Chapter 118

Mordekaiser kept his word, taking good care of the latter in the Death Realm, without taking his life or letting those terrible ghosts devour his will and turn him into a madman with zero sanity.

In the past few days, no one except Katarina has noticed General Du Couteau's "disappearance".

Firstly, everyone knows that this legendary assassin is usually elusive and rarely seen, so it's normal for him to disappear for a few days or be unreachable.

Secondly... the empire's upper echelons are currently undergoing an unprecedented and momentous upheaval, and most people don't have time to pay attention to him.

Swain finally extended his reform efforts to the Empire's army.

In the palace of the Immortal Bastion —formerly Mordekaiser's palace—he convened a meeting with several members of the Trifarix Council and ultimately decided to form a new elite legion.

An elite legion that takes orders directly from the three-man Trifarix Council.

[Trifarix Legion]

The members of this legion were selected from the elite warriors of various warbands, equipped with the finest gear in the entire empire, and trained by some of the best officers in the empire. Even Darius, the Hand of Noxus, expressed his satisfaction and high praise for this newly established legion.

Upon learning this news, Chen Ce knew his time had come; it was time to talk to Darius.

But he remained in no hurry.

While the military reforms were in full swing outside, he spent his days holed up in the manor with Syndra, enjoying a sweet and intimate time together.

I was woken up by Syndra stepping on my bare foot in the morning, woken up by Syndra stepping on my black stockings at noon, and then bullied by a bare foot and a jade foot wrapped in black stockings in the evening... and so on and so forth.

Oh right, every night while I'm massaging and kneading her here and there, I can take the opportunity to fold some steel.

Anyway, when she's engrossed in that unique feeling of comfort, she doesn't mind a little bit of sudden pain—spanking hurts a bit, but she actually likes it.

It seemed that doing so gave her a... strange... pleasure...? She would even make some strange noises...

Maybe it's because it's close to a certain area... maybe...

In short, the silver-haired girl's favorability rating is steadily increasing and is about to break the fifty mark.

Unfortunately, this pleasant life did not last long.

On a bright afternoon, just as Syndra was about to drag Chen Ce back to his room for a nap, an unusual knocking sound suddenly came from the entrance of the secret passage.

Clearly, this is not LeBlanc.

Syndra almost instinctively began to gather her magic, preparing to blast the "uninvited guest" that was about to emerge from the secret passage into dust.

But Chen Ce stopped her.

A moment later, a splash of orange-red emerged from the secret passage.

Next, there was a flawless, pretty face.

"Where is this... um?" Upon seeing Chen Ce and Syndra, Katarina felt the awkwardness of a female investigator whose infiltration had failed.

"Good afternoon, Miss Katarina." Chen Ce wasn't embarrassed at all—he had expected her to come.

"Good afternoon..." Katarina replied awkwardly, then awkwardly emerged from the entrance of the secret passage—her movements were swift and agile, but her overly full breasts still got stuck at the entrance.

Syndra watched the two greet each other silently, the magic in her hands fading, but anger rising within her.

Another woman is bothering Chen Ce...!

"Who is this...?" Katarina also noticed the silver-haired girl beside her.

"Her name is Syndra," Chen Ce introduced. "She's one of us."

"Well, that's good." The cautious Katarina breathed a sigh of relief.

But just then, Syndra awkwardly interjected, adding, "We live together."

"Uh... oh." Katarina looked confused.

Chen Ce quickly tried to appease the somewhat jealous "powder keg girl," explaining Katarina's situation while pushing her back into the room.

Syndra reluctantly went back to her room to rest, but before leaving, she emphasized, "We sleep in the same room every night!"

"..." Katarina was momentarily at a loss for words.

Finally, only the two of them remained in the living room.

It's time to get down to business.

"I want to know what you're up to," Katarina said bluntly.

"As I said before, overthrowing Swain —that's what your father wanted too," Chen Ce replied, "And that wouldn't be possible without the help of your Du House Du Couteau."

"You want me to take over the family and replace my father in your cooperation?" Katarina asked another question, one that she already knew the answer to.

"Yes," Chen Ce replied simply.

"Where is he? Where did you hide him?"

"A very safe place—even Swain can't find him. Absolutely."

"I think... I want to ask for his opinion first."

"He hates me more than he hates Swain." Chen Ce shook his head. "His thinking is confined by the mindset of the old aristocracy, and to some extent, it's flawed. So I don't want him to interfere with your choices—you need to make the most reasonable and rational decision."

"... But I hate you too." Katarina pursed her lips, then subconsciously glanced at her full breasts.

How could she forget the scene of their first meeting... the humiliation... he had taken her "innocence"...

"That was just an accident." Chen Ce coughed twice, his tone remaining calm and rational. "Please don't let minor incidents affect your judgment."

"Didn't you ever consider that I might reject you? Even if it wasn't because of this?"

"I've thought about it, but I believe in you."

"..." Katarina fell into deep thought again.

Chen Ce wasn't in a hurry and quietly sat down to wait.

He couldn't say he knew the girl in front of him very well; he could only say he knew everything about her childhood.

If she doesn't accept it now, her future is destined to end in tragedy—her father and she have different stances, and later they completely broke off relations because of the Gate of Mourning; one disappeared, and the other defected to join the Trifarix Council...

By then, the family honor she values most now will be far from her.

She will live with guilt forever, and every time she carries out an assassination mission for the Trifarix Council, she will be reminded of her past sins... She will never be able to move on.

She won't refuse if we try to win her over while she and her father are still on the same side.

She just needs some time to think it over.

"I... I'm not sure if I have the ability to lead the entire family..."

After a silence that lasted more than ten minutes, Katarina finally spoke, albeit somewhat hesitantly:

"I don't have Cassiopeia's political acumen... I'm just an assassin... I'm not sure..."

"You have to believe in yourself, Katarina," Chen Ce said, offering timely affirmation. "Just like ever before—confidence is the key to success, isn't it? You've reached the pinnacle of assassins because of that confidence, and everyone knows that."

"..." Katarina remained silent, unable to offer an answer.

She still had her own concerns.

On one hand, she was unsure whether doing this would constitute betraying her father... even though he had already betrayed her.

On the other hand... and more importantly.

She was worried.

She couldn't see through the man before her, and knew nothing about him... She was worried about what would happen after he successfully overthrew Swain.

What if... they then betray you after using you, or discard you like a used tool?

What if he pins all the dirty laundry on the Du House Du Couteau?

Katarina hesitated.

But after some further thought, she came up with a very common and effective solution.

Just like her intelligent and wise mother.

"I...accept your invitation." She took a deep breath, her tone and expression gradually regaining confidence. "But you must first agree to one condition."

"I can't guarantee I'll agree, but we can talk," Chen Ce replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Katarina didn't keep them in suspense and stated her conditions in an extremely serious tone:

"Marry."

After he finished speaking, the entire living room fell into a deathly silence.

It was as if the air itself had frozen.

"...?" Chen Ce had reason to suspect that Syndra had damaged his ears by stepping on them with her bare feet last night.

Even though Katarina had never known anything about matters between men and women, a blush crept onto her face, but her tone remained firm:

Only by marrying you can I completely trust you and the power behind you.

"Are you afraid I'll betray you after I've served my purpose and ruin your family later...?" Chen Ce asked.

Katarina nodded frankly.

"Then I think you don't need to worry at all..."

I don't trust you.

"Can..."

"There's no 'buts' about it. These are my conditions and my bottom line." Katarina took a deep breath, closed her eyes, as if she would explode if she looked away. "Only by completely binding us together and making it public will you have no chance to betray us."

"If we announce it widely... are you worried that Swain won't know about our collaboration?" Chen Ce, somewhat helplessly.

"I've thought about this, so I'll help you first, and then we'll get married when we're about to confront Swain." Katarina's eyes remained closed, and the blush on her cheeks lingered.

"This..."

"Don't worry, it's just a marriage in name only—it's purely a political alliance. I never wanted to marry someone like you... a pervert."

"That's why I said last time was just a huge accident..."

"We'll need to live together then, but we can sleep in separate rooms. You won't need to take care of me; we can each live our own lives."

"Sigh, this..." Chen Ce was at a loss for words.

But seeing the girl's resolute attitude, he knew that if he refused, there would be no further developments.

In this situation, he had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, okay... I promise you."

"Don't act so reluctant. I'm the one who should feel reluctant." Katarina turned her head away unhappily. "Among nobles, men can have multiple wives, but even if I divorce you in the future, I will absolutely... tsk."

After a brief pause, she shook her head impatiently and steered the conversation back on track. "So, can you tell me your plan now?"

"Of course." With the agreement reached, Chen Ce naturally wouldn't hide anything from his "future wife."

"My first step is for you to register my information with the Assassin Guild so that I can have the identity of an Imperial Assassin."

"My second step is to go directly to Darius, the Hand of Noxus, and obtain his support with terms he can't refuse."

"The third step... well, after the second step and before the third step, I need to do one more thing to gain Darius's approval."

"What is it?" Katarina was curious about how the other party would gain the approval of that arrogant general.

"Use my identity as 'Trifarix' to enter the Immortal Bastion directly, and then find something inside—a treasure, and also a 'demon'."

"I don't understand."

"It means..." Chen Ce looked at the longsword lying to the side of him— the Muramana.

"I will seek the aid of a scythe and the power of a Darkin."

And his name is...

"Rhaast."

Chapter Eight: We are, the Darkin!

Days after the agreement was reached, as promised, Katarina brought good news.

She registered Chen Ce with the Assassin Guild, making this "ordinary and lawful Noxus citizen" a "registered and lawful Noxus assassin."

She even personally delivered a badge of honor belonging to the Assassin Guild.

At this point, the preparations are complete.