A girl with long purple hair, a beautiful face, and a tall figure gazed at Caerwyn Academy.
She was Danica Schmidt, an assassin from Sunset Rose, now a seventh-level apprentice. Her target, Carlotta White, according to the intelligence, was still only a third-level apprentice.
This was not a difficult assassination task.
For Danica, the only problem was the relationship between Carlotta and Alia. If the two were always together, she obviously couldn’t find an opportunity to strike. Only when Carlotta was alone could she make her move.
But the two seed to be in the midst of a passionate relationship, and it was unclear when Carlotta would ever be alone.
"As an assassin, the most important thing is patience. I have plenty of ti, so let’s wait it out. I’ll find an opportunity eventually. Carlotta White, you can’t escape my grasp."
Danica muttered to herself.
...
Alia’s dormitory.
As soon as Carlotta entered, she felt a blur before her eyes, and a mature lady appeared beside Alia.
She recognized this person. When she and Alia had discussed the assassin targeting her, Alia had called this person over and instructed her to watch for any followers. This was one of Alia’s bodyguards.
"Nothing suspicious, Aunt Julia?" Alia asked.
Julia Polk shook her head, indicating that she hadn’t noticed any followers in the past two days.
Carlotta already knew from intelligence that Danica hadn’t been following her. Even if Alia’s bodyguards were powerful, they naturally couldn’t find soone who wasn’t there.
She imdiately brought up this situation: "The assassin probably noticed that I’ve been with Miss Fenwick all the ti, so she didn’t dare to act or follow."
"In that case, let’s try to lure the assassin out," Alia already had an idea. "Miss White, you just need to make yourself appear alone. Of course, I won’t actually leave you alone. I can have Aunt Julia follow you secretly. No assassin could harm you under her protection."
Clearly, she didn’t want this matter to drag on.
Hearing this, Carlotta couldn’t help but ponder.
This was different from her original plan. She had intended to stay by Alia’s side until she reached a higher level, then deal with Danica herself.
It didn’t need to be too high; even becoming a fifth-level apprentice would significantly boost her combat power.
She even had another idea: instead of eliminating Danica, she could stabilize the situation. Because when an assassination mission failed, Sunset Rose would often assign the task to a stronger assassin. Simply eliminating Danica wouldn’t solve the problem.
Alia’s suggestion now brought the conflict to a head.
After so thought, Carlotta said, "Miss Fenwick, your thod is indeed feasible, but I’d like to add sothing. If we capture the assassin, it’s best not to kill her imdiately. We should interrogate her first to understand her background."
She wanted to use this opportunity to let Alia know that the assassin was from Sunset Rose. Once Alia knew that, she would understand that the matter wasn’t over, and Carlotta could continue to stay by her side for protection.
"No problem," Alia nodded, then looked at Julia. "I’ll leave it to you, Aunt Julia."
Julia smiled, "I’ll handle it properly."
There were many people secretly protecting Alia, so temporarily losing one of them wouldn’t make much difference.
Carlotta quickly thanked Julia. Although she was just one of Alia’s bodyguards, without sufficient strength, she couldn’t serve as Alia’s bodyguard. Such a person deserves respect.
...
Carlotta then left Alia’s dormitory.
She knew Danica was likely waiting outside the academy, not daring to enter rashly, and might not know she was alone. So she had to leave the academy to make it seem like she was "alone."
She headed out of the academy, as she wanted to make a cleansing card for washing and needed to pick up so suitable materials from the market outside.
Around Caerwyn Academy, all kinds of facilities were well-equipped, and magical materials were delivered daily from various places, offering plenty of choices.
Fiona Market was one such place.
After arriving, Carlotta slowed her pace, leisurely strolling through the market, actually focusing most of her attention on the surrounding stalls, not worried about any safety issues.
After browsing around, she bought all the materials needed for the card and headed back to the academy with a bag.
As she passed a newsstand, Carlotta paused.
Unusually, a crowd had gathered around the newsstand, holding newspapers and looking shocked, their discussions noisy.
Listening for a mont, Carlotta understood that information about the war had been published in the newspapers. The residents of the capital had just been exposed to this news and were in the initial stages of shock.
War between empires was no laughing matter; it was enough to make everyone take it seriously.
Carlotta bought a newspaper and continued walking back to the academy while reading.
It was an official Kestholm Afternoon News, written in a victim’s tone, describing the arrogance of the Velmoria Empire, accusing them of encroaching on Wendell Empire’s territory, and stating that the Wendell Empire was only acting in self-defense, hence the border conflict with the Velmoria Empire. The war would inevitably end with the Wendell Empire’s victory.
A very official report.
Such reporting even made Carlotta want to get another newspaper to see how other outlets were covering it.
But considering the information revealed in the intelligence, she dismissed the thought.
Other newspapers, though seemingly private, were actually closely tied to the governnt, their content entirely controlled by the authorities. The content probably wouldn’t differ much from the Kestholm Afternoon News.
Carlotta glanced at other sections of the newspaper, finding nothing noteworthy, and tossed it into a trash bin upon reaching Caerwyn Academy’s entrance.
By this ti, Danica still hadn’t made a move, leaving Carlotta secretly sighing.
On her way back to the academy, she had been reading the newspaper while walking, clearly not paying full attention. Was Danica too cautious, needing more ti to observe?
However, no matter what, the information that she was "alone" had already been spread. She could now return to the academy, and the other party might try to infiltrate the academy to make a move on her.
Carlotta returned to her dormitory, placed the bag on the desk, and took out various materials one by one.
As for how to make the washroom version of the cleaning card, Carlotta didn’t need to refer back to the "Complete Guide to Card Magic." When she made the sweeping version of the cleaning card last ti, she had also looked at the thod for making the washroom version, and all the details were still deeply etched in her mory.
Of course, the most important thing was the "Complete Guide to Card Magic," which she had placed inside her storage card. She didn’t know if Julia could see her actions at this mont, nor was she sure if it was appropriate to reveal that she had a storage card. But since she couldn’t be certain, it was better to be cautious for now.
Placing a blank card she had bought on the table, Carlotta picked up a specially made pen and began to write and draw on it.
...
At this mont, Danica entered Caerwyn Academy.
Her face was now adorned with a human skin mask, transforming her into the appearance of another person.
It was the appearance of an ordinary female student at Caerwyn Academy, which Danica had secretly recorded using an alchemical device, creating this mask.
As for clothing, there was no need to be particular. On weekends, many people at Caerwyn Academy did not wear uniforms, so she only needed to put on normal clothes to blend in as a student of Caerwyn Academy.
"Carlotta White, you’re finally alone," Danica thought with a sense of satisfaction.
Although she had enough ti and patience to wait for Carlotta to be alone, being able to complete this mission sooner would only benefit her without any drawbacks.
As a killer for the Sunset Rose, the inco from each mission was undoubtedly extrely lucrative. She had even thought about where to go on vacation after receiving this paynt.
Personally, she didn’t like to take on back-to-back missions. After completing one mission, she will take a break for a while. Even killers need to live their lives.
Slowly, Danica arrived outside Carlotta’s dormitory window. She looked up at the open window and saw Carlotta diligently making cards at the table. A smile imdiately appeared on her face.
It was ti to act!
Danica converted her fingers, and mana surged from her fingertips, gradually draining the air around Carlotta.
But at that mont, a hand was placed on Danica’s shoulder.
In that brief instant, Danica felt an intense wave of horror spread throughout her body, and she almost jumped up.
Who was it?
Who?
The instincts of a killer made her instantly change her attack thod. The surrounding air was compressed in an instant, squeezing towards her back.
She didn’t know who had appeared behind her, but no matter who it was, the fact that they could silently approach her from behind was enough to indicate that their strength was not simple. This made her choose to go all out without hesitation.
But sotis, an overwhelming difference in strength can render all resistance futile.
Danica had just begun to execute her attack when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. Then, it felt as if the entire world had twisted, and a fatal dizziness made her stagger, almost fainting.
"Huh? Has she trained to withstand ntal attacks?"
Danica heard a voice from behind, followed by a heavy blow landing on her head. This ti, she could no longer withstand it, her eyes rolled back, and she fell unconscious.
The person who appears behind Danica was naturally Julia.
This lady had noticed Danica tailing Carlotta when she went to the Fiona Market. However, she didn’t imdiately apprehend Danica at that ti but instead continued to observe her from the shadows.
Thus, she had witnessed all of Danica’s preparations and had a vague guess about Danica’s origins.
"She seems like a killer from the Sunset Rose, especially with this Illusory Mask. Isn’t this a specialized alchemical device developed by the Sunset Rose?"
Julia pondered thoughtfully.
She grabbed Danica by the back of her collar and walked towards Carlotta’s dormitory.
At this mont, Carlotta had just finished making the washroom version of the cleaning card. She felt the process was quite smooth, and although she hadn’t used the card yet, there shouldn’t be any problems.
She put the card in her pocket, looked at Julia who had jumped in through the window, and then her gaze fell on Danica, whom Julia was holding.
"Indeed, a killer was targeting you. It’s this person. Should we go back to Miss Alia now?" Julia asked.
Since Alia had asked her to temporarily protect Carlotta, Julia naturally had to consider Carlotta’s opinion.
Carlotta thought for a mont and said, "Then let’s go to Miss Fenwick’s place."
...
When Carlotta and Julia returned, Alia couldn’t help but feel amused.
She knew that if a killer was really targeting Carlotta, then making Carlotta appear "alone" would likely lure out the killer, but she hadn’t expected results so quickly.
In the dormitory courtyard, Julia tossed Danica aside and said to Alia, "Miss, this killer is a seventh-level apprentice, uses Air Magic, and has an Illusory Mask, a signature alchemical device of the Sunset Rose."
As she spoke, Julia reached out and felt around Danica’s face, quickly pulling off a thin layer of skin, revealing Danica’s true appearance.
Carlotta found this quite novel; she had never seen such an alchemical device before.
At the sa ti, Julia’s words also struck a chord in Carlotta’s heart. She didn’t expect that just by the alchemical device, the Illusory Mask, Julia could determine that Danica was from the Sunset Rose. Being able to confirm this ant her goal was achieved, and she could continue to stay by Alia’s side.
"The Sunset Rose..." Alia frowned slightly.
As a noble lady, she could be considered well-read and naturally knew about the existence of the Sunset Rose, even understanding quite a bit of information about them.
She knew that the Sunset Rose was extrely persistent about their mission completion rate. If a target was difficult to assassinate, they would likely send a stronger killer to continue the mission.
However... Recently, it seed that a base of the Sunset Rose had been raided by the security bureau, and their current strength in Kestholm didn’t seem to be very strong
"Wake her up first, and let’s interrogate her for more information," Alia said to Julia.
Julia nodded, stepped forward, and gave Danica two hard slaps, forcibly making her open her eyes.
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