Ch 9 The Death

Everyone was taken aback by Governor Lius's request.

In the past, sending noble daughters to the palace was indeed a path to power. If one caught the emperor's eye, that family might rise to prominence. But after the new ruler ascended, that plan became pointless….

The new emperor is female, and from what everyone's seen, she isn't interested in keeping male concubines, so what would a harem full of women accomplish? Try to turn her gay?

Fortunately, the new emperor is young, so nobody's worried about heirs just yet. The ministers figure that if she doesn't want children, they can always pick one of her relatives or her younger brother in the future.

So Governor Lius's request threw Kenji off. Before, aristocrats pushed their daughters into the emperor's harem in hopes of pleasing His Majesty and fortifying ties. But now they'd be sending a daughter to the new female emperor… if they really wanted to bend the empress, wouldn't plotting an outright coup be more realistic?

"Could you tell me your reason?" Kenji asked.

"Reason?" The old man shook his head wearily. "My girl won't marry, no matter what I say. I've tried everything, but it's no use. The other day, a suitor came by again, and she beat him up."

"Ah, so the young lady is… spirited," Kenji said with as much tact as he could manage. "If she doesn't want marriage, why send her to the palace? Isn't that the same situation?"

"She hates getting married, but plenty of fellows have their eyes on her. Even among those here, some want her as a concubine. She refuses, and I don't want it either. So I thought, why not place her in the palace? Nobody's insane enough to fight the emperor for a woman, right? She's my only daughter. I'm too old to watch her get forced into anything…"

"I see." Kenji nodded. "I understand. Since you've laid it out for me, I'll handle it. Don't worry. I'll speak to Her Majesty, and if everything goes smoothly, your daughter will enter the palace soon. I doubt the empress minds having another woman around."

It really wasn't that complicated. Governor Lius just wanted a way to keep his daughter from being married off. The palace was the best refuge, what nobleman would dare compete with the emperor for a woman? The only awkward part was that Pluvia, as far as Kenji could tell, wasn't inclined that way. Letting another woman into her harem might feel odd, but it didn't matter. If Pluvia wasn't interested, she simply wouldn't show her any favor, and Lius's daughter probably wouldn't care.

Initially, Kenji thought the governor was angling for a central government position, which he could recommend, though it might sour the emperor's mood. However, suggesting someone for the royal harem should be less problematic.

After lunch, Kenji exchanged farewells with a few officials and got into his carriage to head back to his estate.

To his surprise, the usual driver wasn't there. Instead, seated where the coachman would be, he saw his guard, Lina, her black hair loose across her back.

"Why the sudden interest in driving?" Kenji asked with a smile.

"Old Sun is dead," Lina said. She gave the horse a shout, and the carriage started forward.

"What?!" Kenji nearly jumped out of his seat.

Sun was the coachman's name. He'd served at the Anos' duchy from the time Kenji's father was alive, expertly handling the carriage horses. He received better pay than most drivers in Camelot. Even the previous Kenji—harsh though he was—treated loyal subordinates like Old Sun generously. Old Sun earned enough over the years to build multiple houses back in his hometown.

He'd driven Kenji to morning court today, and now, by the time Kenji returned, he was dead?

"How did he die?"

"I killed him."

Lina spoke so softly that the sound drifted into the carriage like a cool breeze. It took Kenji a moment to comprehend what she'd said.

Then he noticed the short sword lying across the seat opposite him.

It was a beautifully crafted bronze weapon with intricate designs. It looked more like an ornamental piece than a tool of war. 7 words were etched into the blade:

"Glorious blade, a gift for my servant."

He'd given it to Lina as a decorative item. But now the bronze sword was smeared with red blood.

Lina had killed Old Sun. Kenji's trusted guard had killed his trusted driver, and the murder weapon lay right in front of him. That explained Lina's strange mood, she was probably wondering how to tell him.

Kenji stared at her back. "Why did you do it?"

"After you entered the palace, I went out to pick up some herbs for you. When I came back, I found Old Sun talking to someone about ways to kill you."

Her explanation was quick and to the point.

"So you killed him."

"Not exactly. I should've just subdued him and reported to you, waiting for your judgment," Lina said, her tone growing heavy. "But Old Sun must have sensed something. Before I could act, he and his accomplices surrounded me."

Kenji nodded. He got the picture. Some of that blood probably belonged to the others in on the plot. Lina, completely unprepared for Old Sun's sudden betrayal, had whipped out the nearest weapon and taken them down.

"Where are the bodies?"

"I disposed of them."

She glanced at the river beneath a bridge as she spoke.

"Ah… I knew someone wouldn't be able to hold back. When their attempt to corner me through the emperor didn't work, they resorted to this," Kenji muttered, sighing. "Lina, let's take a detour home. I'd rather not get jumped on the way."

"As you wish, Young Master."

…

….

Rain poured down in sheets as several figures darted along an empty street.

They wore black clothes and wide-brimmed hats, blending into the stormy night. Droplets fell around them like strings of pearls. Right now, they were fleeing in a panic, no longer bothering about their companions. They scrambled toward the far end of the street like startled birds.

Behind them, only one figure gave chase.

Her soaked cloak clung to her body, revealing a shape that could have been mesmerizing under calmer circumstances. But for the group of killers, there was no time to admire anything. They sprinted away in terror, convinced this graceful silhouette was some kind of demon.

Just when they thought they'd put some distance between themselves and their pursuer, the one at the front suddenly stopped.

"What are you doing?! Keep running, damn it!"

A second black-clad man slammed into him, hollering at his partner for freezing up and messing with them all. But before he finished speaking, the head of the man who'd stopped dropped to the ground.

Blood spurted, staining the rain-soaked road bright red.

The onlookers gaped at the carnage unfolding in front of them. They glanced fearfully at the approaching figure, wondering what on earth kind of monster served that corrupt official. How was one woman this powerful?

"Stop running," Lina said with a voice as cold as the downpour. "I already told you: whoever gives me the answer I want gets to stay alive. Why are you so stubborn?"

No one replied. They couldn't fight back, not realistically. Twelve of them had attacked as a group and still couldn't bring her down. Instead, three of their own had died in an instant. The message was clear.

They'd come here to assassinate Kenji. But they never got past the planning stage. Their plan involved bribing the coachman, but he'd been killed before they made any serious move. That ruined everything. Still, they had their orders—absolute orders from above, which they couldn't refuse. Now that the plan had collapsed, they had no choice but a desperate direct assault on Anos estate.

Nice idea in theory, hopeless in reality. Though each one of them was a seasoned fighter, they hadn't counted on Lina being there. She noticed them the moment they tried to slip over the estate walls.

In truth, their infiltration was skillful. Most people wouldn't have noticed anything. But the problem was…

Lina had come from a demonic sect, trained in dark art. Even though palace experts later taught her official techniques, her roots lay in those sinister arts. Among so-called evil cultivators, there were plenty of methods designed to ambush and detect enemies.

One classic demonic technique, Eye of Ten Thousand Sights, let the user pinpoint people nearby by sensing the flow of their blood and the sound of their heartbeats. They could even gauge things like age or general build, kind of like a weaker version of X-ray vision.

Lina hadn't mastered it fully, but she understood enough. While she was peeling fruit for Kenji inside and sensed a disturbance, she'd snatched up the paring knife and dashed out. She'd let them make the first move, so they'd reveal an opening.

Running into Lina was pure bad luck. Maybe they could have stood a chance against a proper, honorable fighter. Instead, they squared off against someone as devious as they were, another rat from the gutters.

"Run," muttered one of the black-clad men. A beat later, he flung a few round capsules forward.

Instantly, thick smoke filled the air. It had a pungent, acrid reek that spread through the rain. The downpour kept the smoke from billowing out to its full effect, but it still blocked Lina's line of sight.

She grimaced. The burning smell in her nose felt unbearable. Waving a hand, she sent a burst of energy to dispel the haze. Even the raindrops scattered away from her. Then she peered at the empty street.

"Oh? Gone?"

A grim smile tugged at her lips as she toyed with the little fruit knife.

Sure, they escaped her sight faster than she'd expected. By Lina's calculations, they shouldn't have been able to leave her field of view so quickly. They must have been well-prepared.

As if.

She'd never make a rookie mistake like letting assassins who'd targeted Kenji get away. Even she couldn't dart off an open street in just two seconds of cover. If they actually pulled that off, they'd be powerful enough to kill her on the spot.

Most likely, those rats were hiding nearby.

It was a common trick: make a smokescreen and then hunker down. An inexperienced hunter would assume the targets used the smoke to flee and would sprint after them. Once the hunter left, the targets would slip away in the opposite direction.

Lina scooped up a handful of rain, bent down, and pressed her soft lips to the water.

Then she raised her arm, scattering the droplets across the air, a simple splash, except for the faint glimmer hidden in the rain. Each droplet shot outward like a tiny arrow. Dull, wet cracks came from nearby alleyways, followed by strangled groans.

Bloody water trickled from the darkness, joined by the shuffle of footsteps.

"Sigh… I told you not to run. All you had to do was tell me what I wanted to know," Lina whispered.

She brushed aside the wet hair stuck to her forehead and slipped into the alley.

It lay in complete darkness. Not a single house light reached there. She held out her palm, conjuring a small flame that flickered in the rain but refused to die. The light fell on a mess of fallen bodies, each marred by red, gaping holes. And yet, those holes weren't what killed them.

Their faces had turned pale. Their bodies twitched now and then. They had died from poison.