TSSAH 10

Chapter 10

Damn that Knox!

He never lets me let my guard down!

I gritted my teeth inwardly and kept up the pretense of sleeping.

Runnelk Ains, a low-level member of the action team, would be sleeping soundly, unaware of the world, until someone knocked on the door.

*Swish, swish.*

Sharpening my hearing, I could tell for certain.

This was on a completely different level from the sounds Senior Jake—who had no caution whatsoever—used to make.

*Shh, shh, swish.*

The faint friction of shoe soles lightly brushing the floor sounded like the wind.

Even in the dead of night, when all was quiet, the footsteps were barely audible—the movement of a properly trained professional.

*’Please just pass by, please.’*

I don’t know who it is, but maybe the hospital corridor is just a shortcut to their destination?

*’Please.’*

*Swish—*

Damn it!

The footsteps finally stopped right in front of my sickroom.

*Click.*

They even turned the doorknob and then paused before opening the door.

It was a precautionary measure in case the target inside had woken up due to the noise.

The intruder was probably pressing their ear against the door right now, checking whether my breathing or signs had changed.

The best response would be to kick the door open and launch a preemptive strike.

But I focused solely on maintaining steady breathing.

*’There’s no killing intent.’*

Though they were sneaking in, there was no piercing killing intent.

That meant they had a different purpose.

For example, surveillance or intimidation.

*’Which one is it?’*

However, in the case of extremely skilled assassins, they can hide their killing intent until the moment they strike.

*Swish, swish.*

I kept track of the footsteps approaching the bed, even more muffled than in the corridor, and prepared to open my eyes and roll under the bed at any moment.

*Flutter!*

Suddenly, a rough cloth touched my face, and by the time I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything.

*’Ah, kidnapping was also a possibility.’*

When I struggled as if startled, a strong hand clamped over my mouth.

“Mmph!”

If the target resisted as if about to scream, one would normally shout or threaten to kill them if they didn’t stay quiet.

But the intruder—no, the kidnapper—didn’t do that.

My attempt to gather hints about the unseen opponent through their voice or tone of voice didn’t work.

The price for failure came in the form of a sharp knife-hand strike to the back of my neck.

*Thwack!*

‘Ah, they missed.’

Still, I let my body go limp as if unconscious, and the kidnapper hoisted me over their shoulder and began to move.

*’This doesn’t seem like Wickers’ doing.’*

They wouldn’t handle the enemy who killed their boss and fled so gently.

At least knowing it probably wasn’t Edward’s doing put my mind at ease somewhat.

*’Well, kidnapping isn’t really that guy’s style anyway.’*

If anything, he’d be more likely to storm through the main gate of Knox.

Then who could it be?

I was racking my brain, trying to remember if I’d incurred any grudges during my time at Knox that would warrant kidnapping, when I heard a *clink* sound.

The sound of a small bead rolling, followed by a sweet fragrance spreading through the air.

*’Eating candy?’*

Even though I was pretending to be unconscious, this was remarkably lacking in tension.

It almost made me lose my will to keep up the act.

But something felt off.

*’Why are we going up?’*

The ward was located on the first floor of the main building, in the east wing.

For someone of this skill level, it would have been advantageous to sneak a person out unnoticed.

Yet the kidnapper was heading upward, not outside.

Via the stairs leading to the center, no less.

Second floor, then third floor.

Ridiculously, the kidnapper walked up the main building stairs as if they were in their own home, only muffling their footsteps upon reaching the third floor.

*’What was on the third floor of the main building?’*

I recalled the layout of the Knox mansion in my mind.

The third floor’s structure was simple.

The grand conference room where the last incident had occurred, and, and…

*’Ah, surely not.’*

Even as I laughed it off inwardly, a chill ran down my spine.

*’Let’s escape.’*

At the sound of the door opening, I struggled to break free, but I was tossed onto the hard floor like a sack of potatoes.

*Thump!*

The damned kidnapper, as if having completed their task, annoyingly crept away on their own.

“Ugh…”

I rubbed my throbbing backside and roughly pulled off the sack covering my face with my free hand.

No, I tried to.

I froze.

*’Someone’s here.’*

I felt a faint presence not far away.

It appeared briefly, like a passing breeze, and vanished just as quickly, but I was definitely not alone here.

*’Pretending to be unconscious again… it’s too late, isn’t it?’*

Ah, I don’t want to take this sack off.

If possible, I’d rather not see anything forever.

*Slip.*

The half-removed hood, cruelly indifferent to my wishes, slid down.

And what came into my brightened vision was—

“There you are.”

Killian Knox, with the cold moon at his back.

If I could turn back time, I’d go back a few hours and grab DuPont Clansher by the collar to demand an explanation.

*’You said the Duke was too busy with official duties!’*

No, if I could really turn back time, I wouldn’t have stopped the Green Trading Company’s head in the first place.

Whatever happened to Killian Knox, I should have just left it alone.

But as regrets always go, it was already too late.

*Gulp.*

The sound of me swallowing dryly echoed loudly.

In the needle-point silence, Killian Knox’s golden eyes glowed eerily.

But more than that, what made me hold my breath was the killing intent that pierced my skin.

Unconcealed, blatant killing intent.

With an expressionless face, he was radiating a killing intent so dense it was unimaginable, pouring it all toward me.

This bastard wants my blood.

…Why?

“Runnelk Ains, member of the action team.”

Killian Knox called my name.

“Y-yes, that’s me. I’m Runnelk Ains…”

“You stopped the Green Trading Company’s head here today.”

Sure enough, I was kneeling in the middle of the Duke’s office.

The third floor of the main building only had the grand conference room and the Duke’s office.

“How did you know?”

“What exactly… I’m certain I fell asleep in the w-ward, so why am I here…”

“I’m asking how you knew the Green Trading Company’s head was after my life.”

Killian Knox bit out each syllable as he asked.

It was completely unlike him.

*’This isn’t good.’*

The Killian Knox I’d encountered in the bathroom, and the Killian Knox who had silenced the assassin by stomping on his head—both were sufficiently threatening figures.

But neither was as terrifying as the man before me right now.

“Well, you see… the signs were a bit off.”

I kept my body low as I answered.

“Deacon Gold’s letter specified a meeting time with plenty of leeway, yet he kept pushing to meet sooner. And he seemed rather anxious…”

“Anxious?”

“M-most people are nervous when going to meet His Grace the Duke. But that man acted like he couldn’t wait to see you, and it struck me as odd…”

Though I rattled off the kind of explanation an eager low-level operative might give, no response came back.

…Did it work?

No, it had to have worked.

Otherwise, I would…

At that moment, Killian Knox walked toward me and gave an order.

“Raise your head.”

I slowly straightened my body, which had been pressed low to the ground.

I knew that if I didn’t obey, Killian’s foot would crush my skull just like that.

“How curious.”

The moment I raised my head with all my might.

He abruptly thrust his face close to mine.

*Huff.*

As I stopped breathing in surprise, he muttered.

“Quite curious, indeed.”

Interest? Displeasure?

The emotions flickering in his golden eyes were impossible to pin down.

“Just moments ago, you sensed my presence before even removing your hood. Correct?”

“Th-that was merely coincidence…”

“When the Green Trading Company’s head arrived.”

Killian Knox’s words shifted to the events of the day.

“Neither DuPont, nor Deacon, nor any of the knights guarding the entrance noticed that he was targeting me. It’s been a while since a bug charged at me directly, so only I was watching him. And yet—you saw the same thing I did.”

Between his low-pitched words, a rough growl crept in.

“Was that also coincidence, Runnelk Ains?”