He fell into step right beside her before she could object.

"Two people walking in the same direction. There is nothing suspicious about that at all."

She had no real choice, as standing still in the open was far worse.

They walked in total silence for half a block. Kane let the quiet stretch deliberately.

He learned very early in his real life that silence makes nervous people fill the space with things they never meant to say.

The cobblestones clicked softly beneath their boots, and the night air carried the scent of roasted meat from a distant tavern.

"Why are you following me?" Firlia finally asked, keeping her eyes locked straight ahead.

"I’m not following you because you walked right into my path."

"Don’t play games with me, barbarian."

"Kane."

She shot a sideways glance at him.

"What?"

"My name is Kane, and you stamped my registration papers yesterday. You already know it."

Another tense silence stretched between them, and her jaw visibly tightened.

"What do you want?"

"Right now? I want to know where a noble registrar goes sneaking through back gates in the middle of the night."

"That’s none of your business."

"Is it the guard captain?" Kane asked playfully, keeping his tone light and conversational.

"The one with the matching blue crystal necklace? Late-night quickie, huh?"

She stopped walking immediately.

They were tucked inside a narrow side street now, far away from any witnesses.

Lamplight from a distant corner caught the polished silver resting at her throat.

Firlia turned to face him fully for the first time tonight.

Up close, her red eyes looked furious and terrified simultaneously.

"You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone," she hissed.

"I haven’t said anything to anyone," Kane replied calmly.

"There isn’t a need for me to."

She stared at him, and the fury in her expression slowly shifted into something much more complicated.

"What do you actually want from me?"

"Information," Kane answered simply.

"You know every single fighter in this tournament. You know the hidden brackets, the side deals, and the fixed matches. I want to know which ones Lothburk has been paid to destroy before the semifinals begin."

Firlia caught her breath slightly because she definitely recognized the name.

"If I told you that, they would kill me."

"Nobody would know you told me," Kane promised.

"I’m very good at keeping useful people protected."

She studied his face intently, searching for the hidden angle and trying to figure out what he was really after.

Then something subtle shifted in her expression. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them to almost nothing.

And she kissed him.

It wasn’t hesitant or shy.

She pressed her lips hard against his, gripping the front of his shirt tightly with her left hand.

Kane’s hands instinctively dropped to her wide hips, gripping her plump ass through the robes and pulling her even tighter against him.

He could feel how hard her nipples were as they rubbed against his chest. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

But his instincts never slept.

In the middle of that heated kiss, he felt her right hand sliding down toward the dagger hidden under her cloak.

Kane caught her wrist in an iron grip right as her fingers touched the hilt.

They broke apart instantly, lips glistening, both breathing heavily.

Her breathing sounded ragged and panicked in the quiet alley, but his expression had not changed at all.

"That was a very interesting approach," Kane said quietly, holding her wrist firmly enough so she couldn’t pull free.

"You kiss surprisingly well for someone trying to put a blade in my ribs."

Firlia widened her eyes in defeat.

The assassination plan failed, and she knew she was trapped.

"You... bastard," she whispered shakily.

Her trembling fingers released the dagger handle slowly.

"The prince," Kane stated, keeping his voice dangerously low.

"He sent you to do this."

It wasn’t a question.

All the color drained rapidly from her pale face.

’There it is,’ Kane thought, watching her terrified reaction carefully.

’She didn’t come up with this desperate plan on her own. She was following strict orders from the top, and is completely terrified of what happens now that she failed.’

"He knows about the necklace," Kane pressed on, piecing the puzzle together perfectly.

"Prince Aelrindor knows about you and the commoner guard captain, and he’s been using it to control you since long before I arrived in this city."

Firlia lost her noble composure entirely for just a moment.

She pressed her free hand against her mouth, trying to hold back a sob.

"How long has he blackmailed you?" Kane asked, loosening his grip on her wrist just a fraction to show he was not going to break it.

She refused to answer immediately. Then she whispered, "Three years."

Kane released her wrist and took a step back.

’She’s not my real enemy,’ Kane thought, looking at the broken woman standing before him.

’I haven’t got time to mess with relationship drama.’

"Here is what happens now," Kane instructed, his voice dropping to almost a whisper.

"You go meet your captain tonight exactly like you planned. You tell the prince I suspected nothing, and I fought off your attack purely by chance. And tomorrow morning, you start telling me everything about Lothburk’s secret arrangements."

Firlia stared at him in disbelief.

"And what if I refuse?"

"Then I let the prince keep using you like a cheap toy for another three years," Kane answered simply.

"Or you work with me, and I will give you a safe way out of this city that doesn’t end with your head rotting on a spike."

Silence settled over the alley once again while she weighed her limited options.

The distant tournament music drifted through the night air, mocking the life-or-death decision happening in the shadows.

"Why would you help me?" she asked, her voice sounding genuinely confused by his sudden mercy.

Kane smiled slowly, letting his confident charm return.

"Because useful people deserve to be rewarded instead of punished."

He stepped back again to give her a clear path out of the alley.

"Go now. Your captain is waiting."

Firlia pulled her cloak tight around her shoulders and walked away briskly without looking back.

Kane watched her retreating figure until she rounded the far corner and vanished into the night.

’The prince is already moving his pieces to eliminate me outside the arena,’ Kane thought, feeling a rush of anticipation.

’Which means he is far more threatened by my presence than he is showing the public. Good. Scared people always make careless mistakes.’

He turned around and headed back toward his rented inn room, his mind already running through the endless possibilities of this brand new information.

[System Initialising]

[Hidden Quest Updated: Corrupt the Registration Noble]

[Progress: 45 Percent]

[New Branch Unlocked: The Prince’s Pawn]