Assassin in the Void

by psychored1911

Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed or Familiar of Zero

Chapter 14: Guard Duty

Des Ornieres mansion, Late Night

Now Saito, after all the insane things he has done during his time in Halkenginia, would have expected getting some sort of Herculean task or an absurdly unbearable punishment from The Mentor as punishment.

He was correct... Sort of.

Earlier that day, In front of Master Louette's Office

The Mission File Read:

Guard Tristainian HQ, otherwise known as the Des Ornieres Mansion. You are not permitted outside of the premises

"This… This is a guard duty job…" Saito muttered in disbelief "You gave me a guard duty job…"

"Is there a problem?" The Mentor inquired.

"This is a GUARD DUTY JOB."

"A fitting punishment for someone who goes wherever he pleases, destroying everything in his wake." The Mentor said in an almost comical tone "And for you two," he handed the Romalian Duo a different file. It read:

There are several Master Assassins waiting at the Germanian HQ. Escort them to the Tristainian HQ for the upcoming conference.

Julio nodded "Okay, this seems doable. I'd hardly call this punishment."

Domani on the other hand groaned "Speak for yourself. I hate it when you drive."

"What?" Saito groaned "They get an escort mission and I get guard duty?"

"The last time I checked, Julio and Domani weren't the ones banned from Germania due to threatening the Emperor." The Mentor's words pierce right through the Japanese Assassin as he shrunk back in response. "Is that all? All right then, children. Off you go! Mission Start or whatever you kids were told back on earth." he said as the three scattered to do whatever they had to.

As he shooed the three off, he started coughing raucously, alarming Master Louette, who had been standing off to the side throughout the conversation "Mentor!"

"I'm alright, Marci. No need to be so alarmed." The Mentor said as he walked into her office "I'm not what I used to be, but I certainly am not close to dying anytime soon."

"That's good." Master Louette said as she calmed down "Would you like some tea perhaps?"

"No thanks." The Mentor shook his head "The conference is coming up soon, right before the Royal Wedding as it seems, and I still need to track down Kunsel and Saffron."

"That's understandable." Master Louette said as she turned away from him "Then perhaps-" Before she realized it, The Mentor had already vanished without a trace. She chuckled as she gave herself a light slap on the head "Heh, I can't believe I still fall for that."

Late Night, Des Ornieres Mansion, Outside Tarbes

And now, while Julio and Domani were off on an exciting escort mission, Saito was stuck sitting on the roof of the Des Ornieres Mansion, bored out of his mind. Unfortunately, as much as he hated to admit it, he had it coming acting like a loose cannon for the duration of his stay here. Well, at least his sister didn't know about this; she'd perforate him for acting out of line.

He sighed as he laid his head back upon the rooftop. Perhaps some good nights' rest will do him some good. It's not like he had any real guarding to do anyways; he was in one of the most secure places in the country right now anyways.

The Next Morning, Employee Housing Area, La Couvertoirade Fortress

"Yaaaa…" Tiffania yawned as she woke up, pulling herself from her bed. With a dazed expression, she glanced at the bed next to hers, where her sister Matilda should have been sleeping in the bed next to hers, yet she wasn't there; her bed wasn't even made.

"Where did Matilda go? I thought she would come back after checking up on the children." Tiffania thought out loud as she quickly got changed and headed out the door-

*Thud*

"Oof!"

Only for Luce, who was inexplicably sleeping at the door, to collapse and slam headfirst into the doorstep.

"Agh…" Luce rubbed her eyes before staring directly at an understandably confused Tiffania "...Uh, good morning?" she said sheepishly.

"Um, Miss Luce, what were you doing sleeping in front of the door?" Tiffania asked.

"Good question." Luce said as she brought herself back to her feet "There were reports of a break-in somewhere in the facility, so they ordered a lockdown and made all available agents stand guard all over the place. I might have dozed off…" she added that last part uneasily "Please don't tell Miss Sheffield I slept on the job, okay?"

"Uh, sure," Tiffania reluctantly nodded "but did you see where my sister went? She told me that she would come back after checking up on the kids one more time."

Luce shrugged "I don't know. She might have left before the lockdown. I'll call it in if you want." she pulled out her radio "This is Agent De Treville to HQ Command. Requesting the location of the new employee: green hair, glasses, mid-twenties."

After a few second delay, HQ Command responded *This is HQ Command. The employee who you are referring to is at the Forensics Department.*

"I understand, over." Luce said before putting her radio away "That' strange; what's she doing in Forensics?"

Forensics Department

"Doctor," Luce got the attention of one of the doctors as she and Tiffania entered the room "We're looking for a new employee who should be here. Female, green hair, glasses, mid-twenties."

The doctor nodded "Sure. She's over here." The doctor stepped aside, revealing Matilda's corpse to the two.

Luce, rather understandably recoiled in shock. Tiffania, on the other hand, stared at Matilda's corpse with mere confusion "That's odd, why would she choose to sleep here?"

The poor girl was far too innocent for her own good, and the doctor was far too blunt when he merely replied "Oh, she's not sleeping; she's dead."

"..." Tiffania stared dumbly at the doctor for several seconds before her contorted to that of sheer horror "...No…" she rushed towards Matilda's body with a horrified expression "Nononononononono!" she pushed the doctor out of the way before clasping Matilda's cold hands into her own "Oh dear God, why? Matilda!" she sobbed into the corpse's chest, cradling it with utmost care as she died. "H-How… W-Who…"

"We found her body earlier this night, in the Magical R&A department." Tiffania and Luce turned around as Sheffield walked in from a second entrance "She must've been trying to familiarize herself with her surroundings the previous night and ended up at the scene of crime. From the looks of it, she struggled against the culprit before she was killed."

"I-I *sniff* see…" Tiffania muttered, tears still rolling down her cheeks "So she just died meaninglessly…"

"On the contrary," Sheffield shook her head "If your sister didn't put up a struggle like she did, security wouldn't have even noticed the breach, and the culprit would've made off with all our research, or even your familiar, and we wouldn't be the wiser. If anything, your sister was a hero today."

"A hero…" Tiffania echoed, still crying horribly.

"Yes, a hero." Sheffield put her hands on Tiffania's shoulders "Look, we'll give your sister a proper burial, and we'll find the one who did this. It's the least we can do."

"O-Okay, but *sniff* promise me…" Tiffania uttered between sobs "Find the one who killed my sister… and bring him to justice."

Sheffield smiled "I'll do what I have to." she glanced at Luce "Agent de Treville, protect Miss Westwood and her familiar when he wakes up."

Luce saluted her "Yes ma'am!"

"And doctor," Sheffield returned her attention to the forensics doctor, who stepped to the side "Work on your speaking habits; there is a very fine line between honesty and rudeness."

Tristain Magical Academy, Courtyard

Louise yawned as she climbed onto Professor Colbert's carriage, clearly half asleep.

"Good morning, Miss Valliere."

The half-asleep Louise turned her right; it was Siesta, one of the maids who was working at the academy.

"Oh, it's you." Louise grumbled "What are you doing here, maid?"

Siesta smiled at the young noble "Oh, Professor Colbert asked me for my assistance on his research trip. You see, my family owns this artifact that the Professor wanted to study, so I invited him to see it."

Louise yawned "Is that so?"

"It is." Professor Colbert said with a smile as he, Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche approached the carriage "If rumor serves me correctly, her family's artifact should allow the user to fly high in the sky."

"So it's a wind-type artifact then." Kirche inquired.

Siesta shook her head "If it was merely a simple wind-type artifact, then the people in my town wouldn't have placed it in a hidden storehouse and actively try to preserve it for decades on end."

That caught Louise's attention; most treasures would be placed in chests or boxes for safekeeping, but to go as far and actively preserve it year after year, it must have been something very important.

"Well then," Professor Colbert "If all is said and done, let's head out!"

Mid-Afternoon- Hidden Warehouse

After a long carriage ride, complete with Colbert talking about some old man stories to pass the time, the group had finally made it to the warehouse, the really out-of-the-way warehouse hidden in the middle of the Tarbes Forest.

"Ugh, we finally stopped…" Kirche muttered as she jumped off the carriage and stretched her limbs.

"I agree." Guiche said as he got off the carriage, yawning loudly. "I thought we were going to be in there all day…"

"Long." Tabitha stated, getting off from the back instead of from the front like everyone else.

"Oh, don't get discouraged now!" Colbert said cheerily as he stood in front of his students "You should wait until we actually study the artifact! That is when the actual fun starts!"

"Oh joy…" Louise muttered as she looked at the warehouse. It was an large, old-looking building, with a heavy metal structure, massive doors, and a pair of armed guards standing before the main entrance.

…

…

...Wait, armed guards?

"Are there supposed to be guards over here?" Louise asked Siesta.

"What?" Siesta blinked in confusion before looking at the guards herself "That's odd; I don't remember guards the last time I was here."

Louise raised a brow "And the last time you were here was…"

"Umm…" Siesta sheepishly scratched her head "That was twelve years ago?" she reeled back at Louise's intense stare "I'm sorry Miss Valliere, but I really don't recall any guards twelve years ago! My grandfather must've only hired them recently!"

Louise frowned "Why would your grandfather hire armed guards to guard a warehouse?"

"I don't know! My grandfather has become increasingly paranoid this past decade. It's probably his old age catching up to him!" Siesta yells back, clearly as confused as Louise.

"Now now," Colbert calmed the two "It's no matter' let's just talk to them and explain why we're here." he said as he approached the two guards, who were already eyeing him warily "Excuse me sirs, we are from the Tristain Academy of Magic. We have come to study an artifact stored in that facility. If possible-"

"For guest entry, you need signoff from the owner and Lord Des Ornieres." Guard #1 said coldly.

Colbert paused in confusion "Excuse me?"

"For guest entry, you need signoff from the owner and Lord Des Ornieres." Guard #1 repeated, annoyed with Colbert's presence "If you have neither, then get lost. You are on private property."

"Excuse me, sirs." Siesta approached "There must be a mistake. You see, this should be my grandfather's property, and-"

"Got any proof?" Guard #2 retorted.

"Yes, right here!" Siesta dug her hand into one of her pockets and pulled out a brooch with a complex engraving "You see, this brooch was a gift my grandfather wanted to give to his sister in his homeland, but he was unable to send it to him."

The two guards glanced at the brooch, before glancing at each other, and exchanging nods. "all right, you have relations to the owner, but you will still need permission from Lord Des Ornieres."

Now Colbert was starting to get annoyed "Sir, with all due respect, but what has Lord Des Ornieres have to do with this? He's more of a ghost than a man. Nobody has seen him in years!"

"Nobody except for the owner of the facility. The two of them have been friends for decades." Guard #2 stated "Now, if you don't have signoff, then get lost."

Colbert sighed in defeat "Alright, let's go kids. I believe we passed Lord Des Ornieres' mansion on the way here."

One by one, Colbert climbed onto the carriage, followed by Kirche and Guiche. As Louise climbed up, Tabitha quietly stated "Same emblem."

"Huh?" Louise gave Tabitha a double take as she got onto the carriage.

"The maid's brooch and the guards' belts had the same emblem your familiar had." Tabitha stated, quietly enough for only Louise to hear, as she climbed up herself, leaving Siesta as the last one to get in.

As the carriage left the warehouse, Louise sat in the back, deep in thought. Why would Saito, that former familiar she summoned from some far away land, have the same emblem Siesta had on her brooch? And furthermore, how come she started seeing that emblem everywhere she went?

Hours Later, Mid-Afternoon, Des Ornieres Mansion

Saito walked into the facility's weapon's R&D department, taking a quick glance at the multiple engineers and blacksmiths who created the Assassins' armaments, and approached a middle aged man standing behind the front desk, facing away from him and towards the bookshelf, presumably filing orders "Excuse me, sir?"

"The initiate gear is in the back. Only Assassins who finished training have clearance for custom orders." The blacksmith stated as he pointed to a door over at the distance, not even bothering to face him.

Saito rolled his eyes before pulling the emblem on his hip and placing it on the desk "I believe I qualify then."

The man turned around, scratching his beard before looking over the Japanese Assassin "Ah, I heard of you: foreign, strange clothing, and audacious enough to wear two 'idden blades instead of one 'thout a Master Assassin Seal. Ya' must be the famous Gandalfr. What brings ya here?"

"I want to see if you can reforge this." Saito said as he put Derflinger on the desk. "I don't exactly have any problems with a rusty old sword like this, but it's clearly very rough around the edges, no pun intended."

"Lessee here..." the man pulled the sword out of its sheath. "It's a beautiful piece, but the blade's ancient judging from all the rust. Could be decades or even centuries old, yet it's still in amazing shape. Where did you get this?"

"From a rip-off artist of a weapons dealer." Derflinger muttered.

The man nearly dropped the blade in surprise, whereas Saito merely muttered something along the lines of "Right, forgot he could talk."

"You got yerself' a talking sword?" the old man stated in shock.

"Yeah, though I admit he hasn't been talking much." Saito stated.

"That's because this business doesn't exactly look like the type a sword like me should be blabbing about." Derflinger stated "Don't worry, I won't talk about all this business; you have the right to your own privacy after all."

The old man and Saito exchanged glances for a second before the old man gave him a shrug "You want me to reforge the whole thing altogether or just hammer out the rust?"

"Keep the hilt, but reforge the blade as you see fit." Saito stated.

The old man nodded "You know, while hammering out rust isn't usually that difficult, if you want to reforge the blade with it still intact, that'll take a while, and it costs more too."

"Take your time, and money shouldn't be an issue." Saito stated before presenting his hand "I'm Saito by the way. Saito Hiraga."

"They call me Weilund. I'm one of the best smiths amongst the Assassins." Weilund stated as he shook his hand "Don't worry, your sword's in safe hands."

"I'll keep that in mind." Saito stated as he placed a couple small pouches of ecu on the desk "This should probably be enough. I'll come back for him when you're done." he said as he left the R&D department.

Taking a deep breath, Saito looked around at the rest of the mansion. While he was technically on guard duty, it really meant for him to patrol the area and investigate anything wrong. Of course, given that he was a total newcomer to Halkenginia, and by extension, Tristain, he really didn't exactly know what the norm for this part of the Order was. In fact, he actually started attacking trainees who were practicing their sneaking skills, earning him more than a couple reprimands in the process. He sighed; this was why be preferred being a field agent in the first place; guard duty made him (along with every other guard in Halkenginia) very, very stupid. All the senses dull in constant peace. At least out in the field, despite the higher mortality rate, he was still at 100% capacity.

As he walked back to the entrance, he caught a glimpse of a carriage filled with what looked like research supplies and a guy with a really shiny head holding the reins.

Saito squinted, peering at the rocking carriage in the distance "Isn't that… Louise's bald teacher?"

Colbert sighed as his carriage, passing the rows and rows of grape vines, slowed to a stop "Finally, we're here. Lord Des Ornieres' estate."

Guiche peered out of the carriage "Is it me, or are all the servants staring at us?"

Louise looked out and glanced at the vineyard workers; they were all eyeing them with wariness and almost a subdued sense of hostility.

Colbert acknowledged the 'servants'' suspicious glances "Well, I did hear that Lord Des Ornieres was wary of strangers; his sentiments must be diffused towards his servants as well."

"Who is Lord Des Ornieres anyway?" Guiche moans "This is the first time I've ever heard of him."

"Lord Des Ornieres is the local lord for this area," Colbert explained "Supposedly, he is an economic genius, and has brought up a large shipping company about sixty years ago. However, he is very reclusive; very few people, including the royal family has ever seen him. It's even unknown if he's alive at all."

"He could've reared a child within that time." Kirche theorized.

"Possibly." Tabitha agreed, flipping another page in her book.

"It must be something for Siesta's grandfather to be well associated with him then," Louise added absentmindedly, paying more attention to the 'servants', their stares somehow reminding her of the wary gaze Saito gave her.

Their discussion of Lord Des Ornieres continued as the group got off from the carriage and walked into the Mansion's entrance hall, only to find something more along the lines of a company lobby than a mansion entrance hall. As they walked in, a man in a greyed, yet finely tailored hooded dress jacket, old cashmere scarf and a long, heavy object wrapped in cloth slung across his back, was talking with the receptionist.

"-don't believe he knew you were arriving today, or at all really." The receptionist said. "He probably already left looking for you."

The well dressed man seemed surprised "Are you sure? I recall sending a letter to let him know I was returning."

"Look, Master K-"

Upon hearing the word 'Master' and taking a glance at the well dressed man, Colbert eagerly approached him from behind, turned him around and got quickly shook his hand "Excuse me, you must be Lord Des Ornieres I presume. I am Professor Colbert, from the Tristainian Academy of Magic and these are my students." The receptionist droned at Colbert in alarm and reached for something under her desk, only for 'Lord Des Ornieres' to halt her with a wave of the hand. Not even noticing this, Colbert continued "I hate to be a burden to you, but we need access to the vault you have protection on. They said we needed sign off from you and the family's, and since we already have proof of familial bonds from the family," he gestured to Siesta, who curtsied in respect "All we need is for your signed permission for entry."

'Lord Des Ornieres' smirked in amusement. 'Permission from the family and Lord Des Ornieres' was Assassin jargon for 'Proof as an Assassin or an affiliate and signoff from a Master Assassin'. The commoner girl must have been an Assassin's child who unwittingly revealed the location of one of their vaults to the Tristainian Academy. He couldn't blame her; she didn't know any still won't be allowed entry. However, it was Colbert's name that caught his attention. Chuckling, he stared down Colbert with murderous intent "It's interesting that a man I never met suddenly barges into my home and demands entry to a place my dear friend entrusted me to keep safe." He grinned under his scarf as Colbert flinched "It's even more interesting to note that the very same man is one of those responsible for the Village Burnings of 1992."

Colbert doubled back in panic "H-How did you know about that?" he asked, noticing his students' confused expressions towards his reactions.

"I am reclusive, not ignorant." 'Lord Des Ornieres' declared "You were among the many fire mages who were hired by the mages to burn away several villages that supposedly contracted a plague. However, the only thing these villages contracted was no such plague. The only things these villagers contracted was Protestantism, and you burned them just for not agreeing with Brimiric beliefs! Because you and virtually every flame mage in Halkenginia blindly followed orders, thousands of lives, including the lives of those I should have protected, died horrible, painful deaths! You killed them all!"

"T-That's not true!" Colbert nervously backed up, only to fall backwards upon his butt, scrambling away in fear as 'Lord Des Ornieres' slowly walked towards him with a terrifying aura "I-I was told there really was a plague. W-When I realized what these burnings were really for, I deserted the army and spent the rest of my life trying to repent!"

"Then prove it." He grabbed a pen and paper from the desk and slammed it onto the ground "I want names, not of your fellow inquisitors but of the ones truly pulling the strings; the ones who cried plague."

The bald deserter quickly nodded as he jotted down the name of the man who gave him the order before handing it to the lord. "H-Here! His name is right here, just as you asked."

'Lord Des Ornieres' took the paper, looking only slightly pleased "Now, leave my property and never come back."

Colbert nodded as he scrambled out the door, with his students and Siesta following suit. As they left, Saito, who had been hiding behind a corner, emerged from his hiding place and approached the lord "So, you must be the famous Lord Des Ornieres."

The man shook his head "Not in the slightest, no." He said as he yanked down his hood and pulled off his scarf, revealing a significantly more youthful face than Saito expected, with faded blonde hair and handsome features "I am Master Kunsel, one of the founding members of the Halkenginian Assassin Order. You must be the Gandalfr, Saito Hiraga, right?"

Saito stared at him "You expect me to believe you are a founding member of the Order, alongside the ancient Mentor."

Master Kunsel shrugged "You may not believe it but some of the most impressive magic occurs outside the Brimiric system." He handed him the paper "Here, this is the one who was behind the Tristainian Village Burnings. Due to complications, we weren't exactly able to interrogate any inquisitioners from the other countries."

"Complications?"

"Our Assassins were a bit too good at their jobs; when they reached towns with our cells, they eliminated each and every single last one before the flames and lack of oxygen did them in. Since they had died, we didn't even learn of these atrocities until a survivor from one of our Tristainian cells showed up around a year later. By then, most of the trails have gone cold." Master Kunsel paused, perhaps in order to mourn for a good second, before continuing "However, the survivor managed to sketch out some of the attackers; one of them was Colbert, another was… well you should know, he died by your hands."

Saito folded his arms "When did I do that?"

"Do you remember a bandit leader during a hostage situation in the local academy?" The Master Assassin laughed lightly at his junior's shocked reaction "I'd say it was fate, but I don't believe in that. Now, let's see if you live up you live up to your reputation. Hunt down the one responsible and get a name from this man. The conspirators from the other countries point to different directions, but all generally come from the papacy. This last one will finally clear up the conspiracy, if you wish to accept it."

Saito shook his head "As much as I'd like to, the Mentor gave me explicit orders to stay on the premises until further notice."

"Alright then. There are always other Assassins than you. Always others with a grudge." Master Kunsel wrote some additional things on the paper before folding it up and handing it to the receptionist, who put it in an envelope, jotted down an address, and in turn handed it to another Assassin who saluted before going running out.

"That for someone on site?" Saito asked.

"That is a way of putting it." The Master Assassin shrugged "Now, if you please excuse me, I have to wait for an old friend to notice I'm here."

Outside

Professor Colbert trembled as he grasped the reins of the carriage, the nightmares he thought he once eluded now returning to him in droves. The years of guilt he thought he escaped, coming back in greater magnitudes than ever before. Forget the vault or the Dragon's Raiment, it was the memories of those horrid days that plagued his mind now.

"Professor, calm down." Louise tried to calm down her teacher "It's alright. There's always another artifact to study."

"That's not it, Louise." Colbert shook his head "I thought I would be able to escape my past, but I guess it's not possible." He chuckled sadly.

Kirche frowned before wrapping her arms around him in an effort to console him "Professor, what's done is done. You did something bad, you're sorry, and you repented for it, right? So it's fine."

Guiche then gave the professor a confused look "So, how did you try repenting?"

Colbert sighed before chuckling sadly "I hoped to internalize into students such as yourself wills strong enough to lead this country like your forefathers, yet wise enough not to fall into the same ideological traps I fell into."

His four students calmly smiled at him as Siesta patted the weary professor on the back "Come on, let us return to my hometown. My mother's stew can cheer anyone up."

Night- Tristain Castle

The Tristainian financial minister, Lord Richmon, was not in the greatest of moods at the moment. Right now, in the middle of the night, he had to sign off on payment after payment in preparation for the royal wedding between the Princess Henrietta and Prince Wales. Never mind having to cancel everything for the original wedding between the princess and Emperor Albrecht III, along with other confusing complications (like the 50,000 ecu missing from the treasury for some reason), all this paperwork was going to be the death of him!

As he complained in his mind, he heard a knock on the door "Excuse me, delivery for a Lord Richmon?"

A delivery for him? At this hour? Curious, Richmon opened the door, only to be greeted by a nervous looking delivery boy holding a bottle of fine wine and a clipboard "Excuse me, Lord Richmon? You have a delivery from your wife. It's a bottle of Albionese Merlot, aged twenty years."

"Ah, splendid. I needed a drink after all the work I've been doing." Richmon sighed as he accepted the bottle and signed the delivery boy's clipboard. After slamming the door in the poor boy's face, Richmon closed the door behind him, pulled the cork on the bottle and poured himself a glass of the rich red liquid, before giving himself a congratulatory sip.

However, once that red wine reached his lips, he suddenly felt weaker, the glass felt heavier and heavier until it slipped from his hands, shattering with a loud crash. Collapsing to his knees, he looked up with his suddenly blurry eyes, he saw the delivery boy enter the door, pull his hood up, and take out a small vial of liquid from his pocket.

"Hello there, Lord Richmon." The delivery boy stated as he snatched Lord Richmon's wand away and snapped it in two "If you hadn't already noticed, you just ingested a slow acting poison mixed with a truth serum." He placed the vial right in front of the Royal financier, just tantalizingly out of his reach "Now, if you want the antidote, you will answer my questions."

Richmon glared at the delivery boy-, no, the Assassin- with pure hatred, before a sudden pain in his chest forced him to relent "F-Fine… what do you want…?"

"The Village burnings of 1992. You couldn't have been the one to organize it, your power only reaches Tristain's borders. I want the true ringleader for this atrocity… now." The Assassin mockingly juggled the vial in his hands.

Lord Richmon growled, before another stab of pain made him consent "F-Fine! It was Bishop Ignacio… w-well… Archbishop Ignacio now… Now give me that antidote!"

The Assassin tossed the dying lord the antidote and watched as he greedily swallowed its contents "Now… did I give you the antidote, or did I give you more poison?"

Lord Richmon paled, even further this time as he glared at the now smirking Assassin, the pains in his chest violently increasing. Mustering the last of his strength, he managed to utter "Y-You… son of a…"

The Royal financier collapsed, dead. The Assassin, after giving the corpse its last rites, picked up the corpse and bottle of alcohol and arranged the room to make it look more like alcohol poisoning than a murder. Satisfied, the Assassin dusted off his hands and left the same way he came in.

A couple minutes later, the Princess' room

"...This dress looks perfect on you, your majesty!"

"Are you sure? It feels a little tight around my chest…"

Agnes Chevalier de Milan, Princess Henrietta's bodyguard and captain of her majesty's musketeer knights, was struggling to stay awake as she oversaw Henrietta and the royal tailor making adjustments to her wedding dress. She was clearly not interested in this sort of thing, and with all due respect to the princess, it was taking far too long. She knows that the royal family must keep up appearances, and a royal wedding is extremely important, but who struggles to choose a stupid wedding dress for twelve hours?!

As her eyelids nearly flickered shut, someone knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, a letter for a Miss Agnes Chevalier de Milan."

This caught Agnes, and by extension Henrietta, off guard. She did not have any friends, nor did she do much writing in the first place, so there was no reason for her to get a letter in the first place.

Opening the door, she saw a delivery boy holding a letter with no addressor before her. "Excuse me, but do you know who wrote me this letter?"

The delivery boy shook her head "Sorry miss, but I don't believe that is part of my job."

"I see," After tipping the messenger and waving him off, she opened the envelope, inside was nothing more than a single piece of paper. All it read was:

"You're welcome."

"You're welcome?" Henrietta leaned over Agnes' shoulder and read it out loud "That doesn't make any sense. You're welcome for what?"

Agnes shook her head, just as confused as her princess "I don't know, your majesty. It's probably just a prank."

While the two quizzically looked over the rather empty letter, the Royal tailor approached the two "Excuse me, your majesty? We still need to make the final adjustments to your wedding dress. You said it was too tight around your chest?"

"Oh yes!" Henrietta agreed enthusiastically "Agnes, this may take us another hour or so. Please be patient with us."

"Oh joy…" Agnes stated while inwardly groaning.

Tarbes

To say their reception in Siesta's hometown was warmer than the one in Des Ornieres Mansion would be a massive understatement. The moment they entered the town, Siesta was greeted with a grand homecoming from her family. And since she had nobles with her, everyone in town came to greet them. They even whipped up a quick little banquet in their honor.

Right now, Louise and her friends were about to rest at the local inn, well more like everyone else was inside the inn while Louise was getting herself some water from the nearby well. It seems since Colbert can't study the artifact in Siesta's family's possession, he's just going to give them a passing grade and return to the academy in the morning. She still felt bad for her teacher, despite the horrible crime he did 20 years ago. Then again, Lord Des Ornieres' anger was justified; for a noble, he appeared to be quite close to his servants; for them to be killed on his lands, without him being able to do anything about it, it must have been heart-wrenching for him. If someone had killed Cattleya or Eleanor in front of her, and she couldn't do anything about it, she would probably shut down-

"Ecu for your thoughts?"

Louise quickly drew her wand and spun around, only for her wand to be suddenly swatted out of her hands and her free hand grabbed tightly to prevent further retaliation.

"Relax. I ain't killin' ya." Saito said as he picked up Louise's wand and handed it to her.

Louise glared at him as she snatched her wand back "What are you doing here?"

Saito feigned offense "What, can't friends visit each other?"

"They can't if one of them wants something." Louise growled "So let me repeat myself: what are you doing here?"

Saito shiftily glanced around; he did ask permission to temporarily leave the mansion, but it's best to be safe than sorry. He pulled out a small map from his jacket and handed it to her "Here. There is an old artifact supposedly hidden in this map. If you like, you can find it and study it so you don't go back to the academy empty handed."

"How would you know-" Louise paled as it dawned upon her "No, you did not-"

"Relax, Lord Des Ornieres is one of the few decent nobles out there. I ain't killin' him." Saito muttered, genuinely offended.

"well, that's a relief…" Louise rolled her eyes "Is that all you came here for?"

"Do you want a job in my line of work?" Saito stated flatly.

Louise scoffed "I'd rather disgrace my family line beyond redemption than go out and murder other nobles for coin."

"Are you sure? They really have it coming."

"I'm not a murderer!" Louise yells at the top of her lungs.

Saito shook his head "It's okay to say no-"

"I AM SAYING NO!"

Ignoring her little outburst, Saito continued "-But if you had the chance to make things better, even at the cost of your own happiness, would you do it?" He showed her the runes on his hand "You see these? Like it or not, we're stuck with each other, and eventually we will be found out. I tried seeing things your way-"

"WHEN DID YOU DO THAT!?"

"-And that clearly didn't work out. So, can we try it my way?"

He took out his journal and pulled out a page "Here's some notes I took on Count Mott-"

"He's a scumbag even by our standards." Louise deadpanned "I don't care if you killed him."

"-And you see my point! Good, we're getting somewhere." Saito said, putting the page back "However, you know that he's not the only noble scumbag out there. There are people, not just nobles, who do such horrible things. I just want to put a stop to it by any means."

"There are other ways to remove bad people from power." Louise argued "You could disgrace them beyond redemption or do something else, just keep them alive."

"I could do that, but death seems more… permanent." Saito shrugged "However, what you said would make an amazing book. I might try that sometime."

Louise rolled her eyes "Great, I'm an accomplice to murder again."

"You probably are, but we're getting off track." Saito said as he put his journal away "My point is, there are people who do more harm to society than good. I'm just here to remove the bad apples."

"You make fair points, I will admit that." Louise admitted "But I do not approve of needless deaths! What right do you have to take another's life?"

"If taking another's life makes a difference for the better, then I shall do so to meet that end." Saito argues.

"Then why don't you do something else to make a difference?!" She screams. Sheesh, was death all this white-hooded psycho can think about?

"I accept your challenge then." Saito said as he took her hand and shook it vigorously "I will try to make a difference in the world, and I will not kill anyone to achieve that end. In return, you will reconsider my offer in seeing things my way."

Louise blinked "Wait, I didn't agree to that-"

But it was too late for further argument; Saito slammed a smoke bomb onto the ground and disappeared.

A/N: Admit it. Sometimes the guards in Assassin's Creed are idiots who couldn't see you even if you were wearing a sign that says 'Templars Suck' in broad daylight. Then again, Assassins were masters of stealth, and the games mostly are in-universe simulation, so that's probably the point, but still. Now where was I? Oh yes. Thank you for reading the latest chapter for this old story of mine. Wow, it's been nearly four years to the day since I first published this fic. Man, does time fly. Anyways, the royal wedding should be the next chapter. So, Happy Holidays to all, and please review!