Adrian had now basically given up on recruiting the remaining three guards, as he had no idea how to recruit them.
So, he became satisfied with the seven guards he already had, along with the assassin, Evran.
Evran cried quite a lot after learning that Adrian was short on cash for the time being and that he would have to wait for some time before getting the necessary funding to start his own unit.
Adrian, however, had more important things to worry about.
He now began preparing to leave for Valewood, as he finally had the resources he needed: enough manpower to protect and administer his territory.
Adrian was ready to leave.
He packed his bags, said goodbye to his mother, and prepared to depart with Ronald and the others.
But before leaving, Adrian wanted to conduct one final loyalty test.
On
Talia.
He wanted to know how loyal she would truly be once they were placed in a situation where their lives were actually in danger.
So, Adrian ordered Evran to carry out an assassination attempt on his mother.
Then, without letting anyone know, Adrian hid nearby to observe everyone’s reactions.
Being small was very advantageous for Adrian in this situation.
He hid behind the curtains and waited.
A few hours later, when night had fallen, Evran went to Talia’s room.
A knife was in his hand.
He threatened her and ordered her to reveal Lady Elara’s room.
Talia was in complete shock.
She had never experienced a knife being held against her throat before.
She was afraid of dying so soon after finally getting her life back.
But she also couldn’t put Lady Elara in harm’s way.
Elara had been the first person to treat her properly, like a human being.
She had been hired specifically to serve her, not to put her in danger.
So Talia deliberately pointed toward the wrong direction.
Evran, however, took it a step further.
While keeping Talia hostage, he took her in the direction she had pointed toward and asked her to have Lady Elara open the door.
Talia hesitated.
“She might not open it. She may be asleep.”
But it was a well-known fact that nobles kept their doors open while sleeping so their servants could wake them when necessary.
Evran was aware of this as well.
He slapped Talia hard.
“Don’t you dare lie to me. Open the door for me.”
Talia had no choice but to do what the assassin said.
It was empty.
She opened the door and suddenly slammed it into Evran.
Evran hit his head against the door, and for a moment, his control over Talia weakened.
Talia immediately used the opportunity to lock herself inside Adrian’s room.
Evran began slamming against the door.
Talia quickly escaped through the window.
She ran toward the guard stationed outside.
But he was already knocked out cold.
Talia panicked.
She had no other choice.
If she went to call the nearest guard, the assassin could attack Lady Elara in the meantime, and everything she had done would be for nothing.
But if she went back to confront the assassin herself, there was a very good chance that she would end up dead.
She had no time to decide what to do.
Talia closed her eyes for a moment.
She prayed that her next life would be a better one.
Then she turned around and went back.
She saw that the assassin was still occupied at the door of the Prince’s room.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, she sneaked into Lady Elara’s room and woke her up.
“Lady Elara, we have to leave. There is an assassin here.”
Elara immediately woke up.
But by then, it was already too late.
The assassin had reached them and was about to break through the door at any second.
Talia quickly helped Lady Elara escape through the window.
She climbed out after her.
But it was too late.
The assassin had noticed them escaping through the window.
He rushed toward them.
Talia quickly shut the window.
Then she grabbed Lady Elara and ran toward the nearest guard.
Once they reached him, Talia immediately reported what had happened.
Adrian had watched everything.
He was impressed by how Talia had protected his mother.
Although the assassin was only an amateur and they would have stood no chance against a professional, Adrian was still satisfied with the results.
His loyalty test had worked.
Unfortunately, his loyalty test had created a much bigger mess than he had anticipated.
The incident was reported to the other guards, who immediately brought the matter to the King.
It was an unprecedented event.
There had been no assassination attempt inside the Royal Palace for the last whole decade.
Adrian was called back in the middle of his journey.
Talia later reported the entire situation to him.
By then, it was too late for regrets.
Adrian had caused such a big mess that the King himself had become involved.
King Aldric immediately strengthened the security around Elara’s residence and reinforced the guards escorting Adrian to Valewood.
Increased the number guards in the royal palace and the rounds they made had reduced intervals between them.
As a result, Adrian had to delay his journey to Valewood.
All because of a loyalty test.
Yet Adrian did not regret it.
He had done what he believed was necessary.
An inspection team was formed by the Royal Guards on the King’s orders to find out who was behind the assassination attempt.
Adrian wasn’t particularly afraid.
He knew that if Evran were ever caught, he would simply claim that he wasn’t Adrian’s subordinate.
The Prince who had supposedly hired him to monitor his mother would then be held accountable.
Nonetheless, the inspection team never found anything.
How could they?
They had no CCTV.
No fingerprint recognition.
No mobile-phone locations.
No surveillance cameras.
Nothing.
They had only a few smart people trying to figure out who had the motive and then attempting to blame them until they confessed.
Eventually, the entire charade came to an end.
The culprit remained unknown.
And Adrian was finally free to leave.
This time, however, he had no intention of conducting another loyalty test on Talia.
Adrian once again prepared to leave for Valewood.
And this time, he would actually make it there.