There’s Something Special About Her Chapter 4

A wave of tension sharpened every one of my senses as I gripped the dagger tightly.

Without making a sound, I slipped out of bed and walked toward the door.

Even my breathing was kept to a minimum.

Creak. Creak.

The footsteps were coming straight toward my room, drawing closer with every step.

Knock. Knock.

Someone rapped on the door.

“Rookie.”

It was Jake’s voice.

“…Yes, Senior.”

Even so, I couldn’t let my guard down.

I pressed myself even closer against the wall beside the door.

“Assembly order. Get dressed and come out immediately.”

Jake spoke hurriedly before moving on to knock on the next room.

Not long after, scattered footsteps echoed through the floor as everyone else woke up.

“Whew…”

So it was real.

I activated my artifact, took on the appearance of Runelk Ains, quickly got dressed, and headed to the assembly point.

“What’s going on?”

“No idea. They’re holding an emergency meeting at the main manor, and we’re supposed to guard the hallway.”

“An emergency meeting?”

Squad Thirteen, including me, was sent to the third floor of the main manor, where the grand conference hall and the Duke’s office were located.

The meeting had apparently already begun. Outside the dark, cold conference hall, members of other action squads who had arrived earlier were already standing guard.

“You. Here.”

Jake lowered his voice and stationed me directly in front of the conference hall doors.

Why here?

I frowned, ready to complain, but Jake silenced me with a look.

He was obviously dumping the spot on me because he didn’t want to stand here himself.

What a coward.

With no choice, I took my place beside the doors and studied the faces of those who had arrived before us.

Whatever had happened, they all looked terrified.

That wasn’t a good sign.

An emergency meeting in the middle of the night, and frightened expressions on every member…

What’s happening in there?

Unfortunately, the massive conference hall doors were exceptionally well soundproofed.

Some time passed, and my tension had just begun to ease when—

Without a sound, the doors opened.

But before I even realized they had opened, something else hit me first.

The sharp, metallic scent flooding my nose.

Blood.

A smell all too familiar to me—and every bit as revolting.

It drifted out through the narrow gap in the opened doors.

Then a man stepped out.

He was tall, with curly brown hair tied high behind his head, sharp green eyes hidden behind glasses, and a cold mouth pressed into a straight line.

Dupont Clansher. Duke Killian Knox’s right-hand man.

I’d read countless reports about him while serving in Wickers’ Intelligence Division, but this was the first time seeing him in person.

Without realizing it, I looked directly at him.

That was my mistake.

“You.”

Dupont Clansher crooked a finger after meeting my gaze.

“M-Me?”

When I stupidly asked back, one perfectly shaped eyebrow slowly rose.

“Follow me.”

…This felt very bad.

With no other choice, I lowered my head slightly and followed behind him.

The moment I stepped fully into the conference hall—

“…!”

I instinctively stopped breathing.

The hall was packed with people wearing Knox uniforms.

Members lined the walls.

High-ranking officers sat along the long conference table.

At the very front, the executives sat in luxurious chairs arranged in a circle.

The overwhelming pressure filling the room was enough to make any ordinary person collapse the instant they entered.

But that wasn’t what had made me catch my breath.

This isn’t just one person’s blood.

I should have realized sooner.

The smell hanging in the room was far too thick.

No single person’s blood could produce a scent this heavy.

Pretending to cover my mouth, I quickly scanned the room.

There were roughly three hundred members present.

Only a tiny fraction of Knox’s total forces.

Which meant everyone gathered here was likely among Knox’s elite.

Then why would they all be assembled at this hour?

The pale faces lining the walls and seated at the tables were all staring toward one place.

Over there?

Following their gazes, I looked toward the executives.

Knox had seven executives in total.

This was my first time seeing them in person, but after years of collecting intelligence on them while working for Wickers, they felt strangely familiar.

Every executive seated in those armchairs came from noble families that had served Knox for generations.

Right now, though, three seats were empty.

One belongs to Dupont Clansher, who just stepped outside… and another must be him.

I already knew the commander of the Royal Guard had been away from the capital for several months.

The last empty seat… should be Grair Knox.

Just as his surname suggested, Grair Knox wasn’t from a vassal family like the others.

He was a member of the ducal bloodline.

Killian Knox’s uncle, and the longtime head of the Intelligence Department since the previous duke’s reign.

Naturally, he was also the old fool I’d clashed with the most during my time in Wickers.

I was wondering why he was nowhere to be seen when—

A figure wearing a Knox uniform slowly rose in the darkness.

No.

Not on his own.

Someone was lifting him into the air by the throat.

His feet kicked helplessly, unable to touch the ground.

But he couldn’t break free from the hand gripping his neck.

“P-Please… spare m—”

Crunch!

Before he could finish begging, the sound of flesh and bone being crushed echoed through the room.

His neck snapped like a clay doll’s.

Death came instantly.

But his suffering wasn’t over.

Splatter!

His head was ripped clean off.

It rolled across the floor.

A rain of blood showered the conference hall.

Beyond the body collapsing like discarded luggage…

Another man knelt in the center of the circle formed by the executives.

…Grair Knox.

The owner of the final empty executive seat.

“Y-Your Grace… I-I’m sorry… Please… have mercy…”

And the one standing above Grair Knox—

The man who had just torn someone’s head off with one hand—

“Hey.”

My vision suddenly went black.

No…

Dupont Clansher had stepped directly in front of me.

The difference in our height was so great that he’d completely blocked my view.

“Go prepare the bath.”

“…The bath?”

What kind of order was that?

“New recruit?”

Frowning in annoyance, Dupont pointed toward a door built into the wall.

“There’s a bath connected to His Grace’s office. Fill it.”

Seriously?

There were hundreds of servants working in this manor!

And they dragged a sleeping guard out in the middle of the night for this?

It was unfair, but Dupont Clansher was Knox’s second-in-command.

Someone who could throw away a low-ranking member like me with a single gesture.

And I absolutely could not afford to be expelled from Knox.

Damn it.

Why were my bad feelings always right?

I had just started walking toward the room Dupont indicated when—

“…The Intelligence Department’s mistake…”

“…A spy’s fate…”

Fragments of whispered conversation drifted over from the guards standing along the wall.

“…Ah.”

Intelligence Department. Spy.

Just those two words were enough.

I clenched my teeth and hurried into Killian Knox’s office.

Without even looking around, I searched for the bathroom first and turned the hot water on full blast.

“That… should do it.”

My hand resting on the bathtub trembled slightly.

The man whose neck had been torn off while still wearing a Knox uniform…

“He was… a spy.”

No wonder Grair Knox had been trembling as he begged Killian Knox for mercy.

Preventing spies from infiltrating Knox was the Intelligence Department’s responsibility.

Which meant Killian himself had uncovered the spy Grair had failed to catch.

Grair Knox was the executive I knew best.

Back in Wickers, he had overseen Knox’s intelligence operations and fought an ongoing espionage war against me.

He was just competent enough to be troublesome.

Just lazy enough to exploit.

Considering his abilities, missing a spy wasn’t all that surprising.

No…

That wasn’t the point.

My thoughts were hopelessly tangled.

All I could picture was the horrific sight of that spy being ripped apart moments earlier.

“So… that’s what happens if you’re caught.”

Killian Knox’s terrifying reputation clearly wasn’t exaggerated.

Compared to Knox, Wickers almost seemed humane.

“I can never let him notice me.”

I might be able to fool the eyes of Grair Knox’s Intelligence Department.

But perhaps not Killian Knox himself.

Unfortunately, I still had to finish the task Dupont had given me before escaping.

Whatever.

Rushhhh!

To get out as quickly as possible, I turned on the cold water as well.

Why did the bathtub have to be so ridiculously huge?

“Done!”

After nervously tapping my foot while waiting, I shut off both taps the moment the tub was sufficiently full.

Now I could leave.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go—

Bang!

The heavy bathroom door swung open as easily as if it were made of paper.

A man stepped inside.

Step.

Step.

My eyes followed the bloody footprints he left behind.

Then, drawn by an overwhelming killing intent, I looked up.

And found myself staring directly into a pair of golden eyes.

Killian Knox.

So that’s why they said he was descended from dragons.

His pupils weren’t round like a human’s.

They were long, vertical slits, just like the dragons of legend.

Those brilliant golden eyes looked as though they could see straight through me.

“If you ever meet Killian Knox’s eyes, you’ll turn to stone.”

I’d once heard someone joke about that.

I needed to move.

I needed to lower my head.

But my body refused to obey.

I couldn’t even look away.

It felt as though my gaze itself had become a prisoner.

Silver hair that gleamed like a perfectly honed blade.

Straight brows.

Deep-set eyes beneath them.

A sharp nose.

Blood splattered across his pale, porcelain-smooth skin and perfectly shaped lips in a way that was strangely indecent.

His slightly disheveled hair and loosened collar only added to his arrogant, decadent beauty.

Back when I gathered intelligence on Killian Knox in Wickers, the word that appeared most often in reports was “insane.”

I’d always assumed they meant he was literally insane.

Maybe…

They had meant his face was.

That ridiculous thought drifted through my dazed mind.

Step.

Step.

“…Hah…”

As Killian resumed walking and passed right by me, the breath trapped in my chest finally escaped.

My mind slowly cleared.

I need to get out of here.

That was my only thought.

I walked as quietly as possible.

With every step, it felt like my heart might burst from the tension.

I had almost crossed the bathroom threshold when—

A chill crawled up the back of my exposed neck, left bare by my short hair.

Then a low, lazy voice, edged with the sound of steel, called out to me.

“You there.”