"Jin..." Lin Mu whispered, her voice carrying a softness that warmed Leo from within, reassuring him that his NPC sister had managed to recognize him even under his new alias.
"Lin!" Leo exclaimed, his excitement palpable as he flashed his NPC sister a thumbs up.
"I'm sorry, sister, while I did see you earlier in the warm-up area at the south arena, I couldn't get a chance to speak with you, with so many people around" Leo said, apologizing honestly, as Lin Mu shook her head and let out a gentle sigh.
It seemed like her dumb brother was still unaware of the hardships that Lin Mu had endured during his absence.
Unaware of how while he was practicing with the legend Ben Faulkner, Lin Mu was being subjected to incredible torture, day in and day out.
While she had been obeying Dem Paltrow and the Night Guild's orders uptil now. From the moment she entered the palace, they no longer had any control over her, as the first thing that Lin Mu did after coming to the palace was to seek out an audience with the 'Counselor', to whom she confessed about her real background and how her Mu Clan was currently being held hostage by the Night Guild.
Lin Mu hoped that the Emperor would be kind enough to help her when she would approach him with his problem, however, she had forgotten how cruel and unfair this world was and how there was nothing like a 'Free Meal' in this world.
While the counselor did promise to help Lin Mu should she win the Grand Tournament and make saving her clan an official request, he refused to do it for free otherwise.
Expressing his condolences he explained how although he was saddened to learn about Lin Mu's past, he was not willing to commit significant manpower to saving the Mu clan from the dangerous clutches of the night guild, without any significant reward for the Empire.
However, after expressing his condolences, he did offer Lin Mu a job to work as a royal assassin and an hidden asset of the Emperor and promised to save the Mu clan if she accepted the offer.
Had it been the only terms, Lin Mu would have probably accepted the job in a heartbeat, however, the counselor even wanted to spend a night with her, satisfying his weird kinks before he carried her proposal to the Emperor.
When he made this demand, Lin Mu was extremely disappointed as she realized that men in power were the same no matter where she went.
Just like how Dem Paltrow wanted to exploit her for his own gain, the opportunistic counselor wanted to do the same, with the only difference between both men being the nature of their exploitative offers.
As Lin Mu tried to decline his offer, the man threatened to report and jail her, especially since he knew her true background and criminal affiliations now, as he cornered Lin Mu into a difficult position.
At that moment, closing her eyes, Lin Mu decided to give in to the perverted old man's demands and promised to spend the night in his room following the gala, as she reached a mental saturation with trying to change her destiny.
When she reached within the castle walls safely, she felt hope for a better future, hope that perhaps if she was brave and forthright, she could save her clan and take revenge on Dem Paltrow for the months of psychological and physical torture he subjected her to, however, she was wrong.
Once she confessed, her situation only turned even more worse, as although she escaped the clutches of Dem, she seemingly walked into the clutches of the counselor who now wished to exploit her in a different way.
However, once she accepted his proposal and mentally accepted her fate of being bullied wherever she went, she felt an odd escape in this resignation, as she discovered exactly what she wished to do once all this mess was concluded in her life.
"It's okay Jin… I understand" Lin Mu said, looking towards the sky with a soft smile on her face as she enjoyed the cool breeze of the balcony.
"I got accepted as Ben Faulkner's disciple sister! I'm living a great life and have become a much better assassin" Leo said, as Lin Mu chuckled at his words.
"You running away with Ben has turned my life upside down dummy. However, I'm happy that at least you're happy" Lin Mu said melancholically as Leo scratched the back of his head.
"Oh yeah, that….. the night guild is hunting us both down like hounds" Leo said, shuddering slightly as Lin Mu stuck a bit of her tongue out of her face.
"They've ordered me to kill you too, but of course I'm not gonna hurt my brother…." Lin Mu said, sounding slightly unsure about the words coming out of her own mouth.
"Well of course! Dem Patrow is silly if he thinks he can get between us-" Leo said, as he flashed the Mu family token that Lin Mu gave him with a smile under his mask.
"Oh, my family token ….. you've kept it safe-" Lin Mu said, sounding surprised as a soft smile spread on her face too.
"You've grown much stronger since I've last seen you…. It seems Ben Faulkner is as good as the legend makes him seem" Lin Mu said as Leo nodded his head in approval.
"Oh he's as good as the legend makes him seem alright, but he's also such a softie. If we get a chance, I'll introduce you to him, you will probably end up liking him a lot" Leo said, as Lin Mu shook her head, but said nothing.
"What are you going to wish for if you win the grand tournament?" She said, looking towards the stars as Leo could not sense that something was wrong with Lin Mu and that she did not seem to be at her brightest best.
"Umm, I haven't really thought about it, but if possible I'd get an imperial pardon for Ben.
Wipe out his previous crimes and let him live like a free man.
I don't really want anything for myself, but if the Emperor allows it, I want him to live with pride again" Leo said, as Lin Mu raised her eyebrow listening to this response.
To her it seemed like a completely naive response, as in this selfish world her brother was thinking about the happiness of someone else above his own.
"That's such a dumb wish….. also, he killed a sitting crown prince…. I don't think you can get a pardon granted for such a man" Lin Mu said, as Leo shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance.
"Well it's not like he needs it to be honest…. There's not a single man in this kingdom who can capture and imprison Ben fucking Faulkner" Leo said as he tried to imply that Ben was already as good as a free man since nobody could catch him anyways.
"What would you wish for, if you won it?" Leo asked, as without a second's hesitation Lin Mu looked at him and said " The destruction of the night guild".
It was only for a very brief second, however, when she said those words her killing intent flared, causing Leo to shudder as she seemed to hate the night guild with a passion.
"Oh?" Leo asked, sounding surprised, as Lin Mu chuckled, covering her face with her hand.
"This world is an evil place brother and I have too many people on my kill list now.
Today's the last time you're seeing me calm and sane.
The next time we meet whether it be on the arena battlefield or in life, my only request and warning for you is to not treat me as your sister and as a woman you don't know.
Because whatever good and sane there was left in me, I'm about to lose it all after tonight" Lin Mu said with a self-deprecating smile on her face as a deep frown formed on Leo's face listening to her words.
"What do you mean? What's going on? Are you okay?" Leo asked in a very concerned voice as Lin Mu waved him off.
"It's okay, you can drop the caring act. It won't touch me anymore" Lin Mu said as Leo felt speechless.
"What act? My concern is genuine! " Leo said, however Lin Mu refused to believe it.
"Consider this good-bye brother. You can choose to heed my warning or ignore it, but don't mistake me for the Lin Mu you knew the next time we meet.
That innocent girl is as good as dead now …" Lin Mu said, as she walked away from Leo and rejoined the gala, without giving Leo a chance to cross-question her.
Frowning, Leo fell into deep contemplation as to why Lin Mu was behaving this way, however, he had no idea as to what sort of a shit life his NPC sister was going through right now.
As never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined the kind of exploitation and indignation she was suffering, just because of her love for the Mu clan.