The audience chamber was quiet.
On either side of the throne was a warm and vibrant portrait of Lumielle and the late king. The paintings were surrounded by ceremonial candles and incense.
Offering prayers several feet away was Grand Chancellor Cassius.
"It's a shame," Lord Vaerythos said by means of introduction. "To think that the gods would whisk away both the king and the princess in a single day."
Cassius kept his gaze fixed on the portrait of the sovereign. "His Majesty wasn't just a king," he responded solemnly. "He was a mentor and a role model to us all. He will be dearly missed."
Vaerythos tried to refrain from rolling his eyes, but a slight scowl did crease his forehead as he regarded the man. "At least we still have Prince Reneal or Stynx to carry on his legacy."
While both men engaged in conversation, a familiar female assistant entered the room, but neither man spared even a moment to look at her.
Or rather, they couldn't—not while she was wearing an invisibility cloak. Mindful that smell and noise wasn't concealed by the accessory, the girl gingerly started making her way around the chamber to deface the carefully hidden magic circles that masked mana signature.
Just a few more left, she thought while adjusting her glasses.
Her movements were rehearsed. It was obvious the magic circles were carefully scouted out in advance—and she had also visited Cassius's study beforehand and vandalized the wards that were strategically placed there as well.
Vaerythos heaved a sinister smile. Fool. Now you'll be sticking out like a sore thumb. It's just a matter of time before—
"The Absolution Guild finds and kills you, right?" Cassius read his mind with a nonchalant stare. "Is that… perhaps what you thought?"
The very instant Vaerythos cautiously backed away, Reezen Thalrindor—the kingdom's knight commander—swiftly appeared next to the invisible intruder and a backhand sent her hurling across the room with a scream.
She slammed into the wall.
Vaerythos stumbled back nervously, his eyes wide as he watched his precious assistant unconsciously slump to the floor. With a grunt, he shifted his sneer from the loyal knight to the infuriatingly calm chancellor.
"Cassius, you bastard!" he spat acidly.
The man regarded him drearily.
With a snap of his fingers, the painting of both the king and princess went up into flames. Then Cassius turned his attention to the fuming marquees, his real colors bleeding though his stoic mask.
"Commissioning the services of the Absolution Guild was but a carefully orchestrated lie by Lumielle and her annoying aides. Therefore, scheming to have me eliminated by this phantom guild is but a pipe dream."
"L-Lumielle?" Vaerythos scoffed. "Didn't she—"
"Oh, heavens no—she's very much alive," the man replied smoothly as he strolled up the steps of the dais toward the throne. "And she's still within the capital, no doubt conspiring with her loyalists. As for the king… I can't say who decided to substitute his body with that charred husk, but I must commend them." A faint smile curved his lips. "It was a masterstroke."
Vaerythos frowned. No, that's impossible, he thought, recalling the doctor he had personally appointed to finish off the monarch with a potent and untraceable drug. "Does that mean… the king still lives?"
Cassius settled into the throne with deliberate grace, crossing one leg over the other. "Lord Vaerythos," he said lightly, a sharp glint in his eyes as he laced his fingers. "You almost sound disappointed." His lips curved faintly. "Should I take that to mean you had a hand in the king's attempted murder?"
Vaerythos's eyebrows narrowed to dangerous slits.
Cassius snickered at the sight of that, then rested his jaw on his knuckles. "Relax, I'm the one who ultimately orchestrated the king's death."
There was a moment of stunned silence.
"Y-You treasonous demon!" Vaerythos snapped venomously. "You were the king's most trusted aide—and now you sit there and casually admit to betraying both him and the people? You treacherous swine! I'll have you hanged for this!"
The man turned toward the double doors behind him. "Guards! Guards! Come forth at once and arrest this vile bastard."
Silence.
Then the metallic clanking of Reezen's sabatons could be heard as he slowly made his way up the dais to stand attentively beside the throne, his expression stoic.
Cassius's lips twitched in unamusement as he regarded the man and his pathetic excuse for bravado. "Lord Vaerythos… I don't think you fully understand the position that you're in," he said coolly. "You were but another pawn in my scheme."
Vaerythos snarled when the realization hit—no one would be coming to his rescue and he was helplessly within striking range of a vicious viper.
Turning on his heels, he scowled at the man and the armored hound who stood quietly at his side. "Bastard."
Cassius heaved a smog grin. "Have you never wondered why the security for the king was so lax? It's because I wanted you to feel comfortable enough to make an attempt at his life."
Vaerythos's fingers balled into tight fists, his face darkening with fury as a mocking laugh spilled from his adversary's mouth.
"I must admit, it was quite amusing to watch you play the role of a doting father to the bastard prince."
"You!" the marquees hissed.
"I would imagine you wanted nothing more than to appoint him as the crowned prince so that you could play the role of puppet master. But there's only one thing wrong with that ambition," Cassius said in a quiet tone. "…Stynx doesn't carry even an ounce of royal blood within his veins. He was but another gullible pawn like yourself—a scapegoat at best."
Vaerythos was livid.
Mana pooled in his palms. He wanted nothing more than to rip the bastard apart, but it was virtually impossible when he had the knight commander protecting him.
"You spent so much time scheming and challenging my authority," Cassius laughed. "But you were just a large fish in a small pond. Pathetic."
"You won't get away with this," Vaerythos warned between gnashing teeth. "Do you even know who you're defying? Even the Knight Commander himself couldn't stand alone against my troops. I command enough force to grind you—and everything you represent—into dust."
Cassius didn't even flinch at the threat. Instead, he regarded the marquees over the bridge of his nose. "Princess Lumielle boldly declared commissioning the Absolution Guild in an effort to advance her own agenda, but she made a vital mistake."
The man paused, which only heightened the tension in the air. "By employing this strategy for her petty schemes, she created a double-edged sword."
Reezen's eyes suddenly narrowed, a dangerous gleam stirring within them.
Vaerythos knew exactly what that meant—he'd be a fool if he didn't. Earlier, he hesitated to attack knowing that he didn't stand a chance against the knight.
But this time—with every fiber of his being—he knew taking charge and landing a preemptive strike was a matter of life or death.
With a desperate howl, he summoned every ounce of his power. Chunks of stone, marble, and concrete tore away from the immediate environment to form a wave of bullet-like projectiles.
"DIE!!" Vaerythos bellowed as he launched the deadly barrage, his eyes wide and crazed.
Dust swirled into the air as the strike landed, and a wild, unrestrained laugh erupted from the assailant's throat, reveling in the havoc he had unleashed.
It doesn't matter how strong that bastard is, Vaerythos mused. There's absolutely no way he could've defended against all of—
The final set of words stilled in his mouth when he spied a silver, metallic object peeking out from the receding dust. And Cassius's calm voice soon came drifting forth from behind it.
"Are you curious as to why I think Lumielle's approach is a double-edged sword?"
"Guah!"
Vaerythos convulsed violently as a massive two-handed sword drove into his back, piercing through his torso.
Through the receding veil of dust, a gleeful expression could be seen on Cassius's face, his jaw still resting on his knuckles. "It's because I can dispose of nuisances like yourself and blame it on the Absolution Guild."
***
Fay's eyes quivered, her arm outstretched as her friend plummeted from the balcony. Biting back her dread, she rushed to the ledge and willed her mysterious powers to do something—anything, but her friend was nowhere in sight.
She looked around frantically for the girl who should've still been in free fall, but there was no trace of her anywhere.
"SILVIE!!"
She cried, but her desperate howl did little to change the traumatic scene. Instead, it only seemed to invite even greater tragedy.
"Well, that's unfortunate," Adrian said casually as he ascended the final set of stairs along with a group of armed men. "She would've made a fine test subject… or a fascinating homunculus at the very least."
Fay turned at the sound of the condescending voice, her eyes wide, her breathing erratic. She didn't need to be psychic to register that the feminine-looking man and his entourage meant nothing but trouble.
But what exactly did they want?
"So… you're Fay," Adrian said coolly as he combed his fingers through his hair. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. The Kaelmonts seemed to believe that you're something special. I'm curious to find out why."
The girl flinched nervously, her eyes shifting from the man's sly smile to the array of weapons brandished by the men flanking him. Is he the person Lugene was talking about—the one who wanted to meet with me?
"W-Who are you?" Fay demanded. "And what do you want?"
Adrian tilted his chin in a mockery of remorse, a smug grin seeping through. "I apologize for asking—especially when I'm likely responsible for the deaths of your dear friend and her parents—but I'll need you to come with me quietly."
Fay bristled at the words.
She balled her fingers into trembling fists, her grief and frustration pooling like methane and fire to form an explosion of fury. "You!" she hissed accusingly. "You're the one who did this! You're the reason all this is happening!"
Adrian's eyebrows descended, steeping his face into a dark scowl. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that nothing in this world is given freely. Life is a contest of the strong, and I won't stop until I seize the life of luxury I deserve." His eyes flashed with cold malice. "Your suffering is merely the price of my ambition."
Fay quietly hung her head, her eyes masked by the shadow cast by her bangs.
"We've recently discovered that you share a special bond with someone of particularly great importance to us," Adrian continued, ignoring the malicious energy radiating from the girl. "We've tried the civil way to nurture a relationship between us… but now we need better leverage."
Dismissing the infuriating thought of Haxks Starfrost from the forefront of his mind, Adrian gestured to one of the soldiers to apprehend what he had designated as a lucrative bargaining chip, or if nothing else, a curious subject of biological experimentation. But, to his surprise and annoyance, the soldier hesitated.
"Sh-She's just a kid," the man stuttered, and the others seemed to share his sentiments.
Adrian, of course, wasn't pleased. But he didn't allow his exasperation to sully his beautiful face. Though, that didn't curb the hostility rolling off his body.
Without a word, he confidently approached the defiant underling and, with a gloved thumb, slowly skimmed the finger along the man's forehead.
"I miss waking up to the sweet scent of pancakes in the morning," he murmured, eyeing the blemish staining his finger. "I miss the soft, fresh smell of my bedsheets. I miss gazing out my lofty window and greeting the morning sun. I miss draping myself in the finest clothes and indulging every whim.
But most of all," he said, peeling off his glove and forcing it into the man's mouth, "I miss ordering people around without receiving any lip service in return."
The other men looked in alarm. One swallowed nervously. But Adrian had already run out of patience. With a snap of his fingers, the Bearhound within their midst immediately charged.
The moment Fay turned to flee—
"RAWRR!"
The hound's jaws clamped down on one end of her scarf, the fabric biting into her neck as she struggled, gasping for air. Her hands clawed futilely at the taut material, but the beast's grip was unyielding.
Panic surged in her chest when flames stirred within the palm of one evil-looking thug.
WHOOSHH!
She narrowly managed to relinquish the precious memento before it was completely engulfed.
"NO!" she screamed.
Time slowed.
Memories of her and Haxks' first meeting flashed behind her eyes, particularly the moment he wound the warm gift around her body.
Fay's eyes quivered with stunned disbelief, the orange flames dancing upon her face as her most treasured possession was incinerated before her very eyes.