Not far away, a middle-aged lady was currently pacing around the room nonstop.

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

Bam.

"Mistress, your hand."

"You shut up for me!" Yelled the furious women.

Blood surfaced on her knuckles as she continued punching in fury.

Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.

She punched the hardened walls as a means to let out her frustration and fear.

Because right now, she truly felt like killing someone 

She licked her dry lips and ran her hand through her hair in frustration as she thought about her dilemma.

It's been days now.

So why haven't they had word from the assassins?

What was this situation?

Eliza's eyes burned with rage when she thought of the only possibility at the moment.

Didn't those bastards assure her that they could complete the job?

So why hadn't they rescued her son yet?

"Soliar! Kneel!"

The tall, burly man knelt before Eliza.

Pah. Pah. Pah.

The crisp sounds of heavy slaps echoed throughout the quiet room.

Eliza slapped him as hard as she could, leaving reddish handprints on his face.

"Soliar! Do you know your crime?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Heh. It's good that you do.

After all, you're the one who chose those incompetent assassins for the job.

Out of all the assassin guilds out there, why did you choose a useless one like the Venomous Butterfly guild?

Are you trying to sabotage our plans?!!"

Pah.

Soliar's face tilted to the side after the last slap as the muscles on his face clenched.

A cold light flashed through his eyes in that brief moment but vanished in a blink of an eye.

Eliza didn't notice it, as she was fully absorbed in her rage.

Honestly, why was it so difficult for people to just do their jobs now?

This wasn't what she had planned for.

Everything was going all wrong!!

.

"You worthless moron!"

Pah. 

"Why do I even keep you by my side if you can't even do such a simple job?"

Pah.

"Without me, you're nothing!"

Pah. Pah. Pah. Pah. Pah. Pah.

Eliza vented her anger on Soliar, who had been her most trusted guard and confidant for the past 20 years.

And when she was one, she took a deep breath, slowly walked towards the dining table, took her seat, and continued eating her lunch.

"Get up!"

"Thank you, mistress," Solar replied before standing up and waiting patiently.

Eliza ate while looking outside the window from time to time, still filled with rage.

Soliar waited for her to finish before telling forward.

"What?!!!"

"Mistress, I would advise that we leave as soon as possible.

It's been 5 days already, and we haven't received word from them yet."

Eliza sneered at scoffs at Soliar in disdain.

Everything still reminded her that it was all this idiot's fault.

"As death assassins, shouldn't they kill themselves when caught?

Are you afraid that they were too scared to do so and would eventually confess?

Heh.

If that's the case, then you can see why I say that you're a fool!

Just look at the type of assassins you picked?"

Eliza grumbled and was still very pissed off about the whole ordeal.

.

The muscles around Soliar's eyes began to twitch as he calmly accepted all insults thrown at him.

"Yes, mistress, it's all due to my negligence.

And I apologize for that and would humbly take any punishments for my failure later on.

But now, we have to go mistress, or else we could end up like the assassins.

If any of them survived and were weak enough to confess, then these Baymardians would storm in here and take us away."

Eliza clenched her fists unwillingly: "You want me to leave without so much as seeing my son?"

Eliza didn't want to.

She had travelled for months just to get here.

But when she first arrived, Connor refused to see her and would only see the assassins.

She agreed because she felt like it didn't matter since her son would get rescued soon.

But now, not only had he not been rescued, but the incompetent assassins had probably been killed or captured.

So how could she be willing?

What mother would be okay leaving her son again?

Eliza's fears spiked within her as her body went cold with dread.

She hadn't seen her son eye-to-eye.

So even though the assassins said he wasn't missing any body part, things might not be as they seemed.

Bottom line, unless she saw him with her own eyes, she would always have doubts and fears about the matter.

Who wouldn't?

Over the last few days, she has had constant nightmares, rendering her sleepless and stressed.

How could she be willing to leave her son behind again?

The colour drained from her face as she started down her plate, lost in thought.

.

Seeing that she wasn't talking, Soliar decided to push the matter even further.

They really didn't have much time left.

These Baymardians could storm in any moment from now.

Their stay in here was like a sinking ship, waiting to be engulfed by the seas.

Starting on the ship would undoubtedly let them sink deep into the water.

But jumping on another ship or staying a lot on nearby planks was clearly the better option here.

"Mistress! By leaving now, you will have a better chance at saving the young master than staying here in sorrow.

We did fail this time, but now, we know what to expect, and we at least know a lot more information from investigations these last few days.

So, we can better plan and prepare for another rescue attempt once we get back and reorganize ourselves.

Mistress, our only shot at saving the Prince is to retreat now and come back later!!"

Eliza snapped out of her stupor after listening to her aide.

Soliar was right!

Even though they messed up this time, they could still head back to the Capital and gather more people based on what they now knew.

As for the Venomous Butterfly Guild, they wouldn't be paying them again.

Prior to the deal, they paid half the amount agreed on.

And they were supposed to pay the rest after the job was completed.

But now look at it?

Her son hasn't been rescued yet!

So there was no need to give them any more money.

.

"Soliar!"

"Yes, mistress."

"Gather up all the men and tell them to back their things fast.

We leave now!"

"As you wish, mistress."

With that, Soliar was off.

Eliza walked towards the balcony and looked down at Baymard coldly.

Soon, she would make them pay!

Thinking about the chaos she would bring, Eliza couldn't help but let out a cruel smile.

And wouldn't you know it, she wasn't the only one smiling like this.

Another storm was brewing yet again.