Chapter 191 - Who Ordered My Assassination?

  Nathan Evenhart:

  "You did what?!" the cat shouted at me.

  "I expi… twice…" I tried to say, but Cyl was too angry to listen.

  I recalled the trap my family and I set up to hahe assassins. They had shown i ihroughout the week, so we created a sario where I appeared alone and vulnerable.

  The pn was for me to be captured by the assassins. My family kept watch from a distahrough a bird-golem created by Chloe, hidden among the trees and rooftops. They had to aaturally, pretending to be just wandering around town while I went about my tasks, in case anyone was them. Once I was 'captured,' the phase of our pn would ki.

  We khat if they took me out of the city, they'd likely choose one of the less-traveled roads, sidered dangerous due to the mohat inhabit the surrounding forests. Roads like these are avoided by ordinary people, making them ideal for those who don't want to be seen. Ever vigint about the possibility of kidnappings, my family had mapped the entire region since we moved here, anticipating sarios like this.

  We were prepared for various outes. If the assassins attempted to kill me withiy, I'd deal with the situation there and then. The otion would surely draw the soldiers' attention, f the attackers to flee. Another possibility was my 'abdu,' where they could take me to a hideout and torture me for days while drugged. In that case, they would have to leave the city, because if I were reported missing, the city would be locked down, preventing ary or exit.

  They could also try to stage my death in various ways. One sario was to make me appear in public, heavily drugged, while a lethal poison worked silently. They might arrange for me to be seen in a bar or brothel, where a suddeh could mask the fact that it was actually an assassination. After all, a noble dying of a drug overdose isn't unon.

  Another possibility was their i in my special eyes. Since awakening this power, my family has beeremely cautious whenever we leave the duchy for ceremonies or social events.

  There were other, more mundane sarios we ruled out. For instahey could try to abduct me, and while I was drugged, have a woman 'engage' with me to ceive a child without anyone knowing. As a h valuable bloodline and a long lineage of mages, any child of mine would be a mage, serving as a powerful asset for someone seeking an heir. However, such mundane possibilities were unlikely.

  Harming a high-ranking noble is punishable by death in all three kingdoms, ning the perpetrator to a life of stant evasion. Therefore, these more muions didn't pass my analysis. It had to be for a far stronger reason.

  Once I was finally kidnapped and taken outside the city, it became clear that they were pnning to fake my death.

  My family watched from afar as the assassins proceeded down the deserted road. They allowed them to tinue, knowing that the forest road had only one route, and I would be the oo hahem once we were far enough from the city.

  My instrus were clear: I wao face the assassins aloo determine whether they were aware of my elemental power derived from my special eyes or if they only had access to my royal records. When I revealed my thunder element to Eliza, she feigned surprise without any sign of caution, indig that while they didn’t have full knowledge of my abilities, they knew about my thunder element, as there was ation in their pn. The only way to obtain such detailed information would be through a h political standing or someone from an iial family.

  The tractor who wants me dead is clearly a noble...

  My list of suspects is long. Over the years, I've actively served as an enforcer within my duchy, eliminating those guilty of heinous crimes and purging gangs. Many nobles have es to the underworld, not just from my own duchy but from others as well, and they've seen their profits drastically sshed as their illegal enterprises—drug traffig, sve trade—were cut off from our nds.

  The list of those who’d be from my death is extensive…

  Of course, most of my as were attributed to the military and anders of our army. I’ve received no public credit nition. To the people, I’m just a 'spoiled' noble living in a castle; to nobles outside the duchy, I’m seen as nothing more than a very wealthy farmer.

  After tured the assassin, we pced him in the carriage that Martha, my mother, and Chloe had used to travel here. I had left the Cursed Bde with Martha, as the bde's effect immobilizes anyone in stant tact with the cursed metal. I entrusted it to her for my family’s safety in case more assassins showed up or one mao escape. No matter how powerful a mage may be, if pierced by that bde, they're done for. This metal even mao tain a raging phoenix—humans stand no ce against it.

  I wao use my most powerful spell, one I’d only ever used on a remote area, which led to a strict ban on its use. But Martha stopped me, interrupting the fight.

  All I inteo do was evaporate the river water… nothing more.

  We made sure to act far from the city, allowing the assassins to take me to a designated battleground. I could have used my Celestial Eyes to end the situation quickly, but overusing that ability carries signifit risks, given the immerain it causes, and I wasn’t certain if there were more assassins nearby. Still, I used it oo retrieve my ste bracelet. Attempting to use the Aspect of Time to escape wouldn't have taken me far and would have drained my mana.

  My battle with the mage assassins was observed from a distance by my family, who maintained a safe watch over the area in case more adversaries appeared. In the end, I killed one of the assassins for precautionary reasons. Capturing two mages would have been too risky, given that we only had one cursed sword to incapacitate them.

  I sighed, p my steps. During the battle, I even revealed my true identity as a high half-elf, hoping that this might be one of the reasons behind the attack. After all, I’m a diplomatialy. Perhaps someone wao eliminate me for that reason alone, but it seemed too far-fetched. The reality is that there are many reasons someone might want me dead, only deepening the feeling of being lost in this sea of uainties.

  Harming a high noble is a severe i, especially in Apsalon. The most logical course of a would be to involve the authorities and the royal family. A crime like this would not be fiven in any of the three kingdoms, and the perpetrator would face execution without hesitation. However, the severity of such a crime brings eveer plications.

  The perpetrator weighed the risks and cluded it was worth it.

  That's exactly why we decided not to alert the authorities. There is someo there, hidden in the shadows, who assessed the risk of attag a high noble and pnned everything so that my death would appear to be an act. Fag an unknown enemy is plicated because I still don’t kly how my death could be anyone.

  I touched my eyes. Maybe they were the reason.

  We o determine whether the pair of assassins knew about my Special Eyes, even if they were unaware of their full power. They wao deliver me to someone, plig matters. It could be someone who discovered my eyes’ existenobles are obsessed with them. It makes sehat the assassin had access to a healing potion and my royal records; a noble must have provided these resources. Damn... there are so many possibilities that I don’t know what to do anymore.

  I let out anh.

  It seems I have a more immediate dao deal with…

  I looked at the cat gring at me.

  The scolding of a dragon…

  “Don’t ignore me!” Cyl snapped.