Lebu's fingers trembled.
"…What?"
He muttered in utter shock. The man couldn't help but wonder if Kenny had already foreseen how events would play out and wrote this letter accordingly.
Then does that an… he thought of a possibility.
When Kenny handed his coat, he already knew that he might be apprehended by the enemy?
No, not only apprehended…
He had anticipated his own death as a calculated possibility!
In Lebu's mind, Kenny understood how dangerous what he was uncovering really was.
But more importantly, he trusted Lebu specifically enough to leave him with the truth posthumously.
Lebu's heart was filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he was sorrowful of Kenny's demise, and on the other, he was hopeful of what critical intel the boy's letter might provide him.
With emotions churning in his heart, he continued to read the letter.
"Dear Magus Potts,
"If you're reading this, then I'm probably dead.
"What I uncovered after spying on the Baron was so grave that I knew death wasn't just a risk, it was a likely outco. The mont I understood what I had stumbled into, I realized I couldn't assu I'd make it back to report in person.
"That is why I prepared this letter.
"I didn't do it out of fear. Well… maybe a little. I'd be lying if I wasn't afraid to die. But on a serious note, I did it because whatever is happening is bigger than , and I couldn't afford to let the truth die with my body.
"Please believe when I say this: what I saw wasn't speculation, rumor, or coincidence. It was deliberate, organized, and already in motion.
"And it reaches further into the Brotherhood than anyone wants to admit.
"I'm sorry for acting on my own. I know I disobeyed orders. But if I hadn't followed this lead imdiately, I'm certain the chance would've been lost forever.
"I have heard the stories of the glorious days of the Preservationists. "About the previous leader, Gerald Acadia, and how he was said to be a master spy who could sway nations with his words alone, how he dismantled enemies through persuasion and insight. They say entire wars were avoided, or quietly won, because of a single conversation he orchestrated.
"About the previous leader, Gerald Acadia, and how he was said to be a master spy who could sway nations with his words alone, how he dismantled enemies through persuasion and insight. They say entire wars were avoided, or quietly won, because of a single conversation he orchestrated.
"I've also heard stories about Berger Glynhorn, about how he stord an enemy stronghold by himself and cut down countless foes in the na of righteousness, refusing to retreat even when the odds were impossible.
"These were the great n of our Preservationists faction.
"I've always wanted to be like them. I really have. But I don't know if I'll ever reach their heights. I don't know if I have that kind of brilliance or that kind of strength. "All I know is I did what I could with what I had, and I followed this path for as long as my legs could carry .
"Even so, I make this sacrifice willingly. For spies like them. For the Preservationists. And for the Brotherhood.
"If this is where my road ends, then I hope it at least helps keep the path clear for those who co after …"
Lebu finished reading the first page of the letter, his eyes red and swollen, and his heart filled with undescribable pain.
He didn't just feel grief. He felt pride, regret, and helplessness tangled together, all hitting him at once.
Kenny hadn't been reckless. He'd known exactly what he was risking, and that realization hurt more than anything.
The Agent wiped his tears away, inhaled deeply, then turned the page over.
He continued to read.
"I couldn't carry everything with . It was too risky, and I didn't trust any storage artifact not to be searched or tampered with. So I left all the evidence behind in a secure location, sowhere quiet, sowhere no one would think to look.
"You just have to get there."
Lebu's breath quickened the mont he read those words.
Wasn't this what he and the upper echelons of the Preservationists were struggling to uncover all this ti?
Wasn't this the very thing they had been searching for?
They had thought every lead had gone cold. That whatever corruption ran deep within the organization had vanished along with Kenny.
They had believed the truth had died with him.
But even in death, the boy had left them a final, beautiful parting gift.
Lebu quickly stabilized his emotions, then put all the weapons and material components into his storage artifact. After that, he rushed out of his ho. All the while, he continued to read the letter.
"Old-school tradecraft has always fascinated . So I'm using the Brush Contact thod for this. Because writing the location down would be outright stupid, and you taught better than that.
"Now, then… let us begin.
"Go to Trade Ward, to the old grain bridge near the river, the narrow one people only use when they're in a hurry. Stand at the eastern railing and wait there with a red cloth hanging over your right shoulder.
"A courier will pass you by. He will be carrying a bundle wrapped in a blue cloth. Step aside and let him brush past you. Don't stop him. Don't look back."
Lebu moved through the Trade Ward at a fast but controlled pace, slipping into the morning crowd as if he belonged there, changing cloaks and outer layers more than once as he passed through side streets and alleys to make sure no one could track him for long.
By the ti he reached the old bridge near the river, he looked just like another tired city dweller heading about his business. He stopped at the eastern railing and waited with a red cloth over his right shoulder.
His head was lowered, and his posture was relaxed. But his heart was pounding like a wild horse. It wasn't just the thrill of executing the tradecraft that set his pulse racing, but the fear of what he might uncover at the end of the road.
Lebu waited for several minutes, growing tense with each mont that passed.
At last, the person he was waiting for appeared. A youth in soot-stained clothes erged from the crowd, a blue-wrapped bundle tucked under his arm.
The courier had arrived!
He brushed past Lebu without slowing down and continued on his way, now empty-handed.
By the ti the youth took his next step, the bundle was already in Lebu's grasp.
Lebu entered a secluded alley and quickly unwrapped the bundle. Inside, he found a floppy beret adorned with a peacock feather and beneath it…
Another letter.
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