Chapter 272: Night Falls

Carleena responded in confusion, "what does it have to do with me? Ivanovszki, I thought the intelligence agents that worked for uncle Witte were under your control. Why is he asking to see Viscount Fyodorov after he woke up and had the breakfast?" She sounded frustrated and angry.

Viscount Fyodorov was the senior brother of Barshac and it was obvious that he had heard about the matter regarding Peter.

"I've checked the situation. It's impossible for Count Witte to meet Viscount Fyodorov just because of the intel, and none of the agents contacted Count Witte secretly. Carleena, there might be a problem with the servants and maids you selected." Ivanovszki denied the allegations and accused Carleena of selecting the wrong people.

Carleena shook her head with confidence in her eyes. "No, their parents and relatives are under my control. They won't leak any information of uncle Witte to the public without my permission. They only talked about the situation of the manor and the snow. Also, they executed all my orders. The agents are the only ones who are allowed to visit uncle Witte. They told the Knights who wanted to visit that uncle Witte needed rest, so the Knights could only send letters or oral messages to him."

No one expected the incident. Carleena and Ivanovszki were at the same position. They were trying to find excuses subconsciously so they could blame each other. No one wanted to take the responsibility.

Ivanovszki remained silent for several minutes and pushed his gold-wired glasses up slightly. "Maybe Count Witte just suddenly had this idea. Anyway, it has become a problem and we should make sure that the Count doesn't leave his legacy to Peter. We need to..." He gripped forward with his right hand and the behavior looked like he was about to break someone's neck.

"Are you crazy? This is the Dry Vine Castle, there are several Grand Knights and more than 20 Knights guarding this place! You'd be burnt at the church's stake if they caught you after!" Carleena spoke in a surprised tone, her pretty eyes were wide open, and she was staring at Ivanovszki as if he was crazy. She could not believe what Ivanovszki just suggested.

The nobles like Viscount Fyodorov that served Count Witte would take turns to guard the Dry Vine Castle with their own Knights in the district of Ural. It was a duty that the Knights had to their lords. When there was no war going on, they needed to serve the lord for two months every year. It was their chance to communicate with other nobles and show their loyalty to the lord.

Ivanovszki pulled his collar slightly, it seemed like his collar was a bit tight.

"We planned to kill Peter but we don't want anyone to notice what we're doing. The problem is, we failed to strike him by surprise. Peter realized what our plan was and reported us to the Church. The situation was bad enough and we shall do what an empire noble would do. It's the simplest method, but it'll be very effective!" He spoke in a cold tone.

"The Grand Knights, Knights, and the Priests in the castle are not a problem. We have Mr. Matvienko, which is a middle-rank sorcerer, and... that one..."

Carleena suddenly calmed down after hearing the word, it almost looked like she never got nervous. She spoke in a worried tone, "Let's just follow your plan if you already made the decision. I just think something is off here. It almost felt like those things happened for no reason."

"Don't worry, Carleena. There's only a dying old man on this floor beside the servants and maids that are already under your control. Although the old man was a Radiant Knight, he already lost his ability and his will. We just need to be careful and he won't notice anything. He didn't do anything when we killed those faithful attendants, right?"

The anger and anxiousness were no longer bothering Ivanovszki. He rubbed his lips and calmed down.

"Also, Peter probably thinks he lives in a safe environment as there are so many Grand Knights and Knights guarding this place. Our chance of assassinating him is high."

Carleena's expression changed several times, and she spoke in a calm tone, "Destroy the body after we kill him. Ask Mianka and Niake to transform into Peter and his housekeeper. They can just leave with the caravan and sneak out on the way. Make sure you send the strongest assassins to kill Peter. I don't want anything like what Mianka did happening again. We spent way too much time on cleaning the mess."

Mianka became the laughing stock of the group after the Winter Bear Incident.

Carleena continued before Ivanovszki responded, "Although Peter tried to hide his Knight-level power with his footwork, I still determined that he was just a normal Knight after checking his heart rate, blood flow, and skin when we were dancing. Peter is a Knight that has high agility and speed. That's why he defeated Mianka with a sword. The problem is that it seems like Peter carries two enchanted long swords and one of them is at the middle-level."

With her keen sense and clear analysis, it almost felt like she was not a normal female noble who spent a lot of time on hunting.

"According to Mianka's description, the sword might be a level three or four magic item. However, a normal Knight has no way to survive a fight against a Grand Knight and a middle-rank sorcerer with just a middle-level magic item. Also, he has a level four or five divine item that will protect him from curses and spells that might kill him instantly, so the Grand Knight should be the assassin and the middle-rank sorcerer needs to make sure the Grand Knights at lower floors don't notice anything."

Ivanovszki stopped for a second and continued, "What did Peter experience at the northern continent? A man that became a Knight not so long ago has such an expensive magic long sword and a divine item? He's probably richer than me! However, they'll be mine after tonight." It sounded like he was jealous of Peter.

Carleena completely calmed down, and there was a seductive smile on her face.

"I'll take the divine item," she chuckled.

They thought that a normal knight like Peter was lucky enough to acquire two magic longswords and a level four or five divine item. He probably had a suit of magic armor at the most. Peter probably found some magic items during an exploration and he sold the items to purchase the gear.

After the discussion, Ivanovszki turned to Matvienko, who was standing on the side with hands on his back, and said, "Mr. Matvienko, please make sure that no one notices our action and prevent Peter from activating any magic item that can help him teleport away."

Ivanovszki respected Matvienko in private as the man was a third circle sorcerer that was good at curses and transformations. Matvienko could ambush and kill other level five classes when they were not prepared, including sorcerers and bishops.

Matvienko nodded with a cold expression on his face. "Sadly, Peter has a divine item with the Death Ward, or I could just kill him with my curses, just like what I did to..."

Ivanovszki smiled. "Mr. Matvienko, I trust you. Also, please make sure you don't stay too far away from me so you can continue to protect me. I'm sure there are people that want me dead."

Ivanovszki knew that his own safety was the most important part, and he was trying to imply that Carleena might be a threat to him, but it sounded like he was not concerned when he talked to Matvienko.

"For sure," Matvienko responded quickly. There was still a sexy smile on Carleena's face. It looked like she did not care.

Ivanovszki clapped his hands after he gave Matvienko the order. "Mr. Petrov, I'm counting on you for the assassination."

A deep voice came from the darkness in the corner, "yes, Mr. Ivanovszki."

Narrowing her eyes, Carleena looked at the corner, but the only thing she could see were the shadows.

"A Darkness Blessing or a Shadow Blessing?" She opened her mouth.

"Dark Blessing, level three," Ivanovszki spat out several words and did not say anything else.

The smile froze on Carleena's attractive face. A level-three Dark Blessing was at the same level as the top-level blessings like the Sun, the Shield of Truth, the Sword of Truth, the Silver Moon, the Vampire, the Devouring Beast, the Destruction Beast, the Devil Duke, and the Demon Lord. One of the nine city lords in the East Haven, Onegin the Dark Sky had the same blessing, and he could fight a level eight Knight with a normal blessing as a level seven Knight.

The power of the blessing was famous for its defensive ability, for example, with the Darkness Blessing, one would be immune to the supernatural effects that could impact his mind and body. The spells and divine spells that had a lower level than the owner of the blessing would do no damage to his body. Also, the owner of the blessing was immune to necromancy and transformations. Physical attacks that involved acid, explosion, or ice, would do absolutely no damage.

Matvienko suddenly disappeared as the night fell.

Ivanovszki sighed slightly, "God the Father bless us."

Carleena was also drawing a strange cross, which was longer in the horizontal direction and shorter in the veritical direction, in front of her chest. "God the Father bless us."

...

In the guest room of the Dry Vine Castle.

Leo felt unsettled and anxious. "Master, the invitation from Count Witte probably interrupted Ivanovszki plan. It's highly likely that Ivanovszki will try to solve the problem with a simple but effective way. Please be extra cautious after you leave the castle tomorrow.

Leo had served Ivanovszki as an assistant for about ten years and he knew the man well. However, Leo thought that Ivanovszki would attack them after they left the castle. The castle was owned by a Radiant Knight, Count Witte, and there were also many Loyal Grand Knights and Knights guarding the place.

"Leo, I understand and thank you for the information. You can go rest now."

The smile disappeared from Lucien's face after Leo fell asleep in his room. Narrowing his eyes, he knew something was about to happen as he dropped a teacup accidentally just a while ago.

It was a warning from the Host Star and it was the power of the star, also, it seemed like no one interrupted the Host Star's power.

"An enemy that is stronger than me or a mysterious spell? Will they take the risk and try to attack us tonight?" Lucien did not use the astrology as he did not want to alert the knights in the castle. He checked his psychological blind points and had several thoughts in mind.

"Anyway, I should stay alert tonight." It was a simple but effective decision that he made without thinking for too long.

...

It was dark at night and the darkness in Lucien's room was dancing like it was alive.