The night was growing deeper, but Milo showed no signs of stopping. Today, he was practicing with his staff. This was a form of training where, once mastered, a person could easily fight even a swordsman using just a single stick.

  Koyo had been sitting and watching him, but now he was starting to feel sleepy. He stood up from his place, yawning, and began to walk away. Seeing this, Milo stopped and asked, “Where are you going?”

  Without turning around, Koyo waved his hand and replied, “I’m feeling sleepy. I’m going to bed… and you should sleep too. It’s almost eleven.”

  Milo responded, “I’ll go to sleep after a while.”

  Koyo’s steps halted.

  He turned back and, with a smile, asked, “By the way, you haven’t called me ‘Master’ even once.”

  Milo hesitated and was about to say something when Koyo interrupted him. “No need. Don’t call me Master unless your heart truly accepts it. Anyway… a fake master–disciple relationship wouldn’t look good.”

  After saying that, he left.

  Milo was confused.

  He questioned himself, “Did he suspect something? No…! Or maybe? I need to find out where Anamika is hidden as soon as possible and inform Aniket so I can get out of here!”

  Thinking this, he resumed his training.

  It was past midnight now. The sky looked beautiful under the moonlight.

  Milo walked quietly through the garden.

  He remembered there was only one room left to search in the house—the room that was always locked and for which only Koyo had the key.

  He clearly remembered that there was a small window on the roof of that room… and he could use it to enter and search inside.

  As he was heading in that direction, he noticed two shadows. Both were trying to climb the wall. Suspicion filled his mind.

  Wrapping a cloth around his hand, he prepared himself to strike.

  He quickly moved toward them and grabbed the one near the wall by the neck, about to punch—when he realized it was a girl. He immediately stopped.

  Just then, the person trying to climb the wall jumped down and grabbed Milo’s shirt, landing a strong punch on him.

  Angrily, Milo moved forward to strike back—but when he saw the face clearly, he stopped.

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  It was Rivan

  Holding one of his ears, Rivan said, “Sorry, man! I thought… Koyo had come! But wait… what are you doing here?”

  Milo replied, “Actually, I was assigned a spying mission. Aniket gave it to me because it’s confirmed that Koyo has captured Trinity’s daughter.”

  Rivan said in shock, “How did they find out? We didn’t tell them anything!”

  Milo smirked sarcastically. “Do you think they’d need kids like you to figure that out? I gave them the information.”

  Rivan frowned at his attitude, while Ira folded her arms and asked, “And who are you, Mister?”

  Rivan smiled internally, thinking, “Now Baby Doll will teach Milo a lesson… he keeps calling me a kid.”

  Milo introduced himself like a prince. “My name is Milo. I’m a former assassin… currently a spy. I worked for Aditya Jain for some time and now I’m working for his friend Aniket. Is that enough information, Miss?”

  Rivan rolled his eyes, thinking, “He doesn’t drip this much honey when he talks to me.”

  Ira smiled and said, “Oh… Aditya is my elder brother and I am his little sister Ira!You really worked for him? (She hesitated slightly.) What kind of work did he hire you for?”

  Milo replied, “Actually… he made an information trade with me—about Trinity. After that, my last assignment was to gather information about her student… Koyo. That’s all. But he fired me soon after.”

  “Of course,” Rivan teased, looking sideways. “If you don’t do the job properly, Big Bro will fire you.”

  But Ira said seriously, “No… Brother must have fired him because he sensed danger in this mission.”

  Hearing this, Milo thought, “This little one really understands the Master well.”

  They were still standing there when a sound came from the rooftop. All of them looked up.

  Someone had climbed up through the window.

  When the moonlight fell on the figure, Ira was about to shout excitedly—but Rivan quickly covered her mouth and whispered, “Shhh… I’ve heard assassins have sharp ears! Make as little noise as possible. We can’t risk waking Koyo.”

  Ira stayed silent, her eyes fixed on the figure trying to steady herself on the roof.

  It was Anamika

  The moment her eyes fell downward, she froze.

  She wanted to step forward and climb down to meet Ira—but her steps stopped. Her raised hands trembled in hesitation.

  Her eyes were filled with joy… but it didn’t last long.

  That love and comfort turned into worry within seconds.

  Meanwhile

  Smiling, he said, “Oh? You sensed my footsteps? That means my training is truly effective.”

  Milo clenched his fist. “Damn… I reacted too quickly. No use now… he knows I’m a spy. There’s no choice but to fight him.”

  Rivan, shocked by Milo’s reflexes, thought, “I didn’t even sense his presence, and Milo was already ready to strike?”

  He pulled Ira behind him and said, “You just have to run! Help Anamika down and leave!”

  “But—” Ira began.

  “There’s no time!” Rivan shouted. “Do what I say!”

  Ira froze, then ran toward the wall to help Anamika down.

  Anamika, with her injured and weak legs, was about to jump when Koyo said, “No… don’t even think about jumping from there. I told you—you need time for your wounds to heal. And if you don’t take care of yourself… then I won’t take care of the things and people that are precious to you.”

  Hearing this, Anamika froze. Her throat tightened; her hands trembled; her breathing grew rapid.

  Rivan and Milo charged at Koyo together. Their steps were swift, but Koyo stood calmly. The moment they attacked, he slipped between them like a flexible snake.

  With two pins hooked between his fingers, he threw them at the same time. The instant they struck, Milo and Rivan’s vision blurred.

  As Rivan fell to the ground, his eyes were fixed only on Ira, who silently seemed to say, “Run!”

  Ira rushed toward them, grabbing Rivan’s hand, checking his pulse, calling his name repeatedly.

  Koyo climbed the wall and gently brought Anamika down, handling her like a delicate doll.

  Anamika immediately rushed to Rivan and Milo.

  Her broken voice mixed with her heavy breathing.

  “Get up… get up! Wake up!”

  Koyo sighed deeply at her state. “They’re just unconscious. Don’t worry.”

  He sat beside her and said softly, “Calm down… everything’s fine.”

  Suddenly, the sharp sound of a slap echoed through the night.

  With tear-filled eyes, Anamika grabbed Koyo’s T-shirt and cried, “Why… why did you do this? Why? Why me?!”

  Koyo looked at her calmly. “Forgive me… but it’s their fault. I only wanted to tell them to leave. But they tried to attack. If someone makes a mistake, they deserve some punishment.”

  He gently freed his shirt from her grip and said, “Well… since they’re already here, we should call their guardians and inform them about their mistake.”

  Both Anamika and Ira knew what that meant.

  Anamika’s eyes lowered in despair and defeat, while Ira glared at Koyo with anger.