“How did you two get back? Where’s Rod?” “Sly Fox” Cole asked, his voice low. This wasn’t the kind of news you bothered Lord Arthur with.

  “Captain Rod took Aurora to the lockup. We caught her alive!” Ham said, playing his part. “Took a lot of work!”

  “But, guess who else we found?” Lucien added, dragging Elsa a few steps closer.

  Elsa struggled, just enough to sell the act. It drew the guards’ attention, making them more tolerant of the shrinking distance, even pleased to see them approach.

  “Oh? Who? Don’t tell me it’s Miss Pandora…”

  “Heh, keep dreaming, ‘Big Guy.’ You’re close, though. Take a look.” Lucien pushed Elsa forward. “Recognize her? It’s the young miss’s Head Handmaiden, Elsa! Captain Rod told us to bring her back first. A present for Lord Arthur!”

  “The Head Handmaiden, Elsa? Hey, it really is her!”

  “A present for Lord Arthur?”

  Big Guy and Sly Fox had different priorities.

  The former’s greedy gaze fell upon Elsa, bound and helpless. Her disheveled state sparked the darkest thoughts in his heart. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. A grin spread across his face as he licked his chapped lips, striding forward briskly.

  “Come, come, let me check her over. Make sure she can’t hurt Lord Arthur!”

  Sly Fox watched, not stopping it. He looked at his companion’s back with contempt, then turned his cold gaze to Ham. His brain wasn’t in his pants; he was interested in the credit.

  They were Lord Arthur’s trusted confidants. This credit should belong to them. As for Rod? Who asked the fool not to deliver her himself?

  “Ham,” Sly Fox beckoned him closer, his voice a condescending whisper. “You two did well. You’ll be rewarded. But now… give ‘her’ to me. We will take her to Lord Arthur.”

  “What? No… But Captain Rod clearly said…” Ham stammered, looking flustered.

  He took a few more steps, getting right up next to Sly Fox.

  Sly Fox felt a flicker of suspicion, but Ham’s panicked expression seemed genuine.

  His eyes darted, and in a flash, he drew his sharp sword, pressing it against Ham’s neck. He didn’t bother hiding his threat. “Silence! Don’t give me that nonsense. Hand her over. I will personally escort Elsa to Lord Arthur. That’s an order!”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Ham turned pale, his hands trembling.

  Sly Fox sneered, reaching out to grab Ham’s shoulder, planning to shove him aside and take all the credit for himself.

  At that same moment, Big Guy arrived in front of Elsa. He stared at her lowered face, the evil thoughts in his heart almost impossible to suppress.

  “Lady Elsa, you probably never expected to find yourself in a situation like this… hmm?”

  Elsa lifted her head.

  But in her eyes, there was no despair, no hatred. Just the placid, dark tranquility of a windless pool.

  What's this?

  Big Guy’s heart skipped a beat.

  He saw it then. While Elsa’s wrists were wrapped in hemp rope, the rope… was loose. Slack. It wasn’t binding her at all. It was draped there, just for show.

  Combined with the cold smile spreading across her face, a chill shot from the base of his spine straight to his head.

  Something’s wrong! She—

  He never got the words out.

  The instant he sensed danger, a flash of red, hidden by the blood moon in his blind spot, struck like a viper—incredibly fast, unerringly accurate—and pierced his throat!

  Shiiiink!

  The sound of a blade tearing through flesh and cartilage was low and clear.

  Warren’s pupils dilated, filled with terror and disbelief. He opened his mouth, but only a frothy mixture of red and white bubbled out. The bleeding seemed… light?

  That was normal. Because the long sword was greedily drinking the blood that spurted from his artery. The dark-red blade, in turn, became even deeper, more demonic.

  Even replenished with blood, Elsa’s expression remained cold, showing a hint of…

  disgust.

  Inferior blood, she silently judged.

  This coarse, turbid liquid, full of disgusting emotions and impurities, was like foul mud compared to My Lady Pandora’s warm, sweet nectar. Only My Lady’s blood could make her tremble, make her swoon…

  She pulled out her sword. Lucien, playing his part, rushed forward to hug the corpse, letting it sink slowly to the ground to muffle the clatter of armor.

  Meanwhile, on the other side, it had all happened too fast for Sly Fox.

  He didn’t even have time to react!

  The sight of Elsa killing Big Guy was completely beyond his comprehension! He clumsily pulled back his sword. Just as he was about to point it at Elsa, his mouth opened to shout, “Enem—”

  Thump!

  A cold, muffled sound came from below him.

  Sly Fox’s eyes widened. He whipped his head around, staring in disbelief at Ham—the very person he had just been holding at swordpoint!

  On Ham’s face, not a trace of cowardice could be found now. Was his fear an act?

  No, the fear had been real. But he had also understood something crucial: the cold blade wasn’t meant to kill, only to threaten. But Ham? He truly wanted to kill.

  He twisted the dagger again.

  More blood seeped from the gap in the side of Cole’s armor. His roar turned into a hissing gasp.

  “You… you…” He gaped like a fish out of water. No matter how he struggled, the strength in his body was rapidly fading.

  “Lady Elsa, he’s not dead yet,” Ham said, his voice a low rasp.

  Elsa didn’t move. She just issued a command to Lucien, who had been trembling and pale from the very beginning.

  “Do it. Cut his throat.”

  Lucien’s whole body trembled. He looked at Cole, whose body was still convulsing, whose eyes were beginning to glaze over. Then he looked at Elsa’s cold, expressionless profile.

  Fear and hesitation waged a fierce war in his eyes.

  But in the end, his fear of Elsa, his desire for a future, and… his awe of Miss Pandora, won out.

  Without a word, he lunged forward, snatched the blood-stained dagger from Ham’s hand, gripped it with both, and with all his strength, his hands trembling, plunged it into Cole’s neck. Once. Twice. Three times.