Episode 15

After checking that I was fine, the emperor bid me farewell before returning to his office. It seems emperors are incredibly busy.

"Your Majesty, I've just received your report on last night. What did you make of it?" Jones inquired, reading about the assassins who had invaded our room.

"Beyond my expectations. The night was remarkable," Icaro said, looking out the window.

"I mean... Not in a strange way, it was indeed a lively night, but I didn't expect to see you like this. It must have been really tiring," Jones speculated, picturing the emperor on duty every night to avoid getting caught off guard.

"So delicate... Much more delicate than I anticipated. In a way, surprisingly, the night was even more beautiful under the moonlight," Icaro reflected.

"What? Your Majesty, what are you talking about? That makes no sense. You shouldn't talk that way about someone of that sort," Jones couldn't believe that the Emperor was speaking in such a manner about the assassins.

"What the devil? What do you mean, 'someone of that sort'? Who do you think you're talking about? Have you gone mad? Even though she is my right hand, she is still the empress of the entire kingdom. She is above everyone. You should have some respect," the Emperor exclaimed angrily.

"You were talking about the empress? I was discussing the assassins," Jones explained, confused. He never imagined Icaro would think in such a way about any woman.

"Majesty, I heard that the night was as eventful as you suspected. How was it yesterday? As we had investigated in advance, all those we suspected were indeed setting a trap. They were waiting for you to let your guard down. Anyway, was there anything unpredictable? Did everything go according to plan? I won't lie that I suspected others might appear, not just those we were already wary of. It's quite fascinating that the assassins had no connection to each other. As if they had been sent by different people or with different intentions. There's nothing that can link them," Jones spoke while reading the report. The lack of information and connections between the assassins made the investigation even more challenging.

"Few people were in the castle yesterday, a good portion had been given the night off to enjoy themselves. Which made it easier to sense the presence of everyone who was there. Of course, everyone being close to the room was very helpful. I could feel the movements, the noises. The emptier the place, the louder and clearer the sounds and presences become. After killing them all, silence reigned," the emperor explained, recounting how easy it was to predict the enemy's attack. "It made me think, they were not professionals, at least, most of them. On one of them, I found this crest. Do you recognize it?"

"Isn't that the emblem of the Lilith society? I never thought I'd see that symbol with the assassins sent for your Majesty," Jones said while examining the symbol on the piece of cloth the emperor held. "What could be their real intention? They don't usually get involved in power disputes. This entire society and its members are a great mystery. We have little information about them."

"The strangest thing, this time, was they weren't trying to kill me, but the target of the attack was the empress. I wonder who would benefit from her death," Icaro pondered, looking at the ceiling of his office. "Perhaps, whoever sent them must be someone seeking to become Empress."

"I'll start an investigation. We'll examine who might want the position of empress and who could have ties to the secret society. I'll dig deep into this," Jones said.

"Something is very wrong. I didn't think the empress would become the main target," the emperor had a list of suspects, and all of them would gain a lot from the death of the empress. "At least, it seems the empress will make all the rats come out of their holes. I eagerly await this. Heads will roll."