The Templar Knight 

Yexi, waiting outside, saw Ard emerge from the room in a daze, as if he were drunk. She frowned. “Well? How was it?”

Ard was still reeling. “Huh? How… how was what?”

“…” Yexi took a deep breath. “Did the Lady agree to let me go with you? I feel like I shouldn’t be the one asking this, but considering you are a life form whose intelligence has not yet fully developed, I’ll just say it directly. If you still don’t understand after I’ve made it this clear, I can physically assist in your cognitive development!”

“I understand, I understand! The Lady agreed. The Marquis…”

“No need to mention the Lord. If the Lady agrees, the Lord won’t disagree.”

Ard was once again reminded of the Marquis’s status in the family. He felt he had to warn her that the Marchioness seemed to have misunderstood something.

“She agreed, but…”

Yexi looked at the stammering Ard, puzzled. “But what?”

“Xi-chan, you’re out here! Hee hee, were you worried I wouldn’t agree? Don’t you worry, I’m a very understanding person. Come here, come here, I have something to tell you.”

The Marchioness suddenly opened the door and poked her head out. After teasing Yexi with a smile, she pulled her into the room.

Ard saw the Lady give him a benevolent wink before closing the door. A stone dropped in his stomach. This was bad. Very bad.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Ard fled the Marquis’s temporary residence. He didn’t know where he was going; he just knew he had to wander. In any case, he did not dare return to the guest house right now.

“So… tired.”

That was the only thought in Yexi’s mind. In her mistress’s eyes, she was now a daughter about to be married off, setting off on a journey to distant lands with her lover. The Lady was chattering on like a doting mother, her affectionate gaze making Yexi’s scalp tingle.

Didn’t that bastard Ard say he would handle it? Is this how he handles it? That lecher is definitely after my body! He’s trying to create a fait accompli, to solidify our ‘relationship’ before it even begins! Yexi thought darkly. When I get out of here, the first thing I’m going to do is castrate him.

Yexi had no room to interject. She was never good with words; as an assassin, it had never mattered that much. Efficiency was all that counted. But at this crucial juncture, Yexi truly wished for a different tongue. If she could have just explained things clearly yesterday, the Marchioness wouldn’t have misunderstood. She had placed her hopes in Ard, who seemed to have a silver tongue, but he had only managed to plunge the misunderstanding into a deeper abyss.

Yexi looked pleadingly at her master, hoping he would stand up to his wife for once. The Marquis received her signal for help. He also knew that Ard and Yexi’s relationship hadn’t progressed that far. He was about to speak, but only managed two words: “My dear…”

“You, be quiet! This is a matter between us women. A man like you should just listen quietly from the side.”

“Yes, my dear. Understood.” The Marquis gave Yexi a helpless, “I-tried-my-best” look.

Yexi’s mouth twitched. You deserve to be henpecked for the rest of your life. Just stay seated.

Faced with the Lady’s barrage of questions, Yexi felt that even though she was answering truthfully, she was only making things worse. Eventually, she gave up, exhausted, and could only reply with, “Mm, mm, mm.”

Yexi didn’t even know how she got out of that room. Her head felt like a beehive had taken up residence inside. At that moment, only one clear thought remained: Find Ard. Castrate that bastard.

And so, Yexi, maintaining a perfect poker-faced smile, began to wander through the guest house with a graceful, gliding step. Many acquaintances tried to greet her, but were scared off by her emotionless smile. A few maids and servants huddled together, discussing her condition.

“What’s wrong with Xi-chan? She looks like her soul has left her body.”

“I heard she found a man. Could it be because of that?”

“I heard that too! I even saw that man meeting with the Marquis and Marchioness today!”

“Meeting the parents? Could it be a marriage proposal?!” a young maid gossiped excitedly.

“That’s what I thought at first, but guess what I saw?”

The crowd of gossips leaned in eagerly. “What did you see?”

“I saw that man come out looking unwell, and then he fled in a hurry like a wind. After that, Yexi was called in by the Lady, and… when she came out, she was like this!”

“Ah, why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? That scumbag was playing with Xi-chan’s heart! Now that he’s found she’s not so easy to handle, he’s trying to dump her!”

“Scumbag!” x N

Meanwhile, wandering aimlessly on the street, Ard let out a massive sneeze.

The gossiping crowd was about to continue when a deep, chilling voice drifted over.

“Have you seen where that man went?”

“WAH!”

The crowd jumped in fright and scattered, revealing Yexi standing five steps away, a terrifying smile on her poker face.

A trembling servant pointed toward the door. “The last I saw of him, he had already run outside.”

Yexi looked coldly toward the exit and murmured, “So you’re fast, huh. You can run, but you can’t hide.”

The gossips didn’t hear her words. They were too busy trying to sneak away while her attention was diverted.

“We’ve been so busy with the work, we haven’t had a moment to rest, have we? The Marquis and Marchioness have only just moved in, and there’s still so much to prepare, isn’t there?”

Yexi’s icy words froze everyone in their tracks. “Yes, yes, that’s right,” they stammered.

“Then why do you have time to stand here chattering about such baseless nonsense? Is the work I assigned you too light? Do I need to suggest to the old butler that your workload be doubled?”

“No, no! We’ll get to work right away!”

The crowd of gossips scattered like leaves in the wind. Yexi paid them no more mind. She had a culprit to catch.

While Yexi was hunting for Ard, in the Hanlock Kingdom branch of the Krass Order, Taylor respectfully presented the Blood Moon Stone to the Grand Master of the Order.

The Grand Master, his entire figure shrouded in black robes, took the stone. His voice was a dry rasp. “You have done well to bring back the Blood Moon Stone.”

Taylor knelt on one knee, his head bowed in shame. “You praise me too highly, Grand Master. Although we brought back the stone, the holy relic was not activated. Rile and Hicks were heavily wounded, and we lost many of the Order’s elite. I beg for your punishment.”

“You are not to blame for this. I did not expect Pekoin City to receive a warning in advance. To have brought back the holy relic in the face of the Grand Holy Church’s interference and the deployment of the Pegasus Knights is already a great achievement.”

The thought of his meticulously designed plan being leaked made Taylor’s eyes burn with rage. “Grand Master, this matter cannot be left as it is. Our Order is already in a precarious position. For a top-secret plan to be leaked… if we do not find the traitor, our situation will become even more dire.”

The Grand Master said calmly, “Rest assured, I have already made arrangements for this matter. Anyone who is even remotely suspicious will be dealt with. I would rather kill a thousand innocents than let one traitor escape. By the way, did you see any suspicious individuals during your operation?”

Taylor frowned, thinking back. The image of Ard flashed through his mind for a moment. Although Ard had conveniently appeared at the scene of the battle and taken the Sanctum’s teleportation crystal, he simply couldn’t connect him with the leak. The man was like an ordinary foot soldier, weak and with no notable presence. It was most likely just a case of dumb luck. Taylor could only shake his head and report that he had seen no one suspicious.

The Grand Master’s demeanor did not change. He had only asked casually. “Let’s not dwell on that matter for now. I would like you to take charge of the next operation. Are you capable?”

“Thank you for your trust, Grand Master. I will do my utmost.”

“This operation has alerted the Grand Holy Church. The Templar Knight, Thomas, has been deployed. He will likely remain stationed in Hanlock. You must be careful of him.”

Taylor thought for a moment. “With that person as cover, a single, restricted Templar Knight will not be too much trouble.”

“Do not underestimate the Grand Holy Church. They are not the type to be bound by empty titles. Though our goals may differ, their fanaticism is no less than that of our own Order in its heyday. And the Sanctum will not let Thomas fight alone. A blade in the light is easy to dodge, but an arrow in the dark is hard to defend against.”

Taylor replied respectfully, “Yes, Grand Master.”

“Also, you may use that person, but do not trust him completely. His intellect is no less than yours, and in some ways, he is even more unrestrained. After he has served his purpose, dispose of him.”

Taylor was stunned. “But Grand Master, didn’t you say you wanted to recruit him into the Order?”

The Grand Master looked at the moon stone in his hand, turning it over and over. “I did have that thought. But an untamable beast will bite its own master. In that case, it is better to kill it after it has served its purpose, to save the trouble of having to guard against it day and night. I am old. I only wish to follow my god’s guidance and fulfill his great will. I no longer have the energy to rein in a bird of prey.”

Taylor bowed his head in submission. “Yes, Grand Master.”

“You may leave. Be careful in all things. There must be no more mistakes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Taylor withdrew. In the dark room, only the Grand Master remained, staring blankly at the moon stone.

———

In the Grand Holy Church, in the roundtable chamber.

Seven Templar Knights, five White-Robed Bishops, and the Pope were gathered, discussing the Pekoin City incident.

The aged Pope, who appeared to be just a kindly old man, spoke slowly. “The matter of Pekoin City is concluded. Thomas will remain stationed there for a few days before proceeding to the capital. My lords, please share your thoughts.”

A White-Robed Bishop spoke. “For the Krass Order to deploy three Cardinals at once is something that has not happened in two hundred years. Their ambitions this time are great. We must make preparations in the Hanlock Kingdom. That was once the cult’s stronghold; there are likely secrets there that we do not yet know.”