Chapter 96: A Joke
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Your Majesty, here is what you asked me to look for,” a shadow said. He appeared in front of Yolanthe and handed him a scroll.
“You’ve always been amazingly fast,” Yolanthe said, smiling. He took the scroll and began reading. As he read on, his smile slowly disappeared. In the end, he was frowning, and tossed the scroll down on the table with a single word, “Bastard!”
“I agree, Your Majesty,” the shadow said.
“The poor girl,” Yolanthe said, shaking his head. Had he been twenty years younger, he would surely swear to avenge her, and send in his own men to correct the wrong. After twenty years of court intrigues and political struggles, he found himself numb to injustices like this. He rarely used words like “bastard” anymore.
“I did not find her teacher, Your Majesty. However, I think anyone that could train a young girl to be a senior swordsman is someone to be reckoned with.”
“Stop the research. It is not necessary anymore. As long as Suzanna stays with Niya, we will have two powerful allies.”
“Then…Your Majesty, should I do something about the Duchy of Gus? Surely Suzanna would want to return for revenge. If we help her, we can earn her allegiance.”
“No,” Yolanthe said calmly. “You know Entos? He was born in the Country of Mercenaries, but why would he fight for us?”
“Because he studied under Master Saul.”
“So do we need to gain his allegiance?”
“Of course not,” the shadow said. He was, of course, the leader of the empire’s spies. He understood Yolanthe immediately.
“It is impossible to control everything and everyone,” Yolanthe told him. “We need to prioritize our goals. If we earn Suzanna’s loyalty, it may not affect Anfey. If we get Anfey’s loyalty, then Suzanna will be influenced, as well. We need to accomplish the most with the least amount of work.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Tell Black Eleven that he needs to cooperate with that group, and keep them safe no matter what. Especially Anfey. I am very interested in him.”
“Your Majesty, the southern front just sent their fifth plea for help. Anfey is assassinating Shansa’s princess. Shouldn’t we focus on the southern front?”
“This is all I can do,” Yolanthe said. “Destroying Ellisen’s Dark Moon Legion is our utmost priority, and I will do anything to achieve that.”
Yolanthe had his own troubles as well. His lie was so successful that it had fooled everyone, including Shansa Empire. Otherwise Shansa would never have broken the nonaggression pact and invaded Maho. It had hurt Yolanthe to think his allies were so unreliable, but he had to keep going with the plan, or else everything he had done so far would go to waste.
“Another thing, Your Majesty. People from the Mist are especially interested in Anfey and his group. They’ve always been active in the Country of Mercenaries. They will catch on eventually. Should we warn them?”
“Yes. Another thing Black Eleven should do. Tell Black Twelve to go, as well. The Mist shouldn’t make any move if they are there.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Someone knocked on Anfey’s door.
“Come in,” Anfey said. His dagger spun around a few more times in his hand before disappearing into his sleeve.
“Anfey, our man wants to see you,” Clark said, poking his head into the room.
“Alright,” Anfey said. “Let’s go.”
Anfey had known a bit about the rules and organization of the secret spies. His job was similar to that of a spy’s. He knew what he should ask and what he should not, and when to keep quiet. So he sat in the carriage with his eyes closed and did not even move to gaze out the window.
Clark sat next to him nervously. He was afraid Anfey would ask things he should not ask, and that he could get in trouble for answering. Anfey had saved him from punishment last time, so it felt wrong to lie to Anfey or not answer a question. Of course, Clark was only in charge of communication and was not a full-fledged spy.
Anfey did not open his eyes until the carriage stopped. “We’re there?” he asked.
“Yes,” Clark said as he got off of the carriage.
The carriage had stopped in front of a large courtyard. It was quiet and appeared abandoned. Weeds grew out of the cracks in the pavement, and there were piles of rocks around the yard. They shined dimly under the moonlight.
Across the yard was a large building. A black clad man was standing there, looking at Anfey.
“Have you gathered everything I need?”
“It is impossible, I have already told you,” the man said, frowning. What Anfey needed was too extensive, and there was no way any organization could find all of it in three days.
“Get as much as you can,” Anfey said, stepping into the building. “This is where the princess will live?”
“Yes. I have notes throughout the building.”
The house was only a model. If a real princess was to stay in the city, her living quarters would be much more lavish than this. There was a broken, dirty bed in the room with a piece of paper on it. Clearly it was a note the man spoke of.
Near the bed was a nightstand, and near the door was a round table with four chairs around it. To the left was a large wardrobe, and to the right was a wooden rack for decorations.
There were two sticks on the wall labelled “light,” and the ceiling had a circle drawn on it to represent another light. The ground was labelled redwood floor.
This obviously was a very crude version of the actual house, but Anfey studied it carefully. He bent down and studied the bed carefully. He then turned to the man and said, “Is this bed the same height as the princess’s?”
“I am not certain,” the man said. “Why?”
“Not good enough,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “Do you have assassins under you?”
“The best in the world.”
“What a joke,” Anfey said.
“What do you mean?” the man asked coldly. He had always prided himself in his self control, but even the best would get aggravated.
Anfey did not reply. He circled the room a few more times, then turned to the man. “Give me a stake,” he said.
The man waved his hand, and in a few minutes he handed a stake to Anfey.
Anfey placed the stake on the bed and took a strip of fabric. He tied the fabric to the stake and stared at it for a few moments before turning and leaving the room.
The man did not know what Anfey was doing but followed him anyway.
Anfey walked about fifty feet before stopping and taking a deep breath. He leaped into the air with a bow in his hand. As he began descending, he started to draw the string open. When he landed, the bow string was already drawn to its fullest. He released the string, and the arrow flew towards the building.
The arrow hit the wall with a loud thud and made a large hole in it. When Suzanna released the wind arrow the day they had discovered the bow, the arrow was strong enough to break the wall of the cave. It was much more powerful than the wind arrows released by mages. If he could pair the wind arrow with an actual arrow, it would be double the power of the bow.
