Chapter 24: Heaven and Reality

The light in the guest room gradually faded.

The sunset outside the window sank below the horizon, leaving only a dark, residual glow across the sky.

Ailiya had just placed the wrung-out linen towel on Garick’s forehead, then quietly leaned against the window.

Although that abrupt feeling of being watched had disappeared, she knew very well that tonight was destined to be turbulent.

At this moment, the only people in the spacious guest room were Ailiya and Garick, who lay on the bed.

Having been unconscious for some time, he finally struggled to open his eyes.

Through the dim candlelight in the room and the sunset spilling in from the window, he vaguely saw a silhouette standing against the light.

Her short, silvery-white hair had a soft halo under the twilight, and her slender figure was dressed in a maid outfit with white lace trim, standing silently with her back to him.

“An angel…”

His cracked lips moved slightly, uttering an exclamation of sudden detachment.

“This holy radiance… this beautiful figure…”

“So, this is the legendary heaven? I never expected that someone like me, who has cut down so many people in my life, wouldn’t go to hell after death, and would instead be greeted by such a beautiful angel… it was worth it.”

Hearing these absurd remarks, Ailiya, who was leaning against the window, paused slightly.

She turned her head, her calm gaze falling upon the heavily injured patient who began spouting nonsense the moment he woke up, looking at him as if he were some kind of golden-furred creature.

“Interrupting your last rites, sir.”

“This is a guest room at the Kastian manor, you are not dead yet, so you need not rush to confess to the gods.”

“Furthermore, allow me to introduce myself. I am the newly appointed head maid of this manor, Ailiya.”

“And as a person, I truly dislike being called a ‘young lady’ in that tone.”

“Please do not use such a frivolous address, otherwise, I might not be able to help but show you a few more angels.”

These few sentences, wrapped in polite language but dripping with sarcasm, immediately woke Garick up significantly.

As his consciousness returned, the tearing, intense pain in his chest and abdomen surged like a tide, making him gasp with a sharp intake of breath.

It hurt, which meant he really wasn’t dead.

After confirming he was still alive, the detached look on Garick’s face vanished instantly, and his sense of responsibility as the captain of the guard took the lead.

“Young Miss… no, where is Lady Elsa?!” Garick gasped urgently, his voice hoarse, “I was attacked… I must report the situation immediately! Go call her!”

“Madame is not in the manor.” Ailiya walked to the table, picked up a glass of water, and held it to his lips, “You were struck by high-level shadow poison. Ordinary potions cannot eradicate it, so she went personally to the City Center Church to invite a cleric to treat you.”

Upon hearing this, Garick’s eyes turned red. “She went to the church? No… I can’t wait that long. Those guys definitely won’t let this go…” As he spoke, he gritted his teeth, bracing himself to try and roll off the bed.

However, just as he propped up half his body, a slender, fair hand pressed down on his shoulder.

“You need to rest now.” Ailiya said coldly.

“Move aside, girl! You don’t understand, this concerns the safety of the manor, I must…”

Garick had completely disregarded this seemingly delicate maid, attempting to shake off her hand.

But he immediately realized something was wrong.

Thud!

With a dull thud, the solid wood bed frame creaked.

Garick widened his eyes, staring at the silver-haired girl in front of him as if he had seen a ghost.

What the hell kind of ghostly strength was this?! He was a Tier 1 veteran warrior, at the very least.

Even if he was severely injured and weak, he shouldn’t be unable to move under the pressure of a maid’s single hand!

“Don’t waste your effort.”

Ailiya looked down at him from above, her tone brooking no argument.

“You are going to lie here quietly and wait for Madame to bring someone back to cure you.”

“If you move around forcibly now, causing your wounds to burst and the poison to accelerate its spread, not only will you be unable to report the information, but you will also stain the sheets I just finished laundering.”

She lowered her head slightly, her icy blue eyes harboring a hint of a warning: “If you move about on your own again, I don’t mind putting you to sleep physically.”

He swallowed a very difficult gulp.

Looking at Ailiya’s emotionless eyes, he did not doubt that this woman who claimed to be the head maid would absolutely do what she said.

“Fine… you win…”

Garick completely gave up struggling and slumped on the bed like a dehydrated fish.

Seeing that he had quieted down, Ailiya pulled over a chair and sat by the bed, crossing her legs with her hands placed naturally on her knees.

“Since you are in good enough spirits now, why not tell me what exactly you encountered outside?”

Ailiya’s tone was all business, “Of course, if this involves family secrets, you may choose not to speak to avoid suspicion.”

Garick let out a bitter laugh, his gaze gradually dimming, revealing a hint of deep, lingering fear.

“What suspicion is there to avoid…”

“When we were returning, we were suddenly attacked while passing through a canyon. At first, it was a group of stone gargoyles.”

“There were seven or eight of them, as if they had been lying in ambush, suddenly diving down from the sky.”

“Stone gargoyles?” Ailiya raised an eyebrow.

These things usually existed as familiars for high-level mages or certain secret factions and rarely actively attacked human caravans in the wild.

“Yes, those beasts have thick hides. My brothers managed to hold off their attacks with great difficulty, and at first, we all thought it was just bad luck.”

Garick gritted his teeth, his fists gripping the sheets tightly.

“But… those stone gargoyles were just bait, a diversionary tactic meant to disrupt our formation and block our line of sight!”

He paused, a flicker of irrepressible fear flashing in his eyes.

“The real killing blow came from very far away. I couldn’t even see where the enemy was, there wasn’t even a trace of magical incantation.”

“Then… a flash of light completely ignored my defenses and instantly tore through my heavy half-plate armor.”

Garick’s fingertips couldn’t help but tremble.

“If it weren’t for those few brothers covering me with their lives, blocking those diving stone gargoyles and dragging me onto the carriage to flee… I would have never made it back alive…”

Speaking of this, Garick’s eyes turned red, and his voice choked, “But… but to cover me, three good brothers were lost, left behind in that canyon forever…”

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Ailiya sat quietly on the chair, having finished listening to Garick’s account.

Her fingers tapped lightly on the wooden armrest of the chair, quickly connecting all the information together.

A gargoyle ambush to create chaos, a long-range silent precision attack, and armor-piercing damage laced with high-level shadow poison.

This was definitely not just some common robbery, but a long-planned, precise assassination attempt against the Kastian clan.

More importantly, after the ambush was successful, the opponent did not choose to pursue and finish them off, but instead let Garick and the others escape back to the manor.

This was too abnormal.

Combined with the secret feeling of being watched she had perceived earlier, Ailiya already had a clear inference in her mind.

This was just a diversionary tactic.

By planting the difficult toxin in Garick, they forced Lady Elsa to leave the manor in search of a high-level healer.

The true target had always been to strike within the Kastian manor while the defenses were thin.

Furthermore, the enemy’s strength and the means they possessed far exceeded the standard level.

All these characteristics pointed to one particular profession.

A Shadow Gunner, or an assassin skilled in high-level arts of slaughter.