Chapter 82: The Best Time to Assassinate

Seeing Grem fall into a dazed state, Leanna shook her head and said:

“Far too naive. On the battlefield, anything you do could cost you your life.”

When facing the enemy, do you reveal all your strength right at the start?

On the battlefield, that’s just begging for a slower death.

A true killing move only brings the greatest effect when used unexpectedly.

These lessons were learned step by step in their fights against monsters and demons.

One must know that if the enemy sees through you, even the strongest could fall.

After Grem was defeated, the rest of his squad posed little threat.

In front of Third-tier Magic, in just a couple of exchanges, they had nearly lost all fighting strength.

At this moment, a wave of disbelief swept through the audience stands.

“I—I didn’t see wrong, did I? Were those all Third-tier Magic?!”

“Grem… lost?”

“No, no, Grem didn’t lose! He must have some other way to win!”

Up on the high platform, Perez looked calm on the surface, but his eyes were full of suspicion and surprise.

Grem had managed to comprehend Third-tier Magic at the age of twenty-four, which was already astonishing.

Who would have expected these Rose Knights to be even more terrifying…

As far as he knew, they had only been learning magic for two months, right?

To master Third-tier Magic in just two months?!

Even though their magic level was only in the twenties, the speed still shocked him. If they truly grew, perhaps there would be a few more Archmages.

But unfortunately, this Duel was one they absolutely could not win.

Looking at the “Nora” beside Renia, he subtly moved his fingers. “Nora” noticed and nodded, silently reciting an incantation.

Yet as the seconds ticked by, she muttered the spell twice, and nothing happened to the Rose Knights in the Arena.

Sweat broke out on her forehead. “Nora” had no idea what went wrong. Facing Perez’s increasingly harsh gaze, she shook her head in panic.

This scene was unfortunately spotted by Renia.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

“Nora” seemed rather guilty. Her answer was weak and lacking confidence. Renia turned her cold gaze away from her and said,

“Is it really nothing? My lady once said, for many things, she’ll only give you one chance. Miss it, and there won’t be another.”

These words sent “Nora’s” anxiety through the roof.

She couldn’t stop herself from wondering if the Saintess had discovered everything they had done and told this maid Renia about it.

Otherwise, why say such things?

Of course, it was also possible the maid knew nothing and was just bluffing.

After a long silence, she gritted her teeth and said, “It really is nothing.”

“Then what were you just casting?”

A sudden jolt went through her. “Nora” sensed danger. “I…”

“Enough. I don’t have the patience to hear your excuses.”

Under “Nora’s” terrified stare, Renia pulled out a dark blue Potion from her robes, looked down at her, and said,

“You’re not Nora at all. This morning, you even put this Potion in the Rose Knights’ breakfast, trying to poison them all.”

Her knees gave out. “Nora” collapsed to the ground, dispelling her disguise to reveal her true appearance. At the same time, she stammered,

“My lady, I—I was forced! This… This was never my intention!”

“Who forced you?”

“This, this… Him! Lord Perez!”

She hesitated for a moment, then pointed at Perez, a trace of strange hatred in her eyes. Perez was alarmed, leaping to his feet and shouting angrily, “Nonsense!”

It was only now that he realized his palms were drenched in sweat.

Secretly poisoning the Rose Knights was no small matter.

If he admitted it, the Mills Family might not be ruined, but they would certainly suffer tremendous loss.

It was something he couldn’t accept as head of the family.

He regretted his actions.

Moreover, seeing the spectators growing curious and turning their attention to the high platform, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed to Renia:

“Lady Renia, shall we speak elsewhere?”

“Why change places? Mr. Perez, are you feeling guilty?”

His face went pale. Perez was silent for a long time before saying directly,

“Fine, I’ll be honest. I did have her put something in the Rose Knights’ food, but it wasn’t poison. It was a Potion to suppress their magic power. This woman must have switched it!”

Since there was no hiding it and even the Saintess from the Oracle Hall already knew, it was better to confess and beg forgiveness.

Besides, he had clearly heard that the Potion in Renia’s hand was not the one he gave “Nora”—someone must have switched it.

In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind.

At the same time, he realized the situation was now completely out of his control.

“Nora” dropped to her knees with a thud, sobbing, “How could I dare switch it! My lady, this Potion was given to me by Perez. I never wanted to harm the Rose Knights, but my life and my family’s are in his hands. If I didn’t follow his orders, my fate would be miserable!”

“Lies! Your family is with the Mills Family, aren’t they? When did I ever force you to do this?”

Perez was furious. Now he understood—the real traitor was by his side all along!

He stepped forward, wanting to strangle “Nora”, but Renia stopped him, so he could only glare and demand,

“Dammit, speak! Who really ordered you?”

“It was you, Lord Perez!”

“You—!”

Perez clutched his chest, as if overwhelmed with anger, unable to speak a word.

In the corner, the Academy Head’s lips curled, and he looked at “Nora” with satisfaction in his eyes.

But in the next second, Renia’s words made him shudder.

“Enough, I said I have no patience. Academy Head, do you have anything you want to explain?”

“Explain what?”

The Academy Head was stunned, then, under Renia’s gaze, understood her meaning.

“What do you mean? You think I did this?! I—I never even met her. How could I have ordered her to switch Potions? My lady, please don’t slander me…”

Clang—!

A sword was drawn. Perez placed it at the Academy Head’s throat and shouted, “Avery! I knew it was you!”

The Academy Head was about to argue, but seeing Renia’s indifferent eyes, he sighed and gave up.

Afterward, he looked at Perez and sneered.

“Yes, it was me. So what? Perez, you’ve been head of the family long enough. Isn’t it time for someone else?”

“Avery, I treated you well, didn’t I? Why betray me?”

“Betrayal? I was never on your side—how could I betray you?” Avery shrugged, completely dismissive.

He reached up and pushed the sword away from his throat.

“Perez, talking is useless now. What’s done is done. Although killing the Rose Knights failed, we’ve still provoked the Oracle Hall’s wrath.”

“The Mills Family will pay in blood, don’t you think?”

A maniacal grin spread across his face. Perez trembled with anger, wanting to kill the Academy Head on the spot.

Their conversation was shielded by magic, so it wasn’t overheard, but everyone in the Arena could see Perez holding his sword to the Academy Head’s throat.

For a moment, the whole Arena was flooded with startled cries.

But right now, Perez didn’t care about any of that.

“Avery! You deserve death!”

“Deserve death? Perez, for the sake of power, how many innocents have you killed? If anyone deserves to die, isn’t it you?”

“Heh, and if you took power, would you be any cleaner?”

That’s the nature of power struggles—whoever takes control, to maintain order, must eliminate all challengers and dissenters.

That’s how Perez acted, and he believed Avery would do the same.

But Avery’s next words completely unnerved Perez.

“I’m not here to argue. I planned all this, and I’m destined to die. Even if I can’t take you down, I can take your daughter.”

“What?!”

“Surprised? Perez, to be honest, you’re the one who doomed your daughter. If you hadn’t suppressed her magic, I couldn’t have had her killed.”

Avery’s words made Perez shake even harder. As if nothing was wrong, Avery counted on his fingers and smiled:

“By now, her head’s probably already been taken, don’t you think?”

“You bastard!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Perez thrust his sword at Avery’s heart, but in the next moment, Renia caught the blade between two fingers. No matter how hard Perez pushed, it wouldn’t budge an inch.

Was this the Saintess’s maid?!

How could she have such strength?

Both Perez and Avery were shocked, but what Renia said next surprised them even more.

“Enough. Utterly foolish.”

She flicked Perez’s sword aside and said coldly,

“Whether it’s poisoning, or your power struggle, the Saintess saw through it all. The reason she left early was to save Duchess Nola.”

“After the Saintess rescues Duchess Nola, you’ll both pay for this. As for you…”

She turned to Avery, patted his shoulder, and effortlessly pushed him down into a chair.

“You two, wait for the Saintess’s return together.”

……

On the edge of Mills City, a solitary gray Tower pierced the clouds, filled with a damp chill that never faded, only broken by rays of sunlight slanting through the narrow windows of each level.

On a middle floor of the Tower, leaning against the cold windowsill, Nola gazed out over Mills City.

The Tower was high, but even from here, she couldn’t see the Arena at Mills Academy.

Standing at the window, she thought of the imposter “Nora” and wondered what she was doing now.

Had the poisoning succeeded? What was the state of the Rose Knights…

Her tangled thoughts wound around her heart like vines.

Logically, she should look forward to the future. If the plan worked, she might even marry the Saintess from the Oracle Hall.

But this was never what she truly wanted.

Love cannot be forced.

Leaning against the wall, she slowly sat down, the smile gone from her lips.

Just then, the clinking of chains echoed from the front of the Tower. Nola frowned, unease creeping into her heart.

Was it meal delivery?

That couldn’t be right. Though meals were delivered daily, they never made such chain sounds when coming.

“La la la—”

Along with the clinking chains, a song hummed at Nola’s ear. She stood up quickly, a growing sense that something was very wrong.

The dragging chains stopped at the door.

Against the light, a girl appeared before Nola, a chain-wrapped black scythe dangling from her hand, its battered, darkened blade resembling dried blood.

Nola silently retreated two steps. “Who are you?”

“Oh my, Lady Nola, after all these years, you don’t recognize me? I’m a Dark Guard trained by the family, sent to protect you.”

The girl tilted her head and smiled, the chains clinking as she moved. The edge of her scythe flashed coldly, reflecting Nola’s pale face.

“I don’t need a special protector.”

“That’s not allowed. With your magic power sealed, now’s the best time to kill… protect you.”

At the word “kill,” she immediately covered her mouth, then stuck out her tongue apologetically and corrected herself.

She was here to kill her!

Realizing the girl’s intent, Nola felt as if a viper crawled up her spine and into her heart. She turned and ran for the stairs to the Tower’s top, trying to keep her voice steady:

“No one comes into this Tower without the family’s permission. You should go. I don’t need protection.”

“Rules are rules. As a Dark Guard, I must complete my mission.”

Giggling, the girl swung her scythe.

Clang—!

Instead of being sliced as she expected, Nola dodged the blow.

The scythe instead lodged deep into the Tower wall, sending sparks flying.

Yanking the chain to pull her weapon free, the girl tapped her red lips with a finger and asked in a mockingly innocent tone:

“Hmm? Are we playing hide and seek? I’ll allow you a head start.”

She broke into a sugary-sweet smile.

“But if I catch you, I’ll have to cut you into little pieces.”