Ch 10 - Mission Accomplished

Last one for today, please do tell your thout of the story so far :)

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At Anos duchy, Kenji sat at his desk, going through a stack of official documents.

Beside him, Siyue was busy with her own work, drawing a woman with short black hair and a poised yet spirited aura.

"You're sketching someone pretty familiar," Kenji said, snatching a glimpse of the piece. That elegant presence looked so familiar he couldn't shake the feeling he'd seen that woman many times before.

"Of course she's familiar. She's around you every day."

Siyue sounded a bit annoyed, maybe even jealous, but her brushes captured the subject's charm with remarkable skill. She had studied art systematically. Sure, she couldn't do traditional old painting, but she did know how to sketch.

Kenji blinked. "Ah, so it's her. What made you think of drawing her? Aren't you two on pretty good terms?"

Siyue shrugged. "We get along okay. We just appreciate each other, and Lina is really sexy." She didn't hide her admiration. "The way she carries herself matches exactly the kind of girl I always wanted to depict… graceful, with a bit of that violent flair."

"Right, you've always liked that type." Kenji recalled glancing at her phone in the past; she had tons of pictures of cute girls hefting swords, axes, or guns—basically ready to bash someone's head in.

"So, I just saw Lina wearing her night-ops outfit before heading out. Did you send her on some job again?"

"Nope," Kenji muttered. "She probably found something on her own."

"Aren't you gonna check on her?"

"I trust Lina," Kenji said, still jotting notes on a crucial military dispatch regarding the northern frontier. Major strategies always required his direct approval as Grand Marshal. Carefully, he wrote "Approved for immediate execution" and stamped it, sealing the document.

Siyue slumped over the table, staring at him. "That's not what I mean. Don't you think you should at least pretend to worry about her?"

"What's there to…"

He hadn't finished when light footsteps echoed down the corridor, heading toward the study. Kenji paused and relaxed. He recognized them as Lina's.

"You're back?" he called.

"Yes."

Her voice drifted in from outside, and then she opened the door, stepping into the room.

Kenji glanced up, dropping his pen in a hurry.

She stood soaking wet, her night-ops clothes clinging to every curve. Water dripped from her hair, which hung in damp tangles. But the real reason Kenji dropped his pen had nothing to do with her figure.

It was the streaks of red rainwater dripping from her black outfit.

"You're hurt?!" Kenji vaulted over his desk, grabbing her hand.

She shook droplets from her hair, spraying water across his face. "I'm fine, Young Master. None of this blood is mine."

He exhaled in relief. Lina was the one person he trusted completely. If she'd gotten wounded, that meant he was in actual danger, because only a handful of people in the entire empire—apart from top-tier palace experts—could best her. If she was hurt, he'd need to seriously rethink his security.

"So what happened?"

"I tracked down the assassins who tried to kill you. They were talented, definitely elite." Lina spoke in a calm voice. "I wanted to bring one back alive for questions, but they turned out to be death soldiers. They all took poison rather than be captured. Clearly, whoever's behind them doesn't want you to know who they are."

Kenji frowned.

He'd expected someone to try something sooner or later, but not so fast. And apparently, they spent a lot of resources putting this group together—training a squad of lethal, loyal killers isn't cheap.

"Did you notice anything listing them to a particular faction?"

"I brought one back, though he's dead."

She half stepped outside, tugged a heavy sack in, and dumped it on the floor. Inside lay the corpse of one assassin.

"Damn it! Why'd you bring the body in here?"

"Isn't it easier for you to check? If I just described him, you might not guess who he is."

…

Her thoroughness was impressive, if maybe a little too much.

Kenji knelt and opened the sack, taking a quick look. He cast an anxious glance back at Siyue to make sure she couldn't see the body, then nodded. "Right. I'll examine the details later. Have someone send the corpse to the black cellars."

The so-called black cellars were basically the estate's old prison. In the past, the Anos's family used it to punish servants and relatives who broke house rules, sometimes as a private torture chamber. After the new emperor took power, Kenji had it sealed.

"First, go change your clothes," he told Lina. "You're soaked through, and even though you're tougher than most, you can't let your guard down."

She nodded. "I did bring a change of clothes. If I weren't so eager to report, I'd have changed in the laundry room."

She set down an oilskin-wrapped bundle, pulled it open, and reached for the hem of her night-ops outfit as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Without a moment's hesitation, she yanked it upward and peeled it off in front of them.

It happened so quickly that Kenji couldn't react. In an instant, he got an eyeful of pale skin and a captivating figure right in front of his face.

"S-stop! What are you doing?!"

Kenji spun around, mortified. Siyue, faster on the draw, sprang forward like a wild cat, shielding Lina's body.

"Isn't it what you told me to do? Change clothes?" Lina asked in a sweet, innocent tone. But if Kenji had turned back, he would have seen a satisfied grin at the corner of her mouth.

She seemed rather pleased with his reaction.