CH 43.2

Eugene decided to split his party into two groups and enter the country separately. Iveca, who failed at her assassination, had no choice but to listen.

As such, she travelled across the continent to collect the escort and band, but was caught up in battle and attacked by bandits.

“They’re all, all…. dead,” Iveca told Sid with a blank expression, unable to shed tears.

“They were citizens of Amethan who did nothing wrong… I could not protect any of them..”

“Eve, you were the only one from the Bureau of Investigation office there, and the escorts were not well trained. How can you protect so many people by yourself?”

“It… It’s my first time in a war…”

“I never thought that I would be so helpless, with no one to protect me. I never knew that failing the mission meant that I would have to pay such a high price. I hide my identity, but we’ve been on a tour, and we’ve been close to each other…”

“Eve!” Sid said firmly. “You are alive.”

“I’m the only one…”

“It may sound selfish but…” he said and sighed. “…That’s all I need. If that’s the case… I think it’s a relief. You’re the only one who’s ever faced Rihan Kadmin directly. So listen to me. It’s not your fault, and anyone else would have failed as well. Don’t blame yourself.”

“I failed my mission…”

“You can’t hope to succeed on every mission.”

“I heard that Rihan Kadmin joined the rebels. That’s all the only thing the rebels were talking about.

Because I’m not good enough… I made a mistake… I couldn’t even save the general manager, Justin, who went on a business trip with me… Perhaps we could have changed something. But I failed, and that is no longer possible.”

“Don’t blame yourself. Director Lucas will feel uncomfortable seeing you like this. I told you, we are all happy, as long as you’re back alive.”

Iveca placed her face in both hands, shaking with pent-up emotion. Sid was right, she needed to get control of herself before she talked to Lucas.

She forced a false sense of calmness over herself as she left the infirmary.

The mission had failed, and the Bureau of Investigation knew that there was no one to blame.

She nevertheless could not do anything with her trembling hands. For the first time in her life, she felt strongly threatened, her life in the balance as Rihan pushed her against the wall.

When none of the daggers she had thrown with such confidence hit him, she was greatly embarrassed, for she had never missed a target before.

She had always known that in a battle she would not be able to save everyone. But she had never imagined that she would be so thoroughly wiped out.

The Amethan’s guards were trapped in a corner and killed. Iveca threw a dagger crazily and rushed in, pulling her knife from the dead body, but it was not enough. There were just too many opponents.

Enemies streaming in endlessly…

Iveca, who had only dealt with criminals in her bureau, was amazed at the scale of the fight.

War was like that. Everyone in sight went mad, fighting, bleeding.

Each time she dreamed, the faces of all the dead floated before her eyes, haunting her, not allowing her to rest.

She lay under a dead body for hours until she could be sure that the men that had killed her party were gone. She crawled out, running for her life, fear chasing her. Even after arriving at Amenity, she felt guilty because she was the only survivor.

And what bothered her more than anything else was the idea that Amethan, her home, might be heading for war because of her failure.

Rihan Kadmin joined the side of the rebels, which would make the Empire’s job even harder.

Sid stood by her side as she told her story.

“Eve.”

She looked at him.

“I was really worried about you.”

She didn’t say anything in response.

“Thank you for coming back.”

Iveca broke down at the kind words.

***

At that moment, Kayden handed a new report to Daniel, his face gloomy. The report contained information about Rihan Kadmin joining the rebels.

Daniel read the comprehensive report sent to him by The Bureau of Investigation with no expression. He groaned a little when the Bureau of Investigation decided to deal with him.

“…The Bureau of Investigation was right. Eventually, he managed to enter the rebel army.”

His eyes stopped as he saw the name Eve Jean as a dispatched employee for the murder. He startled to his feet.

“What about Eve?” he demanded.

“What do you mean your majesty?”

“Are they alive? Did they come back? Is she still at the Empire?”

“…She came back, Your Highness,” Kayden replied, with a puzzled look.

He had never seen his king lose his composure, even when his brother William had died.

Daniel hurriedly handed over the documents. He had not read the other letters.

After discovering the phrase “Returning alone and undergoing treatment”, he spoke in a low voice to Kayden, “Where is she?”

“What do you mean?”

“I need to see her with my own eyes.”