When Rei left the House of the Hearth, the sky was covered by dark clouds. It looked like it was going to rain soon.
The people on the street walked quickly, trying to get home before the rain started.
After Rei bought a pack of macaroni from a general store, he walked faster toward home.
Just as he was about to reach his house, he suddenly felt that something was wrong and quickly turned his head.
At that very moment, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. "Swish!" A bullet sped past, grazing his ear rapidly.
Rei reacted quickly. As soon as the bullet grazed him, he ran fast toward where the bullet came from.
In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived in front of that assassin.
At this moment, the assassin was still holding the long gun, his face full of shock.
Without any hesitation, Rei swung his elbow hard into the assassin's chest.
With a loud crack, the assassin was knocked backward and fell to the ground more than ten meters away.
He tried to get up, but his body felt so heavy that he could barely move.
"Speak. Who sent you?" Rei walked toward the assassin with a cold look in his eyes.
The assassin slowly lifted his head. He tried to speak, but only managed to let out a breath mixed with blood. He said weakly, "Doing... our... line of work... we cannot inquire about the employer's identity. Even if we knew, we couldn't reveal it."
Rei stopped in his tracks in front of the assassin, looking down at him from above. He said coldly, "I didn't expect you to have such professional ethics."
"Love what you do." The assassin's face was very pale as he forced a weak smile.
As he spoke, his hand shakily reached into his pocket and pulled out a handgun.
Rei could have easily kicked the handgun out of the assassin's hand with a single kick.
But at that moment, a sudden idea came to him.
Thus, he stood in place, quietly watching the assassin slowly raise the handgun.
The assassin was confused and didn't know why Rei gave him a chance.
But he still pressed the trigger with skill.
As soon as the bullet was fired, Rei moved his body carefully so the bullet only hit the muscles in his shoulder.
He did not give the assassin another chance to shoot. Ignoring the strong pain, he finished the fight with a final kick.
After quickly cleaning up the scene, Rei, covered in blood and shaky, walked onto the main street to tell a Garde who was on patrol what happened.
After reporting the case, his vision went black, and he fainted.
Soon, the news that Vice Captain Rei of the Gardes had been attacked in the street spread quickly through the whole Court of Fontaine.
---
Palais Mermonia, Top Floor.
Furina sat by the window, gazing boredly at the light drizzle outside the window.
The thin, close threads of rain fell like silver lines, hitting the window and joining together into winding streams of water.
Rei's face involuntarily floated into her mind again.
Just then, a crisp doorbell ring sounded at the door.
Hearing this, Furina immediately got up to open the door.
However, what made her slightly disappointed was that the visitor was not Rei, but her butler, Sedene.
Sedene looked up with her small face and said, "Lady Furina, Captain Rei was just attacked by an assassin on the street."
Hearing this, Furina's mind went blank and she couldn't think.
She felt very scared and nervous, and it was hard to breathe.
"How is he?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Sedene hurriedly replied, "He has already been sent to the public hospital to receive treatment."
As soon as she heard this, Furina rushed out, not caring about anything else.
Half an hour later, she appeared in a clean and tidy hospital ward, gasping for breath.
Her whole body was soaked from the rain. Her hair stuck to her cheeks, and water dripped from her chin.
As soon as she entered, Furina saw Rei lying on the hospital bed with his eyes slightly closed, his shoulder wrapped in thick bandages.
Chiori and Emilie sat on either side of the hospital bed; the room felt a bit tense.
Furina adjusted her breathing, walked up, and asked with a face full of nervousness, "Is Rei's injury serious?"
Chiori answered first. "The injury is very serious, but luckily, he avoided any important areas. As long as he rests quietly for a while, he will get better."
Emilie opened her mouth slightly, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, she didn't say it.
Hearing Chiori's words, Furina instantly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
She said softly, "Then I won't disturb his rest."
After saying that, she took a deep look at Rei, turned, and left.
After walking out of the ward, Furina walked quickly back to the Palais Mermonia.
Before long, she arrived at the Office of the Chief Justice.
Neuvillette was sitting at his desk doing paperwork. When he saw Furina, who was wet from the rain, he looked a little worried.
Furina stood still in front of the desk, her expression solemn. "Iudex Neuvillette, in the name of the Divine, I demand that you find the mastermind behind Rei's assassination as soon as possible."
Neuvillette nodded, his tone carrying a resoluteness that allowed no doubt. "No matter who the mastermind is, I will find him and deliver the most severe judgment."
Seeing this, Furina said no more and turned to leave.
It wasn't until she left the office that she noticed she was soaking wet and cold from the rain.
But when she remembered that Rei would get better soon, she didn't care about the cold anymore.
----
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