The Devil’s Cage

“You! You…!”

When Deburo saw Kieran behind him moving closer, he felt like he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing that happened in his life and was thus unable to speak properly.

The governor instinctively thought it was an illusion but his brain told him everything was real.

Kieran really took out his prized bodyguard group single-handedly.

A cold sweat instinctively sprung out on Deburo’s forehead and slid down his cheeks.

“Mr. 2567, I think…”

Bang!

Deburo still tried to say something but Anne Aldrich Augen didn’t give him the chance at all, she took out a small handgun and pulled the trigger at the governor.

After the gunshot, Deburo was shot in the middle of his eyes before falling down.

Till his last breath, the governor’s face kept his astonished expression.

Kieran glanced over Deburo’s body and turned to Anne Aldrich Augen who had a smirk on her face.

He didn’t question why she shot a governor, similar to how he would never think about the outcomes of those traitorous officers.

He believed that Anne Aldrich Augen would provide him with a reasonable answer.

Was Anne Aldrich Augen out of her mind?

Well, Kieran never saw a crazy woman with such a clear gaze in her eyes.

…

Inside the meticulous grand hall, scrumptious food and wine were arranged all over the table.

They originally were intended to receive Deburo but following his death, the reception dinner became a victory dinner that Anne Aldrich Augen had for Kieran.

There was no need for more participants in the dinner, in fact, there wasn’t even a waiter inside the hall.

Kieran had to help himself to the food.

He rejected the wine that Anne Aldrich Augen brought him and took the glass of fresh orange juice instead. Even though his current Constitution level could resist the majority of alcoholic beverages, any slight alcoholic influence would decrease his reaction time.

Life and death were determined in split seconds.

Kieran who kept that saying in his heart knew what was best for himself naturally.

While holding the plate with a whole piece of roasted lamb chop with some vegetables, Kieran sat in front of the dining table, gobbling down his meal as he looked at Anne Aldrich Augen.

“You want some corn chips or cream cheese soup? Or the wine braised pear? It’s not bad.”

Anne Aldrich Augen pulled a chair and sat on the opposite side of the dining table, beside her leg was a mobile television.

“The roasted lamb chop is nice, I want another!”

Kieran stuffed his mouth with a piece of mutton, commenting in a muffled voice.

The mutton’s marbling was evenly distributed over its lean meat, it was perfectly caramelized, providing the tenderness of the meat with a slight crunch on the outside. Kieran was quite infatuated with the combination of the texture, plus the combinations of spices such as cinnamon, salt, and pepper elevated the mutton’s taste to its best despite the plain and crude seasoning.

After finishing a plate, Kieran took another without hesitating.

It was undoubtedly rude manners but neither Kieran nor Anne Aldrich Augen were concerned about such details right now.

Anne Aldrich Augen held her glass up, shaking the wine inside slightly and switched on the tv beside her legs with her hand without concerning herself over the exposure of her intimate parts.

The whole process took four to five seconds and obviously Anne Aldrich Augen had purposely prolonged her actions.

To her disappointment, Kieran was focused on the roasted lamb chop on his plate rather than batting an eye at her charms, it felt like even the lamb chop was more attractive than her.

“Should I improve some of my culinary skills?” Anne Aldrich Augen asked.

Kieran didn’t take part in the conversation at all.

After finishing his second plate of lamb chops, he was captivated by the tv screen and its contents.

Deburo!

The governor that was shot by Anne Aldrich Augen a while ago was making a speech on the tv, and it was a live telecast!

“Don’t tell me the one you shot and killed was just an imposter.”

Kieran wiped his mouth with the napkin and placed his gaze on Anne Aldrich Augen.

“Certainly not! The one that I shot just now and the one on the tv, all of them are Deburo. They aren’t twins but rather a defensive measure, targeted specifically at someone… including myself.”

Anne Aldrich Augen shook her head and showed a ridiculing sneer on her beautiful face.

Her words were hiding more than it sounded like but Kieran realized it nevertheless.

Though, not interrupting people when speaking was Kieran’s habit, he kept quiet and listened to what she said.

“2567, do you know about the three wars that formed the Union? Generally speaking, it’s the Saint Relic Association putting a stop to the Elder Council’s schemes, both sides waged wars multiple times and in the end, both sides decided to compromise. Thus the Union was formed.”

“This is what the mystical realm thought of it! In the common world, another saying stated that the hero of the commoners ended the war and formed the Union, dispersing the fog of war and successfully ascended to the position of the first leader of the Union.”

“From the first leader a hundred years ago, the Union has welcomed the tenth and latest leader. He was different from the previous ones, or should I say, because of the accumulations of the previous leaders, it allowed the current leader to have more assets under his command and they are not willing to stay as the puppet under the influence of the Saint Relic Association and the Elder Council!”

“A certain aide under the leader’s command suggested to pick a group of young girls, training them from youth, brainwashing them and when the time comes, release them into society, sending them to necessary individuals sides, thus providing more and extra help for this leader.”

“At first it started out smoothly until one day, a certain girl was moved by her mission target. She started to wander around, hesitated, delaying decisions as she didn’t know what was the best choice. The aide who plotted everything behind noticed the unusual behavior of the girl, he sent men to take out the target without informing the girl and also punished the girl for not completing her mission.”

The continuous relations seemed to make Anne Aldrich Augen’s throat dry, she took her glass of wine and finished it in one go.

The red wine spilled out from the corner of her mouth as if a scarlet red blood slid down plains of snow.

She raised her hand and wiped it off without concern about ruining her makeup before she continued.

“He wanted to make an example out of the girl, so the girl ended up very badly. However, never did he think that his methods would create doubts and suspicion in the other girls’ heads who should have been brainwashed. Once doubts were created, they wouldn’t go away that easily. More and more girls realized the problem and they were being recalled back one after another, leaving only a few outside who were involved in bigger schemes.

“The recalled girls were all disposed of after that, the remaining girls outside lived in never-ending fear, worrying that misfortune would befall them one day. Thus some girl resisted, a girl that was unwilling to accept the fate started to resist, she discovered an opportunity and grabbed it with all her might!”

Anne Aldrich Augen’s gaze locked onto Kieran again.

“Now, the enemy had realized her goals, she was only a step away from succeeding. She needed more help. Is there someone who is willing to help her?”

Her tone was flat, her face was absent of expression as if she was stating something unimportant but her eyes were less calm.

They were filled with anticipation and worry, most of it was dense sorrow and self-mockery.

Kieran didn’t move away from Anne Aldrich Augen’s stare, he carefully looked into her eyes.

He didn’t know whether was it one of her acts, but what were the reasons to give up on a special event?

So, Kieran answered directly, “Sure”.