Running on the Path of Conspiracy

"Alright, a truly respectable girl. Now, can you tell us where the Eye of Simorely is?" The wine glass was set down, and from the group that had remained silent, a voice suddenly spoke. The voice was deep and pleasant, yet it carried an authority that left no room for a breath.

Fatenai felt a bit dizzy. She sat on the chair and shook her head, as if trying to wake herself up. But she quickly became disoriented, completely unaware as Marrison pulled down her hood. Dazed, she looked forward, her brown eyes clouded with confusion. "What are you talking about? What Eye of Simorely?"

"The necklace in Wickel's possession. If he was willing to sacrifice himself, then the item must be in your hands." The person opposite her tried to be patient and repeated themselves.

"It seems... it seems to be with Ed. He snatched the Eye of Simorely..." Fatenai's voice indicated her extreme weakness at the moment.

After hearing her words, the adventurers' expressions turned grim.

"So it really is with Mr. Ed?" Marrison spoke first.

"Impossible. Ed is such a sickly person; the Eye of Simorely would be useless to him. Those things are poison to him." The person who had asked the question was very certain.

"Perhaps he just wanted to take the Eye of Simorely..." Edmund said.

"Shut up! You idiot. I said it's impossible, and it's impossible. Don't I know his intentions? He's just a tool." That voice suddenly became stern.

No one dared to speak at this moment, seemingly intimidated by this person.

"Maybe it's still in Wickel's cabin. Let's go look for it," Marrison suggested after some thought. This proposal was not refuted, and soon his gaze fell back on Fatenai. After she had spoken her last sentence, she had slumped onto the table, unconscious. "What about this little girl?"

"Feed her some Magic Potion and then dump her in the forest," the person who gave this answer found it perfectly reasonable.

After speaking, that person stood up from the chair. A rather thick cushion was still on the chair, clearly expressing their aversion to the place. The others made way for him. Except for one person leading the way, everyone else followed behind him.

"How did you get acquainted with this family? It seems you've earned quite a lot recently because of it." Edmund watched the group leave, then took out a small bottle from his pocket. The black liquid in the glass bottle made it clear at first glance that it was nothing good.

"Don't talk about that family. Everyone in their family are executioners," Marrison's face showed a warning. "Even Wickel couldn't resist them. If you still want to have a good Rose Month, then shut up. Otherwise, when he gives up on you and finds other adventurers, he won't keep useless people around – just like Linda."

"What happened to Linda?" Edmund couldn't help but ask.

"She angered Ed and the person from before. She was force-fed Magic Potion, and is probably in some brothel now." A flicker of fear flashed in Marrison's eyes.

Edmund understood Marrison's words. Although adventurers were known for being reckless, they, or at least Edmund, were not people who wanted to die for such reasons. Thus, he grabbed Fatenai's platinum blonde hair and easily lifted her up. He glanced at her again. "She doesn't look like a commoner. Do you really not know her background?"

"No matter her background, anyone can die in the forest," Marrison said impatiently. "Don't talk so much nonsense. You can just throw her out the window later."

"Got it... Why bother with Magic Potion? This innocent young girl won't survive this Rose Month anyway," Edmund said, pushing the stopper out of the bottle with one hand, bringing the bottle's opening slowly closer to Fatenai.

Fatenai seemed completely unaware of any of this. Her eyelashes were thick and long, and her pale skin and white hair made her look very delicate, as if she might vanish at any moment.

Such a girl should pose no threat.

Bang—!

But an unexpected change occurred. The brown eyes of the girl who had been keeping her eyes tightly shut suddenly opened. Edmund's movement paused slightly, and she seized that pause to quickly raise her hand. She was holding a dagger and instantly stabbed it into Edmund's arm!

Edmund cried out in pain, and his hand immediately loosened. Fatenai thus saved her hair.

Marrison was also surprised by the sudden turn of events, but he reacted quickly and opened his mouth to chant a spell. As Fatenai quickly snatched the Magic Potion from Edmund's hand while he was using his other hand to cover his injured arm, she unceremoniously hurled it backward, aiming for Marrison's face!

Marrison turned his face to the side, dodging the Magic Potion. As the potion hit the ground, a sizzling sound echoed on the wooden floor.

Edmund moved to stop Fatenai. He was an experienced adventurer, and even with one hand injured, his right hand, which could still wield a sword, had already drawn his weapon.

However, as Edmund stepped forward, he was surprised to find his feet seemingly entangled by something. He only saw some kind of vine growing rapidly beneath his feet, immobilizing him. The reach of his weapon was still a little short of Fatenai.

Fatenai glanced at him, then reached under her cloak, pulling out a dark, sticky substance. She immediately threw it out, and smoke accompanied by a choking smell filled the air. Marrison, while coughing, was surprised to find that he was momentarily unable to gather his magic, and thus watched helplessly as Fatenai's figure disappeared into the smoke.

"What happened?!" Those who heard the commotion rushed back, only to find the two adventurers empty-handed, and Fatenai's figure already gone.

"What a bunch of useless trash!" The person of the highest status saw this scene and quickly understood what had happened. His tone couldn't hide his disdain for them. From his raised head, people could see a sapphire-blue eye, which was now turbulent.

Click.

Fatenai jumped out of the window. The height was quite terrifying, but she couldn't hesitate to escape. She leaped, and just as she was about to land, a strong gust of wind surged from all around, catching her and finally placing her steadily on the ground.

For the first time, Fatenai felt that trusting someone felt quite good.

"Fatenai? Are you alright? How are you now?" Helise's figure emerged from the forest. It was she who had manipulated the wind just now, and she was now very worried about Fatenai, walking up to her quickly.

"Run!" Fatenai didn't know how to explain and shouted loudly.

At the same time, a fireball crashed down from above!

Helise was startled and almost couldn't dodge it. Fatenai pulled her outward, and only then did she evade the fireball.

"People from the Ansendil Family are still here, and they're still looking for the Eye of Simorely! Run quickly now!" Fatenai briefly explained the current situation as she ran. She looked up and saw the hooded figures jumping down from the window, landing with great agility.

She hadn't expected these people to be so powerful.

"Then what should we do now?" Helise and Fatenai ran into the forest, and she also saw the people chasing them from behind.

"I don't know why they think the Eye of Simorely is with us. But if we don't run, we'll die horribly if we're caught," Fatenai said after a moment of silence.

The mastermind was clearly someone from the Ansendil Family. Besides the Ansendil Family, she couldn't think of any other family searching for such an item. He certainly wouldn't give up if he hadn't found the Eye of Simorely before.

What worried Fatenai even more was that this person from the Ansendil Family acted with discretion, and anyone confirmed to be useless was ruthlessly executed.

"Are the traps set?" Fatenai asked.

"Hubert has finished them, but how did you know those adventurers were untrustworthy?" Helise asked.

As Fatenai ran, she threw things behind her. Some of these were flowers that emitted a foul odor when thrown on the ground, or fruits that resembled marbles.

She used these items to try and slow down her pursuers.

Suddenly, Fatenai no longer wanted to answer Helise—not just because her stamina was becoming increasingly precious—this woman hadn't noticed the adventurers' malice.

In fact, Fatenai hadn't believed them from the start—she never misread a person's expression; the eyes of those two adventurers held only greed and desire—people like that would absolutely not be Wickel's friends.

It wasn't just because of her gratitude towards Wickel, but also because Wickel was someone who would sacrifice himself for others.

Unknowingly, Fatenai thought again of that noble from the Ansendil Family—he was as arrogant as Ed, and even unwilling to change out of his noble clothes. She had recognized his noble status at a glance, just as she had instantly identified Ed Ansendil.

Fatenai could imagine that this noble from the Ansendil Family was the main force in this search for the Eye of Simorely. But during the last encirclement, Wickel had died, yet they hadn't found what they wanted and ultimately lost the lead. Coupled with their encounter while hunting the Unicorn, this had led them to pressure her into "revealing" the Eye of Simorely.

"Careful." Fatenai, her face grim, swung her dagger, blocking the hand of the person approaching Helise from behind, then she pushed Helise forward.

They were already very close.

Fatenai took a deep breath, doing her best to quicken her pace, even though neither she, lacking stamina, nor Helise, a mage with poor physical endurance, could hold on much longer.

"Just a little more, we're almost there..." Helise said, then felt a wave of heat approaching from behind. She hastily dove to the side as a fireball grazed the spot where she had just been.