The next day, we found ourselves in the capital city, Velmora.
The lowest-ranking Noble, Lady Beatrice, was dead; at least, that’s what the official report says.
’Bam!’
Standing before her desk, Lana slamd Cupcake’s report onto the table, wrinkles forming between her greenhorns.
"You had one job: protect Lady Beatrice, and you failed."
Her gaze fixed on Cupcake, then shifted to . "Fifty lives lost on your watch, and on top of that, you killed Joséphine in front of a thousand witnesses."
Lana leaned back in her chair. She took a long sip from a full glass of water and rested her feet on the desk. Then, she reached below and retrieved a newspaper from the drawer.
Standing between Evelyn and Lucy on the woven rug, I spotted my face on the newspaper’s front page. The headline read: "The false king beheaded the Bishop’s son and defeated a C-rank monster with his eyes closed."
Lana slid the newspaper across the table to Cupcake, whose hands stayed clasped behind her back as she absorbed the front page.
"Why is Darling at the center of every headline? It was Night Squad who failed the mission, not him."
Evelyn scanned the front page. "Opinion: If the false king can take down a unique skill user alone, is it possible he’s the reincarnation of the demon king?" she read.
Lana opened her drawer and pulled out four chocolate bars. Without a word, she tossed one to each of us. "Congratulations on your first mission," she said.
Lucy caught the bar with a second mouth that opened on her cheek. "Is this supposed to be a joke? Beatrice is dead, and you’re congratulating us?"
Lucy pulled the bar from her artificial mouth and unwrapped it. She ate half, then shot a glare toward Lana at her desk. "This doesn’t even taste good."
’Munch-munch.’
Lucy devoured the remainder of the bar, declaring, "This tastes awful," after swallowing it and licking her tongue.
While I was halfway through my chocolate, Lucy was intently watching my hand, examining the two-inch frozen cocoa wrapped in aluminum foil and dark cardboard paper.
"You want so?"
"Take that thing away from ," Lucy said, still glancing at my chocolate.
"If you say so." I pulled it away from her face and brought it closer to my mouth.
She watched devour it, piece by piece, swallowing her own saliva in perfect timing with my eating.
’Creak.’
Lana opened her drawer and tossed another chocolate bar at Lucy. She caught it and tore it open without delay. "You should be grateful I accepted your lousy gift," Lucy said.
Lana rose and approached the bare wall behind her. Manipulating various stones until the wall pivoted on its axis, unveiling a shelf filled with files.
She retrieved a single file and then restored the wall to its original position. "The public believes Night Squad was assigned to protect Lady Beatrice, and you failed in that duty," she stated.
Lana returned to her desk and put down the file, which was marked with Lady Beatrice’s na in dark ink. "Your mission was never to protect Lady Beatrice; it was to keep her under surveillance," Lana stated.
"What?" Cupcake exclaid, leaning in and placing her hands on the desk. "But Emily’s instructions stated our task was to protect her."
"Relax," Lana urged, pushing the file toward Cupcake. "Lady Beatrice has been officially declared dead, with her state funeral scheduled in three days. Yet, our intelligence indicates she is still alive."
"Explain yourself," Evelyn demanded. "I checked her pulse and confird she was dead."
Advancing to the desk, Lucy stopped beside Cupcake. She cracked open the file and skimd a couple of pages. "Sothing felt wrong the mont I turned Josephine to ash," she said. "A knight of that rank shouldn’t have gone down so easily."
Lana stayed quiet, her eyes locked on , which made feel a little uneasy. "Why aren’t you surprised?" she asked.
My gaze drifted away, landing on the military dals adorning the wall to my left.
Lana rose from her seat and walked over to . Tilting her head up, she leaned in close. "Why aren’t you surprised Lady Beatrice is still alive?"
"Nothing."
"Liar."
"Cupcake, activate your barrier," Lana commanded.
Cupcake interlaced her fingers, and a barrier shimred into existence within the office. She then moved to stand next to Lana and inquired, "Why did you call for a barrier?"
Lana muttered under her breath, "The last thing I need is soone barging in while we’re having a classified conversation."
She stepped in closer, so near that her breath brushed the back of my neck. "Did you know Beatrice was alive this whole ti?" she asked.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about." I stepped back.
"Did she tell you to keep her existence a secret?"
"Why are you asking all these questions?" I said, pulling away from Lana’s proximity and heading towards the office’s eastern wall.
"Have you seen Lady Beatrice’s unique skill?" Lana asked, directing her gaze toward .
I remained silent.
Is it possible she can tell when I am lying, or could it be that she has an artifact that tells her when soone is lying?
Lana flash-stepped and slamd her hand next to my neck. "I don’t know why you’re lying, but listen to : Lady Beatrice is among the top three most dangerous individuals in the Demon Empire."
Lana leaned in, her horns nearly grazing my skin. "She rejected every guard capable of manipulating mana and dismissed all security assigned to her in Silverbell—except her childhood friend, Josephine. When she requested protection from Joseph, we thought it was our chance to get close. But we didn’t realize she planned to use him to fake her death."
With a steadying breath, Lana eased her hand off the wall and turned her back on . Her eyes had lost their fire. "If you have even a clue about her unique skill, speak up. And know this—no one hated the demon king more than Beatrice. She’s the last person worthy of your protection."
I watched as Lana settled back into her seat. She began unwrapping a chocolate bar. "Well?" she said, glancing up. "Aren’t you going to say sothing?"
I looked away from Lana. "There’s nothing to say," I replied quietly.
I had lied repeatedly, and I was certain Cupcake had seen right through my deception, given that no one could lie within her barrier.
Lana told no one despises the demon king more than Lady Beatrice. Even the system wants her dead. Was it naïve of to trust her instead of them?
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