The Law of the Silent Gentleman

Chapter 14 – Commission From Afar

After the pastoral month passed, summer came. Lorran is located in the northwest of the Yord city-states. Compared with Vanessa, which is so hot in summer that it seems that the earth has been scorched into magma, the climate of Lorran is naturally cooler, but even so, it is still quite hot. I can’t stand it.

In the past summer, Giuliano usually went to a villa in the suburbs with his parents for summer vacation. Now that his family is ruined, he can no longer enjoy such special treatment. But he had no time to be sentimental about it. His brain (and body) is so preoccupied with Assassin classes (and the Assassin himself) every day that he has no time for self-pity.

Enzo is quite easy to talk to. He brought forward the swordsmanship teaching every morning, so that at the hottest noon every day, Giuliano would not have to practice swords in the scorching sun and sweating profusely. Of course, Giuliano speculated that Enzo’s own selfishness was also involved in this. The Assassin also seemed to be struggling with the heat. When they practiced against each other, Enzo often took off his shirt and went on the court bare-chested, leaving only the holy emblem hanging around his neck on his upper body.

Giuliano’s swordsmanship has improved rapidly, perhaps in response to Enzo’s words – a good teacher makes a good apprentice. When he first arrived at Ambrand Manor, Giuliano was not an opponent of the assassin at all, and he was often beaten by him without any strength to fight back. Now, when Enzo is less serious, Giuliano can almost draw with him.

This gives young people great self-confidence.

“If you are so absent-minded again, you will become my defeat sooner or later!”

Giuliano stepped forward quickly, and the sword in his hand stabbed out like lightning. It was just a feint, though, and Enzo swung his strike away, revealing his defenseless shoulders. Giuliano flicked his wrist, retracted his saber, and stabbed at Enzo’s right shoulder. The assassin dodged sideways, but was caught again. The young apprentice rolled back to his side and drew his sword diagonally upwards. Enzo spun to avoid the attack, but the blade still touched his body.

Fortunately, the saber used for practice had not yet been sharpened, otherwise the assassin would be bleeding. But Giuliano is not indifferent. The tip of his sword inadvertently picked up the gold necklace on Enzo’s neck. With a “crash”, the chain broke in two, and the holy emblem flew out due to inertia, and fell into the grass beside him.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean it!” Giuliano quickly put away his sword. The Holy Emblem is the symbol of the “God of Truth and Falsehood”, which has a special meaning for Enzo. Isn’t it an act of disrespect to the gods to pick off the holy emblem? Wouldn’t he make the assassin fly into a rage?

Enzo picked up the holy emblem in the grass, and blew off the grass leaves hanging on the chain, with a serious expression. The young apprentice trembled, hands behind his back, like a child who has made a mistake and is ready to be scolded. But Enzo didn’t teach him harshly, but just looked at the broken part of the gold chain thoughtfully, as if recalling something.

“…Enzo?” Giuliano whispered, “I’m really sorry. I’ll get someone to fix it. I know a jeweler in a nearby town—”

“No need.” Enzo interrupted him, “That’s all for today’s lesson.”

He put the gold chain in his pocket, left Giuliano alone in the courtyard in a state of anxiety and bewilderment, and left quickly.

There was no class that afternoon. Enzo and the old butler Bernard went out together. When he came back, he brought back a bottle of dark potion made by alchemy. Giuliano at first thought Enzo was planning to poison him. But after the assassin pulled the cork and let him smell it, he knew what was in the bottle.

“Hair dye.” He took a few steps back in disgust, “What do you want to do? Haven’t I already dyed my hair?”

“That’s in Vanessa.” Enzo asked Bernard to bring a basin of clear water, and poured the ink-black dye into the water. Soon, the basin of water turned the color of a sewer, “This is Luo Erran, hair dyeing is not popular. Your hair stands out here like a peacock spreading its tail.”

Giuliano had a bitter face. Bernard dyed his hair black. The old butler had excellent craftsmanship, dyed it quite naturally, and even made a few white hairs out on purpose. “Many young people nowadays are young and gray-headed, so pitiful.” The housekeeper said sadly.

The hair dye that Enzo and the housekeeper bought was probably not as good as that made by the alchemist Vanessa. It smelled extremely pungent. It took more than half a month for the disgusting smell to gradually dissipate. It happened to be the end of the fruit month, and the season of Lorran quietly moved towards autumn. Although the day was still hot, the night was much cooler.

Like his fencing lessons, Giuliano’s training as a night assassin has yielded impressive results. He could run across the roofs with the agility of a cat, without the servants under the tiles noticing. He could steal everyone’s wallets at the village fair and return them one by one without being noticed. With the sharp dagger hidden in his sleeve, he could cut through the practice sandbags, and before the sand leaked out, he disappeared without a trace. The most “excellent” result was outside the window of Bernard’s bedroom, Enzo pressed him against the wall, he resisted making a sound, and did not disturb the old housekeeper who read by candle at night. At breakfast the next day, Enzo deliberately praised Giuliano for his “great improvement in endurance” in front of Bernard. Embarrassed and angry, Giuliano protested the next day by simply striking out.

He thought that Enzo would have two reactions: apologize to him honestly, or give him a hard lesson and drag him back to class. Unexpectedly, Enzo was indifferent to his strike and spent the whole day in the study. Giuliano waited and waited, but he couldn’t wait for the teacher’s response, but he couldn’t sit still.

“What the **** do you mean!”

In the early morning of the next day, Giuliano broke into Enzo’s study, and just said this when he entered the door.

The assassin was sitting in front of the desk, pinching a thin sheet of letter paper with his slender fingers. He looked up at the young apprentice, turned the letter on the table, and leaned back in the mahogany armchair. Giuliano found that no matter what was sitting under his buttocks, he could sit in a throne-like posture.

The assassin patted his thigh. During their “private time”, this action means “sit up”.

Giuliano flushed.

“You…! It’s broad daylight now!”

“What happened during the day? It’s not like we haven’t done it during the day.”

Giuliano’s face became even redder, as if a hot kettle was about to spray high-pressure steam from his ears in the next second. “It’s really shameless to proclaim adultery in the daytime!”

“Aren’t you happy yourself?”

“I…I’m not happy in my heart!” He stomped his feet angrily, “I learned the skills of an assassin from you in order to avenge my family!”

“Haven’t I taught you everything?”

“You taught me very well, but… now my enemy is at large, but I’m having fun with a man! I… I can’t stand this!” He said, his nose sore, and he almost shed tears, “I Not wanting to be that happy… Did you do this to me on purpose? Are you trying to humiliate me?”

The assassin stared at him and sighed helplessly.

“What do you want?”

“I’m going to kill Fernando and Bonnieville!”

“You haven’t even killed a chicken, so you dare to single out the Yinfangsong family and the Vanessa City Guard? Do you know how strong you are?”

“Of course I don’t know! You never made me try!”

Enzo’s eyes suddenly turned cold, as if a layer of frost had formed in his silver-gray pupils.

“Okay,” he said, “can’t wait to kill someone, can’t you?”

For a moment, Giuliano recoiled from the coldness in the assassin’s eyes. But he quickly worked up his courage. He was an apprentice of an assassin, a trainee of the Reticent, and sooner or later his hands would be stained with blood, and more and more. This is a path of no return. If he is even afraid of this, how can he fight against Cousin Fernando and Governor Vanessa?

“Do you think I dare not?” Giuliano took a step forward and looked directly at Enzo. An invisible flame ignited in his green eyes, as if trying to melt the ice in the assassin’s eyes.

Enzo sighed again, and the coldness on his body disappeared in an instant. He beckoned, beckoning the apprentice to come over, then turned over the letter paper folded upside down on the table, and handed it to Giuliano.

“Read this,” he said.

Dear friends:

When I heard of the “return” of the owner of Umbrella Manor, I was both shocked and delighted. Unexpectedly, the vacant mansion would come in handy again. I’m currently on vacation in Akertown, so I won’t be able to visit for a while. Amblin is a lovely place, and I sincerely hope you will have a pleasant and comfortable stay there.

You are far away from the city-states of Yoder, and perhaps the news is not well-informed. I wonder if I may take the liberty of bringing you some news by letter?

Recently, an unnamed client appeared in Akertown. His request was so peculiar that none of the brothers and sisters in Akerdon dared to accept his commission. This person has been wandering around Lorran recently. I heard that your Excellency is a bold person. I wonder if you are interested in this commission? If so, you can find him in the westmost room on the second floor of the “Romantic Exile Tavern” outside Ponto City in Puyue.

best wishes.

Your loyalty,

D.C.

Giuliano peeked out question-marked eyes from behind the letter.

“What does it mean?”

Enzo rested his chin on one hand: “Can’t you understand? A friend who is far away in Akton introduced an errand and asked me if I would be interested in taking the job.”

Giuliano read the letter again. “Is it an assassination request?”

Enzo laughed out loud, showing the “sarcasm smile” that Giuliano hated most. “Can there be anything else for the entrustment to the Silent One?”

“This letter is vague and seems like a trap. Is it really from a ‘friend’?”

The assassin opened the desk drawer, pulled out a sheet of paper, and placed it in front of Giuliano. That was the piece of paper they found on the desk when they first arrived at Ambrand Manor. “Free access”. The handwriting is exactly the same as that on the letter.

“Is it the original owner of the manor?” Giuliano was extremely surprised.

“Probably so. The handwriting is also very delicate, as if written by a woman. She went to Akton, so the manor will be idle, otherwise it will not be my turn to use it. This is exactly what Bernard said. Now. So, Bernard is not as honest as I imagined, and still has a secret connection with Umbran’s original owner…”

“Are you going to accept this commission?”

“I’m curious. What is the commission that no one dares to accept in the whole of Akton?” Enzo rolled up a lock of his hair, “It seems that the client does not intend to hide his whereabouts… Wait for the right person to recommend you.”

“Aren’t you afraid it’s a trap?”

“So what?” the assassin squinted at Giuliano, “Maybe I will die because of this, but so what? Become a silent person, get used to seeing life and death, and you won’t care about your own death, because sooner or later Soon, you will die eventually.”

Giuliano put down the paper. “I’m not like you. I can’t die before I get my revenge.”

Enzo stretched out his fingers, and the smooth hair bounced off his fingertips. “I know.” He suddenly smiled, “If it is really a trap, I will protect you and escape first no matter what.”

“You… want me to go with you?”

“Of course. You are eager to taste the taste of blood, and this opportunity just happened to come to you. I also feel that it is necessary to let you experience actual combat. Go tell Bernard and let him prepare the horses and pack the luggage-be sure to pack lightly. We leave early tomorrow morning.”

“OK.”

Giuliano turned around.

“Wait!” Enzo called to stop him, “Let’s change it to tomorrow evening. Luo Erran has a strange custom, to leave home at dusk and return at dawn.”

“But we are not from Luoerran, so why waste most of the day for no reason?”

“We’re the masters of Umbran Park now, and we’ve got to pretend a little. Besides, it’s not ‘for nothing.’ I’m not sure you’ll be able to ride tomorrow morning.”

Giuliano excitedly greeted the ancestors of Enzo’s family in vivid and vivid Vanesa dialect, and left angrily.

[The five hundred words of the river crab in the middle, let’s imagine for yourself haha]

“Why do you never stay overnight?” he asked. “Did you do the same at Mrs. Manley’s?”

“I’m defenseless when I’m asleep, so I’m not used to sharing a bed with people.”

“you do not trust me?”

Enzo turned around. In the darkness, only the alchemy lampstand emits a faint cold light. The light shone in the Assassin’s eyes, making him look like a lone wolf walking at night. He fell silent. Silence means that he has an answer in his heart, but he doesn’t want to say it. Giuliano thought he would not answer. Maybe it was better for him not to know the answer. However, after a while, Enzo asked, “Why do you think you are worthy of my trust?”

He closed the question with another question.