“Oh, this is Diana?”
“Let her go, Captain!?”
“If you are certain that it is her,” said the captain, shaking his head. “Is it normal for a throne candidate to possess such skills? Look carefully, Jharif, it is dangerous to let her go.”
“I think it is… her… but why are you here in person…”
The girl was sweating in pain, and quickly recalled how Diana addressed him. “Granduncle Jharif… I am sorry, I was just… following orders.”
“Hmm…” Jharif stared at the girl dumbfounded, still in disbelief of what had just transpired. He then tried to find a reason to convince himself that what she had said was true. “I see… No wonder Lazer was away all the time despite the Juan family hiring him as a guard. He must have been secretly training you.”
The girl nodded in pain. The captain let go of her tail.
The girl caught a good look of Jharif. He looked ordinary and, to her surprise, peaceful. In fact, he looked gentle and calm. It was impossible to tell what his profession was by looking at his outfit, which consisted of a simple linen shirt and trousers.
“Training their daughter to become a killer. They are really maximizing their use of her as a pawn,” he said, smiling faintly.
“What do your parents want you to investigate here?” he asked, regaining his composure. He no longer sounded panicked, speaking in his usual soft tone.
“I… do not know,” she clasped her hands nervously and looked at the man standing behind Jharif from time to time. If she attempted to make a run for it again, he would undoubtedly pin her to the ground once more.
“Probably this.” The captain retrieved a letter from her body without her noticing it. He casually spread the letter open and glanced at its content. “Looks like that they want to frame you for colluding with the Kingdom of the Sun. Now that’s interesting. This fake communication letter between you and a human looks real. Maybe you will be tried for colluding with the enemy, Jharif.”
She almost stopped breathing. She saw Jharif’s face change as he grew agitated. She did not know what his emotions were, but they could not be good.
“Quit rubbernecking. Now that she is here, Pallan, why don’t you take this opportunity to…?” Jharif glared at the girl, hissing between his sharp teeth.
“I thought you would go crazy over what the Juan family has done to you,” Pallan remarked, smiling faintly.
“Just do your part and the rest will take care of itself.”
Pallan groaned and then looked at her seriously.
“Does Lazer know that you are here?”