Okay, so first, chapter 30?! (°â°) Here I was planning on writing it only until like the late teens, but here we are all the way at 30! Whew! And second, 34.8K reads?! Nani?! â(ãÐã;) I finally found the kawaii faces online and have been playing around with them... ( ͡° ÍÊ Í¡Â°) Okay, okay, I'm out!
Needless to say, it took a while for them to deal with Reina Garrula. She was first, backed by an extremely wealthy and powerful family; secondly, owned a huge clothing brand that was popular with all of the nobility; and thirdly, had just gotten engaged to Alfred. Killing her so soon would be too suspicious.
This was within Zachary and Lorena's expectations. But since their goal was to get everything done within a week... they had to speed things up a bit. So this was where Number 2 would come in. He was naturally close to Reina and had long been dissatisfied with the Garrula's. Since Albert had a portrait of his master, he had to do what he said so that his master could live peacefully in retirement.
Lorena arranged for a group of men to break into the Garrula mansion and steal the painting. Copies? She wasn't worried about that. Albert wouldn't risk the copy falling into the wrong hands and would naturally only keep one. Originally, Albert would keep the portrait on him (as it was only a sketch on a piece of nice paper). But as time went on, his vigilance went down and he settled for keeping it in a safe behind a painting in his office.
Grabbing that portrait would be extremely difficult, but it could be done. Lorena took the best of the best Zachary had personally trained and sent them on their way. Once they had the portrait, they could take advantage of Number 2's hatred for the Garrula family and make him kill Reina. Successfully washing their hands of the matter and accomplishing their goal at the same time.
The only thing that she hadn't accounted for, however...
"Ma'am, we can't find it!"
Was that the portrait wouldn't be where they said it would be!
Lorena looked at the subordinate through the screen and bit her thumb. Things had been going so well, and this was the last step they had to take! Everything else would fall into place. She knew things were going too smoothly! She cursed herself for setting up the flag.
Okay! Minor setback, no worries!
"Keep searching! You have a five-minute window. If you don't get it now it's going to be a long time before we can try again!"
"Yes ma'am!"
The screen turned off and Lorena put her head in her hands. She had to do something! If they got caught that would be a huge loss to their organization! Not to mention it would make the Garrula's start searching in the right places!
Lorena looked up and a determined glint flashed through her eyes. She would go and make sure everything went smoothly. Zachary was at a business meeting right now, she had twenty minutes. If she ran at her fastest speed, she would be able to make it there in two minutes. Plus the five-minute window, and then back, she would be back with a lot of time left. She could shower, regulate her breathing, and Zachary wouldn't even know she was gone.
It was high risk, but she was willing to take it. With her mind made up, she got dressed in a black onesie and pulled the hood on over her white hair. Her white hair would make her too conspicuous. Not good for a stealth mission.
She opened the window and gracefully lept out. Her foot had only tapped the nearby tree when she was suddenly up in the air again. She lept from branch to branch and in no time at all, she made it out of the vast woods surrounding the Solace Mansion.
Two minutes later, she made it to the Garrula Mansion. She blended into the shadows, mimicking their swaying movements and moving seamlessly in the guard's blindspots. She made it to the office and entered.
Nobody was inside.
At least, that's how it appeared to the average person. But Lorena sensed the five were still in the darkroom.
"Relax, I just came to handle the situation by myself."
Immediately five people clothed in black like her poofed out of what seemed like nowhere. One, with a bulkier build, got on one knee and placed his knuckles on the ground.
"I apologize. Us subordinates weren't capable enough and had to force ma'am to come down herself."
"Get up, we have no time for pleasantries. This isn't you five's fault. The information we acquired was faulty. We will get rid of the informants when we return. For now, find it!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
They immediately began to search the room for secret compartments, drawers, and other places the portrait may be.
Lorena searched as well, but she had a hunch that it wasn't here. Where else could it be, though?