Tacenda, Things better left unspoken.

I change my attire to a more relaxing tone. I open the door to meet Dylan in front.

"My liege." Dylan Bowes.

"Dylan. Let's go."

"My liege, I noticed a view chatter happening in your room. Is anybody there?"

"Oh! Seems like you caught me speaking to myself. I do that alone, often." I say while emphasizing "often".

"I see..."

We traveled down the stairs and went outside the mansion onto the patched pathway to the sage tower.

We walked silently and adjacent to each other. Once we open the door to the sage tower, we go to this hallway that leads to a secret door.

Behind that secret door, present 2 beings with powers beyond imaginable. Tessa the sage and Malenia the mother. The thing is, both of these beings don't know each other's true identities.

Tessa the sage is viewed by mom as a puny sage, hired by the corrupted household.

On the other hand, Mom is viewed as a normal and caring mother who is weak in both physical and mental capacity.

I open the hidden door and see that Tessa and mom who seem to have chatted for a long while. They are both situated on the opposite side of the table. They look at me.

"Killigan... So? What do you intend to explain?" My mom asks.

I go towards the sit beside the window, "Tessa... Do you mind?" I look at her, then as if she knew what this stare meant. She nods in agreement. "What do you know about our household sage, mom?"

"Her name is Tessa and... and... Hmm... Interesting..." She notices it. She notices that there's too little information about Tessa. What's more suspicious is that Tessa is the only household sage. It's weird for a master psychologist, a woman who knows every bit of secret this very household has, to not know the identity of the only sage ever hired for the household.

"Mom, what I'm going to tell you may shock you," I said. "Tessa here has been serving the household for over a decade," I decided not to expose too much of Tessa's information. "She served the household ever since the 3rd generation started." I lied.

"Oho? How did she end up not getting caught?" Mom, you sometimes ask the most hypocritical questions.

"Well... She did what you did to remove your true existence from the world. She hides. Tessa studied 5 advanced magic and mastered 3 of them, she is powerful, very." My mom mysteriously eyed Tessa, "She is, in a way, kind of like you, mom. She hides her skill from the public, just like you did. She is very powerful, like you. She is caring and mastered psychology, just like you."

Tessa perked her long elven ears, "Hmm? I never knew that you are also as cunning as this little child of yours."

"You suddenly changed the way you speak. So, everything Killigan said is true?" My mom said with an icy cold unstaggering face.

"And you changed your expressions completely and yes, everything Killigan said is true." Tessa calmly says.

"Ladies... Keep the quarrel for later. We're here to discuss something. Remember?" I say. They both look at me. I started speaking, "Tessa here was attacked by an unknown assassin. After she interrogated the assassin, she acquired little but vital information. Tessa said to me in a telepathy link that the 5 grandmaster assassins could be related to the assassin who ambushed Tessa."

"Yes. I interrogated the assassin," Tessa lied. "She said that she was sent by the York family."

"York family?" Mom remarked.

Dylan gazes toward the three of us. He says, "York family? The one I interrogated claimed to have been sent by The Buranda Kingdom."

We caught it. My theory... It's correct.

"Holy... Shit... My theories are correct."

I'm not happy that my theories are correct. It means that I have proven treason and potential war, which is never good.

"What theory, Dear?" Mom asks.

"I previously asked Tessa to search for all of The York family's land. She said that one of the lands is located on the southwest edge of The Empire, which is nearest to The Buranda Kingdom. I suspect treason. Unfortunately, my suspicions could very well be true." I say, shocking both mom and Dylan.

"But the question remains, why would they send 5 grandmaster assassins to their deaths?" Mom questions.

"I must say. I don't think I know," I said. "Do you have an idea, Tessa?"

"Hmmm... No, this strategy was unheard of."

"Dylan, tell us your thoughts," I demand.

"I... do not know. As Tessa said, this strategy was unheard of. When I study strategy, there is one major rule to be upheld, which is, 'Economy is the foundation of war. From a great economy, we will get resources, and from resources, we will get healthy soldiers. That's why DON'T waste any resources if possible.'

This tactic that they used to sacrifice those assassins, defied every rule there are for strategists." Dylan explains.

"I see..." I simply say.

I look at the window beside me and began to ponder.

What is it that they're planning?