Harem System In A fantasy World

"You realize the duke will not be pleased."

"The duke’s feelings are irrelevant."

"He paid a considerable deposit."

"Which will be returned."

Cain tapped his fingers against the table.

"That simple?"

"No," Vivian replied. "But it is not our concern."

The contract had originally passed through one of the guild’s lesser branches. At the time, Elion had merely appeared to be an unusually talented student who had somehow offended Duke Dawncrest deeply enough to warrant assassination.

No one within that branch had known the master had already taken an interest in him.

By the time the information reached the higher ranks, several assassins had already been assigned to terminate Elion, though none had yet completed the mission.

The master’s order had brought the entire operation to an abrupt end.

Cain gave Vivian a doubtful look. However, his attention was suddenly drawn towards a robed woman walking along the street beside their table.

His head snapped in her direction, but the brief moment was only enough for him to catch a glimpse of her face before her back was completely turned towards him.

’Hmm...’

Why did she look so familiar?

The hood of her cloak prevented him from seeing much of her features, but the long black hair looked like a length he had seen somewhere before, though the color was out of place.

The same could be said for her figure and measurements.

Cain rarely, if ever, forgot a woman’s measurements once he had committed them to memory.

It was one of his more unfortunate fetishes.

After searching through the vast library of measurements belonging to women who had caught his interest, it took him only a moment to identify her.

"Zenovia?" he muttered.

His words immediately caught Vivian’s attention. "What did you say?"

"That beastwoman walking down the street," Cain replied. "That is Zenovia."

Vivian frowned.

"Are you certain? She was reported missing after every attempt to locate her, and those fools who went hunting for her ended in failure."

Cain nodded and rose to his feet, extinguishing the remains of his cigar before trapping the stub in his fist.

"Come. Let us follow her."

Vivian sighed, dropped a few copper coins onto the table, and followed Cain, who had already begun tailing the cloaked woman while concealing his presence.

Vivian had never personally met this Zenovia, but she could not help thinking that what had happened to her was a pity.

She had been known as one of the organization’s most talented rising assassins, having been raised within the guild from a young age after being taken in as an orphan.

Unfortunately, the Assassins Guild was unlike most other organizations. It did not bother coddling its talents, no matter how much potential they possessed, and its halls were filled with starving wolves waiting to take advantage of the slightest weakness.

The fate of most women who joined the Assassins Guild was rarely pleasant, especially for beauties like Zenovia.

Vivian would know.

Had her uncle not been one of Death’s Blades, perhaps she would have spent most of her days warming the beds of higher-ranked assassins.

The world was a cruel place, and it was even crueler to beautiful women.

All people ever seemed to want from them were their bodies, whether to satisfy their pleasures or feed their egos.

Her eyes glinted sharply as she blended into the crowd, walking several feet away from Cain so the cloaked woman would not realize they were following her together.

If Vivian had her way, she would go around castrating lecherous bastards like Cain.

The fact that he had only lost a finger after daring to touch her that one time was proof that she had been merciful.

She did not believe that someone said to be as talented and meticulous as Zenovia would fail a simple mission to assassinate a corrupt noble.

There was a high chance that foul play had been involved, but without proof, the girl’s fate had already been decided, regardless of the rumors suggesting otherwise.

Now, if this cloaked woman turned out to be the Zenovia in question, who currently had a bounty on her head, protocol required that they terminate her on sight before reporting to the nearest branch that they had eliminated a rogue.

Honestly, however, Vivian did not know whether she could trust herself to carry out the task.

Not to be mistaken, as a professional assassin, she had long since closed her heart to such sentiment, but that did not mean she agreed with the way the guild handled things.

The only reason she remained in this profession was that it paid well. Once she had saved a few hundred gold coins, she would begin seriously considering retirement from this filthy line of work.

For now, however, she would have to carry out her duties faithfully.

First, they needed to corner the woman. If she truly turned out to be Zenovia, then they would see how things proceeded from there.

"We will see," she muttered.

The cloaked woman continued down the crowded street without once looking back. Cain remained several paces behind her, moving through the crowd with practiced ease.

Despite his rough appearance and large frame, he slipped between pedestrians without drawing the slightest attention.

Vivian followed from farther away.

To an ordinary observer, the three of them would have appeared completely unrelated.

The woman passed several shops before turning onto a quieter road leading away from the busier districts.

The crowds gradually thinned, and the tall buildings were replaced by smaller homes built beneath the canopy of enormous silver trees.

Cain’s eyes narrowed.

"She knows," he whispered through the communication artifact hidden beneath his collar.

Vivian’s voice responded directly inside his ear.

"What makes you think that?"

"She has taken three unnecessary turns."

"She may simply be lost."

"An assassin trained by the guild does not get lost."

Vivian could not argue with that. The woman turned again, this time entering a narrow passage between two buildings.

Cain followed without breaking stride.

The passage opened into a small courtyard surrounded by high wooden walls and the silver trunks of the massive trees. There were no doors, windows, or other pedestrians nearby.

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