__________ POV Ashton__________
The scene is progressing about as well as expected. Kurapika returned alongside a tired Momoze.
He looked at me with a smile. The plan was a success. At least this part of it, now it's time to see what exactly it will achieve.
Will the king die? Or will he somehow survive that guard's attack? I hope the attack happens tonight, but it could also happen tomorrow.
As I said, I don't like playing dice. So I might have to tamper with the results a bit. I may have a plan for that. The infected guards are disposable after all.
The Guard Captain is the one that chooses the ones to watch over the king for those three hours. And, tonight, one of the people he chose might be late.
Therefore, 'he' will send a replacement for him, which happens to be one of the infected guards.
How exactly I will achieve this? Well, I will nab one of the guards whilst they are going to the King's room.
Then I will use the Tricksters Bag and disguise myself as the Captain, after which I will pick one of the infected guards.
But would this be tampering too much with Momoze's plan? Well not really. Her plan would still happen regardless of what I do, I just want it to happen faster.
Kurapika explained the details of their mission. They managed to infect a total of 11 guards. I asked for the description of a few of them, just to have backups.
Kurapika seemed surprised at my query, but he still answered. Giving me the appearance of a few of them.
"Ashton... Why do you need this information now?" Asked Momoze, she became a bit curious after hearing my conversation with Kurapika.
"Well, Princess~" She pouted a bit when I called her that. " I want the assassination to happen tonight, I will make sure that an infected guard reaches the king's room tonight."
My smile seemed to annoy her a bit. But why is she annoyed?
"Why didn't you say that you were going to do that? We didn't need to harm and infect so many guards?!" Great, now we have a morality issue. Kurapika just sighed, he can probably guess why I did it.
I already told him about my desire to make Momoze more self-reliant.
"I wanted your plan to have a proper chance of happening. If you knowingly rely on me for too many things your planning might get a bit sloppy." I said in an even tone.
She looked displeased by my reasoning. She clenched her little fists. "I-I was hoping to not harm too many people from my own country... Couldn't you have just... Killed my father?" She's quite foolish.
"What do you think this assassination is for? You need to learn how to do this yourself... I already helped you a lot." That was all I said. If she can't come up with her own answer to this simple question then I won't waste my time on her anymore.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh, but this girl needs to learn more. Being kind is a nice trait to have. But she needs to learn when to be kind and when to be ruthless.
This entire Succession War has already taken a lot more lives than this assassination attempt will. The guard doing it and the King will die, that's it.
Yet, here she is, complaining at having hurt some of the Royal Guards. Kurapika seems to be getting a bit uncomfortable watching my squabble with Momoze.
I feel a bit bad for him, he also did his best tonight. He even learned a new Hatsu to prepare for it.
Even if I am a decent teacher, one should keep his talent in mind. He is probably as talented as that Killua kid. At least in Nen.
Momoze looked down, not wanting to meet my gaze. "I-I understand... Sorry..." Well, now she's upset with me. But I only want her to be ready...
I have somewhere to go, I won't always be here for her.
I don't think I'll be returning to this room tonight... A bit of a shame, but I doubt she'd even want me near her at this point.
At least now I can confidently say that her judgement is no longer clouded by our first meeting. And the fake image she has built of me.
It's better this way for her. I am not exactly the prime example of a human being, I am by no means ready for any type of commitment.
Protecting others physically might be easy, but I am not great with my own emotions.
I will leave my bed here, I don't really care for it anyway, I have a few more in my void space anyway.
"I'll be heading out now... The king must be going to sleep by now." I said as I left the room. Momoze didn't say anything back and Kurapika didn't really know what to do.
He ended up following me for now. He likely wants to say something to me.
After we were a certain distance from any room, he started speaking.
"So... Are you certain this was the right thing to do?" Well... I wasn't expecting that from him. I thought he'd be more concentrated on the Troupe.
"Who knows... But I will make sure she's at least safe... I've put a mark on her, it will allow me to know when she's in danger..." I said with a small smile.
Kurapika didn't really look convinced. I guess I did seem happy with her in the last few days...
But, at the end of the day... I don't think she would have such a positive opinion of me if she knew what type of person I truly am. Especially if she got so upset at me letting one person die...
She just fell in love with a character I played as. And I can't keep up a facade for far too long, it gets tiring.
It's strange how I don't feel like lying to Kurapika at all. He may really be my friend now... But then again... This is also a friendship built on a lie...
But that doesn't matter, I will make sure at least he is happy. A lie is sometimes everything someone needs to keep going with their life and to get over a tragedy...
Eventually, Kurapika asked about the Troupe though.
"Are you sure they acted tonight?" I told him of my plan, as it also concerns him.
"About 80%. It's the last chance they've got. And, even if they didn't, I will still pin this on them." I said with a smile.
"I see..." He said, probably thinking of ways the Troupe could get out of this situation. He seems to be quite tense...
"I'll head over and make sure the proper guard's been chosen, you should get some rest for now." My smile seemed to relax him quite a bit.
"Alright.." He released a sigh."You also shouldn't overdo it..." He said as he started walking away.
I didn't waste much time. Turning invisible and heading for the guard quarters.
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