“I wonder, why did you not even attend her funeral?” Avys questioned Irwyn after a period of silence. They were currently the only inhabitants inside a large magic driven carriage of considerable luxury.

“Should have I? She tried to get me killed,” Irwyn answered with newly grim expression. He didn’t even have to pretend fit once; it would be a lie if Irwyn said he was not feeling any guilt about what he did. People might consider him a heartless monster if they knew of his reasons, but he had been called worse things over the years. In the end she was sister only to Irwyn von Blackburg, not to Ignis Lumen. For his name alone he needed no justify his deeds. Or so he wanted to convince himself for an eternity now. Ends justify the means, he voicelessly chanted.

“Oh, we both know that is just not true.” Avys giggled. Irwyn at first thought he heard it wrong, but that was indeed without any doubt an amused chuckle. The woman reacted to the death of her own child like one would to a decent joke. If it was anyone else Irwyn would have assumed she went insane from grief or perhaps snapped under the pressure of recent events, but this was Avys. Irwyn still remembered that she was in possession of the title Kin slayer.

“Even if that were the case; what do you find so funny?” there was now a frown plastered on his face. For once it was involuntary.

“My twin sister,” Avys suddenly completely changed the subject “she was the more talented out of the two of us. At least raw power wise. She was always jealous of how much smarter I was and as a consequence she would often harshly bully me. I was happy to slip a droplet of my strongest poison into her cup when I at one point needed a legitimate corpse to feign my own death. But you, you had no grudge. She was not any threat and you clearly understood she was just incapable of doing the crimes you framed her with. And yet you went through it for something as pretty as sending a message. And despite all that you can still keep your head high as though those things didn’t even touch your conscience.”

“So, where is this heading,” there was a moment of silence before Irwyn spoke again. He really did not want to continue this conversation, but understood that he did not have a choice in the matter.

“When we last spoke like this a week ago I called you a monster, but now I understand that I was wrong,” at first her expression was grim, but then suddenly “HAHAHAH,” she burst into slightly maddened laughter “you are not a monster Irwyn. Your have a wit more versatile than a senior schemer, your power is sharper than any blade and your conscience is unable to fetter you for even a moment in such a young age. In my eyes you are the greatest prodigy to ever be born into the Blackburg house.”

“I did not expect to be praised for killing my own sister,” Irwyn admitted as he forcefully withdrew his frown. He looked at Avys and he saw in her eyes that she meant every word she spoke. Or perhaps she was lying through her teeth again, his current perception was nowhere near good enough to tell.

“So, mind finally telling me where we are headed?” Irwyn decided to change the topic into something he was more comfortable with. His wounds would soon fade, but he would much rather not put salt into them. Avys asked Irwyn to accompany her on some sort of trip just day after Alira’s funeral, but she had yet to tell him where they were headed.

“Of course. I had planned this trip some time ago, but because of the events of last week I decided that you might appreciate if I brought you along.”

“So a diplomatic trip? Or are you perhaps laying the groundwork for ruining someone’s life.”

“Actually, both. We are headed for the Brinewood port,” Avys smiled. The Brinewood county was located on the very south of the Northern continent having access to all major sea trade routes. They were actually the ones who took care of the vast majority of import of various goods. The Brinewood house was also pledged to the house Blackburg. Something they did only reluctantly after their rival family, Wintertide, swore themselves to duke Brightbeak. But those were mostly uninteresting politics Irwyn remembered from the many lessons Lucas gave him. It was a shame that the man had nothing more to teach him as he was among the more pleasant people inside the Blackburg manor.

“I don’t quite follow. What do you mean by both?” there were multiple possibilities and Irwyn decided not to make a blind guess.

“First the diplomatic. It was difficult, I convinced Ezax to let Alira hang. He was surprisingly adamant, but eventually followed my lead. Since we just idly stood by while our daughter hung. What the vultures see is…”

“A weakened prey,” Irwyn finished.

“Exactly. They will think that we have shown weakness and try to make a use of that. There are few counts who could resist the temptation of an entire dukedom,” Avys grinned.

“And most of them will make dumb mistakes. Mistakes you can use to rob them in turn. But that doesn’t add up, you said you had this trip planned for quite a while.”

“I did. My bait was originally supposed to be much less impressive, but sufficient. Now, however, I estimate that almost all of them will be snared by my traps.”

“Where in that plan do I come in?”

“The Brinewoods will be the most brazen of them all. Their ownership of such an important port made them one of the wealthiest counties by default. Coin and resources that they would perhaps consider redirecting if they thought it could cause succession struggle within the Blackbrug family some years down the line.”

“So you want me to pretend being bribed by them. Are you not afraid I would stop just pretending.”

“You underestimate how much Ezax and I trust each other. Especially considering I just told you I convinced him to let our daughter die for some sort of elusive profit. I was frankly impressed when he told me you have an inborn class which can naturally awaken. What sort of Awakened would bother ruling some Dukedom?” it was surprising that Avys’ jaw didn’t hurt yet, because she was smirking non-stop for the past couple minutes. It was not surprising that Ezax told Avys about the decoy status screen Irwyn had shown that day.

“You also claim that you are preparing to ruin the count Brinewood,” Irwyn didn't act surprised and instead moved the conversation forward.

“Of course. That one will be relatively easy to do though. The count is an extreme skirt-chaser. Not only does he have 7 official concubines, he even turned the Brinewood mansion into a glorified high-class whorehouse. Thanks to that he has way more children, official and otherwise, than he should with short age gaps between them. I can do to him exactly what he plans to do to us, except I will actually do it 2 or 3 times,” Avys revealed what she plotted. Or maybe she didn't.

“Where will you get that much coin?” Irwyn immediately frowned at the hole that he spotted.

“Gold is not a problem. You might be unaware, but our house is basically running about a third of the empire’s underworld. The amount of profit is just as ungodly as the goods themselves. But you don't need to worry about that. Just find an excuse to separate from us.”

“Alright. I will go along with what you want. Some of the more interesting things they can import might be out of reach for even house Blackburg and I can use those. But what will be the use of causing chaos around the Brinewood succession?”

“I can encourage them into attempting to claim the count’s title. Slowly over many years I will get people who will whisper what they can achieve with just a bit of support. And once they jump down into the rabbit hole...”

“...you will threaten them with the support they would become reliant on. And it would not take long to steal all of their secrets from there. You should even be able to make whoever ends up becoming the count a puppet ruler.”

“Almost exactly on point. I have done something similar once before. What makes this achievable that Northern nobility just drop their guard when they avoid the first stab into their back.”

The rest of the trip was spent with meaningless idle chatter and various advice Avys tried to give Irwyn, mostly concerning the mind games and schemes that were her expertise. It was of course nothing new to Irwyn, but just the fact that she tried to teach him something was worth remembering.

When they finally arrived in the Brinewood port it was already evening; 5 hours passed since they departed. They briefly stopped by the gates, but the guards didn’t dare stop a carriages with Blackburg family crest for long. When they departed from Blackburg manor they were alone, but now their entourage consisted of 6 other vehicles bearing the Blackburg crest.

The mansion for which they were headed was on a hill in the heart of the port city. Along the way there Irwyn observed the streets and the few people who threaded them: Far too many starved peasants without home, and just as many closed shops. Considering that this place had a huge influx of foreign goods he expected a prosperous city with bustling hordes of merchants, but instead he found this poor excuse for slums. The city was either very poorly manage or there had been a catastrophe recently.

“It’s weird isn’t it. To have slums directly around the gates of such an important port city,” Avys seemed to follow his train of thought.

“Yes. Is it just horrible management and corruption? You mentioned that the count was not decent at better days.”

“Horrible is an understatement for the way he manages the city. A capable governor could double the income, if not more. He also recently accepted a large bribe from an unknown source which resulted in sudden cut in some rarer resources I have been stockpiling.”

“So that was the original reason why you choose the count as a target?”

“Yes, it seems that the little power he has got into his head. There are many things at play tonight, but you just need to go along with what I told you to do; despite what happened not long ago, the count will still consider you a child. Are you fine with doing that?”

Irwyn was silent for a moment, but eventually agreed: “I will go along with your plan, but expect me to retaliate if it puts me in danger.”

“I will just need you to walk around the mansion and then write me a report.”

“Write?”

“Sorry. Tell me whatever you encounter on the way back,” Avys seemed to have forgotten that Irwyn was incapable of writing. Or perhaps she pretended to forget for some other objective.

“Will do. Anything else?”

“No. And we are actually here,” Avys said just as the carriage came to a stop few metres beyond a golden gate. Irwyn didn’t hesitate to step out; then an opulent square appeared in front of his eyes. Dozens of statues which portrayed valiant warriors and noble scholars were scattered around the sides and a humongous fountain built of gold and silver towered in the middle of it. The poverty that was omnipresent just a few minutes down the road was nowhere to be found. It was almost ridiculous how large the difference was. Irwyn also noted that the square was sweeped completely clean, and judging by the amount of open space it was also where guests would usually leave their carriages, however, it was apparently emptied before their arrival.

Just as their entire entourage managed to step down from their chosen transit another group of servants arrived from the mansion’s direction as opened another golden gate.

Both Blackburg and Brinewood maids were all female that made the only male servants the few and far inbetween butlers among the Blackburg servants. However, their gender was perhaps the main similarity fur most of them. While the Blackburg maids were clothed in completely covering modest black clothes; the Brinewood maids wore red and golden uniforms which revealed more than just a bit of flesh. While the Blackburg servants mannered themselves like noble in each and every motion; the Brinewood servants walked and moved in a way that was clearly meant to invoke lust. It seemed almost like they were not maids, but high class escorts. But what alerted Irwyn the most was that the Brinewood maids were all far too young. None of them looked past their prime.

“My lady, my lord,” the young maid who stood at the head their formation was a blond haired beauty with perhaps even too large curves. Her voice was obviously trained to be pleasing to the ears while also causing subconscious allure “My name is Mathilda, I am the head maid of the Brinewood mansion. Please allow me to bring you inside.”

“Lead the way,” Avys replied. Since he now had a comparison Irwyn could clearly see that whatever Avys did to make her voice stained with maddening temptation it was far more potent than Mathilda’s.

The maid’s eye widened for a split second, but then she bowed and turned around. It of course didn’t escape Irwyn and it probably didn’t escape Avys. That reaction likely meant that she had never met Avys before now.

Irwyn followed the entourage of maids from both houses up the stairs which led directly to the mansion from the courtyard. There were yet more statues standing by the stairway and verdant gardens bloomed on the sides. Irwyn recognised that about half of them were not northern in origin and that there were even few endemites from the southern globe. Another sign of opulence in contrast with what he saw in the city bellow.

Irwyn counted exactly 100 steps when they finally arrived at the top. The mansion was built like a cathedral with large arched windows filled with stained glass. There was not even a single area of the walls where a statue was not in the near proximity, they were now also more haphazard in what they depicted as Irwyn noticed multiple feared demons and infamous monsters impaled by all sorts of weaponry. The icing on the cake was that the size of the thing was absolutely gargantuan. In fact it was so much larger from up close than it seemed from distance that Irwyn was nearly certain some sort of illusion was at play, optic or otherwise.

The gateway was opened with a gesture and chant from Mathilda which allowed everyone to pour inside. It was there in a gargantuan golden hallway with opulent rib vaults at the ceiling that Irwyn finally witnessed Count Brinewood. Not seen, but witnessed, because the man looked like a circus spectacle: His gluttonous but short frame almost left one’s mouth agape as the human-pig was almost thicker than tall. He probably had more chins than those rod thick fingers, and that taunting smirk on his face didn’t help a single bit in bettering his image.

“I am glad to see you, lady Avys,” a deep voice came from the bag of lard as he stepped forward. Irwyn waved to turn away as he watched that apaling body wiggle like gelatine. It was at moments like these where Irwyn hated his still undeveloped willpower.

“And I am not glad to see you, Porckus,” Avys scoffed, she was surprisingly rude. From what Irwyn knew about Avys it was not the slip of a tongue, but another scheme. Perhaps she was trying to provoke him, but that was currently not Irwyn’s business. Since that was the case he probably should make his move before things got out of hand.

“Mother, I find the architecture rather curious. May I look around?” He spoke, trying to sound like a child his age should. Sufficiently curious, slightly impatient and with a remnant of impoliteness. Avys shot Porckus a piercing glance. His face was slightly red and his mouth already about to open as he seemed to be about to respond to Avys’ provocation.

“He may,” the man nodded as he swallowed his retort. It was not surprising as it fit what both Irwyn and Avys assumed would be his intentions.

“Nessa,” Avys called out and a slightly elderly maid stepped out of the Blackburg servant crowd; she was not dazed at all by being called out by name and immediately gave Avys a composed deep bow “Go with him. Now then, we should get down to business, shouldn’t we Porckus?” those were the last words Irwyn heard before he left that hallway through the nearest door, Nessa wordlessly in tow. Irwyn never even heard of the Brinewood current mansion in his past lives, much less knew the layout. That was an oversight by Avys, maybe even an intentional one. Since that was the case he could only haphazardly wander through the place.

Around the place he found almost only maids similar to those who greeted them on the square below; they were wide eyed when they first noticed such a young boy swaggering around, but the moment they noticed Nessa walking up behind him they immediately shut their mouths and bowed instead. Irwyn also noted that he had not seen anyone who looked either male or above 30. He also noticed that there were children. Surprising number of children in fact. Most of them seemed to circulate around specific women, so it was not hard to guess that they were mothers and children.

Far grimmer tale was to be told about those children who did not orbit someone. Especially the younger ones looked worse for wear as bruises and sometimes even scars adorned their still chubby faces and bodies. It was a rather pitiful sight, but in the light of recent event Irwyn felt that he didn’t deserve to feel pity. Perhaps he just used that decision to fill up the space where regret should have been.

Nothing was out of the ordinary as he swaggered through the mansion for the next few minutes. He assumed that Nessa knew what his business was and assumed she would get it if the way, so he was not in a rush to search for whoever was tasked with hooking him up; especially since it would cause suspicion.

It was during that leisure walk that something clicked for less than a split second.

It was intangible feeling within his chest; like the distant humming of wind it was untouchable and yet also clearly there. It was a surreal sensation that Irwyn did not recall well, but it clearly reminded him of something. It was like a shift in reality, an anchor in the river of time and the focus of the universe. He hurriedly looked around himself, using his very limited ability to peer through reality, but found nothing out of the ordinary. There was no cataclysm happening, no noticeable change in the structure of universe or the Truths that defined it. There was nothing, yet Irwyn was certain of what he felt. Perhaps he needed to look wider; Irwyn thus no longer tried to gaze at the profoundness of reality he could barely touch upon, but at his mortal surroundings. There was a maid passing by and he quickly checked her status screen.

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles: Born of common flame]

Not this one. Irwyn noted only her titles as if something gave things away it would be them. He looked further and at the corner of the room he was in; there was a group of teenage girls. With a closer inspection they were apparently ganging up and rather mercilessly beating up a younger girl, not any older than Irwyn. With a quick thought he peered into all of them at once.

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles: Born of uncommon water]

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles: Born of common darkness, Born of common time]

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles: Born of epic space]

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles: Herald of Ignis, Herald of Umbra]

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles:]

[Activating Overseer.]

[Activation successful]

[Titles: Born of common water]

And just like that the world would be turned upside down.