Mellana had been born a noble lady. As one of great general Atoc's daughters, she had been afforded special treatment from birth. All her life, she had been special, unique even among the noble warrior descendants of the capital. Even sons and daughters of the high noble houses would have to show her respect whenever they met. Yet now, she was carrying a tray of fruits through another lord's mansion like a common maid. Even so, she was elated. After all, she had spent much time and effort to gain this position and reach here, into the heart of House Ichilia's power.

While most of Medala was changing, the atmosphere in Huaylas castle's grand salon was as lazy and decadent as ever. On a single table was piled up an inordinate amount of food, together with the finest wines from the eastern regions. Although the feast was enough to serve an entire army, only two figures were present to partake. Before this endless mess of food and wine sat the family master Divitius Ichilia, as well as his first-born son Loreius Ichilia.

Both were somewhat short for noble people, though at least the father looked combative. The son however was massively overweight, something that was quite rare among Medala's warrior class. Due to the sheer masses of food they needed to sustain themselves, most cultivators were either muscular or skinny. Though considering the rate at which Loreius shoveled the paté into his mouth, Mellana wasn't surprised by his stout appearance. Even so, his eyes were as crafty as his father's, and he managed to eat and discuss the empire's grand politics all at the same time.

“Father has sent a messenger,” the older Ichilia began once the maid had put down the bowl and taken her place behind them. Mellana's breath shortened for a split second, before she returned to her role as a maid. The father of Divitius Ichilia would be Ancestor Acquilinus, second highest ranked among the old men within the Ancestral Hall.

“He says the old bastard is getting worse,” Divitius continued. “Looks like Viribus will not hold on for much longer.”

“Not like that old man has done much for us even before he got sick,” the younger Ichilia dismissed between bites of food. “All he has ever cared about is his own immortality. Now that day dream will die with him.”

“True enough. Although the old man could have been considered a reluctant ally at first, his position within the hall will be filled by your grandfather once he is gone. With the death of Viribus, we get stronger and your cousin will be weakened, which is good news for once. Pacha's head has been getting far too swollen. That brat really thinks he is a real king, with any kind of power over our house.”

While Loreius only laughed, Divitius continued in a bitter tone. “I would love to see what that fake hero will do once his great backer is gone. What will he use to fight us then?”

“Maybe I can answer that,” the son said. “My people have reported that the King of the Center has been trying to consolidate his power. It appears that he has been quite forceful these days.”

“What happened? Did the brat start another war?”

“No, not openly. But Lord Rupilo is dead. Assassinated in his bed, together with the entire family. house Rupilo has ceased to exist.”

Mellana shivered, but this time there was no reason to hide her reaction. This was huge news. Ever since the great storm over a hundred years ago, no noble house had been completely destroyed. This time, not even the ice-cold Divitius could remain calm.

“Who did it?” he asked in a solemn tone. While it was obvious that Pacha was involved, the young king didn't have his own assassins, and he surely wouldn't have worked with House Ichilia's people on this mission.

“Who cares?” Loreius asked back, and threw a grape into his maw. “Either way, the house was bound to fall sooner or later. The man kept turning his head to the prettiest king around. At the end, he had no allies left, only enemies. Every estate around him saw house Rupilo as ripe for the picking . Any of them could have done it. But what matters really is what happens next.”

“Who gets the land,” Divitius understood. Whoever would gain most of the land would be the most likely culprit, and Pacha's most solid support in the future. “Can we get involved?”

“The land has already been redistributed. They were well prepared. The estate will be cut up and swallowed by all the surrounding estates, and cousin Pacha gets the fattest piece in the middle. To 'retain the peace', he says.”

“Bastards! They planned this for a long time! How did we know nothing about this!” Ichilia threw his wine cup away to vent his anger. “What is Spuria good for if she cannot even control her bastard son!?”

Surrounded by her master's curses, Mellana followed the cup on the ground and took care of her duties. She used a napkin to clean up the rest of wine on the stone tiles before she carried the empty cup outside to replace it with a new one. Out of the room, she came to a carafe of wine and picked up another silver wine goblet right next to it.

“They're really enthusiastic today. Are you okay?” came a voice from beside her. With a smile, she turned to the man who stood at attention near the entrance.

“Thank you, Avi. I'm fine. Young master has finally returned after he spent so much time on outside business, so of course Lord Ichilia would be enthusiastic.”

Avitus was a warrior guard of House Ichilia, and someone Mellana had gotten to know quite well over the years she had spent infiltrating the Ichilia household. Despite her refusal to accept his concern, she returned a warm smile. She understood the man's feelings for her. Though her status meant she couldn't return them, she still liked the considerate warrior.

“Maybe you should retreat for today and come back to work tomorrow,” the guard insisted with a frown and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The lord can do crazy things when he gets angry. You could just cough a few times and pretend to be sick. I'm sure the head maid will send you home right away.”

“Please don't worry, I'm fine.” With a smile and a wink, Mellana turned away from the warrior. Although she could see him struggle to hold her back, she still re-entered the grand salon with a fresh cup of wine in her hands. While she understood Avitus' worry, today was too important. Today, Lord Ichilia would inform his son of everything that had happened in his absence, and the son would inform his father of every deal he had struck outside. No matter how dangerous, Mellana had to hear their conversation. As expected, by the time she returned, the two had moved on to a different topic, but they were still talking about the grand issues of the empire.

“The seeds we spread out in Saniya have finally started to bear fruit,” Divitius said.

“Have they dug up some of the south's secrets? About time,” an indifferent Loreius replied.

“Haha, you would be more enthusiastic if you knew what they sent us back, boy. With their help, we already know how the southerners produce both Chutwa glaze and the purple dye.”

“What!? Impossible!” This time, even the lethargic Loreius was excited. After all, dye and porcelain had become two of Saniya's most profitable products over the past few years.

“In fact, we should have guessed the recipe for dye production already. After all, Saniya has always been famous for its lavender fields.”

“So the lavender makes the dye?”

“Yes, they somehow extract the color from the plants. As for the Chutwa glaze, it appears as if empty shells are a crucial component. I have already ordered several large fields to be cleared for lavender to be planted next year, and we have begun to buy up all the shells in the market. Soon enough, our men will uncover every last secret that little king has hidden.”

“And then they are done,” Loreius added with a devious smile. Once House Ichilia could get a hold of Saniya's exclusive products, they would be able to take away the south's only advantage. Once they stopped Saniya's sources of income, they would be in trouble right away, especially with how lavishly the southern king had been spending his new wealth.

“Yes, then they are done. In fact, the seeds tell me that they have already found a way to take the rest of their secret. Now all we need to do is wait on their good news.” Divitius smiled, happy with himself.

At the same time, he raised his already empty wine cup behind his shoulder. While Mellana stepped back to make room for another maid to refill the master's drink, she did her best to look impassive. However, at this point, her face must have already been pale as snow.

“Not to spoil your fun, father,” Loreius said, “but there is a good chance that your efforts will be in vain. After all, once we conquer Saniya, all their secrets will be ours either way.”

“You succeeded,” an excited Divitius said. “Which one agreed to our offers?”

“Both of them, of course,” Loreius replied with a smirk. “We are really lucky that cousin Pacha has been getting so full of himself. Ever since he started to produce his own rifles, he has been distancing himself from the foreigners in favor of powers he can control. He has only been focused on local lords who are willing to play lapdog for him. Many officials in the silver palace are no longer happy with him, and neither is Lord Herak. All I needed to do was offer them a few extra benefits and it was easy to get the Arcavians on our side.”

“The foreigners will fully support our operations?” Divitius tried to confirm. Even from behind him, Mellana could see the lord think hard. Whatever this operation was, it was imperative that she learned more. To her luck, Loreius was in a good mood, and thus even more chatty than usual.

“Of course they will. As will the blue king. Everything is ready. Lord Herak has already prepared and is about to send some additional troops and ships east into the Verduic Sea. First, we help the blue king conquer the Verdant Isles, then we control the seas and take over the southern kingdom from the water, together with all of its secrets. At that point, not even Pacha and Amautu together will be able to withstand our might. All the hero king can do then is bend his knee and accept our generous support as he ascends his worthless throne.”

As he spoke, Loreius' voice became more and more frantic and his breath became shorter and shorter. With horror, Mellana listened to their plan, though to her luck, she stood behind them and the great lords of Huaylas never spared a glance for their servants. Otherwise, her body language may have already exposed her.

Yet despite her security, she felt like she needed to leave right away. This sort of information was too important, too explosive. This had to be reported to Saniya right away, at any cost. After tonight, she would leave the city. She would have to give up her year-long disguise, but it was worth it if she could carry away important news like this. With a determined face, Mellana brushed past the bowl of fruit she had carried in earlier and dropped it on the ground.

“What are you doing!? Dullard!” For the first time, her master took notice of the girl, but it was worth the risk. She had to get away.

“Please forgive this servant, Master Ichilia,” she faked a trembling voice. “This servant will clean it up right away.” Already, she had bent over and picked up all the fruit and returned them to the bowl, both to show her submission and to hide her face. After, she took the dirtied food and carried it outside. She was ready to throw the bowl away and run as soon as she left the salon.

“Halt!” a voice from behind her made her tense up again. Though unwilling, she had to follow her young master's command. When she turned, both masters were looking at her face for the first time.

“What else does master need from this servant?” she asked.

“You are new here, right?” the fat kid asked back with a playful face.

“This servant has been part of the Ichilia household for four years, but only became a chambermaid last season, so young master would be unfamiliar with this servant.” She hoped the young master was only interested in her beauty. Compared to the alternative, it was easy to handle.

“Is that so? In that case: Guards! Take her down!”

Before Mellana could react, the guards along the edges of the room had already surrounded her and blocked all the exits. With a bitter face, she stared at the young Master Ichilia.

“How did you know?”

“Oh, so you really are a spy then?” Loreius' grin widened and he soon broke into laughter. “I just thought it was weird that so many of our maidservants have disappeared or gotten ill since I left. Today was too important, too many things to talk about, so we would need to replace all the servants in here anyways. But I'm glad that we're not just killing innocents. That's a relief.”

As the other maids around the room fell on their knees and begged for their lives, Mellana looked over to Avitus, the guard who had urged her to leave before. With sad eyes, he stared back, and mouthed a voiceless 'I'm sorry' in her direction. If only she hadn't been so greedy, things wouldn't have ended this way. As she closed her eyes, she just hoped that her death would at least put her mother, and thus the southern kingdom, on alert. Otherwise, even the lives of her remaining family would be in danger soon.