Volume 4, Chapter 38 – Assassination in Progress (Part 1)

Thick gray clouds shrouded the sky, preventing the sunlight from reaching this place where it should not be. As if reflecting the dark thoughts surging beneath the city, the gray stone metropolis was exceptionally silent. The air was filled with dust, which mixed with the bloody stench emanating from the alleys, creating a nauseating smell.

There were only two days left until Count Pescia’s northern expedition, which was also the day the assassination plan was to begin. As promised, Yisi handed over control of the body to Edith, while she and her companions waited in a forest within the Pescia territory. The assassination plan didn’t require many people; Edith only had Refina and two other pets accompany her, while the remaining pet stayed behind with the assassins.

Standing on a rock jutting out from a cliff, Yisi gazed at Elden City and sighed.

“Hah.”

Tiffany tilted her head, her light green twintails swaying along with the movement.

“Very worried?”

“Not that worried. I gave Refina an item that can save her life, so even if they encounter danger, it can keep them safe for a moment.”

And then I can take the opportunity to get them out.

This was Yisi’s thought.

Tiffany pressed on.

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“But you sighed?”

She probably meant to ask why she was sighing if she wasn’t worried.

Yisi shook her head.

“I’m not worried about Edith and Refina failing, but about how they will face the dead-end situation after they fail. Assassination is already the last resort. If even this fails, I don’t know what Edith will do when she returns.”

And the problem wasn’t just what to do after she returned, but also her unstable soul. For Edith to live, she had to find a way for both of them to exist independently as soon as possible. It could be said that this assassination was not just for honor, but also for Edith’s life. These past two days, Edith had even experienced memory loss. If this continued, let alone her soul dissipating, the real Edith might quietly pass away before that time even came.

“It’s okay,” Tiffany reached out and took Yisi’s hand. “You’re here.”

“I’d rather she succeed than have to help her.”

If even this failed, Edith should face reality and turn to others for help.

For some reason, Yisi couldn’t imagine a scene of Edith asking for help from others. She squeezed Tiffany’s hand and sighed again.

“I hope so…”

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In the noble district of Elden City, on the street near the Pescia mansion.

Apart from purebloods and high-ranking vampires, other vampires could not walk in the sunlight. And even for high-ranking vampires, they could merely bathe in the sun; it didn’t mean they could enjoy its warmth like purebloods.

This directly illustrated how disadvantaged vampires were during the day. In fact, through a long process of natural evolution, the blood clan had developed the habit of being nocturnal. Their night vision was excellent, but in contrast, they became blind during the day. Lower and middle-class vampires could barely see in strong sunlight. To make an analogy, a vampire during the day was like a human at night.

Thus, the assassination plan was chosen to be carried out during the day.

In this country where bloodline and caste determined social status, professions like soldiers and guards were mostly held by lower and middle-class vampires. Even though the Pescia territory was perennially covered by thick clouds, allowing them to be active during the day, it didn’t mean their vision was as good as it was at night. Edith, having commanded soldiers before, was very clear about this.

Unfortunately, only sunlight posed a threat to vampires; ordinary lights and fire caused almost no interference. Edith, peering at the mansion’s courtyard, felt a slight regret.

“Master, Samael is ready. The curtain of the seventh room on the third floor has been drawn.”

The drawn curtain was the signal to begin, representing that Samael was fully prepared.

“According to the plan, you, Chesire, and Eileen will go to the back garden. I will go find Hetty after you’ve arrived.”

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“Yes. Please be careful, Master.”

After speaking, Refina turned to leave, but Edith suddenly added a sentence she would never have said in the past.

“Don’t die.”

“Ah… I-I will!”

Her eyes filled with joy, Refina left the alley with exceptional speed.

Taking Gungnir from her storage magic, Edith stared at the room where Hetty was resting.

“Well then, I’ll let you live a little longer.”

Now, all she had to do was wait for the sound of an explosion.

The plan was divided into three parts.

First was the cooperation between Refina and Samael. Because Yisi had inadvertently captured the Frost Giants that were supposed to be wreaking havoc in the territory, Hetty’s vigilance had greatly increased. She had ordered Samael to be by her side at all times, even standing guard in her bedroom while she slept. This had led to Hetty’s over-reliance on him.

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In the initial phase of the plan, while Hetty was sound asleep, Samael would use his ability to be immune to all negative effects to sneak out of the room. He would then draw the curtain of the seventh room on the third floor, signaling that the time was ripe.

Upon seeing the signal, Edith’s group would begin the second part of the plan—distracting the guards.

Although from the previous situation, the guards of the mansion remembered Edith’s appearance and she could have walked in openly, the problem was that Yisi, in order to save her from a desperate situation, had used the appearance-altering [Third Form Awakening] in front of the soldiers. Coupled with Hetty’s propaganda, which lied to the soldiers that they had been subjected to mind magic and that Edith was the real impostor, some of the soldiers had begun to believe they had been bewitched and had sided with Hetty.

This had forced Edith to abandon a direct approach and instead use a diversionary tactic: have Refina, Chesire, and Eileen use magic to create a disturbance in the back garden, drawing most of the guards’ attention there, while she took the opportunity to enter the mansion from the front.

Then came the third part of the plan.

Since the noise from the back garden had to be loud enough to attract all the guards’ attention, it meant that Hetty and Count Pescia would also be awakened. The assassination plan had to avoid a situation where the Count and Hetty were together—Edith could not fight two opponents at once.

Therefore, Samael, as the inside man, had to create a situation where the two were separated. For example, by replacing the drugged incense with a normal one the day before, he could ensure Hetty was in a deep sleep, unable to sense what was happening outside. Then, Samael would rush to the back garden along with the guards, avoiding the scene of Edith assassinating Hetty and creating an alibi, allowing Edith to finish Hetty off.

It must be said that creating an alibi was at Samael’s insistence. He was afraid that Edith’s assassination would fail.

If he faced Hetty together with Edith, their chances of winning would certainly increase. Even though Samael had said that a fallen angel’s abilities would be temporarily lost when harboring malicious intent towards another, he was still a very experienced assassin.

But on the other hand, if Hetty had a hidden special ability that no one knew about and escaped from their joint assassination, the betrayed Samael would have to face her wrath and die in the most humiliating way under her slave contract. Samael did not fear death; he feared dying without having fulfilled his duty to his Demon Lord.