The Bookkeeper
Chapter 81: False Attack

Chapter 81: False Attack

Near evening, with the sun listlessly descending toward the horizon, Raiden and Speed stood on the pavement before the house, facing the broken fountain scattered in pieces just a distance away.

Initially, Raiden wanted to learn a few things about how Speed managed his incredible speed without injuring himself. However, they had barely spent a moment together when a voice interrupted their mission.

"It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Aeris said, leaning against the doorframe.

Raiden turned toward Aeris, and instantly, his blood began to boil with rage. Putting his speed to use, he dashed toward her, seized her by the collar, and slammed her against the wall as the illusion magic cast over the house began to falter.

He was confused about why he was attacking her, but even through that confusion, he knew how much he would love to kill her.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered with a cold tone that complemented his expression.

"What are you saying?" Aeris muttered, trying to catch her breath.

Raiden sneered as he watched her. Ever since he sent her on her mission, she had spoken to him only once. And though Raiden didn’t care whether she was alive or dead, seeing her appear before Leo and Levi irritated him—something, some emotion he was just realizing.

"I did as you asked..." Aeris muttered as her face flushed crimson. "Trust me, you want to hear what I have to say."

Raiden’s eyes narrowed as he gazed into Aeris’ trembling eyes. The fear radiating from her needed no words. His gaze then shifted to the slave choker around her neck.

The slave choker he had placed on her would make it nearly impossible for her to lie. But to Raiden, it wasn’t about lies—he simply despised her. She was a traitor, after all.

When he came back to himself, he realized he had been pressing her neck hard enough to nearly suffocate her. With a lazy sigh, he released her as she dropped to the floor, gasping for air.

"Speak now before I change my mind..."

Speed moved closer. "Let me get her some water."

Raiden gave him a firm nod as he walked past them into the house.

"Okay..." Aeris said, her tone dry as she slowly rose to her feet.

"The assassins have taken the Book of Silence..."

Raiden’s expression grew dark. "What?!"

Aeris let out a sigh. "The war was a lie. The assassins used it as a strategy to eliminate their unwanted armies while perfecting their plan to steal the book."

"They knew your strengths, your weaknesses, and exactly how to stall both of you." Raiden swallowed nervously as he realized what the Beast God was for.

He then smiled. This wasn’t just about a book, and he knew that. But he had suspected something similar during the war. The assassins had a calculated plan to retrieve the two books and dispose of the army they brought. Still, he couldn’t just believe Aeris—the kingdom would have informed him about such critical information.

"How did you know about the Book of Silence when our kingdom didn’t?"

Speed returned with the glass of water. After Aeris drank it, he went back inside.

Aeris let out a sigh. "Because the messengers from the Kingdom of Aurelia haven’t arrived yet."

Raiden’s expression turned confused. "How do you know this anyway?"

Aeris nervously began playing with her blonde hair. "Uhm..."

Raiden gave her a lazy look. How she managed to know these things baffled him, but he sensed truth in her words—not only because she couldn’t lie with the slave choker around her neck, but because of his own suspicions.

He had always known the FIRMO organization was hiding something when they requested such a baseless war weeks ago.

He let out a sigh. If this were true, then it was time to fight, because with the Kingdom of Aurelia’s Book of Silence gone, the FIRMO assassins were bound to come after him.

"By the way..." Aeris interrupted his thoughts. "You and the book of ashes aren’t on their list—at least not yet."

Raiden’s expression turned confused. "What do you mean?"

Aeris took a deep breath. "The assassins want something completely different at the moment... the twenty-eight pages."

"Twenty-eight what?" he asked, still confused. "Is that another book or something?"

"I don’t really know, but according to my source of information, the Book of Ashes was never on their list." She continued. "It was the other three books and the twenty-eight pages."

It sounded like gibberish at first, but the more Raiden thought about it, the more it started to make sense.

They sent him the expendable ones—people they didn’t need—only so they would be killed and make the kingdoms believe their goal was to attack all four kingdoms, keeping them from uniting.

That was their plan. They didn’t want the kingdoms working together.

The Kingdom of Eldon didn’t care whether they had their book or not, so when it was stolen, they never bothered searching for it. The Kingdom of Noor had insufficient resources to even protect their book, much less search for it, and as for helping others? They couldn’t manage that either.

So the only threats were the Kingdom of Persia and the Kingdom of Aurelia. And if Aeris’s words were true, then they didn’t want Persia’s book either, but they had to act like they did to prevent the kingdoms from uniting.

Raiden began laughing uncontrollably after his realization.

Freya, Levi, the war—all those who were sent after him were bound to die. FIRMO knew they couldn’t retrieve the book even if they managed to kill him.

Just like Levi had said after becoming his servant: those poor assassins were meant to die regardless.

Raiden gazed into the sky as night slowly fell. He took a deep breath, smiling. If he was out of their sight, then this was the perfect time to work on finding a way back to his world.

Just as Raiden was lost in his daze, Aeris’s choker came off on its own and dropped from her neck. She smiled and glanced back at Raiden.

"I am free now, right?"

Her words snapped Raiden back into reality, and he turned to her. Her question irritated him immediately, but he had already given her his word. At the moment, he knew it would be best to let her enjoy her freedom for now and kill her later. Someday.

"By the way, Captain Kai is dead." Raiden shrugged.

"You really did kill him?" She asked with her voice trembling.

Raiden gave her a lazy look. "You thought I wouldn’t?"

He giggled. "You will be next."

She swallowed nervously as she stared at Raiden with an uneasy expression. "Can I... can I work for you once more?"

Raiden sneered, but his expression shifted as he understood. The only person she was betraying to was Captain Kai, but now with him truly gone, she had nowhere else to go.

And worse, if the high court accepted Raiden’s proposal for the bloodline ritual that he had requested not long ago, she wouldn’t have anyone left to betray him to. She would be broke and useless.

Raiden thought for a moment, his hand tapping his chin. Her situation was perfect for a traitor like her, but... she might be useful. Considering how she could gather information when necessary, he might need her someday. After all, it was best to keep your enemies close.

"I’ve been thinking, and honestly, I can’t think of a single reason why I would need you."

"I can heal..." the words rushed out of her mouth. "Such a group like the Guardians of Ashes needs a supporter, like all the great warriors."

Raiden raised his eyebrow. "And?"

"I can get you any information you want..."

"Any, huh?" Raiden pretended to be lost in thought. "Sure, but you will need to prove yourself."

Aeris abruptly gave him a firm nod and awkwardly began heading back inside.

The moment she left, Raiden wore a big grin. Finally, he could truly enjoy the peace while the kingdom remained in chaos.