Part 12 Renewal of Contract

Swish swish— rustle rustle—

In the darkness of night, stealthy footsteps moved busily.

These were the people most active when most others sought sleep.

Kitty, hiding her body on the rooftop, gave a hand signal.

‘Now!’

From all directions, the Ravens surged forward like black shadows, pushing into the building.

“Aaaagh! Intruders!”

Clang, clang, clang, clash.

The sounds of clashing swords and screams created an exquisite ensemble.

Urgh—

The assassins, who had entered places to kill others but had never been attacked themselves, collapsed without properly wielding their swords, confused by the sudden raid.

Kitty entered, pushing aside the assassins’ corpses.

“First and second floors secured.”

Kitty quickened her pace at the report from a Raven, thoroughly covered in black from head to toe.

The assassination guild master’s office was on the top floor, the fourth floor of the building.

She absolutely needed to get her hands on the transaction ledger that would be somewhere in the office.

Arrrgh—

Kitty’s lips curled up in satisfaction at the screams smoothly coming from above.

It seemed they were fully displaying skills that hadn’t been used while investigating Gerick and Evelyn.

“Are there any casualties on our side?”

“No, none.”

The Ravens were people Erika had trained separately without telling anyone.

Though raised to collect information, they underwent rigorous training as they were often exposed to danger while moving covertly.

If discovered, it wasn’t just about escaping. Erika believed they needed to be able to silence witnesses before escaping, just in case.

The Ravens, who received personal guidance from Erika as needed, possessed combat abilities that wouldn’t fall short anywhere.

Until now, their strength had only been used for self-protection, never to collapse an entire organization like this.

“Entering the fourth floor.”

Kitty nodded and went up.

“Who ordered this!”

The assassination guild master was shouting with his sword pointed.

Kitty smirked and drew her sword. In her eyes, he was someone with skills far too inadequate to be the master of an assassination guild.

She lightly slashed her sword horizontally.

The guild master’s sword was cut off helplessly.

“P-please, spare my life……”

As soon as his sword became useless, the guild master knelt before Kitty. He seemed to have lost his practical sense from sitting in the top position for too long.

At her signal, the Ravens pointed their swords at the guild master’s neck.

Kitty leisurely looked around the office.

There was no way the ledger would be in plain sight.

“Where’s the ledger?”

“W-we, our g-guild, doesn’t leave e-evidence……”

She lightly kicked the sword pointed at the guild master’s neck.

The sword cut into his skin, drawing blood.

As blood trickled down, the guild master’s face turned pale.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“……R-really, th-there isn’t……”

Kitty tapped the sword with her toe again. It went a little deeper into his skin.

The guild master trembled, clutching his neck with his hands.

He was a dead man anyway.

He would die whether he handed over the ledger or not.

“Make your choice. There’s an easy and a hard way to die. If you hand over the ledger, I’ll kill you painlessly in one go, but if you refuse to hand it over until the end, you’ll be alive but not really living.”

“Aaaaargh!”

As Kitty finished speaking, the Ravens’ swords moved.

It was a movement designed to cause pain without k*lling.

Unable to endure the pain, the guild master pointed his finger toward the wall.

It was a blank white wall.

Kitty stood in front of the wall and ran her hand over it.

To the n*ked eye, it was just a flat wall.

Thud.

Something invisible caught on her hand.

Kitty pulled it.

With the feeling of something being pulled like a rope, the wall changed.

A transparent box was pulled out.

She completely removed the box from the wall and placed it in front of the guild master.

“Open it.”

The guild master placed his trembling hand on top of the box.

A light scanned his palm as if reading it.

Click.

With the sound of the box opening, the contents were revealed.

Neatly stacked gold bars, a ledger, and various confidential documents.

She first opened the ledger.

It contained what Erika wanted.

The contract was neatly attached, providing irrefutable evidence.

She smiled with satisfaction and stood up.

“Clean up.”

“Yes.”

※※※

“Erika, ah—”

Ion brought a perfectly cooked piece of meat to her mouth.

Erika opened her mouth habitually while reading the documents Kitty had brought.

“Is it delicious?”

Nod, nod.

Not only was the meat juice bursting in her mouth delicious, but the evidence Kitty had brought was quite fascinating.

Erika looked at Ion, who was carefully cutting the steak.

He was full of energy day by day.

Ion definitely had good stamina.

Gerick always complained of fatigue and needed to take elixirs and undergo stamina training, but Ion was vigorous without any of that.

“Erika, try this too.”

“You eat some too.”

“Of course I’m eating too. I couldn’t put something that doesn’t taste good in your mouth.”

He meant he was tasting it first.

Rather than checking for poison, he was tasting the food first to offer only the delicious parts to Erika.

Since becoming a complete couple, Ion had shed all worries in the world. Each day was joyful, and every moment overflowed with happiness.

Watching him, she also felt elated.

Life was so much fun.

“Ion, what do you want to do?”

Erika showed him the documents.

With both hands busy serving Erika’s meal, Ion could only glance at the documents Erika had opened, but he already knew what they contained.

“So it was Gerick, right?”

“Yes. Some incidents have different masterminds, but Gerick is behind the key ones.”

“What would you like to do, Erika?”

“You’re the victim. Your opinion matters most.”

“We need to make sure he can’t do this again, right?”

“Of course. I have no intention of knowingly letting this happen.”

“We need to give Gerick a clear warning.”

“Will a warning be enough?”

“The succession battle is over. If we fight with Gerick now, people will be suspicious. They’ll think I still haven’t given up on the throne.”

Gerick and Ion were political rivals.

Although Gerick had ascended to the position of Crown Prince by winning the succession battle, the Emperor hadn’t completely stripped Ion of his right to succession.

It would be fortunate if Gerick safely inherited the throne, but human affairs are unpredictable. If Gerick fell ill or had an accident, Ion would be next in line for succession.

Because of this, even if it became known that Gerick had tried to assassinate Ion, he might be criticized but couldn’t be removed from his position as Crown Prince.

If Gerick claimed he took measures to warn Ion, there would be no proper way to respond.

But if Ion attempted assassination in the same way as Gerick, it could become a serious problem.

This was because Gerick had already ascended to the position of Crown Prince. It could be treated as a major crime of attempting to kill the Crown Prince, not a political warning.

Simply put, Gerick targeting Ion could be seen as a means to strengthen imperial authority, but Ion targeting Gerick would be seen as political ambition.

“Alright. Then let’s meet Gerick and warn him first.”

“Will he admit it?”

“If the evidence is this clear, what will he do if he doesn’t admit it?”

Even with clear evidence, considering Gerick’s personality, he probably wouldn’t admit.

However, there would be a difference between making it known that Ion and Erika were aware and not doing so.

“I’ll write a letter to Gerick to set a date to meet.”

“I’d like to just barge in, but we’re different from Gerick.”

“That’s right. We know manners and procedures.”

Pfft.

Ion and Erika looked at each other and laughed.

They weren’t afraid of Gerick at all.

※※※

A week later, Ion and Erika visited Gerick’s palace.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Grand Duke and his wife have arrived.”

“Tell them to wait in the reception room.”

Gerick tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.

From the day he received Ion’s letter until now, he had been worrying endlessly, but he couldn’t figure out why they were visiting him.

‘They’re certainly not here for something good…… Did they find out?’

If they had discovered he sent assassins, Erika wouldn’t approach him so politely.

Gerick headed to the reception room, hiding his anxious feelings.

Even if they had found out, he had no intention of bowing his head at all.

“What brings you to see me?”

Gerick entered the reception room with an arrogant posture.

Ion and Erika rose from their seats and gave a slight bow as a greeting.

“Please clear the room.”

Gerick flinched. The need for a private conversation was never a good sign.

He silently asked Casano, who was serving as his guard captain, with his eyes if it was safe to meet Erika alone.

Casano shook his head.

For him, who knew Gerick had wronged Erika, her sudden appearance was quite ominous.

“It’s fine. As you know, Casano and I have no secrets. He can stay.”

It wasn’t just him.

Mornie was there too.

After Erika left the royal guard, Casano and Mornie became the captain and vice-captain, guarding Gerick’s side.

“Fine. I had something to show them anyway.”

“Us too?”

Casano asked with round eyes, forgetting it wasn’t his turn to speak.

When Erika glared coldly at him, he took a step back. He was reminded of the days when Erika had beaten him thoroughly.

He momentarily had to clench and unclench his fists several times as sweat gathered on his palms.

Noticing Casano’s reaction, Mornie shook his head and moved behind Gerick to stand beside Casano.

Erika looked over the two, then took out documents and spread them on the table.

Then she threw a glove on top of them.

“I won’t make this long.”

“……Are you challenging me to a duel?”

Erika pushed the documents toward Gerick.

“I can’t stoop to using the same methods as you.”

Gerick scanned the documents with his eyes.

They meticulously recorded the contract requesting the assassination guild to kill Ion and the payment details.

“Th-this……”

“Don’t try to deny it now.”