Volume 4 Chapter 15 – Alefgard: Tower of Wisdom / Milcande | The Bloody Twins

| Rose & Lize

Tonight’s sky was overcast, hiding the moon and stars and leaving the atmosphere damp. Staring up at such a hazy sky brings back memories.

They said, “The moon and the stars.”

In that other world, it was a way to describe beautiful things.

Both are far harder to see here in Alefgard, and that’s why, in the depths of darkness, encountering them could be enough to stop you in awe.

It was on a night with a sky like this that we, the twin sisters Rose and Lize, met Kyosuke-sama.

“Lize.”

“Rose. Are you sleepy?”

“I’m alright.”

“I see. Me too.”

Yet they said it was strange how such beautiful words could mix together to create a raw, bloody feeling.

But for us twin assassins, who had killed so many under the guise of “contracts,” it felt fitting.

We raised our matching scythe pendants toward the sky. They were proof that we lived for love.

“It’s almost time.”

“Yes. Sage-sama…”

And so, we wished for death.

◆

We were born in the kingdom of Vinkarea, which ruled the central plains of the Alefgard continent.

As daughters of a wealthy merchant with close ties to the royal family of Vinkarea, we also had an older sister, two years our senior.

She was a kind-hearted, beautiful sister loved by everyone. She was the elder sister who always showered us with love, and we adored her.

When she was thirteen, she caught the eye of a noble and received a marriage proposal. Even though she could only become a concubine, being a noble, she quietly accepted for the sake of our father’s business. She left with a smile, without any trace of sorrow.

After a while, our father’s behavior began to change. It seemed that his business opportunities were constantly thwarted, and the patron of the firm seizing these missed opportunities was the family our sister had married into.

Growing suspicious, our father repeatedly visited the noble, hoping to see her. But he was never granted a meeting. Gradually, he began to drown in alcohol, taking his frustrations out on our mother as our business dwindled.

The collapse came quickly.

The servants were dismissed, furnishings sold, the mansion lost, and finally, our parents were sold into slavery, with us following suit.

Our buyer was the head of an assassin guild, who valued the utility of twins and began molding us into assassins.

The training was far beyond anything as mild as “near-death.” For us, who had once lived comfortably, it was nothing short of merciless.

We faced death numerous times, comforting each other in those moments and somehow surviving.

By the time we realized it, seven years had passed. By then, we had completed countless contracts, woven deceptions unique to twins, and become well-known assassins.

One day, we were given a mission to assassinate a certain noble. It was said he had been committing heinous acts for a long time and had earned numerous grudges.

That noble was the one our sister had married.

Yet, we were chosen for the mission.

To be honest, we felt reluctant about assassinating the head of our sister’s family. So, under the pretext of investigation, we first infiltrated the noble’s mansion.

However, our sister was nowhere to be found.

All we discovered was an old woman, barely clinging to life, skeletal, and imprisoned alone in a cell.

Around her neck hung a pendant we recognized.

In Vinkarea, a scythe symbolizes the banishment of evil and the carving of one’s path. The pendant, with two scythes arranged in a circle, mirrored on each side with the left and right inverted, was a unique design. It was a pendant we designed and gifted to our sister as a wedding present. There were only two of these in the entire world.

And she wore it around her neck.

This unfamiliar old woman was our sister.

Shaken by this realization, we restrained and tortured the guards, demanding answers.

What we learned was horrifying.

Shortly after her marriage, our sister had been enchanted with a charm spell, forcing her to advise against our father’s business ventures. She was used to seduce and gather information on business rivals, systematically undermining them.

Forced to repeatedly take forbidden drugs, exploited to a degree that would shame even the most degraded courtesans, our sister, only twenty years old, had been reduced to the appearance of an old woman.

After joining the assassin guild, we had learned to keep our emotions hidden, but at that moment, we could not.

No one could stop us.

Our feelings as sisters were unified.

Although our mission was to kill quietly, our emotions ran wild, and in the ensuing fight, we couldn’t defeat our enemies or rescue our sister. We barely managed to escape with our lives.

The guards hired by the noble were powerful.

Failing the mission, we naturally faced punishment from the guild and were barred from attempting it again. So, we fled the assassin guild, determined to carry out this kill ourselves, vowing to save our sister.

Pursued by both the noble and the guild, we spent our days evading capture, running without the support of any organization, despairing and gradually growing weary.

One day, when revenge and our sister’s rescue were our sole purpose, the Hero finally confronted us.

It was a misty night.

The Hero had apparently accepted a quest from the Adventurers’ Guild to subdue us. But he didn’t stop or try to capture us.

And the fairy tale turned out to be real.

The story of the Hero that our beloved sister had once read to us — a Hero who would never overlook sorrow.

Despite being assassins, we had learned to hide our feelings, but in front of the Hero, it was futile. He not only saw through our circumstances but was moved by our plight and our sister’s mistreatment. Like a storm, he swept in, rescuing our sister and bringing devastation to both the noble’s household and the assassin guild.

The Hero who saved us had sorrowful eyes.

Though our sister was rescued, her body, weakened and damaged by the forbidden drugs, couldn’t hold on for long. The Hero seemed to know that already. With the combined efforts of the Hero and the Shrine Maiden’s highest-level healing magic, she was only able to extend her life a little longer. But at least, we could hear her final words.

Our beloved sister, who once filled us with love, was forced to live under the illusion of love created by magic.

“Live… for love.”

We, her sisters, swore an oath to our cherished sister.

◆

The Sage contacted us sisters through the connection with the Hero.

About a month ago, the Demon Lord had fallen, and the Hero had safely returned to his world.

Here, at the Tower of Wisdom in Milcande, they could somehow discern these things. It was said that was the purpose of the tower.

“Ah, it glowed.”

“…Beautiful.”

A single streak of light, a shooting star, came from the west. It trailed a faint curtain of light, blending perfectly with this hazy, misty sky — visible only to those with the proper affinity.

It passed through the Tower of Wisdom and would head eastward next.

Yes, this was a light of mourning for the Hero, a farewell light, and a light of resolve.

With the two halves of our scythe pendants in hand, we stroked our abdomens.

“Oh, it’s here.”

“Yes, it came for me too. Artlily-sama has succeeded as well.”

And so, a cradle of wishes, to meet again.

In this life, we will bear, nurture, fight, wish, and die to protect the peace the Hero brought to this world.

We swore as much to Artlily-sama.

What follows now is our sisters’ parade of assassination — a quiet, deadly night. For those who threaten the Hero’s legacy, we will grant them all a misty night, filled with regret and pain, and a blood-soaked death.

We won’t kill them with a single breath. We won’t let them die easily. For death is, after all, our own deepest wish.

“Rose.”

“Lize.”

“Shall we?”

“Yes, for the peace Kyosuke-sama left behind…”

“For the sake of peace.”