Chapter 8 | The Assassin Receives a Job
“You’re ordering me to kill a member of the royal family?” I asked.
The punishment for such a thing was great. Merely accepting this job could get my whole family put to death.
“Yes. It’s for the greater good,” answered Duke Romalung.
“You said the reason is because he has been bewitched by Countess Granfelt, but isn’t it overly hasty to kill him for that?”
“No, it is more than enough reason for his elimination. There would have been no problem had he simply wanted to support his lover and shower her in gifts, but he’s gone so far as to side with the noble faction. At this rate, the balance between the two political sides will crumble,” the duke clarified.
“That can’t be ignored. So which prince do you wish removed?” I questioned.
There were five people who could officially be referred to as princes. If you included illegitimate children, there were twelve. The severity of this issue was proportionate to who it was.
“The second prince, Ricla,” clarified the princess.
Ricla was a very important person. He and his older brother were both being considered for the throne.
Originally, it looked like the next king would be the eldest son, as his achievements stood head and shoulders above his siblings’. However, the second prince had also performed spectacularly in recent years and had emerged as a rival candidate.
“We had initially planned to make Prince Ricla the next king. He was meek and simple, which made him easy to manipulate. Unfortunately, that is the exact reason Countess Granfelt set her eyes on him… It’s strange. Although undeniably shy, Ricla was never an idiot. I cannot believe he would betray his country for love. I can think of a number of things that could explain his behavior—brainwashing or drugs, perhaps—but all I can know for certain is that he cannot be saved now,” Duke Romalung said.
Initially, I’d thought the decision to kill Ricla was hasty, but I supposed that was just how grave the situation was. I agreed with them that eliminating him as quickly as possible was the right move.
I could not allow a prince to be the puppet of a demon. This task was worthy of a Tuatha Dé.
“Is the nature of this job why Princess Farina gave it to me directly?” I inquired.
“Yes. If Uncle were the only one here, you probably would have suspected he was trying to overthrow the royal family,” replied the princess.
“That’s fair. There’s one big thing that is bothering me, however. Might I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
Pressing the issue was a bit arrogant of me, but with the stakes so high, I couldn’t take any chances.
“You decided that the royal family had to give the order directly. Why would you then use a body double for Princess Farina? It only leaves me feeling suspicious.”
Princess Farina’s expression stiffened, and then a smile slowly emerged on her face.
It was different from the grin she had been wearing previously. Her expression had been sweet, but something about it felt fake. This one, however, seemed natural.
“…What makes you think that I am an impostor?” she asked.
“Your hair proves it. Women of the royal family have pink hair,” I answered.
“But my hair is pink!”
“Indeed. It matches Princess Farina’s exactly. However, while the scent is faint, I smell hair dye. It seems like you’re masking it with perfume, but I can still tell that you colored your hair. The real princess would have no need to do something like that.”
No one but me could have recognized this. Assassins sharpened their senses and always observed their surroundings so as not to overlook even the most trivial of things.
Because the request to kill Prince Ricla was coming from a pretender, I needed to consider the possibility that this was a trap.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, you found me out. Even the king himself didn’t see through my disguise. You really are the Tuatha Dé clan’s greatest masterpiece, Lugh Tuatha Dé! I really like him, Father.”
“Did you need to give up the game so quickly, Nevan?” chided Duke Romalung.
“It’s okay. He’s already figured it out.”
The girl was actually Nevan, Duke Romalung’s only daughter and my upperclassman at the academy.
“Duke Romalung, what is the meaning of this?” I questioned.
“My apologies. I meant this as a small test of sorts. Cian is truly fervent in his praise of you. I harbor no delusions of stealing the royal family’s name or tricking you. I would not be surprised if you doubted my words, so allow me to prove it to you.”
No sooner did he finish speaking than the servant behind us stepped forward. She took off a wig and wiped her face with a wet towel to remove her heavy makeup. She had pink hair, and her face looked identical to Nevan’s.
“Nice to meet you. I am Farina. My apologies. I was personally against this little prank.”
“It educated us on Sir Lugh’s true capabilities, so it worked out for the best, didn’t it? You doubtlessly already know that she is Princess Farina, and I am Nevan Romalung. I was serving as her body double,” said Duke Romalung’s daughter.
“I am Lugh Tuatha Dé. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Princess Farina.”
I stood up and kneeled to show my fealty to the crown.
“Please stand. I saw you kneel earlier, so you have no need to do it again. I leave the rest to you, Duke Romalung,” Princess Farina stated, bowing her head.
She was a humble person. With her and Nevan sporting pink hair, it was admittedly difficult to tell which was the genuine article. They very nearly appeared to be twins.
Seeing my puzzlement, Duke Romalung smiled at me. “Nevan and Farina look a lot alike, don’t they? They’re cousins. That is why Princess Farina calls me Uncle.”
“It must be easy for you two to disguise yourselves and switch places,” I remarked.
“Yes. You are the first person to ever see through the ruse. As you can see, this is a legitimate order from the royal family. Does that put you at ease?” answered the duke.
“For the most part. But I still have some doubts. Why are you working for Princess Farina, Duke Romalung? I would think you’d want to ally yourself with either the first or second prince, the ones in line for the throne.”
“I do so at the behest of my friend the king. He believes Farina to be the most brilliant of his children, but she cannot become king because she’s a woman. Thus, he requested that I find a way for her to wield some authority. I thought to find her a suitable husband at first, but I failed to locate a proper match. My second plan was to have Farina control Ricla. I fed the prince achievements to bolster his reputation… Regrettably, just as he was becoming an influential figure, this happened.”
That explained the duke’s actions. Only men could rise to positions of authority in this country. The duke had prepared a good figurehead behind which Farina could have some influence, but then he was taken from him. Now the duke had no choice but to remove the prince.
“I understand. What if I refuse?”
Duke Romalung’s eyes narrowed. “I cannot guarantee your safety. You know too many things you shouldn’t. Also, I’m sure you understand why we offered Natural You tea leaves and mentioned Maha by name.”
“Yes, I have a good idea.”
It was hard to believe they had discovered that Illig Balor and I were the same person. I didn’t know for sure they had uncovered that much. Perhaps my insurance had kept them partly in the dark.
I chatted with the duke for a while and finally got the answer I was looking for.
“You and Maha are lovers, are you not? I have ascertained that there is some kind of deal between House Tuatha Dé and Natural You. Maha has clearly taken a liking to you; she wouldn’t use company resources to aid you otherwise. The young woman also went out of her way to see you at your Holy Knight ceremony. The inevitable conclusion is that you two are in a relationship.”
I was relieved. It seemed like my insurance had worked.
I didn’t mind if people found out there was a connection between Lugh and Maha. That actually served to further conceal my identity as Illig Balor.
Were someone to deduce that Illig and Lugh were the same person, thus proving a connection between Natural You and House Tuatha Dé, it could be disastrous. Knowing this, I had prepared evidence to make it look like Maha was supporting me because of a personal relationship. I’d hoped that once anyone came upon that, it would stop them from digging further and happening on the truth.
“Looks like I have no way out of this. I accept the job. However, I’ll need support and time to make adequate preparations. I can’t perform the job right away.”
“I understand. You have two months. This is Prince Ricla’s schedule. You decide when best to kill him,” Duke Romalung said, handing me a document.
“Is that all you have to tell me?”
“Hmm. As far as was originally planned, yes. However, I have one proposal for you. Would you have any interest in marrying my niece?”
“Do you mean the princess?” I questioned, shocked.
“Yes, of course. I am losing an important piece in Prince Ricla, and I have imminent need for a new one. You would serve well. You are skilled and wise and a Holy Knight as well as a Chosen. Surely you suit the princess just fine. I doubt becoming the next king sounds like a bad proposition to you.”
“That would be wonderful, Father. I think Princess Farina and Lord Lugh are a perfect match!” exclaimed Nevan.
“If you are willing, Lord Lugh, I would ask you to consider it. I have heard so many splendid things about you,” added Princess Farina.
I assumed whatever she knew about me was the result of a thorough investigation.
“I’ll defer the offer for now. For both of our sakes,” I answered.
I wanted to refuse outright, but doing so would have caused offense. Thus, I chose a way out that showed consideration. If I was ever outed as an assassin and Princess Farina had a connection to me, she would be ruined.
“You’re so nice. I’m liking you more and more,” said the princess.
Nevan looked at her cousin. “Princess Farina, if you marry Lugh, let me borrow him every now and then. I need him for House Romalung, too. Don’t you agree, Father?”
“He is a very impressive man. There is no way I would object,” responded the duke.
By “borrow,” Nevan presumably meant for breeding purposes.
All nobles selected spouses based, to some degree, on the likelihood of producing the best possible heir. House Romalung took it to another level, however. They used all their power to pursue superior genes.
They engaged in selective breeding by taking in the best candidates they could find. I could see the results of that directly in front of me in Duke Romalung and Nevan. They both possessed inhuman beauty and incredible talent.
“Let’s save this talk for another time,” I suggested.
“Very well. We can revisit the topic once the assassination is finished. Let’s meet again at the academy once it reopens. You’d better not ignore me… I’d be especially delighted to meet you in the dorms,” Nevan said with a smile. Her natural one.
It looked like I had caught the attention of a really troublesome character.
The one saving grace was that House Romalung only desired my genetics. The worst-case scenario was sex with Nevan. Still, I planned to do my best to avoid getting roped into that.
Tarte was eying me with puffed-out cheeks, on the verge of crying. I didn’t want to upset her and Dia.
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