Obsidian Assassin 1
After finishing her bath and preparing for bed, Liliana was absorbed in extracting all the information obtained from the recently returned mice in her room at her residence on the outskirts of the royal capital.
(The knights' movements are stagnant—It seems that Austin-san was quickly promoted to knight to place him under Captain Danhill's protection. This is confirmed.)
Among the information the mice had brought back, there were several intriguing pieces. Since hearing that Austin was assigned to the second squad, Liliana had been harboring doubts. Certainly, he is competent and talented. In the otome game from her previous life, Austin Ealdred was an excellent knight. However, the decision to assign him so soon after recovering from his injuries sustained during the monster stampede seemed too hasty. It was clear there was something amiss. Simply attributing it to Austin's recognized abilities was unsatisfactory.
As expected, her investigation revealed unsettling information. It appeared that, after the monster stampede, there were calls at the advisory meeting to hold the knight commander and the second squad leader accountable. Although Duke Ealdred’s influence led to the matter being overlooked, it was clear that the blame should have been directed at the Magic Ministry or the person who issued orders to the knights, especially considering the Magic Ministry's refusal to dispatch magical knights and the situation where teleportation circles were unusable. The misdirection of responsibility was evident, and it was unlikely that this was merely an attempt by someone to evade responsibility. One should consider that there might be someone plotting to seize control of the knights under the guise of this incident.
Given the situation, it was obvious that political motives were involved. Austin, a close friend of Crown Prince Riley, who is backed by the Ealdred family, was also known to openly declare his intention to become Riley’s personal knight in the future. Furthermore, his abilities were exemplary. Though his contributions during the monster stampede were not prominent, they were favorably evaluated. From an external perspective, Austin’s support would be a significant asset for Riley's ascension to the throne. For nobles not aligned with the king’s faction, he would be an eyesore.
If Austin were a mere knight apprentice, various excuses could be made to expel him from the knights or to deal with him under the pretense of an accident. However, once he was promoted to knight and assigned to a squad, any interference would be problematic. If he were in the second squad led by Captain Danhill, who had ties to the Calvert Frontier Baron family, Austin would be well-protected both in terms of power and ability.
(It’s surprising that the request came from Duke Ealdred to Captain Hegaty.)
Rumors about Duke Ealdred described him as "a sharp and meticulous man who is strict but not active in politics." Although he was a good father to his children, he was fundamentally laissez-faire and allowed them to act as they wished, according to Austin himself.
Yet, this time, the Duke was taking action. With the power of the Ealdred family, it should be possible to protect Austin even as an apprentice knight, but the Duke might have other plans. Liliana could not understand what the Duke was thinking. She did not believe she had a complete grasp of all the information held by the Duke, who was reputed to be the most astute of the current generation. Liliana acknowledged the limits of her own information-gathering abilities.
Despite sending out mice and bird familiars created through Curse magic, there were limitations to the information these “mindless entities” could collect. If she had spies who could think for themselves and follow her orders, they could understand what kind of information was necessary to meet Liliana's needs and act accordingly.
“I thought it would be a good idea to reach out to him for that reason—”
Liliana sighed unconsciously and glanced at the window. The sunset streaming through the window looked as it always did. She recalled a phrase her father once said.
— Investigate the movements of ‘that’ family. Report immediately if there is anything.
These were the words of Duke Clark to his steward three years ago. At that time, she hadn’t thought deeply about why Duke Clark had given such an order. What had intrigued her was why that name came up at that particular moment.
The Calamity clan does not appear in the first game of the otome series. They are deeply involved in the second game, which is set later in the timeline. Since it was still before the first game, the Calamity clan should not have had a significant impact on the story. Yet, Liliana had encountered a boy in a black robe.
Although she did not recognize the boy's face, she was familiar with the weapon he used, extremely fine iron threads—a whip-like assassination tool. A weapon that no one else could master, an extremely difficult assassination tool. The boy, who wielded a weapon that should not have appeared at this stage, was undoubtedly a member of the feared assassination clan, the Calamity clan. Having executed the assassination of Baron Kennys and wounded a seasoned warrior, the boy’s skills were guaranteed. Liliana judged with near certainty that he was a member of the Calamity clan.
The boy had said he was not targeting Liliana but was interested in her. Given that the game’s Liliana had no chance of surviving if targeted, she thought it highly unlikely she could escape the boy's clutches. Unless some miracle occurred, it was almost impossible for someone like her, who had not yet mastered magic and had only learned basic martial arts and combat skills from the Kamakiri, to avoid the boy's reach.
— Thus, it must be an event that diverges from the game's scenario that has brought him to make contact.
Thinking so, Liliana had invited the boy to come to her residence. The Calamity clan, to which the boy belonged, did not play a significant role in the first game of the otome series. Liliana herself does not appear in the second game. Even if she brought the boy into the story before the start of the first game, it likely wouldn’t cause a major shift in the narrative. Any differences would be limited to events concerning Liliana alone and should not heavily impact the main storyline. Liliana's goal was to avoid the same fate as her counterpart in the game and not to alter the future of the heroine or the target characters in a negative way.
However, the boy had yet to visit Liliana's residence.
It was unclear to Liliana whether he had lost interest or if there was another reason for his absence. Without knowing his whereabouts, she could do nothing even if she sent out mice. Yet, given the boy’s previous behavior, it was hard to believe he had completely lost interest—Liliana found herself repeatedly questioning the situation.
Ajulite of the Black Lion had also been conspicuously absent for the past week and she had not been studying Curse magic with Petra. Her education as a potential consort to the crown prince was nearly complete, and she would not go to the palace unless invited to a tea party by Riley. Even immersing herself in reading, creating magical tools, studying sorcery, and training in magic at home grew tiresome.
“Well, there’s no point in thinking about it endlessly. I should just go to sleep.”
Liliana sighed softly and tidied up the mice. She got into bed and turned off the lights but found it difficult to fall asleep even wrapped in her bedding. Still, she forced herself to close her eyes. After a while, Liliana blinked her eyes open.
The spell she had cast on the room was activated. An intruder, the first since Ajulite. Olga and Gild did not notice the presence. Perhaps—Liliana’s heart raced.
A faint breeze entered the room, but there was no sound of a window opening. There was no sign of a human presence. With her eyes still closed in bed, Liliana sensed the intruder's presence through her magic. No matter how much the presence was concealed, it couldn’t erase body heat or the faint magical energy leaking out.
Eventually, the midnight visitor slowly approached the bedside. As his hand reached towards the bedding, the presence became agitated.
“—!?”
Liliana finally opened her eyes and sat up. In the darkness, the boy, bound by the magical vines she had created, stared wide-eyed. Seeing him again after a long time, Liliana smiled brightly.
“I didn’t expect a visit at night—but it’s been a while.”
She greeted him as if meeting an old friend. The boy, renowned as the most formidable member of the Calamity clan, looked at Liliana with an expression of disbelief while still bound by the vines.
“You’re good at pretending to be asleep.”
“I’m honored by your praise. However, night is not exactly the most suitable time for a lady’s visitor, is it?”
Liliana’s smile deepened. Despite being bound, the boy seemed unconcerned and shrugged his shoulders skillfully.
“For us assassins, night is the proper time.”
This response satisfied Liliana. Indeed, many who engage in assassination would consider night to be their primary time for activity. However, the boy standing before her was different. He excelled at openly killing targets during broad daylight without being noticed. Still, it was more convenient than having him come through the main gate in broad daylight.
Of the two conditions Liliana had set during their last meeting, the one about avoiding being seen by others was met. However, the second condition, which was not to attack her, had not been observed. As Liliana tightened the vines, the boy's face twisted in a manner that suggested amusement. The pain should have been significant, but he showed no sign of discomfort.
“It seems you’ve respected the condition about not showing yourself to others, but you didn’t seem to intend to keep the condition of not attacking me.”
The boy laughed with apparent enjoyment.
“I’m not about to work for someone who can be killed just by pretending to sleep.”
“Well, then. It seems you’ll be deciding whether to make me your master with your own eyes.”
Liliana responded calmly, saying it was a wonderful thing. She did not loosen the vines. Even though he was still a boy, his skills as an assassin were exceptional, surpassing even those of adults. A momentary lapse could be fatal.
“So, am I satisfactory?”
“Well, yeah.”
Tilting her head slightly, Liliana was met with a look of amusement from the boy. She stared at him, trying to discern his true intentions, but eventually, she loosened the vines with a smooth motion. The boy let out a small sigh and rotated his shoulders—then, in the next moment.
“If you can dodge this attack, I might consider following you,” he said with a daring smile.
From his hand extended a whip, not the fine iron thread he had used before, but a regular whip. The main body of the whip coiled around Liliana's body, tightening its grip. Liliana’s face contorted in pain. Despite her excellence in magic and intellect, she was still an ordinary duke’s daughter physically. She had not trained her body and was thus vulnerable to physical attacks. Once captured, it was easy to handle her. Still, the boy remained on guard. The magic of the girl he had captured was superior to anyone he knew.
“Too bad,” he said.
With that, the boy twisted his wrist, holding the whip, preparing to end Liliana's life. With that simple motion, he had the skill to tear her apart.
—
This secondary male lead isn't bad, but I'm in the prince faction
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