"Gentlen... are you even trying?" I asked lazily, looking straight at the two cloaked n who now stood a few paces away, sharp daggers already drawn and glinting in the shadows.
They had likely planned to slit my throat right by the water pipe, but by walking away, I had hand-delivered them a much better location. I had given them a secluded place to kill without attracting the attention of the tavern patrons who might have heard my screams. At least, that was exactly what I wanted them to think.
They didn’t bother to answer my taunt. Their eyes narrowed, and they suddenly shot forward, lunging at with deadly intent.
But they never even made it halfway.
Right on cue, Oliver and Mia materialized from the shadows behind them like phantoms. The two assassins sensed the sudden movent and tried to dodge, but my royal knights were superior in both speed and technique. In one fluid motion, Oliver and Mia swept their legs, slamming both n face-first into the hard dirt and locking their arms behind their backs.
It was fast, ruthless, and efficient. Both assassins wriggled furiously on the ground, but against the crushing grip of highly trained knights, it was entirely to no avail.
I approached them with patient steps looking down coldly at where they lay pinned in the dirt.
"Black Sun?" I asked, my voice devoid of its earlier warmth.
The assassin securely held under Oliver’s knee stopped struggling for a mont, craning his neck to glare up at with hatred.
"You are no true King for Helios!" He spat, his voice dripping with disdain.
It was exactly as I had suspected. The Black Sun was a fanatical faction that despised the current Helios Royalty. To them, my family and I were nothing more than heretics, fake, shaful followers who had corrupted the true teachings of the Sun God, Helios.
"I am the King of Helios," I replied softly. I crouched down in the dirt, casually picking up the fallen dagger that had escaped the zealot’s grip, admiring its sharp edge in the dim light.
"You are just a despicable—nghh!"
Before the second assassin could finish his insult, Mia ruthlessly slamd his face further into the dirt.
"How many of you are lurking about?" I asked.
Neither of them answered, their jaws clamped shut.
"Loyalty among vile, murderous scum will always surprise ," I sighed. Stepping closer, I gripped the hair of the man Oliver was pinning down, jerking his head upward so he was forced to et my gaze.
"Your Majesty, we can dispatch—"
"No," I cut Oliver off calmly. "I do not wish to waste my ti with these n, and I would rather handle it myself."
I pressed the cold steel of the captured blade against his exposed throat. His expression instantly morphed into terror as the reality of his impending death dawned on him.
In my past life on Earth, I had never taken a human life. Gods know there were plenty of people I had wanted to kill, but the strict morals and laws of my old world had always stayed my hand. But in this world, things did not work that way. Here, I was the King, and my word was law.
With a quick, sharp swing, I drew the blade across his throat. Crimson blood spattered across the pebbled ground, spurting wildly as he choked on his own final breath, his eyes rolling back into his skull.
Oliver stepped back, a flicker of surprise crossing his normally stoic features as he watched execute the man without a second thought.
"Now, your turn," I said, turning my cold gaze toward the second assassin. "Haul him up, Mia."
She nodded, hauling him roughly to his feet while keeping his arms securely locked behind his back.
The man shivered violently, his previous glaring face entirely shattered.
"W—Wait!" He shrieked in sudden panic.
"Do you have anything useful to say?" I asked, casually wiping his companion’s blood from the blade onto the fabric of the trembling man’s tunic.
"T—There are three others!" He blurted out, his voice cracking. "We were told to follow you... to take care of you if the opportunity arose, but otherwise, just to observe until they arrive!"
"Until who arrives?" I asked.
"I—I don’t know! Seniors mbers of the Black Sun!" He cried out.
Seniors mbers of the Black Sun. Clearly, so high-ranking figures within that accursed organization were making their move. As expected, it would have been far too convenient for them to simply leave in peace.
I looked at the terrified man and offered him a chilling, empty smile before driving the dagger directly into his gut.
"Gargh!!" He gasped, his eyes wide with agony.
"Thank you for your honesty," I whispered. I pulled the blade free and tossed it onto the dirt.
I reached over, yanking the dark scarf from the dying man’s neck to wipe the fresh blood from my hands. Releasing her grip, Mia let his lifeless body collapse into the dirt beside his companion.
"Your Majesty... perhaps we should have questioned him further regarding the remaining three?" Mia asked cautiously.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "We are leaving imdiately."
I stared down at the two bleeding corpses for a brief mont.
"Who is the Lord governing Helianth again?" I asked.
"That would be Count Dawnheart, Your Majesty," Oliver replied dutifully.
"Dawnheart... that na certainly rings a bell," I muttered thoughtfully before it suddenly clicked. "Wait. Isn’t his son the one engaged to Cynthia?"
"Indeed he is, Your Majesty," Oliver confird.
"Alan Dawnheart, if my mory serves right," I said. "Another Alan... just like Eleanor’s coachman," I noted wryly. I bent down to retrieve the dagger from the ground, ticulously wiping both the blade and the hilt clean with the ruined scarf.
I recalled eting the young noble briefly, perhaps a year or two ago, in Cynthia’s company. Shaking the mory away, I tossed the blood-soaked scarf aside and slipped the clean dagger into my own belt as a spoil of the brief skirmish.
"Oliver, handle the disposal of these bodies and inform the Count of what has transpired here," I ordered briskly. "Though I doubt he is currently in the city. His main estate is situated in a nearby town, if I am not mistaken?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty," he nodded. "Though he occasionally visits, Helianth falls strictly under his jurisdiction."
"Well, if he happens to be here, good. If not, simply inform the highest-ranking official you can find," I said. We could not simply abandon two fresh corpses in the alleyway; it would leave a frustrating enigma for the local knights to solve and unnecessarily frighten the populace. It was far more prudent to officially notify the local leadership.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Oliver bowed slightly.
Leaving him to the task, I turned on my heel and walked off, Mia following closely as we headed back inside the tavern.
I washed my hands once more at the pipe outside before stepping back into the tavern.
Eleanor and Leilah were seated together, speaking in low, concerned voices, but the mont Mia and I returned, visible relief crossed their faces.
"Your Majesty... are you alright?" Eleanor asked at once.
She had clearly noticed that the two n from earlier had not returned, and neither had Oliver. She understood imdiately that sothing had happened.
"Do not worry," I said as I took my seat beside her. "The threat has been handled."
"Your Majesty, using yourself as bait was truly reckless," Eleanor said in a sulky tone, though there was seriousness behind her words.
"Do not trouble yourself over it. Oliver and Mia were with ," I replied, reaching for my glass of water.
But before I could take it, Eleanor placed her hand lightly on my arm.
"I have to trouble myself about it, Your Majesty," she said, her green eyes fixed on mine with quite seriousness. "I am one of your Queens. It is my duty to support and protect you, and also to advise you."
I glanced at her, surprised.
She was truly serious. It was not said in an affectionate or shy manner, for otherwise she would have surely grown embarrassed. No, this was Eleanor speaking out of duty, conviction, and the role she believed she must fulfill at my side.
I smiled at her.
"I shall refrain from doing so from now on," I said, and she nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief.
It was, admittedly, a bit of a lie, since my greater plan to counter the attempts on my life still involved using myself as bait. But naturally, that was not sothing I intended to tell her.
"Anyway, Eleanor, finish quickly. We are leaving at once," I said.
"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" Eleanor asked.
She really was too smart for her own good.
"Hm, there may still be danger, and you were the one who said earlier that we should move on soon," I replied. "I am rely listening to my beloved Queen’s advice."
At that, she nodded with a faintly satisfied smile.
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