As we slowly made our way down the long, narrow, dimly lit secret passage leading straight to the base of the sinister organization, my thoughts kept returning to Serpens’ story.
The dim light of the lantern he held in his hand cast long shadows on the damp stone walls, creating an atmosphere of tense anticipation. Each step echoed eerily.
His words still rang in my head, evoking mixed feelings — from surprise to inner indignation.
In addition to the woman who, driven by a thirst for revenge for her husband’s betrayal, decided to attempt an assassination, there was another person whose involvent in this case truly stunned . I still couldn’t believe that he was sohow involved in this story.
Count Creek. I could barely contain my inner indignation when I uttered that na in my thoughts. Who would have thought that this man would reappear after such a long ti? Was he capable of holding a grudge for decades? Well, who would have known that this man could be so vindictive?
We walked on, Serpens slightly ahead, lighting the way with a lantern, its light reflecting off the cold walls of the narrow corridor.
The air was heavy and saturated with the sll of dampness and old dust.The silence around us seed almost palpable, and my every movent was accompanied by inner tension.
"Madam," he began, his voice steady and confident, "as you instructed , I continue to teach this boy the craft of our organization. And I must tell you that you were not mistaken about him. He is talented and quick to learn!"
I involuntarily raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by such a high assessnt.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes!" Serpens replied enthusiastically. "Not long ago, Lionel made significant progress in studying poisons and is now able to create so of them on his own, as well as antidotes for them."
I shook my head slightly. In any other situation, it would seem strange that such a young person already possessed such skills. But nevertheless, in our current situation, it seed like sothing we simply had to accept and co to terms with.
"I see..." I muttered, lost in my own thoughts.
"In addition," Serpens continued, "when we began studying techniques for covertly eliminating targets, Lionel showed extraordinary ability with threads. If he continues his training in the sa vein, I am confident that he will be able to eliminate targets unnoticed, leaving behind a minimum of traces. This makes him an excellent shadow agent."
I listened to all this, and conflicting thoughts swirled in my head. It was like a parent’s pride in their child’s achievents — but in our case, it wasn’t about chess or music, but about killing skills. Sotis I wondered if it was really the best decision for Lionel to co to instead of Count Ferber...
In the end, I just sighed heavily as Serpens continued to tell his enthusiastic stories, and I tried to focus on the task at hand.
Finally, we reached the organization’s lair — a huge basent that sohow fit under a gun shop. The entrance was carefully hidden, and only a few people knew about its existence.
My eyes scanned the familiar walls. Despite my familiarity with this place, I still felt a mixture of tension and slight excitent inside.
I hardly noticed the soldiers standing in line, my gaze completely fixed on Serpens. And then he uttered the words that instantly made my heart race:
"These people are here."
I looked where he was pointing and froze. There were indeed two people standing there — on their knees, with bags over their heads and their hands tied. My heart stopped, and my breathing beca uneven. The soldiers yanked the bags off them, and before appeared the faces of those who had tried to take my life.
The woman looked exhausted and frightened, her eyes shining with tears and fear. She was clearly aware of the gravity of her situation.The second was Count Walter Creek himself. His appearance and manners had repulsed from the very first ti we t. He looked stunned, his face pale when he unexpectedly saw there. Apparently, he did not expect to et in such a place and in such a position.
I narrowed my eyes, carefully assessing their behavior, trying to predict how they would react to my appearance.
All sorts of thoughts swirled in my head — how best to deal with these people in order to achieve justice without losing control of the situation.
I tried to weigh all the possible options, to foresee the consequences of each decision, but all this only increased my inner tension.
However, all my thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Serpens, as if sensing my confusion, was the first to address with an insistent request:
"Madam, please. You must punish these scoundrels who dared to attempt on your life."
His voice sounded so decisive that I involuntarily shuddered. At that mont, I was almost shocked when he suddenly placed a real knife in my hand.
I looked at him in astonishnt, needing no words to understand his purpose.
Three options instantly appeared before :
(Kill them.)
(Let them go.)
(Order Serpens to kill them.)
I felt a chill run down my spine. At that mont, I found myself at a crossroads.
The options before were not encouraging. In any case, I had only two choices left: kill or spare.
I didn’t expect the ga to ever put in such a situation. After all, it was just a romantic oto ga with an age restriction. So why was it now forcing to make decisions about life and death? Was that part of the rating too?
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the emotions raging in my soul. It felt like my heart was about to burst from the tension. I rembered all the monts that had led here and all the trials I had gone through before. And I realized one thing: I couldn’t allow myself to beco a murderer, even if it was just a ga. I didn’t want to lose myself.
Killing them ant taking on the role of executioner, becoming judge and executioner in one person. Giving Serpens the order ant relieving myself of responsibility, but at the sa ti becoming an accomplice to cruelty. None of these options seed particularly suitable to .
Thus, deep down, I had already made my decision.
Although I burned with a desire for justice, my heart told otherwise.I didn’t want to kill a woman who was probably acting out of desperation and pain. Her eyes, full of fear and regret, spoke louder than any words.
As for Count Creek, I felt no pity for him, but I had no desire to kill him either. In the end, I simply didn’t want to beco an executioner, regardless of whether it was a ga or reality.
Besides, I didn’t think such an incident could happen again.
"Let them go," I decided.
This decision ca to naturally, without hesitation. I lowered the knife and returned it to Serpens, eting his puzzled gaze with calm confidence.
"I’m not going to kill them," I said. "If we want justice, it’s better to go to the police."
"What?" Serpens exclaid in surprise.
"But ma’am...!"
"I’ve said everything," my voice was unwavering. "I’m not interested in taking their lives. Let them spend half their lives behind bars — that will be justice. I want them to pay properly by spending many years in a prison cell."
Since I still had to play the villain, I couldn’t just say that I was letting them go because I didn’t want to kill them. So I had to co up with an excuse, which Serpens took in his own way.
"Madam, so you want these people to suffer for as long as possible?" he asked with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.
"Um, yes..."
"In that case, I can arrange it myself," said the man with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. "We don’t have to go to the police for that."
I cleared my throat, trying to remain calm and not reveal my true feelings.
"No need," I said in a cold, almost icy tone, trying not to let a single note of doubt slip into my voice. "Just do as I said."
Serpens, standing opposite , frowned slightly. His hands, usually calm and confident, were now nervously clasped behind his back.
In the dim light of the dungeon, his figure seed even more gloomy and reserved.
"My lady, but... perhaps you should at least..."
"No need," I interrupted sharply, not letting him finish. "I hope you have more important things to do than waste your ti on these... useless trifles."
Serpens stared at silently for a few seconds — his gray eyes flashed with sothing like reproach, but at the sa ti there was understanding there. He probably realized that arguing now was useless.
"Yes, mistress," he finally said quietly, lowering his head. "As you wish."
I made my final verdict and soon left the place. Deep down, I felt relieved: the case had been solved, the threat had been eliminated, and now I could finally breathe easy.
However, the next day I received more unexpected news. Walter Creek and Hayley Rothberg, whom we had previously detained on charges of attempting to assassinate , were suddenly found dead.
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