Elion turned his gaze toward him. “Why so quiet now?” he asked, his voice low but carrying easily through the vineyard.

The assassin did not answer. Instead, his eyes slid past Elion and fixed on Evandria, who stood several steps away, frozen in place.

A faint sinister smile touched his lips as he raised his hand. Glowing red symbols formed in a circle around his feet, the ground beneath him darkening as they ignited.

Evandria’s eyes widened as she realized what the man was doing.

A spell…? But how could an assassin use one? Only the noble families and those connected to the Holy Order were capable of casting spells.

The assassin’s voice deepened as he began to chant. Shadows rose from the ground and gathered around his arm, forming a spear of red energy. Then it shot forward without warning, but not at Elion. It cut through the air in a streak of red light, straight for Evandria.

Elion did not flinch at the sudden shift. He simply raised his hand and spoke a single word. The spear struck an invisible barrier and hung there. Its light flickered once, then dissolved like mist in the night.

M-magic? Did he just use magic? Evandria’s eyes went wide, confusion flooding her face.

The assassin’s expression twisted in confusion as well. “How is that possible?” he murmured.

Elion stepped forward. Dark veins flickered across his hand for a brief moment before fading.

The assassin’s eyes narrowed. “Was that magic interruption?”

“Does it really matter now, given where you’re standing?” Elion replied, his cold blue eyes glimmering under the moonlight.

“No... that wasn’t magic,” the assassin murmured to himself. “That was a high-level spell. I’ve heard of spells that come close to magic, but humans can’t cast them easily. Yet he just used one... and he’s still standing, completely unfazed. One thing is certain now. I can’t win against him.”

A drop of sweat slid down his forehead. For a brief moment, he considered fleeing. But running would mean leaving the job unfinished. So he chose to fight.

A glowing circle flared before him as he began to chant again. But before he could finish it, Elion interrupted the spell. The glowing circle cracked and fell apart, dissolving without a sound.

When the distortion faded, the assassin was on his knees, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. It was the price of a broken spell.

Elion walked toward him and stopped in front of him, looking down at the man like he was not worth the effort.

The assassin let out a weak, broken laugh. “Hah... it seems we took the wrong target this time.”

“You should have thought about it when you took the job,” Elion observed him for a moment before continuing. “If I ask who sent you, I assume you won’t tell me.”

“Of course not.” The assassin coughed, blood splattering from his mouth. “You already know how it works. We don’t disclose information... but I admit, you really are something else. This is the first time... I’ve regretted taking a jo…”

His words trailed off as he slumped forward, lifeless.

Elion turned and looked at Evandria. She stood exactly where he had left her, hands hanging loosely at her sides, staring at him like she did not know what to make of what she had just seen. He walked toward her slowly and stopped a few steps away.

“Are you hurt?”

Evandria blinked, as if coming back to herself. “N-no... I’m fine.”

Her lips parted slightly. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but the words refused to leave her throat. She only stared at him. Her mind replayed it again and again, the dark veins on his hand, the way the spell had simply vanished. That was not normal. That was not something humans were supposed to do.

“You…” she whispered softly, but the sentence never formed.

“What is it?”

“N-nothing.”

She met his eyes. And for the first time, they held something other than coldness. She had never seen that look in his eyes before. But she could not understand what it was.

“Let’s go back.”

“O-okay.”

Elion turned and walked ahead, slow enough for her to follow, though he never once looked back to check if she did.

Evandria stood there for another second, staring at the place where the spell had dissolved. Then she turned and followed him. The mansion lights glowed warmly in the distance. Behind them, the vineyard returned to silence.