Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Assassination by the Street

After seeing off the three fleets, Lolan Hill boarded a carriage marked with the Night Blossom emblem and began their return journey.

As the weather gradually turned cooler, fallen leaves started appearing on Hope Lane Street. Although it wasn’t very cold by the sea, the chilly night winds made everyone feel quite cool.

After the scorching season passed, people’s appetites improved significantly. Street vendors selling food became more common, offering affordable and delicious grilled pancakes, fish sprinkled with spices, and carefully selected grilled clams.

The white-shell clams were cooked slightly golden brown over orange-red charcoal embers, sprinkled with salt and a few bay leaves to remove the fishy taste, spreading a fragrant aroma through the air.

“Big sister, I want to eat that,” said the little boy next to his sister.

The sister had chestnut hair and wore a black dress, while her brother was dressed in a white hunter’s outfit. They were the Helis siblings, Mereu and Bel, followed by four guards.

“Bel, let’s go back and I’ll have the chef make something for you,” Mereu said, looking at the street vendor exposed to the sea breeze, with occasional dust stirred up by the wind, which made her feel it wasn’t very clean.

“No, if we go back, Father will force me to learn those boring numbers again. I don’t want to. I want to eat here. You promised to spend the whole day playing with me today,” the little boy Bel started to throw a tantrum. Mereu was momentarily at a loss; she wasn’t a heartless sister. Bel was raised with high expectations by his father and was strictly disciplined at home. Only she could occasionally take him out to play.

“Alright, alright, I’ll buy it for you,” Mereu said indulgently, patting Bel’s head and taking his hand to pick something out.

Lolan Hill’s carriage happened to pass this street, and seeing the siblings, she stopped to greet them.

The cedarwood door opened, and a young lady in a white knee-length dress stepped down. The last rays of the setting sun cast a faint golden glow on her white dress.

“It’s been days, Mereu.”

Before Lolan Hill could finish speaking, a cargo carriage behind them suddenly lifted its cover, revealing a cold glint of a crossbow. The bowstring vibrated, and before the sharp sound could reach them, the arrow directly shot towards the young lady’s body.

Without hesitation, Lolan Hill stepped firmly on the cobblestones with her light blue shoelace sandals, using them as a pivot to swiftly turn sideways. Her long dress fluttered, and a streak of blood and strands of hair flew through the air. Instantly, a blood mark appeared on her shoulder, and several strands of her long hair were cut off.

But before anyone else could react, one of the guards next to Mereu suddenly drew his sword and charged forward. The sword, made of cold iron, had a peculiar blue glow.

The sword was poisoned. Lolan Hill quickly realized this. After activating the demon core, she was no longer afraid of any poison, but it also meant the mission would end, and all previous efforts would be in vain.

Though she didn’t understand why the Helis family’s guard was also attacking, after a brief moment of thought, Lolan Hill decided not to activate her extraordinary core just yet. Relying on her extraordinary perception and reaction ability, she easily avoided the sword.

The sharp sword struck the cedarwood carriage door, embedding itself deeply and getting stuck. At this moment, the guards from the Carithes Guild also reacted, shouting and rushing forward.

A steel-armored Carithes guard directly pushed the assassin away. Chelsea also pulled Lolan Hill back into the sturdy carriage. Four riders immediately charged towards the carriage crossbow, and before the second arrow could be fired, they had injured the assassin and dragged him off the carriage.

At this point, the Carithes Guild’s dozen guards had surrounded the Helis siblings, their spears pointed at them, ready for battle. If not for Lolan Hill’s emergency stop, they would have rushed forward with their weapons drawn.

These Carithes Guild guards were recently selected young men from the guild, with excellent qualifications. Their parents and families worked for the guild, so they had been involved in its affairs since childhood, helping out. The guild greatly improved their lives, making them feel a strong sense of belonging, almost like a second home.

But now, someone was attempting to assassinate Miss Rezi, the only heir of the Carithes Guild, threatening the happiness and stability of their lives.

Seeing these fierce-looking personal guards with their cold, lethal spears, Bel dropped the clam meat he was holding in shock. Mereu shielded her brother, facing the spears and crossbows with concern.

Meanwhile, the remaining Helis guards had already been subdued and pinned to the ground.

Once everything settled, Lolan Hill slowly stepped out of the carriage, feeling somewhat helpless at the sight before her.

—

The maid on the carriage carefully wrapped Lolan Hill’s arm with gauze. The young lady then invited the siblings to enter the carriage for a conversation.

Ding—

The sound of porcelain tray hitting teacups. The maid poured warm black tea. Bel held the teacup, finally calming down. Mereu apologized.

“I’m very sorry, Miss Rezi. It’s our fault for letting the assassin infiltrate the guards at our Helis household.”

“Please don’t misunderstand. This incident was not caused by us. I will visit tomorrow to apologize and compensate for the losses.”

“Miss Mereu must be joking. Your guards were carefully selected from the guild families. They might as well be part of your household, so how could you not know?”

Chelsea pushed up her glasses, her gaze sharp, clearly dissatisfied with the explanation from the Helis family’s young mistress.

“I know this explanation sounds far-fetched, but it’s true.”

Mereu’s voice carried a hint of self-mockery, mixed with bitterness.

The Helis family valued kinship, leading to many positions being held by relatives, most of whom were not particularly competent, instead becoming lazy and corrupt, causing the guild to become bloated.

She despised these relatives who shirked responsibility, but they were related by blood. She was only a daughter, not the eldest son, and would eventually marry out, unable to control them too much. Yet, today’s incident had caused such a big commotion.

Lolan Hill’s wound under the bandage had healed. She wasn’t particularly angry but was surprised by how many restrictions and limitations the eldest daughter of the Helis family faced.

In fact, this was unique to the Carithes family. In other guild families, there were numerous branches and relatives, influenced by the tradition of valuing kinship, the large guild families in Vergha generally favored their own. However, this dispersed power and bred corruption, requiring constant balancing of members’ feelings and interests.

But the Carithes family was completely different. Everything was based on merit and achievement. As for relatives, sorry, Angus only has one daughter. Now, everything is decided by Miss Rezi. From top to bottom, there is only one voice. She doesn’t have to worry about messy family matters, but she doesn’t realize how fortunate she is.

—

This chapter ends here.