Chapter 136
Euphen read the short letter.
It was surprising that Eshar, who normally filled her letters with polite and lengthy greetings, had written only the bare essentials this time. There was no explanation, just a simple request for him to come.
‘A trap?’
He frowned.
Was someone impersonating Eshar to lure him out? Or had something truly happened to make her call for him? He couldn’t tell.
The one who had brought the letter was a maid he recognized as hers.
“Did something happen to Eshar?”
At his question, the woman widened her eyes, then quietly replied that she didn’t know. She really seemed to be in the dark, leaving him with no way to press further.
After a brief hesitation, Euphen decided to go. It was broad daylight, and the road leading to her mansion was a main street. If he was careful, it shouldn’t be too dangerous. Moreover, this was the first time Eshar had ever called for him like this. He couldn’t simply ignore it.
Rather than taking a large escort and drawing attention, he chose to move quietly. When he arrived at the mansion with only a minimal number of guards, he immediately sensed a slightly different atmosphere than usual.
‘Did something happen here?’
He hadn’t visited often, but it was definitely different from before.
Once inside, a familiar woman, someone he had seen several times, greeted him as though she had been waiting. As if expecting him to arrive discreetly, she silently guided him to a room and knocked on the door.
“His Highness has arrived.”
At those words, a faint voice answered from inside. Eshar opened the door, confirmed that it was Euphen, and stepped aside to let him in.
“…”
Every window was covered with heavy curtains, leaving the room dim.
“What’s going on?”
“Please, sit down.”
Only after sitting across from her did he finally see her face clearly. The woman who had always carried herself with confidence now showed a faint trace of fear.
“I heard there was an attack last night.”
“Spying on the Imperial Castle is a serious crime.”
“You knew I was always keeping watch.”
Euphen shrugged slightly.
From the moment he had joined hands with Eshar, he’d known she had planted people inside. Pretending not to know had been the same as granting permission.
“They came after me too.”
He frowned.
“Still, they wouldn’t try to kill the heir of the Lera Merchant Guild.”
“I expected them to try persuading me if they approached.”
He had thought the same. The Lera Merchant Guild was too valuable to discard. It might not hold political power, but its wealth was immense.
Money was indispensable in the struggle for the throne. Even if they knew that Eshar had allied herself with Euphen, the most likely move would have been to win her over by any means necessary. But then…
“But last night, no, earlier this morning… The assassins who came for me tried to kill me outright.”
Euphen’s mind turned complicated once again.
‘Could it be… that they know Eshar has awakened as a Guide?’
He clenched his teeth.
If they knew what Lynette’s existence meant, then it wouldn’t be strange if they also knew Eshar had awakened. The leak must have come from one of the close aides he had trusted.
Eshar quietly looked at him, then let out a soft sigh.
“I barely managed to capture one alive… but he died. I should have expected that the assassins would carry poison in their teeth beforehand.”
Her brows knit together as she sighed again. It was likely the first time she had faced an assassination attempt. Though fear lingered faintly on her face, what seemed to bother her more was that she hadn’t handled it perfectly.
“I haven’t found out who sent them, but if I keep digging, I think I eventually could. The problem is, it’ll take time.”
“…Any guesses?”
He was certain she was thinking along the same lines he was. Indeed, Eshar met his gaze squarely, as though reading his mind.
“I’m thinking the same thing as you, Euphen.”
A brief silence passed between them.
“The Information leak is coming from right beside you.”
“Haah…”
Hearing from someone else what he had only been suspecting made it impossible to ignore any longer.
“If they know that I’m a Guide, they’d choose to kill me rather than try to win me over.”
He agreed with her in silence.
“We have to identify the traitor.”
“How?”
At his question, Eshar bit her lip slightly.
“There’s no way to distinguish them right now. We could, if we had more time.”
“They won’t give us that luxury.”
No, truthfully, these threats were manageable. Euphen had the strength to defend himself, and Eshar had capable hired guards. With her overflowing wealth, she could easily turn this mansion into a fortress.
But Lynette was different. The only one she could rely on was Sillian. Euphen wanted to believe that man wouldn’t be taken down easily, but the worry remained.
‘Even if we expose the traitor, the assassination attempts won’t stop.’
Euphen let out a long sigh, then ran his rough hand over his face.
He felt pathetic.
If he had known it would be more dangerous to let her go, he would have stopped her no matter what.
Would it be better to call her back now?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Eshar spoke.
“Euphen.”
“…”
He lifted his head and met her eyes.
“The attacks will only get worse from here.”
“That’s true.”
“Now that they know you’re an Esper, the assassins will be far more dangerous.”
What was she getting at?
Euphen frowned slightly.
Eshar spoke calmly.
“Given how things are now… wouldn’t it be better to just die?”
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