Chapter 228: A Way Out
Even though the ketchup had a terrifying effect, Grey Dove was still a well-trained assassin. After a short while, she managed to recover. She looked at Evelia, who was now washing dishes, frowning and clearly wanting to say something but holding it in.
That busy, focused look on Evelia’s face somehow reminded her of Blue Sparrow, who used to take care of them like a group of kids in a monastery.
Hmm… there's a word for this kind of thing... what was it again…?
Grey Dove rubbed her chin, trying to remember the right word. She was already used to seeing everything around her soaked in red, so watching Evelia wash pots and dishes covered in ketchup didn’t make her feel much. Just a strange sense of déjà vu she couldn’t quite explain.
But Rachel was different.
As she watched Evelia handle those knives stained with ketchup, Rachel couldn’t stop shivering.
Evelia rarely showed emotion. Even when she was clearly enjoying the ketchup, she only seemed slightly happier for a moment, then returned to her usual blank face. Now, as she quietly cleaned the dishes, her expression was as cold as ever.
That cold, emotionless look, combined with the blood-red water in the sink, filled Rachel with fear from deep inside.
It was like… even if a mouse gets along well with a cat, the mouse is still naturally afraid of it. Even if they live together, even if they’ve hugged before, the mouse will still worry the cat might suddenly bite its neck off.
Rachel still didn’t know yet that Evelia was here to rescue her. She had no idea how worried Evelia had been after she went missing, how she only calmed down after seeing Rachel was still breathing. That’s why Evelia started focusing on the thing that brought her comfort, ketchup.
But even so, the knife Evelia had just washed and placed back in the rack still gave off a chilling, dangerous glint.
Just like that day long ago…
Evelia’s knife had been so fast that when she slashed Rachel’s throat, Rachel actually saw her own blood spurting out. And when her eyes landed on the blade, she saw her dying reflection in it.
…Thinking back, the Second Prince must have thought she was going to die for sure back then. Otherwise, he never would’ve revealed Evelia’s true title, "Red Crow," right in front of her.
Now she had no choice but to carry that dangerous secret.
Rachel's eyes moved back to Evelia.
Yes… she had almost been silenced once, because she knew too much for a regular person.
‘But what about Evelia? Didn’t she know even more than I do?’
As the Second Prince’s trusted assassin, she had to know all kinds of secrets. Even if the Second Prince never said anything directly, the things Evelia had done for him were more than enough to completely destroy him if they were exposed.
For a politician who has some power but hasn’t fully secured it yet, dark secrets are deadly.
People don’t care about the stories of nobodies. And once someone becomes too powerful, rumors won’t affect them anymore either. So if you want to bring someone down with public opinion, the perfect time is when they’re in the middle. Not too weak, but not too secure.
The Second Prince was in exactly that kind of position. He was a royal prince, so his title was guaranteed. But because the old emperor was still alive, and his older brother had a number of supporters, his power wasn’t secure. He was still in the “gathering support” phase.
He had done many things, and Evelia probably knew a lot about them. Even now, for example, turning one of his subordinates into a young girl and using her as bait to win over the commander of the knights, then planning to eliminate him after fully using him, these kinds of things could easily fill an entire book.
The only reason the Second Prince still relied on Evelia was because she was still useful. He believed she still had missions to carry out.
But what about after that? Once everything ends, where will Evelia go?
Like before… she knows far too much.
When it’s all over, when the final task is done, Evelia will be discarded. Just like what happened to Rachel.
Rachel had done a lot for the Second Prince too. Her focus had always been on alchemy. She didn’t care who ended up on the throne, as long as someone supported her research and funded her experiments.
She wasn’t loyal to the prince the way Evelia was, but she wasn’t disloyal either. All she wanted was to become the most powerful alchemist, nothing more.
She didn’t care who was in charge, as long as they didn’t force her to do things that went against the ethics of an alchemist.
She definitely didn’t want to create something like a giant dog that called people “Big Brother”...
But in the end, she still “died.” She didn’t even know where her body ended up, was it burned like firewood, or thrown to pigs and dogs?
If Evelia continued on this path, she’d likely face the same fate.
…Rachel really wished Evelia could escape.
At the beginning, Rachel had told the Second Prince that the body transformation done on “Red Crow” was irreversible. A human body could only withstand a major alchemical body-swap like that once.
At the time, the prince didn’t seem to care about Evelia’s future. He only asked about the technical side, whether the procedure would have any issues, or if the new body would break down shortly after the operation.
It felt like he had no intention of giving Evelia a future.
And alchemical body-changing was one of Rachel’s signature techniques. She had been excited to show off her skills, telling the prince that there would be no problem at all. The only thing to consider was whether the person could mentally accept the new body. Physically, everything would function fine. In fact, because the body had been modified, it could even age more slowly.
But the Second Prince didn’t seem interested in those details. Rachel remembered that during that conversation, he had asked her if it was possible to install some kind of “switch” on the new body.
At that moment, Rachel felt something was wrong.
She laughed awkwardly and shook her head, saying, “That's not really possible... You can’t just ‘install’ something like that on the mind.”
The prince simply nodded, but Rachel saw a trace of disappointment in his eyes, and Rachel was very good at reading people.
Ever since then, ever since she saw that expression, Rachel had felt a strong sense of unease.
But the preparations for Evelia’s body transformation were already complete. So she didn’t stop.