Arthur and Aria prepare to hunt their next prey: the Winfred family, a lesser branch of the Whittlee family.
He finishes strapping on his belt of deadly tools and drapes his black cloak over his shoulders before turning his attention back to Aria. "The house is surrounded by guards, inside and outside the walls... Liam could never leave unnoticed."
"Liam didn't have this Mommy here, fufufu~" Aria giggles as she casts her invisibility spell, making her body disappear before Arthur's eyes.
"I need to get stronger so I can learn this spell as quickly as possible!" he exclaims excitedly.
"Don't worry, your cultivation is progressing swiftly," Aria's voice sounds right in front of Arthur's face, and he can feel her breath, scented like flowers and honey.
"Hmm..." Arthur takes a deep breath, drawing in that fragrance without any shame. "It's thanks to the hard work with Nyx and Margaret every day..."
He can't see her, but Aria blushes as she watches him savor her breath so shamelessly. 'Does he enjoy my scent as much as I enjoy his?' she wonders.
"Yeah, you work so hard..." she remarks sarcastically, though it's true, even if those methods also seem like pure fun.
"Haha!" He can't help but laugh, imagining her blushing with a jealous expression.
Aria doesn't need to worry about him noticing her reactions when she's invisible, so she bites her lips and casts a frustrated glance at him. "We'd better get going..."
"Sure," Arthur heads to the door and reaches for the handle.
"Wait!" But Aria exclaims, and he stops. "What's the matter?"
"There's someone watching us," she says, piquing his curiosity. "In fact, she's been there for a while. I almost forgot."
"Who is she?"
"A member of the Assassins' League, I believe," Aria replies.
"The Assassins' League?" A nostalgic glimmer appears in Arthur's eyes. "They have that sort of thing in this world, too?"
"I suppose there was a League like that in your previous life, right?" Now, it's Aria who's curious. "Were you a part of that as Liam?"
He shakes his head ambiguously. "There was something like that, but I wasn't part of it... Well, they tried to recruit me several times, but I couldn't trust anyone, so I couldn't work as a team or be part of a group."
"You were a lone wolf..." Aria comments with a sad tone, but her eyes are filled with love as she looks at him. "But now you're not like that anymore."
He nods with a proud smile. "Yes, I like having you and Nyx with me."
"That's good, darling~" Aria's tone grows increasingly emotional.
Arthur enjoys that, but he's also curious about the Assassins' League in this world. "What about the spy? Can she see us through the walls with a spell similar to yours?"
"No," Aria quickly replies. "This woman is an Advanced Mage, so she should be able to use such a spell, but I placed a protective barrier around our rooms, preventing that and other spells too."
"What do you mean?" The woman glances at him with an annoyed expression. "Are you questioning my honesty?"
"No, of course not," he quickly replies. "But... the people who did that are professionals. Maybe they managed to deceive you somehow?"
"I didn't—" The woman is quite confident in her skills, but she can't deny that her inability to estimate Aria's power makes everything uncertain.
"What's wrong?" The lieutenant becomes confused. "You suspect them, too, right?"
"I'm not sure," she replies honestly while flipping through a small notepad in her hand, her own notes. "I can only say that I felt their auras in the house the whole time, and a powerful barrier prevented me from seeing more, but if she managed to trick me, it means that..."
"It means what?" The lieutenant grows more anxious.
"You need to leave now," she points to the door. "Report this to your captain, and I'll report it to my master."
"Alright," the lieutenant swiftly leaves the room.
The woman approaches a hearth in the corner of the dimly lit room and snaps her fingers near it, igniting sparks that kindle the flames. She then takes a small leather pouch from her belt and a handful of sparkling purple powder from within.
She waits for the hearth's flames to grow before throwing the powder onto them, turning the flames purple. The woman looks around to ensure no one is watching her and then begins drawing symbols around the fireplace.
The same symbols appear in the purple flames as she chants in an ancient language, "Flammae sacrae, verba mea per vestras linguas ferte."
The flames dance vividly, and the woman tears pages from her notepad to toss into the fire, where they're quickly consumed.
Meanwhile, over a thousand miles away, in one of the tallest towers in Lumindell's capital, the flames in a large fireplace suddenly turn purple.
"A message, Master," a maid in uniform comments as she approaches the fireplace and sees pages emerging from the purple flames.
"From whom?" a melodious female voice sounds from behind the maid.
The maid retrieves the pages and reads what's written on them. "It's from the Lakeview member again."
"Oh? Has she found any suspects?"
"Yes, two interesting people: mother and son."
"Mother and son? Don't tell me they're blonde and have blue eyes?"
"According to the report... yes, they are."
"Interesting... very interesting..."
"Shall I prepare the carriage for Lakeview again, Master?"
"Yes, do that now."