Chapter 51 - Miscalculation

A frigid winter wind was blowing through the streets of Blackreach City. Very few people were outside their homes, and aside from anyone who had no other choice, no one would be willing to face the freezing cold.

However, in a certain alleyway in the third district, a dark-robed person was walking forward with conviction, as if the frigid cold had no effect on him. This person was covered in dark clothes from head to toe, and their face was hidden under the shadow of their hood.

As this person walked through the alleyways, they seemed to be sticking close to the walls, making the shadows of the walls cover their body. Unless someone was specifically looking for this person or was very close by, they wouldn’t be able to see his complete figure.

While Wesley walked through the alleyways, he made sure to remain hidden. His dark clothing and the winter clouds that covered the night sky made him very hard to see, but he still walked toward the Kader Manor with utmost caution.

Wesley was a naturally cautious person and would often choose prudence over convenience. However, today, he was overly cautious to the point where he would stop walking every so often to see if he was being watched or followed.

After a few minutes of walking, Wesley eventually reached the end of the alley he was in. Across from where Wesley was standing, a wall that was fifteen feet tall stood erect. This was the outer wall of the Kader Family.

This wall was not too tall, but it was nearly five feet wide, and there were a few dozen guards stationed along the entire perimeter. This was one of the most heavily guarded places in all of Blackreach City.

Wesley was feeling extremely apprehensive about entering this place. Walking into a trap unknowingly is one thing, but walking into a trap while aware of it causes extreme anxiety. Wesley's unwillingness was palpable, but he had already crossed the point of no return.

Two of the four family heads had already died, and the last two were aware of his scheming. If Wesley didn’t kill these last two family heads, it wouldn’t be long before they realized that the Black Family was behind the whole thing.

Wesley did not want anything to happen to those five kids. Putting aside their talents, Wesley felt deep affection for them. After spending a year with them, Wesley thought of them the same way he thought of his little brother, and he was willing to protect them.

However, did he feel enough affection for these kids to sacrifice his life? Wesley was willing to risk his life for them, but he absolutely would not give his life for anyone. One might think it is heroic to sacrifice one's life for the sake of others, but a dead hero is more useless than trash.

Wesley was not going to die for a cliché. He immediately made up his mind that he would try to kill the two family heads, but at the first sign of danger, he would immediately get out. It would be ideal to kill the heads of the four families and establish the Black Family in Blackreach City, but that was not necessarily the only way. The Black Family could establish themselves in other cities just as easily.

Having made up his mind, Wesley looked at the wall of the Kader Manor, his eyes filled with conviction.

The guards on the walls of the manor were all standing at attention. However, the cold winter wind caused most of them to feel extremely drowsy and tired. They all knew that falling asleep in the cold meant death, but that didn’t make the allure of sleep any less tempting.

One of the guards who was on watch was currently looking at a random alleyway with bored eyes that were barely open. He only had a few hours left before he was relieved of his duty, so all he had to do was stand there and not fall asleep, and soon enough, he would be snug in his warm bed.

The guard who was dreaming about beautiful sleep, suddenly saw a figure emerge from the alleyways and his eyes sharpened immediately. This figure that emerged was clothed in dark clothed with a dark hood, a single glance was enough to know that this person was up to no good.

The guard immediately decided to shout and alert everyone to the presence of this suspicious character, however, before he could do anything, the dark clothed figure suddenly disappeared in darkness. Moments later, the guard felt his throat clench and his eyes darken.

The guard immediately clenched his eyes as he tried to breath, but whatever was around his neck was too strong. All he could do was simply gasp for air, as he felt the realization that this was most likely his last night dawn on him.

"Open your eyes."

An extremely soft yet sonorous voice reached the guards ears as he felt the constriction around his neck loosen slightly; just enough to let him take in some shallow breaths.

The guard slowly creaked his eyes open. All he could see was darkness, and amidst this deafening darkness where a pair of jade green eyes staring at him unblinkingly. The guard immediately felt his heart clench as he felt that this was the after life and those green eyes were the devil's.

"Don't bother screaming. No one will hear you."

The guard couldn’t even scream if he wanted to. His heart was already at his throat, making him barely able to breath, let alone scream. He simply stared at those floating pair of eyes that seemed to be looking directly at his soul.

"I will ask you some questions. If you answer them truthfully, you'll forget this ever happened and have the best sleep of your life. If you don’t answer, you will die a very painful death. Do you understand."

The guard simply couldn’t understand what he was hearing. What could he know that the devil himself didn’t. What did he have to offer the devil to appease him. He didn’t know what this devil wanted from him, but he still nodded his head affirmatively.

"Good. Tell me, have you noticed anything unusual from the Kader Manor in the last two months."

The guard was taken back slightly by the question. He forgot everything about the Kader Family in his fear, but it seems that this devil is interested in the Kader Manor. The guard has already decided to do anything this devil asked of him so he tried speaking, but his throat was still being held.

The restriction around his neck loosened once again causing him to cough and breath in huge amounts of air. After a few seconds, the guard looked at the pair of eyes and spoke:

"The Main Manor has been sealed for the last two months. Aside from few maids who bring the guards food, no one else leaves or enters."

"Hmm."

Silence followed after the devil's small hmm. It was as if he was pondering something, which caused the guard to feel some more fear creep up in his heart. Could it be that he wasn’t satisfied with my answer. As the guard was worrying more and more, the devil spoke once again:

"Have you heard any rumors about what is going on inside the Manor. Anything unusual or weird?"

The guard thought for a moment. He didn’t know why this devil was so interesting in the affairs of the Manor, but he had neither time nor conviction to question him. He immediately scanned his memories and after a few seconds of silence, he seemed to have remembered something as he spoke:

"The other day we were joking around with one of the maids that was bringing us food. She said something about a mysterious old man suddenly appearing in the Manor."

"Tell me about this mysterious old man."

The devil immediately asked a question with some anxiety in his voice causing the guards to be slightly taken back. He continued speaking:

"She said that this old man appeared almost two months ago and he spends most of his time eating and sleeping. She also said that the Family head instructed them to treat this old man with the utmost respect."

"Is that all you know?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. You did well."

The guard was instantly relieved at the devil's words. If the devil was satisfied then he would survive. Suddenly he felt the thing that was constricting his throat disappear. This caused the guard's eyes to lit in happiness as he felt his heart surge with happiness.

"You can now rest."

"Thank Yo..."