Chaos is the best curtain.

If you want to take action against those two people, the first thing you have to do is to force them out of their comfortable and familiar environment!

At the same moment, the noise and flames shot up into the sky.

Hundreds of miles away in the city of King Karl, a shadow, darker and faster than the darkest night, was sliding silently along the cold and smooth walls of the towering mansions in the aristocratic district.

Monica was like intangible mist, accurately avoiding the warning crystals embedded in the corners of the wall and emitting weak magical fluctuations.

There was not a single unnecessary movement in her movements, and every pause perfectly matched the brief blind spots in the patrolling guards' vision when they changed shifts, which lasted only a few seconds.

The night wind blew across the tallest tower of Falcon Mansion, lifting a corner of the thick, gold-embroidered curtains.

On the tower terrace, a plump woman was leaning on the railing.

The moonlight shone on her well-maintained face, and also illuminated the intricate and gorgeous magic necklace around her neck.

The pendant of the necklace is a perfectly cut sapphire, emitting a mysterious glow in the night and exuding a powerful protective aura.

Irina Bellucci.

Monica's stepmother.

Her slender fingers were unconsciously stroking the dark blue gem pendant, her eyes were cast towards the twinkling lights of the royal capital in the distance, and there was a faint, lazy smile of a winner on the corner of her mouth.

She had no idea that just outside the terrace at her feet, in the thick shadow, a pair of cold eyes were fixed on her and the necklace around her neck that originally belonged to Monica's biological mother.

A venomous snake that relies on external objects for protection... your death is approaching.

Monica whispered in her heart.

She was like a streak of ink blending into the night, sliding silently along the cold stone wall and disappearing into the even thicker darkness deep inside the mansion.

…

Intelligence flowed like a cold stream in the simple hotel room.

"Irina," Anna's voice was as cold and taut as an elven bowstring, "every night, after a two-hour secret meeting with the mage's apprentice, she would appear on the tower terrace around 11 o'clock to 'get some fresh air' for a quarter of an hour. The protective light of the necklace she wore never extinguished, and its core seemed to be connected to her vital signs."

She pointed at the tower's location on the crude city defense map. "Breaking it down by force would immediately alert all the defense forces within the mansion and the powerful warriors who cast protective magic on her."

Enzo took a big gulp of cheap beer. Even the spicy smell couldn't dispel the ferocious look on his face. He lowered his raspy voice and said, "Bah! The orcs' team sent to pick up the goods is really weak. I haven't even warmed up yet, and they were all taken away by Mark's two combos!

"Hic~ That old bastard Leonard is no coward! The black market's 'Foul Cellar' auction has its finale the night after tomorrow! According to our informant, that old bastard Leonard has his eyes on an antique dagger said to be stained with dragon's blood, and he's determined to get it at all costs!"

"The auction starts at midnight and ends at five in the morning. He's definitely going! That damn place is right next to the capital's sewer hub. It's a hodgepodge of people, and the security is much weaker than his tortoise-shell mansion! He probably didn't expect someone would dare to attack him in the royal city!"

Mark's fingertips wandered across the map, finally stopping at the stained ink spot representing the "Foul Cellar", and then slowly moved back to the Falcon Mansion.

His eyes were calm. "Leonard isn't a fool. He's just an appraiser without combat abilities. He must be accompanied by powerful guards. I don't think it's appropriate to take action at the auction. Monica, what do you think?"

Everyone's eyes were cast towards the figure in the corner that almost blended into the shadows.

Monica slowly raised her head, the dim light only illuminating the hard lines of her jaw.

Her fingers unconsciously stroked the almost worn-out night owl relief on the handle of the dagger at her waist. This was her habitual action when she was thinking.

"Mansion." Her voice was like a blade tempered by ice water, each word carrying a bone-chilling murderous intent and unquestionable determination. "Irina's life must be avenged first."

Her eyes swept across the tower mark, as if penetrating the map, and saw her stepmother who was unaware on the terrace and the dazzling blue around her neck.

"Just when the auction was at its busiest, and everyone's ears were fixed on the sound of the hammer dropping." She paused, then added, each syllable beating to the beat of the god of death's drum, "Use her blood... to sacrifice to my father."

The room was dead silent, with only the heavy breathing of Enzo and the faint crackling of the burning wick of the cheap oil lamp.

The cold murderous intent spread like a substance, and the air was so thick that it was suffocating.

The hustle and bustle of the royal city's streets concealed a cold murderous intent.

The core of Monica's plan is to use the auction to attract most of the mansion's guards, especially the elite around Leonard, to create a window for infiltrating and hunting Irina.

Mark is responsible for external support and monitoring the movements of the royal capital.

As for how to attract the guards to Leonard, this is very simple.

If the news of Monica sneaking into the top floor of the Iris Appraisal Shop was even spread, Leonard would become alert.

…

On the third day, everything was going smoothly as planned.

Mark's soul perception spread out like mercury, carefully covering the dark streets outside Bellucci's mansion.

Under his perception, teams of well-equipped private guards hurriedly assembled at the steward's whispered orders and boarded the closed carriages with the falcon emblem.

Apparently, he was urgently dispatched to escort the head of the family, Leonard, to the "bloody cellar".

The mansion's defenses were visibly weakening, which was exactly what Monica needed.

He hid in the attic of an abandoned stone house, watching the side door of the mansion through a crack.

Suddenly, a pitch-black carriage without any family emblem but guarded by knights in standard armor of the royal guards stopped silently at the side door.

The car curtain was slightly lifted, and a graceful figure wearing a dark purple hood quickly slipped into the door, with the habitual reserve of a superior.

Mark's perception condensed instantly.

The woman's soul exuded an innate arrogance and a smoothness nurtured by power, which was completely different from Irina's aura as a shrewd and calculating noble lady, but there was a vague connection between them.

He risked his senses, as delicate as a thread, to penetrate the door and caught the concierge's low, flattering voice: "...Your Highness, the master is waiting for you in the main hall."

Your Highness?

King Karl's daughter?

Mark's heart trembled, realizing that this was no ordinary visit.

He immediately changed his strategy, restraining his soul perception to the greatest extent possible, retaining only the most basic vigilance, and concentrating his main energy on "listening" and "watching" the movements in the area near the gate of the mansion.