Assassin

Roland was lying on his bed with his feet touching the ground. He was currently thinking hard about what Nightingale just told him. To him, their entire group seemed a bit fanatical when it came to finding that Holy Mountain. He understood their desperation but he still had a hard time believing in the existence of such a place.

Suddenly, a feeling of him not being alone returned but this time it was slightly stronger than before.

'Could it be that by meeting Nightingale and getting to know her a bit, I became more sensitive to her presence?'

"So...Was your talk fruitful?" Roland said into empty air while looking at the ceiling.

"...Not really, I mean not at all. By the way, were you asking this in regular intervals, or did you truly feel me entering the room?" Nightingale asked, appearing out of thin air.

Hearing her question, Roland sat up and looked towards her with an uncertain expression.

"Would you do a small favor for me in exchange for an honest and more detailed answer?" Roland asked with a curious expression which arose Nightingale's interest.

"That depends on what favor..."

"I have already told you that I have an assassin among my people, right?"

"You want me to find them? That's not going to be easy so I am not sure it is worth 1 answer...maybe for honestly answering 3 questions of mine without giving vague or evasive answers." Nightingale sat down next to Roland and replied with a seductive smile.

"Thankfully I already know who it is. What I need is for you to sneak up to them and knock them out and then bring them here without anyone noticing. Oh, I didn't ask but can you make anyone else invisible?"

"You already know who it is and you still haven't got rid of them? I must say your courage or foolishness once again impresses me, Your Highness. But after everything we have discussed, I take it this was also part of your plan...As for your worry, I certainly can take someone with me"

"To be honest, at first I just didn't have time to deal with them but in the end, I thought that they will have to get new orders since they think their assassination failed so why not catch the assassin and the letter with new orders too. It has been several days since my assassination attempt, they should have already let the one behind this know that they failed, they are no longer useful to me since they are eating my provisions. And it has nothing to do with courage, discovered assassin is nothing but a broken sword. That's why it is an assassin's code to either kill everyone or one's self if discovered." Roland shrugged his shoulders upon seeing Nightingale think so highly of him.

'They "think" that they failed?' Nightingale found a few of Roland's words slightly odd.

"How come a prince knows so much about assassins, if I didn't know who I am talking to, I would have thought that you are an experienced assassin, Your Highness." Nightingale hugged her right knee, showing Roland a full view of her thigh from the side.

"So...Will you do this favor for me?" Roland decided to ignore her words and asked for her answer.

"...I will and also for free. Who is it?" She said with a smile but Roland didn't like her reply.

"...Let's just make a fair trade. Tell me what you want."

"Hehe, as I said, I want nothing from you, Your Highness." She replied with a knowing smile as if she found Roland's weakness but also another point that told her she can trust him. The real reason Roland wanted a fair trade was that he was afraid of owing her a favor, obviously, she never said that he would owe her a favor but Nightingale discovered that he would still think that way. And people thinking like him usually try their best to return the favor no matter what.

"*sigh* It is Tyre, I am pretty sure you know who it is. Out of all maids, she spends the most time around me."

"Oh? So it is an unstable harem...That certainly complicates things for you, Your Highness. Are you sure she doesn't want you dead just because you don't spend enough time with her?" Nightingale asked with a teasing tone.

"If that's the case, she will get all my undivided attention tonight"

Nightingale quite liked that Roland wasn't boring despite his usual nonchalant behavior, he always responded to her teasing with a good and funny answer.

"So you just want me to knock her out and bring her here? I could interrogate her for you if you want." She asked, this time a bit more serious.

"No need but you can help me if you want. I can talk and if talking won't be enough...I would rather let a woman hurt another woman but if you don't want to take a part in this, it won't be a problem."

She didn't answer him and only smiled before disappearing right in front of his eyes.

'Truly frightening ability...dream of every assassin.'

Not even 1 minute passed and Roland felt something dropping on his bed before Nightingale appeared standing next to the bed with unconscious Tyre lying on the bed.

"Seriously? Did you have to put her on my bed?" Roland asked with a slightly annoyed tone before he took the rope he prepared beforehand to tie Tyre's legs and hands.

"What, don't like her scent? Still, I had no idea that Your Highness is into these things and here I thought that you are nothing like the rumors say..." Nightingale said as if Roland broke her trust, hugging her body as if to protect herself.

"...I expected this one" Roland just glanced at her before focusing on Tyre once again.

Roland took off his favorite gloves and took the pair he didn't like much before he opened Tyre's mouth, he caught her tongue and started searching inside her mouth which earned a genuine frown from Nightingale.

"I am searching for any poison, don't make it any weirder than it already is." Roland said as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Ah! She really had one prepared which means she must have been trained for some time. Regular people wouldn't even dare put poison in their mouths." Roland said as he took a pill out of Tyre's mouth, putting the pill aside before taking off his gloves and throwing them into the hearth.

Roland put unconscious Tyre on the chair and splashed her face with the water. Tyre's eyelashes trembled a bit before she slowly opened her eyes.

"Ugh, where...?!" Her eyes widened when she saw Roland and Nightingale who already put her hood on standing in front of her. She quickly understood the situation when she noticed that she can't move.

"Did you have a good sleep, Tyre?" Roland squatted down and asked with a smile.

"..." Instead of answering, her tongue was frantically moving around in her mouth as if trying to find something.

"Are looking for this?" Roland showed her the pill on the nightstand and upon seeing this, Tyre's expression finally changed to a panicked one.

"H-How...What have I done, Your Highness?" Not it was the time for her to act innocent. Seeing this, Roland couldn't help but release a nostalgic smile.

"Tyre, don't act like I am an idiot. Well, maybe you really think I am but that would only complicate things. Tell me, who is behind you, who is giving you orders. We can still do it peacefully, Tyre."

"...I can't tell you." Hearing Roland's words, Tyre was silent a few seconds before replying with a dejected expression while looking down.

"Tyre, you don't have any choice now. Either you will suffer or die quickly and even if you will keep your mouth shut through all the pain, I will still figure it out because you must be expecting new orders. And if you haven't burned all letters you have ever received, I believe I can find out even without your help. All I need to find is who is being used against you for you to keep your mouth shut." Roland said, still with a smile on his face. He has already seen numerous types of people and their expressions during interrogation, to him, it was clear as day that Tyre is being threatened, that she isn't an independent assassin but just a chess piece.

"...How?" Tyre muttered in low voice.

"Hm?" Roland tilted his head to the side.

"H-How did you survive that poison?! I saw you drink it with my own eyes!!" Tyre raised her voice and started questioning one thing that didn't make any sense in her mind.

Roland frowned upon hearing her words, he took a glance behind him at Nightingale before he smiled and brought his mouth right next to Tyre's right ear.

"*Who said that I have survived? Who said that you have failed in your attempt?*" Roland said slowly and in a gentle tone before gently blowing air into Tyre's ear whose face completely changed as her entire body began shaking.

"What did you tell her?" Nightingale couldn't help but ask after seeing this abrupt change.

"That's a secret~" Roland turned to Nightingale and said with a playful smile with his index finger over his lips.

"So...?" Roland asked, resting his hands on his hips while looking down at Tyre.

"...T-Timothy" Tyre whispered in a shaky voice.

Roland narrowed his eyes before looking at Nightingale who shook her head and Roland immediately showed her a grateful smile.

"Tyre...my patience is truly going to disappear shortly. Do you truly wish to see the gates of hell?" Roland said in a harsher tone, visibly annoyed by her lie.

"...You are collaborating with a witch?!" Tyre said in disbelief when the hooded figure readily could tell that she is lying.

"Should I be collaborating with you, an assassin? Name, now!" Roland said firmly and anyone inside the room could tell that it was the last time he would be asking so peacefully.

"...Garcia Wimbledon" Tyre said, completely deprived of any fighting spirit. Roland looked at Nightingale who nodded her head.

"Good, don't worry, whoever is hold hostage shouldn't die as long as I won't take any actions indicating that I know my sister was behind you. Also...thank you, it's only because of you that I am here right now." Roland said with a reassuring smile but it seemed that Tyre was just waiting for her death in silence.

"Your Highness, should I-" Nightingale felt that it was her time to take care of the rest but before she finished her sentence, Roland gripped his dagger and pierced Tyre's heart.

"...She was my maid, my responsibility. I can only hope you will have a better afterlife, Tyre." Roland said, taking the dagger out of Tyre's heart before burning the wound with a candle and then dressing the wound so no more blood would leak on the floor.

'...My first kill in this world. It doesn't feel any different, no, it feels a bit different...This was my own choice, I decided to do this on my own without anyone interfering.'