He found the girl sitting still in an indecent position against her will, showing off the curves of her slender body and other charms.

Valeera tried to intimidate the masked b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but all she had was her cold gaze. She knew too well what treacherous men could do to her to satisfy their insatiable l.u.s.t.

Kyon's eye twitched several times. He approached the s.e.xy nymph as lovely and matchless as if she had stepped out of the painting of a delightful dark G.o.ddess.

«Don't you dare to touch me!» – The girl threatened him.

The investigator silently adjusted her underwear, yanked the lever by the chair, pus.h.i.+ng her fixed legs together, and walked away from the girl.

Valeera watched him in complete bewilderment.

Kyon checked the room with echolocation, picked up all the hidden nephrites with formations and placed them in the ring. The arrival of the prince was a very convenient occasion to get rid of monitoring. It would make a perfect excuse. No one should know what was going to happen in this room.

The investigator slowly turned around. The girl coldly said:

«Don't you dare.»

Kyon shook his head. – «I'm not going to do what you probably thought I would.»

«…» – She didn't trust him.

Kyon went outside and took out her sound transmitter. The was no call from the a.s.sa.s.sins guild. It was already late in the evening. There was very little time left before the arrival of the guest from the empire. He had to contact Leon by all means. Otherwise, no one would envy the fate of the little thief...

How could he convince her to tell him her uncle's frequency?

Valeera wouldn't tell the investigator anything, even under pain of death. All that remains was the personality of Kyon she knew... There was a catch, though. He had to make up another tall tale to justify his presence in this unfortunate place. But would it work? The girl was too smart. She would suspect something was amiss at once. And when she figured out his lies, he would lose her confidence forever...

Kyon thought hard and came up with two equally good options.

1) He could employ torture to get the information without revealing his ident.i.ty. This way, he wouldn't ruin his relations with Valeera. She would hate the weirdo in the mask. Only Vladimir and Juno knew his real face. However, he would have to kill Vladimir or send him to the far end of the world after that. Valeera would definitely interrogate him, seeking revenge on the investigator in the future.

2) He could stay honest with her and himself. He could convince her in his desire to help. As a last resort, he could use his secret weapon. Among the cons of this option, she would most certainly want to kill him, but she would know that it wasn't his intention to destroy her guilds. Thus, when he became more powerful, he would fix everything without having to worry about his life and health.

In fact, both options imply that he had to get stronger and gain power. He was no saint, and he wasn't going to do good if there was for nothing in it for him. It wasn't Lovr's style. He would repay his debt just as he did with Martha and Byron with minimum effort and time, or with reasonable benefit for himself.

His common sense and logic suggested the first option, but his soul tormented by conscience advised him to take a risk and opt for the second. It was his choice in the end. Kyon didn't want to hurt Valeera anymore. She had already suffered enough.

Kyon hid the mask in the ring and returned to the room.

Valeera looked in the direction of the open door and stared in shock at him. – «Kyon? How is it possible?»

«I've come to save you, Valeera.»

Hope, small and fragile as a new spring flower, bloomed inside her. It was like the first ray of the spring sun illuminating the impenetrable darkness of the eternal night. An instant later, it dawned on her that he was wearing the uniform of a high-ranking investigator. And then a wave of bitter disappointment swept over her. - «It can't be… Are you the masked investigator?»

Kyon sighed heavily. Then he nodded uncertainly. – «I'm sorry. I prayed to find out that you and Lanai were different people. I tried to ask you about it delicately, but you got me all mixed up... Just think of it... You are Sauron! It's pure madness... I had never expected things would turn out like this. I couldn't imagine that the two guilds were yours!»

Guilt weighed heavy on my Kyon's heart, which was extremely uncharacteristic of him. He watched in bitter silence Valeera's crystal clear eyes. Trust and hope were fading in them.

«Why you? You got close to me, studied my lifestyle, learned my weaknesses, and then hit me in the back… Why…» – She whispered desperately.

«Valeera... It's just a coincidence! I couldn't have possibly staged it, because the risks were very great! Please, believe me! I want to get you out of here…»

«Then do it. Get me out!» - She immediately exclaimed.

Kyon stopped short, trying to put it more delicately. – «I'm just a minion here by local standards. I can't do it alone... I need the help from your guild, from your uncle.»

«That's what you really want… To destroy Leon and the a.s.sa.s.sin guild…» – She concluded gloomily.

«Valeera…»

«Go to h.e.l.l.» – She said impa.s.sively.

«Valeera… I…»

«I believed you… And you played me... A secret instinct warned me about you, but I was a fool. It was a big mistake to stop trusting my intuition, and now I will pay for this with my life.» - She whispered.

He was getting frustrated and annoyed at her stubbornness. – «Silly girl! I got rid of the prince for you! Do you have any idea how dangerous it was? Listen to the voice of reason! Stop jumping to conclusions!»

She shot him an icy cold stare. – «Liar.» – She stated flatly. It seemed that nothing could convince her otherwise.

«What do you mean?!» – Kyon got angry.

«The prince told me that he had an informant in the department. An investigator had told him about me. It was your idea to make some quick money by selling me to the lascivious b.a.s.t.a.r.d, wasn't it? It was a miracle that I intimidated him and kept my innocence. I hope he didn't pay you anything. Soulless beast!»

Kyon covered his face with his hands with a moan. – «It wasn't me… I swear I didn't know till the end that you're both Lanai and Sauron… When you jumped into the hole, I ordered the security forces not to follow you! Аs for Sauron…»

«You shot Sauron in the head with the deadly weapon.» – She interrupted him in a voice surcharged with disgust. She did not believe a single word that came out of his mouth. The treacherous, ambitious investigator had ruined her life and taken away all her savings. The motley kaleidoscope of feelings and emotions was a mistake.

«Your face was under the helmet… How could I know…» – Kyon began but did not continue. It was pointless. Anything he wanted to say would sound like pathetic excuses. He clenched his fists, recalling her motto: "They who deceive once will deceive many times. They who dare to betray will never stop betraying." He concluded that Valeera had a peculiar code of honor based on her principles. It would be easier to turn over the sky than win back her favour, even if making a mistake had never been intentional. Valeera was unwavering and even stubborn in her beliefs.

«Someone important is coming here straight from the empire tomorrow. They must suspect you of being related to the Webers... You will find yourself at the mercy of those who had exterminated the Webers! And then there will be nothing I can do to help you.»

«…»

«Your uncle must call you soon, but it will be too late! If I wanted to destroy Leon and the a.s.sa.s.sins guild, I would wait for his call, and it all would be over in no time. Please, understand that I need his frequency to save you!» - Kyon deliberately p.r.o.nounced the last words in Valeera's voice, letting her know that she had no choice.

She stared at him in dismay. Now she started worrying about her uncle's safety. – «You won't dare! Leon will know that he is talking to someone else. He has known me since my early childhood!»

«I never wanted to ruin your life, Valeera, and I am not going to.» - Kyon said tenderly.

Valeera fell silent, thinking about something. Then slowly shook her head and said coldly through her gritted teeth. – «I don't believe you. You're a liar.»

Kyon stood right in front of her. He took a few deep breaths, put the clippers to his little finger and... With a quick, confident movement, he cut off his finger.

A stifled groan and scarlet blood dripped onto the floor.

Valeera's heart sank painfully. - «What are you doing?»

«I have always been on your side! I like you. My feelings for you are real! Being an investigator, I've done everything possible to protect you! I swear! You have to trust me or else…» – He turned pale and put the clippers to the next finger.

«Stop it. You won't convince me of anything, traitor! It's all for nothing…» – She exclaimed, completely shocked by his desperate actions.

~clip~

His painful scream echoed in the room. The ring finger fell to the floor.

«Idiot! It won't get you anywhere! Stop s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around!» – In spite of the unspeakable hatred burning in her heart, Valeera was not pleased with his crazy stunt. When he crippled himself, her heart ached for him.

«Valeera, for crying out loud! Please, believe me!..» – Kyon wasted another minute of beautiful words that failed to reach her heart. She was unapproachable like the imperial walls. Reluctantly, he cut off another finger.

«You are a crazy idiot! Stop maiming yourself!» – Sympathy in her was more powerful than hate. Where did it only come from?

Another minute of persuasion and the fourth finger met the sad fate.

Valeera could no longer stand Kyon sufferings. She turned away and closed her eyes. She should be feeling sympathy or pity for liars and traitors, and it tormented her soul to realize that she was. For some reason, she wanted to believe that he was doing this atrocious act for a reason. Maybe, she should listen to what he had to say. She would gladly destroy the icy wall of distrust that she had erected between them, and then things would run their course! But the tragic fate of the thieves and the a.s.sa.s.sins guilds as well as worry about her uncle kept her from temptation. She would stay true to herself.

The thumb fell to the floor.

She said flatly:

«You're wasting your time. You can cut yourself into pieces if you like. It won't change anything. Only your death will convince me.» – She said and closed her eyes, angry with herself for her willful character

Kyon picked up his clipped fingers and left the room. Outside, he attached them to the incision points. The carbon skin gradually grew together, leaving no scars. The complete recovery would take a day. Synergy would heal the nerves, the blood vessels, the tissues, and the bones quickly and easily. b.l.o.o.d.y bandages might come in handy.

Kyon leaned against the wall and slipped on the floor, completely devastated. His secret weapon didn't work. Valeera had branded him a traitor for the rest of her life. He had one option left. Or were there two?

He couldn't apply a subjugating formation. The difference in their cultivation was too big.

He threw back his head and whispered a fervent prayer, asking the G.o.ddess to save Valeera and promising to repay the debt in the future. It was perhaps the most humble, the most sincere request Lovr had made in his both lives. However... Of course, the G.o.ddess didn't give a d.a.m.n! The world seemed to have conspired against him. He had no choice but to resort to the last method that had never been known to fail...