The Martial Unity

"Charles DiVilliers...The Underworld Prince..." Master Reina considered his words thoughtfully.

"I can confirm that he is one of my conspiring death-wishers," Rui replied.

"One of?" Master Reina raised an eyebrow. "How do you know there are more?"

"...I am eighty-nine percent certain that the little briefing was not arranged by Rajak or the Underworld," Rui replied, narrowing his eyes. "It's not their modus operandi. No...this is the work of someone who is not nearly as accustomed to covert and furtive operations of the kind that is being attempted. The Underworld would have sacrificed the luxury in favor of practicality. They would have briefed us in the middle of a trash valley if it meant lesser probability of being tracked."

"That's true," Master Reina nodded thoughtfully.

Rui narrowed his eyes defiantly. There was still something that didn't add up. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like this was not an initiative from the Underworld so much as an initiative that came from elsewhere and made use of the Underworld's services.

'Yes, that better describes what's happening,' Rui realized. 'The Underworld wouldn't need to use Charles DiVilliers' place as a getaway if it truly was intent on killing me with everything it had. Their own capacity to hide the Kandrian Empire far exceeds that of Charles DiVilliers. The resources that were employed were more reminiscent of someone powerful who is working with their hands tied.'

but was not under their absolute control, such that they could

his final deduction. 'The modus operandi I have witnessed from my death-wishers ever since being informed about them perfectly fits that of a group of individuals with immense power at their disposal, which they cannot employ against me because of a

of the royals had gained true loyalty from their faction. The royals lacked control over their faction the most than any of the other three

the Kandrian government would have handled this very differently, especially in their manner of getaway. These three had much greater control over their power and resources than the royals did, and while they all feared the Martial Union too much to

eyes. "These are organizations who are accustomed to outsourcing services to the experts and leave the matter entirely to them with the constraints and objectives specified. They would have simply asked for my covert death and body

the true culprit

would never rely on DiVilliers Enterprises. There is too strong a conflict of interests between the two parties for them to trust each other," Rui realized that the probability of the Kandrian government being the true culprit was limited as well. "They also would not be able to transfer such large sums of money abroad with the Martial Union not

what he witnessed, thereby reducing the probability that it was the Underworld. By comparing the known modus operandi of the four suspects and the actual culprits, he was

four possibilities that he had shortlisted two weeks

that one or more royals had cooperated to take Rui

could trust not to take him out were Prince Raijun because Rui was his ticket to winning the Kandrian Throne War and Prince Raul. Since, as hard as it was to believe,

me to assassinate them?" Master Reina

else offered, he would have scoffed, but when Master Reina did, he knew that she wasn't jesting in the least. He would not

Rui heaved a sigh, shaking his