I made up my mind and approached them, hitting one of them in the back of the head with the hilt of my dagger, knocking him out cold. While the other was surprised, I grabbed him from behind and held my dagger at his throat.
“No strange movements or I’ll kill you. Don’t move a muscle.” My voice was so low and hostile I could hardly believe it was my own.
“Who are you…?”
The man trembled at my question. “Who are you?!”
“Shh! Be quiet!” I pressed the dagger harder into his neck, and a crimson line dripped down his skin. “Now, tell me who you are. I know you’re not a soldier. There should be no guards out here.”
“How do you know that? I’m a soldier from the first regiment of the royal army! Kreuz told me to guard this place yesterday!”
“I see. Thank you.” I cut the man without hesitation. Kreuz had told me just this morning all the guards’ positions. He reported them to my father, and I had gotten special permission as Mer to hear the information. In other words, this man was lying. Also, a soldier from the army wouldn’t ever come guard the castle. That was the job for knights, not for soldiers. Kreuz had told us where all the knights would be as well.
Not only that, but the first regiment was completely made up of men my father had trained, so I knew all of them personally. I had trained with them myself at House Anderson as Mer, after all. I covered the man’s mouth to suppress his scream as he crumpled into a heap.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m in the first regiment. So? Why are you here?”
“As if I’d tell you…”
“That’s a shame. Should I see how long you can hold to that?” My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to get him to talk. Unfortunately, torture was out of my wheelhouse. I had to scare him somehow. I had to frighten him out of his mind first, and then once he was relieved, it would be easier to get him to talk. I knelt down and glared at him at eye-level. He was still trembling. I could see the fear in his eyes. What had I done to frighten him? I wondered, but this was a good time to try again.
“Who. Are. You.”
He seemed to be mulling over his answer. Maybe if I assured him his life wouldn’t be in danger, he’d talk. But I didn’t want to lie either. I never had any intention of letting him walk. “I’m going to ask you one more time. Who are you?”
His lips were sealed. Even though he was my enemy, I had to hand it to him. But, after all, I wasn’t suited to be an interrogator. Just as I killed the man, the one I knocked out first was starting to come to. The moment he regained consciousness, he surmised what was going on and opened his mouth to scream.
I quickly slapped my hand over his mouth. “You’ll tell me why you’re here, won’t you?”
He nodded several times.
“So? What is your mission?”
“T-to kill the people from Rimmel.”
I expected him to say that, but I felt my brain freeze with anger. Lord Romello and Louis had worked so hard to arrange everything today, and here these men were trying to ruin it all.
“Is that so. All of them?”
“Y-yes.”
“Who hired you?”
“I-I don’t know…” I glared at him, and he said, “I-I swear!”
“How many of you are there?”
“Thirty…”
Too many, I thought. It was possible I’d come across them at someone’s party before or that they were even people who regularly came here. While I was distracted by this, the man grabbed his sword again and tried to attack me. I cursed myself for letting down my guard and killed him without hesitation. I let out a deep sigh as I looked down at the two men, lying dead on the ground.
I would not let this happen. This party was the first step toward stronger ties between Rimmel and Tasmeria. And this attempted attack was an insult against Lord Romello, who believed in peace. Even if whoever was behind this plot thought they were doing it for the good of the kingdom, they were sorely mistaken. Violence was not the answer, and it would not lead to a peaceful solution. It was pulling the trigger to start a war.
My anger surged inside of me once again when I looked at the men’s bodies, and I sprang into action. Where were the others hiding? I stayed as far away from the party as I could as I searched. I found three men wearing soldier’s uniforms in another place where there were not supposed to be any guards stationed. Were they really soldiers, or were they enemies? I snuck up behind the group and whacked one of them in the temple with the hilt of my dagger.
I punched the second one in the gut. But as I turned around to knock the third one unconscious, I saw someone had beat me to it. And then that someone lunged toward me. I gripped my dagger and reflexively countered his attack. He was strong. I could tell with just that one blow, and I grimaced. Under normal circumstances, I’d welcome a strong opponent like this, but right now, he was too dangerous.
Then, I caught a glimpse of the man’s face, and I suddenly froze with shock.
“Wait, are you Ab—”
He quickly placed a finger over his lips to shush me, then realized that he recognized my voice. “What are you doing here, Mer?!” He hissed at me quietly.
“That’s what I wanna know! I thought you were supposed to be doing desk work? No matter how strong you are, there’s no way they’d put someone with a desk job here tonight! It doesn’t make any sense. And why are you dressed like that?!”
He wasn’t wearing a military uniform. He was dressed all in black. He honestly looked even more suspicious than the enemies. Wait, is Abel…