Chapter 19: Genius and Madness

[Ethan's POV]

I retrieved the ropes I had hidden in the darkness and tied up the assassin's hands and feet as he lay wounded on the ground. After examining the assassin's weapons, I took them.

After removing the daggers from his body, I left him in a corner. I looked at the assassin with a smile, He watching me in fear and concern about what I would do next. "Watch and learn, kid" I said. Immediately after, I punched myself hard in the face. The assassin, surprised to see me punch myself, was taken aback. But when he used his own dagger to stab my arm, his surprise turned into shock.

He was clearly wondering if I was insane.

But I was just getting started....

I quickly tore off my clothes and made dagger cuts all over my body. Each time my clothes were torn, and I had many scars, I turned to the assassin and punched him a few times in the face. Finally, it was time for the last part, which was the most fun and the least painful. I rushed to the bed and started to cut the sheets with my dagger, like a monster.

The feathers flying in the air brought a smile to my face for no reason, but I didn't know that it made me look like a maniac on the outside.

After smashing the bed to pieces, I moved to the wardrobe and pushed it over, but before it could make too much noise, I carefully lowered it to the ground while holding onto it. It was still too early for the guards to arrive. After leaving a few more dagger strikes on the couches and walls, I wedged a dagger near the door handle.

This dagger would make it look like the assassin had stopped me when I tried to escape through the door.

Finally, shaping the room into a state where any sensible person would recognize a fight had taken place, I approached the right wall and made three small and four large strikes. A few minutes later, I watched Emilia enter the room, out of breath, with a grin on my face.

"Your Excellency, are you alright?" she asked, evident fear and concern in her eyes.

"No, I'm not," I replied honestly.

Emilia quickly scanned the room and its surroundings. There was blood, broken furniture, and feathers everywhere. Her eyes flickered to the wounded assassin and then to me, shocked and worried. She took a hesitant step towards me. "Your Excellency, let me help you," she said, trying to suppress the tremor in her voice. I walked slowly towards her and made her look into my eyes.

"Calm down, Emilia. Everything is going according to plan, as we discussed before. Now, if you want to help me, execute your part of the plan. Alright?" I said calmly.

"B-but Your Excellency, your wounds?" she asked, with a worried look.

"Emilia, if you continue like this, our entire plan will fail. Now, take a few minutes to calm down and drink this water," I said, handing her the water. She sat on the bed and drank the water. After a moment, she looked at me. Finally, she seemed somewhat calmer.

"Are you okay now?" I asked.

"Yes, but you didn't tell me it would be like this. You said you would call me when the assassin arrived and leave the job to me, Your Excellency. How can I continue to be your guard after failing in my duty?" she said, her eyes starting to well up, but she managed to hold back tears.

I could see regret and concern in her eyes, but at this point, we couldn't afford to retreat. Emilia needed to pull herself together because we were at the most critical stage of the plan, and I needed her composure.

"Emilia, I apologize for changing the plan earlier out of necessity, but I'm grateful for your understanding. I know how talented and brave you are. You will continue to be my guard, but right now, you need to trust yourself and remember our plan. We've captured the assassin. Now, take this dagger and act as if you've apprehended the assassin yourself.

However, if we fail today, Fiona and her brother will take harsher measures against me, which puts me in greater danger. Think of the wounds on my body as a small sacrifice for a greater purpose. Alright? Can you handle this?" I said calmly.

Although Emilia has been with me since infancy, she still finds my words surprising because she hasn't fully accepted how unusual a child I am for my age. But after taking a few deep breaths, she nodded decisively.

"I apologize, Your Excellency. I didn't mean to cause trouble, but I'm fine now." she said.

Taking a deep breath with her head held high, she walked towards the assassin. Gripping the dagger tightly in her hand, determination sparkled in her eyes. The assassin's eyes widened in horror as Emilia's every step increased his fear.

I quickly dashed to the door and mimicked the terrified cry of a six-year-old child, "GUARDS! HELP! A-a-assassin tried to assassinate me!" I cried tearfully. Now, even I marveled at my acting skills.

The armored footsteps of guards echoed in the corridors moments later, and I heard some guards shouting, "Assassination attempt!" Just a few seconds later, two guards approached me.

As the guards entered the room, their eyes widened like fortune-telling stones when they saw the chaos and blood. They looked at Emilia standing right behind me and saw the bloody dagger in her hand. Emilia spoke with a firm and resolute voice, "I have neutralized the assassin. Our Excellencies are safe. We need to clean up here immediately and interrogate the assassin."

One guard quickly stepped forward and leaned towards me. "Your Excellencies, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm injured but alive," I replied with difficulty. "If Emilia hadn't intervened in time, things could have been much worse."

The guards immediately lifted the assassin from the ground and escorted him out of the room. They looked at Emilia with admiration, their respect for me deepening even further. The first phase of our plan was successfully executed.

"Emilia, go with them. I don't want the assassin to be assassinated," I said.

"But wha-what about you?" she said, her beautiful face showing hesitation.

"Don't worry about me. There are already five guards at the door," I said, pointing towards it. Emilia glanced at the door, then nodded as if convinced. "Please take care of yourself, Your Excellencies" she said.

"I will," I replied, and Emilia pursued the guards who had taken the assassin away moments ago.

A few minutes later, I saw my mother and stepmother Isabella enter the room. Isabella dragged a palace healer behind her, who looked sleepy with a bruise on her right temple. Clearly, Isabella had dragged her here against her will upon hearing of my assassination attempt. I admired this woman's calm demeanor in such situations.

My mother rushed to me and hugged me tightly, but withdrew quickly when a small groan escaped my lips, tears welling up in her eyes. "Who did this to you? WHO?" she yelled.

"Luci, calm down! Right now, the only one who should be yelling is Ethan" Isabella said firmly.

My mother gave Isabella a sharp look but composed herself. "You're right, I apologize," she said in a calmer voice. "Right now, the important thing is his recovery. But I swear, once I find out who's responsible for this, they'll regret the day they were born..."

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