Click
"My lord," a knight entered the chamber. The cloak fluttering behind him, along with the more ornate armor, showed that he was not the average knight but someone of high rank. "You called for me."
Victor, hearing him, stopped his fingers that were perpetually tapping on the wooden desk.
"Ah, Mr. Marcus," Victor spoke as he stood up. "How are you settling in in your new position, hm?"
"I am doing fine, my lord. It's all thanks to your grace that I stand before you as a Knight Commander," Marcus saluted, thumping his hands against his chest, making the sound of iron rattling, and bowing his head.
"Haha, you should be thankful, Marcus. You should be," Victor spoke, coming to stand before him. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared at the commander he himself had appointed.
"You see, the reason I called you for is..." Victor shifted his hand as Marcus continued to bow. "We are speeding up our plan."
Marcus's body stiffened.
Not paying Marcus mind, Victor continued to speak.
"The boy is very naive; not only was he unaware of everything taking place in his own territory. He himself gave an opportunity. An opportunity that I would not like to miss."
Victor's voice changed, taking a jovial tone as he played with a translucent orb in his hand.
"As you already know, Marcus, I, the Castellan of the Varen barony, am working very hard for the citizens. But... our lord, he is touring and spending all the money while once more increasing the taxes."
A smile tore through Victor's face as he continued in a jovial tone.
"Due to all of this, the citizens are in unrest. Some are leaving the territory, shifting their whole lives, while others are keen on finding a solution." Victor rolled the orb between his fingers as his smile stretched. "At this point, many are desperate. So, what will happen when they get to know that a few people are planning a revolt? Not only that, but even the army of the lord and the commander himself are ready to support them, and all of this is not only unknown to the lord of the barony himself but also to me, too."
"..."
"Following this," Victor tilted his head. "All of you will gather in front of the castle, pleading for me to choose the better option. So, to not let the barony that was so painstakingly made by the previous baron get destroyed. I will, of course, try to do my best to convince you, people. But you, Mr. Marcus, will convince me. Convince me that my nephew has already done irreversible damage, and he needs to be cast out, as he will never change."
Silence.
As Victor stopped speaking. The room was curtained with silence. It was a deafening one and a creepy one, which made Marcus's body crawl.
Marcus's back felt wet as it became apparent to him what he was a part of. But it was too late. Too late to back out. He could feel the rapid, exciting beating of Victor, which clearly showed how exhilarated the man was—no, he was not a man. Victor was the demon itself, who found excitement and thrill in just showing how powerful and how intelligent he was.
Why else would he repeat the plan they already knew?
Pacing himself...
"... Yes, my lord," Marcus spoke. "I shall follow your orders and make sure not a hitch happens."
"My orders," Victor spoke innocently before dismissing with a chuckle. "That's all. You can take your leave."
After finishing, he moved towards his chair while juggling the translucent orb in his hand.
However, Marcus had not yet left.
"Hm," looking at him while sitting, Victor spoke in a chilling voice. "Did you not hear me?"
"It's not that, my lord," Marcus replied, his head bowing more.
"What is it?" Victor asked in irritation.
"... My lord, what should we do with the girl?"
"Ah," Victor exclaimed, his eyes moving to the orb.
"Ms. Aria," he muttered as the orb showed an image of a girl still huddled in the corner of the room. "Leave her be. Anything can come in use sometimes."
"... Yes, my lord!"
Marcus bellowed, once more thumping his chest with enough force for the sound of rattling to echo. Following this, he left, leaving Victor alone in the room as Victor continued to smile.
The light of the chandelier shone dimly, highlighting Victor's features and making his grotesque smile more evident.
"Soon. Very soon."
***
Clip-clop
The sound of the horses' hooves against the paved road echoed as they pulled the carriage in which Elias sat silently.
His eyes stared at the fading castle as they moved forward.
Moments later, they had entered the town plaza before moving towards the entrance gate of the town.
Elias could see that people were not giving a very loving gaze to his carriage, but he paid them no mind.
The journey kept on as they exited the barony, now moving towards Brenst.
'It will take at most 2 days to reach there.'
Elias thought, leaning on the window of the carriage.
Time blurred, dulling the morning under the light of blazing afternoon sun. The scenery continued to change as the carriage kept moving forward toward its destination in the south.
Clip-clop
The town of "Veritas" had already been left behind, as the carriage had now started to enter the village part of the Varen barony.
Looking at all the fields filled with crops and farmers working, Elias got reminded about the territories of the barony.
Varen Barony was immense. It contained one town where the main castle stood, surrounded by villages.
And...
The place where Elias was going, which itself was a barony, was quite smaller than his own territory.
Bernst, which was ruled by Velkyn Cross, was the only "town" under the Cross barony.
However, Velkyn was still much richer and more powerful than Elias. Not only in terms of physicality, but he was also more powerful, as he had a larger army than Elias.
'Not that that's a surprise.'
Bernst was known as "The City of Wagers." It was a neutral ground and the biggest gambling place in the whole Radiant Empire, where not only nobles like Elias but also viscounts, earls, marquesses, dukes, and even royalty came to gamble.
As Elias went through all this knowledge in his head, he also noted that they had entered the forest.
'It's going to be night soon.' Elias glanced at the sky, and he saw the sun moving towards the horizon. 'It will be much better if we reach the next town before the sun sets.'
Being in the forest at night was far from an optimal situation, and Elias wanted no part of it.
However, he was not worried much. Not only because he had two knights guarding him, but also because of the speed they were going, they would reach their destination before the sun set.
As Elias thought this, a loud sound echoed.
CRASH!
"Neigh!"
The horses neighed as the carriage abruptly stopped, almost throwing Elias out of his seat.
'What?!' Elias wondered, catching himself not even registering Sylphie, who had fallen on him. 'Fuck! Did something happen?'