Chapter 3

In the carriage returning to Pablo Dina Academy, Sir Carmain and his wife continuously comforted Eilu, who was trembling like a frightened lamb. The magistrate of Gerlan Town and the captain of the guard knights of Marley, the young viscount, began to investigate the incident. The truth might be known by the next day.

Not only Eilu was frightened; many of the noblewomen present at the scene were also scared to faint. Many nobles decided to leave Gerlan Town that night, as they feared that the next assassination might target them. Sir Carmain and his wife stayed not only to take care of the frightened Eilu but also to attend Marley's funeral.

Eilu, huddled in a corner of the carriage, kept seeing the scene of Baron Marley's beheading in her mind, especially the last look the assassin gave her, which continuously intensified her fear.

The more she thought about it, the more frightened and painful she became. However, as the disturbing images kept replaying in her mind, the cold, merciless eyes of the assassin suddenly seemed familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before. But Eilu believed it was just a hallucination caused by the deep-seated fear the assassin had instilled in her.

The torment of her mind and body, along with the comfort of her parents, gradually made Eilu fall into a deep sleep.

The news of Marley's assassination spread quickly throughout the Gerlan Mountain region the next day and even further. The students at Pablo Dina Academy were abuzz with discussion, and Eilu, who had taken a leave of absence due to shock and illness, became the focus of their conversations.

The assassination of a noble caused a stir in the otherwise peaceful Chabro Province. Such incidents were rare in the kingdom, as assassinating a noble was tantamount to challenging the底线 of the entire noble class, and all nobles would unite against the threat.

According to the investigation, the assassin was a distant nephew of But, the assistant to Marley's butler. But did not appear at the banquet that night. When the magistrate and the captain of the guard knights first searched But's home, they found him already dead. However, after a thorough search, they discovered 100 gold nars in But's fireplace.

As an assistant butler, But earned only 10 gold nars a year. After serving Marley for only five years, he could not have accumulated such a large sum. Therefore, the assassin must have bribed But to infiltrate the banquet as a servant and, to eliminate the risk of exposure, killed But before the assassination.

The testimonies of the butler, servants, and maids all corroborated this. The nephew was brought into Marley's home as a temporary servant that morning. Since everyone was busy preparing for Marley's birthday banquet, no one paid much attention to the new servant. One servant mentioned that he left for a while while organizing the main table with But's nephew, and the assassin likely placed the weapon under the table and covered it with a tablecloth during that time.

That night, the assassin, using his position as a servant, took the opportunity to draw the weapon and suddenly attacked Marley while pouring wine at his table. Amid the chaos, the assassin escaped. However, the appearance of But's nephew was vague, as the servants and maids who remembered him described him as ordinary, making it difficult to identify him.

This posed a significant challenge for the magistrate and the captain of the guard knights. Days passed with no leads on the assassin, but the news of the assassination had spread throughout the kingdom. Under pressure from Marley's widow, the attention of the nobles, and even the king's inquiries, the magistrate and the captain knew their careers were at stake if they failed to find the assassin.

In the end, the magistrate and the captain of the guard knights colluded. Since the assassin's appearance was described as very common, they staged a dramatic and secret operation. They reported to Marley's widow that they had found the assassin's hiding place and needed the captain's assistance to capture him. With her urgent agreement, the captain led his trusted men into the depths of Gerlan Mountain, where they killed a stranger who somewhat resembled the description given by the servants and maids. To create a convincing scene, the captain and his men even slaughtered all the men the magistrate had brought. When they returned to Gerlan Town with the "assassin" and the dead men, it caused a sensation.

To confirm the identity of the assassin, Marley's widow had the servants and maids who remembered the assassin identify the dead man. Since their memories were vague, the similarities were enough to convince them that this was the assassin. The deaths of the magistrate's men, who were said to have been killed in a struggle with the assassin, added to the credibility of the story.

The magistrate and the captain of the guard knights narrowly avoided a crisis, drenched in cold sweat. As for the motives behind the assassination, that was no longer their concern. The assassin had been caught, and they could now give an account to everyone.

The curtain on the assassination began to fall, but one person remained unconvinced, though she told no one.

Eilu was present when the body was identified. Sir Carmain and his wife had brought her to see the assassin's body to help her overcome her fear. Looking into the dead man's eyes, which seemed to be open in death, she knew by instinct that this was not the assassin, for they were not the cold, merciless eyes she had seen.

Recalling those eyes, her fear was not as intense as before, but a strange sense of familiarity kept rising in her mind. Why did those eyes seem familiar? Was it just a hallucination?

It was not until Eilu, believing she had recovered, returned to the sword training ground and saw the young instructor's gaze that she understood why those eyes seemed familiar. They were the eyes of her young instructor!

Derek Chalane! The assassin was him!

...

Chalane looked at the female student, apparently named Eilu, who was holding a wooden sword and trembling, her eyes filled with fear and unease, as if she were about to collapse. He frowned slightly, but this subtle expression directly caused her to scream and faint. All the students stopped their training and became restless, surrounding the unconscious Eilu. Chalane waved his hand, instructing someone to take her to the medical room, and the rest to continue training, with penalties for any distractions.

It seemed he had been careless. He did not expect that a brief exchange of glances with this female student would make her recognize him. Her intuition was sharp, and he needed to take some safety measures. Indicating for the students to continue training, Chalane left the training ground and headed to the medical room.

Eilu, after being examined by the healer, was found to be fine, just having been startled and fainted. It was likely that she had been reminded of the assassination during her training and had been frightened again. She just needed to rest quietly for a while.

When Chalane arrived at the medical room, the student who had brought Eilu saw the young instructor and immediately returned to continue the scheduled training. The healer had already confirmed that Eilu was fine and just needed to rest. As for why Chalane had suddenly come, they maliciously thought he might be checking if they were slacking off to penalize them.

Looking at Eilu lying on the recovery bed, her beautiful face pale, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, Chalane sat down on a chair beside her bed. The healer was busy elsewhere.

"Speak, I know you are awake. Your breathing became rapid when I approached, so don't pretend anymore."

Chalane's voice was low but audible to Eilu. After hearing his words, Eilu, like a frightened rabbit, half-opened her eyes and whispered, "Instructor, is there something you need?"

"Forget what you saw. Otherwise, you and your parents will become the main characters of that night."

After saying this, Chalane left the bed and returned to the training ground. Eilu's face became even paler. She knew that the young instructor had realized her discovery. If she spoke out, she and her parents would face the same fate as Baron Marley.

At that moment, Eilu suddenly considered leaving the academy.

The cicadas' chirping filled the summer afternoon, and Chalane, lying on a chair, looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. He had grown fond of such quiet moments, where he could occasionally recall his past.

How many years had he been in this familiar yet strange world? The memories of his previous life were gradually fading with time. Only in such a quiet environment could he occasionally recall the past.

Time had worn away everything about him. The cold, merciless man he had become just wanted to live a simple life, with no companions, no family, only himself.

In this daze, it felt like a dream. When would he wake up? When would it end? Perhaps this life would be a dream forever, and the meaning of this dream-like life was unknown.

Closing his eyes, opening them.

(Host) Name: Derek Chalane

Occupation Level: Mid-Rank Swordsman (29)

Health: 290/290

Talent: Sever

Abilities: Disguise, Sword Mastery, Swift Movement, Death's Despair

Mission: Serve as a sword instructor at Pablo Dina Academy in Chabro Province for three years (Mission in progress)

(Other missions available)

...

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