"Why?"

Javier glanced down at Hanarak, who mumbled the word weakly.

"Why what?"

Hanarak’s body trembled, his voice shaking with desperation.

"Why is Armand attacking us? Why did Armand interfere in our business? We never harmed or targeted Garius or his family! We never took a contract against Armand! So why?!"

"Ouuu~ Chi chi chi. You’re wrong." Javier’s voice dripped with mockery. "You said your House of Hanarak never... what?"

He crouched in front of Hanarak again, resting both arms on his knees, his golden eyes gleaming directly into Hanarak’s terrified gaze.

"Let me fix that information for you, asshole."

He snapped his fingers, and a thick, detailed report materialized beside him.

"First, you said you never aimed for or targeted Armand’s family?"

"You’re wrong here, asshole. You may not have, but your subordinates did."

He lifted the first paper, holding it in front of Hanarak’s face.

"Remember this?"

Hanarak’s eyes widened, and he fell silent, his face pale.

"Oho~ Can’t read now, eh? Alright, alright..." He patted Hanarak’s shoulder mockingly before chuckling. "I’ll help you read it for you. I know you love a bedtime story, right~?"

"We start now? Okay? Mister... err... who is it again?"

Javier smirked when he saw Hanarak remain silent, unable to form any words.

"Ah... this first report is about a certain boy, I believe he was around eleven years old, who was going to attend a noble school... well, forced to, of course." Javier’s voice took on a casual, storytelling tone. "And this boy went with his beautiful elf maid. He was supposed to attend the noble school at the Royal Capital at that time."

He snapped his fingers, and a chair materialized nearby.

Javier grabbed Hanarak’s collar and dragged him beside the chair before taking a seat.

"And this boy traveled to the noble school at the Royal Capital. The road was full of traps and assassins. Lucky for him, he wasn’t weak or dumb, and of course, his family had a better counter-assassination team... well, even if the boy didn’t need it. And all those assassins were killed. I believe... ah, wait... not believe, but according to this report, they were indeed your subordinates. Who were hired by the Klimbert Household to take down this boy."

He glanced at Hanarak, who was now kneeling on the ground, his hands resting on his thighs, staring down at the floor in guilt.

Javier tapped Hanarak’s cheek lightly.

"Oi, oi! Don’t fall asleep yet. That’s just the first report. Not even close to the seventh." He ran his hand over the thick stack of reports, emphasizing its size. "Aw~ come on. Don’t be like that. You should be thankful I’m reading a bedtime story for you~"

"B... but..." Hanarak mumbled softly, his voice trembling with guilt. "It... it was my subordinate... and I... I didn’t command it... I didn’t receive any contract for it... I didn’t know..."

"Aw~ man... damn. You’ve got a good point there." Javier tilted his head, his tone dripping with mock surprise. "Well... even if I know the truth, I thought you were dumber than that. Alright, alright."

Javier chuckled and snapped his fingers. All the reports vanished back into his dimensional storage, leaving only a single report in his hand.

"Alright, I agree with you on this one. So we can skip all the ’boy’ stories, like when he graduated from the noble school the same year and was about to head back to Armand with... Erinette~"

Hanarak’s eyes widened in terror at the mention of that name.

"Aw~ Don’t give me that face. You want to defeat Alf, but you’re scared just hearing his wife’s name~?"

Hanarak kept his lips sealed, his face pale.

"Ah~ Okay, okay. Damn... I can feel you’re about to piss your pants. Eww~ I don’t want to touch it when it’s wet. Let’s continue with this report, shall we?"

Javier held the report paper up toward Hanarak’s face and watched as his expression shifted from guilt to sheer terror.

"You know, mister? In this report alone, you have plenty of crimes and sins you’ve committed."

He chuckled darkly before beginning to read.

"Your first crime~ Using dark magic poison on a particular young girl. And what’s more..." Javier’s voice dropped, turning cold and serious. "You infected her with a curse parasite, making her suffer for years, slowly draining her life, keeping her bedridden and in constant pain."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.

"But the biggest crime you committed... is making her suffer."

Javier’s voice turned sharp and cold.

"You infiltrated Mathrias Manor, disguised yourself as the Mathrias butler, and brought your personnel to replace the original staff. This means all the people who originally worked there, the butler, the maids, the servants, were killed. I don’t know where you dumped their bodies, but don’t worry, I’ll find out soon."

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to an intimidating whisper.

"Since I already have my tracking knights and..." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "...the Armand Shadow Unit, especially the investigation unit. You’ve heard about them, right~?"

Hanarak voice trembling as he tried to justify himself.

"I... I was an assassin! It’s our job! We take contracts, we do what the client pays us to do! That’s how the House of Hanarak operates! We don’t ask questions, we just complete the mission!"

Javier’s smirk remained, but his eyes turned terrifying, his aura flaring violently, making the surrounding ground shake and tremble.

"An assassin... you say?"

Hanarak felt the heavy aura pressing down on him, his body trembling under the enormous weight of Javier’s presence. The ground beneath him cracked, and the air grew thick and suffocating.

"A true assassin is hired for one thing: death. A clean, verifiable, final death. The target is a problem to be removed from existence. The transaction is simple. The job is done. No loose ends, no suffering, no prolonged agony."

The ground shook violently, and Hanarak struggled to maintain his kneeling position, his remaining hand gripping the chair leg for support, his body trembling under the overwhelming pressure.

"But what you did... making someone bedridden, infecting them with a curse parasite, forcing them to suffer for years... that is not assassination."

Javier’s voice dropped, cold and sharp as a blade.

"That is prolonged torture. That is sadistic cruelty. That is a personal vendetta disguised as a contract. And that... is something I will never forgive."

( End Of Chapter )