Chapter 45

The four members of the assassination team from the Kingdom of Hagur set off on horseback and arrived at the capital of Ashbury after ten days.

Before setting out, they had gathered some information about the "tall man with silver hair, likely a noble." It was almost certain that he was Jeffrey Asher, the commander of the Second Knight Regiment.

They contacted an informant residing in Ashbury who worked for Hagur and had him investigate the residence of Jeffrey Asher's lover. They also hired locals with money to assist. Within just a few days, the false name Chloe and her residence were identified.

"That's the mansion. There's a detached house. She's probably in the detached house."

During the day, they casually scouted the area and targeted the detached house.

They approached the Yorana Haines residence at night. Lights were on in both the main house and the detached house. After confirming this, they moved a little further away.

"We'll wait an hour after all the lights are out. Three will infiltrate, and one will keep watch."

The leader's instructions were met with nods from the three others.

All the lights went out. After waiting an hour, the four approached the detached house and expertly picked the lock on the door. The three who entered the detached house split into two groups.

The duo quietly opened the door to what seemed to be the main bedroom and entered. The leader and the middle-ranking man approached the bulge in the bed and readied their knives. At that moment, a whooshing sound was heard. Reacting to the sound, they turned and blocked it with their knives.

The man swinging the sword was a large man. The leader, with his night vision, saw that the man had silver hair and was surprised: "Why is it him?"

There was no time to counterattack. The large man's sword was incredibly powerful and fast, and they were forced to defend themselves, barely managing to block the attacks.

The other companion was fighting another man but was soon pinned to the floor by a group of men in black and lost consciousness when his carotid artery was pressed with both hands.

The assassin who entered the children's room stopped moving when he heard the commotion from the adjacent room after taking a few steps inside.

"Did they notice us?"

As he tried to rush to the adjacent room, he was punched in the solar plexus and hit on the head with a club-like object. "Gah!" he gasped, and another man came from behind and choked him with his arm around his neck.

The assassin on watch outside had just seen his companions enter the detached house when a knife was placed at his throat. Another man stood in front of him.

"Move and I'll kill you. Make a sound and I'll kill you."

It was fluent Hagur language. He nodded. He thought about counterattacking when the other man let his guard down, but he was already surrounded by men in black.

After a while, many lamps were lit in the mansion's garden.

The men in black removed the shoes and belts of the four unconscious assassins, stripped them to near-nakedness, tied them up, and carried them away. They were very efficient. The assassins' clothes contained several small hidden weapons. Two of the men in the main bedroom were injured, and the smell of blood lingered in the night air.

The Second Knight Regiment members were checking the perimeter to ensure there were no other accomplices. A member of the Third Knight Regiment approached Jeffrey and said, "Good work," before leaving. Lady Yorana and her servants had quietly evacuated during the day. As they left the Haines residence, Jeffrey glanced at the detached house but quickly turned his gaze to the castle.

The assassins were taken to the dungeon of the castle, where many people were coming and going despite it being midnight. Soon, a man covered in black cloth, except for his eyes, visited the dungeon.

The assassins were all placed in separate cells, where they could not see each other.

"Are you the leader? I've been told you are. Ah, you can't answer because you have a gag. You must be surprised, right? We were waiting for you. There are organizations in Ashbury that take on special missions, even if they are low-profile. We knew you were coming."

Speaking in fluent Hagur language, the interrogator called out, "Okay!" and invited someone into the dungeon.

"Are you nervous, thinking you'll be tortured? Don't worry. We don't do such rough things. We'll just give you an injection."

The leader of the assassins, tied to a chair and gagged, struggled.

"Don't worry. It will just sting a little, and you won't die. You'll just feel relaxed and comfortable. We don't do things like pulling out fingernails, sticking needles, or dunking heads in water, which your organization does. I don't want to see such things either."

The man in black held down the struggling man, and a man in what looked like a doctor's uniform quickly gave him an injection. The man who gave the injection counted for a while and then whispered to the interrogator, "I think it's working."

The commercial kingdom of Ashbury buys this drug from a distant country across the sea. The drug is expensive, but it is very effective. Along with burn ointments, cut remedies, and painkillers, the government also purchases this truth serum. In return, the country buys high-quality ebony and rosewood from Ashbury.

The interrogator brought a chair into the dungeon and sat in front of the tied-up man. The door was locked for safety, but the interrogator was not concerned. The questioning in Hagur language began.

"Alright, who were you targeting? Can you tell me the name of your target?"

The assassin's face slowly moved, and his pupils were constricted as if he were relaxed. The man in black behind him removed the gag.

"Chloe. We came to kill Chloe."

"Yes, Chloe is a woman's name. What kind of person is she?"

"She's the ace of the special unit. Brown hair, brown eyes, medium build, and twenty-seven years old."

"Wow, the ace. I see. Why did Chloe end up being targeted for assassination?"

"She fled."

"Did she make a mistake?"

"No. She disappeared suddenly."

"Just fled?"

"Yes. The king said to kill a dog that has lost its loyalty."

The interrogator nodded several times.

"I see. I've heard that you can't leave your organization even if you want to. Is that true?"

"Leave? Leave the organization?"

"Yes. Can you leave if you want to? Or can't you?"

"No one leaves. As long as they can move, they work."

"What about instructors, clerical work, odd jobs, and cleaning? There's always work. No one leaves the organization."

The man looked as if he had been asked a strange question, but he explained, "There's always work. No one leaves the organization."

The interrogator made eye contact with the man behind him, who shrugged as if to say, "Oh well."

"In Ashbury, we call that 'slavery.' Paid slavery. I understand the situation now. You forged identification to enter the country, illegally entered the grounds of a noble's residence, and entered the building with weapons, attempting to carry out an assassination. That's a serious crime. Now, let's talk about your accomplices living in this country."

The interrogator asked questions one after another and then left the dungeon. His subordinate followed. He called out to the jailer.

"The drug will wear off soon, so keep a close watch. We'll station guards, but they're clever, so don't let your guard down. If they escape again, it will be your head this time."

"Yes, sir."

The interrogator removed the cloth covering his head as he climbed the stairs. His silver hair flowed smoothly. He spoke to his subordinate walking right behind him.

"The communication network I set up was a great success. Getting information before the assassins arrived was impressive, even to me."

"Yes, as expected of the chief."

The emergency information network proposed by Edward Asher, which involved changing horses and personnel to relay information, continued to operate even at night.

"The prime minister says it's too expensive to maintain, but taxes should be used for the safety of the people. Compared to being invaded by another country's army, the maintenance costs are cheap. This has been proven this time."

"Absolutely."

"We need to catch their accomplices in this country tonight. We need to act quickly before they escape."

"Yes, sir."

Edward Asher climbed the stairs with a satisfied look.

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