Chapter 393: Chapter 393: Distress Letter_1
Aiden led the two into a room on the side of the library, which was a laboratory Aiden provided for Asenna’s research. Aiden allowed her to study some simple necromancy here and to organize and write some papers on anatomy. This place was far more secluded than the library and reading room, and it also had better sound insulation.
"I’m a bit surprised," Aiden indicated for Asenna and Sera to sit down before taking a seat opposite them, then looked at Asenna, "You’ve never liked to meddle in others’ affairs, and you were a hundred times reluctant when this task was given to you. Now you suddenly want to eavesdrop? In just a few days, your relationship has become this good?"
"Sorry Warden, I really don’t like her at all," Asenna said indifferently, "If this noble girl weren’t under your protection, I would definitely hit her with a ’Wraith’s Wail’ so she’d roll away far and beyond."
Sera cautiously glanced at Asenna, looking quite submissive. She was no longer so easily frightened by Asenna, but the moment Asenna opened her mouth, Sera could feel that the other was serious and not joking.
"You’ve always been indifferent to others," Aiden continued. "Hatred is also a form of attention, which means she can at least stir a bit of interest in you. Well, since you’ve been assigned as her bodyguard, letting you in on some matters wouldn’t be too much." Aiden then looked toward Sera, "I’ll keep it simple, I was ambushed by the secret police tonight, led by Earl Hofman."
"Is it really him?" Sera still had some doubts.
"There’s no mistake," Aiden thought to himself that otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to flee back here, "I almost fed him a bullet, but alas, someone blocked the shot."
Aiden spoke lightly, but Sera’s heart jumped to her throat upon hearing it.
Asenna observed Sera’s suddenly tense expression and quickly grasped the situation, then she looked at Aiden and interjected, "Warden, discussing how you nearly killed someone’s beloved man in front of them, your coldness is really fascinating. Do you indeed have an interest in snatching love with a heavy blade?"
Aiden showed no reaction to Asenna’s jest but instead looked at Sera: "So, you and Earl Hofman are actually lovers?"
After hesitating for a moment, Sera finally nodded.
"I never thought I’d get to see such a clichéd script in my lifetime," Aiden commented.
He had noticed before that Sera’s relationship with Earl Hofman was out of the ordinary, and now that it was confirmed they were lovers, it was within his expectations.
That’s why he felt it was even more necessary to give Sera a heads-up.
"This encounter was unexpected for me; I didn’t think he would come for me personally," Aiden stated calmly, "But next time won’t be the same; if he comes for me again with his men, I’ll be prepared. I’ll be straightforward with you—if necessary, I will kill Hofman."
Aiden indeed planned to do so; his goals were clear, with only two points: first, to deal with the assassination and infiltration by the Gistas Royal Secret Police within the prison; second, to obtain the Divine Words from Heinz Hofman.
Killing Heinz Hofman could immediately resolve both objectives, as due to their positions, he couldn’t make deals with the secret police and could only confront them.
Showing mercy to such an opponent would only leave trouble for himself.
Although he had revealed two of his cards, his biggest trump card was still hidden, and he still had the mercury amalgam golem to use. Moreover, these secret police were now enemies of the entire city’s military and police forces after their failed attack on him.
In any case, these foreign spies were indeed threatening his personal safety now, and killing the spy leader could be considered legitimate self-defense.
Sera’s eyes widened in shock, and she spoke without thinking, "Wait—"
"I’m not here to ask for your opinion, just to inform you," Aiden said calmly, interrupting her. "Clearly, your so-called King brother values you, and he values him as well, which is why he sent him to carry out this task personally. It was to effectively finish you off and to force him to pick a side. Killing him will collapse the assault of the secret police, and you won’t have to worry about your life for a short while."
"But I..." Sera’s lips trembled.
"Incredible, driven to this point and still worried about your man’s safety. If you care about him so much, why don’t you commit suicide in prison to let him finish his mission properly?" Asenna turned on her sarcasm mode once again.
"Don’t encourage her. If a prisoner commits suicide, the prison administration is definitely going to have a talk with me, and then I’ll bring this account to you," Aiden glanced at Asenna.
"Isn’t there... a better way?" Sera pleaded with Aiden with her eyes.
"How about you sleep with the warden to possibly spare your man’s life?" Asenna suddenly suggested.
"This is not the occasion for such jokes," Aiden frowned and glanced at Asenna.
"I’m not joking," Asenna said expressionlessly. "If she actually suggested that, I might think a little better of her, at least she’s taking some action, even though you, as the warden, would definitely not agree. But with her acting like this, simply begging for someone’s kindness to be her hero? She really is a genuine fairy-tale princess."
Sera was left speechless by the mockery.
"Don’t always try to prey on others’ sympathy. The warden might be a decent person, but you can’t take him for a fool," Asenna added another jab.
This time, Aiden didn’t argue because he indeed wasn’t planning to listen to Sera’s pleas. Sera and Heinz might be star-crossed lovers, but they had no future. Heinz had probably realized this and had chosen to sacrifice his lover to quell the Kingdom’s internal power struggles. Trying to spare Heinz’s life wouldn’t change their opposing situation and would involve unnecessary risk—after all, whether he could successfully deal with Heinz was still a question.
"Today, Earl Hofman personally attacked me, and this matter has been laid out in the open. Next, both the Inquisition and the cavalry police will take action. If I reveal that the attackers had spy characteristics, the attention of the autonomous state’s military is just a matter of time. Whether he can survive is not for me to decide," Aiden looked at Sera. "I also need to ensure my own safety. Please understand—although I don’t actually need your understanding."
Sera felt her heart sink rapidly, and even breathing seemed to become difficult.
"Then there’s something else I want to ask you," Aiden had no time to consider her feelings and went straight to the next matter at hand.
He pulled out a stack of letters from his person and put them on the table: "These two are the letters you sent out from prison asking for help. The recipient address is not in the autonomous state but in the border region of Gistas. May I ask who you were planning to send these to?"
