Ch. 33 I’d Better Make Sure (1)

“How…how did you get in?”

Kuhn closed the door and approached Elena before answering. He noted her surprise expression and spoke in a low voice.

“Infiltration is my specialty.”

“W-what? You mean you snuck in here?”

“To be exact, I got a fake job as a food carrier. In a word, yes.”

Elena looked Kuhn with more surprise than before. House Blaise was a well-known family in the empire who trained knights. The number of them on the castle grounds was greater than that of any other family. Even if he came into the castle in disguise, he had to steal past all that security reach the room of the count’s daughter.

However, the breach was justifiable in some ways. As Carlisle had said, Kuhn’s abilities were exceptional. But what if Kuhn’s aim was Elena’s life? Although Elena had her sword to protect her, as a daughter of a count she was already in enough danger. She felt a chill creep down her spine.

“Let me ask you one more thing. Sir Kasha, have you ever approached someone this way and assassinated someone?”

“That’s…”

He formed his words slowly. What he said came as a shock, despite the monotone sound of his voice.

“…That’s what I’m best at.”

Kuhn, who already seemed to have extraordinary abilities, was most skilled at assassination…

Elena had a headache for a moment, but this was to be expected. When they first met, she thought he looked more appropriate as assassin than a knight. Elena wondered what Carlisle was thinking, but he was not there to answer her question. She spoke to Kuhn instead.

“Let me ask you directly. If your mission was to assassinate me, can you kill me in Blaise Castle and escape? What are your chances of success?”

“There is a difference between infiltrating a castle to have a secret conversation, and another for the purpose of taking another person’s life. Each variable would need to be calculated exponentially. And within Blaise Castle, there’s not a very high probability of success. Moreso, after an assassination it would be almost impossible for me to live and escape.”

Elena smiled when she heard the answer.

“If you put that in a different sense, you can kill me if you risk your life?”

Kuhn had no knowledge of Elena’s swordsmanship abilities, but there still stood the chance of an successful assassination attempt.

For the first time, Kuhn did not answer, and Elena took it as tacit confirmation. How many assassins in the Ruford Empire could answer like Kuhn now?

Kuhn Kasha. It was a name she had never heard of in her last life. She envied how Carlisle had such a capable man.

“Let me ask you one last question.”

“You’ve already said you’d ask one last question.”

Kuhn’s expression remained inscrutable, but he calmly parried away Elena’s repeated questions as if he felt uncomfortable answering them. His observation wasn’t wrong, but she ignored it and asked her question anyway.

“Why are you answering my questions?”

She had not met Kuhn many times, but she could tell his personality at a glance. It seemed uncharacteristic of him that he would answer to her. Kuhn answered in as dry a manner as before.

“The General told me to obey you unconditionally.”

“Ah…”

This was new information for her. She didn’t expect Carlisle to pay attention to these details, but he was helping her out more than she realized. She felt grateful to him. She didn’t completely trust him yet, but she appreciated his services for her.

It seemed a little strange that Kuhn kept calling Carlisle the General instead of His Highness, but she soon let go of the thought.

“So you will do anything I say.”

Kuhn’s face twitched, but Elena carried on regardless.

“I’d like to ask a favor. Give me information about the imperial household, as well as the power structure of the nobility in the capital area.”

“…I understand.”

“Please do it as soon as possible.”

Kuhn paused to think for a moment, and then spoke in a quiet voice.

“Can I visit you at a later time? I only have a small window of time to visit by day. I arrived a little late because of it.”

Kuhn himself seemed to think his arrival was late, despite only appearing after a few hours after she summoned him. Elena admired Kuhn’s quick work.

“I don’t mind if you visit late. Please forward the information to me.”

“Yes, My Lady…”

Kuhn bowed, then left the room as soft-footedly as he came in. She looked back in silence, pleased with the work of this mysterious young man. The enemy might be cunning, but she had Kuhn as an ally. She praised Carlisle’s ability to attract such people. Maybe he was more talented than she thought. It was a good idea to proceed with the contract marriage.

She turned back to the papers on her desk and began reading them more carefully than before.