Chapter 8 – Internal Politics

Miranda's butler Bernard returns with a tray, holding a ceramic teapot, along with two little decorative teacups and their accompanying saucers. He respectfully pours our cups with a strange finesse, and then steps away. Miranda takes a sip, briefly relishing in delight, “My favourite tea and one of the finest in the empire, shipped to the grand harbour of the dukedom of Carel from the Silver empire in the east, then brought southwards to us here.”

Tilting my head inquisitively, “Silver empire? As in an empire different to ours?”

“Bah of course, you think our wondrous L’hal empire is comparable to the empire of prideful elves?” She snorts, her face resets as she leans forward from her seat to engage me more directly, saying, “Anyway, enough of that, now that you are under my employ, we should discuss my current circumstances and look into what that means for you.”

I shuffle to make myself more comfortable on this godawful couch, frowning, I say, “Why would I need to understand your circumstances, just give me a mission and I’ll perform it. I can figure out details when need be.”

She nods lightly, saying, “I am sure you could, but you must understand that politics requires a more nuanced approach than wanton gang violence, I could indeed use you as such, a mere mercenary, but I believe that I would not be using you to your full potential, so, on that note I will get started.”

She places a parchment on the desk, explaining, “This here is a sealing contract I made while on our trip, it will bind your soul when you sign it, the only way to break the binding is to complete the terms of the contract, if there are any, or for the contractor to break the binding themselves. This type of contract is illegal to use on nobles in most cases, however on a commoner, it poses no such problem, it is up to you if you want to sign it in the end, however, should you decline, we will parts ways from here.”

I stare at the contract intently, eyeing it closely but too scared to touch it, feeling a little offended I ask simply, “Why would I need so sign it?”

Now she sighs, looking at me like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “It is really quite simple, everything I am about to say is confidential and most are secrets that are not my own, you can read the terms of the agreement, I can assure you that they are not all that harsh, and it will not impose anything forceful on you, only request your confidence.”

Feeling a little dismal at having my freedom encroached, yet not wishing to forgo my present opportunity, I decide to at least consider it. Reading through the contract, it is full of legal jargon that I find difficult to understand but figure out eventually. After a few hours pass by, the butler relentlessly refilling our tea whenever it is cold or empty, I feel my head throbbing and eyes hurting, I consider the content of the contract, and indeed it merely requires that I keep silent about what I learn and not act on any of the information in some way, so before I change my mind, I promptly say, “Fine. You’re right, it’s not so bad, but before I decide what do I have to gain, and how do I know I can trust you?”

She impassively looks me over, “What do you have to gain? Why everything! You have no idea how many people from your place of birth would scrape among the floor to assist a noble in their endeavours, I will give you want I can within reason, therefore the greater heights I achieve the more you hope to gain, as for trust, you know as well as I that there is nothing, I could do to earn such a thing.”

Feeling slightly intimidated by her overbearing attitude, I still push, “How about magic? I wish to learn magic.”

She snickers, “Magic? If you have the talent for it, I will have no trouble getting you into one of the magic academies, I will even sponsor you, should we succeed.”

Breathing out I decide against my better judgement and sign the contract, Miranda approvingly nods saying, “Good, now on to the explanation. I am part of the house of Verin, by right this makes my uncle one of the most powerful people in the empire as he has inherited the county of Farok. My Father, Baron Maximilian Verin, the count’s younger brother was not so lucky, he was given two measly baronies by my Grandfather however...”

Confused I interrupt, “Wait wait, what exactly are counties and baronies? I’ve heard of them, but nothing has really put them into perspective.”

Miranda’s face sparks in acknowledgement as she leans back on the couch, “Ah of course, my apologies, let me explain the makings of the L’hal empire then. The empire’s lands span a distance of extraordinary proportions and is composed of many counties, these counties are further broken up into baronies. A barony is one city or castle, a baron’s place of governance, with a few surrounding towns or villages that supply the barony with resources. So, these baronies are under a county hence a baron is under the rule of a count and must obey his laws.”

She takes a deep breath, then continues, “In the past emperor Ikma Tamil noticed that all the counties were too difficult to manage, the imperial court began to grow bloated with envoys and counts as the empire expanded rapidly. Hence the emperor Ikma created a new title, the dukedom, he granted this title to a few counts to evenly split up the empire, these counts were therefore rulers of other counts, we call them duke. These dukes could impose laws on the counts under them and collect their tithes, just as counts do to barons. However, not all counts are under a duke, independent counts such as our county have no ducal lord, hence while an independent count is beneath a duke in hierarchy, he may be of equivalent status in many circumstances. Finally at the top of the hierarchy we have the emperor, his words are law, and all must obey him, all emperor’s hold a ducal title, called the imperial lands, or most specifically the duchy of Kamil.”

I nod slowly, seems simple enough, Miranda noticing my comprehending look continues, “So while there are empire wide politics in the empire between different dukes, counts and the imperial children, this is irrelevant to us as we will be focusing on the internal politics of the county of Farok. As I said before, my father was given his two baronies by my Grandfather, a rather odd action traditionally but I’m sure my father’s political manipulations played a part. Regardless, a point I want to make is that as the child of a baron, I have claim to his barony and I intend to be his inheritor.”

My face lightens up in realisation, I muse, “So I’m guessing that you have siblings who are in line before you?”

She nods while giving a smirk that sends chills down my spine, “Yes, I knew you would catch on, the way to improve my chances of inheritance are really quite simple, to sabotage my siblings to make me the more desirable heir, or to assist my father’s own ambitions to bring me into favour over my other siblings.”

“And what would your father’s ambitions be?”

Her eyebrows uncharacteristically furrow, she says, “My Father wishes to inherit the county, a risky and treasonous endeavour, however if he is successful, by the gods, I would have a chance to inherit the county, that is why assisting in his work takes priority over sabotaging my siblings.”

Her face loosens up as she takes another sip of tea, “I will now explain to you the underlying circumstances of the county. Currently there are three factions that have made up the count’s court in recent years, the main faction who support the main family, obviously headed by my uncle Count Thomas Verin, the side faction, who support my father, and finally the neutral faction, who are generally pragmatic and will side with the majority or remain indifferent on matters. The main faction are mere yes-men who obey the whims of my uncle, and his whims are easy to predict, you see he is the perfect ruler, maximising grain yields and improving general productiveness and efficiency for the populous.”

Pondering over her words, I inquire, “If he’s so great, why is there a factional divide at all?”

She nods, highlighting, “Exactly! He is such a good ruler than he prioritises the welfare of his people, this will inevitably step on the toes of local barons and the merchants who stand to profit off taking advantage of people. For example, Baron Gorgon Runifan heavily taxed his citizens to fund his large private army to fight local monster populations, the count taking note of this extortion of the citizens imposed a law on maximum army size and subsidised the adventurer’s guild in that region so they could take over monster hunting. This meant Baron Gorgon Runifan was forced to reduce taxes, lest he look tyrannical.”

I grow confused, that sounds like it worked in Baron Gorgon Runifan’s favour, I ask “This doesn’t seem like a case where your uncle stepped on any toes.”

She nods again, “Indeed, however if you consider the diplomatic implications of such an action, it does. You see Baron Gorgon Runifan relied on his army for political power, without his military, his land is underdeveloped and commerce lacking, hence he went from the strongest baron in the county to the weakest overnight, the citizens may be happier, but I can assure you the baron is very discontent, he is one of my Father’s allies as a matter of fact. This is just one example, there are many more and my father has been approaching these people to bring over to his faction, building a growing powerbase, yet it is still nothing compared to a count. It will be my goal to change that, a trained Hashashin is what will allow me to do so.”

She suddenly raises up, saying, “It is getting late, I am sure Bernard has prepared our dinner already, he will direct you to your room and bring your food. After tonight we will go directly into discussions for our first mission.”

I can’t help but fall against the couch and spread my limbs out while saying in consternation, “Ugh, so soon? We literally just got here, you need to learn to take a break, Miranda!”

Her face falls a little, “Very well Fera, the day after tomorrow then.”

She struts off out of the room, I was thinking more a week, but ok. Bernard returns shortly after to direct me to my room, bringing dinner shortly later, from what I can tell, this meal was a work of fine cuisine, not that I care. While cultivating my doors slams open, Mila runs at me a scoops me into a hearty hug, “Oh I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Ok haven’t had a proper hug in quite a while, I’ll indulge, we stay in that position for a long while, until I reluctantly part, noting, “So you heard the news?”

She bobs her head happily, “Oh yes, goodness me it’s a dream come true! I’m going to be a maid at a noble residence, who would’ve though.”

I mock jokingly, “Pretty awful dream if you ask me, you first dream of being kidnapped, now you dream of being a servant? What’s next, a slave?”

She chuckles, too jubilant to have anything sour her good mood, while still smiling she asks, “So what did you two talk about?”

I frown, “I can’t tell you anything, but I’ve been hired by Miranda, same as you.”

Her eyes widen in horror, she yells, “Wha! Don’t call her directly by her name, that’s incredibly rude!”

I nod and jokingly say, “Yeah I thought as much, but when I said it to her face she didn’t seem to mind, much… Jealous we’re already on a first name basis?”

Her face reddens, but her face a mask of confusion, deciding to call it a night, I say, “Right I’m exhausted, I need some sleep, I doubt we will be seeing each other too much these days, but we’ll always be friends yeah?”

Now she looks at me tearfully, when was the last time I cried? I continue, “Relax, we’ll still see each other, just not as much as during our travels.”

She jumps forward and hugs me yet again, saying, “Awww, I’ve grown so used to little Fera, how will I manage without you having my back.”

She splits from me, continuing, “We will always be friends Fera regardless of anything else. I know you’re still not right from Vuta, I can tell, this whole trip you haven’t been yourself, so if you ever need to confide in anyone, I’ll be there, ok?”

I feel my chest slightly bubbling with something forgotten, then it stops, I sigh, “Goodnight, Mila.”

“Goodnight…”

It’s now the day after my free day, I’m currently sitting in Miranda’s study, across from me is Miranda herself primly sitting at her desk, and Bennett semi casually sitting right next to me on his own chair. Miranda starts, “I have four siblings, my eldest, Lord Boris Verin who is the current heir, my second eldest, Lady Jasmine Verin and finally my brother who is only older than me, Lord Wilson Verin. So yes, I’m the youngest and also a woman, my road to inheritance will be filled with plots and treachery I am afraid. However, we will not be focusing on them today, today we will be trying to find allies among the neutral faction to bring over to support my father.”

Baffled, I ask, “I thought I was more of a spy, what does building allies have to do with me?”

She politely chuckles, “Oh, everything, you think I would try bring them over diplomatically? No, my father would have already tried that, if he cannot succeed, I certainly will not. Hence, I will require you to gather some intelligence, infiltrate their residences and find things we can use, blackmail essentially, although it is of utmost importance that you do not, kill anyone.”

I agree begrudgingly, “I’m an assassin, but fine, I will try my ‘utmost’ hardest not to kill anyone.”

She smiles, then continues, “Good, so your first target will be the most notable one. Baron Henry Whiskon, he controls the main trading company of the county that is working closely with the merchant’s guild. He generates vast amounts of wealth and if our faction can get him on our side, it will be highly advantageous.”

I comply, “Ok then, let’s get started then, but just one thing, I want to get traditional Hashashin attire if that’s possible.”

A week later, I’m at the city where Baron Henry Whiskon resides. Bennett smuggled me out of the county capital who then presented me to a group that would escort me all the way to the barony while on horseback. Travelling without cargo, or nobles, was far faster than I could have imagined. Now it’s time to be an assassin, who doesn’t kill anyone, well it’s not like it matters, I’m adept enough at stealth to comfortably traverse most buildings undetected. While it’s nighttime I walk among the streets, wearing a black cloak over my Hashashin’s outfit, slipping through the tiny gaps of people, easily making my way to the central estate of the city. It screams of excessive wealth, with elegant white stone walls, stretching upwards into a wooden roof with artful wooden sculptures on each corner of the roof. It would look nicer on a smaller scale, but the building is far too large and imposing to properly convey any artistic tone.

The building was weakly guarded, allowing me easy enter through an open window, my increased agility instantly apparent as I can climb up to the high window without even using [Hashashin’s dodge]. I lightly land against the windowsill, peeking my head inside slowly, seeing no one, I carefully crawl in. I hear the pitter patters of feet, reacting I airily glide across the room and hide behind a couch chair, as the steps pass by, I skirt around the chair to ensure they never have a line of sight with me. As they walk off, I resume my search for blackmail, exploring most rooms but avoiding the rooms which are obviously occupied. Eventually I happen across a door at the end of a hallway, I hear a loud grunt and a chair shuffling, realising I won’t have enough time to escape down the hallway without alerting anyone, I jump up to the roof, and awkwardly position myself at the upper corner above the door. The door slides open, and a tired looking burly man comes trotting out, that must be the baron, when he’s out of my vicinity, I slide down from the wall and enter the room. A wide study presents itself to me, scrolls of paper unfurled around the desk, and large ledger open on it, bookshelves line both walls to my sides. I begin my search for any dirt on the baron, unfortunately my progress falls short, everything looks squeaky clean, that is until I come across a small lockbox. Not know lockpicking, the question is whether I should steal the lockbox or search for the key, the key is certainly not in this room, so it’s either hidden somewhere I’ll never find it, or in the baron’s room, I’m willing to bet on the latter. I already have a rough idea of where the master bedroom is, all I need to do is wait until he falls asleep.

After skulking around for a couple hours, I feel safe enough to infiltrate the master bedroom. Slowly opening the door, I scrutinise the two sleeping figures, the baron and baroness, the baron is snoring so he’s assuredly sleeping, however I’m unsure of the baroness. Deciding to risk it I crouch low and slowly advance, now I just have to think of where he would put the key, checking his clothes that he seems to have thrown to the floor, nothing of note, I check the bedroom desk and places where possible compartments could be. Not finding anything, the last thing I can think of before I call this mission a failure is to check through all his outfits, however that could be loud. Glancing over at the sleeping figures, I silently trod to the wardrobe, all or nothing! The wooden door creaks as it swings open, when it’s finally opened I breath out, hesitantly looking through the vast assortment of clothing.

I hear a low groan, without second thought I enter the wardrobe and hide among the clothes, I can see a small figure rouse from the bed, stretching then shifting a little bit before getting comfy again. My breath lets and I relax, whew! That was really bloody close, I feel my heart racing, which is unusual for an assassin of my caliber, not being able to kill anyone ironically makes me more fearful during the mission. I sit in the wardrobe for about another hour before I continue my search, I come across a wooden shoebox, a rarity, opening it up I find a pair of pristine shoes, checking inside them I naturally find nothing, my [Hashashin’s eyes] activate all of a sudden, I notice the shoebox is quite thick on the bottom, a hidden section? I feel around and find a small part on the corner that gives, the bottom slides off and a few letters scatter everywhere, no key, but maybe something even better perhaps? I poke my head out of the wardrobe and try to use the dim moonlight to read the content of the letters,

My Dearest Henry,

I cannot bear to be without you, I miss you so very much, when will you visit? I have become bored here, the maids are as if I am talking with a wall. Every night I sleep I wish you were next to me so we could…

Michelle

Ok so ‘dearest Henry’ here has a secret lover who clearly writes smut for fun. These should be enough for a mission accomplished. Fixing up the shoebox and returning the shoes, I steal all the letters and make my escape.

Another week later I return to Belra, and arrive at my designated spot, wearing a cloak, I enter an empty shop, when the shopkeeper spots me, he doesn’t say anything and just walks inside, I follow along as we enter a bare room where I just sit down. Not too long later Bennett and Miranda walk in, clearly nervous, she quickly asks, “How did it go?”

Flipping my hood back to reveal my wide smile, I dramatically scatter the letters on the table saying, “Splendidly.”

She quickly grabs one of the letters, her eyes rapidly scanning the contents, I can visibly see the excitement build as her smile enlarges, finally she jumps, “Yes! Fera, this is really good, this is really the start of something great.”

I nod seriously, “Yes, the smut will certainly sell well, I reckon we can begin selling… next week?”

She laughs along, in an exuberant mood, suddenly she says, “This calls for a celebration Fera, for our first successful mission and to the start of great things.”

I look at her oddly, is this the same person? I vehemently agree, “Yes! I’d actually enjoy that, Miranda.”

Her eyebrows perk up, heh, well I wonder what a celebration from Miranda entails. We discreetly leave the shop, eventually returning to the estate. While indoors she grabs my arm, directing me to her room, a massive space that is surprisingly bare, so bare in fact that it feels oddly repressing on the spirit, how does she sleep in here? I notice a mirror and my curiosity spikes. Dragging me along to an absurdly long wardrobe, great another wardrobe, what secrets lie in this one? Opening one of the doors, a vast array of clothing options presents itself to me, I’m instantly enamored, even I can find clothes cute if they’re as fancy as this. She flicks through dresses, either shaking her head or muttering, “Nope.”

Eventually she stops at a black dress, considering for a moment, then nodding while saying, “Perfect, try this on.”

Black seems to be my current colour theme this life, getting changed in a side room, I return back in, Miranda already changed and starting her makeup, however I ignore that a run over to the mirror, I stop, stunned.

My face was not what I expected, a perpetual mocking smirk adorns my face like a smiling demon, my brown eyes so dark they look fully black and seem to pierce deeply into one’s soul, a cascade of raven black hair casually sways with my movement, my fully black eyebrows look evil with a strong arch, all contrasting with my ghostly white skin giving me a menacing demeanor. Indeed, my face has average attractiveness, but my mystical charms seem to invite a sense of mystery, I can see why people are impressed with my bearing, I scare even myself.

The simple black dress flows across my torso, opening up at my hips to exaggerate my nonexistent form, simple black shoes barely poke out from the bottom of the dress, the sleeves flare at the wrists with a collection of frills, overall, a simple and inoffensive dress that accentuates my paleness.

Miranda runs over to me, “Oh Fera, you look absolutely wonderful, come I’ll do your makeup, you could use a few touch ups.”

Placing me down in front of a makeup mirror, wow two mirrors, she begins lightly altering my face, adding a little rosiness to my cheeks, some black eyeliner and eyeshadow, and finally red lipstick, she chuckles, “Ok maybe not the lipstick, you should grow into it as you get older.”

It does look horrific, it highlights the thinness of my lips, one of my more unattractive qualities, removing the lipstick with a wet cloth we got from a nearby maid, we walk to the front, a carriage already prepared by Bennett. He opens the carriage door and helps us in, riding his own horse along our carriage as we get going.

In the carriage I look Miranda over, she is wearing a frilly light blue dress that puffs at her arms and chest, it digs close into her waist before expanding out in a flowing skirt of frills, unique but tasteful. Her brown hair left flowing, combined with her pretty face gives the viewer a taste of youth, yet the seriousness of her expression morphs that image, a mock contradiction that instead confuses any who look at her. After some time, I lift the curtain covering the carriage window, appreciating the view outside, we travel through what seems like the main plaza of the merchant’s district. Unlike in Vuta where the darkness kills atmosphere, here there is a thriving nightlife, candlelight dimly shines from restaurant windows, faces impossible to distinguish giving the vibe of the plaza a unique kind of mystique. I feel a throbbing excitement.

We park in front of a lavish building, important looking individuals coming and going, exiting with the help of Bennett we walk to the entrance, as we open the door I am greeted by a pleasant ambience, I hear the shrill laugh of a lady, the boisterous laughing of a group of men, a cacophony of conversations. A few eyes wash over us, mostly on Miranda, but some noting me, Bennett organises our table, which we plop ourselves comfortably at. Miranda turns to Bennett, “Sir Bennett, you can relax yourself, us ladies will be fine.”

He bows, “As you wish milady.”

I can’t help but comment, “Bennett is a completely different when he’s around you. Much more of a bore.”

She leans back a little as she laughs while covering her mouth, just managing to stifle true laughter, she says, “Yes, he can be a little mundane at times, but not everyone can be so casual around nobles.”

I ponder, then say aloud, “Well, I think it would get old real quick if I constantly had to act in front of someone, I’d rather just not talk to them.”

She smirks, “Yes, while I agree that you say sense, it could offend some nobles more concerned in upholding their aristocratic visage.”

My body jolts and I suddenly say, “Why on earth are we talking about nobles? Can we talk about something interesting please, like I don’t know, what do you do in your free time?”

She tilts her head questioningly, “Free time? I suppose I read.”

I lean forward, interestedly asking, “Oh yeah? And what kind of books do you read?”

She hesitates for a moment, then speaks, “I read history, but also a little bit of philosophy.”

Surprised I lean even closer, properly engaged, “Oh really? I honestly didn’t expect that from you, but then again, what did I expect from you? You basically act like a zombie with your unreadable expressions!”

She politely giggles, saying, “Yeah well it is how us nobles are taught to act, you, on the other hand, wear your expressions on your sleeve.”

Harumphing I say, “Is that so? Well, I reckon I make the more entertaining conversation partner between the two of us.”

On of her eyebrows raises as she smirks, “Really? Well you seem plenty engaged with me at this very moment!”

I chortle loudly but don’t say anything, she is right after all, I find her weirdly engaging. She raises her hand to her chin while tilting her head, looking at nowhere in particular, I ask, “So are we going to order food or are we just going starve here?”

Endurance increased by 1!

Perception increased by 1!

[Hashashin dodge] lvl 4 - [Hashashin dodge] lvl 5

[Hashashin dodge] lvl 5 – Reduce mana signature by 99%, move in a direction at [150]200% of agility, makes form less distinct.

6 months fly by, I’ve gathered evidence on four different barony households through rather unscrupulous means, I tried at 6 different baronies but two appeared to have no apparent scandals, however I believe if I stayed at any of those dens long enough, something would slip. The first case was naturally the adulterous ‘dearest Henry’ as I found a collection of his smutty love letters. The second barony had a boring case of corruption when the baron stupidly left his ledger open on a page with obvious inconsistencies, so that was a lucky break if anything. Now the third situation was truly intriguing, a plot of murder! While I was roaming around their household for a few days I noticed the baron’s son suspiciously wander off, following him I overheard a conversation of him with an assassin, about killing a maid for reasons I believe have to do with hurt feelings, anyway I easily tailed the assassin, attacked him and inquired on information about the payment which led to a paper trail directly pointing to the baron’s heir as paying for the assassination. The final successful mission was a simple case of finding out the baron was in financial ruin and heavy debt, I thought that was good enough even if it’s not viable as blackmail, perhaps our faction could offer to pay off their debt.

It’s been a couple weeks since my last mission, I’m currently on a grass field next to the estate practicing one of the first two skills Shadow gave me. I follow through the movements, which are really just my regular Hashashin combat techniques that Shadow taught me when I first gained dagger mastery and the techniques I still use until today, I just have to manipulate the mana in a particular way and hopefully unlock the skill. Finally, I feel a mental ‘click’ as my physical mana seems to flow smoother, my actions seems to transcend simple movements, instead ethereally affecting reality, though not really.

Skill [Hashashin illusory blade arts] gained!

[Dagger Mastery] lvl 6 -> [Hashashin illusory blade arts] lvl 3

[Hashashin illusory blade arts] lvl 3 – Improves proficiency with a dagger or knife, attacks are [2]6% faster, attacks with a dagger or knife will become illusory.

[Dagger Mastery] lvl 6 – Improves proficiency with a dagger or knife and attacks are [1]6% faster.

Statistically it is exactly the same, except it has improved on two points, first is its potential for growth as it gets a 2% increase per level for attack speed instead of the 1% for dagger mastery, and seconds it makes my attacks illusory. Testing the skill out, my blade seems to be covered in a haze of smoke that makes it difficult to distinguish.

A girl in a maid outfit is sitting under a tree as she watches me train, I sprint over to her, practically gliding over the grass and moving with almost perfect silence. My experience in hiding the last 6 months has developed my Hashashin training to make my movements incredibly silent, I land over by Mila jokingly remarking, “Shouldn’t you be working, you will get fired if you lie around all day!”

She giggles, “Hah, they wouldn’t dare, not with you as my friend, you freak the other maids out. But we have to go now! Stop delaying, Sir Bennett seemed rather adamant about Miranda needing you.”

I nod my head curiously, saying, “I wonder what Miranda wants with me.”

Walking towards the estate I spot Bennett jogging towards us, he hollers at us, “Fera!”

Slowing his jog he stops in front of us, reprimanding me, “You were supposed to be ready an hour ago!”

I briefly glance over at Mila who is looking downwards, embarrassedly avoiding my gaze, shaking my head, I say, “Sorry Bennett, I had a breakthrough in training, what on earth requires my attention on such short notice?”

He puts his hands on his waist, unintentionally looking heroic, but then deflates when he sighs, “You will be meeting the baron.”

My right eyebrow perks up in realisation, I half-heartedly say, “The baron, right I see, I suppose this is a little serious then…”

Bennett sighs again, deeply this time, “Haaaa, you’re hopeless you know that, come on!”

We quickly get the maids to throw some appropriate clothing on me, and I scuttle away to the carriage out front. I see Miranda pacing around in consternation, when she spots me, she jumps and angrily shouts, “Goodness! Where on earth have you been Fera!”

I laugh dumbly, “Well you see, I had a breakthrough, and…”

She raises her hand to my face cutting me off, “Just shup up and get in!”

The carriage ride felt very tense as Miranda kept uncomfortably shuffling around in her seat, I look at her amusedly asking, “Just relax, you’re only seeing your father, he can’t be that bad can he?”

She just crosses her arms and tilts her head away from me, looking out the window, we sit in silence for the brief journey to the central castle, the count’s court. The central castle stands imposingly tall, the dark stone contrasts with the nearby noble estates in this district, a foreboding reminder of the count’s unrelenting will should any dissident thoughts appear. Our horses draw in under the castle entrance, arriving at what seems to be a central courtyard, a stable close with stablemen at the ready. As usual, Bennett helps us leave the carriage like the good knight he is! A servant of the baron bows before us, then gestures us to a door, “Lady Verin, miss Fera, right this way please.”

We are brought through the corridors, the cold stone strangely repressive, we are brought to a room, the servant gestures us inside, I follow in behind Miranda, a study, typical. Miranda’s father, Baron Maximilian Verin, seeing him in person, his bearing as imposing as his name, he has a scarily clean-shaven face, his face incredibly defined due to his low body fat, it’s gaunt even. His hair is the same light brown as Miranda except he has a few grey streaks past his temples, his eyes gleam intensely and his mouth a perpetual frown accompanied by a high nose that makes it seem as if he’s always looking down on you.

His eyes glanced over me for a mere moment before considering me too unimportant, turning to Miranda he chastises, “Have you finished playing your little games Miranda?”

She quivers slightly, then she regains her bearing and stands tall scorning, “Oh whatever do you mean father? All I’ve been doing these last few months is progressing your interests, if by games, you mean coming here, then I suppose this game will be over when you decide it to be.”

Oh she has a glibber tongue than I expected, her fathers smirks mockingly, but even I can see that approving nod he just gave, he says, “Very well then, however I will not be annulling your betrothment, however in acknowledgement of your achievements I will delay it to your 18th birthday, moreover I will increase your funding 50%, your brother has been asking for you to see this, Fera, other than that, you may leave.”

He gestures us to go, and we do so, in the hallway I turn to Marinda, she looks on the verge of tears, her body shivering as her eyes wobble and her expression downcast, I step over to her asking, “Hey, everything ok?”

When she doesn’t respond I consider hugging her, although she’s never been the intimate sort, so it could backfire, ugh fuck it, I bring her into an embrace her head digging into my shoulder, I can feel her quivering lessen until it stops, sniffling quietly, after a few brief moments she pushes away, her reddened eyes betraying her smile, she says, “Thank you… I feel better now.”

I shrug, “It was nothing, but umm, what was that about exactly? I wasn’t aware you were engaged.”

Sighing with melancholy, “I’ll tell you in the carriage.”

We don’t get that far before we come across someone that starts pacing quickly towards us. Noticing him Miranda speeds up our walk, however this guy goes from pacing to jogging, shouting, “Sister!”

When he overtakes us, he speaks again, “Oi, what’s with the sour look?”

Miranda glares at him, scowling, “Because I have better places to be! Now leave us.”

He smirks, saying, “What, did the meeting with father not go to plan?”

She just turns away from him, but he follows us relentlessly, ok he’s getting annoying now, I request, “Can you leave her be please?”

He looks me over, saying, “You must be Fera, you’ve impressed a lot of people in the side faction, me particularly, it makes one wonder why you still work for Miranda.”

Her body trembling in anger, she lashes out, “What do you think you’re doing!?”

He looks at her, amused, he says, “I’m merely showing your friend here all their options, if you had her best interests at heart, you would realise that you’re certainly the lesser choice.”

She looks to me sadly as her boiling rage turns to a simmering timidness, I cough, “Look um, whatever your name is, we’re all technically on the same side here, why don’t we just settle down?”

He snorts, clearly unimpressed and Miranda looks disappointed, did I just choose the worst option in that situation? Deciding to just end this conundrum, I literally try to push her brother out of the way, but he stands firm, what on earth are his stats?

Warrior lvl ?

He’s young too, clearly an accomplished fighter, deciding not to literally ‘push my luck’ I leave him be as he just stares at me while baffled, he looks to Miranda asking, “Is this buffoon really the one who obtained all that information?”

While stilled stunned by my ‘confuse’ tactic I drag Miranda off towards the carriage.

While we’re riding in the carriage and thinking back on today’s absurd happenings, I say, “You have one unfortunate family, I hope your mother and other two siblings are better.”

She nods lightly, “They are actually, my other brother is quite an engaging conversation partner, and my sister is very scholarly, she is the one who introduced me to philosophy. Anyway, I said I would properly explain myself.”

Agreeing, I say, “Indeed you did, I also have to ask, how old are you exactly?”

Her head jolts, “Ah, well I am 15, but almost 16, that ties into my betrothal as a matter of fact.”

Insisting, I gesture for her to continue, “Go on.”

Sitting up straighter, she begins, “Well you see, as a noblewoman, naturally it is the expectation that I get married off politically, I was betrothed to lord Richard Felin, a distant relative of the Felin household, a ducal ranked house, so such an arrangement could be quite advantageous for my father. Well, I obviously did not want such a marriage, but there was not much I could do because I was too reliant on my father, that changed when I met, you, you gave me the opportunity to advance the side faction and make myself irreplaceable, but what does my father do? He plays downs my accomplishments, but this reaction is not surprising from my father. I know he would only renege the betrothment if I became his heir, it is too valuable a marriage after all. I have a plot which I believe may work, I will talk about it back home when we are away from any prying eyes.”

We return to the estate shortly afterwards, and she immediately drags me to her room, grabs a lockbox and opens it with a key that was on her person, the intimidating magic contract lies within.

“Firstly,” she grabs the parchment and dramatically rips it in half as a symbolic gesture, I feel the removal of something I didn’t know I even had, she continues, “We don’t need this anymore, it hindered us more than it bound us together.”

I smile vibrantly, ecstatic she trusts me so, dragging me outside on the grassland she looks me in the eye and says, “What I am about to talk about will truly put our lives in jeopardy, these actions are as if we were taking a life-or-death gambit, do you still wish to proceed.”

I smirk, “Of course, I’ve made it this far.”

Nodding, she begins, “I will give you some context first, my family has a centuries long alliance with the county of Malania just north of us. Their ruling family being the house of Featherson, naturally my uncle married one of the daughters of their current count, Urela Featherson, securing our alliance, notably my father also married a Featherson, my mother Quella Featherson. I am not sure how my father managed to secure a second marriage from the Featherson’s but regardless, this works in our favor. If the count’s wife were to die, the alliance would become reliant on my father’s marriage, this means the power of the alliance will be held mostly in my father’s hands, I am sure you can see where this is going. But the risks, my goodness if we are caught, it will be worst the a mere execution.”

My face was already filled with realisation halfway through her explanation, oddly I can’t help but feel hesitant, do I really have to kill again? There was a new sort of thrill that I discovered with full stealth missions, not having to kill was… well pleasant. But fine, if Miranda wills it. I break from my mulling, asking, “I can do it… when do you want me to go, the sooner I start, the sooner it’s over.”

Unease shrouds her face as she explains, “I will give you what I know of your target, which is not much. The Featherson’s are a mage family, it is highly likely she is trained in the magical arts to some degree, however records say she did not attend a mage academy so her talent was likely middling, at least for their standards. Mages are generally weaker physically so they make for easier assassination targets, however, they can also be more unpredictable. That is all the information I can obtain on her that would be useful for you, but yes, the sooner you start, the better.”