Chương 102: Chapter 97: Spy Master Lira

Nearly twenty minutes later, Lira arrived at the abandoned block she had narrowed her search down to. The buildings here were little more than crumbling shells. Roofs had collapsed years ago, or, in a few cases, had never been built in the first place. Doors hung crooked from broken hinges, and entire walls leaned precariously, waiting for the next storm to end their misery. The street was dark, lit only by moonlight, as no lamps burned anywhere nearby.

The city had long since given up pretending this corner of Halthar still existed. Remaining hidden beneath her layered concealment spells, she slipped through a broken doorway and quietly entered one of the ruined houses. Her search had finally come to an end. Eight young women huddled together in what had once been a family home's living room.

The only light came from the pale moon filtering through the broken roof, yet after walking through the unlit streets for so long, Lira's eyes had adjusted enough to distinguish some of their features. They looked exhausted. One girl wore nothing more than a thin nightgown that did little to protect her from the cool night air. She wrapped both arms around herself, shivering. Another sat against the wall with her arm secured inside a crude sling made from torn bedsheets.

Bruises covered her face and neck, while dried blood stained the fabric around her shoulder. A third appeared slightly older than the others, perhaps around Maren's age. There was something steady about the way she watched the room despite the fear in her eyes, as if she were standing guard, waiting for someone to eventually find them. The remaining girls looked to be between seventeen and twenty. They were holding for warmth.

Some looked worried, while others had somehow managed to fall asleep despite the situation. Lira quietly retreated a few steps. She carefully slid the enchanted sheet of paper carrying her Sound Isolation spell beneath a loose piece of rubble near the entrance. Normally, she would simply dismiss the spell and recast it later, but after exhausting nearly all of her mana earlier that evening, she wasn't entirely convinced she could cast it again if something went wrong.

Better to leave the enchantment active, just in case. Once she was satisfied the enchantment was secure, she deliberately walked back toward the women. This time, her footsteps were heard, and their reaction was immediate. The oldest among them sprang to her feet despite her obvious exhaustion. One sleeve had been soaked through with dried blood, and she held a kitchen knife with both trembling hands.

"Stay back," she warned, her voice shaking despite her determination.

"If you know what's good for you."

"I come in peace," Lira answered calmly as she stepped into the room.

"Show yourself!" The girl's voice echoed through the darkness. Lira had expected them to see only the blurry outline created by her concealment spells. Instead, she realized the room was simply too dark for that.

"Steady, you are safe," said Lira, in a calming voice, to them; she was little more than an invisible voice. Reaching into her satchel, she removed a small candle before gently tossing it toward one of the women sitting against the wall. She deliberately avoided throwing it toward the girl holding the knife. Instead, it landed beside a younger blonde whose posture reminded her oddly of a noblewoman. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Salvek's training, she assumed, trying to artificially raise their price by giving them a hint of nobility. The girl instinctively caught it.

"Candira. Fila. Curad." The headache stabbed behind Lira's eyes the moment the spell left her lips. She winced, waiting for the pain to fade. Yeah... I should definitely ease off on the magic for a while. Still, it was a success. The candle burst into life, and warm orange light slowly spread through the ruined room. Several girls gasped at the casual use of magic. The flame also revealed not a clearly visible woman but a hazy silhouette, as though someone had wrapped a living person in drifting fog.

"Please..." whispered the girl holding the candle.

"Please don't hurt us."

"Mage or not..." the woman with the knife answered, forcing herself not to retreat even though her hands were shaking violently.

"I'll stab you if you come any closer." Lira recognized her voice.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Mina." The knife wavered.

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm here to help." The room fell silent.

"Help?" Mina repeated cautiously.

"Yes." Lira nodded, though she suspected they couldn't see it.

"And the first thing I can offer is good news." Every pair of eyes fixed upon her.

"The city guards are not searching for you." Several girls exchanged confused looks.

"But..." Mina frowned.

"I killed Grom."

"Prince Aric personally investigated the scene." Lira folded her hands behind her back.

"He ruled that Grom's death was self-defense."

"He... did?" Mina's voice cracked.

"Really?" another girl gasped.

"So..." a third whispered hopefully.

"Are we safe?" A quiet groan interrupted them. The injured girl with the makeshift sling shifted against the wall, clutching her shoulder as another wave of pain washed over her.

"I think all of you know better than anyone that nobody is ever completely safe in Halthar." Lira sighed softly. Their hopeful expressions faded.

"The guards aren't looking for you," Lira continued.

"That doesn't mean Grom's friends aren't. I know Dario was furious when he saw the corpse." Several girls visibly tensed.

"Besides, who knows how he'll react once he discovers that Salvek's money disappeared the same night you escaped."

"But…" Mina frowned, "We didn't take any..." She was interrupted when a leather pouch landed at her feet with the unmistakable clink of heavy coins. For a moment, nobody moved. Finally, Mina crouched down, almost forgetting she was still holding the knife, and carefully untied the pouch. Golden light shimmered beneath the candle flame. Every woman in the room stared at the mixture of gold and silver.

"Congratulations," Lira said with a faint smile.

"This is your back pay. You earned it... literally." Mina simply stared into the pouch.

"Why are you doing this?" Lira considered the question for only a heartbeat. The truth would only put her in danger. Better to muddy the waters.

"I am the Royal Spymaster." Eight stunned faces looked back at her. It's funny because they would never make this face if they ever met the real Royal Spymaster. The old man was little more than a jumped-up bureaucrat who spent his days reading reports from street informants before filtering the useful information to the king. Lira had technically corresponded with the man while she was responsible for writing many of those same reports.

That was precisely why she had changed her handwriting several times over the years. He would definitely recognize her original hand. Still… The thought of that old man sneaking through the streets in the middle of the night was strangely amusing.

"The royal family has been investigating Sir Salvek for some time," she continued after a brief pause.

"Sir Deren's duel merely provided the opportunity to remove him." Mina blinked several times.

"Then why help us?"

"Because Prince Aric asked me to."

"The prince?" whispered the blonde holding the candle.

"He was worried about us?"

"Prince Aric has always been kind; everyone says it," another mousy brunette murmured. One girl, however, slowly rose to her feet. Her tangled orange hair immediately caught Lira's attention. For just a moment... Lira imagined herself standing there instead. Had Pallan never accepted her into the Ink and Blood family, had she spent a few years living on the streets, perhaps she too would have ended up hiding here with them, shivering in the cold.

"I'm sorry," the orange-haired girl said defiantly, "but that doesn't actually help." Lira tilted her head.

"I've lived on these streets long enough to know how this works." She gestured toward the heavy pouch of gold.

"The moment anyone realizes we've got even one of those coins..." She swallowed.

"Our throats will be slit before sunrise." Silence settled over the room. The girl wasn't wrong. Lira found herself smiling. The girl who reminded her so much of herself was also clever.

"What is your name, young lady?"

"Eve."

"Congratulations, Eve." Lira clasped her hands behind her back, unconsciously slipping into the calm, measured tone she had heard Pallan use so many times.

"You're promoted." Eve blinked.

"Promoted?"

"To Mina's second-in-command." The room stared at her in complete confusion.

"What young Eve just said is absolutely correct," Lira continued.

"Gold solves remarkably few problems by itself. If anything, it creates new ones." She looked around the room.

"You've escaped one prison."

"Now you need to escape the city." Her eyes settled upon the frightened women one by one.

"Fortunately for all of you..." A faint smile spread across her hidden face.

"I already have a plan."