Chapter 776 - Indecisiveness
Barnes House, Ishtar.
"Is everything alright, Ken?" A person in a guard's uniform asked as he looked at his partner.
Ken nodded.
"You have been oddly quiet today.." The person further said with a confused look on his face, but didn't dwell on the topic.
The sky was already very bright, and it was time for them to change shifts. Hence, they parted ways heading towards their own quarters.
"That was close.." Ken breathed in relief when he was finally all alone. And, his voice actually didn't seem to fit with his appearance of a middle aged man, but instead resembled a young man's voice.
This guy was actually Victor in disguise.
He had somehow managed to survive until now. And, that too without speaking much. Thankfully, there weren't any instances where he had to speak much. After all, it was just him standing on guard duty.
"Well, then I should go visit that guy.." Victor muttered inwardly. He had refrained himself from paying Arnold a visit last night as the security level was very high, and since they were not Arnold's people, they wouldn't let him in without undergoing any form of checking. And, he was not confident of clearing it.
But, it was different now.
Victor didn't directly go to Arnold's place, and instead walked around a bit confirming his escape route first. Once he was done with that, he made his move.
It was really odd but as an assassin, he walked straight into the mansion from the side entrance.
There were obviously guards at the entrance, and their appearance sure had made him a bit nervous. But, he just gave them a nod casually, and walked in. The guards too acted like nothing had happened, and allowed Victor in without any questioning.
'I will have to be quick, or I will be the one dying..' Victor muttered inwardly. There was no way he was going to survive if Arnold managed to alert people before getting killed.
He had to end it in two strikes, after all Demon transformation means having an additional heart.
Who could know it better than him?
He had experienced it first hand.
Victor slowly walked into the hall, and a servant immediately came up to him.
"Sir, Master Arnold is taking a shower. Would you like to wait in the lounge?"
"Yeah.." Victor nodded. It was hard to get into this place. There was no way he was leaving this easily.
The servant showed him the way, and then left.
Even though they called it a lounge, it is just a courtyard with a few comfy chairs and sofas. The view of the garden was very nice though. It sure had a relaxing environment.
Victor didn't stay here for long though and immediately disappeared from the surface like a skillful assassin. It seemed that his experience of hiding himself and plotting against others had granted him some mastery over his stealth techniques.
Arnold was taking a shower currently, there couldn't be any better time to sneak up on him.
Victor slowly moved towards Arnold's room through the garden. The b*stard lived on the first floor. But, for a mage like him, it was not an issue.
With a single jump, Victor managed to catch onto the railing of the balcony.
But, the moment he got onto the balcony, his eyes went wide. 'Shit!'
He hurriedly stepped onto the railing, and jumped once again and got on top of the roof above the balcony.
'That guy..how the hell is he taking a shower!!!' Victor cursed the servant for lying to him. It was clear that Arnold was long done with the shower.
'Hmmn? Wait!' Victor suddenly realized something.
The moment he came up onto the balcony, his eyes landed on Arnold with his shirt down, standing in front of the mirror. But, now that he realized it, there seemed to be something wrong with that guy's body.
His curiosity definitely was piqued, and he slowly lowered his head, and carefully took a peek.
'What the hell!' Victor was shocked by the sight in front of him.
He saw Arnold's body full of scars, and even those words that were carved onto his body.
'How in hell did he end up like that?'
Victor couldn't understand it. They were nobles, and with the care they received, the wounds mostly healed without leaving any scars. But, for this guy. It was obvious, he had been through hell.
The scars seemed to be pretty old as well.
historical
'Who cares what he has gone through..it's time to end this b*stars life..' Two sharp blades suddenly slid into Victor's hand from his sleeves.
As he was about to make a move, his brows twitched, and he hurriedly pulled himself back.
There was someone else coming..
And, just as he had expected, a knock was heard on the door, and a voice followed.
"Are you there Arnold?"
It was Arthur.
Next, the scene between the two brothers played. A family relationship on one hand, and the position of the Lord on the other hand. Then there was also the matter of revenge which only Arnold, and now probably Victor too had an idea about.
After all, Victor was little familiar with this former comrade of his. He knew about his backstory, and had heard about his father's death. That had to be the reason, otherwise Victor would have no idea why Arnold was willing to betray his own family.
A little while later, the talk between the two ended. And, it didn't seem to have any strong conclusion. It was more like they had set up a date for things to decide, and it was going to be the competition this time.
Once Arthur left, Arnold clearly went crazy. It was all witnessed by Victor, and it made a frown appear on his face.
This was his best moment to strike, but he hesitated at this moment. This was the worst thing to do if you wanted to assassinate someone. An assassin could never hesitate.
But, there was no way that he could remain calm after seeing Arnold's situation. After all, it was a little bit similar to his own.
Losing one's true self in hatred, and thrust for revenge.
To be honest, Victor would have still sliced this guy's head, if he hadn't seen his conflicting behavior right now. It was clear that Arnold was trapped in this situation. It was not that he had gone down the path of no return completely.
'Damn it!' Victor cursed at his own indecisiveness, and in the end, he had to ask his own Ruler for help.