I Became the Tyrant’s Helper - Chapter 17

I don’t know what kind of work I’ll get, but I’ll ask Ray if I can leave for a bit tomorrow. With her mind firmly made up she said, “Sounds good. I accept your two offers, Your Majesty.”

Ray smiled as if he’d known this would be the outcome.

Studying the triumphant look on his face, Ahel added, “In return, please let me leave the palace for a little while after I finish up my work here tomorrow.”

“Are you asking me to let you go outside?”

“Yes.”

“How come?” he asked in a sharp voice with a displeased expression on his face.

Ahel could tell by the tone of his voice and the look on his face that he didn’t trust her completely. Then again, it was understandable. This was only the second time they’d met each other.

The exact reason for their meeting was unknown, but Ray had still had his suspicions when she’d asked about the tattoo on her neck. Even though she’d been willing to risk her life to prove her innocence, it was a different matter altogether for him to completely trust her.

On top of that, Ray was an emperor.

Besides being at the peak of power, an emperor also suffered endlessly from threats.

Wasn’t he injured the first time he met Ahel? That long slash on his back, dealt by skilled hands seemed to be aimed at his vital organs.

I have no doubt that was the work of an assassin. I think he got hurt trying to avoid it. Then she thought back to when she’d treated his wounds, to the thick, old scars twining with the new wounds. His muscular body was littered with small scars, and others that were large enough to have once been a life threatening wound. It was no wonder Ray was so slow to trust. He was having to look over his shoulder every single day.

He and I are the same. Because I, too, do not trust him completely. That was why she had to keep her trip to Pelanders hidden from him. If Ray found out that she was connected to an assassins’ guild, it was obvious what would happen to Pelanders.

Even worse was the fact that Ray was in the position to kill Ahel at any moment.

For the sake of Pelanders, he can never find out that I’m part of the guild, she promised herself. Before Ray became suspicious of her silence, she said, “I have to go to my part-time job. It would be rude of me not to tell my boss in person that I suddenly have to quit.”

The suspicion twinkling in Ray’s eyes disappeared. Nodding, he said casually, “Then I’ll let you borrow a carriage.”

He had agreed to let her go, but the terms on which he had done so were not ideal. Ahel wanted to contest, but she didn’t dare. Him lending her a carriage was a type of compromise to letting her leave in his eyes.

So I have to take the carriage he’s lending me otherwise I can’t go. He knows it will be easier for me to refuse the offer. Ahel cleared her throat and added, “Thank you for being so considerate. In that case, I ask that you send one that isn’t as flashy.”

If she were to pull up to Ophelia’s in a flashy carriage, everyone’s attention would be drawn to her. Then it wouldn’t be long until Ophelia heard about it. Ahel didn’t want that, because Canute and Ophelia had a rather close relationship.

Canute told me to forget about my parents. Telling me that was his way of warning me not to go looking for information about them. She didn’t understand his reasoning, but it was obvious that he didn’t want her to know anything about them. On top of that, he had refused to tell her anything about the tattoo on her neck. This led her to believe it had something to do with her parents.

Ahel had met someone who knew something about the tattoo; she couldn’t predict how Canute would act if he found out that the person she was involved with was Emperor Ray. Canute didn’t even know that Ahel was trying to find her parents in the first place.

It would be best to… Keep this a secret from Canute. He did tell me not to go looking for them in the first place.

This had something to do with her wanting to trust Canute.

Ray nodded at her suggestion. “Then it’s settled. I’ll have a normal carriage prepared so you don’t stand out.”

“Thank you.” Ahel felt relieved by his answer.

Ray stood and glanced down at the watch on his left wrist. “If you wait here for a moment, I’ll call a servant to direct you to the room you’ll be staying in. Tomorrow at 8 a.m. someone will be at your door waiting for you. She will take you to your duties.”

“Understood,” she said with a nod.

Then Ray weaved his way through the sofas and left the room without looking back.

It wasn’t until Ahel was sure he was gone that she relaxed and stretched out on the sofa. And suddenly she was exhausted. So many things had happened in the span of only two days.

She raised a heavy arm and laid it over her eyes. I… did okay, didn’t I?

Could she handle whatever happened from today onwards? Quite frankly, she had no idea, but she wasn’t confident about her future.