The Letter

It was not until the sky began to brighten and the warm sunlight replaced the cold red moonlight that Angel, looking exhausted, raised her head and tossed aside the fountain pen, which was nearly out of ink.

Before her lay two pages of notes filled with writing, detailing "Angel Granger's" journey from Sivellas County to Tingen City in Awwa County.

They also contained her future plans and ways to deal with unexpected incidents.

After committing the results of her all-night work to memory, Angel tore off the two pages of notes. Still not feeling safe enough, she tore out several extra pages from either side, burned them all to ashes on the stove, and flushed them down the drain to destroy the evidence.

Checking the time, she saw it was nearly eight in the morning. She went to the washroom, splashed some water on her face, and made herself look less tired.

As the hour hand pointed to eight, crisp knocking sounded along with the church bells outside the window.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The solitary Cole Granger had hired a general maid through a domestic service company. She came to his home every Monday and Friday morning to do laundry and clean, then returned the following afternoon to bring in the dried clothes. Cole paid one soli per week for this.

Angel roughly calculated that even if the maid's schedule was packed and she worked from dawn to dusk all seven days of the week, she would earn less than ten soli. Yet among the lower classes, this was already a good job. It required neither knowledge nor special abilities; as long as one was willing to work, one could earn money. In common terms, anyone with hands could do it.

Now was the time for her to arrive.

Putting on a natural smile in the mirror, Angel said to herself, "From now on, you are Angel Granger, Cole Granger's distant cousin."

She repeated it three times as if hypnotizing herself before finally leaving the washroom.

When she opened the front door, the bustle of the street immediately flooded into the living room. A short woman stood outside, her brown curls barely pressed straight with a headband. She wore a cheap linen dress, carried a wooden bucket full of tools in one hand, and had the other raised, ready to knock again.

When she saw the door open, she cheerfully greeted her, "Hello, Mr. Granger—" Upon realizing that the person before her was not her employer but an unfamiliar young woman, she swallowed the rest of her greeting.

She first looked to either side, confirming that she had not come to the wrong house, before asking again, "Hello, beautiful lady. Is Mr. Granger at home?"

"You're the maid my cousin hired? He isn't home right now. Just come in and start cleaning," Angel replied with a smile, stepping aside from the doorway.

"Oh, all right!" The maid showed a look of understanding, briskly carried her tools inside, and casually shut the door behind her.

This was also part of Angel's plan. She needed to interact with as many people around her as possible and leave an impression on them. That way, even if the police doubted the authenticity of her identification and investigated the neighborhood, they would reach the conclusion she wanted.

At the same time, she needed to spread the news that Cole Granger had disappeared.

"I'm Angel Granger. I only came to Tingen City this week and am staying here for the time being. You're called... Tromi, right? Cole mentioned you to me." Angel pretended to think for a moment before calling out the maid's name. When Tromi nodded, she continued, "He said he had some urgent business late the night before last, picked up a leather bag, and left. He still hasn't come back."

As she said this, Angel put on a suitably worried expression.

Her emotions successfully infected the kind-hearted Tromi. The maid also expressed concern for Cole Granger's safety, and only after the two discussed Cole's whereabouts did Tromi begin her work for the day.

Good. This laid the groundwork. When Tromi came again on Monday morning, Angel could naturally bring up reporting him missing to the police.

Watching the busy maid, Angel revealed a faint smile.

Following her plan, Angel spent the next two days visiting nearly every place around Daffodil Street that Cole had ever been.

Restaurants, libraries, bakeries, vegetable markets, even the weapons shop Cole had visited only twice—while eating or buying things, she casually spread the information that "Cole Granger has been missing for several days," while also ensuring they remembered this distant relative from out of town who was worried about her cousin.

On Saturday evening, Angel returned to the front of the house. When she had gone out at noon, the second-floor balcony had still been full of drying clothes, but by now the maid Tromi had brought them in.

"Cole actually gave the maid a key too. He really trusted Tromi." Before leaving, Angel had hidden the revolver, cash, and other valuables in a secret compartment in the study desk. Yet according to her memories, Cole often forgot to lock the study door. Either he had been too careless, or he trusted the maid named Tromi very much.

Since Tromi had worked here for quite some time, Angel had no intention of replacing her for now. But she would carefully put away valuable items rather than test human nature.

Just as she was about to step inside, the corner of an envelope protruding from the mailbox caught her attention.

Had Tromi left it? Or was it something like a gas bill?

Curiously, Angel took out the letter. There was no sender's or recipient's name on the envelope, nor was there a stamp. It clearly had not come through the postal system.

Tearing open the envelope, she pulled out the thin sheet of paper inside. After only one glance, she stuffed it back into the envelope, opened the door, and entered the living room.

A moment later, Angel, dressed lightly, wrapped in a cloak, and carrying all her cash and weapons, slipped out through the back door.

She was preparing to run.

It was not until she boarded a Public Carriage that Angel calmed down slightly.

She recalled the letter she had just received. Though it contained only a few words, it had plunged her into the worst-case scenario she had anticipated.

"Tomorrow night at eight. Meet at the usual place."

There was no signature, but the handwriting was elegant and unhurried. It was a letter from Sharon Khoy.

In the eyes of most people in Tingen City, Mrs. Sharon was an unattainable socialite. After her husband, Baron Khoy, died, she remained active at various events in Tingen, maintaining the political and business network the Baron had left behind. There were even rumors that she had an ambiguous relationship with her stepson, the current Baron Khoy.

Cole, deeply ensnared by Mrs. Sharon's Charm, was undoubtedly one of her loyal lapdogs. Like her other admirers, he obeyed her every word and answered every request.

But from Angel's perspective, as she detached herself and observed those memories, Mrs. Sharon was one of the most terrifying people in Tingen City.

She possessed strength far beyond that of a Sequence 7 Witch and had likely reached Sequence 6. The Beyonder Abilities Cole had personally witnessed alone included attacks that unleashed frosty Black Flame and Invisible Spider Silk capable of binding others.

If an Assassin's Dark Vision and Feather Fall steps could only be considered "the limits an ordinary person could reach," then Mrs. Sharon's various abilities truly qualified as those of a "Beyonder." Even in Angel's original world, someone like that would count as top-tier combat strength.

Of course, Mrs. Sharon probably had yet to discover that this Cole was not the same Cole. But Angel had no confidence that she could conceal her circumstances before a Sequence 7, or perhaps even stronger, Beyonder. Even though she had acquired most of Cole's memories, she could not flawlessly play another person.

Besides, what if Mrs. Sharon asked her to use her newly acquired Beyonder Ability?

She could not beat her, and she did not want to join her. Running was her only option.

In Angel's original plan, Mrs. Sharon had not been overlooked as an important factor. But Angel had intended to face this former "mentor" only after making sufficient preparations and laying enough groundwork. By then, whether she chose deception or a break, she was confident she could do it better.

She just had not expected Mrs. Sharon's invitation to come so quickly.

After all, Cole was one of Mrs. Sharon's "bedmates." Inviting him to the usual place for a gathering after he advanced to Sequence 7 was perfectly normal, but for Angel, it was undoubtedly a death sentence.

Facing Mrs. Sharon without completing all her preparations, she would almost certainly die.

"Maybe an Assassin's all-out strike could achieve something?" Angel quickly suppressed this wishful thought. Her opponent had also come from the Assassin pathway. It would not be that easy.

"Red Moon Street." The coachman announced the stop from outside the carriage.

Several people in the carriage moved toward the door, preparing to get off. Angel's first stop on her escape route was here as well. After the others got off, she followed them out.

The sounds of hoofbeats and wheels faded into the distance. Standing on bustling Red Moon Street, Angel looked toward her destination: the Tingen City Police Headquarters.

It was a six-story building. Despite the cramped land in Tingen's North Borough, it had a courtyard surrounded by high walls, and its main gate was wide enough for four carriages to pass through. It was already after work hours, and most of the lights inside had been extinguished, but the dutiful guards at the entrance still stood straight.

She took a thick envelope from beneath her cloak and walked toward the tip-off mailbox beside the main gate. It was a waist-high red mailbox set up for citizens to make anonymous or named reports. It was originally supposed to be managed by City Hall, but after they discovered that most anonymous reports involved criminal acts, they simply handed the matter over to the Police Station.

The envelope Angel held contained some of Cole Granger's notebooks and diaries, along with letters exchanged with Mrs. Sharon. With this evidence, the police would only need a little investigation to confirm most of Cole's crimes. Although Mrs. Sharon had no habit of signing her letters, Cole Granger's one-sided records alone had a good chance of getting her investigated. Even if she escaped legal punishment through her network, she would have to lie low for a while.

When dealing with an opponent who possessed such a solid network, killing first and reporting afterward was the best choice. Unfortunately, she could no longer do that.

Angel sighed and pushed the envelope into the mailbox. A bang came from inside, as if there were already quite a few letters in it.

"By the time Mrs. Sharon realizes tomorrow night that 'Cole Granger' has stood her up, I'll probably already be in Backlund. No matter how powerful she is in Tingen, she won't be able to do anything to me, right?"

Angel returned to the street and waited for the Public Carriage to arrive.

Next, she would leave Tingen City. Due to lighting restrictions, no trains ran through Tingen at night. Angel planned to hire a boat at the docks and travel downstream to Backlund, the capital of the Loen Kingdom. She would first find Cole's younger sister, Lily Granger, and warn her to seek the protection of the official Beyonders to avoid Mrs. Sharon's retaliation. Then she would sail from Pritz Harbor near Backlund.

As for whether she would settle on the islands near the Loen Kingdom or head to Balam on the Southern Continent, that would depend on the circumstances.

Just then, the familiar hourly bell rang again, its sound quite close to her. The ethereal chime seemed to strike directly against her heart, making Angel involuntarily turn toward it.

Under the lingering glow of the setting sun, the clock tower of Saint Selena Cathedral, piercing straight into the sky, reflected golden light.