Only One King (1)

"Don't you ever get tired?"

The number of books and files in the study, illuminated by magic stones, was uncountable. The gaze of the middle-aged woman sitting at the desk turned from the files in front of her to the man across from her. The man was almost two meters tall. He had a gray beard that reached his chest and black eyes that pierced the darkness.

"Is it you, brother? I didn't realize."

The words that came out of the woman's mouth were ordinary but had a comforting timbre. The demonic power of words could drive a person to suicide. This was one of the powers that allowed her to rise to the position she was in. The words that came out of her mouth could do things that a thousand swords could not do.

"You work so hard that you didn't even realize I was coming. Do you have to work so hard?"

The old man approached her and sat down in one of the armchairs next to the desk. He was the number three figure in the Ashborne Family. Although he was not of the matrilineal lineage, he had managed to get where he was by virtue of his power.

Leader of the Senate, Claude van Ashborne.

"Magus and the Huxley family have been sending scouts to our borders lately. I have contacted their emissary, but there is no news. They use subcontractors for reconnaissance, so there is no evidence to link them."

The Huxley and Magus families were two of the eight most powerful families in the Holy Alliance. In particular, the Magus Family's power in the political arena surpassed even the Ashborne Family. Huxley Family, on the other hand, was at the forefront of the war against the Demons. That's why its military power was second only to Ashborne's.

"The patriarch is supposed to take care of these. Hah, you're really overworked."

"There's nothing to do. Right, what brings you here?"

"I want to talk about the seventh."

The woman's eyebrows rose slightly. Her calm expression could be seen slowly deteriorating. On her seductive face was a hatred that would alarm any being.

"Cain?"

"Yes. I heard that in the theory classes, he surpassed everyone in the next families and got promoted to class A. He was quiet until not long ago. But suddenly he decided to show himself."

Dark Sword Castle, the Ashborne Family's training institute, was divided into four different classes. Class 'D' was for students between the ages of 8 and 10 who were just starting their training. The 'C' class was for 10-12 year olds who had reached the Sword Newbies level. Children between the ages of 12-16 would reach the 'B' class. Everyone in the 'B' class was preparing for the Sword Expertise.

And finally the 'A' class.

Everyone in class A would have reached the level of Sword Expert. Students who became Sword Experts were treated like a knight of the family and were assigned two years of compulsory service. During this period, they were evaluated by their superiors and graduated.

Cain was a brat who had not yet started his Mana training. The fact that he had achieved an A grade in theory meant that there was a variable that could not be ignored.

As Vladimir's mother, Evelyn could not allow such a thing.

"You know what that means, right?"

Claude looked at his sister expressionlessly. Ashborne Family was a battlefield of survival of the fittest. The struggle for the throne had always been bloody. You never knew who would do what.

That's why it was a rule to put out the flames before they started.

Evelyn's predecessors had plotted, murdered and done everything for the future of their own children. Because not only their children's lives were at stake, but also their own.

"What can I do? The Dark Sword Castle lives up to its name. It's impossible to get someone inside and assassinate them. Our previous attempts at poisoning, killing and psychological suicide have failed."

"Could he be protected by someone?"

Evelyn had made several assassination attempts since Cain was born. But somehow Cain was never harmed. It was always a close call, or someone else died in his place.

Moreover, it was because of these failed assassination attempts that the Dark Sword Castle was impenetrable. In their last assassination attempt, they killed a guard. That's why the security of the Dark Sword Castle was tightened.

"The question is who protects him?"

Evelyn was the mother of the most likely heir, Vladimir la Ashborne. Vladimir was already twenty years old. He would return to the family after he finished his mandatory service. Then no one would be able to stop Evelyn.

No one could stand up to her except the second young master, Valentine. She had already eliminated the first young master. The other heirs were under her control. There was nothing to worry about. With a variable like Cain out of the way, there would be nothing standing in her way.

"Could the patriarch be protecting him?"

"Impossible. He is busy fighting the war with the Barbarian tribes. The last thing he would focus on would be his own blood."

Evelyn sighed deeply as she picked up the pen and continued speaking, looking at her brother.

"I have a plan in mind. I just need you to do something for me."

---

Dark Sword Castle, 3rd floor of Black Rose Library.

The boy yawned, he was tired of reading books. Since the day he learned to read, there was no count of the books he had finished. He had finished the first floor, the second floor, and almost all the books on the third floor.

He stood up and stretched his body a little.

The sun had already set. Even though he was a D-class swordsman, theoretically he was an A-class swordsman, which gave him a few privileges in the Dark Sword Castle. Most importantly, he now had a room of his own.

When he stepped out of the library, the middle-aged nanny approached, and bowed respectfully as she carefully pulled the fur coat over the boy. But there was something strange. Her head was bowed, as if she was avoiding eye contact.

"You don't have to be so respectful to me, Anna. After all, I'm not the one who pays your salary."

Anna flinched at the sound of the boy's voice.

"D-Don't say that, Young Master."

The boy smiled as he walked past Anna.

"You make me sick."

 The moon had taken its place in the sky. When Cain reached his room, he asked his servants to leave. On his way to the bedroom, he stopped and called Anna, who was waiting at the door.

"Bring me my medicine."

Anna quickly brought a glass of water and a dark blue pill. Cain popped the pill in his mouth, changed his clothes, and got into bed.

"It's very cold today. You don't need to keep watch."

Anna's steps stopped, she turned around with a pale face and bowed in fear. Then she turned off the light and left the room. The wind outside was sharper and colder than usual. The moon cast its chilling light over Dark Sword Castle.

Only a few minutes after Cain's eyes closed, it began to rain. The wind beat against the glass, and the rain, which had been calm at first, became faster and faster.

Meanwhile, a dark shadow moved slowly towards the bed. The moonlight streaming through the window was not enough to illuminate the shadow.

'That woman must be asleep by now.

When he reached the bedside, he plunged his dagger into it without making a sound. Although not an expert, it was more than enough for a brat with no Mana training. The white cover of the bed turned red in a very short time.

'My work is done. Now it's time to get out of here.'

He raised the dagger and lifted the cover to make sure he had killed his target. He had trained for years for this kind of work. Just when he was sure it had pierced his heart, his body shuddered. It was as if a cold claw gripped his heart.

Boom!

He turned abruptly to see the middle-aged nanny lunging towards him with a sword in her hand. The nanny's eyes stared at him like stars shining in the darkness. The Concealment skill found only in top assassination clans was nothing compared to this nanny's eyes.

The assassin's reaction was swift, he darted towards the window without waiting for the nanny to reach him. In a face-to-face fight, there was no way for an assassin to win against a swordsman. Now that he had killed the target, he had to escape.

Bam!

Shattering the glass, he threw himself into the street, twisted his body in the air, stepped on the wall of the opposite building and launched himself upwards.

His partner must have been nearby.

But when he reached the roof, he realized that a shadow was waiting for him.

When the assassin reached the roof, the shadow met him, blocking his path.

"Who are you?"

Where he worked, assassins never went on missions on their own. They were always accompanied by a second assassin to ensure the success of the mission.

When the assassin saw the body lying on the ground, he felt a claw of ice grasp his heart. His throat was dry.

His partner lay lifeless on the floor.

To kill with such smooth...

Could he have been a professional?

It had only been fifteen seconds since the assassination had begun. It took him four or five seconds to be spotted by the nanny and make it to the roof. And in the meantime, his partner had already been killed.

He was a trained assassin. There was only one reason why he was at the Sword Expert level. That was to escape the eyes of the experts of the Black Sword Castle. Sword Specialists who had reached the intermediate level would have a high level of Mana. Therefore, it was difficult to act covertly.

The instructors at Dark Sword Castle had all reached the Sword Master level. In addition, the castle master of Black Sword Castle was also at the Sword Lord level.

This was inconceivable.

Only a Sword Master and professional killers could have managed such a flawless cut.

But when he saw the shadow's face, he was completely dumbfounded.

"It's you! How can you be here?!"

The assassin turned pale.

He stepped back in fear, but a cold piece of iron pressed against his back.

"Don't make any sudden moves." Anna spoke in a cold voice, "You have two choices. Tell me who you are or die."

The assassin dropped his dagger and fell to his knees. He had given up resisting. Besides the nanny who was a sword expert, the boy turned out to be a terrifying assassin. If he fought, there was no way to win.

"I will tell everything I know! Please kill me-"

But before he could finish his sentence, his head separated from his body. Blood splattered like a fountain, staining many places, including Anna, dark red. Anna's heart skipped a beat at the familiar sight. 

Cain flicked the blood off his sword.

"Don't ever make decisions for me again."

"Why were you in a hurry? We could have gotten information from him!" Despite her fear, Anna couldn't hold it in. This was a rare opportunity. A chance to find the person behind years of assassination attempts! But this opportunity had slipped away.

Cain looked at Anna with ice-cold eyes.

God, how could an eight-year-old's eyes be so cold?

Anna gritted her teeth and kept looking into Cain's eyes. For the first time since that day, she was brave. But Cain smiled unexpectedly.

"You just have to do what I tell you, Anna. You are the only one I can trust..." Cain hugged her, not caring about the bodies around him and Anna covered in blood. His small body had unexpected strength.

"Young master! How long will they try to take your life?" Anna wiped her eyes sadly.

"Almost there, hang on."

Cain spoke softly and after a glance at Anna, he took a few steps away.

"Now kill me!"

He opened his arms with a creepy smile on his face.