TSSAH 07

Chapter 07

I quickly stepped into the guard post.

When a visitor was escorted to the guard post, it usually meant there was some kind of problem.

“Senior, what’s going on?”

“Ah, this person says they have an appointment, but they’re not on the visitor list.”

Senior Jake scratched his forehead with a troubled look and answered.

“I’m telling you, the list is wrong. This appointment was made over a month ago. Honestly. I’m the head of the Green Merchant Guild.”

The man calling himself the guild master didn’t hide his displeasure and kept pressing Senior Jake.

“Who did you say you had an appointment with?”

“Lord Decon Gold.”

“Hmm.”

At the mention of Decon Gold, one of the seven executives, Senior Jake’s face scrunched up even more.

Decon Gold and the people of the Gold family were, as their name suggested, the ones who moved Knox’s money.

Among them, Decon Gold was also the head of the Knox Merchant Guild.

All the executives were influential, but he was particularly one of the most powerful figures in Knox.

“I also have a letter from the Guild Master here.”

The man puffed out his chest and pulled a letter from his coat pocket.

Taking it, I saw it was clearly stamped with Decon Gold’s signature and seal.

“Anyway, since he’s not on the list, the proper procedure is for an operative to escort him to Guild Master Gold’s office to confirm… but,” Senior Jake gestured to the empty guard post and continued, “As you can see, we’re short-handed today. You’ll have to wait a bit.”

“What? The appointment is right now—how long am I supposed to wait? If this causes bad blood with Guild Master Gold and the deal falls through, will you take responsibility?!”

“It’s the regulations, what can I do? If we explain the situation, I’m sure Guild Master Gold will under—”

“I’ll go, Senior.”

At my words, Senior Jake frowned.

“Can you handle it?”

Escorting an outsider temporarily to the main building was usually a task for senior operatives who had built up years of experience. New recruits didn’t know the layout of the massive ducal estate well, and more importantly, they lacked the ability to handle unexpected situations.

“We don’t have a choice, do we?”

“That’s true, but…”

After a moment of deliberation, Senior Jake nodded.

“You went there yesterday, so you roughly know where the main building is, right?”

The main building? The labyrinthine geography of Knox Castle was something I’d memorized long before even getting hired at Knox. More than anything, I needed to confirm something with this ‘Guild Master Green’ person.

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

I answered while looking at the man’s shoes.

“I’ve been waiting, Guild Master Green.”

A handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes greeted Guild Master Green.

“Lord Decon Gold.”

Guild Master Green, who had been frowning the entire way here, finally broke into a wide smile and clasped Decon Gold’s hand. Then he turned to me and snapped.

“What do you take me for!”

“Yes, I apologize for the rudeness.”

I bowed my head slightly, offering a polite apology. But my gaze never left the man’s shoes.

Back when I was active as an assassin for Wickers, I created various assassination tools. After all, there were limits to waiting until nightfall, sneaking in with a single dagger, and slitting throats. The shoes, which could conceal a bladed weapon coated in deadly poison in one sole, were one of the weapons I’d devised during that time. Later, I developed them to mount blades on both sides. After that, the assassins who followed me at Wickers began using the same method. It didn’t require highly advanced skills to make, but it was one of our important trade secrets, so no one outside Wickers’s assassins knew much about those shoes.

‘So why is that Guild Master wearing those shoes?’

And an early model with a blade on only one side, no less.

Could it be… he’s after me?

On the way here, I’d deliberately chosen deserted paths so that only the man and I remained. There had been several perfect moments for an assassination attempt, but he only urged me to walk faster. Even now, standing before Decon Gold, Guild Master Green’s face only showed displeasure.

I was scrutinizing Guild Master Green with my eyes, looking for any other suspicious points, when—

“Ah.”

My eyes met Decon Gold’s. I casually averted my gaze. It seemed like a meaningless glance, as Decon Gold spoke to Guild Master Green.

“Now, let’s go meet His Grace the Duke.”

What?

I froze for a moment.

‘He’s going to meet Killian Knox?’

I’d thought that as long as whoever this guild master was, he wasn’t after me, it would be fine. But if he had an appointment with Killian Knox, that changed things. If those shoes were indeed the ones I’d made, and if the man’s target was Killian Knox…

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue softly.

If things went wrong, the fallout could splash onto me.

First of all, I was the one who had escorted Guild Master Green here. The higher-ups would surely kill the lowly operative who had brought an assassin into the ducal residence first, then start their investigation. Of course, I could probably slip away before that happened. But in the off chance—no, in the one-in-a-million chance—that Killian Knox actually died…

I had decided to infiltrate Knox because, as long as Killian Knox was here, Edward couldn’t touch me. But if something happened to Killian Knox, that shield would vanish too. In other words, no matter what, I’d be saying goodbye to this peaceful life.

‘No, it could just be a self-defense item, right?’

But a gut feeling, one that was never wrong, prickled sharply at the back of my neck.

Damn it. I wanted to observe more, but what excuse could I make to follow them?

As I was agonizing over it, my eyes met Decon Gold’s once more.

“Follow us to His Grace’s office. I’ll have you see the guest out.”

“…Yes, understood.”

At Decon Gold’s unexpected suggestion, I quickly fell in behind them.

Walking along and listening to the two men’s conversation, it seemed Guild Master Green really did have important business.

“I’m finally going to meet His Grace the Duke!”

Guild Master Green said with a bright smile.

‘Was I being too sensitive?’

I couldn’t let my guard down when it came to Wickers. No one knew about my circumstances, so I felt a little embarrassed and bit my lip.

“Your Grace.”

Decon Gold knocked on the already wide-open door of the Duke’s office. Beyond the doorway, I could see a large—no, enormous—stately desk. In front of it stood Killian Knox and DuPont Clanshire. Killian Knox only briefly glanced our way, his attention focused on the documents in his hand. In his stead, DuPont Clanshire, standing beside him, gestured for us to enter.

“Come in.”

Decon Gold guided Guild Master Green inside.

Thud, thud-thud.

I listened to the still-irritating footsteps, but something else caught my eye.

It was Killian Knox’s desk.

‘Have I seen that desk before?’

A strong sense of déjà vu washed over me. In particular, the Knox crest engraved on the wood—the moon and the raven, expressed by lightly scorching the wood to create a different color—looked very familiar. I frowned slightly at the uneasy feeling, like I almost remembered something but not quite, when Decon Gold turned and spoke to me.

“Wait here.”

“Huh? But…”

Just as I was answering, Guild Master Green’s back came into my slightly averted vision. He was walking alone toward Killian Knox, and then I saw him—in a peculiar motion, he lightly stomped his right foot.

And then, a small *click*, and a tiny blade revealed itself.

‘He’s an assassin after all!’

I quickly scanned the room.

But Decon Gold was still looking at me, Killian Knox and DuPont Clanshire were focused on the documents, and even the guards standing watch in the hallway—no one noticed the assassination attempt.

I clenched my fist and held back.

‘Don’t interfere.’

Someone will notice soon enough.

Guild Master Green took a step forward. Nothing had changed. I saw one of the guards standing at the door tilt his head, but he didn’t look certain.

Guild Master Green—no, the assassin—took another step.

‘Killian Knox is a monster; he’ll dodge it somehow.’

But the Duke’s dragon eyes, which could even catch hidden spies, were busy reading the papers in his hand.

‘Just look up!’

Thud, thud-thud.

Killian Knox was within the assassin’s effective range.

‘Please, just—!’

I barely held back the torrent of curses threatening to spill from my mouth and waited until the very, very last moment.

But the moment the assassin finally lifted one foot—

“Oh, screw this!”

I shoved Decon Gold aside and started running.