"Who is that person?"
Navia asked, causing the boy to flinch.
The coachman replied, "He's my assistant."
"Really?"
Navia approached the boy and grabbed his arm.
"Why are you covering your face like this?"
Snap!
The boy jerked away roughly, and the coachman, flustered, quickly lied.
"Sorry! The lady is so pretty, it seems the assistant was startled."
"Hmm, okay."
Navia raised her hand to her mouth, slightly covering it with a shy smile.
'I've achieved my purpose.'
A cold gaze was fixed on Black Moon, who absorbed magic power voraciously.
Kate, with a worried expression, pulled Navia closer.
"Lady, you'll catch a cold in the rain. Come under the umbrella."
The assistant, known as Wood, watched Navia move away with a tense expression.
'A filthy commoner dares to touch me.'
Wood ground his teeth and unconsciously stroked his arm.
'What was that feeling earlier?'
He had felt a chilling sensation when Navia touched him.
Was it because he was startled at being found out?
Meanwhile, Navia got into the carriage and asked Kate.
"Aren't you coming?"
Kate smiled awkwardly.
"I have a lot of things to do."
Navia nodded.
The door closed, and through the window, Navia saw Kate leave, looking relieved.
'It would have been better to leave the duchy with me.'
Staying here would mean Nikan wouldn't leave the maid alone.
Soon, the carriage passed through the back gate of the Agnes Duchy.
This road led in the opposite direction of the bustling area, towards the Eseled Duchy.
'That place, surrounded by lakes and forests, is perfect for plotting vile deeds.'
It was also ideal for ambushing with the poorly hired hitmen.
Navia knew about Wood far better than Nikan did.
Through Charlotte, Navia whispered to Wood.
"Make Lady Navia a slave."
Although slavery was prohibited under imperial law, there were legal procedures in place.
This included those who launched a surprise attack without a declaration of war and suffered defeat, or criminals who caused significant property or human damage.
Up to this point, it could be somewhat mitigated with a huge compensation.
But what about a commoner who harmed a noble?
Imperial law was harsher on commoners, and Navia was, conveniently, a commoner at that time.
Wood planned to expose Navia as a commoner and bind her to him before a slave trial could take place.
Because Navia had told him so.
There was a flaw in this plan.
'It's useless if the attacked noble doesn't consider it an attack.'
Wood was too young to understand this loophole in imperial law.
"Have the hitman you hired under the pretense of money attack Eseled in the carriage carrying Lady Navia."
This would ensure that Navia, instead of becoming a foster daughter of Eseled, would immediately become a slave.
This strategy was too risky for such a young boy.
'Wood must be overconfident.'
The power of a water magician was strongest in the rain like this.
He was counting on the rain to compensate for his not fully recovered state.
'Even that calculation is according to my will.'
Navia, having stolen Wood's magic, could also use the rainy weather to her advantage.
She checked outside the window.
It seemed they were about to reach the Eseled Duchy soon.
Her palms were sweaty with tension.
Navia clenched her fist, then suddenly noticed her hands, horribly ruined with wounds.
They were scratches from frantically struggling while escaping the storage, where she had driven her nails into the ground.
The blood crusts under her nails looked unsightly.
Would the Eseled Duke even listen to someone in such a wretched state?
Might he not just kill her out of disgust before even negotiating?
Navia forcibly pulled her short sleeves up.
She tried to hide her dirty and unsightly appearance as much as possible.
Then she scoffed.
She never intended to become a beloved foster daughter in the first place.
Her goal was to offer benefits to Duke Eseled and negotiate for her own safety.
Before long, the carriage stopped.
She heard someone leaving from outside.
'Must be the coachman running away.'
Then she felt someone approaching.
It must be the assassin hired by Wood.
Sure enough, Wood's quiet whisper was faintly audible.
"Right here."
Navia clenched her eyes shut, drawing up her magic power and counting.
"Give me the rest of the money first."
Three.
"Here. I'll give you a tip after the job is done."
Two.
"Hihi! Then I must make sure to do a thorough job."
One.
Bang!
Navia unleashed the condensed magic when she heard voices gather at the door.
Bang!
The explosion sent carriage fragments flying into the assassins' bodies like daggers.
In an instant, two of the three assassins were dead.
Despite committing murder, Navia's face remained unmoved, cold, as she stole Wood's magic power once more.
Neigh!
Startled by the explosion, the horses began to run.
Navia, with the carriage roof blown off, crawled to the driver's seat.
She knew how to drive a carriage.
"Hmph!"
Even an adult would struggle to handle the horses' strength, let alone an emaciated eight-year-old.
Navia gritted her teeth against the pain that felt like her arms would tear off.
A monstrous, pitch-black mansion appeared before her eyes.
Boom!
The carriage, hit by magic from an assassin, completely shattered, and Navia tumbled onto the muddy ground.
"Cough!"
'An explosion magician?'
The Black Moon couldn't absorb the explosion. Navia bit her lip hard but didn't hesitate to run forward.
'I must die inside the duke's mansion.'
Only then could she create a significant weakness for Agnes!
"Die!"
Wood followed closely behind in the rainwater.
Navia assessed her remaining strength.
And, like Wood, she manipulated the rainwater she stood upon.
The places Navia rapidly ran through kept exploding.
Boom!!
After a narrow escape, she was finally caught in the aftermath of an explosion.
She heard ringing in her ears and lost consciousness.
Her wet clothes were heavy, and the bone-chilling cold seeped in.
But as long as she was alive, this was nothing.
Navia got up again.
She moved her trembling legs with sheer willpower.
Boom!
With consecutive explosions, Navia was thrown low into the air and then crashed to the ground.
She was engulfed by pain that felt like death.
'Death-like pain?'
This wasn't pain worth dying over.
Who knew more about pain that deserved death than herself!
So she didn't give up. If she couldn't stand, she crawled on all fours.
'I've come this far; I can't die in vain!'
Thump!
She kicked Wood in the ribs, who had caught up to her.
"Even a crushed bug wriggles."
Rage flowed heavily over Wood's face.
"You make me suffer like this?"
Thump!
Navia swallowed the groan trying to escape forcibly.
Her eyes blazed with a fierce light, infuriating Wood even more.
"You're not even worth being a slave. I'll just kill you!"
Then an assassin approached and grabbed Wood by the collar.
"Why didn't you tell me that wench was a magician?!"
"This... This lowlife dares!"
Wood's face reddened with anger as he looked at the assassin disrespectfully addressing him.
"Want to die?"
As he shouted, the assassin laughed mockingly.
"Young master, do you know where we are? This is a place with no people. Even if we fight in front of the duke's house, no one will intervene."
That's why he took this assassination job.
There was no need to worry about prying eyes, and the target was just a powerless eight-year-old girl; the job was too easy for the pay.
"Therefore, getting rid of a young lord like you is a simple task, isn't it?"
Even if Wood was a talented magician born with remarkable abilities, he was only ten years old.
Moreover, his adversary was an adult with extensive experience in murder.
Sensing danger, Wood, while removing his hood, declared,
"I am the heir of Agnes! Do you think you can harm me and remain unscathed?"
The assassin flinched.
He had already felt something strange when he saw Wood using water magic, and now Agnes! Observing the assassin's reaction, Wood quickly became arrogant.
"I am overflowing with money. Once this job is done, I'll pay you enough to live leisurely for a lifetime."
"…I'll remember those words."
The assassin released Wood and approached Navia, who was fleeing to the Eseled Duke's house, grabbing her throat tightly.
"Kack!"
Navia struggled to escape the grasp, but her battered body could only flail weakly.
'Only three steps away from the main gate!'
The assassin shuddered at the sight of her flashing red eyes.
How could such a mere eight-year-old girl be so diabolical?
"You devil of a girl. I can't let you go easily, not after what you did to my comrades."
The assassin created a crimson orb in the palm of his free hand.
Navia's body suddenly slumped.
'Not dead, but what is this…?'
The assassin raised an eyebrow and smirked sinisterly.
"Right, right. Just die quietly."
Navia gazed silently at the assassin.
Shiver!
"…What?"
As the condensed explosion magic suddenly dissipated, the assassin sensed something had gone terribly wrong.
Navia smiled coldly.
Boom-!
Navia caused an explosion beneath the assassin's feet.
The blast threw her as well, but fortunately towards Eseled.
Navia tightly closed her eyes.
'I guess I'll crash into the ground and die.'
But even if it meant leaving a stain on Agnes with her life, it would be the most meaningful death among all she had faced.
Then, just as she expected to hit the ground, something softly wrapped around her.
A cold, sharp smell, not of blood or earth, wafted to her nose, and a strange man's voice came from above.
"What a world, to see such things."
As she slowly lifted her eyelids, she saw black fabric.
The moment she saw the long flowing black hair, Navia realized she was in the arms of this man.
'Who is he?'
Before Navia could grasp the situation, a massive explosion sound was heard.
Boom-!
An explosion far greater than any magic the assassin could conjure.
"Aaah!"
Navia, dazed, regained her senses at Wood's scream.
"You mustn't kill him…!"
Killing Wood now would give the Emperor and Agnes a formal reason to annihilate Eseled.
Navia's eyes met the man's.
His eyes were red.
Frozen in shock, Navia saw his eyes narrow.
"I haven't seen your face before."
A strange statement.
Of course, they had never met before, but his words seemed to imply more.
The man slightly tilted his head.
"Why are you afraid of me?"
Navia wanted to ask what he meant, but only a raspy sound came from her throat.
Her mental strength had reached its limit.
'Is this the end?'
The light faded, and her vision darkened.
Navia knew this sensation well.
Death was approaching.
Dying was fine. After all, it wasn't her first time. If this could strike a blow against Agnes, it didn't matter.
Yes, it was okay.
Then, a voice as faint as a breath whispered,
"Please… save me…"
And her consciousness faded.
