Not far away.
Hiding around the corner at the end of the corridor, Rennys saw this scene and couldn't help but tremble slightly.
A feeling called fear spread throughout her body.
She thought again of the nightmare from half a year ago, where two groups of people fought a close-quarters battle right before her eyes. Blood, sneers, it was like a silent play replaying repeatedly in her mind.
Then, she would wake up abruptly in the dead of night, drenched in sweat.
But Rennys still held back the urge to scream at this moment. She was smart enough to know that she couldn't make a sound, or something terrible would happen.
The little girl with brown hair curled her small body at the corner at the end of the corridor, covering her mouth with one hand, even her breathing was cautious, and her face was slightly flushed from holding her breath.
And not far away.
A man with dark hair and strange paint smeared across his face jumped into the castle from a stone window.
He was tall and burly, resembling a mountain when he stood. He wore thick leather armor, carried a massive battle axe on his back, and a battered, dented helmet sat crookedly on his head. He also emanated a rather unpleasant odor.
He was the first member of The Brave Company to climb up from below. Despite his size, he was surprisingly agile.
Dragonstone's castle, though on the coast, was built atop a mountain, clinging to the slopes. A volcano that constantly emitted white smoke was not far off.
Climbing up from the stone window required scaling a very high and steep cliff, which was almost impossible for a normal person. Viserys, locked inside the room, had no intention of escaping, as he didn't want to fall to his death.
For these reasons, there weren't many guards stationed here, and tonight was a special situation. The guards were also distracted by the battle at sea.
Therefore, this group of crazed mercenaries seized the opportunity and snuck in.
People who live by the sword are naturally cautious.
The man jumped into the castle, his breathing still slightly heavy, looking like the climb had cost him a lot of energy.
Whew… Whew…
After gasping for breath, the man, who had an axe on his back, turned his head left and right, cautiously observing his surroundings. He listened intently for a moment.
Finding that everything was quiet, and there was no sign of anything unusual, they hadn't been discovered by the guards.
He then raised his hand to his lips and gave a soft whistle.
The sound was very subtle, like a small bird chirping.
The rope connected to the grappling hooks moved again. His companions, who had been waiting below, heard the signal and climbed up one after another.
Then, in Rennys's terrified gaze, she saw seven people climb in through the stone window.
Everyone's attire was different, but they were all generally dressed for concealment. Dark leather armor was covered with tattered black cloth to blend into the night. Longswords hung at their waists, battle axes were on their backs, and longbows were at the ready.
This seven-person mercenary team had a very clear division of labor, even including dedicated archers and shield bearers.
"Hmm?"
At this moment.
One of the men, with his hair wrapped in a black bandana and his face painted with strange oil paint, discovered the doll Rennys had dropped on the ground.
He bent down and picked it up.
"Hey, Landon."
The man was the leader of this mercenary group. He held Rennys' doll, weighed it in his hand, and then looked at the burly man who had come up first, asking, "This looks like a noble lady's toy. Are you sure you didn't see anything when you came up here?"
They were taking this heavily-compensated commission very seriously.
At the same time, they understood how difficult this commission was. If they weren't careful, they'd all die here, having the money but not the chance to spend it.
Of course, the rewards were also astonishing if they succeeded. The final payment would even be enough for them to buy a castle and become nobles themselves, or to transform into legitimate masters by purchasing a dozen ships.
This time, the commission came nominally from a merchant from The Vale, who had contacted them through unknown channels.
However, they didn't believe a single word of what the merchant said. How could an unknown merchant from The Vale be willing to pay such a high price to take the lives of the remaining Targaryens?
They'd almost not believed their ears when the staggering sum was first mentioned, thinking the man was a con artist.
However, the mercenary group only truly believed it when the 'merchant' from The Vale readily produced a bag of gleaming Gold Dragons as a deposit, and told them that the remaining payment would be received once they completed the mission and presented the heads of Leyla and Viserys.
The mercenary group then conducted multiple probes and understood the true owner behind this sum of money: The Iron Throne of Westeros, and the king who had barely warmed his seat, who wanted to completely eradicate the problem and leave no future troubles.
And it seemed there was a hint of the Lannisters involved as well.
Lord Tywin might have sponsored Robert I with a huge sum of money to show his loyalty to the Iron Throne, allowing him to eliminate the remaining Targaryens.
Hearing their leader's words, the burly man named Landon furrowed his brow slightly, looking at the somewhat dirty doll in the other person's hand.
He hadn't actually noticed the small item on the ground, because he was too tall, and his attention was completely focused on potential guards, so he wasn't looking at the ground.
"No."
The burly man with the axe on his back, his face painted with grease, shook his head and firmly denied it.
It wasn't that he was deliberately quibbling; he really hadn't seen anyone when he came up, not even a noble lady.
"Besides, this place looks like where the servants live. How could a lady appear here?"
"Maybe it just fell here by accident."
The guards wouldn't protect people whose status was lower than their servants, so choosing this place as a breach point into the castle was a calculated decision.
After all, professionals do professional things. Their profession was to take money and eliminate disasters for others. Killing, kidnapping – they could do anything as long as they were paid. Their business capabilities were extremely outstanding; otherwise, they wouldn't have been chosen by King Robert's envoys.
"Is that so?"
Hearing his companion's words, the leader's brow relaxed slightly. He then nodded, not taking the matter too seriously.
He was just asking casually.
And at this moment.
Crack—
A faint noise suddenly came from the corner of the hallway not far away.
....
Fully Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Patreon.com/AniFic