Crisis! Assassin!?

The tea leaves from Bordeaux, as always, carried a faint, delicate fragrance that refreshed the mind.

A-Lian placed the porcelain cup into the warm water dish, making sure the tea in the teapot stayed at a pleasantly warm temperature.

Outside the window, the sky was gloomy.

A not-too-strong wind bent the evergreen pine tree, snapping it down, letting it spring back up, then bending it again.

It felt as if a mountain storm were about to arrive.

The wind brushed past the open book, producing a soft rustling sound.

A-Lian closed the rear window.

She had already stayed in the duke’s residence for nearly two months now.

Yet her memories still hadn’t returned at all.

She thought about it helplessly.

After turning the final page of Lens Theory, she closed the book, stood up, and slid it into the third empty slot on the fourth shelf of Row Alpha.

She had gradually grown accustomed to everything in the library.

In fact, hardly anyone else came to the library in this estate.

Only Kallianna and her “big brother” came here often…

For some reason, after learning about the adoption, Charlotte had started hovering around her constantly.

He often approached her under the excuse of borrowing books, then sat here drinking tea for an entire morning.

So troublesome…

And sure enough—

“Hey, little sister! I came to see you again!

Guess what good stuff I brought you this time?!”

Charlotte said casually, completely ignoring the fact that he was much older than A-Lian.

Charlotte knew his adopted sister’s personality very well.

She stubbornly refused to leave the estate.

She rarely even went out of the library.

So from his future sister-in-law Kallianna, he had roughly figured out A-Lian’s preferences…

Or rather, guessed them from embarrassing incidents…

There was no need to guess.

That familiar scent.

That scent of embarrassment.

It was clearly Crescent Pavilion pineapple buns.

That little Kallianna still called her “big white mouse” even now.

How could she possibly forget something like this?

A-Lian rolled her eyes at Charlotte.

She said nothing.

She supported her forehead with one hand, raised her head, and stared at Charlotte with a gentle expression.

“Uh… I was wondering… would you be interested in drawing a family portrait?”

Charlotte grew a little flustered.

He nervously avoided A-Lian’s direct gaze.

Then, sneaking a glance and seeing she was still looking at him, he dodged away again.

He didn’t know why he had become like this recently.

He hadn’t been this way before…

“That alone isn’t enough.”

A-Lian said solemnly to Charlotte.

“I can give you some… pocket money… ah, it’s decided then!”

He said to himself, making the decision on his own.

A-Lian had been secretly asking for pocket money for quite some time now.

Whenever she helped Charlotte, she would ask him for a little money.

Little by little, it had added up into a rather considerable sum.

She never planned to live in this estate forever.

She had already planned things out.

She intended to use this money to open a shop and make a living.

As for what to sell, she hadn’t decided yet.

But having a plan was better than nothing…

“Deal!”

She glanced at Charlotte unapologetically and casually dragged the large bag of pineapple buns over to herself.

Foolish big brother.

This just means I’m squeezing back all the allowance you squeezed out of me before…

She thought silently.

“Don’t just stay cooped up all the time.

Later, go take a look at the garden.

Those strange flowers have bloomed.

They’ll only bloom tonight.”

He reminded A-Lian.

Ah.

The Night-Blooming Sky Flower.

A-Lian immediately recalled it.

She instantly remembered the gardener in this estate.

That gardener left quite an impression.

She had seen him when she was very young.

A bald man with no hair at all.

He was the one who specifically took care of those Night-Blooming Sky Flowers.

“Alright. I’ll go see them tonight.”

A-Lian replied.

She also planned to draw the family portrait tonight.

After all, once the Night-Blooming Sky Flowers bloomed, everyone in the estate would go to see them together.

It was a yearly tradition.

Charlotte suddenly remembered something, said goodbye, and left.

The wind outside seemed to grow stronger.

The sky grew even darker…

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh…

The wind howled…

Sure enough.

A-Lian lay face-down on the desk and rested for a while that afternoon.

By now, the clock had already reached evening.

She got up, wound the clock with the key, then washed her face with water.

Only then did she feel a bit more refreshed.

She stretched, grabbed her charcoal pencils, and prepared to draw the family portrait.

Actually, an image scroll would have solved it easily.

But image scrolls lacked sincerity.

What a lot of trouble…

She hurried toward the garden, afraid she might miss the blooming window.

She also planned to draw the Night-Blooming Sky Flower and include it in her sketchbook.

Sure enough.

The Night-Blooming Sky Flowers bloomed at night.

Although the wind during the day had been strong, the night was unusually calm.

Only a gentle breeze passed through, causing the flowers to tremble slightly.

The Night-Blooming Sky Flower emitted its own light.

It released an elusive blue glow.

Deep and dark.

In the night, it resembled a lighthouse in the underworld, guiding the reincarnation of the dead…

In short.

It was beautiful.

A-Lian shook her head.

Don’t overthink it.

Why must beautiful things always carry such a feeling…

Before long, the garden filled with people…

A-Lian didn’t want to compete for a spot.

She retreated to a bench, sat at a distance, and quietly watched the faintly glowing flowers.

Time to start drawing.

She picked up the drawing board beside the bench and began sketching based on her impression…

In the darkness of night, near the outer wall of the manor, several men dressed in black gathered together.

They surrounded a short gravestone, saying nothing.

“Begin the operation…”

The leader spoke quietly.

In the next instant, those men vanished without a trace…

The night was too deep.

No one noticed them nearby…

“Father, everything has been arranged.

She’ll come out to sketch tonight.”

Charlotte walked through the corridor with his brother and old Duke Mana, talking under the dim lights.

Alex didn’t want to speak.

He had long felt that something was off about A-Lian.

And today, that feeling had grown heavier.

That vague sense had begun to take solid shape.

He could almost feel droplets of conspiracy condensing from mist.

He was deeply uneasy…

The air smelled fragrant as well…

A little too intoxicating.

Mana thought.

As expected.

The Night-Blooming Sky Flower…

“Thud!”

Charlotte heard a dull sound of something falling.

He turned his head—

And was startled.

His father had suddenly collapsed.

He immediately sensed something was wrong and activated the frenzy energy in his body.

But it was already too late.

All he could feel was a drunken haze washing over him.

Then he collapsed as well…

“Who’s there?! Come out!”

Alex had already sensed something strange earlier.

Now, what he feared most had finally happened…

He had activated his frenzy energy long ago.

Sure enough, within ten minutes, the situation changed drastically…

So his intuition toward conspiracies really was that accurate…

“Whoosh—”

Three silver-glinting throwing knives shot out from the bushes, flying straight toward Alex.

Each knife aimed precisely at his vital points.

The moment he moved, his escape paths were completely sealed.

He had nowhere to dodge.

He didn’t panic.

He extended his left hand toward the air.

“Void Clarity—Break!”

In an instant, golden frenzy energy erupted, blasting the knives away.

Their trajectories scattered wildly before embedding themselves deep into the stone pillars of the corridor.

“Come out!”

He roared.

His right hand gripped the hilt of a Bordeaux-style saber.

His left hand clenched the scabbard tightly.

“Void Clarity—Slash!”

His tensed muscles exploded with force.

He instantly drew the saber and swung it toward the hidden bushes.

A powerful blue blade wind surged forward like a hurricane.

The bushes were blown straight into the air.

“Whoosh—”

A black figure realized things were going badly and leapt out from the shrubs.

He landed directly in front of Alex.

The man wore black night gear, with a pitch-black mask covering his face.

Only a pair of deep, hollow eyes stared straight at Alex.

Alex felt uneasy.

That corpse-like gaze was deeply unsettling.

A blowpipe was strapped to his body.

That fragrance earlier must have come from this.

But what he hadn’t expected was that Alex had remained on full alert the entire time.

Thanks to his frenzy energy, he hadn’t collapsed like his father.

The assassin drew his sword and unleashed his own frenzy energy.

Pale blue battle aura.

Indeed.

Weaker than mine.

Assassins didn’t need to be strong.

As long as they could kill, they were good assassins.

Those who walked in darkness followed no rules.

Poison, of course, was something they freely used.

The throwing knives and sword were likely coated in deadly toxins…

“Who are you?!”

Alex demanded angrily.

“Your guide to the end.”

The man replied in a rough, sandpaper-like voice.

Alex tightened his grip on the sword and fell silent.

Suddenly—

“RAAAAH!”

Alex roared like an enraged golden lion.

He snapped his saber free and began swinging it wildly.

That flowing saber technique left no openings.

With the boost of frenzy energy, even without a horse’s momentum, the force was already unimaginable.

He didn’t even use a martial technique.

Just a single downward slash.

The black-clad man hurriedly gripped his sword with both hands, attempting to block the strike.

He planned to counter at close range and wound Alex.

Then he would retreat.

Within minutes, the poison would take effect.

Alex would collapse.

He’d be meat on the chopping block.

But reality betrayed him—

“Clang!”

A crisp sound rang out.

Both the saber and the sword snapped in two.

A monster…

Alex was like a monster.

He had directly cleaved the sword in half.

The assassin immediately gathered frenzy energy in his legs and leapt backward, retreating more than ten meters.

“Hahahaha! Trying to run?!”

Alex bent low, stored power in his legs, and launched himself like a catapult.

He punched the black-clad man square in the face and tore off his mask in one motion.

What he saw stunned him.

There was no face.

Only eyeballs.

A disposable assassin…