[Several Hours Earlier] (Mason's P.O.V)
In a cold dark room, a shirtless man was chained up against the wall. This man was the former head doctor, Mason Archivo.
"Erg..." Mason groaned.
After being knocked unconscious by Blue, Mason slowly began to wake up.
"Ugh... What the hell?" Mason murmured.
After realizing he was chained up, Mason looked around to find out where he was. It was then that he heard the sounds of someone screaming from the distance.
"AHHHHHH!!!!" someone screamed.
*Splash!*
The screaming instantly stopped after the sound of water splashing was heard.
"Wait a second..." said Mason. "I remember now... This place is..."
Mason's face turned completely pale after realizing where he was.
"T-This is Estrella's playground!" Mason shouted internally.
After realizing where he was, he attempted to break free from his shackles by pulling them in a desperate attempt to escape the room.
As he struggled, he heard a woman's voice from the distance.
"Oh my, did he finally wake up?" she said.
Mason then heard footsteps slowly approaching him and out of desperation, he attempted to break his thumb to free himself from his shackles. It
"Erg!" Mason groaned in pain.
I have to escape from this place! Who knows what that psychopath would do to me!
Crack!
Mason managed to successfully free his left hand at the cost of his thumb, however, just as he was about to free his right hand, the door opened.
"Good evening, Mason," said Estrella.
A woman wearing a wooden sad face mask and a white coat entered the room.
Just as she entered, Mason managed to free his right hand and immediately tried to lunge at Estrella, however, as soon as he tried to charge at her, he fell.
"Why?!" he shouted. "This is the worst time for my legs to give up on me!"
At this sight, Estrella smirked behind her mask.
"Having a hard time standing up?" Estrella asked as she pointed at something behind him.
He turned around and looked at his legs and to his horrors, one of them was amputated and bandaged.
"Ah... Ahh..." (Mason)
Mason was in too much shock to scream.
"Last time, someone escaped from his shackles and tackled me," said Estrella as she rubbed her stomach. "I learned from my mistakes."
She then approached Mason and crouched in front of him.
"I have some questions to ask you. Hey, listen to me," said Estrella as she slapped Mason's face.
Mason finally managed to calm down.
"W-what?" he asked.
"Ha... I have some questions to ask you. If you're honest with me, I'll make sure to end this painlessly," said Estrella.
"Is this about the potions?" Mason wondered. "I don't know anything. Even if you ask me, I don't have any answers to give you."
"Uh-Huh. That's what they all say," said Estrella as she looked for something in her bag.
"Just let me go." Mason cried. "I don't know anything... Honest!"
Mason began to weep, much to Estrella's surprise.
"Oh my... I didn't even start my little game yet, why are you already crying?" Estrella asked. "At least you didn't soil yourself. That would be unsanitary."
Estrella pulled out a jar containing a small worm.
"What is that?!" Mason shouted.
"Fufufu... Just relax," said Estrella.
She then pulled out a long nail and a hammer as she laughed.
"People can keep secrets for a long time. However, not forever as long as someone else is aware of the secret and wants to know what it is," said Estrella.
Mason lost his composure and began to panic.
"HELP! SOMEBODY!" Mason screamed.
Mason attempted to crawl away from her, however, she calmly walked towards him with the nail and hammer.
"This is going to be fun..." she chuckled.
🔸🔸🔸
[Hours Later] (Starian Castle)
After everyone left, Henry read Estrella's report.
"I wonder what did she do to make Mason admit his crimes?" Seo-Yeon murmured.
"I'm not sure what methods she used but I do know that it's effective enough for my father to let her work for him for years without killing her," said Henry as he read the report.
"Let's hope that her interrogation works on the assassin as well," said Seo-Yeon.
"Aye," said Henry after putting the report on the table.
He then began to pick up Boris Combate's letter and began to read it.
"What does it say?" Seo-Yeon asked.
Henry looked at the paper with a stern expression.
"What's wrong?" Seo-Yeon worryingly asked.
"Boris seems to be in trouble..." Henry murmured.
"What?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"He's requesting reinforcements and more supplies," said Henry.
"Was he unable to capture the Marquis with 18,000 men?" Seo-Yeon asked. "That is not a small number."
"According to the report, some of my father's remaining men regrouped, and joined Marquis Diem by attacking Boris at the plain fields from behind," Henry replied.
The report surprised Seo-Yeon.
"What?! Is Boris alright?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"He's unharmed but he was forced to retreat to Fort Lectas," Henry answered.
"How many men does the Marquis have now?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"He didn't say anything about their exact numbers but perhaps a few thousand since they were able to repel Boris' army," said Henry.
"Maybe we shouldn't have ended the meeting so early," Seo-Yeon mumbled.
Before Henry could reply, a guard hastily swung open the door.
"Forgive me, your Majesty and Highness but the assassin escaped!" the guard shouted.
"What?!" Henry shouted back.
"Somebody set him free! His shackles were unlocked and the people guarding him were unconscious!" the guard explained. "The assassin also stole one of the unconscious guards' armor."
"Did he escape the castle?" Seo-Yeo asked.
"No, your highness! We locked down every part of the castle except for the library and the meeting room! We were sent here to protect his Majesty and her Highness by Great General Blue!" said the guard.
"Where's Dunha?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"The princess is in the library..."
Before the guard could finish his sentence, Seo-Yeon instantly rushed past him and headed straight to the library.
"Where is Blue and the others?" Henry asked.
"Great General Blue ordered us to protect his Majesty and her Highness before heading to cellars to find out what happened," the guard answered.
From a distance, the sounds of people shouting were heard in the direction where the library was at.
"Follow me," said Henry.
"Understood!" the guards replied.
Henry rushed towards the library and saw Seo-Yeon along with Dunha's guards standing in front of the doors that led to the library.
"Why aren't you entering?" Henry asked.
"The doors are blocked from the other side! This guard that we never have seen before just entered the room attacked Misha, and locked the doors!" one of Dunha's guards shouted as he attempted to kick down the doors.
Henry and Seo-Yeon then heard the sounds of glass shattering from the other side which caused Seo-Yeon to panic.
"Dunha's in there!" Seo-Yeon shouted.
Suddenly, Blue's voice was heard from across the hallway.
"Out of the way!" Blue shouted as he charged at the doors.
Blue returned from the cellars and charged straight at the doors while the guards moved to the sides to dodge him.
*BOOM!*
The doors were forcibly opened with a single slam and which revealed that a fallen bookshelf was the reason why the doors weren't opening.
Blue and the guards came rushing into the room and were shocked at the scene.
Lily was laying on the ground, unconscious, while the assassin stood in front of Dunha with a bloody dagger while a similar dagger was stuck in his leg.
Dunha was also on the floor, however, unlike Lily who was simply unconscious, Dunha was on the ground with a small pool of blood around her waist and head while her entire body was soaked with water.
The guards were frozen at the scene while Blue looked at Dunha with his eyes wide open. He immediately rushed at the man but it was too late.
The assassin turned around and smiled as widely as he could. He then politely bowed before stabbing Dunha in the neck.
(To Be Continued)
2020/07/21