Lou avoided answering and loosened their ropes. At that, Maya, as if suddenly snapping back to reality, grabbed Lou's arm.
"Th-then we have to get out right now! Time is of the essence, what are you doing?!"
"No."
Lou pulled Maya's hand away and spoke firmly.
"Not now. The hallway and all escape routes are blocked. As soon as we leave this room, we will be surrounded."
She added that they wouldn't even be able to reach the escape route they had prepared.
"So, are you telling us to just sit here like this and wait until the governor comes to kill us?!"
"Just wait a moment, I have something in mind."
At the words that escape was impossible right now, Maya's eyes instantly clouded over.
However, Lou pretended not to notice the gaze.
'I can't miss this opportunity.'
Saving her comrades is important, but the opportunity to kill Joachim Lantz will not come again.
Lou sat right in front of Eric.
"Governor Eric will come to this room soon and try to get you to speak. Then,"
She took a small silver pocket watch out of her bosom.
Even with the grime of the moon clinging to it, the intricate patterns engraved on the glossy surface remained unchanged.
"Show him this."
It was the belongings of her brother, Crown Prince Barmia, whom Joachim had killed.
The product of the tragedy that annihilated Lou's entire family, and the specter of the past that Joachim fears most.
If he suspects that the force tormenting him now might be the shadow of her deceased brother, he will never be able to simply overlook this world.
"The moment he opens the clock... You all lie face down on the floor, as far away as possible."
This watch is what she took with her when she fled from the royal family of Barmia a long time ago.
And she carried it around the whole time, even while she was busy trying to survive.
Only to be used as bait to lure him out.
It was modified so that the moment the lid was opened, the fine, compressed poison inside would scatter.
"Eric, don't drag this out too long until you show him the watch. We have to settle this before he gets the hang of it."
"Yes, I can do it."
"The most important thing is that when you open the clock, the governor must be standing 'here'."
Loi raised her head, gauged the distance to the ceiling vent, and firmly pointed to a specific spot on the floor.
Eric's eyes widened. Only then did he realize her intention.
Lou was now attempting to assassinate the governor herself.
"No. That's too dangerous, Lou. The knights are right nearby!"
"I can handle it, don't worry. I've been honing my skills for years for this very moment."
Lou's eyes gleamed. It was not the usual soft, playful gaze. It was a deep blue flame of long-held ambition, never before seen.
Maya flinched, overwhelmed by the fierce aura, but Eric nodded.
"I understand, I will definitely lure them there."
"Then, Lou, what's next? I heard the outside is packed with soldiers. How are we supposed to get out after killing the governor?"
Maya asked in a trembling voice.
"I have something in mind. Detonate this when I give the signal."
White clay powder? Maya opened it and fumbled around.
She could not understand. How on earth could this common powder, used only for finishing walls or gardens, possibly repel soldiers?
Just then, the sound of a knight's boots was heard from outside the door.
As if there was no time to explain in detail, Lou hurriedly shoved the heavy bag of white clay powder into the siblings' arms.
"If we coordinate well, we can get out safely today, Maya. Don't tremble. No matter what happens, I will make sure to get you two out of the castle."
"..."
"Don't worry about us, take care of yourself, Lou."
Eric answered in a low but firm voice instead of the terrified Maya.
The fact that his master was not a man was no longer that important.
Lou had never once broken a promise, and Eric had a vague yet firm belief that he would succeed this time as well.
Lou disappeared back into the ventilation shaft, pressing the dagger in his bosom once more.
***
Tap, tap, tap.
The steady footsteps gradually drew closer.
As the door opened, a huge shadow with its back to the hallway light stretched long over the two kneeling siblings.
“Are these guys?”
A sinister voice grated on the eardrums.
Maya inadvertently raised her head, and as soon as she met the eyes of the governor in front of her, she trembled.
His slender, snake-like pupils were gleaming as if they were about to devour her at any moment.
The hem of the Governor's robe was an unusually dark color. It did not take long to realize that it had turned dark because it was soaked in blood.
"We don’t know anything.”
"With a disaster like this happening, and you claim to know nothing? It seems keeping your mouth shut is considered a virtue for the sewer rats of Karkan, doesn't it?"
There was a strange melody mixed in Joachim's voice.
"...P-please, save me..."
He stared chillingly silently into Maya's trembling eyes, then suddenly turned his chin toward Eric.
Crack-!
The tip of the whip flew in an instant and sliced through Eric's cheek.
"Ugh."
“Brother!”
Maya's scream rang out. Joachim grabbed Eric's hair as he rolled on the floor and staggered, forcing him to lift his head.
"Tell me. Who ordered this? Is it Lord Osric? The Cloned One? Or is it a mole for Emperor Valdina?"
"We... just carried the goods... as we were told..."
Even amidst the pungent stench of blood emanating from Joachim, Eric's eyes were actually shining.
"Liar. Your eyes aren't those of a worthless fellow. I don't know who your master is, but you're a very loyal bastard."
That unwavering gaze offended Joachim.
He let go of Eric's hair, which he had been gripping, as if throwing it to the floor, and pressed down on the back of Eric's hand with his shoe.
"Fine. If you have no intention of speaking of your master, I will rip out that useless throat of yours first. Next, I will gouge out your sister's eyes one by one and stuff them into your mouth. Let's see if you still keep your mouth shut then."
Maya trembled and sobbed.
She couldn't tell if she was afraid of the governor's ruthlessness, Eric was enduring, or if she was afraid of the future she was about to face.
"Bring a dagger instead of doing what you're doing."
“Yes, sir.”
"No, no. Please..."
However, Eric calculated Joachim's location while enduring the pain in the back of his crushed hand.
If he moved just one more step to the side, he would be exactly under the ventilation shaft.
"Ugh, my sister did nothing wrong—!"
Eric twisted his body to the right with a painful groan, as if trying to pull his hand away.
Amidst that pitiful and desperate struggle, a small silver object fell out of his bodice.
"Ah...!"
And, as if hurriedly flustered, he reached out his other hand to pick it up again, but,
“Stop.”
Joachim pulled his foot away and pressed down with his other hand. His gaze was fixed on the floor.
"Ah. It's nothing. This is just..."
"Don't move before I stomp on your neck next time."
Joachim slowly bent over. His snake-like pupils were trembling slightly.
On the tightly closed watch, the silver pattern was like the notoriety that had plagued him for the past few years.
The belongings of the deceased Crown Prince Barmia.
They would have burned every trace of him while taking control of the Crown Prince's Palace.
'Why is that coming out of a lowly worker from Karkan across the sea?'
Is it the remnants of my brother's followers? Or did they bypass me and take my nephew?
'To think you're here in Karkan, not even in Barmia? Did you perhaps know I would come this way?'
As Joachim's mind raced, he unconsciously picked up a small silver watch.
"Even after seeing this, you really don't know anything."
"It, it's not mine!"
Eric shouted in surprise at his ominous voice.
"Yeah, you'll find out soon enough. But don't worry, either way, I'll make sure your deaths are meaningless."
It didn't matter whether it was a dead suspected follower or just a simple coincidence.
But he had to check before that.
That the traces of a ghost are nothing more than insignificant relics devoid of any substance.
'If it’s my brother’s,'
He knew because it was something the Crown Prince often carried in his hand.
If you open the lid, there will be a clock face on the right and that stupid portrait on the left.
Joachim's finger finally pried open the lid.
At that moment, grasp!
As soon as the clock opened, the compressed powder sprang out like a spring.
Just as his vision seemed to be turning white.
As the white clay powder clung to the skin, soaked in moisture and blood, a terrible chemical reaction began.
"Argh, damn it!"
"Your Excellency!"
His skin and the surface of his clothes boiled, spewing out excruciating heat. The moment Joachim writhed in agony from the burning pain of his flesh.
"Up there! No, it's dangerous!"
Rattle!
A heavy breath of life poured down from the vent above his head.
Shhh-!
At Maya's cry, Joachim reflexively turned his body. The assassin's dagger dug deep into Joachim's shoulder, not the crown of his head.
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