Shadowless Night

Chapter 18

Kairo Brulite, the escort who was positioned together in the office with Rosaline, had become a senior knight only two years prior. At the moment, he was looking at Rosaline with wide open eyes.

[Kairo Brulite: Kairo of Blue Light, his father is supposedly the Duke Brulite mentioned in Chapter 14]

‘She has memory problems, and she doesn’t know anything?’ It was the first time he heard of this. Rosaline was originally quiet and calm and did not show her emotions easily. Even though he’d never teamed up with her before, they had met several times and greeted each other. But Kairo hadn’t noticed anything odd. He didn’t know whether it was because she was so good at hiding it or it was just his indifference.

Kairo asked her if she was okay with the hand signals the knights use. Rosaline saw the hand signal and tilted her head. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Did she even forget something so basic? And we’re using this kid on an escort mission now?’ His face turned pale.

***

Many people came in and out of the 2nd Prince’s Moonstone Castle. A count, a marquis, a baron, someone’s messenger, someone’s attendant with an invitation, a military strategist, a strategist, a scholar, a knight. Thousands of people came and went regardless of their class.

The escort knights of Moonstone Castle were all on alert to pick out a dangerous person. However, as time passed smoothly without any incidents, their blades began to become dull with peace. Kairo could barely resist yawning. Now, without even a guest, Ricardis was only processing various papers.

Compared to the low-ranking knights who guarded the outside of the castle and were tasked with various training, the job of a senior knight felt very monotonous. Was it physical training to endure long periods of standing still? It was so peaceful that one grew bored.

Ricardis’ break time has come. After three hours of work, he let out a long sigh when his chief secretary rang the bell. Soon the servant pushed the tray inside. It was packed with Ricardis’ favorite tea and snacks to fill his stomach.

The servant, who was busy moving his hands, poured tea into a colorful teacup. He gently scooped the steaming tea with a silver spoon and drank it, then nodded. He said there was nothing wrong with it. Ricardis had been on a long break from his paperwork and had been slacking off a bit. Sunlight poured in from the window, and the room was warm and smelled of tea. It was an afternoon worthy of the word rest.

Ricardis sat on the sofa, looked out the window, grabbed a teacup, and smelled the incense.

It happened when his lips touched the cup.

Rosaline, who had only stood tall like a statue, moved quickly. She grabbed Ricardis’ wrist, who was holding the teacup. The tea overflowed and stained his clothes.

“What rudeness is this now, Sir Rosaline!” Kairo screamed in shock.

How dare a mere knight touch the noble prince! Kairo ran wild, but Ricardis only laughed mischievously.

“What is going on, Sir Rose?”

“Don’t drink it. There seems to be something mixed in.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Kairo’s hand twitched as it roamed the handle of the sword, and Ricardis looked at the servant who had just poured the tea. Although he did not fully trust Rosaline’s words, the servant could not avoid his suspicion. The man holding the teapot became contemplative. He stuttered his words and struggled to get his words out. He protested that he had just drank it and that it had no poison.

“B- Besides, everyone knows that poison doesn’t work on His Highness. Why would I do such a thing?”

“Are you saying you are going to do something like that if the poison does work?” Rosaline asked.

Hearing her words, Ricardis let out a hoarse voice, “That makes sense. Did he create a poison that works?”

“It’s possible,” Rosaline replied.

In an instant, the servant, who was looking at the man and woman bantering with each other, changed his expression and moved. Murder intent reflected in his eyes, which had been complaining of injustice just mere seconds ago. He ripped off his left sleeve with his right hand. He pointed the magic scroll buried under his skin towards Ricardis. Kairo, who had been on guard, drew his sword. But Rosaline, who was talking to Ricardis, came forward first.

Chaeng!

Rosaline’s thin sword pierced the flying scroll. It was so fast that no one could see her draw her sword. The servant’s eyes widened. He was a master of incantations even within the Black Moon. But she flew at the speed of the wind in the blink of an eye. The new escort seemed to have better skills than expected.

The servant’s heart, shaken by the sudden turn of events, quickly regained its composure. He prepared for the second move.

He threw a tray at Rosaline to obstruct her view, then pulled out a dagger from the sole of his shoe and threw himself at Ricardis.

However, the assassin never reached the 2nd Prince.

The dagger pierced the ceiling with a loud bang.

Rosaline’s kick broke the man’s wrist completely. The tray, which had flown at her, was cut in half by her and scattered in the air.

In a brief moment, the assassin accurately recognized the current situation due to repeated training. His arm was broken, ‘Which means the third and fourth plans are discarded. Then I can only prepare the next number…’

Then he saw something strange in front of him. ‘Did the dark-haired escort knight just now throw her sword away in vain? No, why throw away her sword?’

“?!”

“?!”

“?”

‘Why… Why throw away her sword?’ Kairo, the chief secretary Isserion, and even Ricardis were a little perplexed.

Rosaline rushed towards the servant without hesitation. The assassin’s eyes filled with the picture of her dark hair, so the sparkling silver hair of the 2nd Prince disappeared behind her.

Kwang!

There was a dull sound as their bodies collided. His body was thrown and crashed into the wall. The solid wall banged. The escort knights, who noticed this, pulled out their swords and appeared.

“…?”

The knights, who came in with a vicious force, soon were engulfed in worries about whether they should put their swords away. It was due to the assassin being thwarted by one Rosaline. Bam! Bam! She hit well. She hit very well. They watched for a while, and the difference in power was overwhelming.

Rosaline kicked the man who was attacking her. With a clattering sound, the assassin rolled to the feet of the senior knights standing in front of the door. They tried to arrest him as he rolled over, but they trembled and retreated as they saw Rosaline stride closer.

Amid this loud chaos, Rosaline was completely focused on the assassin. Her five senses stood up sharply. Compared to the other party’s heavily injured appearance, her breathing was still calm. She knew the assassin had not yet given up and that he was preparing the next number.

Rosaline narrowed her eyes. Her back was facing the light, but her eyes gleamed.

She grabbed the servant’s collar as he lay on the floor and raised her fist. Pak! Pak! Pak! The knights trembled whenever her fists made a dull sound like a heavy hammer. It wasn’t even cut with a sword, but blood spurted from the man’s nose and mouth like a fountain. With only a few punches, the servant’s face became like a pool of mud clumped together.

‘Is he dead? Do you think he’s dead?’ As Ricardis frowned at the horrific sight in front of him, Kairo suddenly came to his senses and shouted.

“Sir! Sir Rosaline! Stop! That man will die!”

Rosaline looked at the battered servant for a moment. She could still hear his moans and beating heart, so Rosaline shook her head.

“He’s not dead yet.”

It sounded like she was going to beat him to death. Kairo was terrified. Ricardis came to his senses relatively quickly, and he hesitated before calling out.

“We have to… get information… Rose… No, Sir Rosaline. Hand him over and do some clean-up.”

“I understand.”

Rosaline grabbed the servant’s head and slammed it against the wall. It sounded like a watermelon popping. The servant, who had pretended to pass out, passed out for real this time. The knights, who watched the spectacle from the open door, smirked and received the fainted man from her. It seemed that he wouldn’t have the strength to run away even without being tied up, but they still grabbed and dragged him away. A path of blood appeared where the servant passed. The maids who came in soon wiped the bloodstains away with trembling hands.

Rosaline merely sighed and brushed her slightly messy hair.

***

‘The fight is over.’ Rosaline took a breath with an expressionless face.

“How did you know?”

Ricardis’s voice was different from usual. His usually languid voice was one tone higher. He seemed to be quite interested in this situation.

In response to Ricardis’ question, Rosaline reflected on the situation that recently happened. The man slightly scooped the tea with a silver spoon and swallowed the tea. However, to Rosaline, the man’s sound of swallowing was somewhat artificial. She later saw the man spitting the tea into his sleeve while pretending to touch his messy bangs. It happened so quickly that ordinary people would not have noticed.

But even before seeing that scene, Rosaline had been wary from the start. As soon as the servant entered the room, she could smell the stench of rotting blood. It was a scent that could never be smelled from a living person. The Black Moon assassin was wearing the servant’s removed face. Although it had been treated with chemicals, it was not able to completely prevent decay. She didn’t know what the smell was or where it came from, but she thought, there’s no ordinary human being who gives off this smell.

“He only pretended to drink.”

“You have good eyes.”

“And he smelled like blood.”

“Your nose is great. It’s beyond expectations.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Ricardis stared at her, then shifted his gaze to the table. There were a few big drops of blood from the assassin’s mouth, a teapot lying on the floor, and the tea in question that was slowly cooling down without spilling despite the commotion.