“This… this plan is too risky-” Leo muttered, as he stared in disbelief towards Lin Mu.
While the plan she suggested could theoretically still work, it has a lot of what-ifs and depended a lot upon Leo’s skills as an actor.
“It’s the only way. Ben Faulkner is the only figure that the commoners and even the Emperor will believe to have pulled something like this off and the only way the two of us walk out of this scot-free is if we fabricate a story such that, you were never here, while I was knocked out unconscious by Ben Faulkner before he killed the Royal Counselor” Lin Mu said, as Leo gulped in a mouthful of saliva in nervousness.
The plan that Lin Mu suggested was very risky, her plan was to play the victim in this murder and pin all the blame on Leo’s master, who in reality had nothing to do with this murder at all.
“So come again? How exactly are we playing this out?” Leo asked for a second time, as Lin Mu took a deep breath and explained the escape plan to him once again.
There was no scope for Leo to escape through the windows in Lin Mu’s room.
There was no ledge to walk on outside the window, so Leo could either attempt to scale the wall and land on the roof or jump down below, however, both places were heavily guarded and could lead to Leo facing certain death.
The only other option was to walk back out of the door, however, with the Royal Counselor dead, it wasn’t going to be an easy task as the Royal Maid outside was surely not going to open the door for anyone else.
“So the plan starts with me screaming in shock… I’ll cause a ruckus that will force the maid to open the door and come in to check on me while you land behind her with a soft thud, just enough for her to turn and look towards you…..” Lin Mu started, as Leo nodded his head, following the plan so far.
“Once she turns towards you, make sure to only show your hooded back and not your mask or face, as I’ll say ‘that’s Ben Faulkner’, to plant a seed of doubt-” Lin Mu said as Leo agreed with the plan so far.
“Then you MUST make it back to your room safely, where once inside you must pretend like this incident never happened.
So later when we are called for interrogation, you say you know nothing about this mess, while I tell the story of how I had made a shady deal with the Royal Counselor and was sucking his big fat di-, when suddenly I was knocked unconscious by an attack.
When I woke back up, I was still naked however, someone had put clothes over me, just to cover my naked body.
As I began to get dressed wondering why my neck hurt, I saw a mangled corpse beside my bed as I screamed in panic.
Listening to my screams, the royal maid came in and as soon as the door opened a mysterious figure whose back looked the same as the portrait of Ben Faulkner within the Night Guild landed behind her and started to escape-” Lin Mu said, as this was the part of the story that Leo found problems with.
“What do you mean you must get back to your room undetected? There’s a flipping curfew ongoing and not a single proper shadow for me to hide inside these halls.
Agreed the security inside is much less compared to the roof and open areas, however, it’s not non-existent.
And even if I do end up making my way to my room, how will I get the Royal Maid camping outside my door to open it?
I have to be found sleeping inside my room, when they come to check to play innocent in this story you know ….” Leo said as he tried to explain to Lin Mu, how her plan was easier said than done.
“Well, I don’t know about that…. But I’m sure you will figure something out!
However, If you’re still not convinced and have a better plan yourself, I’m open to hearing your suggestions.” Lin Mu said, as Leo bit his lips under his mask.
The whole problem with Lin Mu’s plan for him was the ambiguity of it, as almost everything needed to work exactly as they envisioned it to, for their plan to actually work.
Even the slightest slip up, or the slightest mistake where one guard caught a glimpse of his mask or identified him from his silhouette could ruin their story afterwards and compromise their identities, as the plan was extremely risky to execute.
Nonetheless, without any better alternatives and with time slipping away, Leo took a deep breath and steeled himself.
He knew Lin Mu was right—there was no other alternative that he could think of that would see them both walking free together and hence although reluctant, he agreed to the idea.
“Alright, let’s do this,” he muttered, his voice steady. “I’ll find a way back to my room.”
Lin Mu gave a small nod, her lips pressed into a tight line. They both knew the risks were enormous, but hesitation now would only lead to failure.
Wearing Ben’s old Assassin robes over his gala clothes, Leo obscured his usual silhouette by assuming a shape that was unlike his own.
Putting on his hood, Leo ensured that his face was obscured and then melted into the shadows on top of the room entrance as he got into position for their plan.
Messing up her hair and loosening her robes, Lin Mu jumped on her bed, getting into position as well, as she adjusted her posture thinking of the most natural way to play this scene.
Once everything was ready, she looked towards the spot where Leo was hiding and although she could barely see him, she gave him an understanding nod, before screaming out loud.