Chapter 1

I finally got some rest.
My body was hurting, but strangely my mind wasn't feeling it as intensely as before. Maybe it was the blood loss. Maybe it was because there were so many cuts across my skin that my brain had simply stopped registering them properly.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt a trace of comfort.
A strange feeling.
After so much pain and suffering, I was finally at peace. The agony that had consumed my body was slowly fading away.
I think I'll sleep now.
Suddenly, cold water splashed across my back.
I screamed.
The salt burned every open wound on my body like fire.
Sea water.
That must have been it.
"You can't rest just yet."
A voice echoed through the room.
I opened my right eye. I couldn't see him. He must have been standing somewhere to my left.
I tried focusing, but all I could make out was a blurry light. The knife had probably damaged my vision.
A sharp pain exploded in my foot as another cut appeared.
"Good morning, Mr. Kasper. Sorry to keep you waiting."
I recognized the voice immediately.
Professor Dron.
Head of Torture and Assassination at our academy.
The poor man was always overworked.
He walked closer.
"So, Kasper. What is the passcode?"
I remained silent.
He asked again.
Nothing.
When I refused to answer a third time, he sighed.
"Looks like your ears aren't working properly."
With one swift motion, he cut off my right ear.
The pain was unbearable.
Under normal circumstances, I would have passed out instantly. But the chair I was tied to continuously sent signals into my nervous system, forcing my brain to remain conscious.
Again he asked the question.
I heard the sound of his voice, but the pain was so overwhelming that I couldn't process the words.
Still, I knew what he wanted.
The code.
When my senses finally stabilized, I heard him clearly.
"Code, please, Kasper."
I stayed silent.
His response was immediate.
The blade plunged into my remaining eye.
Darkness consumed me.
Moments later, electricity surged through my body. Every muscle locked. Every nerve screamed.
I hovered on the edge of unconsciousness, kept awake only by the chair.
When I finally regained awareness, Professor Dron was bandaging me.
To my surprise, he carefully placed my damaged eye back into its socket.
After finishing the basic treatment, he cast a pain-nullifying barrier around me.
Then he smiled.
"You passed the torture examination."
Without another word, he left the room.
The moment he exited, several people rushed inside.
Four students.
Two professors.
The students immediately began healing my injuries while the professors observed and graded their work.
The Medical Sect of our academy was considered the finest on the continent.
Watching them work, I understood why.
Within twenty minutes, every major injury had been healed. My eyes were fully restored, my wounds sealed, and the worst of the damage erased.
They spent another five minutes treating the remaining scratches and bruises.
When they finished, the professors stepped forward.
"Open your eyes."
I did.
Perfect vision.
No pain.
No scars.
I stood up, though my balance felt slightly off.
One professor examined the area where my ear had been severed and cast another healing spell.
The dizziness disappeared instantly.
After a final inspection, they handed me my academy uniform.
I got dressed and headed toward the door.
As I left, I heard one professor speaking to the medical students.
"Three pass."
He pointed toward the fourth.
"You need more practice. Go work on dead human ears until your reconstruction improves."
I walked down the corridor and entered the classroom.
Three of my classmates were already seated.
A few moments later, Professor Dron entered.
"Congratulations."
The room fell silent.
"You have all cleared the final session of Torture Class and have mastered pain."
A few students smiled.
"We will now begin Assassination Studies."
He paused.
"For this course, I will be assisted by Professor Isaac."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Everyone knew that name.
Professor Isaac was one of the greatest assassins alive.
He had even worked directly for King Globus himself.
Professor Dron continued.
"Starting tomorrow, Professor Isaac will be your primary instructor. Treat him with the respect he deserves."
All four of us nodded in unison.
Our torture training was over.
The assassination lessons were about to begin.

Every year, thousands of applications are submitted to KST Academy. Out of those applicants, only a handful are accepted. In most years, barely fifty to one hundred candidates qualify to begin their training.
I am currently a second-year student.
To graduate, I still need to clear three more ranks.
So far, it has taken me two attempts to pass the Torture Sessions.
The first challenge was learning Basic Sorcery, which grants mastery over one's senses. The second was Healing Magic, allowing students to repair internal injuries without their torturers noticing. The final requirement was Mind Block, a technique that allows a person to suppress pain on command.
Despite being classified as sorcery, Mind Block is really a form of sensory control training.
Of the students who entered with me, only thirty remain.
Two of them have already reached the fourth year and belong to the Medical Sect.
Twelve are still stuck in their first-year classes, unable to pass the General Magic examinations.
The requirements are not particularly impressive on paper. For Water Manipulation, students only need to control a glass of water. For Air Manipulation, they must strike a target one hundred meters away using a concentrated burst of wind.
Most students fail Fire Manipulation.
The task sounds simple: reduce the size of a burning flame.
The trick is understanding that a large fire is really thousands of smaller fires combined together. Once you mentally separate the flame into smaller sections, controlling the combustion becomes much easier.
At least, that's how I passed.
The remaining students from my batch are scattered between the second and third years.
The Mage Sect is by far the most sought-after sect in the academy, but almost nobody qualifies.
Only one girl from my intake managed to enter it, and even she is struggling through her third year.
Across all years, the Mage Sect has only two hundred and thirty students.
Every other sect has more than five hundred.
That alone tells you everything you need to know.
The Mage Sect is the pinnacle of KST Academy.
The pinnacle of the pinnacle.

The reason I failed my first Torture Session was simple.
My family name.
Kasper.
The "K" in KST Academy comes from the Kasper family itself. Because of that, the professors expect far more from me than they do from ordinary students.
My grandfather made one thing very clear decades ago:
"No member of the Kasper family will receive special treatment."
The professors took those words seriously.
In fact, they took them too seriously.
To avoid even the appearance of favoritism, they make every examination significantly harder for students from high-ranking families, especially my own.
The funny thing is that the Kasper family is famous for its magical aptitude.
I've seen the family records.
Compared to ordinary people, I possess exceptional talent.
Compared to my relatives, I'm average.
My elder brother is the perfect example.
He cleared the Torture Session on his first attempt at the age of ten.
The professors threw everything they had at him. They increased the difficulty far beyond the normal standard.
He smiled through the entire examination.
In the end, they had no choice but to pass him.
He continued to dominate every class that followed.
Today, he serves King Globus directly.
Not as an assassin.
As a warrior.
That alone is extraordinary.
Traditionally, members of the Kasper family join the Assassination Guild operated by my uncle. Every generation, we send elite assassins to support the crown.
My brother became the first member of our family to join the King's Knights instead.
Apparently, the invitation came after a particular incident.
One of King Globus's knights had been ambushed by an assassination squad from a neighboring kingdom.
My brother arrived during the attack.
By the time reinforcements reached the scene, the assassins were dead.
Not defeated.
Destroyed.
The bodies had been mutilated so badly that they were nearly unrecognizable.
Even identifying them proved difficult.
The Medical Sect had to reconstruct their faces before investigators could determine where they had come from.
The evidence suggested they were from the northern regions.
Most likely the tribes bordering the Kingdom of Nora.
Though no one has ever been able to prove which kingdom sent them.

Following the assassination incident on the Nora border, security across the northern frontier was increased significantly.
Additional patrols were deployed, border fortifications were reinforced, and several elite units were reassigned to the region.
My brother was appointed Warden of the Nora Border.
For someone his age, it was an extraordinary responsibility.
Most people considered it proof that King Globus trusted him completely.
The king's trust went even further than that.
A few months after the appointment, King Globus approached my father with a proposal.
He wanted my brother to marry one of his granddaughters.
Officially, it was presented as a reward for loyal service.
Unofficially, everyone understood its true purpose.
The king wanted to bind the Kasper family directly to the Globus bloodline.
My father, the current Patriarch of House Kasper and Headmaster of KST Academy, declined the offer.
The decision shocked the royal court.
Refusing a royal marriage proposal was not something noble families did lightly.
The rejection created more than a few enemies for our house.
Several court factions viewed it as an insult to the crown.
Even King Globus himself was reportedly displeased.
By all accounts, he genuinely wanted my brother to become a member of the Globus family.
My father, however, had different plans.
He wanted my brother to marry Caroline Turney.
Caroline was the great-great-granddaughter of Adam Turney, one of the founding fathers of KST Academy and one of the most influential figures in our kingdom's history.
She was also the daughter of Restor Turney, the current Patriarch of House Turney.
From a political standpoint, the marriage made perfect sense.
The Kaspers and the Turneys had worked together for generations.
A union between the two houses would strengthen ties between two of the most powerful families in the kingdom while preserving their independence from the royal court.
Naturally, the king's supporters saw things differently.
To them, my father's decision looked less like a marriage arrangement and more like a declaration that House Kasper would not be controlled by the throne.
Whether that was true or not, I couldn't say.
What I did know was that every noble house in the kingdom was now watching my brother's future very closely.

In our next class, Professor Isaac handed each of us an egg.
"Protect your egg at all costs," he said. "You may destroy the eggs of the other participants, but you are not allowed to kill them."
There were only four of us in the class.
Professor Dron then teleported us into the academy gardens, and the examination began.
I immediately found a large tree with a hollow trunk.
I placed my egg inside, sealed the opening with glue, and carefully restored the bark so that it looked untouched. I made sure not to use any magic while hiding it.
Then I moved nearly two hundred meters away.
Around the area, I buried three ordinary stones and placed magical traps nearby. If someone discovered one of the fake locations and started digging, the traps would activate and reveal nothing but a stone.
While setting the final trap, I felt danger.
A needle, thin as a strand of hair, shot past my face.
I dodged instinctively.
Someone had seen me digging.
Pretending to panic, I immediately ran from the area.
A few minutes later, one of my classmates approached one of the fake locations.
The moment he started digging, the trap activated.
A chain of explosions forced him backward.
His own egg slipped from his robes and rolled across the ground.
I didn't hesitate.
I rushed forward and crushed it beneath my heel.
One opponent eliminated.
That left two.
I already had a good idea where Zing would be.
Near water.
Fighting him there would be suicide.
Zing came from the Eastern Kingdom and excelled in both water and air manipulation. In water, he was almost impossible to deal with.
Instead of approaching the lake, I climbed a nearby tree and waited.
Soon I detected traces of magical energy near the shoreline.
A trap.
Exactly as expected.
I remained where I was.
Hours passed.
Eventually, the remaining assassin appeared.
The moment he entered Zing's territory, water exploded upward.
Before the student could react, Zing dragged him beneath the surface.
The struggle lasted only seconds.
Just before throwing him back onto the shore, Zing removed and destroyed his egg.
Now only two eggs remained.
Mine.
And Zing's.
Neither of us moved.
I couldn't beat him in the water.
He couldn't find my egg. we had reached a stalemate.

I could match Zing in air magic.
Underwater, however, I had no chance.
The moment I entered the water, the battle would be decided in his favor.
Zing knew it.
I knew it.
Which was exactly why I began preparing.
First, I hardened my skin.
Then I created a thin layer of steel around my body using Metal Creation Magic, one of the specialties of the Kasper family.
From the observation platform above, Professor Isaac watched with a confused expression.
I looked up toward the moon and smiled beneath my mask.
A few seconds later, I saw realization flash across his face.
He had figured it out.
I walked toward the edge of the pond.
"Zing!" I shouted. "I'm here. Let's finish this."
No response.
As expected, he was being cautious.
"Fine," I said. "I'll come to you."
I slowly stepped forward and placed one foot into the water.
The reaction was immediate.
The surface exploded.
A massive sphere of water wrapped around me and dragged me beneath the pond.
I activated air magic at once.
A compressed air barrier formed around my body, forcing the surrounding water away.
Even so, the pressure was enormous.
At best, the barrier would hold for twelve minutes.
Zing appeared out of the darkness almost instantly.
He attacked.
Cracks spread across the barrier.
Then it shattered.
The moment it broke, I moved.
I grabbed Zing and locked my arms around him.
Before he could react, I used Metal Creation Magic.
A thin layer of metal covered his face.
Another protected his chest and heart.
Makeshift armor.
Not enough to stop an explosion.
Just enough to keep him alive.
Then I activated every trap on my belt.
All twenty-two of them.
The underwater blast was deafening.
The pond erupted.
The explosion launched both of us out of the water and onto the shore.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then I looked over.
Zing was alive.
Barely.
Both of his legs were gone, and one arm had been torn away.
More importantly, his egg had shattered.
A knife suddenly fell from the sky.
Professor Isaac.
The blade struck the ground beside Zing and immediately expanded into a healing barrier.
Golden light surrounded him as restoration magic began repairing the damage.
Professor Isaac looked at me.
Smiling.
"You almost killed him."
I looked back at him and smiled.
"Almost."
I passed the test.
The next morning, Zing greeted me the moment I entered the training grounds.
Then he punched me in the shoulder.
It hurt far more than it should have.
"Asshole," he said.
I laughed.
"Sorry."
A grin spread across his face.
"Good one. I never saw that coming. You Kaspers are completely unpredictable."
I smiled.
A few moments later, Professor Isaac arrived carrying a stack of reports.
"Class points have been distributed," he announced.
The first student, whose egg I destroyed with the trap, received 2.5 points out of 10.
The second received 1 point.
Zing received 7 points.
I received 10.
To pass the course, we needed at least 50 points across 10 classes, meaning an average of 5 points per test.
For Zing and me, it was an excellent start.
The other two students looked considerably less happy.
Professor Isaac handed them their evaluation reports and instructed them to work on the weaknesses that had been identified.
Our next assignment was to complete a B-Rank mission for the Assassination Guild.
All four of us returned within five to six hours.
Most B-Rank missions involved locating missing persons, investigating murders, or handling kidnapping cases.
For students of KST Academy, they were relatively straightforward.
Everyone received 5 points.
Professor Isaac wasn't impressed.
"Efficiency is everything," he said.
"When a task can be completed in one minute, an assassin should not need ten."
The following assignment was more unusual.
We were ordered to infiltrate the den of a wild bear and eliminate its cubs.
The mission was completed within a few hours.
This time, everyone received 7 points except Zing.
He had used an odorless, painless poison on the cubs.
While effective, the poison required several minutes to stop the animals' hearts.
Professor Isaac considered it inefficient.
Zing received 4 points.
He accepted the score without complaint.
The tests continued.
Some were practical.
Others were written examinations.
By the end of seven tests, the standings were clear.
I had 38 points.
Zing had 35.
The other two students had 28 and 24 respectively.
One afternoon, Professor Isaac entered the classroom and sat down without saying a word.
The room immediately became silent.
Finally, he spoke.
"I am giving you a final examination."
He placed four folders on the desk.
"This test is worth thirty points."
The room became even quieter.
"Pass or fail."
"No partial points."
A few seconds passed before he continued.
"You will cross the northern border."
"You will enter the Kingdom of Nora."
"And you will kill one border guard."
Nobody spoke.
I looked directly at Professor Isaac.
Wouldn't something like this require the Crown's approval?
Isaac seemed to understand the question without me asking it.
"King Globus wishes to return the favor for the ambush on our border."
His expression remained calm.
"Officially, this operation does not exist."
That statement immediately changed the atmosphere.
"None of our border forces know about it."
Then his eyes settled on me.
"Including your brother."
The room was silent.
Professor Isaac leaned back in his chair.
"So if you are caught," he said, "I strongly recommend revealing your identity before he kills you."
Easier said than done.
My brother had a habit of killing first and asking questions later.
Just look at what happened to the assassins who attacked the border.
The moment he arrived, he trapped them and burned them alive.
Efficient.
Direct.
Brutal.
If we were caught, we were dead.
It didn't matter that we were students of KST Academy.
It didn't even matter that I was his brother.
If we came within a hundred meters of him and he detected our presence, we would have one or two seconds at most to surrender before he attacked.
And knowing my luck, those two seconds would probably be spent trying to remember how to breathe.
The moment I received the mission details, I began preparing.
This would be my first real assassination mission.
I had always known my brother was exceptional.
The question was how exceptional.
There was only one person who could answer that.
My father.
I returned to the Kasper estate the same evening.
The moment I entered the castle, several maids greeted me and guided me toward the Patriarch's Chamber.
As I approached the room, I felt dozens of eyes watching me.
Wraths.
Spirits bound to the Kasper bloodline.
They served as guardians of the Patriarch's Chamber.
Only direct descendants of the Kasper family were permitted to enter.
Anyone else would be attacked immediately.
Not even King Globus himself could enter without permission.
I could see several Wraths crawling behind the curtains and along the ceiling.
They watched me carefully.
I ignored them.
The moment I entered, my father looked up from his desk.
"So," he said, "your first real mission?"
I nodded.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"How can I help you?"
"I need information about my brother."
The smile vanished.
"He is part of the King's Forces now. We cannot discuss Assassination Guild matters with him. The King specifically requested this mission remain covert."
"I know."
My father leaned back.
"If you're caught, surrender before he kills you."
I nodded.
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me since Professor Isaac assigned the mission.
"What is his detection range?"
My father answered immediately.
"Five hundred meters."
I stared at him.
"Five hundred?"
He nodded.
"So he'll detect us for sure."
"Yes."
I thought for a moment.
"Can we run?"
My father actually laughed.
"No."
The answer came so quickly that it was almost insulting.
"Not while he's there."
He stood and walked toward the window.
"The moment you enter his detection range, he will trap you."
I swallowed.
"And if we avoid the trap?"
"He catches up."
"How long?"
"Three seconds, perhaps."
I was beginning to regret asking.
"And after that?"
My father shrugged.
"He decapitates all of you within another three to five seconds."
The room fell silent.
Finally, I asked,
"So we're dead."
"Assuming one of the other King's Knights doesn't shoot you first."
That was somehow even less comforting.
I sat in silence for a few moments.
Five hundred meters.
That wasn't a detection range.
That was a death sentence.
Finally, I looked at my father.
"What would you do in this situation?"
He didn't even need to think.
"Move him."
I blinked.
"Move him?"
My father nodded.
"Yes."
"How?"
He smiled.
"I can't help you anymore."
I frowned.
"This is my final examination."
"Exactly."
He leaned back in his chair.
"This is also your Grade Two qualification test. Once you pass, you'll begin taking missions without direct supervision."
I sighed.
"Then at least give me a hint."
My father was quiet for a moment.
Normally, he would have refused.
Then he nodded.
"Fine. One hint."
I straightened immediately.
"The examination is unfair."
"Because my brother is there?"
"Yes."
He folded his hands on the table.
"Most students are not asked to infiltrate a foreign border defended by one of the strongest warriors in the kingdom."
That was hard to argue with.
"So what's the hint?"
My father smiled.
"Think about his title."
I frowned.
"Warden of the Nora Border?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
I waited for him to continue.
He didn't.
"That's the hint?"
"That's the hint."
I stared at him.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Finally, I shook my head.
"I don't get it."
A faint smile appeared on my father's face.
"You will."
I stood up and walked toward the door.
As I reached it, my father spoke again.
"Kasper."
I stopped.
"Don't think about how to defeat your brother."
I turned around.
"Then what should I think about?"
My father picked up a document from his desk.
"The moment you start planning around his strength, you've already lost."
I waited.
"He isn't standing on that border because he's strong."
My father returned his attention to the document.
"He's standing there because he's the Warden."
That was all he said.
The conversation was over.
As I left the Patriarch's Chamber, the Wraths watched me from the shadows.
I barely noticed them.
My mind was elsewhere.
Move him.
Think about his title.
Warden of the Nora Border.
I repeated the words over and over as I walked through the castle halls.
Somewhere in those words was the answer.
I just hadn't found it yet.
I left the castle and headed toward the ancestral caves of House Kasper.
Whenever I needed to think, I came here.
The caves were quiet.
Peaceful.
More importantly, they were familiar.
I had spent much of my childhood here.
A few old friends still lived among the tunnels.
Snakes.
Bats.
Creatures most people avoided.
A large cobra slithered toward me from the darkness.
I smiled and gently patted its head.
The cobra seemed pleased with the attention and curled itself beside me.
I sat down on a flat stone and closed my eyes.
"How do I move my brother?"
The cobra, unsurprisingly, offered no advice.
I began thinking aloud.
"A distraction?"
I immediately shook my head.
"No."
My brother wasn't stupid.
A small distraction wouldn't pull him away from the border.
"What if I burn down a village?"
Again, I dismissed the idea.
A Warden's duty was to protect the border.
One burning village wouldn't be enough.
So what could move the Warden of the North?
I thought about my father's clue.
Think about his title.
Warden.
Warden.
Warden.
Then the answer struck me.
"The King."
My eyes opened.
Of course.
If King Globus was in danger, my brother would move.
Not because he was my brother.
Not because he was a warrior.
Because he was a Warden.
Protecting the kingdom was part of his responsibility.
I frowned.
The idea wasn't perfect.
King Globus was one of the finest swordsmen alive.
On top of that, the strongest fighters from every major family served within the Royal Guard.
Actually attacking the king was impossible.
Even thinking about it felt ridiculous.
But then another thought appeared.
The king didn't need to be attacked.
My brother only needed to believe he was.
I sat upright.
Now that was different.
A fake threat.
A false rebellion.
A crisis large enough to attract attention but small enough to remain believable.
The mission had been authorized by King Globus himself.
That meant I could use his name.
Carefully.
If reports reached the border claiming rebels were planning an attack against the crown, my brother might be forced to investigate or redeploy troops.
I stood up so quickly that the cobra hissed in annoyance.
I ignored him.
For the first time since receiving the mission, I could see a path forward.
Not a good plan.
Not yet.
But the beginning of one.
A fake rebellion.
Now I just needed to figure out how to start it.
I continued staring at the cave ceiling.
The rebellion idea was a start, but it still felt weak.
What could actually threaten the King?
Not my father.
The thought was ridiculous.
My father had served the crown faithfully for decades.
No one who knew him would believe he was plotting against King Globus.
More importantly, my brother would never believe it.
Then another name entered my mind.
Restor Turney.
Now that was different.
I sat upright.
House Turney had openly criticized the king's policies for years.
Not enough to be considered traitors.
Just enough to make people uncomfortable.
Then there was Restor himself.
One of the few known users of Time Magic.
If anyone could bypass the Royal Guards, it would be him.
That alone made the story believable.
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head.
No.
Restor Turney wouldn't try to assassinate the king.
He disagreed with King Globus, but he wasn't a traitor.
He certainly wasn't a backstabber.
Still...
People didn't need to believe something was true.
They only needed to believe it was possible.
My thoughts drifted toward Caroline Turney.
My brother's proposed marriage.
The rejected royal marriage.
The growing tension between House Turney and certain factions within the court.
A slow smile appeared on my face.
What if the story wasn't that Restor wanted to kill the king?
What if the king wanted to kill Caroline?
That was different.
King Globus would never do such a thing.
At least, probably not.
But doubt was powerful.
And King Globus III was hardly a saint.
Before taking the throne, he had eliminated every one of his brothers to prevent future succession disputes.
Officially, those events were rarely discussed.
Unofficially, everyone knew.
If rumors surfaced that Caroline Turney had become a political obstacle...
If someone suggested that an assassination attempt was being planned...
If House Turney reacted...
If the court reacted...
Then perhaps the border would react as well.
I leaned back against the cave wall.
For the first time, the pieces were beginning to fit together.
Not because the story was true.
Because it was believable.
And believable lies were always the most dangerous kind.
Now I had a possible plan.
The problem was figuring out where to begin.
A few hours later, I found myself standing outside the Turney estate.
A maid welcomed me and led me into one of the reception halls.
After a few minutes, Caroline's younger brother entered the room.
"Good evening, Young Master Kasper."
I stood and gave a slight bow.
"Good evening, dear sir."
The maid poured tea and left.
The moment the door closed behind her, his expression changed completely.
He dropped into a chair and stared at me.
"Why are you here, assassin?"
I smiled.
"Just wanted to see you."
For a moment he maintained a serious expression.
Then we both laughed.
We had known each other for years.
Like most members of House Turney, he was an exceptional mage.
Magecraft seemed to run through their bloodline.
His specialty was weather manipulation.
The amount of control he possessed was absurd.
When we traveled to school together, he would cool specific spots during the summer and warm them during winter.
He could alter the temperature of an area so precisely that most people never even noticed he was using magic.
Of course, he could use that same precision for far more dangerous purposes.
I still remembered the time a group of bandits attempted to rob us.
The encounter lasted less than ten seconds.
One moment they were threatening us.
The next, they were frozen solid.
As if winter itself had decided they were no longer welcome.
He glanced at my untouched tea.
Without moving a finger, steam began rising from the cup.
The tea had become perfectly warm.
"Finish it before we talk."
I picked up the cup.
Some people measured magical talent by raw power.
The Turneys measured it through control.
And in that regard, he was terrifying.
I once watched him kill a dragon.
Not by burning it.
Not by crushing it.
Not even by freezing the entire creature.
He simply froze its heart.
The dragon died before it even understood what had happened.
All because it had threatened his lion.
After taking a sip of tea, I looked across the table.
He was already watching me.
Waiting.
The smile had disappeared from his face.
"So," he said.
"What trouble are you planning to drag me in this time?"
I looked at him and smiled.
"Come on, old friend. Can't I visit just to see you?"
He didn't even blink.
"No."
I sighed.
"No?"
"No."
He pointed at me.
"I know you, assassin."
The accusation was immediate.
"You only visit people when you need something."
I placed a hand over my heart.
"I'm wounded."
"Good."
He took another sip of tea.
"Now stop wasting my time and tell me what you're scheming."
I stared at him for a few seconds.
Then I decided there was no point easing into it.
"I want to kill the king."
He nodded casually.
"Yeah, sure."
Then he froze.
The sarcasm vanished from his face.
I wasn't smiling.
I wasn't laughing.
I was completely serious.
Slowly, he lowered his cup.
"...What?"
"I don't actually want to kill him."
"Good."
"I want to threaten him."
"That's somehow worse."
I shrugged.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
"No one can do that."
"Why not?"
He looked at me as if I were an idiot.
"Because if it were possible, I would have stopped his heart years ago."
I nearly choked on my tea.
He continued calmly.
"The man has practically cut down half the forests surrounding the Royal Capital."
I looked at him.
"Children were getting lost in them."
He pointed at me immediately.
"That's not the point."
"It is literally the point."
"The point is that forests are supposed to exist."
"Children are also supposed to exist."
For several seconds we stared at each other.
Then he sighed.
"Fine. The children can exist too."
"How generous of you."
He ignored the comment.
"Either way, threatening King Globus is impossible."
His eyes narrowed.
"Now tell me why you're actually asking."
I set my cup down.
"My final examination."
That immediately got his attention.
The amusement disappeared from his face.
For the first time since I arrived, he looked genuinely interested.
"What kind of examination requires threatening the king?"
"A KST examination."
"...That explains absolutely nothing."
"Professor Isaac is involved."
"...That explains everything."
Then he rubbed his forehead.
"I already hate this plan, and you haven't even told me what it is yet."
I explained the entire plan.
To my surprise, he didn't interrupt me once.
When I finished, he sat quietly for a few seconds before nodding.
"What do you need me to do?"
I leaned forward.
"Very little."
That immediately made him suspicious.
"Whenever you say that, people usually die."
I ignored him.
"I need you to convince your father to make a statement."
"What kind of statement?"
I thought for a moment.
"Something along the lines of: If my daughter is harmed, House Turney will hold King Globus personally responsible."
His eyebrows rose.
"And?"
"Record it."
He stared at me.
"You want me to secretly record my father threatening the king?"
"Technically, he's threatening whoever harms Caroline."
"Technically, you're insane."
"Probably."
He sighed.
"Continue."
"After that, I'll spread news that Caroline Turney has gone missing."
His expression slowly changed from confusion to understanding.
"Oh."
"Exactly."
"Oh."
I nodded.
"At some point, my brother will attempt to contact House Turney to verify the situation."
"What do I do then?"
"You answer."
"And?"
"You sound scared."
That earned me another long stare.
"That's your master plan?"
"Not finished."
I took another sip of tea.
"You tell him that the Patriarch is unavailable."
"He'll ask why."
"Make something up."
"Such as?"
I shrugged.
"Everyone is searching for Caroline. House Turney is in chaos. Anything believable."
For the first time, he started looking impressed.
I continued.
"Then I send him the recording."
"The one of my father?"
I nodded.
"At that point, my brother has three pieces of information."
I raised a finger.
"Caroline is missing."
A second finger.
"House Turney is acting strangely."
A third.
"The Patriarch appears furious enough to threaten the king."
The room became silent.
Then he leaned back.
"And you think that will move him?"
"I don't need certainty."
"I only need doubt."
That answer made him smile.
A very Turney smile.
The kind that usually meant he was about to do something dangerous.
Then he asked the obvious question.
"What if your brother ignores all of it and contacts the king directly?"
I had already considered that.
"I'll ask Professor Isaac to block communications from the northern border for that day."
He blinked.
"You think he'll agree?"
"This is an examination."
The smile widened.
"Fair point."
For several moments neither of us spoke.
Then he laughed.
A full laugh.
Not the polite kind nobles used.
The genuine kind.
"This is the stupidest plan I've heard all year."
I smiled.
"But?"
He shook his head.
"But it's just believable enough that it might actually work."
I raised my cup.
"That's all an assassin needs."
He raised his own.
"To believable lies."
"To believable lies."
"Valen, you have twenty-four hours."
Valen stared at me for a few seconds before sighing.
"Fine."
Then he pointed at me.
"But after this, we're even."
I nodded.
That was fair.
I still owed him for the incident in Aramis.
Valen had wanted to test the limits of his weather manipulation.
Specifically, he wanted to see if he could freeze a desert.
A completely reasonable goal, according to him.
An absolutely insane one according to everyone else.
The worst part was that he succeeded.
The Kingdom of Aramis immediately assumed they were under magical attack.
Somehow, I managed to get him out of the country using my underground contacts before anyone discovered who was responsible.
Valen still considered that a favor.
A very large favor.
Which was why he was helping me now.
A few hours later, while I was finalizing the rest of the operation, a projection crystal activated beside me.
Valen.
The recording had arrived.
I watched as he casually asked his father a question.
"Father, what happens if a noble house decides to harm Caroline?"
Restor Turney didn't even look up from his documents.
"The king will pay the price."
"What else is there to say?"
The projection ended.
I laughed.
House Turney truly did not waste words.
Now everything was in motion.
That same night, my brother received a letter.
Caroline Turney has gone missing.
No seal.
No signature.
No indication of who had sent it.
My brother examined the paper.
"Who delivered this?"
"A child, my lord."
"Bring him."
The guards returned with the boy a few minutes later.
I watched from over two kilometers away through a surveillance spell.
My brother placed a hand on the boy's head.
Memory Reading.
Of course.
Thankfully, I had prepared for that.
Before sending him, I had told the boy that I was a loyal beneficiary of House Globus and a supporter of the king.
His memories would reveal nothing suspicious.
My brother released him.
Moments later, he contacted House Turney directly.
Valen answered.
Perfect.
"Sorry," Valen said nervously. "The estate is currently under lockdown. We are not sharing information outside the house."
Then he disconnected.
No explanation.
No details.
Just enough uncertainty.
My brother sat silently.
Thinking.
Then the second package arrived.
This one was delivered by Zing.
A weather balloon carrying the projection crystal.
The moment it drifted above the fortress and burst, every defensive formation in the area activated.
A box suspended beneath it froze in midair nearly five hundred meters above the fortress.
My brother casually pulled it down using magic.
Then he activated the recording.
Restor Turney's image appeared.
"The king will pay the price."
The projection ended.
Immediately afterward, the crystal exploded.
My brother contacted the Royal Capital.
Nothing.
No response.
Professor Isaac had kept his word.
For the first time, I thought the plan might actually work.
My brother remained perfectly calm.
He sat on the Warden's Throne and issued orders.
"Close the borders."
Guards rushed to obey.
"Three knights on the main gate."
More orders followed.
Everything was efficient.
Controlled.
Professional.
Then he did something unexpected.
He stood.
Took a deep breath.
And released a sound unlike anything I had ever heard.
It wasn't human.
It sounded more like the roar of a beast.
The sky darkened.
Something enormous descended through the clouds.
At first I thought it was a giant bat.
Then I realized what I was looking at.
A dragon.
A massive black dragon.
My heart nearly stopped.
"He can control dragons too?"
I had never heard of that.
Not once.
The dragon landed beside the fortress.
My brother jumped from the wall.
The creature caught him effortlessly.
Then it launched into the sky.
The acceleration was unbelievable.
Within seconds, they were already disappearing into the distance.
I stared at the horizon.
The Royal Capital.
That was where he was heading.
Then a horrifying realization hit me.
The moment he discovered the truth, he would come back.
And when he did, he would understand exactly what had happened.
I checked the distance to the border.
Then I checked it again.
Ten minutes.
Maybe less.
I activated the communication crystal.
"We move now."
For the first time since receiving the mission, I was no longer worried about crossing the border.
I was worried about getting back before my brother did.
I set a timer.
Nine minutes.
That was all we had.
"Move."
The four of us immediately started sprinting toward the border fortress.
No one spoke.
There was nothing to say.
If we wasted time, we were dead.
If we triggered a trap, we were dead.
If my brother returned early, we were dead.
A kilometer from the fortress, we activated our invisibility spells.
The walls grew larger with every step.
Magic detection circles covered the area.
Landmines were hidden beneath the soil.
Defensive formations were everywhere.
The fortress had been built to stop armies.
We only needed to get through once.
Carefully, we moved between detection zones and avoided the magical traps.
Eventually we reached the outer defenses.
Three King's Knights stood guard.
I looked at the other two students.
"You know your job."
They nodded.
Without hesitation, they attacked.
The assault came from the shadows.
The knights reacted instantly.
As expected.
These were elite soldiers.
Against ordinary students, the fight would have ended immediately.
Unfortunately for them, we had Zing.
The moment the knights committed to their killing blows, the attackers dissolved.
Water clones.
At the same time, hidden water circles activated beneath the knights.
Streams wrapped around them and dragged them into containment formations.
The traps wouldn't hold them for long.
Maybe two minutes.
But two minutes was enough.
By the time they escaped, Zing and I were already gone.
The other two remained behind.
Their mission was simple.
Create chaos.
Buy time.
I climbed the largest tree I could find while Zing observed the fortress through a vision spell.
"There."
He pointed.
A guard on the western wall.
I took a dart from my belt.
One throw.
The dart vanished into the darkness.
A few seconds later, Zing nodded.
"He dropped."
We didn't bother checking.
The poison was lethal.
Recovered from one of the northern assassins involved in the border attack months earlier.
Now our mission was complete.
We turned and ran.
Behind us, the fortress was already descending into confusion.
The other two students created another disturbance and then retreated.
Everything was going according to plan.
Then I felt it.
A pressure in the air.
I looked toward the horizon.
My brother.
He was back.
Much sooner than I expected.
We were only a few hundred meters from the forest.
Too close.
If he looked our way, we were finished.
One of our classmates reacted instantly.
His ability activated.
Switch Place.
A massive boulder suddenly appeared between us and the fortress.
At the same moment, our positions shifted.
His ability allowed him to exchange locations with an object he could see.
The larger the object, the more mana it required.
The boulder was enormous.
The spell nearly knocked him unconscious.
For one brief moment, I thought we had escaped.
Then my brother noticed it.
His eyes locked onto the rock.
He immediately sensed the magic.
The boulder melted.
Not cracked.
Not shattered.
Melted.
The dragon released a stream of black fire.
The surrounding forest vanished beneath the flames.
My heart stopped.
Fortunately, we were already beyond the affected area.
The search lasted only a few minutes.
Then my brother returned to the fortress.
The report arrived shortly afterward.
A border guard had been assassinated.
The Kingdom of Nora immediately blamed our kingdom.
Tensions rose overnight.
An international investigation was launched.
King Globus accepted.
Mind Readers were brought in.
Witnesses were questioned.
Memories were examined.
My brother's memories were inspected as well.
The investigators found exactly what he had told them.
A missing Caroline Turney.
A suspicious recording.
A sudden emergency.
A rushed return.
Nothing more.
Nothing that connected him to the assassination.
Nothing that connected the Crown to the assassination.
And most importantly...
Nothing that connected the four students of KST Academy to the assassination.
The mission was officially classified as unresolved.
Professor Isaac gave us all thirty points.
I finished first in the class.
Zing finished second.
The other two barely passed.
Professor Isaac looked at us for a long moment before speaking.
"Congratulations."
Nobody smiled.
I returned home a few days later.
The mission was complete.
The investigation was over.
And most importantly, I had passed.
My father was the first person to review the report.
He sat behind his desk and read every page in silence.
Occasionally he nodded.
Occasionally he frowned.
Finally, he reached the end.
"Hah."
He placed the report on the table.
"Good."
A moment later, a small smile appeared.
"Very good."
Coming from my father, that was practically a standing ovation.
He stood up and looked at me.
As the Patriarch of House Kasper, his expression remained calm.
As the Headmaster of KST Academy, however, there was clear pride in his eyes.
"You have successfully completed your Second-Year Examination."
I nodded.
"You have earned the required qualifications."
He paused.
"And from this day onward, you are officially recognized as a member of the Kasper Assassination Guild."
The announcement was followed by a celebration throughout the estate.
Servants, guild members, and family retainers all attended.
The Second Young Master had officially joined the family profession.
To my surprise, my brother attended as well.
Even more surprisingly, King Globus attended personally.
Now that the investigation had concluded, my brother had finally been briefed on what had actually happened.
Apparently, he found the entire operation amusing.
That was both reassuring and terrifying.
The king laughed when he heard the details.
"You manipulated half the kingdom to move one border warden."
I wisely chose not to mention that the border warden was standing ten meters away.
Then King Globus turned toward my father.
"Can I have the younger one as well?"
The room immediately became quiet.
My father bowed respectfully.
"No, Your Majesty."
The king looked disappointed.
Then my father continued.
"However, if Your Majesty wishes, he may marry your granddaughter."
The entire room froze.
Including me.
King Globus blinked.
"Isn't he too young?"
My father shook his head.
"They are the same age, my lord."
The king turned toward his granddaughter.
Then back toward me.
Then toward my father.
A grin spread across his face.
"Lord Kasper, you are absolutely right."
I suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"They would make an excellent couple."
The feeling became worse.
Then he raised his voice.
"It is decided."
The entire hall erupted into applause.
"You are now engaged."
My soul briefly left my body.
Beside me, my brother appeared.
He looked suspiciously entertained.
"Well."
I stared ahead in silence.
"Now both of us are engaged."
I nodded.
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
Neither of us sounded particularly happy.
For a few moments we stood in silence.
Then he asked,
"Have you ever considered joining the Royal Guard?"
I looked at him.
"No."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?"
I glanced toward my father.
"I want to stay here."
My brother followed my gaze.
"With Father?"
I nodded.
"Until you return and inherit the position of Patriarch."
The room became quieter around us.
"After that, I'll join the Royal Guard."
My brother looked at me for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
A genuine smile.
Rare enough to be considered a magical phenomenon.
"You grew up fast."
Coming from him, that meant more than any award.
Then he added,
"I'm glad I didn't burn you."
I stared at him.
"You considered it?"
"Several times."
"Brother."
"You were very annoying."
"Brother."
He shrugged.