When I returned to my apartment, Rajal was reading on the couch this time. He sat up when he saw me, eyebrow raised. For a moment, his eyes flashed. Was it the muddy shoes that caught his attention or was it because my mind seemed elsewhere?

"So late," he said. "Wasn't expecting you back."

"I've got something for Danio to do tomorrow. He runs errands for me, if he hasn't already mentioned it." I sat heavily on the couch, took his beer, and finished it. I leaned back with a sigh. "You don't have to go with him. He should be safe enough."

"Thanks for the permission to be lazy." He chuckled and studied me. "Something's on your mind."

So it'd been because my mind had seemed elsewhere. I shook my head. "I'll write a note with instructions. Just make sure he sees it."

With that, I stood and went to my study. Rajal didn't protest, just went to get another beer in the meantime. I wrote two notes. One to Danio telling him I needed him to do two things for me. First, he needed to deliver a note to Grandpa Arne mid-morning. Second, he needed to receive a payment for me in Kashana Casino from Lord Lando Viscoti. I told him not to talk to him except about the payment.

The other note was to Arne telling him I'd finished his favor and what I needed from him. The idea was simple, though probably not necessarily smart. It just had to work. Telling Arne that his target Gerard Viscoti would be near Kashana Casino around noon would mean he'd look out for him--me. He'd send one or two of his people to trail us, and I'd lead Lando down some narrow, sketchy side streets. They'd attempt to nab me, and I'd tell Lando to run. He would because he's a coward, and then I'd be left to handle Arne's men on my own.

Worst case scenario, the kidnapping works and Arne realizes Gerard was me. I'd possibly be able to tell him that it was a disguise. [Silver Tongue] might even help make that believable. Best case scenario, I'd escape before Arne's men brought me to wherever he planned to put a kidnapped noble.

Lando would think I was kidnapped and tell Father. I could send a note in a few days asking for more money, and hopefully Father would send it without a fuss. I wasn't sure how much he'd send, but I'd milk him for all I could.

I didn't sleep that night, my mind turning over the words the man I'd killed was muttering before I'd killed him. He'd come off like some kind of drug addict in withdrawal. Why had it mattered so much to him that he'd failed? Why had he seemed like such a shell of a person just because his summoning didn't work?

I couldn't ask him because I'd killed him, but I didn't think he would've given me an answer anyway. He'd been too far gone for answers, so all I could do was speculate. Arne had said the man had been compromised, but by who or what? He'd said he didn't want Rashania and Co to be able to trace it to the Triam Drana, which is why I'd made sure to kill him in a way that'd register as natural and used some simple earth magic behind me to clear my tracks from the mud. But did that mean the informant was giving Arne information on Rashania and Co or that he'd been compromised by them?

Because my mind was going in circles, leading back to the same concern. If he'd been compromised by Rashania and Co, was that how he'd come to be the way I'd found him? What had they done to him? Was it connected in any way to the demon he tried to summon? Was Rashania and Co related to the Rashirat in some way?

As much as I wanted to keep thinking about what was going on in Brugge's underworld, I had a morning meeting with Rolf and Alis. Thinking ahead, I released my raven familiar to watch my back for the day. I'd discovered how handy they were while I was a royal assassin. Killed someone with one. Stole it. This one was expensive and quite a bit better. I spent a fair amount of time hiding my usual assortment of knives and potions in Gerard's clothes, then I left after a wave to Rajal and Danio, who were eating breakfast on the balcony.

I met Rolf and Alis at the restaurant where Alis had first approached me. By that time, it was mid-morning. I wanted to start with business, but Rolf and Alis insisted on hearing everything about my time so far at Caemor. Neither seemed to know about the demon attack. Then we finally rolled around to business.

As we ate, Rolf updated me on what all had been done as we waited for our orders, and Alis was apparently playing liaison between the shop and their family's guild, so she updated me on the terms of that deal. I told them that Lando was in town and that I was meeting up with him today to get the money Rolf needed to finish opening up shop.

Alis frowned at that. "Why did your brother come all this way just to bring the investment money? It seems like something that could've been done by a guard, or even a banknote in a letter would've sufficed."

"She's just asking because you said before that you weren't sure your father would let you stay," Rolf said.

Good people were so troublesome and nosy. "Yeah, he came because he wants to bring me back. I still haven't decided, so I was planning to ask for more time to decide." I shrugged.

"What? Really?" Alis made a face.

"That doesn't seem very fair," Rolf said. "Do you want us to come with you? We can tell him we think you should have more time to decide, too."

I wasn't sure where he got the idea that Lando would listen to him. "I think I can convince him best on my own."

Alis nodded, resting her elbow on the table and putting her head in her hand. "I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this. What's your brother like anyway? Maybe we can give you some ideas about how to convince him."

"He's handsome and charming," I replied. "Very smart. Good sense of humor."

She nodded. "Wow, let's trade."

Rolf gave her a look, then kicked her under the table. She hissed and smacked him in the arm. Then they started bickering, which I appreciated since it took up time. I wanted to arrive late, make Lando wait and sweat for a while. Danio should've just delivered Arne's message, and Arne was probably letting him watch the entrance from his large windows on the third floor. Lando was punctual, but I didn't imagine Danio rushing out to meet him.

The thought of Lando having to wait for both Danio and me carried me through the rest of breakfast. I said goodbye to Rolf and Alis, who both gave me hugs that I didn't want, then headed to Kashana Casino at a leisurely pace. I was still sore from fighting that demon, which wasn't ideal for potentially fighting two of Arne's. people, but given my new Stats, normal people shouldn't be an issue. Arne wouldn't send his best people to kidnap a dumb noble, right?

As I neared the casino, my raven soared in a large circle above, which meant it'd picked up some strange behavior in the area. While it could easily just be the Triam Drana the raven was worried about, it could easily be something else, and putting my guard down would be stupid.

Sticking to the shadows, I focused past the crowd and saw Danio slip inside. Lando looked furious, so I took it the exchange went well. Then I scanned the crowd. In my years as a royal guard and royal assassin, I learned a few tricks about what signs to look for that indicated hostility. Most of them were easy: hands behind backs, nervous fidgeting, or a lack of eye contact. But there are other ways to show aggression without making yourself obvious.

For example, if someone suddenly stood up straighter than would seem comfortable and put their shoulders back, it usually meant they were trying to impress. Or maybe they'd cross their arms or even pointlessly touch their chest. These actions don't mean anything specifically, but they could be indicators that someone was up to no good. Of course, these things weren't foolproof either—people often did those kinds of movements subconsciously when anxious.

That was why the real sign was when these little movements were completely lacking. People weren't doing much more than walking normally; they seemed relaxed enough. So then I started looking closer at each person. Little tells here and there, but that was expected in the red light district. What was concerning was the amount of people with none.

There wasn't really anyone who caught my attention until I passed by an alleyway where two men were talking quietly. When they went to scan the crowd, their eyes fell on me, and they found themselves caught. But they seemed too nonchalant about it.

So that was who Arne had chosen to kidnap me. Interesting. With that, I approached Lando.