Chapter 223: Their Obsessive Devotion
Cyan Hawk seemed like he wanted to talk more with Evelia, but since both of them were quiet types, if no one started the conversation, nothing would be said at all.
Still, Cyan Hawk was very curious as he looked up and down at the mysterious "Red Crow." Since all records about this legendary assassin had been destroyed by the Second Prince, no one else really knew what Red Crow looked like.
Only Gray Dove, Red Crow’s most devoted fan, had gotten lucky. One time, when she tried to sneak into the Second Prince’s office through what she thought was a convenient window, she caught a quick glimpse of a young person with short reddish-brown hair.
At the time, the Second Prince had been busy burning all documents related to Red Crow, probably to plan for the future. So Gray Dove also saw Evelia’s former name, Furst Talia.
Red Crow had sharp senses and immediately noticed her at the window. Without hesitation, he jumped out the window behind the Second Prince and, just seconds later, dragged Gray Dove back inside.
That moment taught Gray Dove, who had always believed she had amazing talent and would someday become a top-tier assassin, what it truly meant to be strong.
The Second Prince could have killed her just for seeing Red Crow’s real face, but he didn’t.
Instead, he let her go and simply gave her a warning, “Next time, knock first.”
Neither Cyan Hawk nor Blue Sparrow, nor even White Dove, who was outside, knew what Red Crow really looked like. All they had to go on were Gray Dove’s crazy fangirl comments like “My idol is so good-looking,” but no one asked for details. Because every time Red Crow was mentioned, Gray Dove would start acting like she was high on something, making her hard to talk to.
“Where did you put the kid I wanted?”
Gray Dove stood on tiptoe, trying to peek over Cyan Hawk’s shoulder. He was a lot taller than her.
“In the side room.”
“Ahh—still alive?”
“She’s alive, but probably sleeping. The sedative hasn’t worn off yet. She woke up for a bit earlier, but then fell back asleep.”
“Oh?”
Gray Dove’s eyes lit up. “You mean she actually woke up? Even after White Dove gave her a dose of that super-concentrated knockout drug?”
She looked thrilled, like she’d just discovered a treasure.
That drug was so strong even a normal person couldn’t handle it. Although White Dove had said it had been specially adjusted so it wouldn’t be fatal, just enough to make someone sleep for a few days, no one had expected that little girl to wake up so soon.
Even if she was asleep again now, the fact that she had woken up already was more than enough to impress Gray Dove.
“……”
Evelia still didn’t speak, but she looked at Gray Dove again through the hood of her cloak.
“Gah… haha…”
The pressure of that gaze made Gray Dove’s heart pound wildly with excitement, but at the same time, cold sweat ran down her back. She quickly looked at Cyan Hawk and Blue Sparrow and gave them a sheepish grin.
“Cyan Hawk, Blue Sparrow~ thanks for your help, but your part ends here, hehe… from now on… fufufu… it’s private time with Red Crow~”
The way she said it made Cyan Hawk feel a little nauseous.
If Gray Dove just stuck to the cute act, it wouldn’t be so bad. But after seeing her violently rip someone’s head off like a total lunatic, the contrast between her creepy sweetness and terrifying violence made it hard for him to process.
Still they had to keep her around. Because Gray Dove was an essential part of their combat force.
It’s exactly because she’s crazy that Gray Dove can fight without holding back. She doesn’t care about anyone or anything, which makes her the most “useful” fighter.
Just like Blue Sparrow, Cyan Hawk also has his own obsession.
Blue Sparrow once joked that Cyan Hawk wanted to create a peaceful society, and that was actually true. What Cyan Hawk wants is a calm, stable world.
But the way he goes about it is... extreme.
He believes in "filtering people", sorting them into different categories, judging whether someone should even exist in today’s society. He evaluates whether a person’s life has value, or whether their death would be more beneficial.
No one knows his exact standards. Even Blue Sparrow, who works closely with him, doesn’t know what he’s really thinking. He might already be dividing people into “useful” and “useless,” but knowing Cyan Hawk’s personality, his system is probably far more detailed. So detailed it might need a whole stack of multiple-choice surveys to sort through.
Rachel is still alive now only because she passed Cyan Hawk’s judgment. If she hadn’t, Cyan Hawk would have turned her into a corpse and dumped her in a trash can the first time he picked her up.
He wants to make this chaotic world more stable. And he believes in the old saying, “One rotten fish ruins the whole pot of soup.” So, he made up his mind, to remove all the “rotten fish.”
“Cyan Hawk?”
Blue Sparrow looked up at the man, who was now frowning because of Gray Dove’s tone.
“Ah—are we leaving already?” He turned to glance at Blue Sparrow.
“Yeah, we should go. Gray Dove said our part is done, and besides, we still need to talk to White Dove, right?”
White Dove, that lazy but strangely intense pharmacist, had his own obsession too.
Cyan Hawk let out a sigh. “Yeah… we were actually planning to meet him anyway. But now, who knows where he ran off to? He always looks like he’s too lazy to move, but he never stays in one place.”
Originally, Blue Sparrow was supposed to be the only one picking up Rachel. But once Cyan Hawk heard that White Dove had stayed at this little hideout of Gray Dove’s for a while, he decided to come too.
White Dove was the weakest in combat among them, mostly handling supplies and support. Cyan Hawk wanted to meet him to prepare for something that might happen in the near future.
After all, that old king didn’t seem like he had much time left.
It was almost funny, two political enemies working together in secret because of their shared father.
—Well, maybe “working together” wasn’t the right word.
It was more like they silently accepted each other’s actions. Even if they noticed what the other was doing, they didn’t say anything. They just let things happen.
Of course, White Dove, the pharmacist, was part of this quiet agreement too.
“Then~ you two, I won’t walk you out~”
Gray Dove was so excited about getting to be alone with her godlike idol that she could barely stand still. Her legs kept shifting positions.
She never thought this day would come, standing so close to her idol.
Maybe… maybe she’d even get to talk with her.
Evelia, however, had no interest in paying attention to Gray Dove.
After exchanging a few final words with Cyan Hawk and Blue Sparrow and watching them disappear from view, she turned away and headed to the small room where Rachel was resting.