The sun was at its zenith when a small man known as Mantis arrived at Liliana’s estate. He was slender, his deeply wrinkled face seemingly frozen in a permanent smile, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
Despite his shady reputation, Mantis held a court rank in the Empire of Yunatian and carried a letter of introduction. The gate guards couldn’t verify his credentials, but they dared not turn away a potential noble. Per his agreement with Liliana, he went with Gildo straight to a detached room, keeping the visit secret.
Liliana soon appeared in a modest dress, Olga at her side. Mantis rose and bowed with impeccable form, still wearing his dubious smile.
“A pleasure to meet you, young lady. I go by Mantis.”
“She cannot speak, so she will communicate in writing,” Olga explained, her professional manner leaving no openings to exploit. “Be aware: It is only out of her consideration for your status that this meeting is being held with so few people present.”
“Well, ain’t that kind of ’er.”
Olga’s tone had sharpened, but Mantis barely reacted—aside from a dramatic pout. Liliana ignored it and returned his bow with a polite, graceful smile.
The man stroked his chin and glanced at Gildo. “Your man here says you want me to teach you how to deal with assassins?”
Liliana nodded.
Mantis’s eyebrows rose slightly. Though he had come at Gildo’s request, he had likely expected to dismiss the matter outright, assuming it a joke or an inappropriate demand from a child. His casual demeanor suggested confidence that he could make a clean escape should the meeting turn hostile.
“Assassination comes in many forms,” he continued. “It can be made to look like an accident, an illness, a suicide... Why not hire more guards instead of learning to handle this yourself?”
As the daughter of a duke, Liliana could afford it—and it would have been the more conventional choice. But she had anticipated this objection.
“‘If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.’ I wish to learn every method of assassination you know and the countermeasures for each—where they exist.”
Liliana knew there was no point in training to fight head-on. In the game, her only real strength had been magic. Instead, she was pursuing an approach akin to the broken windows theory she’d encountered while studying environmental criminology in her previous life. Just as improving an area could deter crime, she intended to deter assassins by understanding their methods and eliminating opportunities to strike altogether.
The ambiguous smile faded from Mantis’s face. He narrowed his eyes, silently probing Liliana, who didn’t so much as flinch. In the end, he was the first to look away.
“All right, then. Keep in mind, though, that some assassins use magic and hexes, and you can’t deal with either without some magic of your own. Your lost voice might be an issue there.”
“I know a mage I can ask for help.”
Liliana had no intention of relying on anyone else—but since Mantis was a man of the underworld, she wasn’t about to show her hand.
“Oookay... Must be a rich-person thing.”
Whether he was impressed or unsettled was hard to tell, but he didn’t seem inclined to mock her.
“There are two kinds of assassins,” he continued. “The first strike at night or under cover of darkness. Even if they’re caught, it doesn’t matter, so long as no one traces the job back to the client. You can leave those to your guards.”
Assassins of that sort weren’t particularly adept at hiding themselves, he added, and any competent guard should be able to deal with them.
“The second kind aim to obscure the very fact that an assassination took place. Most operate in broad daylight, and some wait years for the right opportunity. They blend in as ordinary people and favor more elaborate methods. Some even use magic or hexes. They’re rarer than the first kind, though.”
Mantis explained that magic always left traces of the user’s mana—traces assassins feared could expose them. Hexes were an alternative, but they required time and preparation. That left direct, hands-on methods, which were simpler, cheaper, and harder to trace. The ease with which he spoke made it clear he knew the subject well. He must once have been an exceptional assassin himself. Perhaps he had even mentored a few, much as merchants and artisans took on apprentices.
Though retired, Mantis remained a wellspring of knowledge. Liliana suspected he was holding back certain details, careful not to compromise others in his line of work, but that was fine. She was likely the only noble learning about assassination from an actual assassin.
“Your two guards, Gildo and Olga, should be more than capable against all but the finest hitmen.”
Gildo grimaced at the assessment. Olga’s expression didn’t change.
“How many of those talented contractors are there in Slivegrandia and the neighboring countries?”
“‘Talented contractors,’ huh? That’s a pleasant way to put it. I really can’t with you nobles...” Mantis gave a wry smile and sighed. “Not many. Three or four, I’d wager.” His eyes roamed the room. “One of them stands out, though—the nastiest of the lot.”
“In what way?”
“He can’t be controlled. Assassins are simply meant to eliminate their targets, but he toys with them. It’s unacceptable.”
Liliana sensed a hint of exhaustion in his voice. Evidently, even assassins had trouble with their peers.
There’s a code of conduct, I gather. It reminds me of the stories I heard in my previous life—about serial killers and the rules they set for themselves. Not that rules make it any better.
Taking a breath to collect herself, Liliana guided the conversation back on track. “Besides poison, what physical methods of assassination are there?”
Mantis blinked, not having expected the question. He gave it some thought, then reached into his pocket and withdrew a small tool of some sort.
“Poison’s the simplest, but it requires contact. You can prick the neck with a tainted pin as you pass—or you can use this.” He opened his hand to reveal what looked like an ordinary sewing needle. “It takes skill, but here’s what an expert can do.”
He raised his hand casually, as if greeting an acquaintance, and the needle vanished. Gildo and Olga tensed behind Liliana...then relaxed.
“See it?” Mantis asked.
Liliana followed his finger to a stone ornament far across the room. Something metallic glinted faintly from its surface. Gildo approached and, with considerable effort, yanked the missing needle free. Mantis smirked at Liliana’s surprise.
“As I said, it takes experience—but it lets you kill from farther away than most people expect.” He produced various other tools. “Beyond that, it depends on what you can physically manage. If things ever get too dangerous, run and hold out until help arrives. With arms as slender as yours, a sword won’t do you much good.”
Mantis regarded Liliana’s physique with faint pity. Training for fiancée candidates didn’t include swordsmanship or martial arts, and there was nothing remarkable about her build. Still, melee combat wasn’t entirely out of the question, thanks to spells that enhanced the body. Perhaps catching her enemies by surprise could bridge the gap.
“I’d like to try, even if I can’t master it. Would you teach me?”
Mantis nodded, a slight grin forming on his face. He had grasped her temperament well enough in the short time they had known each other. “I’ll give you something you can use to protect yourself. No need for payment—consider it a parting gift.”
“Thank you.”
For a moment, Liliana’s genuine smile caught him off guard. Then his gaze shifted to the two guards behind her, and again, pity flickered across his face. Protecting such a tomboy couldn’t be easy. He wrestled his features back into a nonchalant expression before speaking again.
“I’ll also teach you how to weaponize everyday objects.”
Liliana readily accepted. She couldn’t rely on always having weapons at hand. While she intended to use magic to deal with assassins, she needed options for when that wasn’t feasible.
Thus began three months of lessons, during which Liliana cheerfully bombarded her new teacher with questions. Mantis had intended to keep things simple, but he gradually found himself more invested than he’d planned. The sessions were infrequent and focused mostly on theory, with demonstrations to back it up. Liliana proved a gifted student, and by the end, Mantis had grown oddly accustomed to her presence.
“I’ll admit,” he said as Liliana saw him off one last time, her smile awkward but sincere, “I didn’t expect a noble girl to have this much talent.” The sharp glint she had noticed in his eyes at their first meeting was gone; now, he looked almost relaxed.
“Thank you for teaching me. I learned a great deal in your care.”
It was an unusual response for a noblewoman, but Mantis had come to expect it from her. He shrugged to mask his discomfort—he wasn’t used to gratitude—then gave a brief bow and departed without another word. Liliana doubted they would ever meet again. She was the daughter of a major ducal house; he was a man of the underworld.