Blood contract. It's a heartless and inhumane way to die.

With the help of a guardian, someone made some kind of a contract out of greed hundreds of years ago. A contract that binds a person's life and can only be broken by members of that someone's family.

Whoever signed that blood contract, the contract that binds them to the success of their mission. They will die from that contract sooner or later if they do not return with evidence that their mission was successfully completed within a certain amount of time.

As a result, they enslaved a large number of helpless people to do their dirty work for them, including murdering innocent people, robbing, slavery, and committing various other crimes.

They seem to believe with the blood contract, they have become the most powerful people in the world. Who knows where they got that ridiculous mindset that makes them even more selfish and cruel.

Their greediness and cruelty brought chaos and destruction to their kingdom when they belittled other nobles, even the royal family.

Soon, no one spoke of them, no one mentioned their names, and their entire family was shunned. For all crimes against humanity, their entire family is considered rebellious to the kingdom and sentenced to death.

It is a tale of a foreign country's devastation that is told all over the nation.

No one knew about the blood contract that was only written in a fragile ancient book after the slaughter of the entire family hundreds of years ago, leaving only a handful of people who read the dark story.

But who would have thought, nearly four years ago, an assassin group was formed under the influence of a blood contract.

Only the most capable, qualified, and courageous individuals are willing to sign a blood contract. The other, a foolish person, who had no other choice because of financial constraints. They are often called in in secret and offered lucrative jobs, then they will sign contracts without fully knowing the consequences.

And only a handful of people are desperately looking for them because they want to eliminate someone. But in the end, they weren't the ones who found the person. Instead, a black letter with a certain symbol etched in the wax seal will appear on their desks after they give up. For the rest, all they have to do is follow the instructions in the letter to have their wishes granted. Of course, the price would be extremely high.

Early in the morning, Reind hurried to the dungeon, followed by some of his men, after receiving unexpected information about the assassins and bandits.

Stopping in front of the cell that was wide open, several knights of the Sixon family stared at him with pale faces and looked disturbed by the things they saw in the cell. They then lowered their heads as low as they could, afraid to look directly at Reind, who seemed to be clenching his jaws and suppressing his frustration.

The scene in front of them was gruesome. In the corner of that room, there was blood and flesh that used to be human. Who'd have guessed that under the power of a blood contract, they also take the bandits to their deaths with them?

How did they know if the blood contract had contributed to their death? It was easy.

No human, particularly in a closed room like this, could kill someone to the point of annihilating their entire body and leaving just a clot of flesh and blood.

Reind swore silently in his mind. They had tried for a week to prevent the assassins or the bandits from killing themselves, interrogating them but found nothing. He also brought up the blood contract, which elicited a variety of reactions from them, but they remained silent and as if they were afraid of something.

In the midst of frustration, a guard approached Reind with a piece of paper in his hand.

“We came across this piece of paper lying around not far from… that.” As he peered into the cell, the guard almost choked.

Reind lifted his brows as he received the neatly folded paper. He opened the paper without thinking and discovered something that made him gag.

Auction event. Another assassination attempt. Tighten the protection around them.

Someone had left a sheet of paper with bloody writing on it. Everyone can tell whose blood was used to write those words at first glance.

“Has Lord Kael arrived?” Reind asked through gritted teeth, the paper in his hands already crumpled in his palm.

“Lord Kael will be here soon, Lord Reind.”

“Clean up this mess, and figure out who broke into this cell last night.” Reind gave the command to his men, before turning around and leaving the dungeon.

“You've finally arrived, brother.” Lilith greeted her brother, who had just stepped out of the carriage, with a smile. A little girl in her arms grinned as well, both of their cheeks revealing deep dimples.

“How did your journey go?” Kael, Lilith's brother, took the little girl in Lilith's arms and put her in his arms.

Marya giggled. Her tiny hands were already wrapped around Kael's neck, and her smile grew when she noticed a man following them from a distance.

“There was a minor... accident. But we're fine.” Lilith replied while following Kael to his studies.

“Where's Reind? Has he returned to his house?” Kael asked as he lowered Marya to the sofa and then sat next to her.

“I heard something happened in the dungeon, so Reind is looking into it.” Lilith sat in front of them, pursed her lips when she saw how Kael was treating Marya. But what can she say? They have all spoiled Marya ever since she became their mother guardian. The little girl has unquestionably become a member of the Sixon family.

“Neo…” Kael let Marya play with his fingers. He locked his gaze on the man standing behind Lilith. “Bring Lord Reind here.” He gave the order.

Neo nods before leaving to carry out Kael's orders when someone knocks on Kael's study door. Neo, who was in front of the closed door, immediately opened the door.

Reind had a glum expression on his face as he stood in front of the door. “Lord Kael, I have something to say to you.” He said it in a courteous manner.

“Can I…”

“No. Bring Marya along and assist our mother with the auction preparations.”

Lilith didn't have a chance to say that she wanted to stay with them when Kael interrupted her.

Lilith knew her brother's words were indisputable, so with a heavy heart, she lifted Marya in her arms and walked out, leaving the three men behind.

Kael got up from the sofa and walked over to his desk. For a brief moment, his movements came to a halt. His forehead creased deeply when he saw a piece of paper on his desk. He then turned to face Neo. “Sir Heind said there's no letter for me, right?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Really?” Kael lifted the paper, with a disgusted expression on his face. “Is this a joke, or what?” His face darkened even more when he saw the corners of the paper were covered in blood.

“Let me see the paper.”

Kael was about to tear the paper when Reind's voice stopped him.

Reind took the paper from Kael's hand, opened it and placed it on the table. He then took a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and put it next to the one Kael had discovered.

“It's the same.” Reind murmured. “We found this paper near the… corpses… of the assassins and bandits. My men are currently investigating who sent this warning paper. I never expected you to get it as well.”

Their minds were filled with various things when they saw the two papers. However, the only questions that fill their minds are who sent the two papers and whether or not they can be trusted.