Chapter 253: Unwound Knots

Since the moment Moon first laid his gaze on her that day in the eatery, he felt like she looked familiar.

Very familiar, even, so much so that he felt like he hadn’t taken a proper look.

Still, she was an enemy, and he had no business with her; he didn’t even know her name to be bothered with a stupid resemblance.

Not only that, 9th Bro was from the first floor; thus, it was impossible for him to have any connection to any force in the Tower.

Or so he thought until a few hours ago.

The way he fought, the arms spread, protecting his back for years.

The fights he picked against Moon.

He couldn’t believe it; he felt like his head was about to explode.

It was impossible to see it again now that the only one who should have fought like this was long dead.

Moon spent some time exchanging moves with her, trying to prove a point.

Was it truly the same or just similar?

Thus, he went through all the possible variations he was familiar with, or had at least seen 9th Bro use once.

The moment he confirmed his assumptions, he sheathed his knife.

It was time to seek answers.

Yet he was also wary. He didn’t know much about the Order of Assassins, but they didn’t seem to be normal people or to have a good reputation.

As for the assassin, she was facing her own turmoil.

The two stared at one another until Moon sighed.

He extended his hand down, touching the thread end at the leg of his bed. His Spark Echo ran within the threads all the way to the girl, untying itself from her hands, hair, and neck.

Like it had come to life, precise and accurate, but very slowly, the knots glittered along with the rest of the thread untangling itself.

Once done, the threads went for the torn parts that were around the legs, tied them down to the main line, and gathered into Moon’s hands.

Moon didn’t know if he was ready to know, or was willing to know.

He decided to let her leave, as if she had never come.

A stupid decision, by all means, but he was ready to bear the consequences.

"What are you doing?" The girl pushed her body up.

Moon threw her sheathed daggers to her. "Leave," he said flatly.

"You’re not afraid?" she asked, catching the daggers.

"You can’t win," Moon said stiffly. "Also, don’t forget where you stand," he added.

She was facing him, who had won once already when she was fighting at her best. The king of his faction, and within his castle.

"Take your rings and hood, and leave," he said again. "Leave before I change my mind."

The assassin came close to him, retrieving the hood and rings. She stared at Moon, who did nothing.

He even avoided looking at her entirely at this point.

For a moment, neither moved an inch. Only for a moment.

The girl activated her ring, bringing a screen before her face.

She leaned closer, bringing an image in front of Moon’s face with shivering hands.

"Is... is he the one you’re talking about?" she asked with a voice not much different from her hands.

Shaking—

Moon looked at the image. A little girl in a vibrant dress hugging a guy who wore clean clothes, had a clean face, and didn’t seem too malnourished, as his memories recalled, but he also looked younger.

’That son of a bitch...’

On the Fable side, on Fort Peak, Enzo was sitting in his room watching the troops prepare for the battle.

Days at most separated them from marching.

Every day, new supplies, weapons, and food were being delivered to the troops. Feeding over 23 thousand mouths wasn’t a casual task, yet—

It had nothing to do with him; Enzo just leaned against the window and watched the second floor from the top of a mountain peak.

"Your tea, young master." Zera approached with an elegant-looking cup of steaming, aromatic tea.

Enzo nodded, taking the teacup. He breathed in the steam, nodding.

"That was the same tea you gave him?" he asked.

Zera nodded. "Yes."

Enzo smiled. "Some good taste."

Enzo didn’t ask for tea often, but he did this morning. They had been on the move for a long time; he didn’t even have the luxury to leisurely enjoy a cup of tea.

He had already arranged the plan and everything for Mando and Lorian to work on; now he was just relaxing and enjoying his time.

He exhaled slowly. "When would the seal on you be undone?" he asked Zera.

Samuel, instead of stripping Zera of his right to participate in the trial, placed a seal on him and took away the items he had at the time for breaking the rules of the Skirmish Ring quest.

Since that day, and after the unspeakable agony he went through during the sealing, Zera was unable to use or feel his Echo.

He was useless in the trial if not for the fact that he was the close aide to Enzo and knew how to make some good tea.

Zera smiled faintly. "It’s still too early for me to use Echo again," he said without a hint of bitterness, as if he had long accepted his fate.

Enzo glanced at the eyepatch once before returning to his tea and the view of the mountain, castle walls, and golden sky.

"How do you think he would react to the surprise I sent him?" Enzo asked with a slight hint of a smile on his face.

Zera thought for a moment. "I wonder... One wrong move means certain death," he said truthfully.

Enzo hummed with the wind. "Well... she’s late..." he added.

"The distance is great to travel in haste, young master," Zera softly justified.

Enzo contemplated for a second. "That might be true."

Still, he hadn’t heard a word in hours.

"Let’s wait for the news, then." He took a sip of his tea. "I hope he doesn’t disappoint."

While he was picturing what he had planned and ordered, and what to expect from everything he had been laying down.

Knock~

Someone knocked on his door.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing Lorian, who walked in with a frown. "Sir Enzo," he said.

"Lorian?" Enzo said, not taking his eyes off the scenery.

"Sir Enzo, something happened," he said. "She defected!"

"Hmmm?" Enzo turned around; his eyebrows rose in surprise.

"I guess that’s the end of the deal, then," Enzo added before returning to the scenery again with a little hint of disappointment on his face.

It wasn’t only Enzo who was learning of this; in the Control Center, Lucen, Ed, and everyone else saw it.

Lucen had erased all bright enough images of Moon bringing the assassin girl back to the palace.

Ed gave him a grateful nod, but now the grid that had been fixed since Lazzaro’s arrangements moved again.

But this time, a certain assassin joined the Defence Faction against all odds.

A minor change that was negligible in the current layout of the chessboard, but Lucen made sure not to expose anything he shouldn’t to those watching the trial.

Even if it was a small change, everyone was curious about the reason behind it.