The capital city was divided into rings, and the contrast between the outer slums and the wealthy inner district was almost funny.

Kai walked behind Eevy, keeping to the shadows of the alleys.

The outer walls they had just passed through were filled with starving refugees begging for stale bread.

Here in the inner ring, the streets were paved with smooth white cobblestones and lined with perfectly trimmed hedges.

Kai looked up at a large mansion in a shade of yellow.

He nudged Eevy’s shoulder and pointed at the building.

"Do you think they chose that colour to blind their enemies with bad taste, or do they just hate the people living next door?" Kai asked, keeping his voice low.

Eevy shot him a quick glare over her shoulder, though the corner of her mouth twitched upward in a brief, reluctant smile.

"Stay focused, Kai. The guild safe house is just around the next corner. My handler is a paranoid man, but he will know how to bypass the war council and get our warning straight to the top of the chain."

"Lead the way," Kai replied smoothly.

He adjusted the strap of his canvas rucksack.

"I just hope your handler has better taste in architecture than the rest of these nobles."

They stopped in front of a narrow townhouse tucked neatly between two taller merchant shops.

It looked ordinary from the outside.

No signs or armoured guards were standing near the entrance to draw the eye.

It was the kind of place a spy network would use to conduct its quiet business without drawing unwanted attention.

Eevy stepped up to the door and reached for the iron handle, intending to use a specific, coded knock to signal their arrival.

Her hand froze just an inch away from the metal.

The door was already cracked open by a tiny fraction.

"That is wrong," Eevy whispered.

She drew a dagger from her leather belt.

"He never leaves the primary entrance unsecured under any circumstances."

Kai dropped his lighthearted attitude right then.

He rested his right hand on the hilt of his Fang Sword and stepped in front of her.

He pushed the door open the rest of the way with his boot, standing to the side to attack quickly.

The hinges swung quietly, revealing a silent and empty corridor.

They slipped inside the safe house. The front room was organised and neat, showing zero signs of a struggle or a forced entry.

Books were stacked properly on the shelves.

A half-empty glass of red wine sat untouched on a small side table next to a comfortable reading chair.

Kai moved toward the back office with Eevy following closely behind him.

He pushed the ajar door open and stopped in his tracks.

A man sat slumped over a large mahogany desk.

He wore the expensive, tailored clothes of a successful merchant, but his posture was stiff and unnatural.

Eevy rushed forward, lowering her weapon as she recognised the graying hair of her guild handler.

"Marcus," she breathed. S

he reached out to gently touch his shoulder.

The moment her fingers brushed against his coat, the man slumped backwards into his leather chair.

Eevy let out a sharp gasp and took a quick step back.

She covered her mouth with her free hand, her eyes wide with shock.

Kai leaned over the desk to examine the body closely.

The handler was undeniably dead, but there were no physical wounds on him.

There was no blood soaking his white shirt.

There were no signs of blunt trauma or poison on his lips.

Instead, the man looked like a dried-out husk.

It looked as if his actual life force had been slowly sipped away until nothing remained but an empty shell.

He leaned closer to inspect the man’s neck and caught a sudden scent lingering in the stagnant air of the office.

"He was not stabbed or beaten," Kai observed calmly.

He straightened his posture and looked at Eevy.

"Something drained him dry. And whatever did this, it left a very specific scent behind."

Eevy stared at the body of her mentor.

Her hands trembled slightly before she forced herself to grip her dagger tighter.

"The vanguard is still days away from the city. How could a vampire get inside the inner ring and take out a senior handler without triggering any magical alarms?"

’Because they did not break in,’ Kai thought to himself, looking around the quiet, pristine office.

’They were invited through the front door.’

He turned to Eevy, piecing the puzzle together in his mind rapidly.

"The army marching outside the walls is just a distraction. They are making all that noise out there so the city guard looks outward, while the real threat is sitting comfortably inside the walls, pulling the strings."

Kai did not believe in wasting a perfectly good opportunity.

He began opening the drawers of the desk to see what the handler had left behind.

Eevy watched his casual searching with a bewildered expression on her face.

"Are you really looting my dead boss right now?" she asked.

"He is not going to use any of this," Kai pointed out reasonably.

He casually smashed the simple lock with the pommel of his sword.

"Plus, we need funding if we are going to operate in the wealthy district. I highly doubt he would want his gold going to the corrupt state."

Alongside the gold, he found a detailed, hand-drawn map of the noble estates. It marked all the secret entrances and guard rotation schedules.

"This is very useful," Kai smiled.

He rolled the map up and tucked it away safely.

As he cleared the desk, his eyes caught a glimpse of expensive parchment peeking out from under the handler’s stiff hand.

Kai gently moved the dead man’s arm aside and slid the letter out.

It was an elegant invitation sealed with black wax, but the wax was broken.

It was an exclusive invitation to a high society masquerade ball taking place at a prestigious noble estate that very evening.

But the most interesting detail was at the bottom of the page.

Right next to the formal signature, someone had pressed their lips against the paper.

"We found our killer," Kai said. He handed the elegant invitation over to Eevy.

"She kissed the paper to seal the deal."

"A masquerade ball at the Duke’s estate. Half the city council will be there tonight, getting drunk while the refugees starve outside. You think the infiltrator is attending the party as a guest?"

"I think the infiltrator is hosting the party," Kai corrected her.

He tapped his finger against the red lipstick mark.

"She is seducing the political leaders one by one. She is draining their power and making sure the city remains divided and weak before the army arrives."

[Event Updated: Uncover the Rot]

[Item Acquired: Masquerade Invitation]

[Item Acquired: 500 Gold Coins]