Letter

As the sky began to lighten and warm sunlight replaced the cold red moonlight, Angel finally raised her exhausted face and tossed aside the steel pen, which was nearly out of ink.

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

There were also plans for the future and ways to handle unexpected incidents.

After committing the fruits of her all-night labor to memory, Angel tore off the two pages of notes. Still feeling it was unsafe, 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.

It was nearly eight in the morning. She went to the washroom and splashed some water on her face, making herself look less exhausted.

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

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The solitary Cole Granger had hired a female odd-job worker through a domestic service company. She came to his home every Monday and Friday morning to do the laundry and clean, then returned the following afternoon to bring in the dried clothes. Cole paid her 1 Soule each week.

Angel roughly calculated that even if the worker's schedule was full and she worked from dawn to dusk all seven days of the week, she would earn less than 10 Soule. Yet among the lower classes, this was already considered a good job. It required neither knowledge nor special abilities; as long as one was willing to work, one could earn money. As the saying went, if you had hands, you 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 Cole Granger's distant cousin, Angel Granger."

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

The moment she opened the front door, the noise from the street poured into the living room. A short Female stood outside, her brown curls barely held straight by a headband. She wore a cheap linen dress, carried a wooden bucket full of tools in one hand, and had her other hand raised, ready to knock again.

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

She first glanced left and right to make sure she had not come to the wrong house, then greeted her again. "Hello, beautiful lady. Is Mr. Granger home?"

"You're the worker 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 worker showed an enlightened expression, then briskly carried her tools inside and 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 word of Cole Granger's disappearance.

"My name is Angel Granger. I only came to Tingen City this week and am staying here for now. Your name is... Tromi, right? Cole mentioned you to me." Angel pretended to think for a moment before calling out the worker's name. Seeing Tromi nod, she continued, "Late the night before last, he said he had some urgent business, took a leather bag, and left. He still hasn't returned."

As she said this, Angel put on a worried expression at just the right moment.

The emotion successfully infected kind-hearted Tromi. The worker 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. The groundwork was laid. When Tromi came again on Monday morning, Angel could naturally bring up reporting him missing to the police.

Angel smiled faintly as she watched the busy odd-job worker.

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

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

On Saturday evening, Angel returned to her front door. When she had left at noon, the second-floor balcony had still been full of drying clothes. Now, the worker Tromi had already brought them in.

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

Since Tromi had worked here for quite some time, Angel had no plans to replace her for now. Still, she would carefully put away anything valuable rather than test human nature.

Just as she was about to step inside, the corner of an envelope sticking out of 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 one glance, she stuffed it back into the envelope, opened the door, and entered the living room.

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

She was preparing to run.

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

She recalled the letter she had just received. Its few words 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 graceful and composed. It was a letter from Sharon Hoy.

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

Cole, deeply enthralled by Mrs. Sharon's charm, was undoubtedly one of her most devoted bootlickers. Like her other admirers, he obeyed her every word and fulfilled every request.

But to Angel, who could step back and observe these 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 witnessed alone included attacks that unleashed frost-black flames and Invisible Spider Silk that could bind others.

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

Of course, Mrs. Sharon likely had not yet discovered that this Cole was not the same Cole as before. But Angel had no confidence in concealing her circumstances before a Sequence 7 Beyonder, perhaps an even stronger one. Even though she had obtained most of Cole's memories, she could not flawlessly play another person.

Besides, what if Mrs. Sharon asked her to display her newly acquired Beyonder abilities?

She could not beat her, and she did not want to join her. That left only one option: run.

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 the groundwork. By then, whether she chose deception or a clean break, she was confident she could handle 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 reunion after he advanced to Sequence 7 was perfectly normal. But to Angel, it was undoubtedly a death warrant.

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

"Maybe an Assassin's full-force 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 outside called the stop.

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 alighted, she followed them down.

The sounds of hoofbeats and wheels faded away. Angel stood on the bustling Red Moon Street and looked toward her destination: Tingen City Police headquarters.

It was a six-story building. Even in Tingen's land-starved Northern District, it possessed a courtyard enclosed by High Wall. Its front 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 diligent guards at the entrance still stood perfectly straight.

She took a thick envelope from beneath her cloak and walked toward the report mailbox beside the main gate. It was a red mailbox half a person tall, set up specifically for citizens to submit anonymous or signed reports. It was originally meant to be managed by the City Hall, but after they discovered that most anonymous reports involved criminal activity, they simply handed the matter over to the Police Station.

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

Against an opponent with such a solid network, killing first and reporting afterward was the best approach. Unfortunately, she could no longer do that.

Angel sighed and stuffed the envelope into the mailbox. A bang came from inside, as though it already contained quite a few letters.

"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.

Next, she would leave Tingen City. Due to lighting limitations, no trains ran in Tingen at night. Angel planned to hire a boat at the docks and travel downstream to Backlund, the capital of the Ruen Kingdom. She would first find Cole's sister, Lily Granger, and warn her to seek the protection of the Official Extraordinary to avoid Mrs. Sharon's retaliation. Then she would head out to sea from Pritz Harbor near Backlund.

As for whether she would settle on an island near the Ruen Kingdom or travel to Balam on the Southern Continent, that would depend on the circumstances.

At that moment, the familiar hourly chime rang out once more. It was quite close to her, its ethereal sound seeming to strike directly against her heart, and Angel could not help looking toward it.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the towering bell tower of Saint Selena Church reflected golden light.