The Lord's Mansion.
Inside the empty Treasure Vault.
Lian looked at the twin maids kneeling on the floor, a meaningful expression on his face.
"You never intended to kill us from the start, did you? Otherwise, under the threat of the Ice Witch, we would have had no chance to fight back. You were just testing us, wanting to see what methods and abilities we possessed. And now, you have your results."
Anna said, her expression calm.
"Oh? And what are those results?"
Lian asked curiously.
"I am skilled in strategy, and my sister is skilled in assassination. We are the kind of people you need."
Anna said with conviction.
Annie never doubted her sister's analysis.
Lian found Anna to be truly intelligent. He had noticed it before, when she'd helped him persuade the Bank Envoy, Emran. Sometimes, a single glance was all it took for her to know what he wanted—like when she had presented the Lord's Seal as collateral.
A maid this clever was exactly the kind of secretary he needed.
Therefore, regardless of who sent her or what her purpose was, Lian had decided to take this chess piece for himself.
As for Annie, the skilled assassin, didn't that just mean he had another bodyguard?
"Not bad. A correct analysis."
Lian clapped his hands, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "In that case, let's make a deal."
This familiar line made Sophie's body tremble slightly. 'Is Lord Lian going to perform a Cleaning Entry for them, too?'
"What kind of deal?"
Anna raised her head, her beautiful eyes shimmering.
Annie also looked at Lian curiously.
"I will give you back your freedom, and in return, you will offer me your Loyalty."
Lian didn't see an entry like [Loyalty] on them, which proved that they lacked loyalty even to the organization they belonged to. This meant they hadn't willingly become spies to infiltrate the Green Shade Territory, and that a counter-defection negotiation was possible.
So, what did a [Spy] and an [Assassin] desire most? It had to be freedom! Their lives had been controlled by others from the very beginning, turning them into pawns in someone else's hands. That was why they yearned for freedom.
"Freedom?"
Anna and Annie froze simultaneously.
That word struck a deep chord within them.
"Yes. No one is born a [Spy] or an [Assassin]. The organization that raised you must have also stripped you of your freedom. I am now giving that freedom back to you."
Lian said.
"How will you give it back?"
Anna looked at Lian suspiciously.
A trace of uncertainty also flickered in Annie's eyes.
'Can he really do it?'
'Should we trust him?'
Lian looked at the twins and said, "There are two paths. The choice is yours."
"The first path: I won't ask about your past. Whatever you have done before has nothing to do with me. We will only focus on the present. You will become my loyal employees, and I will be your generous boss. You will no longer be spies and assassins, but simply citizens of the Green Shade Territory, enjoying all the rights and freedoms of its people."
"The second path: tell me about your past, and I will help you sever it completely. From that day forward, we will be inseparable partners."
Hide the past or sever the past.
Anna and Annie fell into deep thought.
Anna was more inclined toward the first option, but she knew that hidden secrets are eventually revealed, and those who hide will eventually be found.
Annie was more inclined toward the second, but she knew the cost would be enormous. What if, after they told him everything, the new Lord went back on his word?
In reality, there was a third path before Anna and Annie.
From the corners of their eyes, they saw Sophie, who remained as expressionless as a cold statue.
That's right. The third path was to refuse Lian's deal, to flee forever and become a target for all.
No intelligent person would choose the third path.
It was a psychological game. The third path was the pressure, forcing them to realize they could only choose between the first and the second.
The first path, which seemed to be about hiding their past, was actually a path of pandering and expediency. They could feign allegiance and continue with their mission.
The second path was the one Lian truly wanted them to choose—a complete break with their past. Only then could they be completely loyal to him.
Thus, what appeared to be a multiple-choice question was, in reality, a single-choice one.
Once Anna understood this, a smile touched her lips.
"Lord Lian, you are an interesting person. Perhaps following you could be very interesting indeed."
"On the condition that you can truly help us sever our past," Annie added.
Lian already knew the sisters' choice. He opened his arms as if to embrace them and said gently,
"Then tell me. Tell me your past and your fears, and let me be the judge."
His voice seemed to carry a bewitching quality, making one unable to resist the urge to confide in him.
Anna and Annie had already considered it. Things couldn't get any worse than they already were, so they decided to just reveal their secret.
"We were sent by Lady Mary, the ruler of the Rose Territory. Our objective is the Sequence Six Eye of the Future."
Anna and Annie explained their objective. In truth, despite hiding in the Green Shade Territory for so long, they had never had a chance to enter the Treasure Vault.
This was because when the old Lord, Moria, was still in the Green Shade Territory, the Treasure Vault was always heavily guarded, layer upon layer.
Now, those heavy guards were gone, because the Treasure Vault had already been emptied.
If Anna and Annie had known the old Lord would be so reckless—not only fleeing himself but also taking Sequence Six with him—they would have absolutely sent word to Lady Mary at the first opportunity.
Hearing their true objective and the mastermind behind it, Lian breathed a sigh of relief.
The Eye of the Future had already been taken by Old Deng. This meant there was no direct conflict between him and them.
"Bloody Mary?"
Anna and Annie paused, stunned. They hadn't expected Lian to summarize the situation so aptly, but no one had ever dared to call Mary that.
"Lady Mary has trained many spies and assassins. Our main purpose is to find Gifts for her," Anna confessed.
"Then what does she have on you?"
Lian asked.
"She controls our hearts."
Annie said.
Immediately, a red entry popped up before Lian's eyes.
Hidden Entry: [Heartless]
[Heartless]: One whose heart has been stolen by the Sequence Five Ripper. A Heartless cannot be killed unless their heart is damaged. Every full moon, they transform into a mindless monster, enduring endless pain.
The entries above Anna and Annie's heads changed, gaining the red entry for [Heartless].
"So, Lord Lian, do you still wish to continue with this deal?"
Anna and Annie stood up, looking at Lian.
"This is indeed difficult. I have no way to retrieve your hearts."
Expressions of disappointment appeared on Anna and Annie's faces simultaneously.
'It's just as we thought. No one can take our hearts back from Lady Mary.'
'As long as our hearts are in Mary's hands, we can never be free.'
Therefore, the deal was invalid from the very start.
And now that they had exposed their secret, there was only one path left for Anna and Annie: to kill Lian while his guard was down and force the Witch Sophie to use her Magic Power frequently until she lost control.
That way, even if their mission failed, they wouldn't return to Lady Mary completely empty-handed.
At the very least, they would have helped her eliminate the Green Shade Territory.