Chapter 1883 Fake Death
“What? You’ve already finished?!” two masked men said in surprise to the maid, standing in the shadows. They had given the maid poison that morning, and by the afternoon, she claimed to have succeeded in the assassination.
“Isn’t it very simple? I’ve always been the one cooking for that little guy. He had no defense against me at all. He didn’t notice the poisoning and died instantly,” the maid said with a confident smile.
“Don’t lie to us. We won’t believe you’ve actually killed him until we see his corpse. Otherwise, don’t expect any reward,” the assassin said again.
“Of course, his corpse is at home right now. You can see it if you follow me,” the maid said decisively.
This time, it was the assassins’ turn to hesitate. This girl seemed too calm. After killing her former master, she was composed and even proactive, as if eager to get the promised reward quickly.
However, the task assigned by the Count must be completed. After some thought, the two assassins decided to go along. Otherwise, there was no other way. Besides, the other party was just a maid; what could she do to them?
These two assassins were the most elite killers under the Count’s chief spy, and while their reputation and status were not as high as the knights serving the Count, their strength was by no means inferior to that of the knights.
They followed the maid to a small house next to Falbedy Cemetery. Looking at the faint ghosts appearing and disappearing around them, and the indeterminate figures on the road, the assassins couldn’t help but frown and ask, “Why do you live in such a cursed place?”
“Because it’s cheap,” the maid turned and replied. Hearing the assassins’ question, I secretly chuckled. Asking such a question meant they knew nothing about Little Elaine’s current situation and hadn’t been monitoring her. This was good news for me, making her seem easier to deceive.
Soon, the maid opened the door. As the two assassins walked in, they immediately saw a corpse lying on the ground. Its limbs were contorted strangely, as if it had suffered painful convulsions before death. Half of its foot was on an overturned chair, suggesting it had been sitting on the table when poisoned.
On the table in front of it, lunch was still laid out. A piece of steak had been bitten into, and the cutlery was placed haphazardly on top of it, as if the person had died from poisoning after eating this steak.
“This is the target you wanted me to kill. How about it? Do you believe me now?” the maid said indifferently, as if she hadn’t killed a person but a chicken.
The two assassins didn’t believe it immediately. One of them went up to turn over the corpse, while the other took out a portrait to compare. The deceased looked exactly like the portrait; it was indeed Little Elaine.
His lips were dark blue, and his eyes were rolled back, indicating death by poisoning. However, the two assassins were not reassured. One directly took out his knife and stabbed the corpse’s chest, while the other went to examine the steak.
Just as I thought he was delivering a finishing blow, the assassin made a forceful cut. The sharp dagger actually sliced open the corpse’s chest, and blood spurted out. Upon closer inspection, the internal organs of the corpse were hemorrhaging everywhere.
“No problem. He died from the poison we gave him,” the assassin who checked the corpse nodded. The other assassin also said, “There was indeed poison in the steak. It seems Elaine’s son is truly dead.”
I didn’t expect them to be so cautious, even performing an autopsy and examining the beef to see if the target had truly died from the poison they administered. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but it was too smooth, making it feel somewhat unreal.
“Alright? You’ve confirmed the corpse. Can you give me the promised reward now? And the proof of residence in Deep Lake City that you promised,” the maid asked.
“Yes, and I still owe you a reward. Okay,” the assassin pretended to be about to give the reward and suddenly thrust his knife forward. “Go to hell and accompany your master!”
“Ah!!! You, you guys?!” the maid exclaimed in shock, looking at the assassin who had suddenly stabbed her, asking in disbelief.
“Sorry, only the dead can keep secrets. The Count said that the maid must be killed immediately after the task is completed, so that he absolutely cannot expose the matter of her harming his vassal and attempting to murder his son,” one assassin explained.
“You! You tricked me…” the maid uttered a resentful protest and collapsed softly onto the ground, quickly losing her breath.
“Who would believe a traitor? You could kill your original master for a few hundred gold coins, and you could also reveal the Count’s secrets for more money,” the assassin who stabbed her said.
“Alright, stop talking. Let’s hurry and take his corpse back to report. The Count will surely reward us handsomely now,” the other assassin said, taking out a large duffel bag and putting the corpse inside.
“What about this maid? Should we put her in and take her too?” the assassin with the knife asked.
“No, just leave this corpse here. It’ll probably be days before anyone finds it. There’s nothing on her that can identify her. She’ll likely be disposed of quickly,” the one with the bag said, slinging the corpse over his shoulder.
The two assassins quickly ransacked the room roughly and then left, taking only some valuables. The maid’s corpse was abandoned in the living room.
In a small room three streets away, I said with a smile, “It’s just as I thought. Fortunately, I was a little careful. How about that? Didn’t I tell you? They won’t let you go. There’s a saying in the East: ‘When the mill is grinding, kill the donkey.'”
“I, I never trusted them from the beginning,” the maid said, her face deathly pale. In front of her was a crystal ball, projecting a screen showing the scene inside the house Little Elaine originally lived in.
Although she said that, I believed she still held a sliver of hope for the Count’s side, perhaps thinking the promised reward would actually be fulfilled, until she personally witnessed the assassins turn on her just now.
“Miss Parul, is everything really alright? Won’t the fact that I’m not actually dead be exposed?” Little Elaine asked worriedly. He was still alive and well.
“No, the person impersonating you is a real corpse. I even deliberately studied the poison the maid brought back, and replicated the symptoms of internal bleeding. It’s impossible for them to discover it,” I said confidently.
What those two assassins took away now was a corpse that had died of natural causes, which I had obtained from Lavias in the nearby Falbedy Cemetery. I used Transformation Spell to make it look like Little Elaine and simulated the symptoms of death by poisoning.
Moreover, I carefully left a maggot inside the corpse to continuously maintain the Magic Power consumed by the Transformation Spell. This way, even if it was taken away, it could continue to impersonate Little Elaine without fear of being exposed.
