The Ice Queen and The Dark Prince

Mozart's requiem

Flashback

Minatiro stood silently as Wave broke down the door to the merchant's luxurious home. The atmosphere inside was unnervingly quiet, a stark contrast to the opulent surroundings. Wave's voice echoed through the large hall as he called out, "This is the Jaegers! We've received word that Night Raid would be targeting this home—we're here to respond to this urgent matter!"

But before they could take another step, Kurome, her sharp instincts kicking in, spoke up.

"Wave... he's already dead."

Minatiro's gaze shifted toward the fallen merchant, his body lifeless, slumped against the ornate chair. It was subtle, but Minatiro's trained eyes quickly caught the small puncture wound on the merchant's neck—a needle wound.

His expression remained calm, but inwardly, his thoughts were racing. 'A needle? Chelsea...' It had to be her. She was the only assassin in Night Raid known to use a needle for silent, precise kills. But something else felt off. The kill was fresh like it was preformed just now.

Making a quick scan of the room, Minatiro noticed something peculiar. There were more cats than the merchant had originally kept. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he carefully observed each of them as they lounged around the room. Without drawing attention to himself, he calmly walked toward the cluster of cats.

Crouching down, he gently petted each one, seemingly absentminded but paying close attention to their reactions. Finally, he reached one cat that was slightly more tense, despite the others' relaxed demeanor. His hand rested on the disguised Chelsea for a brief moment, applying just enough pressure to signal that he knew.

Found you.

But Minatiro didn't act. Instead, he stood back up and continued with the investigation, keeping his expression unreadable, letting Chelsea slip away unnoticed. There was no need to blow her cover, the bastard deserved it.

Chelsea's POV

Back at Night Raid's HQ, Chelsea felt her heart still pounding from the narrow escape. She was used to dangerous missions, but something about this one had unsettled her more than usual.

"This whole mission was a setup," she announced as she entered the debriefing room. Her voice was tense, her usual calm exterior fraying around the edges. "And Minatiro... he's defected."

The rest of Night Raid looked at her in shock, particularly Akame, whose sharp eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"What do you mean, he defected?" Akame asked, her tone dangerously calm, masking the intensity of her emotions.

Chelsea crossed her arms, pacing slightly. "He was with the Jaegers. He didn't just walk away or pretend not to know us. He's one of them now. He's fully committed."

Akame's eyes darkened. "He was always close to Esdeath, but..."

Chelsea shook her head. "No, this is different. He's changed. He saw me... and he let me go. It's like he knew, but he didn't care. He's not the Minatiro we remember."

Lubbock scratched the back of his head, frowning. "So what do we do? If Minatiro's truly defected, then we've got a serious problem on our hands."

"We have to be prepared," Najenda said, her voice firm. "Minatiro knows our tactics, our strengths and weaknesses. If he's working with Esdeath and the Jaegers now, things are going to get much harder for us."

Chelsea bit her lip, her mind still replaying the moment in the merchant's house. Why didn't he stop me? Something was nagging at her, a piece of the puzzle she couldn't quite put together.