The Assassin's Idle Cultivation System

"The blueprints. I got them... Now it’s your turn to keep your end of the bargain, Sir Charles."

Charles paused for a brief moment, genuinely surprised by her sudden confidence.

Claire had closed the door behind her without waiting for permission and was now gently pushing him farther into the room, one hand resting against his bare chest. Her touch was light, almost teasing, yet confident enough to show that she had completely dropped the innocent act she had worn in front of Jacob.

The warmth radiating from Charles’ body seeped through her palm.

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

Unlike Jacob, whose touch only made her skin crawl beneath the surface despite the smiles she forced, Charles possessed a calm strength that made her heart beat just a little faster. His broad shoulders, well-defined muscles, and composed posture gave off a quiet sense of security rather than vanity.

Claire quickly suppressed the strange feeling.

She had come here for business.

"How did you get the blueprints?" Charles asked with confusion while briefly glancing toward the cupboard in the corner of the room.

His tone remained calm, but his mind had already shifted elsewhere.

During the past several days, he hadn’t tortured Emily at all. Thanks to that, the duchess had recovered significantly. Her bruises had faded, her complexion had improved, and her strength had gradually returned.

At the moment, she was sleeping inside the cupboard.

She could wake up at any time.

Keeping a woman hidden in his room wasn’t the real issue.

The problem was that the woman happened to be Emily—the infamous Duchess of the Zordian family.

If Claire saw her, she would recognize her almost instantly.

"Why does it matter, Sir Charles?" Claire smiled seductively, letting her fingers lightly trace the contours of his firm chest. "What matters is that you have the blueprints now. Would you like to involve me in the plan, hmm? I can help you sneak into the palace. What’s the plan?"

Charles allowed her hand to wander without stopping her.

It wasn’t as though he felt nothing.

No matter what kind of childhood he had endured or how many emotions he had buried beneath years of training, he was still a young man with a healthy body and perfectly functioning hormones.

Her soft touch wasn’t something he could simply ignore.

Still, none of it reached his voice.

His expression remained hidden beneath the knight’s helmet, leaving Claire completely unable to read what he was thinking.

"Plan is that I kill the duke of the house, and the duchy will pass onto Jacob even though people say he is unfit to rule. You can marry him and become the duchess." Charles said calmly.

Claire’s hand froze against his chest.

For several long seconds, she simply stared at him.

Was this man serious?

He wanted to assassinate the Duke of Paxley?

One of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom?

Was he planning to throw away his life?

"Are you really sure that... you can do it?" She asked with unsurety.

The Duke of Paxley was renowned as a late Sixth Circle mage whose strength alone discouraged countless enemies from challenging the duchy.

Claire herself wasn’t particularly gifted in magic.

Having reached only the First Circle, she couldn’t accurately measure Charles’ strength, but even she could tell that he seemed no stronger than a Fourth or perhaps Fifth Circle mage.

The difference between them was enormous.

"I can." Charles said confidently.

His heartbeat never changed.

It remained steady.

Calm.

Certain.

There wasn’t the slightest sign of deception.

"However, I will need time." He shook his head. "I will need to go in a long and deep meditation to break through my circles and build my strength."

Claire’s lips parted slightly.

The confidence in his voice never wavered.

"I... understand. Can you give me an estimate, Sir Charles?"

Charles silently calculated.

His Idle Cultivation System granted him twenty-five Idle Points every hour when sleeping.

Twenty-four hours each day.

Thirty days every month.

Over three months, even after accounting for the time he would spend awake and carrying out other tasks, he could comfortably accumulate close to fifty thousand Idle Points.

That amount would be more than enough.

Whether through overwhelming strength or the assassination techniques drilled into him since childhood, the duke would eventually fall.

"3 Months. Can you wait that long?" He said calmly.

Claire remained silent.

She searched his hidden face, hoping to find even the smallest trace of uncertainty.

There was none.

His confidence wasn’t reckless.

It was absolute.

She couldn’t understand how someone could become powerful enough to challenge the Duke of Paxley within only three months.

Yet somehow...

She believed him.

"3 Months... Alright. I will be leaving from here in a few days and return to Zordian duchy. However, I will make sure to come back in 3 months with the marriage proposal. Do you think we should kill him after the marriage or before it?"

Charles chuckled softly before wrapping an arm around Claire’s slender waist and gently pulling her closer.

She instinctively stumbled forward until only a small distance separated them.

She felt surprisingly delicate in his embrace.

Almost fragile.

Despite noticing the closeness, Charles’ thoughts remained focused entirely on the mission.

"Why not on the marriage day? Just make sure to keep your relations with me a secret. Who all knows about what happened in the forest?"

Claire immediately organized her thoughts.

"Just my maid and those guards. The guards are sellswords and cannot be trusted. As for my maid, we can trust her not to sell me out at the very least."

Arlott smirked beneath the helmet.

Loose ends always had a habit of becoming future problems.

Fortunately, they could still be dealt with.

"Alright, I will permit you to disturb my meditation once before you leave. Hire all those guards again... I will tie up the loose ends in the forest."

Claire slowly nodded.

She understood exactly what he meant.

Once the guards disappeared, there would be no witnesses left who knew about the events in the forest.

Their secret would remain buried alongside them.

Without another word, she looked down at the blueprints resting safely in Charles’ possession.

The first step of the plan had succeeded.

Now all that remained was patience.

Three months.

After that...

The Duke of Paxley would meet his end.