” The lord present at the establishment might be aligned against Lord Felix, it might be a wise decision to end his life here today” a male voice said as Severus listened in on the on-going conversation from two rooms away.

” Are we sure it’s Ravan Bloodfall though?” A woman’s voice with a high pitch asked which Severus identified as the receptionist.

” It must be, there is no-one else that travels with a Dwarf and a Saint Maximus who wears a mask.

I’m sure it has to be Ravan ” the male voice said

” Even if we wish to kill him, it’s going to be difficult for Mia, she’s not trained as an assassin and if we swap ladies mid-way through the session it will alert the lord ” the receptionist said

” How much skill does it take to poke one needle of poison into one’s spine? The spinal poison will cripple him at worst and kill him within seconds otherwise ” the male voice said as the male-female duo began chuckling nefariously.

Severus cracked his knuckles peacefully as he shifted a bit from his table, startling his masseuse slightly.

” I need to go to the washroom love, I think I’ve drank too much ” Severus said with an amicable smile as the masseuse giggled and immediately escorted him outside the small massage room towards the main hall where the washroom was located.

Once he was out of the masseuse’s sight, Severus tracked the footsteps of the two which seemed to be heading lower into the basement, most probably for the procurement of the poison.

In the most Severus-like move ever, he then appeared behind the duo seemingly out of nowhere.

***********

( Inside the basement )

” The lord’s these days, they are all degenerate bastards, one would think they would have more honour, but the higher you go into society the more corrupt you become.

The only people with standing morals are probably the farmers ” the ugly looking male vampire said as the cat-lady nodded her head.

” I’ve heard Prince Felix Aurelius sometimes spends time in the pleasure sector of the headquarters too. He’s as degenerate as the lord’s ” the cat-lady said as she voiced out some nasty rumours she had heard circulating about the second prince.

” Shhh, never say you know about these rumours, even within the organisation they will kill you for it.

Our only goal is to help him reach the status of the crown prince, that’s it! We can judge everyone else but not our partner ” the male vampire said as he cautioned the woman against discussing anything ill about the second prince.

” Here, this is the poison we should use to kill him right? It’s the most potent, extracted from boiling 17 scorpions alive using the spirit of a vengeful wraith.

A single drop can kill even a giant

This is sure to kill him quick ” the Cat-Lady said as she looked at the murky green poison vial with stars in her eyes.

” Merlin…. Is this okay? ” The cat-lady asked again as when she got no answer for her question twice she turned to look at her partner irritably only to find his dead body lying behind her with his brains splattered all over.

*MMMMMPHHHGGGHHHHHH*

The cat-lady tried to scream, however, a hand muffled her efforts as someone restrained her from behind her back.

She squirmed and struggled against this individual’s grip, however, she was too weak to wrestle out of it as after a few seconds of wasted effort she settled in calmly.

” I’m going to remove my hand from over your mouth and you are going to answer a few questions of mine.

If you shout, chant a spell, talk nonsense or lie to me, I’ll immediately snap your neck and end your life.

If you understand your circumstance, nod your head up and down ” Severus said as the terrified cat lady who was dripping piss alongside her legs nodded her head fervently.

Severus released his grip from over her mouth as she panted for air, but did not make a single screaming sound for help.

” Does the Red Umbrella support Felix Aurelius to become the crown prince? ” Severus asked

” Yes ” The cat-lady replied curtly

” What do you know about the nature of this arrangement? ” Severus asked

” Prostitution is legal in many communities like the dwarves, the goblins, the orcs, the humans, the beastmen, however, Regus Aurelius looks down on the practice and suppresses the Red Umbrella group thoroughly.

With the rise of Felix Aurelius we hope that the restrictions would be loosened and business will expand ” The cat-lady said as she narrated the tale that had been handed down to the low level employees.

Severus was not dumb enough to believe that whatever the woman said was the true nature of Felix’s arrangement with the group but he was happy to know that the reputed second prince had such a dark ally in his corner.

Snapping the Cat-lady’s neck, Severus shamelessly looted everything from the basement from poison vials to bags of stored gold with a total value of 1.2 million gold coins as after 5 minutes he returned to his masseuse who was waiting for him with a smile on his face as he apologetically rubbed his belly.

” Sorry, my stomach acted out ” Severus said as the masseuse covered her smile with her tentacles and said ” Shall we continue then? “

” Of course” Severus replied as he transitioned back into his vacation mode.

Today, the bachelor’s trip had landed Severus some extremely critical information which he was sure even major intelligence organisations lacked at the moment.

As to how Max used this information to his advantage was none of his concern, but he was pretty satisfied with how he handled the assassination attempt today.

In the end, Max already did have Zippo and the assassination attempt was never going to be successful even if the masseuse did sneak up on Max.

But it felt good to foil someone else’s plan so casually anyway.

———–

/// A/N – Chapter 13/30, the start of a new day ///