The woman stared at Dole without blinking. "This time, I mean it sincerely."
Dole's parents had been dead for several years. All these years, he had lived alone. Being held by the hand like that truly reminded him of many things.
Without letting it show, he withdrew his hand from her warm palm. His eyes narrowed. "All right."
The girl's shifting voice had reminded him that this, too, was a form of disguise. He could do the same.
The two returned to their corner. The girl's voice returned to normal as she said urgently, "The noble we're going to kill is a down-and-out aristocrat. He has only one guard, who also serves as his butler. Here's the intelligence." She took out several sheets of paper and placed them before Dole.
Looking for a partner had not been a whim. She had stayed here for several days and seen the others. None of them were decent people. Only when she saw Dole had her eyes lit up.
The older assassins had complicated minds. She could not trust them at all.
Dole looked at the woman's face for a moment before taking the intelligence and lowering his eyes to the papers, reading them carefully.
Their target was a minor noble named Bondi. He had a habit of abusing maids and had played several of them to death. One of those maids had an older brother who served as a captain in the military office. Once he learned of it, the two families became enemies. Bondi was a noble, while the maid's brother was merely a commoner. Under the dual pressure of the military office and the nobility, the brother had no choice but to compromise. But he could not swallow his anger, so he saved up for years, spending every gold coin