A lone guard walked on the street of the noble district of The Capital City. He was a young man and only been a guard for 2 months. He always got the night shift because that's what new recruit are for. He didn't complain though, he liked the night scenery of the capital city. He inhaled the fresh air of the night. Everything was normal, just like usual. But a scream changed all. He ran toward the source of the scream. It was from one of the noble house. Their private guards were busy trying to get inside, but the house was locked tight. The young man tried to help them, but it was still useless. The shouted from the outside, calling the owner of the house or their servant. None answered. They decided to break down the door. "One, two, three." They all smashed their bodies to the door, but it was a huge wooden door designed to resist such charge. The young guard looked around. "I'll break in through the window." He said before jumping to the window. The pieces of broken window scratched his skin, but it was nothing major. He stood up and head toward the front door. From a glance, there was nothing wrong with the house or its inhabitant. Except that there was no sign of activity. After he opened the front door, the guards searched the house. But no matter how hard the scoured the house, the couldn't find anyone. Not the owner, not the family, not even the servants. ---------- It was a morning, two days after his evening with Vex, and his hip was still hurt after what happened that night. Despite having to pay for breaking everything inside the inn room, he couldn't complain. Vex was too hungover in the morning to ridicule or laugh at him. He walked down down the busy street of Redmound. He was alone since his destination was the Redmound Castle. On the edge of his vision, he could see the spy woman who has been following him the past few days. She was disguising herself as a commoner. He already realized that she was following him and that it was Aria who sent her. Of course, there's no way he wouldn't recognize a beautiful woman following him all day and night. Even if she used a disguise and such. At first, he was going to confront Aria about it, but after some thinking, he decided to not do that. If Aria controlled some spies, then confronting her would be a bad decision. Not only will it endanger Lyana and Vivi, it could also endanger his women in Aeston. He was a little bit disappointed and angry when he found out Aria wasn't the person he thought she was. And he became even more disappointed and angry when Sir Arslan told him everything about Aria. How she was a master manipulator. A manipulator that was even better than himself, even the affection was all acting. Though it was a thrilling new experience for him to meet someone who could manipulate him. He was going to the Redmound Castle to meet with Sir Arslan. He talked with him the day before, but he was still on the investigation about the army. Theo suspected that the army had something to do with Aria trying to get the throne. After all, killing Ana wouldn't be enough to grant her the crown and the reform that she wanted. That was, of course, if the talk about reform and making the country better was actually what she wanted. That was the reason why Theo hasn't left the capital yet. He won't leave until he could ensure the safety of Ana. When he reached the castle gate, he saw someone he knew, Cissy. It was a pleasant surprise since she had started to change herself. She wore a female guard uniform instead of male. "Sir Theo!" She saluted. Her face was flushed red the moment she saw him, but as an excellent guard, such thing did not distract her from her work. "Cissy!" He called and approached her. "You're starting to change. For the good." "Yes, sir. It's all thank to you. I realize how foolish I was before. I will try to become myself now, become someone worthy of you, Sir." Theo smiled and patted her head. "I will be waiting when the day come." Theo entered the castle after a quick check by the guard. He walked to Sir Arslan's personal chamber where he was waiting for him. It was a large room as it doubles as the royal guards meeting room. "Sir Theo, right on time." "Sir Arslan." After meeting him so many times already, Theo was able to contain his excitement. But it was still overwhelming. "You have something for me?" "I do. Please sit." Theo sat opposite to him. "I'm unable to get anything about this army in the sewers that you said. The spy corps simply didn't get anything. But using my personal network, I'm able to gather some things. There's a movement from an underworld figure. A mysterious man named Wrath seems to mobilize his men and move his resource around the capital. This Wrath also has some conflict with the Greed Kings henchmen." "Wrath? If we're speaking about the same 'Wrath' then maybe I can help with it." Sir Arslan looked at Theo, signaling him to continue. "In the criminal underworld of Free Cities, there are seven figures that stood out from the rest because of how good they are at certain things. People call them the seven deadly sins, and Wrath is one of them. He is very good at large-scale operation, nation-wide, or even international. If he is moving his men, something big will happen soon. Something really big." Sir Arslan moved from the table. "Then the situation is direr than we think." "Do you think Aria is the one behind the scene, sir?" "She might be, but there's no proof." "But we could move to prove it." Sir Arslan went silent. "Tell me Sir Theo, why do you think I stay neutral all these years?" That was a good question from Sir Arslan. Any faction Sir Arslan sided with would have won by a landslide. And it wasn't only because he was an important political figure. Sir Arslan was a level 75 Class 4 Swordman with more than 50 years of experience as a soldier and 35 years of experience as general. Theo once read in the Knight Academy book that the Kingdom military might was divided into 3. They were the armies of noble houses, the Royal Armies, and lastly, Sir Arslan. "I don't know Sir." "Pick one reason." "Maybe you find neither Ana nor Aria as a good candidate." Sir Arslan looked at the table with a blank stare. "I was a simple soldier in the past. Getting angry at the noble or at the king for their strange and seemingly stupid order. But after the war, after the king fell into despair, I was placed at the head of the council. From there I started to learn some politics. Still never good at it to this day." He chuckled. "What I have now is two path. The first one will lead to a slow destruction from the inside. The second is the path of revolution and reform that have the chance to save this country. If I'm only a politician, I will choose the later, but I'm a soldier. I know how many life will be lost if I chose the later. Not to mention it will split and weaken the Kingdom for months if not years. The Kingdom of Mosk, our nemesis, will not waste an opportunity like that. They will strike, and they will strike hard when we are at our weakest." He looked at Theo. " Tell me Sir Theo, what am I supposed to do?" Theo has no answer, it was a dilemma. If Ana wins, then the corrupt noble would have all the power in the kingdom to suck the life out of it. If Aria wins, the kingdom will be thrown into chaos, even a civil war. "I don't know Sir." "Princess Aria's plan is better for the kingdom, but her radicality and arrogance could lead it to ruin. The Royal Army is about the same size as the Nobles' armies, A civil war will be unavoidable. While Princess Ana could be a good queen, she is too easy to be manipulated. This is where you come, Sir Theo." Theo was surprised by Sir Arslan's word. "What do you mean Sir?" "You are close to both Princess Ana and Aria. You are the wild card in this game. Although I think Aria is pretending to be close to you for her own gain. I reckon you already realize that?" Theo chuckled. "You are absolutely right Sir." "I know I'm asking much to you, Sir Theo and know that I will not harbor you ill feeling if you decided to walk away from this. Even I hope I could walk way from this Succession War. I hope that you can give Aria some lesson in humility, to defeat her in her own game. In this plan that she's about to execute." "But if I lose or make some mistake along the way?" "Lose or win, there's a high possibility that you will be her enemy. If Aria has connections within the criminal underworld, not only you will be in danger but your loved one also." The image of Mary flashed in his mind the moment Sir Arslan said his loved one. He did not worry about Cynthia and Mikki because he trusted their power "I...am sorry Sir. If it's only me then I have no problem at all even if the whole continent become my enemy. I would be glad, that would actually be fun. But if my women were threatened, It is something I can't risk, Sir." "I understand." Sir Arslan answered with a solemn voice. Looking at him like this broke Theo's heart. Sir Arslan was his idol, his hero. In his mind, he was nothing but perfect, but the truth was very different. Sir Arslan was an old man who was given responsibility much greater than he capable of handling. Like he said, he was a soldier, not a politician, not a ruler. Theo swallowed the spit in his mouth. Would he risk his loved ones to help his life-long Hero? "Sir, do you have a friend in Aeston? someone you can depend and trust." "I know someone." "There is a woman named Mary who own a bookshop on Aeston first road, the eleventh house if you count from the outer gate. If you can assure her safety, then there will be no problem." "Well, I can ask him, but there's no guarantee that he could do anything. Maybe from a clear physical threat, he could, but a criminal we're facing is not a clear threat. They could come in many forms, not just physical." "It's fine, Sir. Anything that can increase her safety is enough. No matter how small." Theo realized that it was not a choice to begin with. If Ana won, then the life of average people will be worse, including Mary's. If Aria won, then there will be a war that could threatens Mary. Both were not the result Theo wanted. The best course of action was to maintain the status quo, at least until they could find a better solution. Theo also has another backup plan ready. Once he returned to his room, he will send messages to some of his connection. Some of them ought to be able to protect Mary. He will also send a letter to Fergus to warn him and to ask him to keep his eyes on Mary. A knock came from the door. "Come in." Sir Arslan answered. A guard entered the room but stood near the door. "Sir Arslan, there's an emergency situation. Three noble families have been found missing this morning." Theo looked at Sir Arslan. "Is this the start of her game?" He asked. "I and Sir Theo will personally look into it. Bring us to the location." Sir Arslan said to the guard. ----------- In Aeston, Kanae sat inside an abandoned building. A few hours prior, she received a message from her princess. Her mission was almost completed. For a week, she had observed her target without mistake. She knew her target daily routine and habit, who her friend was, who she talked to. The only problem would be the tiger beast-kin who always on guard whenever he was near her. But even the beast-kin could only protect her during the day. During the night, she was defenseless. Her target didn't even lock the window of her room, which make her job all the easier. Kanae reviewed her plan once again. Her target was small and light, there should be no problem kidnapping her on foot. She could bring her to the capital in three days, or two days if she didn't take rest during the night. She looked toward the horizon. The sun was about to set.