CHAPTER 309: CHAPTER 309: EVEN DREAMS BURN

Lugh narrowed his eyes, fixing his stare upon them. They both fidgeted slightly under his gaze but made no further movements.

The atmosphere grew tense, like a string stretched just short of snapping.

Then, Lugh sighed.

He had checked through the Mawglass—and apparently, they weren’t lying. He actually had no choice but to do this.

Now that he’d been introduced into the noble circle... now that he had survived two assassination attempts... it couldn’t hurt to be vigilant.

They had revealed no falsehood in their words, but—

Just in case.

He asked again.

"You, by any chance, don’t intend to kill me, nor are you a voluntary participant in any such plot?"

They both glanced at him, confused. Why was he speaking like this? As if attempting to close a loophole in a contract.

They replied, simply.

"No."

Lugh then reclined back into the carriage seat.

"I see,"

He finally said, before closing his eyes.

A few minutes passed, and it became quite evident that he was asleep.

They sighed.

"What was that about?"

The first asked.

"I don’t know,"

Her partner responded, then added thoughtfully,

"Do you think he can read minds?"

"Don’t be ridiculous,"

The other responded.

"If anything, then at most, he can tell truth from lies."

Both women nodded. That seemed more likely.

"What a terrifying ability."

...

She definitely knew something was wrong.

At first, upon seeing the lights of the house turned off, she hadn’t thought much of it.

Perhaps they were trying to unnerve the nobleman.

However, the moment she drew closer, she knew. She definitely knew something was wrong.

Seeing her spooked expression, the man who had accompanied her stopped as well, staring at the house warily.

"Is something wrong?"

While he couldn’t feel anything, he knew what kind of human the tattooed lady in front of him was. Her senses were sharper than most. Unnerved, she swallowed slightly and spoke.

"Let’s go."

Under her prodding, they approached the building with deliberate, cautious steps. The closer they got, the more wrong everything felt.

The entire place was silent—no movement, no voices.

"What happened?"

With a nudge of her head, the man steeled himself and pushed open the door.

The thick and pungent smell of blood slammed into him like a wave.

...

White turned to black. Tongues of flame licked the sky. Fire spread in the streets as the panicked voices of fleeing civilians rose like a chorus of horror. Torn bodies, broken spirits, ashes and rubble—

The city, Pyrellis, drowned in blood.

Lugh woke up with a sudden start, alarming the attendants who were in the carriage with him.

"Are you okay?"

"...Yeah, I’m fine,"

He muttered as he swiped at his forehead. Feeling the sweat on his fingers, he frowned.

The coat was warm, but not that warm.

Reclining backwards, he exhaled.

What the hell was that?

His thoughts were interrupted as the carriage jerked, causing the passengers to bounce wildly.

The maids stared in embarrassment, apologising as if it were their fault.

"Sorry for the inconvenience."

If they had used the opulent, customized suspension carriages of House Von Heim, then this wouldn’t have happened. Alas...

Lugh glanced at them with a strange expression, then ignored them, turning to look out the window.

He was surprised to find they had already made it to the manor.

He turned to them.

"How long was I out for?"

"A few minutes. Or hours. I honestly don’t know."

She pursed her lips before adding,

"I didn’t bring a pocket watch."

Lugh averted his gaze again. The main gates were only a few meters ahead of them now.

But then—

His eyes narrowed.

An old, rickety wagon approached from the opposite direction. Completely out of style for a high-rise district like this, it immediately drew attention.

Lugh watched as a horse rider detached from their own procession to approach the oncoming vehicle.

In the meantime, their movements were halted as the security detail stood on guard.

Lugh noticed how the two attendants suddenly sharpened their features, their eyes scanning every movement with practiced deliberation.

He questioned them, amused.

"Are the both of you also a part of Isolde’s ’Shadows’?"

One of them flashed him a smile.

"That’s right."

Lugh spoke.

"You’re not really what I expected."

They paused.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I’d expect shadows to be, you know... shadowy."

They looked at him, speechless.

One of them eventually found her tongue and responded.

"An assassin wouldn’t let you know they’re an assassin. Burn away the stereotypes of dark, broody, emotionless characters."

Lugh tilted his head, repeating the sentence.

"An assassin won’t let you know they’re an assassin..."

He paused, then added,

"So what’s with the show you guys put on every time a guest arrives?"

Lugh wasn’t really sure it was every time, but on both visits of Victor Aelhurst, Isolde’s shadows had always made a point of acting as unnerving as possible.

"Oh, that?"

One of the attendants rubbed her nose in embarrassment. She spoke.

"You have to admit... it looks cool."

Lugh exhaled, not failing to notice that while they kept him engaged in conversation, their attention never lapsed. They monitored the situation outside closely.

The horseman that had gone ahead was now returning.

He met up with the leader of the squad, explaining something.

"It’s Victor Aelhurst."

Victor?

Lugh thought to himself, just as surprised to hear the name as he was about a rather crucial detail.

Why could he hear their conversation all the way from here?

Could it be that he’d gotten a grasp on sound magic?

He hadn’t learned it. That would be impossible... unless—

No!

He shook his head. His training for six months had been to tame the Mawglass—to prevent this kind of situation. What happened with Dain would never repeat itself.

But... just to be sure, Lugh whispered to the air.

"Sela, is that you?"

There was no response, and he was starting to get worried, when a voice drifted to his ears.

"No. It’s me—Mirelle."

Lugh let out a sigh of relief, then thanked her for transmitting the conversation to him as he continued listening.

The leader of the squad frowned.

She asked,

"What is he doing here?"

The man responded.

"He apparently has a package for Lady Selaphiel... but wasn’t willing to let anyone inspect it."

"What should we do?"