The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 230: Chapter 226 — Visit

To Zephyrion’s delight, Ingrid was called away for an important task before he could answer.

She paused for a moment, as though weighing something. Zephyrion silently hoped he wouldn’t have to respond. Eventually, she sighed.

"We’ll talk later. I have to go."

Though her voice carried the unmistakable firmness that this wasn’t over.

The call ended, and Zephyrion slumped onto the bed, turning the question over and over again in his mind.

Truth was, he’d already made his peace with killing. A necessity. A path toward his goal. Nothing else. It was kill or be killed in their world, after all.

Certainly, some were harder to kill than others, and for reasons completely unknown to him, they left his heart aching and his thoughts muddled. Others, however, were frighteningly easy, so easy they felt no different from livestock. The sanguines belonged to the latter category.

’Why did I hesitate?’

Zephyrion’s thoughts churned. Hesitating meant he cared about the answer. But there was no way his sister could use that information against him.

Except...

He cared about how she would take the answer...?

Zephyrion stared blankly at the ceiling until their brief break came to an end. Soon, the soldiers’ booming calls summoning them back to training echoed through the fortress.

He woke Lumi, patiently waiting for her to blink the sleep from her eyes before leaving for training.

Throughout the day’s training, Zephyrion couldn’t shake the nagging question from his mind. Fortunately, the storm of thoughts wasn’t enough to affect his performance. He still dominated every aspect.

This time, however, the cadets’ reactions were a stark contrast to before. Now they clapped, cheered, and praised him after every victory. Even the atmosphere during meals had changed.

The once-divided mess hall had taken another step toward unity. The majority of the tier two and three cadets had gathered around his table, making their allegiance clear.

The other Calderalth cadets wore easy smiles, while the tier one cadets, particularly the city lord descendants, threw pointed looks in their direction. Their own house cadets still gathered around them, unwavering in their loyalty.

Draven was the exception.

The large youth had joined their group without the slightest care for the implications, laughing loudly, slamming his cup onto the table as he cackled at his own unfunny jokes.

Occasionally, he tried talking to Lumi, singing her praises, and Zephyrion found himself fighting back the urge to send him back to his damn table.

Regardless, there was no doubt he had the majority of the cadets on his side now, though there was still more to be done.

The training continued after lunch, and after a long session of comprehension, he returned to his room, intending to use the quiet of the night to think.

Instead, a knock came at the door.

’Who?’

Holding back his irritation, he opened it to find Tobias waiting on the other side.

"What?"

The ward flinched beneath his glare, hastily clearing his throat.

"I-I’m here to see if you need anything, my lord."

It was midnight, for Iron’s sake. What could he possibly need?

"I don’t want anything."

A foot stopped the door from closing.

Zephyrion frowned, his gaze shifting to Tobias, who quickly scratched the back of his head.

"...are you sure... my lord? It can be anything. I can help relax your tense muscles. I can even give foot rubs."

Zephyrion’s stare slowly flattened.

"What do you want?"

The ward had a habit of rambling whenever he wanted something.

Tobias stiffened, clearly shocked he’d been so easily found out, before his eyes dropped to the floor.

"...the results of the test will be announced soon. I-I was wondering if you’d like to wait for them together, my lord."

That was right. The soldiers had announced the results of the pressure test would be out shortly after midnight. They were to determine whether one had performed well or poorly based on the amount of temper points given or deducted.

Tobias stole a cautious glance at him, gauging his reaction.

"...Alright."

"...huh?" Tobias blinked.

"Come in."

As Zephyrion stepped aside to let him through, Tobias remained frozen, still seemingly unable to believe he had actually agreed.

"You... really mean it?"

"You don’t want to?"

"Ah, no, no! I do! I’m coming!"

The room wasn’t large, but it was decently spacious. A single table and chair sat in one corner, with a bed on the opposite side. Tobias avoided the chair as though it were cursed and made himself comfortable on the floor.

Lumi indulged in a long yawn, not bothering to cover her mouth, before blinking at Tobias. As he gave an awkward wave, she simply nodded, then turned away, clearly unconcerned as to why he was there, rolling back to sleep.

"...you can have the chair."

"Oh, I’m perfectly fine down here, my lord! The floor is... cold and hard. Just how I like it."

Zephyrion gave him an odd look, but said nothing. He settled beside the bed instead.

A moment of silence passed. Tobias occasionally adjusted his collar, beads of sweat gathering along his forehead.

"...damn, it’s really hot in here, huh."

Zephyrion felt the air. It was freezing cold.

"...yeah."

"Haha, this room’s exactly like mine, even down to the paint. They really did a remarkable job building this fortress, don’t you think, my lord?"

"...we don’t have to talk."

Tobias stiffened before lowering his gaze.

"...yes."

Zephyrion felt a strange discomfort settle in his chest and sighed inwardly.

"...how long can you last now?"

Tobias blinked at the sudden question, then his eyes widened as he realized what he meant.

"A minute and thirty seconds, my lord! Though longer if I’m actively fighting. The constant movement and all the different smells help."

"Good. You’re making progress. Keep practicing."

"Yes, my lord."

Tobias began fidgeting with his fingers.

"...what?" Zephyrion asked.

Tobias swallowed, hesitating.

"Do you... do you think I’ll ever get past this, my lord?"

Zephyrion fell silent. Judging from the ward’s darkened expression, he clearly hated his current situation. After all, the ward practically fought with his eyes closed. No one in their right mind would want that.