In the dead of night, Kyle slipped silently out of his room, careful not to rouse any suspicion.
The moonlight washed over the village like a pale shroud, and the stillness in the air made his instincts prickle with unease.
Something about Baron Nora's hospitality didn't sit right with him. She had been too accommodating, too prepared—as if she'd known everything well in advance.
And while her aura had shown no signs of divine interference, Kyle had learned long ago not to trust first impressions.
Moving along the village's narrow stone paths, Kyle kept his mana suppressed to avoid detection.
As he rounded a quiet corner near the barracks where his soldiers were resting, he caught sight of something that made him pause.
A cloaked figure—female, agile and quick—slipped silently out of one of the rooms. Her hands were full of pouches that jingled faintly with coins and trinkets.
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
