Under Nolan's gaze, Alecto, who should have been barely clinging to life and liable to die at any moment, slowly opened her eyes.
Those eyes were filled with an indescribable confusion.
It was strong, yet deeply hidden. Her indifferent gaze remained calm, and Lansseax even found herself admiring Alecto's composure. That sense of bewilderment was something only Nolan could clearly feel.
"Hello... Your Majesty Nolan." Alecto's voice was somewhat hoarse, though not in a way that sounded like it came from long silence or physical weakness.
Her hands were tightly bound and suspended in midair, while her feet could only barely support her body on the ground.
Despite her desperate situation, her greeting was unusually cold, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
"..." Nolan merely tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the woman who had been stripped down to nothing but her undergarments.
In another world, a scene like this might have led to all sorts of unpleasant developments, but fortunately, Nolan was a decent man.
Nolan flicked his finger lightly, and a small stream of blue Magical Power slipped into the shackles on Alecto's wrists.
In an instant, faint magical sigils flashed, and the restraints that had held her fast opened with a click.
With nothing left to support her, Alecto collapsed limply to the floor as if her soul had been drawn out.
"I thought we'd get something a little more entertaining," Lansseax said, bored, the excitement on her face visibly fading.
"What are you so disappointed about, you mother dragon?" Nolan said helplessly as he watched Lansseax's face sink into obvious disappointment.
"Why didn't you kill us? What do you want to know?" Alecto knelt on the ground and looked at the two of them. Her voice was hoarse, but her composure was remarkable.
She had none of the lifeless despair of someone facing death, yet she lacked the vitality of the living as well. She looked almost like an emotionless puppet sitting before them, speaking mechanically.
Lansseax studied Alecto. Alecto's gaze remained calm as still water, exactly as one would expect from a top-tier assassin.
"Then let's not waste time. Let's have a proper talk. Why did you try to kill our Lord?" Lansseax asked.
Alecto looked at her without speaking. Perhaps this already touched on the secrets of their mission, the sort of secret one would usually carry to the grave.
Lansseax did not doubt the professionalism of the Black Knife Assassins. They were the very best.
"Maybe Lansseax didn't ask clearly enough. What she means is, why did you listen to the Two Fingers and come kill me?" Nolan asked slowly, his face expressionless as he looked at Alecto.
Alecto stared fixedly at Nolan, but she did not answer his question. Instead, she fell silent for a moment.
"You are Marika's kin, assassins who belong to her. Have you found a new master now and betrayed Her Majesty the Queen?" Nolan's voice gradually deepened.
"We are loyal only to the Queen!" Alecto replied. Even though they all knew she was a woman who only meant to use them, there was not the slightest hesitation in her words.
Lansseax was about to press further, but Nolan raised a hand to stop her.
Nolan's gaze returned to Alecto. A faint smile touched his lips as he said calmly, "But that is exactly what you did."
Alecto went silent for a moment. At last, her expression shifted, and her brows suddenly furrowed. "I do not understand what Your Majesty means."
"If I told you that the Lord Marika chose is me, then surely you'd understand what you've done," Nolan said with a low laugh.
"That's impossible!" Alecto's eyes widened slightly. The movement was so small an ordinary person would barely have noticed, worthy of someone trained as thoroughly as she was.
It was not just Alecto. Even Lansseax could not help showing surprise, her eyes fixed straight on Nolan.
Yet that surprise vanished in an instant, replaced by barely restrained excitement.
She seemed to have caught the scent of something unusual, as if she had just heard something incredibly interesting.
Nolan had no idea Lansseax's mind was already racing. He only looked at Alecto and chuckled softly.
"Why would it be impossible? Do you really think 'Gold' could bind that woman?"
Alecto remained silent, but deep inside, the answer was already clear. No.
When Marika gave the order for them to assassinate Godwyn the Golden, Alecto had sensed something faintly.
Godwyn, the most perfect heir in the eyes of the world, whose future even the Fingers that spoke for the Supreme Deity looked forward to, acknowledging him as the one who would become the King of Gold.
Yet Marika, as the prince's mother and the god of the Dynasty, had personally ordered the Black Knife to kill him.
Alecto did not know what the Queen truly intended, but she understood that Marika was no longer content with mere "Gold."
"It seems you understand that woman quite well yourselves. But a few words from me probably won't change your will, so I'll let your Queen talk to you instead."
Nolan nodded as he stretched out his hand. "Trina is busy and can't come, but I borrowed a portion of her authority. With that, I hope all of you have a good dream."
His palm pressed against the top of Alecto's head. Her first instinct was to resist, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and her mind sank at once into chaos.
Purple mist spread from Nolan's body and filled every corner of the cell. The Black Knife Assassins, who had yet to awaken, fell into an even deeper sleep.
Outside that sweet dream, the mother dragon Lansseax stepped forward with great interest.
When she reached Nolan's side, the smile on her face grew brighter and brighter, like a gossip reporter who had just stumbled onto a scandal.
"What a bold move, Your Majesty. Which one do you plan to start with?" Lansseax asked with a grin.
"I was planning to start with the High Priest. Is that all right?" Nolan asked.
"The High Priest's body and mind belong to the Divine One. If the Divine One desires me, of course I cannot refuse!"
Lansseax clasped her hands together and spoke with a devout expression, as if she had truly offered herself completely to the Divine One she spoke of.
Anyone who did not know her might really have mistaken her for some pure and noble Saintess who had wandered in from elsewhere.
After saying that, Lansseax made as if to lean into Nolan, her posture like that of a gentle lamb, enough to stir pity in anyone watching.
"Enough. Just ask what you want to ask." Nolan raised a hand to stop her.
"I simply wanted to learn a few secret stories from the past between His Majesty and Marika," Lansseax said with a light laugh.
"I don't mind telling you. Actually, she and I..." Nolan smiled as he looked into Lansseax's alluring eyes, which seemed almost able to speak.
"Hold on. You're telling me that easily? That feels suspicious." Lansseax immediately stopped Nolan from continuing and took half a step back. "You're not going to kill me afterward to silence me, are you?"
"I wouldn't agree even if you wanted to die. If you died, who would take over the huge mess that is the Church of the Flame?" Nolan said. "But I'll have you sleep for a while. You can treat it as a dream."
At that, Lansseax suddenly laughed. Her body leaned forward of its own accord until she was almost pressed against Nolan, and she said in a playful, coquettish voice, "I knew Your Majesty wouldn't be that cruel. But I don't want to simply fall asleep. Dreams are so boring. Are there any other choices?"
"Then keep that mouth of yours shut. Don't go telling people, especially Trina and Millicent," Nolan said, pinching the mother dragon's cheek.