A few seconds later, Abium arrived in front of the booked room and opened it with an old iron key.
The door opened with a click and revealed a large spacious room to his eyes. Abium saw a large wooden bed at the center, a wooden table with a chair on his right side, and a magic lamp to lighten the room on the wooden table.
After a swift glance, he shifted his gaze towards the lancet window and smiled under his mask. With light footsteps on the wooden floor, he went near the lancet window and opened it. Cold wind from the Frozen Mountain Range entered the room through the opened window and chilled the whole room. Abium inhaled the fresh air coming from the outside and looked ahead. He soon saw a tall wall that appeared only a hundred meters away from the Cabbage Inn, separating the other side from the Commoners' Street.
Nobles Street!
'I will wait for the Midnight Red Star and then make my move.' Abium muttered to himself, removed his red mask, and placed it on the wooden table. But he didn't relax. Instead, he closed his eyes, again cast the [Seer's Intuition] spell, and soon sighed as he noticed that not even a slight danger sensation appeared in his mind.
'I shouldn't put my trust in this spell all the time. Hmm, if I feel danger during the assassination, I must find a way to escape.' Abium knew his limit and made up his mind. After that, he started to read the runic language book in the remaining free time and waited for the Midnight Star to show up.
It was around 2 o'clock.
A red star slowly rose from the north sky and gave the world an ominous feeling!
'It's time.' His lips curled upward as he closed Ubius's runic book and stored it inside his spatial ring. After that, he picked up his white-lined red mask and put it on his face. Then, he moved closer to the lancet window and disappeared from the room.
A second later, he reappeared on the nearby building's terrace and walked towards the two-meter tall wall. Abium's every step on the deck made no noise as he moved like walking on water.
Once he arrived at the edge, he leaped down from the building like a floating feather and silently landed while grabbing the iron pipe attached to the house wall.
Following that, he stepped forward and started walking in the dark alley, looking at the two-meter tall wall. Within a minute, Abium arrived near the stone wall, squatted down a bit, and jumped up nimbly. In a split second, he leaped up in the air, placed his hand on the top of the stone wall, and slowly jumped onto the other side like a cat. After that, he covered his head with the hood and started moving towards the large mansion at the end of the noble's street.
'Why are there no securities patrolling this Nobles street?' He couldn't help but frown as he walked towards the mansion building. He also saw many two-storied buildings along the way and felt a different atmosphere. Unlike Commoners' Street, Nobles Street looked very neat. Magic street lamps were placed on both sides of the road, giving him a beautiful view.
'Hmm, only some tycoons, retainers, and relatives of Baron Harry have the right to live here.' In the past, he could only look for an opportunity to enter such a place. But now, he was on a completely different level.
While thinking, he soon found himself standing in front of the four-storied mansion house.
'Why are there only a few people in this mansion?' He felt odd as he jumped into the compound wall and landed on the smooth yard. Few guards were dozing off near the entrance gate, but Abium didn't mind their presence and stealthily walked towards the entrance. Soon, he arrived under the covered porch, opened the wooden door quietly, and sneaked into the mansion building.
He then searched for Baron Harry in the room one by one and arrived on the second floor. After a few minutes of searching, he moved to the third floor and managed to find out Harry's room. Once Abium arrived near the wooden door, he teleported inside and appeared near the luxurious wooden bed. A second later, he saw Baron Harry snoring loudly on the sumptuous bed and smirked under the red mask.
Abium kicked the fat figure harder with his right foot and lit the magic lamp without wasting time.
Thud!
Baron's slightly obese figure flew from the luxurious bed and fell on the floor with a thud.
"W-What? WHO-mm?" Baron Harry woke up abruptly and was about to shout in a fury, but a hand covered his mouth.
He glared at the red masked figure in anger and tried to punch that masked person, but he went stiff. After a second, he regained his senses and looked at the masked figure with confusion.
'Why is there a masked guy in my room?... Who is he? Thief?... No! Assassin? Did Baron Abium send him to kill me for killing his people?' Many questions whirled inside his mind.
"Don't shout. If you do, I will kill you, got it?" A familiar cold voice came out from the red masked figure, causing his heart to thump harder.
'I-It's Baron Abium himself!' Baron Harry didn't expect Abium would personally come for revenge and felt his blood run cold. He rapidly nodded his head and trembled all over. Although he was arrogant outside, he knew the real strength of a mage.
"Why did you kill my people?" Abium was pleased by Baron Harry's response and asked in a chilling tone.
"I didn't!" Harry shouted. "I didn't kill your people. It's all old man's fault." Baron Harry almost prostrated himself on the floor and said with urgency.
'Old man? His grandfather?'
"Who is the old man?" Abium was slightly surprised by Baron's action and asked with a frown.
"I don't know his name. But my grandfather seems to know him, and they always talked with much secrecy. I even tried to overhear their conversation once but couldn't. That old geezer even wounded me for trying to listen to their discussion." Baron Harry said in a displeased tone while touching a wound on his left elbow.
"Do you know why did he kill my people?" Abium nodded his head and asked continuously.
"I don't know. No one knew the answer except for that old man and my grandfather." Baron Harry's reply made Abium frown deeply.
"Where are they now?" Abium asked while removing the red mask.
"They went to the Royal capital. That old geezer also took the cards you gave us as ransom earlier to get the money from the merchant's guild. My grandfather and most of my household members also went with him to the Royal Capital." Baron Harry said with a hint of regret.
'Heh, he took those invalid cards, huh? He is going to be pissed when he finds out about the truth.' Abium chuckled inwardly.
After that, he silently sat on the bed and fell into deep thought. Meanwhile, Baron Harry stood up from the concrete floor and took three steps away from him with wary eyes.
After a few seconds of pondering, Abium looked into Baron Harry's almond blue eyes and said coldly.
"You have two choices. The first choice is: You have to die here. I will not kill most of the family members except for the ones involved in the ploy. Then, I will replace someone from your family to become a puppet Baron and demote your family's noble title in the future using political ties. After all, I'm pretty close to the Crown Prince and I can indeed make it happen in the next ten years."
"The second choice is: I will let you live. But you will be the one responsible for punishing the ones who killed my people. You have to kill your grandfather and the ones involved in the ploy. If you accept the second choice, you and your family will gain support from me in the future." Once Abium finished his words, Baron Harry stood there like a frozen statue for a few seconds and felt complicated emotions surging up from his heart.
'The one who was involved in the ploy means my father will also come under this list... I don't want to kill my father with my own hands!' He gritted his teeth and begged with a sad face.
"Can you spare my father? He killed your men under the order of the old man."
"But he did cut my people with his sword, right? If he felt guilty when killing my people, he should have at least stayed away from that old geezer." Abium glared at him in anger. But suddenly, he thought of something and spoke with a mysterious smile on his face,
"Be it then. I will make an exception for you. But you have to cut your right hand for your father's mistake under the watchful eye of your people and expose your father's crime to the masses. Don't worry; you will get huge respect in the noble circle and even have a chance to become a high class noble."
Abium's words left Baron Harry stunned. But he soon thought this was a better choice than the previous one.
'It's not a harder thing to lose my right hand than my father's life. At least, this Baron is not an unreasonable one.' He quickly made up his mind and spoke without even a hint of hesitation.
"I agree. I will cut my hand and present it to you for my father's crime. I will capture whoever involved in that ploy, including my grandfather, and execute them under the watchful gazes of my people." Baron Harry's bold words surprised Abium.
'I thought he was a dull arrogant fool, but it seems I was wrong. He is a brave man with little cowardice. Although losing his right hand would be hard for him to live normally, he could manage his life. Well, I didn't expect this assassination plan would end like this.' He sighed inwardly and then asked.
"So, how are you going to fight against your grandfather? You are not strong, though. Without any strength, your grandfather will squash you like a bug."
"Y-Yeah, I didn't think of that. Can you lend me some of your strength?" Baron Harry asked in an awkward tone.
"Don't worry. Hmm, I will injure your grandfather heavily when killing that old guy. As for the others, use some money from the family treasury and buy some powerful paralysis potion in the black market. Mix them in their food to paralyze them and arrest the people involved in the ploy. After that, you can announce it to the public and execute them." Abium thought for a moment and said calmly. Although he could eradicate the whole household members with his current strength, he didn't dare to act recklessly.
'I don't want to offend the academic mages.'
Meanwhile, Baron Harry let out a helpless sigh and nodded in understanding.
"Now, tell me more about this mysterious old man. Explain to me in detail about his facial features or anything unique about him." Abium quickly changed the topic and asked specifically about that old man.
'It's not Count Tribal because this Baron Harry seems to know about that guy from the last Royal Banquet. Then, who is he? Is it Margrave Eliot? Nah.' Abium got confused. Meanwhile, Baron Harry thought for a moment and started to talk.
"He had gray hair, emerald green eyes, fair skin, and has many wrinkles on his faces." Baron Harry stopped for a second to recall anything unique about him and soon continued with a nod, "His right side ear is half missing. Also, he wore a unique gray robe that has three red stars symbol embroidered on the chest area and also wore a unique emerald-colored pendant on his neck."
'Gray robe with three stars symbol and emerald-colored pendant? Who is he?... I don't have any clue about him at all. There may be some secret organization behind that person. What is his motive?... Ha! Forget it. It's pointless to think about him now. I will go to the capital quickly and search for these lurking monsters.' He massaged his temple in frustration.
"Hmm, these clues should be more than enough for me to find out more about him. Okay, you don't have to fear me, but you still have to fulfill your promise." Abium said as he thought of something and then continued.
"Also, demolish the check post building and tell your soldiers never to come near the underground tunnel. Make an announcement to the public saying that you are a friend of Baron Abium and will not collect any tax money to cross the tunnel for the next two decades." Abium said while looking at Baron Harry and picking up the red mask. After that, he covered his face with the red mask and disappeared from the room, leaving no trace behind.