Chapter 888: Is Our Agreement Still In Effect?
“So now, you found me after everything has settled. It’s just you and me now, the two remaining remnants of the Balance Blade. Oh. And maybe your teacher is still alive. But considering his age, I don’t think he’ll be getting to the place I sent him,” Lucilla chuckled. “We are the only surviving members of the Balance Blade now. Admit it. We have already lost the fight. If I were you, I won’t waste my precious time on a dying person. You should leave Rome overnight before they catch you.”
“Maybe.” Zhang Heng was noncommittal. “What about you? Why don’t you leave this place?” he then asked.
“Because I am the daughter of Aurelius, the wife of Lucius, and Augusta of the Roman Empire. I will not run away. No matter where I escape to, someone is bound to recognize me,” Lucilla continued. “They won’t do anything to me for the time being because I’m the only blood relative of Commodus, and they must take this face into consideration.”
“So, you plan to end your life here just up like this?” Zhang Heng pointed at the jade bottle on the ground.
“As I said, we lost this time. And I accept this result, but I will not put my fate in the hands of others. Now, I have to die with dignity.” Lucilla puffed her chest and continued, “Don’t underestimate a woman’s determination. Cleopatra has her viper, and I have mine as well.”
“It’s admirable, but I’d like to correct something. You lost the battle, not us,” Zhang Heng said. “I haven’t lost yet.”
“Have you lost your sanity after what happened tonight?” Lucilla frowned. “You are not even qualified to participate in this war. You have no right to talk about winning or losing!”
“Sometimes, a bystander sees more, ” Zhang Heng replied. “Oh, and I’m not talking about your naked body. However, there’s something I want to confirm with you first.”
“What is it?” Lucilla asked.
“is our previous agreement still valid?”
“Our agreement?” Lucilla was puzzled.
“I’ll help you get rid of Altrus, and you take me to the secret library of the Balance Blade,” Zhang Heng said. “As you said, we are the only three remaining members of the Balance Blade. Given that I have no idea where my teacher is, it seems you are the only person that can bring me to the Balance Blade’s secret library. I believe you know why I didn’t escape the city tonight and came to look for you instead.”
Zhang Heng looked at Lucilla, “I need you to be alive until I enter the library at least. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I will be making some losses here. Not only will I have to kill Altrus for you, but I’ll also have to help you deal with the Hounds.”
“You are alone now, without any companions and support. And you want to fight two powerful enemies at the same time? What are you planning to do?” Lucilla asked with a puzzled look. “Just you wait until the next morning. Even if the Hounds fail to hunt you down, a warrant for your head will be all over the streets and alleys of this city.”
“Well… Since we are an assassin organization, let us solve this problem the assassin’s way,” replied Zhang Heng said. “After all, the person who taught me these skills always emphasized the importance of keeping the tradition alive.”
“Let’s not talk about the fact that you haven’t passed the assessment to become a real assassin. How can you kill them without knowing who or where the target is?” Lucilla continued to ask.
Zhang Heng smiled and took out three copper coins from his pocket and placed them in the palm of his hand one by one. “Balance Blade, Altrus, and Hounds. If I can’t see what is on the back of any of these coins, I will follow your advice and escape Rome overnight. After that, you won’t get to see me anymore. I wonder if this answer satisfies you?”
“Do you know where Altrus is hiding? And do you also know who the Hounds’ leader is?” Lucilla’s eyes widened, “How is this possible? The Balance Blade has been investigating this matter for so long, but we haven’t heard of a single answer. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have failed so badly.”
“As I said, sometimes a bystander sees more than the insider. And I must admit that it took me a lot of time to investigate this matter. With a little luck, I managed to sort out all the problems. I’m glad that my luck is still working well.”
Zhang Heng stood up from his seat as he spoke. “If you don’t mind, I will start to work on it next.”
After that, he walked to the balcony, and he stopped in front of a pot of cosmos.
“By the way, I do have a question that I haven’t figured out quite yet. Who is the traitor in Balance Blade?”
Lucilla shook her head when she heard the words, “There are no traitors in the Balance Blade. After the tragedy two hundred years ago, we have strict requirements when it comes to selecting members. We need to make sure our members are loyal and faithful to us. People like you are unique. This is also the reason why we find it hard to accept you into our organization.”
“Oh, I understand now. The so-called traitor is something you people come up with to bait Altrus? In that case, the previous agreement you came up with me was just to confuse the enemy. The Balance Blade didn’t need to extract any information from Altrus. When you guys asked me to get close to Commodus, the Balance Blade actually tried to use me to distract the enemy. None of you expected me to locate Altrus, right?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, that’s right,” Lucilla sighed. “That’s because Altrus’s whereabouts are too secretive. We wanted to plant someone that could gain Altrus’s trust. However, but it turns Altrus will never trust anyone. In the end, our people were used by him to convey the wrong information to us, which eventually caused the Balance Blade to lose the war.”
“If you hear about Altrus’s childhood, maybe you won’t get your hopes up,” Zhang Heng said.
“What was his childhood like?”
“Altrus is the twin brother of Commodus. He contracted a strange disease when he was five years old. From what I know… Uh, I believe the disease is called “polio” in our country. The condition can cause its sufferer physical paralysis. However, the priest in the palace said that this child was cursed and would bring bad luck to the family. For the sake of this country and people, the priest told the emperor that he had to kill this child. I believe you know about the story better than I. After all, you were a teenager when it happened, and it took me a long time to find out the backstory.”
“Yes, that’s right, my father asked someone to kill the child, claiming that he died of disease,” Lucilla said. “I still remember this tragedy. I can’t forget the way the child looked at me when I said goodbye to him.”
“Actually, your father didn’t kill the child. Instead, he sent him away secretly and entrusted the child to someone he trusted. The person that cared for the child was someone that guarded the border. There is no one who knows about it.”
“Is he my brother?” Lucilla asked in disbelief.
“Yes, you still have time to change your mind. You can show him mercy. After all, he is your brother.”
“No. Kill him,” Lucilla said firmly. “Between him and me, only one person can live. If he doesn’t die, it will have to be me. As for his story, you can tell me more after you kill him.”
“Now I like doing things for the royals. At least, none of you are indecisive.”
Zhang Heng shrugged.