Chapter 006: The King of the Night

“It’s simple! It’s because everything was planned long ago…” Du Fan still smiled. “According to the plan, Princess Nina’s goal was merely to expose my identity and force me to leave the slave market… But if she was going to do that, why not do it from the start? Instead, she waited until I was having the most fun? The reason is simple—by then, everything was already prepared. Most likely… a trap to deal with me had also been set! If I’m not wrong, Rakhu… you must be the most important and crucial link in this trap! Because if I were a bit foolish, I might have fallen into it myself!”
Rakhu’s expression was fascinating. After a moment, he sighed and said, “Impressive. You’re truly remarkable… Lord Du Fan, almost everyone thinks you’re a brave but reckless man who doesn’t know when to retreat. Only today have I realized… you’re not only capable but also very smart… I wonder, Lord Du Fan, have you heard this saying?”
Du Fan smiled and said, “Go ahead.”
Rakhu sneered and said coldly, “The smarter one dies faster… Lord Du Fan, since you’re so smart, does that mean you’ll die soon too?”
“Who knows?” Du Fan looked at his own hands. “It seems we can only find out the result after trying it out. Who dies faster isn’t determined by words, but only after taking action!”
Rakhu nodded and said, “You’re right… Then, before we take action, I suppose I should introduce myself…”
As he spoke, Rakhu suddenly placed Jian on the ground, placed his left hand on his chest, and performed the most formal noble gesture before saying calmly, “I am Rakhu… known as the ‘King of the Night’. I can barely be considered a fairly famous assassin… My men never kill nameless people…”
“The King of the Night?” Du Fan smiled. “What about that little girl? Is she the Queen of the Night?”
“The Queen of the Night? Indeed, a good name…” Rakhu suddenly chuckled softly. “It’s a pity, Lord Du Fan, but you’re wrong this time… That little girl… or rather, not really a little girl… I should ask you this, Lord Du Fan, have you heard of a ‘puppet master’? And… have you heard of a ‘war puppet’?”
…

On a high attic far away from here, there was a small round wooden table. By the side of the table, a pig-like human figure was holding a long-tube-shaped object and examining it closely with it against his eyes. This object was quite similar to the one Oscar had used that day, only seemingly even more exquisite.

In the shadows around the attic, it seemed there were warriors in combat gear standing there, but they were motionless like statues; one couldn’t detect them unless looking closely.

The owner of the attic seemed to understand a principle: showing all one’s strength openly was the behavior of a nouveau riche, while hiding all one’s strength clearly failed to inspire fear. He seemed to have found a balance between the two…

Finally, he put down the long-tube-shaped object in his hand, sighed slightly, and said, “They didn’t fall for it… It seems our little Du Fan does have some brains… Not bad, not bad… I guess I should consider giving him those things! Otherwise, if he causes me trouble in the future, I won’t be able to stand it!”

After saying that, he clapped his hands. A moment later, a scantily dressed maid brought him a cup of black tea. He took it, took a sip, and then smiled faintly.

Just then, hurried footsteps were heard coming from the stairs. Moments later, Princess Nina appeared there. She stepped onto the attic, glared at the pig-like human figure, and said angrily, “Lord Evan! You really came up with a great idea!”

The man sitting there, looking thoroughly satisfied, was Viscount Evan.

Hearing Princess Nina’s words, he slowly stood up, first performing the standard noble courtesy toward the furious princess, before saying softly, “Oh? What could possibly have angered our beautiful and noble princess so much?”

Princess Nina snorted and said, “What do you think?”

Evan smiled and said, “Princess, that’s beyond my ability to guess… But anger will spoil your stunning beauty. You surely don’t want Lord Oscar to see you looking weary again, do you?”

These words seemed to touch Princess Nina’s heart; her expression improved slightly. After a moment, she walked over to another chair by the wooden table and sat down. It took some time before she spoke: “I’ve done as you instructed… If we don’t get the expected results, our partnership will be over!”
“Don’t say that, My Princess…” Viscount Evan clapped his hands, signaling the servant to bring a cup of black tea for Princess Nina as well, before continuing, “In this world, there are no eternal enemies or friends—only eternal interests… Don’t you still understand this? As long as Du Fan remains alive, I think our little alliance will never dissolve.”
Princess Nina looked up at Evan and said sternly, “Weren’t you saying he would die today?”
“I did say that before,” Evan sighed. “But, My Princess… plans often can’t keep up with changes… The latest news I’ve received suggests that our Lord Du Fan hasn’t fallen into the trap as planned… Our arrangements seem to have lost all their effectiveness.”
“What did you say!!”
Princess Nina suddenly stood up abruptly, knocking her teacup to the ground with a clatter. She glared at Evan, unable to speak a word.
Viscount Evan shook his head slightly and said, “My Princess, if possible, I would also like Du Fan to die as soon as possible… But both you and I know Du Fan isn’t easy to deal with… The extent of those connected to him is beyond my imagination. Even today’s seemingly foolproof plan has gone awry… Perhaps it’s fate that he shouldn’t die yet!”
Princess Nina’s expression changed several times before she sat back down, but she said not a word.

Viscount Evan still smiled and said, “Princess, on the day of the coup, we met amidst thousands of soldiers. At that time… Du Fan had already defeated Prince Oscar. You are well aware of Prince Oscar’s skills. If Du Fan could defeat him, it means he must have real ability… Such a person is not easy to deal with. Moreover… when we left that day, we agreed to eliminate Du Fan in this lifetime. Although no deadline was set, why are you in such a hurry now, Princess? Even if we fail this time, there will be a second and third chance… As long as we don’t die and stay in the shadows, we will surely have a chance… Princess, as the saying goes, it’s easy to avoid open attacks but hard to guard against hidden ones. If Du Fan can evade this time, how can he evade every time? Don’t you understand this logic?”
Princess Nina’s expression finally improved slightly. She nodded slightly and said, “I understand!”
“That’s good, that’s good…”
Seeing that the princess had finally calmed down, Viscount Evan also showed a smile. He continued, “At this moment… although our plan has failed, Princess, you must not forget… the most crucial part of our plan will still take place, even if the entire plan fails… Princess, you should know that these people were brought here after great effort on my part! The price for the ‘King of the Night’ to act just once has cost me half a year’s worth of business!”
Princess Nina snorted and said, “Is it just half a year’s worth of business? I can at most have my brother purchase all his military supplies from you. Isn’t that enough compensation?”
“Yes… yes…” A hint of mockery flashed in Viscount Evan’s eyes, but he quickly replied, “With your strong support, my business will only get better and better!”
Princess Nina nodded and thought for a moment before saying, “So what should we do now? Just stand here motionless? Or go and see what’s happened…”
“Do you want to see, Princess?” Viscount Evan smiled. “If you do, we don’t need to go… To deal with such a situation, I prepared something special for you. Someone, bring it here!”
Soon, a servant brought over an exquisite box. Princess Nina took it and opened it with confusion, only to see a long, tubular object inside.
“What is this?”

“This one?” Viscount Evan rolled his eyes before continuing, “This is something I found in the goblin territory. They seem to call it—a telescope… I’ve always thought it’s a great name! Well then, Your Highness, please!”