Roy pulled his sword away from Swift Death after getting what he wanted.
The assassin breathed out in relief, but wariness was still present in his eyes.
"Oh, I see."
A thoughtful look appeared on Roy's face as he said that.
Roy had made the mistake of judging the people of this world with the mentality of an Earthling. Rose was much worse than the average, for she treated people as either useful tools or useless waste. Her official fiance was of the most troublesome second type.
AD
She wanted to marry the Son of Achlys, but she was officially engaged to him, meaning he, a useless waste, could kick up a fuss at her wedding, ruining her love life with her love and glorious future as the daughter-in-law of the Achlys.
There were only two ways for this engagement to be officially dissolved.
The first was, of course, both parties signing the dissolution of the betrothed contract, which was still to happen.
The impatient lass thus chose the second method, which was to take out Roy from her life.
Once he was dead, this engagement would be automatically officially annulled, no question asked. And she would get together with her lover without a hick.
There was no problem with this plan of her.
She had seen how much the count hated this son of his; even if he died, she wouldn't be held responsible.
AD
At most, the assassin who killed him would be wanted by the empire and gain a bounty for his head.
Thus, she shamelessly hired a bronze-grade hitman to kill him.
But she miscalculated. Roy wasn't as weak as she thought.
The assassin she hired could kill a thousand people without breaking a sweat, but he was no match for a Mythical Body Tempering trainee.
"That dirty bitch… she is shrewd like a witch."
Roy cursed Rose Charlotte loudly, turned to the silent assassin, and spoke.
"Do you've any proof of your deal with Rose?"
Swift Death replied, "I do have one. It's…"
He lowered his head without completing the damn sentence.
He got on Roy's nerves.
"Where is it?"
Roy asked the assassin gently.
AD
But he refused to speak.
"Ow!"
Swift Death's face was raised by a hand grabbing a handful of his long hair and giving it a harsh tug.
Then, a pair of eyes that were running dry of patience as well as a life-reaping sword reflected in the assassin's eyes.
"Speak… this… instant if you value your life!"
"It's in my breast pocket!"
Roy's threat worked wonders, for the assassin yelped out just what he wanted to hear.
"Don't touch me."
Swift Death yelled as Roy's hands went for his flat chest.
Roy beamed at him disturbingly. "Oh, I will be doing more than just touching."
"HYAAA?! Wha-what are you doing?"
"Looting you."
"What… what are you, a thug?"
"How can you compare the likes of this lord to a thug? I'm… far worse!" Roy proudly exclaimed.
It was at this moment that the bashful assassin realized this man was unlike honorable Knights and didn't mind being disturbingly shameless when dealing with the likes of him.
Roy's hand wandered over his body. If he were a girl, this would be molesting. Thankfully, he wasn't.
AD
"You sure have a lot of good things. Man, you made me rich in minutes!" Roy said while looking at the assassin that was only left with white trousers and pants. Even his bronze-grade medallion wasn't spared. Roy was planning to pawn it to earn a few silver.
Swift Death glared at Roy with a face as red as a ripe tomato. Maybe he was super angry? "You're shameless."
Roy glared back and retorted, "And you squirm like a little girl when touched by a man."
"Fuck you… I am a gi-" Swift Death said under his breath.
"What did you say?" Roy asked as he thought he heard something.
Swift Death replied, "Nothing…" then lowered his steaming head.
The next instant, his chin was grabbed. Roy raised his gorgeous face.
Their eyes met.
And then… Swift Death heard a threat.
AD
"Tell me… now that you are no longer of use to me, should I dispose of you or spare you?" Roy asked the assassin, whose eyes wandered away.
A thoughtful silence later, Swift Death gave him a reply.
"Spare me. If you do, I will tell you the location of a noble regalia. You know how valuable they are. Obtaining it would definitely be helpful."
Regalia was a fancy name used to describe runic items that were passed down from the older generation to the newer.
A noble regalia was the main heirloom of a noble family.
Roy didn't know what one was doing with a mere assassin.
But… he didn't care.
This was a lucky catch.
He had to take it for himself.
Swift Death didn't get a nod of agreement in return.
He only saw Roy's hand going for his.
Then, his wrist was grabbed and raised, showing the bracelet.
Pointing at it, Roy teasingly said, "You mean this?"
『Magic Nullifier: Clear and protect the user from all debuff and curses. Negates information gauging. Conceal the user's gender.』
『Ding! Congratulation. Your Perception Skill has advanced to the second level. It's affected by your Perception stat. You can now successfully inspect people 15 levels above you. Special techniques and items might cause it to fail.』
AD
『Perception level 2: Gain the target's stats and background, whether you know them or not.』
With eyes widened in shock, Swift Death gaped at him. "You… how did you find out?"
"I have my ways…."
"It's too good for you to keep. So I will take it." Roy said as he yanked it off the assassin's arm.
"No!" The assassin yelled, but his resistance was futile.
Roy took the bracelet off.
Then he saw a scene that couldn't be unseen.
This view was so magical that not only did his eyes widen, but his entire body also froze.
The adam apple of Swift Death vanished, giving rise to a swan-like neck, and this person's pretty eyes became crimson red, looking like mesmerizing rubies.
The shape of the sharp eyes also changed.
AD
They now looked like peach blossoms, feminine but also seductive.
One could lose themselves in those
Swift Death's cheeks gained a natural pink flush, and this person's chest that was as flat as a barren land without any crops suddenly grew two melons.
The cool assassin Roy knew was no more.
Kneeling before him, there was only an immobilized gorgeous maiden with fair and smooth skin that could be compared to a femme fatale.
Her dazzling beauty stunned Roy to a state of stillness.
Her big round eyes gleamed with anger, but they were so pretty that they only aroused pity in the man's heart.
"You… you're a girl?" Roy exclaimed out of shock.
"No!"
Swift Death yelled back.
AD
But Roy only heard a sweet and melodious sound of a girl coursing through his ears.
"The cat is already out of the bag. Lady… There's no use denying." Roy said.
The pretty assassin bit her lips.
And so… Roy found out that the person he had beaten to a pulp, threatened multiple times, and touched all over wasn't a man but a woman who had disguised herself as one by using the Noble Regalia, Magic Nullifier!