Everyone gathered near the breakfast table- Lord Elmsworth, Lady Seraphina, Selena Stormhold, Lorian, Gravil Fartom, Lucien Lehance, and Kaelen.
On Lord Elmsworth's command, everyone except Kaelen took their seats. Elmsworth ordered Lucien to give an update on the whole situation.
Lucien hesitated, glancing at Selena. Selena realized this and was about to seek permission to leave when, to everyone's surprise, Lorian looked at her, smiled, and then turned his gaze back to Lucien, "I believe everyone present here is trustworthy enough to share whatever you have, which is why our Lord has asked you in the first place."
Lucien was puzzled and looked at Elmsworth, who, with a suppressed smile, nodded in agreement. Selena blushed, not expecting Lorian to speak on her behalf. Lady Seraphina smiled and whispered in Selena's ear, "That's my son, hadn't I told you before?" Selena blushed further, wishing she could run away from the hall.
Lord Elmsworth, while enjoying the moment, quickly changed his demeanor and concentrated on the pressing matter. On his command, Lucien informed them that since yesterday's incident, neither Cassian nor Lyssian had been seen in the castle. They had simply vanished without any trace, along with their trusted people. There was no sign of struggle in their rooms, suggesting they were not kidnapped, but left on their own accord.
Lucien had done a thorough search of their rooms, and there were neither any documents nor any money; they had left with everything.
Gravil gave a suggestive smile to Elmsworth, who nodded back, and then asked Lucien if the attackers had been identified and if any were captured alive.
Lucien's face turned grim. He left his chair and bowed to Elmsworth, "Forgive me, my Lord. I have failed you. Due to my negligence, we were going to lose our Hope, and perhaps you as well. As commander of the Thorne Guards, this is entirely my fault, and I surrender myself to your judgment."
Everyone was surprised by Lucien's act. However, it seemed Elmsworth knew what Lucien was referring to. He took a deep breath and said, "So, as I had suspected, most of the attackers were Thorne Guards. That explained why there were no Thorne Guards present yesterday night, because…"
"…because most guards in charge of the Young Master's wing were bribed or coaxed to change their allegiance and attack the Young Master whom they were supposed to protect," Lucien spoke in a solemn voice, "And this is all my fault!"
"Yes, it is your fault, old friend. And your punishment is that you will not touch your favorite spiced wine or the pheasant until you have personally seen to the defeat of every enemy of Veridia. Now," Elmsworth smiled, "stop whining and move on."
Gravil whispered to Lorian, "Lucien and Lord Elmsworth are very close, Young Master, just like you and your retainers are. Their bond goes far beyond official duties."
Lucien felt a bit embarrassed seeing everyone trying hard to suppress their smiles over such a strange punishment. But he collected himself and said, "Yes, My Lord. We found two survivors. I identified the one who would be harder to break, and dispatched him when he first refused to cooperate. The other promptly agreed to divulge everything. He is standing outside. On your command, I may present him here."
On Elmsworth's permission, Lucien summoned the guards posted outside to bring the prisoner in.
The man was bloodied and limping. There was a deep claw mark on his chest, made by either Jax or Zara. On Elmsworth's command, the man told them everything that had happened.
It was Cassian who had ordered them to rob Lorian's room for the documents as well as the 'device.' Their initial order was to assassinate Lorian as well, but if anyone stopped them, they were supposed to kill them along with Lorian then and there. They were told that the guards in the wings would join them, so they anticipated no danger.
They killed the two loyal guards who were guarding Lorian's room and entered to find it dark. They noticed the strong smell of alcohol lingering heavy in the room, suggesting everyone was knocked out cold.
They found the documents, but the problem happened when they tried to take the device, as it glowed brightly in the dark, causing Elara to wake up. At her shout, first the Beastmen couple and then Kaelen woke up. They decided to kill every one of them, while two of the assassins were told to take the documents and 'device' and hand them over to Cassian.
But the female Beastman (Zara) rushed behind them to snatch the items back, along with Kaelen, while Jax decided to fight the intruders inside the room.
As Jax was overwhelmed by the superior number of assassins, one assassin decided to kill Lorian, who was still unconscious. Failing to wake him up, Elara jumped on Lorian to shield him from the assassin's knife. She hugged him tight so they couldn't remove her, becoming his human shield. The assassins kept stabbing her again and again to make her leave him, but she did not. However, this woke up Lorian at last.
Meanwhile, Zara snatched back all the documents and the device and brought them back to the room, while Kaelen stayed outside to stop more assassins from pouring inside.
As Zara decided to clean up the remaining assassins inside, Jax joined Kaelen outside.
Meanwhile, this commotion woke up everyone in Auric Spire, and the four Vuhukas decided to keep the gates closed until the rest of the assassins could finish their job. But they failed, and the rest of the stories were known to all.
"What is a Vuhuka?" Gravil asked.
The man informed them they were specially selected fighters who were gifted with a special blessing in the form of a magic pill that could give them immense strength at a time of desperation. But what he witnessed yesterday night was not something they had anticipated.
Selena suddenly spoke, "They were just guinea pigs!"