Chapter 10

Cloaked in a black mantle, I melted into the darkness of the night. Instead of the training sword I used with the caterpillars, I grabbed the white sword given to me by Medea.

Maybe, just maybe, I might encounter an opponent tonight whom I would need to fight.

My swordsmanship and mental prowess were those of a twenty-five-year-old, but my body was that of a young woman on the brink of twenty, barely an adult. Could this frail body exhibit my true skills if I had to face Northern knights or trained assassins?

I had no choice but to confront whatever came.

Reaching a point where I could see the Blue Star Castle, I looked up towards the direction of Arcadia's room. Just then, the moon emerged from behind the clouds.

I saw it. A dark mass scaling the castle wall in the deep shadows of the night.

The mass halted its movement when the moonlight touched it and resumed as soon as the clouds obscured the moon again.

It was too small and dark for anyone but those with exceptionally sharp eyes to discern. But I knew what it was.

The Black Caterpillar.

He's personally taken action.

Curled up like a cocoon, the black mass had already reached about the third floor of the castle.

Just two more floors, and it would be at Arcadia's room.

I didn't have the luxury to sneak in through a secret passage.

Quietly crouching, I surveyed the vicinity of the Blue Star Castle. Two knights stood at the entrance on the first floor. I swiftly knocked them both unconscious.

Inside the castle, the guards were more densely stationed than outside.

Silently, I leaped onto a chandelier and then up to the second floor, moving like a shadow in the darkness.

The Northern knights meticulously guarded every crucial point. To reach Arcadia's room undetected, I had to move as silently as air.

Gently opening the widest window on the second-floor corridor, a sharp winter breeze swept into the castle, stirring the thick curtains placed at each window.

Using the curtains for cover, I climbed up to the third floor, crawled across the ceiling to the fourth, and then jumped up to the window sill of an empty room on the fifth floor.

Stepping out into the corridor from the empty room, a familiar scent hit my nose.

'Sleeping gas.'

Colorless and odorless gas filled the hallway, leaving no trace but a unique after-scent detectable only by an assassin.

I couldn't afford to wake the sleeping knights. Arcadia's life was hanging by a thread.

The Black Caterpillar is strong.

At this point in his life, Arcadia wouldn't stand a chance against him.

In a previous life, when Arcadia and I crossed swords – even in a poisoned state – I thought he could become the Empire's greatest swordsman in a year or two, if only he didn't die.

But that time hadn't passed yet.

Suddenly, the sound of clashing swords echoed from Arcadia's room. I wrapped myself once more in my cloak and, holding my breath, burst into his room.

Inside the gas-filled room, Arcadia was at a disadvantage.

He was only twenty-three years old.

A young man who had lived as a mercenary and then as an assassin, dedicated to murder all his life, the Black Caterpillar was overwhelmingly pressing Arcadia.

'He's inhaled the sleeping gas.'

As soon as I entered, I could tell from Arcadia's defensive stance. Slightly slower in his counterattacks.

The Black Caterpillar noticed me first, but seeing me standing still, he resumed his attack on Arcadia.

To him, it didn't matter who I was. He trusted his skills and his target was not me, but Arcadia.

The Caterpillar's long, large sword aimed for Arcadia's vitals.

Arcadia's sword was thinner and more slender. If the former's sword relied on power, Arcadia's depended on speed and skill.

So, he wasn't aiming to stab to kill, but to push to his death. To force Arcadia off the balcony.

The Black Caterpillar's wide blade swiped towards Arcadia's side.

Arcadia narrowly dodged it and leaped onto the blade, using it as a springboard. His own sword, propelled by the recoil, grazed the Caterpillar's neck.

But the Caterpillar cleverly fell backward, avoiding the strike, and aimed for Arcadia's legs as he landed.

Arcadia dodged the first attack, but he staggered towards the balcony from the force of the second, spinning strike.

All these attacks and defenses took place in the span of two breaths.

'Arcadia, you truly are an exceptional knight. But forgive me for intruding this time.'

I dashed towards the Black Caterpillar. He twitched and looked at me as he sensed my approach.

The white sword, swung for the first time in front of others, was rumored to be made from the bone of a sea mammal from a distant continent. The sword moved smoothly, as if tailored for me.

A ringing sound emitted from the Caterpillar's sword as it blocked mine.

I relentlessly struck at him, grinding his larger sword with mine while moving close to his body. Simultaneously, I brought my sword towards his neck.

It's impossible for him to slash me with his large sword when I'm this close. My sword touched his throat.

But…

As soon as I felt the skin contact with the sword, I diverted its path. I didn't want to kill anyone, even if it was the Black Caterpillar.

I couldn't do it.

Seizing the moment, the Caterpillar elbowed my abdomen. I twisted my body to dodge his attack and thrust the hilt of my sword into his solar plexus. Struck hard, the Caterpillar hunched over, gasping.

Staggering backwards, the Black Caterpillar halted, caught by the balcony railing.

That moment, Arcadia stabbed the Caterpillar's leg. Blood flowed from the poorly dodged wound.

Then, Arcadia slashed at the Caterpillar's neck. To avoid the upward strike, the Caterpillar had to lean backward. But behind him was only the dark void.

'I have to catch him!'

I wanted to apprehend him at the scene, labeling him as the assassin.

I rushed towards the Caterpillar. Our eyes met for a moment, his pupils dilating.

Did he recognize me?

But I had no time to get an answer.

He fell off the balcony. Like me, Arcadia tried to catch him, but the fall was faster than our reach.

Thud

The dull sound of the Black Caterpillar hitting the ground reached my ears.

Simultaneously, I leaped out of Arcadia's room.

"Knights!!!"

Arcadia shouted.

I rushed back through the secret passage in the fireplace of the empty room I came up. People were entering the room behind me, but I was already sliding down the handhold.

Finally, crouching down in the passage, I carefully made my way out of the well in Rahel Forest.

Arcadia had survived.

And unexpectedly, the Black Caterpillar had fallen. Just like Arcadia in my previous life.

The next day.

As soon as dawn broke, the Northern Knight Order arrived with the Black Caterpillar's body in front of the main castle. The corpse was carried on a stretcher, with Arcadia beside it, and the Northern Duke on horseback in front.

Emerging from underground, I watched the Duke's procession from afar.

'The Black Caterpillar is dead.'

And.

The Duke was safe.

'Thank you, God.'

I was happier that the Duke was alive than that I had thwarted the assassination.

Covering my half-masked face with white cloth, I blended into the crowd and approached them.

"I seek to hear the Southern Duke's explanation regarding this second assassination attempt."

The voice of Northern Duke Zion Belpast echoed. Though he still seemed a bit weak, there was strength in his voice.

'Perhaps it really was a self-staged act.'

I thought, looking at the Duke.

If it was really Medea's doing, he couldn't have appeared perfectly fine in just two days. There's no such sloppy poison in her repertoire.

Soon, Duke Rahert hurried out of the main castle, having apparently received the report. Seeing the Black Caterpillar's corpse, his face turned pale, visibly to anyone there.

But Rahert was cunning. His panicked expression soon contorted into a frown.

"Relieved to see you're well. But what's all this commotion in the morning, Belpast? What's with this corpse?"

"I came to ask you that. Last night, this man attempted to assassinate my lieutenant, Sir Arcadia Nugent, in his chamber. Who is he?"

Hearing this, Rahert's face started to redden with anger.

Then, Medea casually walked out from the castle, pretending to be shocked at the sight of the corpse.

"Oh, Father! A corpse so early in the morning. What's happening? Why are these people from the North here?"

A flustered Medea was shielded by her father Rahert.

"I don't know either. Duke Belpast! Explain what this corpse is and why you've come to find me!"

I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.

Can they really be so brazen?

Then, Duke Zion Belpast's lips twisted into a sophisticated smile.

"I repeat. Last night, this man attempted to assassinate my lieutenant and deputy commander of the Northern Knight Order, Sir Arcadia Nugent. He failed and fell to his death from the balcony. Both attempts on my lieutenant and my own life occurred inside the Southern Duke's residence. Would you care to explain?"

Silence followed.

I saw Medea biting her lip.

Then, Rahert sighed deeply and approached the Northern Duke.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding, Duke. But I can't explain anything. I don't know this… horribly dead man at all."

"Is that so?"

The Duke stepped down from his horse and approached Rahert.

Standing face to face, Rahert's head barely reached the chest of the tall Duke. Belpast looked down at Rahert and said,

"That's unfortunate. Just yesterday, my lieutenant narrowly escaped death. So did I. All within your residence. It seems I was mistaken to expect a victory celebration rather than assassination threats."

"Those are harsh words, Duke! To utter such without any evidence! Can't you see my young daughter trembling in fear?"

Then, Duke Belpast's blue eyes turned towards Medea. He spoke calmly,

"I'm asking the Duke, not the young lady. Perhaps it's best to take your daughter inside, given the gruesome scene? Or…"

The Duke offered Medea a smile.

"Do you know the deceased? Is that why you came out to explain to me?"

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 66.

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