Reincarnated Into The Middle Ages

Deep into the night, in Norn's room, the dim, flickering candlelight cast a soft glow on the faces of the young boy and girl.

Red curtains, lavender bed sheets—it seemed a different kind of atmosphere was filling the room.

"Does my lord intend for me to stay the night?" The cold voice carried a hint of barely perceptible panic.

Norn slowly got up and walked step by step towards Sasan. The dim light prevented Sasan from seeing Norn's expression, but her slightly rapid breathing betrayed her feelings.

"Snap!" Norn playfully flicked Sasan on the forehead. "What are you thinking?"

Satisfied, Norn retracted his right hand, lit a few more candles to dispel the lingering darkness, and then sat down in front of Sasan. "I called you here tonight because I have something serious to discuss with you."

"Please, my lord, instruct me," Sasan, who had misunderstood, quickly bowed her head.

"Over the past month, you've proven your abilities well. And as your lord, I've fulfilled my promise to protect your people."

"Yes, thank you for your kindness!"

"I'd like to keep things this way, but..." Norn sighed, turned around, and took a small crescent-shaped ornament from the table, placing it in front of Sasan.

Sasan's pupils instantly dilated, her whole body leaned forward slightly, and she instinctively assumed an offensive posture.

"This was found on a Hashashin assassin two months ago," Norn continued, ignoring Sasan's reaction. "He tried to assassinate me under the cover of night but was killed by William and the others. Uncle DeMol was also severely injured and barely saved."

Looking at the person opposite him, who remained silent, Norn gazed into the anger in Sasan's eyes. "I have to be honest with you about this."

After a long silence, Sasan's voice finally lost its previous coldness and was filled with anger. "My lord, do you know he was my beloved brother!"

Norn was momentarily taken aback. "I thought he was just one of your people, but I didn't expect..."

"Perhaps this is the tragedy of our times," Norn said with a sigh.

In an instant, Sasan vanished from Norn's sight. Before Norn could react, a dark, gleaming dagger was already pressed against his neck.

"My lord, aren't you afraid that I'll kill you for telling me this?" The voice behind him was filled with anger, but also a sentiment that Norn couldn't quite understand.

"Terrified, absolutely terrified! But what good would that do? With your abilities, killing me would be a piece of cake."

Suppressing the fear in his heart, Norn tried to speak calmly. "For the past month, I've been worried, afraid that you'd discover this secret one day and kill me in my sleep."

"Why didn't my lord just destroy this thing and bury the secret forever?" Sasan questioned complexly from behind.

"Why didn't I, indeed?" Norn said with a touch of self-mockery. "Probably because it goes against my principles. No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to kill a girl's family and then deceive her into working for me. That's something even worse than an animal."

"Ah, miscalculated. I didn't expect that person to be your brother," Norn forced a smile, but his body still trembled uncontrollably. "If you're going to do it, please make it quick. I'm afraid of pain."

"My lord, didn't you want to build a wonderful kingdom? Do you really want to die here?" Sasan's voice returned to its coldness.

"A kingdom built on deceiving one's own people can't be called wonderful," Norn sighed. "The ideal is grand, but what can you do if it can't be realized?"

"Why doesn't my lord change his principles, then?"

"Some things don't matter, but there are some things I just can't do!" Norn finally calmed down, took a deep breath, and said, "If you do it, don't harm anyone else. They know nothing."

The air was silent for a long while, and every second felt like an eternity to Norn.

"A person like you is not cut out to be a king!"

The dagger swung down, and Norn felt the cold blade. He closed his eyes in fright.

"But you are a good person." A few strands of Norn's hair slowly drifted down, leaving only a voice of helplessness echoing.

"I hope my lord remembers his words, or I will take your life at any time."

The candle was extinguished by a strong gust of wind, and the room was once again shrouded in darkness.

Norn tentatively called out Sasan's name a few times, but there was no response. "That was close," Norn kept smoothing his wildly beating chest, realizing he was drenched in cold sweat.

Just as Norn was still relieved to have escaped, on the roof, a dark figure hid in a corner.

Sasan looked at the moon sorrowfully, holding the ornament in her hand, with two streams of tears glistening. Memories of the past flashed before her eyes.

From as far back as she could remember, Sasan and her brother had been trained in the most brutal way by their father, the previous Old Man of the Mountain. As a child, she didn't understand, and whenever she asked her father, she always got silence in return.

Day after day of training, only her equally bruised brother was by her side, and the long nights were spent with only the two of them comforting each other.

When she was 12 years old, because of her extremely outstanding talent, Sasan successfully defeated 10 competitors and earned the name "Hundred Faces" Hassan.

It was also that year that her father, who had old wounds from fighting the Crusaders, passed away. On his deathbed, he held Sasan's hand and entrusted her with the words, "Lead your people, and survive."

As the new Old Man of the Mountain, Sasan did everything she could to make her people's lives better. But the land in the mountains was barren and couldn't produce much. Sasan could only continue the old trade with her people, taking assassination contracts to make life a little better for them.

But on the Crusaders' land, Sasan had to carefully choose non-Christian targets. Every time she saw the bodies of men, women, or children in white robes, she couldn't help but ask herself, "God, what is the meaning of what I'm doing?"

Over the years, Sasan's skills grew more refined, but even so, most of the hard-earned money had to be handed over to the Templars. Her people's lives remained as poor as ever, with no signs of improvement, and even her brother no longer understood her actions.

The seeds of hatred quietly spread, and Ibrahim constantly stirred up the people, trying to seek revenge. Sasan knew Ibrahim was right; without eliminating the Templars, there was no way to change the state.But facing the Crusaders now was hopeless.

Under the pressure of the Templars and Ibrahim's actions, Sasan was at a loss. Until two months ago, she was sent to prison by the rebellious members of her own people and then brought here.

Thinking of how this amazing child had given her people hope for a better life in just a month, Sasan couldn't help but wonder, "Almighty God! Is this your guidance?"

The next morning, Norn was once again awakened by Adile, who busied herself for a while. After a moment, Norn carefully examined her and cautiously tested the waters, "Sasan?"

The girl in front of him coldly responded, "What does my lord command?"

"Great, you didn't leave!" Norn jumped out of bed and grabbed Sasan's hand, rushing out the door.

Outside, Adile looked bewildered at the sight of Norn holding a little girl's back.

"Adile, call the knights to the hall. I have something important to say."

After waiting for a while in the hall, DeMol and Patrick finally brought in a hungover William, who was still half-asleep.

Watching them take their seats, Norn formally said, "I want to introduce someone to all of you." He then led Sasan to the front.

"This is Sasan, a Hashashin assassin."

Before Norn could finish, Patrick and DeMol had already drawn their longswords, and even William instantly sobered up, grabbing a chair to guard himself.

"There's no need for such a fuss. She has sworn allegiance to me," Norn quickly said to bolster his argument. "I promised to protect her people, who are the female workers in the textile factory, and in return, she has sworn loyalty to me."

"Norn, come here. Hashashin can't be trusted," William shouted.

"It's okay, it's okay. She's been here for a month," Norn stood in front of Sasan. "In this month, she's had countless opportunities to take my life, but I'm still here, right? Doesn't that prove something?"

Seeing that everyone was still skeptical, Norn turned to Sasan and commanded, "Sasan, in the name of your lord, kneel down." Sasan, who had been on guard, immediately knelt on one knee at the sound of the command.

Norn drew his "sewing needle" and placed the blade on Sasan's left shoulder. "I will protect your people. Will you swear allegiance to me?"

"In the name of God, until death," Sasan bowed her head deeply.

Norn nodded at William and the others, then sheathed his sword. "See? She's truly loyal."

Seeing this, the knights slowly sheathed their swords, but their eyes still held deep wariness.

"Sasan is now one of us and will play an important role in our next plan," Norn sat back down. "Do you all remember the steward who wanted to buy Anna two months ago? I saw him at yesterday's meeting."

Seeing everyone's puzzled looks, Norn explained, "I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but now I realize that three days after I met this steward, we were attacked. Isn't that a bit too coincidental?"

Now everyone finally understood, and there was an outburst of anger. William even roared about going to confront the other party.

Norn quickly calmed everyone down. "I don't want to wrong an innocent person, nor do I want to let my enemy go."

"So it's up to you, Sasan. Find out if he's behind this."

"Delighted," Sasan's lips curled into a smile, happy to have the chance to prove herself.

"If it turns out to be him, then he'd better be ready for my revenge!" Norn's eyes were stern, like a young lion letting out a roar.