"My Lord."


    A soft call, akin to the sweet evening breeze, rang inside the room.


    Alex stared at the assassin, kneeling low on the ground as he floated in front of her.


    Can you hear me?


    By using word magic, Alex was able to telepathically communicate with her.


    "I am thankful to be able to hear your holy voice, my Lord." Expressed the assassin.


    Although he felt it was a hassle talking like this, Alex felt happy that he could finally talk. Even if it was a broken speech at best, he was happy it worked.


    But before all that, he needed to be sure of one thing.


    You want to kill me?


    He needed to be sure of the woman''s motive. If she aimed for his life, then Alex''s sense would tell him.


    And if that was the case, then Alex had no choice but to fight her. It would be a gamble, but Alex believed if he made the first move, then he would take the woman by surprise. His chance to succeed would be high as it could be.


    At the very least, he felt relieved that he could try this without a family member present to the potential danger.


    But then again, his worry was left unfounded.


    Not only did his sense went awfully quiet on him, the woman''s act took Alex completely off-guard.


    She banged her head hard on the floor, as if trying to crack her own skull open.


    Damn it, the woman’s bat shit crazy!


    He floated there in silence, watching the woman prostrating on the floor. And she kept at it for some good minutes too, putting Alexander at lost.


    He didn’t know what to say, nor to act. So he just waited there, hoping for the woman to do something.


    And that resulted in both of them just kept the stifling silence longer.


    Fuck it…


    Put me down on the bed.


    Alex decided to finally move and end their standoff.


    Answer me.


    ”I have sinned, my Lord. Do punish me as you see fit.”


    That comes later, but for now, get up first. Talking like this is hard.


    The woman paused at first on his request but did it nonetheless in the end.


    ”By your command, my Lord.”


    She parted her head off the floor and knelt on one knee, but still kept her eyes glued low on the ground.


    That’s not what I meant, but whatever…


    He gave up on correcting her, and opted to dive straight into business instead.


    Tell me nothing but the truth. Are you here to kill me?


    ”That is not the case, my Lord.”


    Alex kept his attention on his sixth sense to detect any faint hostility that may come off the woman.


    Although his sense didn’t detect any lingering intent from the woman to come after his life, it didn’t sit well that she lied to him.


    After all, he had experienced the blaring warning that came from her when she first came into the room in the afternoon.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Don’t lie to me!


    He exclaimed and command the word magic to squeeze the woman’s throat, which she eerily accepted without any form of rejection whatsoever. As if her life was his to claim at any given time.


    The woman knelt there, enduring the tightening on her throat silently.


    After a while, she finally spoke, albeit a little hoarse.


    ”This lowly servant have accepted a commission to investigate the Ducal House of Dawson, and find out the truth about a rumor. In the process, I have stumbled upon my Lord and foolishly bare my fang without knowing any better.”


    House of Dawson… So that’s my family name. Alex mumbled inwardly to himself.


    Alex still felt skeptical about her story, but whether he decided to believe her or not, the fact that he needed more information was glare and beggar couldn’t be choser.


    Tell me more.


    ”Yes, my Lord.”


    “The commission I have received was to ascertain the state of the Ducal House of Dawson, whether it hold any truth regarding the rumor that was circulating on the loose.”


    “The word on the street is, the House of Dawson had lost their newborn heir due to the Bloodless Plague. Some even say that the plague had claimed the Duchess’s life and the heartbroken Duke would soon follow his love not too long after.”


    There were a lot of questions that popped up in Alex’s head, but he chose to address the easiest one first.


    Tell me more about the plague.


    She nodded silently before finally standing up, albeit still keeping her eyes low on the ground, not wanting to meet Alex’s eyes.


    ”Going by its name, the plague would suck its victims empty of their blood day by day, until they looked like nothing but dried tree bark. Many assumed it was a curse from the god of darkness, while some believed it was a weapon developed by the demon kin to weakens the humanity and their allies. But no one could say for certain from where it came from, who or what caused it. All we knew, at one point, nine years ago, the plague seemed to appeared out of nowhere and claimed the lives of many, blindly and randomly.”


    Randomly? Explain.


    The woman continued, urged by Alex’s curiosity.


    ”Whether it’d be a royalty, beggar, priest, good or bad man, young and old, no one was safe. Anyone could inflicted, and at the mercy of their own fate. If they weren’t lucky enough, nothing but death awaited them.”


    If they were?


    ”Though not many were known, there were indeed some people who managed to outlive the plague. And Duchess Dawson was one of them.”


    Alex went quiet as he processed her words before finally opened his mouth.


    Am I the heir to my house?


    Slowly putting the piece together, he asked.


    ”You are my Lord.”


    That explains it then. If I am the heir to the ducal house, then it makes sense that someone would send a spy to figure out whether this house has an heir or not. Maybe someone who’s been eyeing father’s seat…


    Let’s put that aside first…For now, what do I do with her?


    The question remained, and Alex was still unsure of what his next action regarding the female assassin should be. But he knew, he didn’t want to put his family at risk.


    Listen to me woman.


    If you try to do anything to my family, and I mean Anything at all. I will find you and tear your limbs apart before you even had the chance to scream out to beg for your life. There is no decrepit hole or place in this world that can hide you from me. Do you understand?


    Alex tried his best to sent out the threat with so much hostility as he could. He felt that he needed to be that bold while he still had the upper hand.


    The woman stood there in silence for a while, before she knelt down slowly at the floor.


    ”My Lord.” She called out.


    …Speak.


    ”I know, someone so dirty and so unworthy such as me will find little to no use in your eyes. But I pray for your holiness to find it in your grace to accept this lowly servant as your tool. I have been awakened by your voice of mercy. Please accept me, my Lord.”


    The heck…? Alex felt fortunate that he needed to use word magic first to send his thoughts, if not, she would surely hear all the uncharismatic response he’d been giving out from a while ago.


    What about your commission, don’t you need to report back to your boss-… to your employer?


    ”They hold no leverage over me, and I am of my own.”


    In a hindsight, Alex felt that he shouldn’t take the risk. The woman was a bonafide assassin, who was able to work her way in to the room while bypassing the security which his father specially put around his room.


    She wasn’t some random assassin. She was the real deal.


    But on the other hand, Alex knew, he needed allies. If his memories served him right, then he need to prepare himself for what is to come in the future, and people of his own was one of them.


    The question is, whether he could trust her or not.


    Do you really want to follow me? He asked.


    ”My life and dagger is yours to use, my Lord. I will serve you from here on and until my breath left me.” And she answered.


    Then prove it.


    Give me your soul.