A waning moon hid behind thick clouds in the dark night, as if mourning the tragedy that had unfolded in the city last night.
Rita stepped lightly on the mottled moonlight, walking alone down the street.
The patrolling soldiers recognized Rita, which was why she could move unhindered through the night.
This privilege was earned last night when she fought side by side with the soldiers.
Although Rita could see almost everything clearly in the dark, to avoid arousing suspicion, she still held a torch.
Following the address on the note, Rita arrived in front of a lonely little warehouse.
By the torchlight, Rita examined the warehouse door.
The door was weathered and dilapidated, eerie like the secret base in gangster films where betrayals are dealt with.
The rust patches immediately told Rita this place had been abandoned for who knows how long.
Rita reached out to push it.
The nearly rusted-shut hinge groaned like a patient in pain but showed no sign of opening.
Suddenly, a head poked out from the shattered window of the warehouse.
Rita shifted the torchlight and illuminated the face of Klos, who was peering out of the window.
“Lady Rita!” Klos’s haggard face immediately brightened with joy. He clumsily climbed out of the window, tumbled to the ground, dusted himself off, and ran toward her. “You actually came.”
Looking at that face, Rita’s expression remained unchanged.
She only nodded and asked, “What happened? Why did you come to me?”
“Because, because I have no one else to turn to!” Klos sniffled and then burst into tears, covering his mouth as if afraid others might hear. “You—you already know everything, right?”
“Know what?” Rita tilted her head slightly.
“Yesterday, so much happened in the city. You must know… You even led the team yourself, went to the shop… and took everyone away… sob… sob sob.” Klos kept sobbing.
Just from Klos’s few words, Rita already understood he was ready to lay everything bare.
Such a huge incident had led to the whole city being on lockdown, the tunnels sealed off by soldiers, and Klos, now homeless, had nowhere to hide.
“I will tell you the truth, everything. As long as you let me escape, these truths will earn you great merit—a major achievement! It will save you a lot of investigation time! I just don’t want to die!”
Klos cried even harder.
“There are soldiers everywhere. I can only hide here. Sooner or later, I’ll be caught. If I’m caught, I will definitely be executed, no doubt about it. I can’t get past the city gate, I have no way to escape! Only you can help me! Only you! I’ll tell you everything first, no conditions! After you hear it, please, I beg you, help me get out!”
Listening to Klos’s incoherent mix of sobbing and pleading, Rita was silent for a while before speaking in the gentlest tone she could muster:
“Start from the beginning.”
Klos’s face lit up like he had been pardoned: “Okay! Okay! It was the Lady! The one who raised the henchmen, who assassinated the princess—it was the Lady!” Rita’s memory wasn’t that poor. She had heard this name in the black market just a few days ago. “The Queen of the Underground World?”
“Yes! That’s her. She wants to become the true ruler of Solus City, so she tried to kill the princess, force the current lord to abdicate, and conspire with the demon tribe to cause chaos. You must have already discovered a lot, right? You know I’m not lying, don’t you? She was scared you would uncover things you shouldn’t when you investigated the black market and went to her shop. I was unaware of it, so she sent me against you!”
In truth, Rita knew nothing, but since Klos said so, it was better not to expose it.
“Calm down and tell me everything slowly.”
Between sobs, Klos recounted the whole story—how the Lady had planned to ambush the princess on day one, how she borrowed demon hounds from the Succubus and Siren, how they plotted against Rita, how he was sent to get close to Rita, and what happened last night until the Siren was burned alive and the Succubus disappeared without a trace.
Huh? That demon hound whose neck Rita had casually snapped? That was this guy’s doing?
If not for that creature, Rita might have escaped long ago.
It seemed she had unintentionally saved Cecilia once again.
“Who exactly is this Lady?” Rita asked.
“She’s Solus City’s richest merchant. Many officials are in her pocket. She controls a vast underground empire, protected by both government and business interests. No one dares touch her.”
“So she discarded you?”
“No, no. She didn’t abandon me.” Klos’s eyes suddenly filled with fear as he tightly hugged himself, trembling—just like when Rita had asked if he’d ever seen the demon tribe. “She’s dead.”
Dead?
Even Rita knew blaming the dead was a convenient way to shirk all responsibility.
It made her doubt Klos’s story.
“Y-you have to believe me! Everything I said is true! I wouldn’t lie to you! If you don’t believe me, check for yourself!” Klos hurriedly defended himself.
But his fearful expression never waned.
It was unrealistic to pass judgment without evidence, so Rita set the question aside and asked: “How did she die?”
“Suicide. At least on the surface.”
Rita recalled seeing a corpse in the tunnels yesterday, dressed lavishly and out of place among the vagrants, holding a dagger—the very one that slit her throat.
It was that fat woman.
Last night, everyone was wondering why such a richly dressed corpse would commit suicide among the homeless.
“But it was the demon tribe! If she caught me, I’d be dead too!”
Today’s Rita was no longer the helpless one from yesterday.
She asked carefully, “What color was that Succubus’s hair?”
“Black! Black!”
That was the truth.
If Klos had said pink like everyone else, Rita would have been suspicious.
So far, everything fit the pieces Rita knew—except for the suspicion of foul play in Lady Mel’s death.
If it was a conspiracy, clues would be hidden in what the other party demanded, so Rita asked again: “So you want me to help you escape? I don’t have that kind of power.”
“No, you can! I’ve heard this round of the exam requires traveling to the Border. If you can bring me along with the main forces, I can take the chance to leave the city. I’ve told you everything I can. I don’t want to die with the Lady. I was forced into this.”
Indeed, if Klos’s story was true, he was a pitiable soul—and Rita might be able to help.
But unfortunately, Rita really couldn’t do that.
She was able to come here openly and without hindrance only because Cecilia had given permission.
Earlier that day.
“Went on a date with someone, got tricked, and when I ran out, everything outside was chaos. Rita, your day sure is eventful.”
Cecilia was calmly scrutinizing the Letter Klos had written to Rita, eyeing Rita up and down.
Her serene sarcasm made Rita’s skin crawl.
It felt like someone had shown the teacher your love letter—there was a strange sense of guilt, but who knew if it was a genuine confession or just a prank?
Having the teacher know about the letter might mean losing a tender romance, but at least it would prevent being fooled by a wicked woman.
Rita had told Cecilia everything that happened yesterday, with a small change at the end.
She claimed she caught Klos trying to drug her but kept it quiet.
After all, the outcome was the same and logically consistent.
“Forget it, a lesson learned. We can talk about yesterday another time. Let’s discuss this Letter first.” Cecilia put the paper aside and looked at Rita intently. “What do you think?”
“I think since the other party is connected to the Succubus and all these events, this might be a breakthrough. Maybe she can provide clues.” Rita voiced her honest thoughts.
“But it could be a trap,” Cecilia warned.
“That’s true, and she might give me false leads I can’t tell apart,” Rita thought for a moment. “But I think the chance of a trap is low. The enemy is already in full retreat. Even if they want to regroup, it won’t be so soon. Besides, targeting me now makes little sense.”
Rita didn’t mention one thing: as a Succubus herself, ordinary traps couldn’t touch her.
After yesterday, Rita had come to realize something.
Though she felt little affection for Cecilia, Cecilia’s kindness was genuine.
Rita didn’t want her current life to change, so staying close to Cecilia also protected her identity.
With the city in chaos, it was best to keep a low profile before the Preliminary Exam ended.
Not only should she stay quiet, but during this time she must fully support Cecilia.
After the Preliminary Exam, she could disappear with a large sum of money to the capital for the Final Exam, then buy a small villa and store some reserves.
“So, I think the best plan is to go there and act according to the situation. Ideally, bring her back. I can protect myself.”
Rita not only wanted to go, but also wanted to see what tricks the other party was hiding and give them a good lesson.
As the saying goes, “Return good for evil; with what should one repay goodness?”
“Alright, then,” Cecilia agreed at once. “Be careful. If you want more people, discuss with Angus. I’ll help you negotiate.”
Rita neither needed nor dared to bring others.
Having more people would only restrain her.
“No, it’s better if I go alone.”
Cecilia did not insist.
Rita’s strength in the arena had surpassed most soldiers; finding anyone in the city who could easily beat her was no easy task.
“Alright, where’s your record stone?”
“It’s with me.” Rita pulled the stone carved with her name from her pocket.
“Leave it with me.” Cecilia tapped the table lightly.
Rita nodded and did as told.
Before Rita left, Cecilia called after her.
“Rita, I want to know why you came to me first with this.”
Rita scratched her head: “Maybe because, compared to others, I still trust Lady Cecilia more.”