Justin teared up when he saw his Master but made a valiant effort to conceal it before they moved to a more discreet place.
In the confines of the room, he burst into tears seeing that they were alone.
"Masteeeer," he couldn't help but say. "I'm sorry I failed you!"
Justin's master helplessly patted the boy on the head. He had been worried when his disciple didn't come back even after such a long time, but since he had been receiving periodic updates, he hadn't thought much of it.
Clearly, he was mistaken. He should have checked up on the young assassin as soon as he hadn't completed the mission within the set perimeters. Silently, the man resolved to do better by his only disciple from now on.
So engrossed were the two of them, that they didn't even notice when Nocturne and Nine's spell started fading. It was only when their presence snapped back into full force that Justin's Master, Matthew, recoiled back like he had been electrocuted with a live wire, alerting his disciple as well in the process.
Nocturne and Nine watched with quirked smirks, the way the two assassins reacted like a cat in water.
"H-h-how long have you been there?" Justin questioned, stuttering, after he got over his shock of seeing the one person he was trying to avoid.
Was this a nightmare? It sure felt like one, with the way the husband and wife appeared like ghosts out of nowhere. Even his Master hadn't sensed them! And Master was the strongest person he knew! Or at least, he thought he was. Nine couldn't possibly be stronger than his Master, could he?
Could he?
Nine's eyes narrowed when she properly took in the little brat's Master. Just like the brat, he was also a Wererabbit, likely from the same tribe. Side by side, they could have almost passed as father and son, but she supposed that was the point to their matching clothes.
Nine's eyes locked onto the magical signature of the older assassin, and flawlessly hid her frown.
"Since you started tearing up," Nine said, smiling at the young boy.
The poor Wererabbit's face was immediately up in flames. If he could, he would have dug a hole right here and thrown himself inside to hide his embarrassment. Ah, he felt like screaming. All this time, he had passed off as mature (did he really?) when he tried to assassinate Nine, but now… now! All his hard work had been laid to waste, not by anyone else, but himself!
How could he take this blow to his pride and ego? Immediately, his eyes started misting over again, and Nine hid her smirk at the teary but angry look directed at her. How cute. She wanted to pat his head and touch those ears.
Matthew moved discretely, not overtly hiding his disciple behind him, but angling so that he would be able to take care of any threats as they emerged, should they emerge.
Nine silently approved of this, but this did nothing to hide the growing anger inside of her.
"How may we help you?" Matthew demurred, placing himself in a more subservient position. The man had cold sweat running down his back.
This was the Crown Prince they had been tasked to assassinate? He really wanted to find the sources of information that had been verified and messily murder them for giving them faulty information. Just from the Aura put out by the two alone, the assassin could already feel chills brushing up against his skin.
This was the mark of a predator, and one that was stronger, much stronger, nonetheless. They had really kicked an iron board this time! The two Vampires in front of him were way out of their league. Even the most veteran assassin he knew would have to bow in subservience to the two before him. To think that he had been reassured that this would be a simple assignment, allowing his novice disciple to take it on himself.
The target had been a Crown Prince with no magical abilities whatsoever, identifying as a civilian. Honestly, how Matthew had let it slip past his notice was rather alarming, but how could the Empire have left a useless heir in the position of Crown Prince? He should have been 'taken care of' long before they had ever picked up the mission.
As for why the other was hiding, he didn't know, nor did he care to know. They might have disguised themselves as human rather stunningly, but he could smell the scent of Vampire on them. He wasn't sure if this was intentional or not, but he took it as a warning all the same.
"Though it was just a bit of fun in the beginning," Nine started off, casually dropping herself on the only couch in the room, she leaned back and directed a faint smile at the older assassin, "Let's get down to business. Who are you? And why are you part of 'the plan'?"
Matthew fended off the Charm that rolled off naturally from the actions the Vampire had taken, feeling his heart slam against his chest unsettlingly. 'The plan' the other said. Did he know? How could that be?
"I don't understand what you mean, Your Highness?" Matthew said lowly, fear beating against his chest. He would not be able to hide it should it be discovered by the Elves.
The temperature of the room dropped sharply, startling Justin and Matthew.
Nine, now in a rather unhappy mood due to the lies that had just left the assassin's mouth, had a bad taste, as if she had eaten something foul. She hated when people lied, not because they were lying straight to her face, per se, but because of the taste that filled her mouth when they did.
She didn't say anything, just staring at the man, who shuddered under her stare, but kept his mouth shut, nonetheless. She faintly admired him for his courage. Lesser men would have quailed under her glare, but she supposed that as a veteran assassin, that was in the job description.
Justin gripped his master's sleeve, glaring at Nine with all his might. "Don't bully Master!" he shouted, looking like an angry little fluffy bunny.
Nocturne resisted the urge to go over and coo over the cute sight he made but hid his smile when noticing Nine's mood. He could do that later. After business was taken care of, apparently.
"Don't play coy with me," Nine said, crossing her legs. She folded her arms against her chest, and somehow, Matthew felt like the pressure pressing against him doubled.
He struggled to move under the additional weight, but his muscles were not listening to his command. His body was trembling in front of an apex predator, and he knew it too, but he couldn't give in now. Not when there was so much at stake.
"I can't," Matthew grit out. The seal on his magic alone took care of that problem. Should he ever open his mouth to spit out what he knew, he would die a swift death, and so would everyone else in his tribe.
Nine reached out, to the puzzlement of Justin and Matthew, and grabbed at the air. It almost seemed like she had grabbed onto something physical, the way she ripped it away.
Matthew collapsed to the ground, clutching at his heart, gasping.
"Master!" Justin cried out, at once by his Master's side. He glared at Nine. "What did you do?!" he growled, standing in front of his Master to protect him.
Matthew struggled back to his feet, putting a hand on his naïve disciple's shoulder. "Wait. His Highness didn't do anything wrong."
Justin looked at his Master questioningly, his anger bleeding off into confusion.
Nine nodded at him regally, maintaining the chilly room temperatures. The look in her eyes said that if she did not hear what she wanted to; she would very easily be able to end them with a single snap of her fingers.
Behind, unnoticed by the rest of the participants in the room, Nocturne watched Nine work her magic and bring the situation under her control as easy as breathing. Every time, he always felt awe at the way Nine wielded magic so effortlessly. He wondered when he would reach that level himself.
"Thank you," Matthew said, giving gratitude where it was due. Though unsettled, he could not contain the joy that was about to burst out of his chest at finally freeing himself from that damned curse. "What would you like to know? I will answer you to my best ability now that the seal is gone from my magic."
"You are part of the Elves' plans. After sending you to assassinate me, who else did they order you to assassinate as well?"
Matthew sucked in a deep breath, feeling cold. This man was truly terrifying. He had so easily pierced into the heart of the situation and had so easily removed the curse that bound him so tightly to keep his people safe. He opened his mouth to reply.