While I did see the sense in Eric’s theory, it only invited more questions. I couldn’t understand why Liu would make his own plan so complicated.
“I have a theory regarding that,” said Dale as he approached us, book in hand.
“When did you get here, Dale?”
He had been listening in on our conversation and was well-informed on the state of the Ren Empire, so he very well could’ve had an idea as to Liu’s motivations for acquiring Death Poison.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I was looking for Eric when I happened upon you two together.”
“You were looking for me? Did you find something?”
“Yes. I determined that the one spying on Nash is from the Ren Empire and, just as you said, it’s likely they’re after Death Poison.”
Nash had told us the other day that he was being watched, and besides Jill, he was the only mage in Elshaid who could cast that spell.
“Okay, so it’s the same story with Nash then…”
“Yes. First, let me explain why he might want Death Poison.” Dale tucked a long, silvery lock of hair behind his ear and slowly began to explain. “The Renese regard Death Poison as a legendary secret weapon. In the Ren Empire, political power and assassinations go hand in hand, so of course, they have many assassination methods.”
“Yes, I’ve experienced that firsthand.”
Perhaps nobody knew more about assassinations than someone like Eric, whose life was targeted nearly every day.
There was a glimmer of gloom in Dale’s eyes when Eric said that, but his expression quickly returned to normal as he continued, “Anyway, poison experts are the most highly prized assassins in the Ren Empire. After all, poison is nearly impossible to trace. And Death Poison—a poison that doesn’t linger in the body—is the perfect weapon for an assassin.”
“I see. So you believe that’s why Liu wants Death Poison.”
“Yes. His interest is likely personal as well, but it’s probable that the emperor wants it and ordered Liu to bring it to him.”
The dark side of the Ren Empire reared its ugly head. It was an extreme form of meritocracy, where “Might makes right” was the law of the land. Those who followed that rule went to any length in their quests to gain power.
But if all of this is true… I felt an unease in my heart.
“If the Ren Empire’s true target is not Miss Lin, but Jill and her Death Poison spell, then we really can’t afford to ignore the situation.”
“Yes, exactly,” Dale agreed. “If we let sleeping dogs lie, Jill and Nash might be in danger.”
We exchanged glances and nodded. If Dale’s theory was correct, we were in big trouble.
But I’m even more confused now…
If Liu was after Jill, one question still remained.
“Um, why do you think Liu went out of his way to show himself to me first, then? If he’s after Jill, wouldn’t it be more effective for him to just kidnap Jill without even showing his face?”
There was no need for him to wait until I visited Jill. If he hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have figured out their true objective.
“Hmm, you’ve got a point there, Leia. Perhaps he wanted to learn something of the real Jill by observing her behavior around you, perhaps to find a weakness he could exploit,” Eric theorized.
“You know, I did get the feeling that Liu was sizing her up.”
I reflected on my visit with Jill. Liu seemed like he was trying to goad Jill. If he was doing that to see how she would react, that made sense. Basically, Liu was testing Jill to see if she was the sort of person who would bend to his will.
“If this were the same Jill who was easily fooled by Berklein’s flattery, Liu would have flirted his way into kidnapping her,” Dale said with a cynical smirk.
If Jill really were that gullible, he would have already approached her in some way.
Jill is different now, though. I don’t know what was on Liu’s mind when he showed up at the chapel, but I doubt Jill will fall for flattery ever again.
Despite that, we weren’t out of danger yet. Even if Jill wouldn’t be fooled, there were still many ways Liu could use her. For instance, someone could kidnap her and use the threat of violence. Anyone desperate enough could force her to obey them one way or another.
“Leia…I understand that you’re worried about your sister. They did their research…then they feigned ignorance and came to us with the Lingsha proposal to misdirect us from the truth. Their plan is much more ingenious than we originally thought,” Eric said, bitterness seeping into his voice.
The only other time any of us had been manipulated so hard was when Algrene tricked Johann into getting himself suspended. Then again, Algrene’s antipathy toward us and his goals was so obvious that it was easy to hammer out a strategy to defeat him.
Liu’s case was different. He didn’t care if we caught on to his plot. His flippant, bellicose attitude made him a particularly pesky adversary.
“Liu said he wanted to be emperor. I am also going to rule a nation in the future. I can’t let him play me any longer.”
There was no despair in Eric’s voice this time. If anything, there was a fiery determination in his eyes—and I felt the same way. I would not let our enemy call the shots. That wasn’t my nature. No matter how powerful the enemy, I wanted to face him head-on with everything I had.
“That’s why I need you both now more than ever. Please help me.”