My name is Renata. A war orphan.

Like many others who may or may not share the same fate, I grew up living day by day with an empty stomach in the horrid place called the slum. It was but common sense that the scariest thing there was not a beating or a pointed blade.

It was the hunger...

With nothing to eat, one day, you would find yourself fighting with rats and cats over some trash. And you would break and tear the limbs of other kids if that meant you could have another bite to live yet another day.

The strong would survive, and those who survive would have the chance to get stronger. That was the undisputable law.

Blessed with a good head, I realized firsthand that the faster way to fill my belly was to seek out and serve the strong. Starting out my way as an underling from a mere street gang, I found myself entering the thief guild and soon, an assassin, recruited for the bleak and treacherous underground.

I'm a woman. I knew my body's limit, and I knew being stupid was a luxury that I couldn't afford. Being the smart one has always been my strongest tool in the shed.

My value as a woman? I gave up those without a second thought in return for my path to the top.

I toiled and honed my skills till blisters, sweat, and blood became my friends. I did everything that I could think of, and it was a long and painful journey, it was.

As my skills grew, a reputation was born. After that very reputation grew and ripened; I had come to realize that it was the taste of freedom. I could no longer remember when was the last time my empty stomach would churn in in the night, accompanying my sleep.

I was free from the bondage of poverty. And that was my freedom...

It was my chance to turn on a new leaf, and some might've speculated that I would take it at long last. They could not be more wrong in that regard.

I was ten years old when war took my village along with my parents. They were good and honest people. That's why I had a clear moral compass even when I was a kid.

The problem was, that I simply wasn't a good person...A bad person with bad circumstances.

That was me...

Should my parents were still alive, maybe I would not be an assassin, but I sure would not live as a goody two shoes either.

That's the reason why I kept taking the job as an assassin. I was prideful about my job and I was very good at it. At some point, it became an art in my eyes; while sometimes, it turned into a sport. My job had somehow turned into a hobby, unbeknownst to me.

A hobby to accompany this wretched life of mine...I was content. It was good...

That was how, I, Renata, the Dagger Flower lived my life as one of the dreaded assassins in the Kingdom of Boreas.

And little did I know, my whole world would soon be shaken up to its very core...

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It all started when I saw two interesting commissions. They came from two different clients, yet the request was the same.

I was bored of resting my feet for too long after finishing a major quest. And with nothing better to do, I figured an espionage mission would stave my boredom. And conveniently, the two commissions caught my interest.

'Infiltrate and gather the information of the Dawson family.'

The Dawson. A Ducal house that always maintained its neutral stance since ages ago. They were like a pioneer to the other noble houses who would love to distance themselves from the storm that was the royal palace.

To mess with the Dawson meant that they would invite the ire of the whole noble houses in the neutral camp.

Since the war that had been raging non-stop with the neighboring kingdoms finally slowed down due to the aftermath of the Bloodless Plague, it turned the already messy succession of the throne even more chaotic. I could honestly see the two Princes racing for the Dawson. Winning the Dawson to their side was like a shortcut to win the throne.

It intrigued the sadistic side of me. So I accepted both of the commissions, garnering a raised eyebrow from another colleague because I was playing double sides, and if things went wrong, it would be my hide that they would hunt.

Regardless, I accepted them. I would at least need that much risk to satiate my boredom.

Soon before long, I began the preparation. Gathering information and rumors, creating my new identity and persona, mapping the land, access to the castle, security, servants and how to interact with them, everything. Six months later, I was able to get into the duke's house without trouble.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I had to bide my time carefully since the head butler was very meticulous, and any half-baked plan would never pass his sight.

It pained me to admit this, but that man alone had made my job ten times harder, contrary to what I initially thought.

But I persisted. I was the Dagger Flower. That level of hardship was far from breaking my spirit, nor my patience.

A year after toiling myself silly as a maid in the Duchy, I finally found my chance. A certain magic research lab that the Duke had heavily invested in had finally made a breakthrough. And the duke, along with the annoying old butler, went there without so much of a second thought, leaving a hole where I could squeeze myself into.

With clever timing and meticulous drugs that left no room for suspicion, I was able to replace a maid who usually handled the Duchess's refreshments.

At last, I headed to the most secluded and heavily guarded room in the castle. It was so tightly guarded that not even a whisper could escape. It was not the Duke's office, not the secret basement, not even the Duke's bedroom.

It was the room of Alexander Von Dawson. The second child and the heir of the Dawson.

The whispers on the streets said that the boy was cursed to live like nothing but a corpse and got a year at most. Some said he was ill or that he was a frail girl, and the Dawson still had no son to lead the House. There were many more to count, but it was almost like nobody really knew anything regarding Alexander Von Dawson.

Everything about him was shrouded in mystery.

My reasoning also spoke that Alexander was the key to taking control of the Dawson. But I was not a third-rate chump who would spit out a baseless report and call it a day. That's why I had to see it with my own eyes.

On the way to his room, I had to pass several tests first. They first asked me where the usual maid was and the reason why she was absent. Then they moved on to cast a magic spell to check for poison on the tray.

They checked my background and patted me down in case I carried a weapon or some sort.

Of course, I was bringing one. In fact, strapped on my right calf was an artifact bound to only me went wherever I went. A cursed dagger that would disappear whenever I fed my mana into it. No matter how careful and thoroughly the guards checked me; they would find only my flesh.

With the last hurdle cleared, I entered the room. And I saw him...Alexander.

The boy was floating on the bed, playing a familiar cheap game like those in a gambling den. His personal maid, Hannah, and the Duchess, Maya, were also there, spending their carefree time watching the two children playing.

Right after the door closed shut behind me, I could instantly feel the air shift inside the room. Mana in there was overly chaotic. It felt like they were raving and moving here and there, following some sort of pulse that I couldn't hope to pin down.

Nevertheless, I was a renowned member of the underground world. I didn't stop my feet. On the other hand, the odd situation only sparked a sense of mischief within me. I was wondering whether I could guess and rob the Duke's greatest treasure and watch the world burn from the side.

That thought didn't last long, though, because Alexander had not once taken his eyes off me. Not even for one second...

One would reason that maybe he was staring at me because he was seeing someone new. But that was not the case. My perception was high enough to tell that he knew something was off.

I was bemused. Seriously.

His hair was as white as snow, swept slowly back and forth above his clear purplish irises. Though he was all bone and skin, something was telling me that he was not to be underestimated.

However, I was confident in my ability. So, despite the nagging feeling that lodged in me due to the boy's action, I played for the fool and decided to stay true to my role as a naive maid.

And then, things took a turn for the worse. The boy floated forward and found me in the eyes, quiet and somber. At the seemingly lasting silence, I could feel mana swirling in the room, and the concealed dagger on my calf moved on itself.

It was something beyond my wildest imagination. Something that a magic artifact and a veteran magician couldn't find was found out in an instant by the boy. My brain was reasoning that it was just a coincidence and it might not be the boy.

Thus, I narrowed my eyes and looked for the possible suspects. The Duchess, who was known for her prowess in the Kareya's unique magic martial, the maid, and the young girl. My brain was telling me that it probably was the Duchess, but I was sure of what my gut told me.

It was the boy...

As if to blatantly answer my question, he moved his body with broken motions to give out some gestures. It was quite confusing, but I instantly knew what he meant when I felt my collar choked me.

'Do I kill him?' It was a reflex. A question that was as natural as breathing to me. But that was it. I had no intention of following through with that...I couldn't feel any killing intent flowing my way, so I chose to wait and see. That way, I would have a lot more to say in the report.

And then something happened that completely blew me out of my mind.

I could hear his voice...It felt distant, but true in every sense...

It was as if Alexander was using the world's tongue to speak to me. As if I was hearing the lost truth, all the secrets buried in the seams of reality, that governed the world in all its laws.

A God...I've heard a God...If not, then he must be the Child of God...

I could feel the thick and lucid divinity raining down, filling the gaping pit that was my soul.

My heart tightened, followed by boundless euphoria that I'd never felt before in my whole life. It felt like the abyss within me had been vanquished into the void thanks to his divine words.

He told me I was poisoned by him. Indeed. I might be poisoned by his grace...

I had almost wanted to slit myself and be done with my life for the blasphemous act of trying to kill my Lord just a moment before.

But he wouldn't let me. Like the Light that was gentle and kind that he was, he told me to stay by his side instead. To serve him.

And that's what I would do. Hundreds of my life wouldn't even be worthy to receive his favor, but if he asked for me, then for what reason shall this unworthy lamb deny the savior's command?

I, Renata, the Dagger Flower shall pierce the heretics' throats and from their blood shall bloom the flower of redemption.

The world shall be purged, all in the name of the almighty lord...

Alexander Von Dawson.