Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill - Chapter 460:The Assassination Tower 2
Chapter 460:The Assassination Tower 2
Duke Lancelot slowly turned his head and looked toward the distant fortress of Frostvele. The faint glow of watchfires could still be seen along the walls in the distance.
“One of their most important rules,” he said slowly, “is that they do not assassinate members of the Imperial family.”
Then he looked back at Ethan.
“And they do not kill individuals who are openly under the Emperor’s protection.”
Ethan blinked slightly.
Duke Lancelot continued calmly.
“My appearance here tonight is already a message.”
He lifted his hand slightly and gestured toward the battlefield.
“Anyone watching this will understand that you are currently under Imperial protection.”
Ethan slowly understood the meaning behind those words.
“So the Assassin Tower will stop sending people?”
“For now,” Duke Lancelot replied calmly.
“They will not move openly while the Emperor’s protection stands.”
The night grew quiet again.
Ethan remained silent, but his mind caught one particular word.
For now.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“For now…?” he repeated quietly.
Duke Lancelot gave him a knowing look.
“Yes.”
His voice remained calm.
“The protection of the Emperor is not permanent.”
“If the political situation changes, or if the Emperor withdraws that protection, the Assassin Tower will resume the contract.”
He shrugged slightly.
“That is simply how power works.”
Ethan stared down at the snowy ground for a moment while thinking carefully.
So that was the situation.
Right now the Emperor was protecting him.
But if that protection disappeared one day, assassins would start coming again. One after another. Without stopping.
Ethan slowly exhaled.
“Well… that’s comforting,” he muttered dryly.
Duke Lancelot chuckled quietly.
“You should take it as a compliment instead.”
Ethan looked at him.
“A compliment?”
“Yes.”
The old duke nodded slightly.
“Someone powerful enough to hire the Assassin Tower wants you dead.”
He paused before adding calmly.
“That means you have already become a threat worth eliminating.”
Ethan shook his head slowly.”I wish they showed appreciation in a different way.”
Duke Lancelot laughed softly.
“Unfortunately, power rarely attracts gratitude.”
…
Far away from the frozen plains of Frostvele, inside a quiet chamber hidden deep within a fortified estate, a dim lantern burned steadily on a heavy wooden table.
The room was large and silent. Thick stone walls surrounded it, and heavy curtains covered the tall windows so that no light could escape outside. Only the faint yellow glow of the lantern and the red embers of a burning cigar illuminated the chamber.
A man stood near the table with a sealed letter in his hand.
The wax seal had already been broken.
His sharp eyes moved slowly across the message written inside. The parchment rustled faintly as he read it carefully.
For several seconds, the room remained completely silent except for the faint crackling sound of burning tobacco.
Then the man folded the letter calmly.
His expression did not change much, but the faint tightening of his jaw revealed his irritation.
“So it failed,” he said quietly.
Across the room, another man sat in a wide leather chair.
He leaned back lazily while taking a long drag from a thick cigar. Smoke rolled slowly from his mouth and drifted upward toward the ceiling.
He did not look surprised at all.
The standing man glanced toward him and continued speaking.
“The assassin failed.”
He placed the letter on the table with a soft tap.
“And Duke Lancelot personally intervened.”
The seated man finally moved.
He lowered the cigar slowly and looked toward the letter resting on the table.
His eyes were calm but cold.
“Lancelot himself?” he asked.
“Yes.”
The standing man’s voice carried a trace of frustration.
“He appeared personally.”
The man in the chair exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
For several seconds he did not say anything.
Then he leaned forward slightly and rested his elbow on his knee.
“Interesting,” he murmured.
The standing man suddenly turned around and looked directly at him.
“I told you.”
His tone sharpened slightly as irritation crept into his voice.
“I told you that this man was going to become a pain in the ass.”
He tapped the letter on the table with two fingers.
“I warned you that we should eliminate him earlier.”
“Now see what happened.”
The seated man did not respond immediately.
Instead he calmly lifted the cigar again and took another long drag. The orange tip glowed brightly in the dim room while smoke curled around his face.
His eyes remained fixed on the letter.
After a moment he spoke.
“Relax.”
His voice was deep and steady.
“This was only the first attempt.”
The standing man narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You are still underestimating him.”
The seated man slowly stood up.
His tall figure cast a long shadow across the stone wall behind him as the lantern light flickered.
“We should have gone after him after he disrupted the trade deals,” the standing man continued coldly.
“Now look at the situation.”
“This insignificant backwater hillbilly from that remote region has now grown into a valuable pawn.”
The seated man raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Pawn, huh?”
He walked toward the table and picked up the letter.
The burning cigar remained between his fingers while smoke curled lazily around his face.
His expression remained calm, but his gaze was cold and calculating.
“Duke Lancelot appearing personally only confirms one thing,” he said slowly.
The standing man crossed his arms and waited.
“That the boy is now important enough for the Empire to protect.”
He lifted his eyes from the letter.
“And that makes him even more dangerous.”
The standing man did not argue with that.
The room fell silent again.
After a few seconds the seated man crushed the cigar slowly against a metal tray.
The ember died with a faint hiss.
His eyes turned sharp.
“However… you are forgetting something.”
The standing man frowned slightly.
“What?”
The seated man rested his hand on the table and looked at him calmly.
“It is the value.”
“For royals, regardless of value, everything can be discarded.”
He spoke slowly, his tone calm but cold.
“He might be a high value pawn to use today.”
“But tomorrow he might become just another eyesore whom the Emperor wants to dismiss.”
The standing man remained silent for a moment as he considered those words.
Then a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “That is possible.”
He looked toward the letter lying on the table again.
“And when that happens…”
His voice turned darker.
“We will strike him brutally.”
He paused and clenched his fingers slowly.
“He hit our roots.”
“So we will also hit him where it hurts the deepest.”
Both men stood silently in the dim room.
Their expressions remained calm, but the cold intent in their eyes made the air inside the chamber feel heavy and suffocating.
Far away, in Frostvele, the snow continued to fall quietly across the silent battlefield.
