Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Alice stood on the balcony, looking at the night sky . Baery and Kumaraghosha had already left Yellowstone Province with the army a few days ago . Perhaps it was because of the place's proximity to her home, or maybe it was because of the refugees, but she stayed behind .
The entire mansion was silent . The mercenaries had left with Anfey, and the only ones that stayed with her were Shinbela and the mercenaries Shinbela had trained to keep Alice safe .
"Alice?" Suzanna called as she walked out onto the balcony . She wrapped a shawl around Alice's shoulder and said, "It's chilly outside . You need to stay healthy . "
"Thanks, Suzanna," Alice said quietly .
Suzanna sighed . She didn't like how uptight Alice was . Despite how long they'd known each other, Alice still refused to let go of her manners .
"The rumors of Anfey?"
Suzanna nodded . "If they want to do something, they will do it soon . "
"Be careful," Alice reminded Suzanna .
Advertisement"Don't worry about me," Suzanna said confidently, patting her sword . "I have this . You are the one that should be careful . "
"If they are really working for Wester, they won't do anything to me," Alice said, adjusting the shawl around her . "I may be bait, but their goal is you and Anfey . "Suzanna frowned and nodded .
"You have to be careful," Alice said, turning to Suzanna .
"I know . I will," Suzanna said, taking Alice's hand and squeezing it . "Let's go inside . "
Just outside of Alice's mansion, in a small commoner's house, were two groups of men in dark clothing . The two groups were clearly hostile toward each other .
"Douglas," one of the men said quietly . His voice was quivering, clearly enraged . "We had a plan . Why are you backing out at the last minute?"
"I never said I'm backing out," Douglas said . Even though his face was covered, he was clearly smiling . "Volte, I said you should clean up the mess you made . As far as I can tell, you didn't do anything . "
"What does that have anything to do with this plan?"
Douglas sighed and shook his head . "Volte, you are letting your anger get to your head . Anfey knows we exist . He didn't know anything before, but thanks to your sweet sister, his guard is up . I want you to do damage control, but you didn't do anything . Do you really think Anfey is stupid? He knows that we exist, but he still left Yellowstone Province . Can't you tell? You're walking into a trap!"
"I am not stupid, Douglas," Volte said coldly . "My men reported back to me already . Anfey is indeed in Shinwa Province with Baery, Saul, and Steger . No matter what they're planning, Suzanna is the only one here . With the two of us, we can take on Suzanna . Anfey is only a human . He makes mistakes as well . "
"Fine," Douglas said with a shrug . "Go, then . I will stay here, so you can enjoy the glory yourself . "
"You!" Volte spat angrily . Suzanna was a threat to him, but assassinations were not simple . He had to end the fight as fast as possible . If he startled Shinbela and her mercenaries, it would be a much harder fight . He knew the mercenaries trained to guard Alice . Despite the moles he had planted, those guards will still be a threat .
"What about me?" Douglas said, shaking his head . Volte's actions had made him very angry . That rescue plan Volte had had already startled Anfey and his men . Douglas almost had a heart attack when he heard Julie sent her men in for an assassination . Douglas wanted to lay low for a while, so even if the plan didn't go as planned, they could still strike a damaging blow . Now the plan would go to waste .
"You really are going to back out?" Volte asked . He was getting impatient . Julie was Volte's only family . What Julie went through in Anfey's hands made him angry already . Today was the day he would get his revenge .
"You're threatening me now?" Douglas asked incredulously . "You want to force me to help you kill someone?" Douglas shook his head and chuckled .
Volte glanced at Douglas again and turned to leave . He was stopped by the sudden sound of crows .
Volte's breath hitched, and his hand flew to his sword . "It's my people," Douglas said coolly . "Don't stress over it . "
"You told people about this place?"
"It won't be a secret after tonight," Douglas said .
A few moments later, a man in a mage's robe walked in . He was young and handsome, with the badge of a senior magister on his robe .
"Brufit," Douglas said . "Good news or bad?"
"Good," Brufit said . He glanced at Volte and said, "But it made me more confused . "
"Why is that?"
"Anfey is indeed at Shinwa Province right now," Brufit said . "I just don't think it's normal, sir . He is not a careless person . Baery and Kumaraghosha's army is more than capable of taking Shinwa Province . He is not needed there . Why didn't he stay here?"
Douglas and Volte both frowned . Brufit had just asked the question Volte had been wondering . He couldn't allow himself to overthink this . He had to keep his ultimate goal in mind .
"What's even weirder is that Anfey took Saul's students with him," Brufit said . "He commanded several battles . He is even more busy than Baery . It's almost like he's purposely keeping himself busy . "
"I know what he's doing," Volte suddenly said .
"What?" Douglas asked, surprised .
"He wants the glory . He wants more, which is why he is there with the army . Baery is the general, and Christian's uncle . He wouldn't fight for glory with them . Anfey and Christian want more glory, which is why they are with Baery's army . "
"I can see that," Douglas said . "How's Anfey behaving in Shinwa Province?"
"He made several appearances," Brufit said . "It's almost like he's afraid people don't know he's there as well, which is why I thought someone else was impersonating him . "
"That has to be it," Volte said . "He wants to scare us, make us think he's still here . "
"But why didn't he take Suzanna with him? Why keep her here?"
"Because Anfey doesn't know who we are, and who our target is," Volte said . "He needs someone to stay behind and protect Alice . The only people capable of that are Anthony and Suzanna . Suzanna is the better choice between the two . "
Douglas nodded, his frown slowly disappearing . "He knows that we exist, but he doesn't know what we're capable of . He thinks Suzanna and Shinbela are enough to stop us . To him, he's not taking a risk . "
Douglas turned to Volte and back to Brufit, who thought about it, then nodded . "It makes sense," he said . "There had been multiple attempts on Alice's life . "
"Alright, then," Douglas said, putting his mask on . He had always trusted Brufit and his judgement . However, he did not notice the small smirk on Brufit's face as he left the room .
Chapter end
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