“This isn’t something I’m supposed to do.” Uriel frowned when he read what he had to do on the document he was handed yesterday and messed up his hair, causing his rare, bright silver hair to slip between his fingers.

Saphiro mainly had him do two types of work. One was to sneak into the enemy base and steal secret information for the Liepherr family’s benefit, and the other was something much more important. He had to get rid of the other groups of assassins, in other words, Saphiro’s competitors, without the Liepherr family’s knowledge.

The Liepherr family had hired many others like Saphiro, and they were keeping each other in check. However, most groups that could stand against Saphiro were all killed or had disbanded within a year after Uriel started doing his missions. He was so skilled that he was only fifteen when he infiltrated the hideout of Ballan’s Phantoms, a group that consisted of the most famous assassins in the empire at one point, and singlehandedly killed or maimed dozens of assassins by himself. It was thanks to his achievements that the old Saphiro could continue to undertake important tasks from the Liepherr family.

Saphiro, Uriel’s teacher, replied like it was nothing, “The Duchess specially requested someone skilled at infiltration. Aren’t you the perfect person to sneak into the Imperial Palace without getting caught?”

“I thought I told you that I don’t want to do these kinds of things. Where are all the other ones you trained? Dead?”

Saphiro raised his eyebrows as Uriel shot back at him defiantly. He really had lost some of his assassins because he failed a few tasks that Petra requested over the last few months. This could even be his last chance to redeem himself, so he seemed nervous when he usually wasn’t.

“Everything I order you to do is your duty. If you forgot about that, I can make you remember,” Saphiro growled.

Uriel knew what he meant, along with the pain that would follow since he was forcefully taken away by him when he was younger. He also knew that he couldn’t defy him.

The first thing Saphiro did after bringing Uriel here was to brand him with a red mark similar to the shape of a blade on the back of his neck. It was a spell and mark that made sure he would never defy his master, and even if he were to supersede him in terms of skill one day. As long as he had the tattoo on him, Uriel had no choice but to obey him.

“I’ll be off then.”

“You must succeed if you wish to live.”

“You mean I must succeed if you want to live.”

Uriel was still sarcastic despite following Saphiro’s orders. He moved quickly. Although his face and attire was hidden behind a black robe, his movements were strangely elegant. Without losing his balance or breath, he walked quickly and smoothly, and was faster than most people when they ran. He moved through the shades of buildings while avoiding the moonlight, and the sound of his footsteps was so quiet that ordinary people wouldn’t even hear it.

He seemed more like a shadow than a human being.

He swiftly climbed over the walls of the imperial palace and headed to the detached palace. The guards all seemed to be off somewhere else, just as he had been informed beforehand.

‘Top floor, third room from the right…’

It didn’t take long for him to find out where his target was since he simply had to find the largest room there.

He scaled the walls of the palace almost like he was flying, using, each one of the bricks, along with his animal instincts, to quickly reach the top floor even though it was almost impossible to climb up there with one’s bare hands. He didn’t even make the smallest sound as he did so. He breathed calmly and his movements were still elegant and smooth.

He soon reached the room he was headed to and the window opened just as easily as he expected. He slid inside the room quietly, still hiding his presence.

There was a large bed by the window, just as he was already aware of, and he didn’t waste a second unsheathing his sword from his waist and heading towards his target.

Schwing!

A terrifying sound could be heard as Uriel pulled his longsword out from its scabbard, and the blade shone brightly under the moonlight. He edged closer to the bed, sword in his hand, so he could see exactly where his target was.

‘…A young girl?’

Even though he had remained calm and composed the entire time, he frowned slightly as soon as he saw whom he had to assassinate.

It was a girl who only looked around sixteen or seventeen, laying down sideways, fast asleep in her luxurious bed. Her long, sleek hair fanned out over her pillow, shining in the moonlight as she breathed steadily.

‘Saphiro, that bastard!’ Uriel cursed inside his mind. As usual, he was only told where his target was, but now that he saw the target for himself, this mission wasn’t just on the level of something he disliked doing. He was used to killing others and was skilled at getting rid of other assassins from rival groups, but not once had he swung his sword at a defenseless girl.

He sighed after he took another look at the girl, who was in a deep sleep, without knowing what would happen to her.

“I don’t know what the heck you did to get on Petra Liepherr’s bad side, but…” he muttered softly. There was a rare sense of pity in his voice, “…there’s nothing I can do about it. I guess we were both unfortunate.”

Uriel exhaled once again and continued to speak as if he was steeling his resolve.

“My life is much more important to me than yours, and I’ll die an even more painful death if I don’t kill you, so tough luck.”

His eyes gleamed coldly and the pity he had shown for a moment was soon gone.

“May you rest in peace.”

Uriel’s sword shone in the moonlight for a second before swiftly heading towards the girl as it flashed through the air.

Swish- Bump!

However, it bounced back as it hit something invisible, even before touching the blanket she was covered in.

“What…?” Uriel frowned. It was so strange for him to not have his blade strike just as he wanted, so he held his sword and struck again.

Swish- Bump!

His sword still wouldn’t touch the girl, and he finally realized that there was something wrong with this task of his.

“There’s no use.”

Uriel heard a low, calm voice from the bed break the silence. He didn’t believe his ears as he turned his head in the direction it came from but saw the girl that had been fast asleep just a minute ago looking straight at him.

The air around him started to shake as soon as he locked eyes with her and even though he took a few steps back, it felt like something was stopping him, making it hard for him to move.

“The one resting will be in peace will be you,” the girl added as her red eyes glowed coldly in the dark.

It was a trap. Uriel took action as his eyes widened. He tried to head back towards the window, but an invisible wall was blocking him.

“It’s a barrier. I don’t know who you are, but it’s not something you can cut with your sword.”

The girl was now sitting up in her bed. Uriel could see her bright blond hair and ruby eyes and after taking a good look, he noticed that there was even a hint of gold in them.

‘A member of the imperial family…?’

The girl stared at Uriel quietly, as if she was peering right into his confused mind. It was only for a moment, but she truly overwhelmed him. He couldn’t feel any sense of superiority that she had made her opponent fall right into her trap or even any hate toward him for trying to kill her.

She seemed more like she pitied him slightly as the ends of her eyebrows drooped and she bit her lip, just as he did a moment ago.

‘She’s waiting for me to give up.’

The girl was acting as if it was natural for her to rule over Uriel and that shook him to his core, even though he had never lost his cool during his duties before.

In that moment, he wanted to hurt that pride of hers. He didn’t like that she was looking down on him when he was holding a sword and wasn’t even armed. He had to change that pitiful look she directed toward him.

-Sword aura can cut through anything depending on its master.

Uriel forcefully recalled Saphiro’s spiteful teachings in his head. If what Saphiro said was true, this barrier should be no exception. He didn’t trust what the girl said to him. He had always surpassed his limits in critical situations.

He adjusted his grip on his sword and as soon as he did, it glimmered under the light, then he held it up and tried to strike the girl again despite his hesitation.

The vibrations from his sword felt even more intense than before, but his sword aura was much stronger and sharper than before as well. He didn’t avoid the situation or stand back and continued to strike downward. The speed and power of his sword were incomparable to how they were moments before.

Swish.

Uriel didn’t overlook that a small crack was made as soon as his sword hit the barrier and shoved it in there while taking all of the recoil and impact with his whole body.

Clang.

Uriel didn’t even need to hear it. He could feel that the barrier broke, and threw himself on the bed, flashed his sword through the air, and stopped right as it reached the girl’s forehead.

For a brief moment, there was a breathtaking silence.

The two of them were looking at each other with a blade that was so close between them.

“You…”

The girl’s lips were clearly shaking as if she was trying to say something. One corner of Uriel’s lips rose and formed a satisfied smile as soon as he heard that she was nervous.

They kept looking at each other, even though they were so close, without making move. At that moment, something interrupted them.

Slam.

The bedroom door opened and a middle-aged man barged in.

Swish, stab!

The man quickly threw a dagger and hit Uriel in his left shoulder without even giving him time to react.