A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 10, Chapter 261: The Dead

The sovereign seat of Philos. Bruder narrowed her eyes strangely as she looked through the window to see Roseau quietly sitting in that seat. It looked rather suspicious. She wondered if something was wrong.

…Roseau, who should be the enemy’s leader, had no escort soldiers around him.

Roseau was the only one in the room lit by shimmering lights, without having the presence of a clerk or guards. It looked as if he was inviting Bruder with open arms.

The situation had a clear sense of discomfort.

The residence of the ruler was originally the largest residence in the city, and the working soldiers and servants in the residence often greeted the ruler with great reverence. Although Bruder did not know the circumstances of the city of Philos, it was abnormal for the ruler to be alone on his own without a guard.

Furthermore, Roseau’s surroundings were not the only thing strange. The sovereign’s residence itself was strange too.

Normally, all kinds of workers and guards would be wandering around in the halls and gardens, but Bruder couldn’t see any of those people. Rather, it seemed to be rather lonely and quiet.

Speaking of security, Bruder only saw a gatekeeper. It seemed that most clerks and maids left the ruler’s residence and, most probably, the city of Philos. From that situation, it seemed that Roseau didn’t care much about Philos.

Yet, Roseau was still sitting in the ruler’s chair. He didn’t seem to move.

What was he plotting? Bruder’s eyebrows were suspiciously distorted, and her eyes narrowed further. An intangible eerie feeling wrapped her stomach.

Roseau was a traitor. Traitors were usually cowards.

People thought that what they did was what others did too. Those who betrayed someone often believed in the illusion that someone would betray them too until they died. That’s why those people usually had soldiers and escorts as weapons at their hands.

Apparently, the appearance of this residence was nothing like that. Rather, it seemed that the security system was weaker than usual. The city, where the number of soldiers on patrol had increased, still looked better protected than the ruler’s residence.

It would be too naive to say that it was a trap. Nobody put a trap on a random whim. Those who set a trap often knew whom to eat and kill.

Then, what was this situation? Bruder rubbed the head of her nose, while biting her lips. Several assumptions swirled in her head.

After doing much thinking for a while, Bruder narrowed her eyes even further, and then, from her heart, she put aside her reluctance.

“Let’s kill him, yes. No matter what that person called Roseau thinks, he has no effect on me.”

“I won’t try to run away with my tail wrapped like a lizard. I may be branded by my employer as a dull person by taking a risk and entering the city, but eventually unable to achieve any results.”

“In a way, I feel sorry for myself. I never thought that I had such vanity in my chest. Up until now, my mind was full of thoughts about my sister, Vestaline, and when I was a little distracted, my thoughts became more human. Is there any other ugly thing?”

Bruder sighed softly. Outside the window, Bruder bounced her legs to the immediate vicinity of the ruler’s room, passing through the red brick roof.

Bruder sat down on the bricks as she looked at the window. The ruler’s chair was far from the window, but even so, if she made a surprise attack, Roseau could be attacked in a blink of an eye. Bruder could see Roseau’s profile through the window.

Even if there was a window, Bruder could aim at his skull with a single breath by using her long needle. She was confident with her accuracy.

She bent her fingers lightly. She had two long needles between her fingers. Then, she listened and breathed quietly while watching her target. All she had to do was kill that human in a flash, a flash of light that would melt into the darkness. It would allow the enemy to quietly lose consciousness.

That’s what assassins are, Bruder had heard it somewhere. If she could embody it, she did not know.

She had a few breaths. She felt like she could hear Roseau’s heartbeat through the window. Bruder had the feeling that his body had become the night itself.

*cutting the wind*

When Bruder noticed it, the long needles were released from her hand. The long needles penetrated the window and rode the wind while making minimal sounds. The way she moved her hand, the way she breathed, and the way she put her strength into it were so perfect that nothing could surpass such attack. There were things that could not be avoided in this world, and this was one of them.

Bruder, hiding herself right away at the side corner of the red bricks, clearly thought of the long needles piercing Roseau’s heart. She was sure that he would spout blood without even noticing the existence of the needles. That feeling was close to prophecy.

That was…after a few moments, it became a clear reality.

What Bruder threw with her hand was not something that Roseau could avoid. Roseau’s eyes opened and greeted the long needles. The two needles painfully pierced his skull and eye.

The thick reddish blood splattered around and painted Roseau’s hair and beard. The amount of blood that was lost was more than enough to kill a person.

Strangely, Bruder grabbed the feeling of the long needles sticking in her hand. Just as a bow and arrow archer also remembered the feeling of an arrow sticking into a target. The sensation of the needles piercing the skull and brain was certainly at her fingertips. There was no doubt that Roseau was dead.

She was convinced about it. Bruder bounced from red bricks at once. She didn’t even notice the noise she made after one of the red bricks collapsed.

…The moment she thought the long needles had pierced Roseau; she heard a voice from inside the room.

「Have you ever heard the voice of God?」

At the same time as that voice echoed, the red bricks that Bruder had stepped onto was strangely hit and thrown into the air. Its appearance was roughly swayed by something mighty.

The sound of shattering ceramic echoed in the darkness, but that didn’t matter under this circumstance. Bruder shook her throat, dripping something cold from her forehead, unlike sweat.

「I heard. God looked down on me and said…」

A voice crawled on the ground. Bruder wondered if that person’s voice throat was clogged with blood, and although the voice reminded the voice of a drowning person trying to spit out water, the sound remained calm. It was weird. It felt like it was not the voice of a living person.

Roseau pushed his body while resting his feet on the window frame. He looked like a real human being. He was just bones, flesh, and skin. That should be it.

However, why was he alive after the long needles pierced in his eye and head? Why was the other eye shining brightly in the dark as if it was burning? Why was Bruder feeling this heavy pressure?

His appearance was like a manifestation of a demon. Demon…No, it was like the high demon that once made a name in history. Seeing Roseau stepping on the brick roof, Bruder stepped back unintentionally.

Her mind got her confused. No matter how much she tried to put her thoughts together on what to do, they all disappeared amid the turmoil.

Roseau said, while taking out the needles that stuck on his face.

「…It seems your enemy has come to visit you. Assassin, I’m sorry, but I’m not dead. I won’t die before the Lord of Vice is dead.」

Roseau moved forward with one step. With that alone, the bricks bounced off themselves. It was as if they were forcibly trampled by a large force.

Bruder squeezed her cheeks and pulled her chin, saying.

「…Good then. If I kill you before that, my employer will recognize my efforts.」

Then, as it was, Bruder took one step forward.