Chapter 57: The Mission
Although the Saint Fleurs Church belonged to the royal family, it was still a bit far from the royal garden. So Armand had no choice but to take a carriage. The ride was bumpy as he slowly made his way toward the church, which was now under the control of the second prince.
The first and second princes were quite interesting. One of them had the captain of the knight order as his ally and held both military and political power. The other had the famous hero "Red Crow" by his side, someone who looked like a kind and brave figure that helped the poor and stood up to the rich. He also had the Saint Fleurs Church. You could say he held both religious power and the hearts of the people.
One prince believed in practical power, while the other focused on beliefs and faith. They were rivals, but in a strange way, they also balanced each other out.
Even though they both held strong power, they still kept interfering with each other. Just like how the second prince could send the knight order on faraway missions to the east, the first prince could also send royal knights to “guard” Saint Fleurs. On the surface, it looked like protection, but anyone who understood knew it was actually surveillance.
And right in the middle of all this was the royal knight order. As the leader of the knights, Armand had his hands full. Sometimes the second prince would pull him into something, and other times the first prince would push him into something else. Every time this happened, Armand seriously wanted to retire.
“Alright, stop looking so miserable,” said Carle, who was with him.
“Ughh—I don’t want to go…”
After all, this was the second prince’s territory. With how clearly the two princes had drawn the line between their powers, who knew how many cold glares the royal knights would get once they arrived?
“We’re not leaving you there. You’re just going for a field inspection today.”
“Sigh… I feel bad for whoever gets assigned to stay there.”
Even though Armand wasn’t the one being posted at the church, someone still had to be sent. That place was full of the second prince’s people. It was obvious the royal knights wouldn’t be welcomed there.
“This kind of competition between factions is normal. When we used to go to war, it’s not like we volunteered either.”
Carle’s tone sounded light and casual, but his face looked very serious. Everyone knew, going to Saint Fleurs was like walking into a tiger’s den. Sure, no one would dare touch the royal knights openly, but in political games like this, people could be very sneaky. Who knew what kind of dirty tricks might show up?
“……”
After that, Carle and Armand looked at each other, then said nothing more. Carle rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window. Armand leaned back in his seat to take a nap, like he always did.
The carriage rumbled along, taking them toward Saint Fleurs. Even though the area hadn’t been touched by war yet, they both knew the most dangerous attacks were the ones you didn’t see coming.
Even now, when their carriage passed through a forest path, Carle and Armand stayed alert. They had already been attacked while traveling more than once, and this was the second prince’s territory, after all.
……………………………………
On the other side, Evelia had finished getting dressed to go out. She left her room calmly, like always. As she walked out of the estate, she nodded and greeted the servants and knights she happened to pass.
Even though Armand had ordered his spies to follow Evelia carefully, Evelia wasn’t just an ordinary assassin. To her, their surveillance was full of flaws.
If they wanted to see something, Evelia would show them exactly what they wanted to see.
If they wanted to see a hardworking maid, she would bury herself in chores.
If they wanted to see a peaceful young lady who did nothing, she would sit quietly under a tree, even while her mind worked on the next step of her plan.
Whenever she went out, she would always head to Anna’s clothing shop. She had even noticed that some knights had started going there on purpose, treating the shop like Evelia’s base of operations. So naturally, Anna became Evelia’s cover.
Evelia would spend lots of time there to keep up the act, just to make sure the spies would stop being suspicious. And once they relaxed a little, that’s when she could do what she really wanted.
But today, she didn’t go to Anna’s shop first.
Instead, she went to a very ordinary market.
“Boss, I’m here to buy tomato sauce. Do you still have the same kind as last time?”
Of course not. Evelia’s tomato sauces were all labeled by special numbers. If it wasn’t the correct date, she would never come here just to buy real sauce.
“Yes, Miss. A new batch just arrived of the one you ordered last time. If you think the taste is right, we can order more of it for you.”
The old shopkeeper, who looked kind and honest, smiled and led Evelia into the busy marketplace. Even though she didn’t have eyes on the back of her head, Evelia knew some of the knights were secretly following her.
But she wasn’t nervous. To others, it just looked like a normal shopping trip.
And if Evelia really wanted to get away, it would be easy for her.
What was even more interesting was that Evelia could clearly feel that fewer people were watching her these days. Maybe Armand was happy with her behavior and lowered his guard, or maybe the spies had been sent elsewhere. Either way, it was a good thing for her.
“Is this the one?”
Evelia followed the shopkeeper to a shelf. He picked up a nicely packaged tomato sauce and handed it to her.
“Is it sweet or sour?”
That was their secret code.
If it was sweet, it meant the mission was just to collect something.
If it was sour, it meant someone had to be killed.
If it was spicy, it meant a full-on attack was needed, probably with bloodshed.
“It’s sour. Please try it,” the shopkeeper replied.
“Hmm…”
Evelia made a soft sound, opened the lid, and smelled it. The tomato scent was strong, and very sour.
To Evelia, tomato sauce had once meant freedom, something she longed for. But after the second prince found out she liked tomato sauce, it became a secret code for missions. That was a bit ironic. The one thing she thought couldn’t be controlled by the second prince ended up being used by him as a message tool.
Still, Evelia didn’t mind. That’s just the kind of person she was. Even if the second prince saw through her, there was nothing she could do. She was his most loyal dog.
“Which factory made it?” she asked.
“It’s from a place west of the royal palace. There’s a small alley there, very messy and narrow. But as the saying goes, ‘Good wine isn’t afraid of a deep alley.’ This tomato sauce is the same. Even if it’s hidden, people who know quality will still find it. What do you think?”
With just a few words, the shopkeeper gave her the mission location.
“Hmm, not bad,” Evelia replied, accepting the task.
“Then I’ll get it ready for you.”
“How long will it take to deliver?”
“It’ll take a while. The factory is very busy right now. It’s not something we can send out quickly.”
—In other words, things are too tense right now, and there are knights nearby. They can’t make a move just yet.
“You need to give me a time. I don’t want to waste my time coming here again and again.”
—She couldn’t keep showing up here. Too many visits would make people suspicious.
“Probably by the day of the festival. It should be ready by then.”
“The Prolos Festival?”
“That’s right. By then, the factory won’t be so busy. The festival is more important.”
—Because the festival will need more guards, it’ll be easier for Evelia to move around.
“Got it. What kind of person runs that factory? I don’t want to buy anything bad.”
—What exactly did the target do?
“I heard he’s a know-it-all. A tall guy with brown hair. He came here a few days ago to sell his products to us. Seems like he knows a lot. That’s probably how he made such a special tomato sauce. I think you’ll like it.”
—The target is a brown-haired man. He knows something he shouldn’t and even tried to use that to threaten the second prince. He must be killed. Only you can do it.
“Alright. Send it over once it’s ready. I’ll pay when it arrives.”
—I’ll take care of the mission.
After they finished talking, the shopkeeper gave the tomato sauce to Evelia as a free sample. It was actually very good, a nice little bonus.
Ever since Evelia was given the job of getting close to Armand, the second prince hadn’t given her any more tasks. But when someone told her that “tomato sauce” was now a code word, she knew a new mission had come.
Today’s trip was the first task she’d received since becoming Evelia.
But to her, this mission was very easy.
Because nothing was simpler than an assassination.