Crimson Karma - Chapter 19

What sort of senses are these? Just like…. I can feel like touching them, seeing them. In the previous life I could only feel some energy/presence……

Even her current body had no training in this aspect. She was just an ordinary woman with a job as a female knight.

.……Since this is a world of magic, Is this much sensitivity common for all…?

As she thought, she felt the life she entered into some game world and a laugh came out of her. Anyway it was a good thing that the senses are many times sensitive. Kasia meditated some more as she tested her more sensitive senses.

Like that she was able to discern different voices inside the inn. Outside the sky darkened. Like the sky is covered in clouds, even the bright moonlight seemed to be covered.

Now let’s get started.

Kasia stood up, unlocked the door and packed up her baggage. Also she slightly glanced out of the window and then opened the window sills. The night smells different than daytime. A scent that can calm one’s senses. If she takes this road, either succeed the mission or die. It was always like this.

She took another glance at the cloudy dark sky and jumped out of the window.

*     *     *

To pass through the entrance of Karina Palace surrounded by sturdy walls without any disturbance was a difficult task. Fortunately the royal family and the nobles within the castle were engaged with their own things. When it turns night these noblities will bring street whores into the palace to fulfill their perverted desires.

‘Though it’s grateful to me.’

Kasia put on the robe she prepared and went towards the location informed by the horseman.

At the Asel forest entrance, the horseman she met at the stable stood beside a carriage and was waiting for her. Other than asking for money he didn’t ask any other questions. After entering the carriage she took off her vest and waistcoat then put on the robe once again.

The queue to pass the palace gate was considerably long. Which meant that much whores were called into the palace.

“Confirm the identity! Open the carriage!”

As she heard the voice of the guarding soldier when it became their turn, Kasia adjusted her posture.

Bang! The carriage doors were opened and a brusque looking soldier looked at Kasia piercingly.

“Take off the robe and show your face!”

Kasia slowly raised her head and looked at the guard with sluggish eyes.

With a bright smile Kasia slowly lowered her robe.

Even after the robe slid down from her collarbone, there were no clothes that covered her shoulders and at this sight, the guard was embarrassed.

When her rob slid down a little more which almost exposed her breast, the guard swallowed his saliva with a visible disappointment shouted “Okay, next” and roughly closed the carriage door.

The moment the carriage started to move, Kasia secured her vest and waist coat on her body and slightly opened the window curtain and observed the outside.

Karina Palace was the summer palace of the Emperor, so the paths were not much complicated. But there were a lot of soldiers guarded with the likes of a small palace.

‘Seems like he very much values his life’.

Outside children, youngsters and many more died everyday, and the person called Emperor is hiding in the peaceful warm night and lived out his days leisurely. Even an ignorant person like Kasia felt that the Emperor is not in sane mind.

The East tower that Tula said was conspicuous even from afar. Though she strongly stressed that such a greyish looking and separately stood tower was not a place fitting for a queen, but for her who needed to infiltrate there, it was to her advantage.

But there were many guards that patrolled the path from the gate to the tower, and it was not difficult to find that, even with a little bit of noise, more guards would surround her.

The other carriages with curtained windows were moving towards the back entrance used to bring in the goods and other things to the palace rather than the front gate by which those noblities entered.

When the carriage moved towards the barely lit back entrance, she opened the carriage doors and dove into trees in the garden.

The horseman certainly must have felt someone open the carriage door and should have jumped out, but he without a change in movement, calmly whipped the horse to move towards the palace entrance.

Fortunately the Back entrance where Kasia came down was east of the palace. Though the tower where Queen Elena was locked was just ahead, but still it was within a stone’s throw. As one looked at it from close, the tower looked all the more gloomy.

The tower walls were covered with timeworn ivy and looked like adorned in dark brown colour. And there was not even a window with lights on. It was only at the entrance where the guards patrolled showed some human activity in the whole of the tower.

‘Inside, a total of …. 6 people’.

Two soldiers steadily guarded the entrance. Two at a time alternately patrolled the surroundings.

Kasia waited for the moment when these 2 groups of soldiers passed away from the entrance. Slowly she felt her nerves all over her body become more alert. Kasia liked the feeling of the energy within her body that was at the verge of exploding. Like a hungry predator ready run towards his prey.

When the two sets of soldiers passed by each other and disappeared into the surrounding, Kasia started to make her move.

The daggers applied with poison were thrown out by Kasia. They embedded themselves at the necks of the soldiers that guarded the entrance. Because of the effect of the poison, they fell down on their spot without any noise. Kasia took out the rope with a hook tied on to her waist and shot it towards the 2^nd floor window.

The rope was securely hooked. With no time, she reached the second floor through the rope and got into the second floor through the window. As Kasia broadened her senses, she stepped on to the stone stair and moved towards the top.

The Emperor was well aware that Tassel was not able to stand or sit because of his mother. So it was out of expectation for such a tight security for a tower where just a single queen was locked but the working mentality of the guards were terrible.

As the Queen didn’t leave nor there was anyone who visited her, the soldiers just stood there and did some guarding along the way.

There were some guards from time to time as she moved towards the top, some just slept spread out on the stairs, and some were busy as they played poker in some small rooms.

Ironically, their terrible working attitude saved their lives. She just quickly walked away when confronted with sleeping soldiers and for the ones who played poker, she just passed by without leaving any trace.

As they were played loudly and noisily, they would not be able to hear the groans of their comrades dying. As she became closer to the top, the guards there possessed a posture and temperament of a soldier.

From now on it’s gonna be a war of speed.

However she proceeds, there would be noise. Before the guards from downstairs rushed to the top, she must get into the queen’s room and disappear with her. Kasia carefully pulled out two curved knives from the sheath hanging from her waist.

As she expanded her senses, she could sense a total of 7 soldiers including the ones in the room, going back and forth. Taking a 2 step back and moved her body, exploded the energy inside her body and rushed over.

“Wh, Who are you! Knock!”

As she wielded her sharp knife in an X motion with ease, 2 soldiers fell to the ground and dark red blood splattered all over the wall. It seems the fishy smell of blood is more sensitive to humans than a dog. The soldiers who reacted towards the smell rather than the noise, pulled out their swords and rushed to the stairs.

But before the long sword reached her, Kasia wielded a curved knife from a lower level and took away their legs first. Kasia understood the pain of her chasers, so in order to end it as soon as possible, her knife swiftly struck directly on to their neck.

Like a sword dance she wielded her curved knife on her own desertion and blocked the sword of a soldier rushing towards her. She kicked hard on his knees and soon he , who was groaned in pain, also died a less painful death.

When she was almost at the top, as they were notified of the death of the guards, a chaotic energy rushed towards them from downstairs.

Even before you took out her knife, she heard someone shout “What? Who died?”. Kasia cleanly cut the throat of the soldier who lay crooked by her kick and picked up the door keys hanging on his waist.

She opened the wooden door without any noise, got in and locked back the room. She carefully observed her surroundings.

It was quiet around her. Because the window shutters were closed tightly there not an ray of light in the room. But in spite of the urgency of the situation, Kasia calmly expanded her senses. Soon just like what happened in the inn, she felt different presences from her vicinity.

The soldiers are rushing here from downstairs. But…. from this room…..!

Kasia hurriedly took out a match from her bosom and candle from her pocket and lit it.

“.……!”

In the room of the top floor of the tower, there was a woman assumed to be Queen Elena. But, it was not a living woman.

Kasia approached the white bones huddled up in a corner as if they were discarded there. Since it had come to white bones, it must have been long since she died. Maybe she already left this world even before this war started.

“Damn it….. I just thought so…..”

The efforts of Tasel as he tried all this while to rescue Queen Elena – maybe he was also worried that this would happen. This was also the exact situation that worried Kasia when she left for Karina Palace.

Of course , it can also be that these bones are not of Queen Elena’s at the first place, but its possibility is very low. Because to threaten Tasel with a living Queen is more effective, so there was no reason for them to hide Elena and lock some others bones here.

Bang-! Bang-!

She heard the sound of soldiers as they hit the wooden door with something from outside to tear it down.

Kasia took out the golden ball given by Tasel as she securely hugged the bones of that poor woman on her dress.

Bang-!

The moment when the wooden door started to crack by the continuous strikes from the outside, Kasia threw the ball hard onto the floor and broke it as she disappeared from there.

When the golden ball hit the floor, she felt her eyes dazzled by a bright light and her consciousness became muddled. In order not to let go of the bones in her bosom , she applied more strength.

Flop

Kasia suddenly felt a sense of ground beneath her foot and staggered down as she fainted.

“Dame Kasia!”

“ugh!”