The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 176: Chapter 173 — Message

Garrick stared at the dismembered corpse before him with a slightly raised brow.

”Hm...”

He looked toward the direction Zephyrion had left with an unreadable expression.

As it turned out, this nephew of his had quite a few secrets hidden up his sleeves. Garrick had always known Zephyrion was ruthless, but there had been absolutely no hesitation when it came to killing a helpless man.

Even more, the way he had effortlessly wiped out the entire squad... it was cleaner than the work of many assassins Garrick had encountered in his life.

A grin slowly spread across his face. His nephew had always been one of those people you could never truly read. No matter how calm he looked on the surface, there was always the feeling that something far more dangerous was moving underneath.

And honestly... that was what made him interesting.

Garrick exhaled through his nose and suppressed the excitement pounding in his chest before turning toward the opposite direction.

’He was being followed.’

Not by the spy squad, but by another, far more powerful individual.

As he recalled how Zephyrion had somehow noticed the person’s presence despite the obvious gap between them, Garrick shook his head with a low laugh. Leave it to his nephew to casually accomplish the impossible.

Still, the chill in Garrick’s eyes remained terrifying. It had taken all his restraint not to slaughter everyone involved the moment he realized what had happened. A bunch of insignificant fools had actually dared target a Calderalth.

But they were Zephyrion’s to deal with.

And knowing his nephew, Garrick was already looking forward to seeing how this situation unfolded.

With a single thought, the corpse before him, along with the others scattered throughout the forest, crumbled into nothingness.

Then, he vanished.

...

Zephyrion blurred through the forest, his body moving quickly while his thoughts moved even faster.

From what he knew, the Horus House was a low-ranking family specializing in espionage and information gathering within the capital. In essence, they were the last people anyone should hire for a mission involving someone of his status.

Which meant one of two things. Either the hirer was a low-level figure and this was genuinely the best they could afford... or...

’It was intentional.’

He leaned toward the latter.

They were meant to be discovered. Meant to be killed. In that case, only one conclusion made sense.

’It’s a message.’

Someone, somewhere, had used those people to send him a warning. As Zephyrion recalled the faint killing intent he had sensed immediately after killing the captain, his frown deepened.

Clearly, the person who had hired them had been watching the entire thing unfold from the shadows.

’Who?’

One of the city lords? Or...

Zephyrion’s eyes gradually turned cold. Naturally, the person he had offended the most was City Lord Selmira, yet he doubted it was her. In fact, he doubted it was any of the city lords at all.

A message like this was too ruthless. Too detached. There had been absolutely no regard for human life whatsoever.

Only one organization fit the bill.

’The Order.’

Zephyrion felt his heart pulse once. Given the commotion he had caused during the Proving, he had expected some sort of reaction eventually. Still, to think they would act this brazenly so close to the Calderalth Estate...

Given the level of planning behind the entire situation, Zephyrion had no doubt they had sent someone important.

And that person had just announced their presence to him.

Zephyrion’s eyes slowly darkened as his thoughts began calculating one possibility after another.

...

Zephyrion stepped into the mansion with an absent gaze, his mind still occupied with the situation.

The moment he entered, however, he was met by a visibly furious Lumi, who had apparently been waiting at the gates alongside Tobias and Kilo.

Lumi immediately marched up to him with an obvious glare before silently planting herself at his side like an angry guard dog. Meanwhile, Tobias and Kilo watched him cautiously.

”M-my lord...” Tobias asked cautiously. ”You’re... alright, right?”

Zephyrion gave a quiet nod and walked past them without another word.

A moment later, Tobias’ hesitant voice called out from behind him.

”My lord... um...”

Zephyrion stopped and turned.

Tobias lowered his head, awkwardly fidgeting with his fingers before seeming to force himself into a decision.

”...I-I just wanted to say thank you for coming for me. I really... I really don’t know how to say it properly. You’re honestly the best lord anyone could ever ask for, and I know I’m still useless right now, but I’ll work hard. Really hard. So... so one day I can actually be useful to you.”

Zephyrion silently regarded the boy for a moment. The sincerity in Tobias’ eyes was obvious, as was the genuine desire to improve himself.

He gave a small nod.

”I’ll look forward to it.”

Tobias let out a breath he seemed to have been holding before nodding firmly.

As Zephyrion turned away, his gaze briefly lingered on the silent Kilo for the faintest moment before moving on.

The instant he stepped deeper into the mansion, his thoughts resumed moving.

’It’s one of them.’

His decision to leave the mansion earlier had been completely spontaneous. The only person he had directly informed was Kilo. But even now, Zephyrion could still see the lingering fear in the maid’s eyes. She wouldn’t dare betray him.

Which meant it was another maid. At the very least, someone who had seen them leave.

There were plenty of suspects, but Zephyrion was already determined to uncover who it was.

The city lords’ spies he could tolerate. Even the Sarakhel.

But The Order... that was something he could not ignore.

His eyes gradually turned cold.

...

Several moments later, Zephyrion sat cross-legged on his bed.

After the usual back-and-forth with Lumi, he had eventually apologized and promised not to do something reckless like that again. Whether or not he actually intended to keep that promise remained questionable.

Lumi, meanwhile, had already forgotten the argument entirely and was now curled up comfortably beside him.

Still, the moment Zephyrion entered his room earlier, his thoughts had briefly stalled at the unexpected sight waiting for him.

Two large sacks filled with gold sat neatly inside the room.

Objectively speaking, it was a good thing. Yet the thought of people casually slipping into his room, even if only to leave gifts, still unnerved him. What exactly happened to simply handing things to him directly?

Zephyrion exhaled and decided to let it go.

His attention shifted toward one of the sacks. Resting neatly atop it was a pink, heart-shaped letter.

...

I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it wasn’t for you. This is a token of appreciation. For more wins to come!

Love, Garrick.