In This Life, I'll Assist You (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
He melted into the night’s darkness, clad in a black cloak, and took up the white sword Medea had given him—not the practice blade used against caterpillars.
Perhaps, just maybe, against all odds, he might encounter the very opponent he was destined to fight tonight.
His swordsmanship and spirit belonged to a man of twenty-five, yet his body was that of a girl barely on the cusp of adulthood, not yet twenty. If forced to face the knights of the North or seasoned assassins, could this frail frame truly manifest his full skill?
He had no choice but to test it.
He reached the spot where the Azure Annex was visible and looked up toward Arcadia’s guest chamber. Just then, the moon emerged from behind the clouds.
He saw it—a black mass scaling the fortress through the dense darkness conjured by night.
The mass froze at the moonlight, then resumed moving once clouds veiled the moon again.
It was far too dark and small for anyone but the sharpest-eyed observer to distinguish easily. But he knew exactly what it was.
Black Worm.
So you came personally.
The black mass, curled like a silkworm cocoon, had already climbed to about the third floor of the castle.
Two more floors from there, and it would reach Arcadia’s chamber.
There was no time to waste sneaking in through secret passages.
He lowered his body silently and surveyed the area around the Azure Annex. Two knights stood before the first-floor entrance. In an instant, he rendered them both unconscious one after the other.
Inside the fortress, guards were thicker than outside.
He leapt soundlessly onto the chandelier, then sprang directly to the second floor. From there, he began moving like a shadow through the darkness.
The Northern knights held their posts precisely where vigilance was needed. To reach Arcadia’s room without encountering them, he had to move like air itself.
He slightly opened the widest window on the second-floor corridor, letting in a harsh winter wind that stirred the thick curtains hanging by every window.
Hiding behind those curtains, he reached the third floor; clinging to the ceiling and crawling on the floor, he made it to the fourth. Then he leapt onto the windowsill of an empty room and landed inside a vacant guest chamber on the fifth floor.
Stepping out of the room into the corridor, a familiar scent tickled his nose.
“Sleeping gas.”
Colorless and odorless, the gas filled the corridor—vanishing instantly without a trace. Yet an assassin recognized its faint, lingering signature.
He never even considered waking the sleeping knights. Arcadia’s life hung by a thread.
Black Worm was strong.
Arcadia of this period would not be able to defeat Black Worm.
In his previous life, when he had crossed swords with Arcadia—even though Arcadia had been poisoned—he’d thought this man might become the Empire’s greatest swordsman within a year or two, if he survived.
But that year or two had not yet passed.
At that moment, the clash of swords rang out from inside Arcadia’s chamber. He pulled his cloak tighter over his face and body, then burst into the room, holding his breath.
Inside the gas-filled room, Arcadia was on the defensive.
He was still only twenty-one.
Black Worm, who had spent his youth as a mercenary and later as an assassin—his whole life devoted to killing—was overwhelming Arcadia with sheer force.
“He’s inhaled the sleeping gas.”
The moment he entered, he knew from Arcadia’s defensive stance. His counterattacks were imperceptibly slower.
Black Worm noticed him before Arcadia did. But seeing him pause, the Worm turned his attention back to Arcadia.
It didn’t matter to the Worm who this newcomer was. He trusted his own strength. His target was Arcadia, not him.
The Worm’s broad, long blade aimed for Arcadia’s vital point.
Arcadia’s sword was thinner and lighter. Where the Worm’s blade relied on brute force, Arcadia’s depended on speed and technique.
Ah, so it wasn’t a stabbing but a pushing—intending to shove him off the balcony.
The wide flat of the Worm’s blade slashed toward Arcadia’s side.
Arcadia barely dodged it and leapt onto the Worm’s blade, then used it as a springboard to rebound. His sword, propelled by the recoil, grazed the Worm’s throat.
But the Worm arched backward, falling flat on his back, and immediately targeted Arcadia’s legs as he landed.
Though the first strike was evaded, the Worm’s follow-up spinning attack forced Arcadia to stagger toward the balcony.
All this—every attack and defense—unfolded within the span of two breaths.
“Arcadia, you truly are a remarkable knight. But please forgive my intrusion this once.”
He charged toward Black Worm. The Worm flinched at his sudden presence and turned to look.
This white sword—never before drawn in front of others—was said to be forged from the bone of a sea mammal dwelling in some distant land. It moved as if made for him, fluid and supple.
When his blade met the Worm’s, a sharp, resonant hum rang out.
Without pause, he struck. Sliding his sword along the Worm’s massive blade, he closed the distance and pressed his point against the Worm’s throat.
It was impossible for the Worm to swing his greatsword at him while he stood so close—the tip of his blade already touched the Adam’s apple.
But—
The instant he felt the blade graze skin, he diverted its path. He did not wish to kill, even if it was Black Worm.
He could not bring himself to kill.
Seizing that sliver of hesitation, Black Worm drove his elbow into his abdomen. Twisting his body to evade, he thrust the scabbard hard into the Worm’s solar plexus. The Worm gasped sharply and doubled over.
Staggering backward several steps, Black Worm came to a halt against the balcony railing.
At that moment, Arcadia stabbed the Worm’s leg. Blood flowed from the wound—the Worm hadn’t dodged cleanly.
Then Arcadia slashed again toward the Worm’s neck. To evade that upward thrust, the Worm had no choice but to lean back—yet behind him was only empty darkness.
“I must catch him!”
He wanted to apprehend the assassin right here.
He lunged toward the Worm. For a split second, their eyes met. The Worm’s pupils dilated.
Did he recognize me?
But there was no chance to hear an answer.
He fell from the balcony. Arcadia, sharing the same thought, also reached out to grab him—but the fall was swifter than their hands.
Thud—
The dull sound of Black Worm striking the ground echoed up.
At the same instant, he leapt out of Arcadia’s chamber.
“Knights!!!”
Arcadia shouted.
He raced back to the empty room he’d used to enter, dove into the secret passage inside the fireplace, and began plummeting downward, gripping handholds far below. Footsteps and voices entered the room behind him—but he was already deep beneath the castle.
He barely managed to curl his body to wedge inside the passage, then set his feet on level ground. Slowly crawling onward, he finally emerged outside the well in Rachel’s Forest.
Arcadia had survived.
And unexpectedly, Black Worm had fallen—just like Arcadia had in his previous life.
[This is the timeline separator]The next day.
At dawn, the Northern Knights arrived before the main castle, carrying Black Worm’s corpse. The body lay on a stretcher, with Arcadia beside it and Grand Duke Zion Belfast mounted before Arcadia.
Having crawled out from underground, he watched the Duke’s procession from afar.
“Black Worm is dead.”
And—
The Duke was safe.
“Thank you, my God.”
He was happier about the Duke’s survival than about thwarting the assassination.
Covering his masked face with a white cloth, he blended into the crowd and drew nearer.
“I demand an explanation from the Grand Duke of the South regarding this second assassination attempt.”
Grand Duke Zion Belfast’s voice rang out. Though he still looked somewhat weary, his voice carried strength.
“Perhaps he really staged this himself.”
He thought as he watched the Duke.
If Medea had truly done this, she could never have appeared so unscathed just two days later—none of her poisons were this careless.
Shortly after, Grand Duke Lahert, apparently having received a report, rushed out of the main castle. His face turned ashen at the sight of Black Worm’s corpse—clearly visible to anyone present.
Yet Lahert was cunning. His panicked expression quickly twisted into a scowl.
“I’m relieved to see you recovered. But what’s all this commotion at dawn, Belfast? And whose corpse is this?”
“I came to ask precisely that. Last night, this man infiltrated the guest chamber of my aide, Sir Arcadia Nugent, and attempted to kill him. Who is this man?”
Hearing this, Lahert’s face flushed red.
At that moment, Medea emerged leisurely from the castle and recoiled in shock at the sight of the corpse.
“Oh, Father! A corpse so early in the morning? What on earth happened? And why are these Northerners here?”
Her father Lahert stepped in front of the startled Medea.
“I don’t know either! Grand Duke Belfast! Explain at once—what is this corpse, and why have you come to me?”
A bitter laugh nearly escaped him.
Could they really be this brazen?
At that, one corner of Grand Duke Zion Belfast’s mouth twisted elegantly.
“I’ll say it once more. Last night, this man came to assassinate my aide and deputy commander of the Northern Knights, Sir Arcadia Nugent. He failed and fell to his death from the balcony. First the attempt to poison me, now the attempt to assassinate my aide—both occurred within your fortress, Your Grace of the South. Will you kindly explain this?”
Silence hung for a moment.
He saw Medea biting her lip.
Then Lahert let out a deep sigh and stepped forward toward the Northern Duke.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding, Your Grace. But I truly cannot explain—I have no idea who this… horrifyingly deceased man is.”
“Is that so?”
The Duke dismounted and walked toward Lahert.
Standing face to face, Lahert’s head barely reached the tall Duke’s chest. Belfast looked down at him and spoke.
“How unfortunate. My aide nearly died yesterday—but survived. As did I. Both incidents occurred right here in your fortress, Your Grace of the South. It seems I was meant to receive not a victory celebration, but assassination threats.”
“Your words are excessive, Duke! To speak so without a shred of evidence! Can you not see my delicate daughter trembling in fear?”
The Northern Duke’s blue eyes turned toward Medea. Calmly, he spoke.
“I am addressing Your Grace, not your daughter. She seems distressed by this grim scene—might I suggest you send her inside? Or….”
The Duke offered Medea a smile.
“…Could it be that you and the South knew this dead man? Is that why you’ve come out to offer me an explanation?”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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They are deeply concerned and confused and hurt from the past….they just can’t overcome their fear from the past…it is deeply rooted…it will take time…in the mean time they are hurting each other…and Arcadia is also feeling twisted inside…what are all they can do…
This chapters sentences were really weird to read so maybe someone should proofread to verify. It was a lot of broken up words to complete a sentence. like they were talking on a radio.
why did we switch into caller her a he again. Does anyone Proofread. I love the novel but I really wish that you guys would pay better attention. I paid for this novel, I expect it to atleast be done correctly