.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I haven’t even been officially knighted yet, but I called myself a member of the division…”
He worried that saying such a thing without having gone through the formal process of becoming a knight might sound arrogant.
Edwin looked at the knights with anxious eyes.
But they gave no response.
“……”
The knights gathered in the tent stared silently at the ground for a moment before suddenly bursting out.
“His Highness just said he’s one of us in the Third Knight Division!”
“Shut up, idiot! I heard it too!”
“Damn it, there’s sweat pouring from my eyes!”
The Third Knight Division was composed entirely of knights from commoner backgrounds.
It was an elite unit personally selected by Duke Crowner based purely on skill.
Yet until now, they had always been looked down upon by the noble-born First and Second Knight Divisions, as well as most of the imperial family they served.
So they couldn’t help but be moved by the words that had just come from Edwin’s mouth.
“Uwaaaaaah, Your Highness Edwin—!”
“Of course Your Highness is a proud member of the Third Knight Division!”
“Absolutely! That’s right!”
The knights of the Third Division all rushed toward Edwin at once.
Edwin flailed helplessly as he was suddenly surrounded and pulled into their embraces.
“W-wait, why are you all doing this? What’s going on?”
The Third Prince only regained his freedom after receiving an intense round of head-patting from knights much larger than himself.
He let out a deep sigh, looking more exhausted than before.
“Your Highness Edwin.”
At that moment, Vice Commander Philip, who had just entered the tent, called out to him.
“Could you spare me a moment?”
“Hm? Right now?”
“Yes.”
Philip held the tent flap open and gestured with his chin. For some reason, his expression looked rather stiff.
“It won’t take long.”
“Ah, okay. I understand.”
Why call him outside when it was pouring like this?
Edwin couldn’t understand the reason, but figured it must be something important.
Without suspicion, he followed Philip out of the tent.
“Huh?”
And there, he came face to face with an unexpected person.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness Edwin.”
The person standing before the prince was none other than Bridget, the young lady of the Crowner ducal family.
She smiled gently, her hood pulled low over her head.
“B-Bridget? How are you here?”