chapter 27
black moon. It was the name of the assassin organization that boasted the largest scale in the Empire until 15 years ago.
At the time, he gained notoriety by assassinating several colossus and mercenary commanders within the continent.
What was particularly famous was its tenacity. Usually assassins fail once and that’s it.
However, the Black Moon would try again and again and eventually kill the target.
It was to the extent that such aphorisms circulated among people.
-No amount of wealth or subordinates can protect your life, so prepare for death if you are targeted by the Black Moon.
It was an arrogant sound, but the power of the black moon was just as great. Until the head of the organization made a mistake.
‘It was a problem that I had a hand in assassinating a nobleman.’
To be honest, the murdered aristocrat was no big deal. He is just a rural baron in a remote corner of the empire.
The territory he ruled was only a small village.
At the time, the head of the Black Moon said that he did not take this request seriously.
– This will be fine. He’s just a country baron.
A country aristocrat who no one cares about. Even if you die, no one in the center will care. Conversely, the commoners would fear the black moon even more, saying that it had killed aristocrats as well.
It was a really stupid idea. The murder of the nobility was immediately heard by all the lords, and the response was immediate.
-Are these crazy people crazy because they want to die?
And the black moon literally grinds away. A huge bounty was attached to all members of the organization, and the lords voluntarily ordered the extermination of the Black Moon within the territory.
In all territories within the Empire, if suspected of being a Black Moon, they were massacred on the spot. In particular, when noble knights saw members of the organization, they pursued them to the end of hell and cut off their heads.
Commoners also risked their lives to find the black moon, believing that it could heal their limbs. Among them was an assassin who died in an attack by a group of beggars blinded by bounties.
‘It took just two years for the organization to collapse.’
It was a miserable downfall compared to the reputation of the past. The eradication work at the time was so terrible that even though the organization was already ruined, the bounty at that time was still unresolved.
Of course, Max, who was a member of the Black Moon, was also the same.
“Um, I don’t know what you mean.”
“Let’s not pretend we don’t know, Number 21.”
“…!”
Max took off his pretense with a puzzled face, but his expression collapsed at the words that followed.
No. 21. Isn’t it the name of the number Max was given when he was training as a rookie assassin in the organization?
It’s information that even outsiders don’t know, not even members of other regions!
“How could you do that…!”
“I can know everything.”
Luke leaned against the wall, creating a mysterious atmosphere. The method of obtaining personal information that even the members of the Black Moon organization did not know was very simple.
‘Yeah, I know because I saw it in your diary.’
Before returning, Michael and Helena were persistently harassing Luke. The insomniac operation I tried this time was also one of the bullies I suffered.
I already knew it now, so I passed it on easily, but at the time, I thought it was really crazy.
I’m sure there’s a sound, but I can’t figure out the cause, and when I complain of pain, they drive me crazy.
After a while, I realized that it was a collaboration between Michael and Max, and I gnashed my teeth.
‘So I killed him when we met again.’
Years after the death of the Count and the exile of the family, Luke reunited with Max in a western estate.
At that time, Max did not notice Luke, so he secretly followed Luke and found out the residence and attacked it.
– You damn bastard! nice to meet you!
– Oops! Do, Bocchan!? Heck!
Maybe it was because the first room went in properly, Max couldn’t even resist and was beaten. Did you hit me like that for 30 minutes?
Either he got hit wrong somewhere, or he didn’t control his strength, so he eventually died while being hit.
Fortunately, since Luke was a nobleman, he could be released by paying a rather heavy fine.
‘I also found the diary at that time.’
After Max’s death, I searched the residence, wondering why he had come all the way here.
The diary was an object obtained during that time.
As much as it contained secrets, it was quite strictly hidden, but since it was a temporary shelter, the limits of security were unavoidable.
“Bocchan, please kill me.”
“Isn’t it normal for you to save me at times like this?”
“Is there any way to live?”
Max muttered with a face that gave up everything. In any case, since he became an assassin targeting nobles, he was dead.
The only thing left is to die gracefully or die painfully.
“What if there is a way to live?”
“…!?”
However, Luke’s words brought Max to his senses. can you live? in this situation?
“Ji, do you really have a plan?”
“Yes. Just do what I tell you to do.”
“Tell me!”
“Before that, let’s make this one clear. Is it Michael who made you do this?”
“…yes”
Max hesitated for a moment before answering. Now that it had reached this point, Michael’s retaliation was fine.
What do you mean by revenge that is worse than killing? Upon hearing the definite answer, Luke smiled contentedly.
“Okay, I’ll leave it like this until my father comes back. If you come in the morning, he will surely interrogate you, so do it like this.”
Luke explained the plan step by step. It was a long story, so I had to explain it for a while.
Max, who listened attentively at first, gradually lost his temper, and at the end his face became absurd.
“Are you kidding?”
“It’s not. I’m serious.”
“Does that work? really?”
“I don’t know where else, but it works here.”
I don’t know if it’s a schemer family without blood or tears, but it works for Count Leonard, a knight full of romance.
Besides, all of the knights under his command resembled the count, so there would be little resistance.
Max pondered for a long time, then let out a deep sigh.
“Before I do as you say, Bocchan, please listen to me.”
“What?”
“There is ground horseradish among the kitchen spices. Roll it up to the size of your little finger and put it in my mouth.”
Tears were needed. a lot.
****
“An assassin! An assassin in this territory and nowhere else!”
Returning in the morning, Earl Leonard roared and went mad. The knights swallowed their saliva nervously at the wrath of their master, whom they had never seen before.
“What happened to Luke!? If you’re even injured…!”
“Calm down, sir. Master Luke is fine.”
The oldest man, Werner, took up his gun and soothed the count. Fortunately, it was the worst, but the outcome was the best.
“As I said before, the young master is fine. Rather, he fought the assassin alone and subdued him. So calm down.”
“Whoa! Whoa!”
The Count calmed his inner rage by holding his trembling hand tightly. After a little bit of reason, things started to look right.
Leaving aside the fact that the assassins invaded, did Luke, who was attacked, subdue the assassins in reverse?
“Fortunately, I guess you didn’t expect an assassin to fight head-on.”
An assassin is neither a soldier nor a knight. Even if you don’t know how to fight, as long as you can kill whether you use poison or attack while sleeping, that’s enough.
The Count was relieved that the guy who came to Luke this time seemed to be the latter.
“no.”
“what? Isn’t it?”
“Even though he’s not at the level of fighting a knight, he seemed quite capable. An inexperienced apprentice knight or regular soldier would have been dangerous.
“…!”
The count opened his eyes. He is now a one-month-old child who has learned swordsmanship. By the way, did you subdue an assassin who can win even if you fight a soldier who has gone through a real battle?
“Is it real?”
“Dozens of workshops have come and gone. Not just me, but many of the articles I witnessed.”
When I turned my gaze to the other side, the other knights nodded slightly as if they were correct. The Count swallowed the wind and sat down in his chair.
“How far is he going to surprise me?”
“It will surprise you for a long time to come.”
“That doesn’t sound like a joke. Did he do a lot of things?”
A bitter smile formed on the count’s lips. If it weren’t for this situation, I would be happy with my child’s talent to the fullest.
The count, thinking about the assassin again, hardened his face.
“I said the identity of the assassin was Max.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve never been neglected by all the servants, but how dare he…!”
A servant who served the family long before Luke was known. He probably didn’t infiltrate for a mission.
It is said that he attempted an unplanned assassination after receiving someone’s request, but what on earth was it lacking?
“Get Max! I will begin the interrogation in front of everyone!”
****
Moments later, Max was dragged out of the warehouse. Tied up, Max was thrown to the ground by the knights.
Courageous
“Ouch!”
Max groaned in pain, but no one looked at him with pity. The Count gnashed his teeth with Michael and Luke on his left and right.
“Max! You were an assassin!”
“Go, Your Excellency…”
Max made eye contact with the Count, then shook and lowered his head. I felt that I had no face to face.
However, that appearance felt even more heinous to the Count.
“You’ve been hiding so well pretending to be lame! After killing Luke, who else were you planning to kill? Were you planning on targeting my neck!?”
“Oh no! Absolutely not! How could I do that to His Excellency!”
“Shut up! A guy who got a request for money is doing a good job of imitating a loyalist!”
“It’s not money, sir! If only someone who knew my past hadn’t threatened me…!”
“what? Threat?”
The Count blinked at the unexpected sound. You said you were threatened by someone rather than a paid request?
In an instant, servants and knights began to buzz around.
“It is true that I am an assassin. I also received assassination training. But it has already been more than 10 years since I quit being an assassin.”
“what are you talking about? Tell me more!”
At the Count’s exclamation, Max began to speak with a troubled expression. Being an orphan in the past, he was taken by an assassin organization.
Painful days of tearing blood and flesh, friends we met in tears, and Max weeping while killing each other one after another.
A bloodless, tearless supervisor who asks you to mutilate the corpses of your friends in the final exam. When I said I couldn’t do it, the blade of punishment flew in.
But then, the base of the organization is revealed and soldiers attack. Max successfully hides and escapes dramatically and buries the bodies of his friends.
Wipes tears from graves, turns back and disappears into the setting sun. An ultra-short blockbuster that cannot be heard without 200 pages of tears!
“I just wanted to live a normal life for the rest of my life after I was fortunate enough to be free… but I did… hehehe!”
“Mmm.”
The count felt that the anger that had soared subsided a little at the story that was more detailed than he thought.
The knights around them slightly clicked their tongues, and the emotionally sensitive maid sniffed and wiped away tears.
“I understand your situation. But why did you try your hand at assassination again?”
“I was threatened. They say that if I don’t kill the young master, I’ll reveal my past and tear the corpses of my friends to shreds.
Gripping his teeth, Max wept as if the emotions he had been holding back were overtaken. A runny nose flowed, and the sight of him pressing his forehead to the ground seemed quite painful.
And in fact, it was painful to the point of going crazy.
‘Boss, I told you to roll it up to the size of your little finger, but you took too many sheep!’
How strong was that bastard’s horseradish, how did he take so much of it? I chewed it all at once and it was so spicy that I was about to die.
“Who threatened you? Tell me what’s behind it.”
“Keep it! uh, that’s…”
Max glanced at Michael. Michael raised his eyebrows and gnashed his teeth.
‘Is this bastard trying to frame me by making a sound that doesn’t even dare?’
I expected that I would not die gracefully alone. But I never imagined that it would bite and stretch like this.
However, a scheming noble always prepares for the next task.
‘Sometimes say my name. I’ll deny it from the front.’
The alibi has already been set up perfectly. Now I’m ready to pinpoint the loopholes in the story he’s made up.
The moment Michael’s name is spoken, he will calm the panicked people and expose his lie to the world.
Michael smiled inwardly and waited for Max’s words.
“The boat, behind it… Kuchhehehe! Your Excellency Count! Please kill me!”
But Max stopped talking and hung his head. When the conversation stopped in the middle of going well, the count pounded his chest in frustration.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Even if you tell me the background!”
“But if you do, the bodies of your friends… retaliation…”
“If you say it, I will stop it! Trust me and tell me!”
At the Count’s appeal, Max returned his eyes to Michael. Max’s mouth trembled and twitched.
“Behind the scenes… Kheuheu!”
Max stopped talking, lowered his head, and looked at Michael again.
“If you say it… Ugh! dismissal! please…!”
Crying, I looked at the sky, then sneakily looked at Michael.
“Hey hey hey…! The back, the back… Ugh!”
Right before he spoke, he knelt down and looked at Michael again.
“The one who threatened me… Kheop, Cough Cough!
I cried so much that I watched Michael until I was about to cough.
Slowly, people’s eyes turned to Michael. Servants, knights, and even the Count saw Michael.
Michael’s cheeks swelled as he received all the attention.
“The ship, the threat behind it… the retaliation… uhhh!”
‘Just talk! You crazy bastard!’
Michael clenched his fists, feeling like he wanted to hit him.