Sometime later, Ashoka found himself walking through one of the palace's quieter corridors.
The hallway stretched long and dim ahead of him, lit only by a few sparse wall lanterns that did little more than carve small, warm circles out of the dark. Pale moonlight shone from the windows on the side, silently clashing with the faint radiance of the burning lanterns.
Step. Step. Another step.
He walked without any real destination in mind, just following the pull of his feet, one after another, past doors and windows he didn't bother looking through.
Somewhere behind him, the corridor had long since gone silent.
His mind, though, had not.
'Just so you wait, bastard!'
It had already been a few minutes since that 'memorable' conversation with Gaius.
The memory of it was still fresh in his mind, and it made his stomach twist every time it surfaced. The iron grip around his throat. The floor rushing up to meet him. The taste of iron and the low, murderous rasp of Gaius's voice.
His hand rose absently to the back of his head, fingers grazing the spot where the wound had been. Currently, a white strip of cloth was wrapped around his head, covering the bloody injuries. He had gotten it just a few minutes after he left the corridor. The process was anything but dignified, though, since he had to fake falling off the stairs before finally getting a maid servant to treat his wounds.
It didn't hurt as much anymore. Not really. But every time he took a step too hard, the back of his head would start throbbing, as if someone had hit it with a hollow metal cylinder. The feeling wasn't pleasant, to say the least.
"Damn, I really need some painkillers..."
If he had to be honest, this was probably the first time he had been injured in a fight, if it could even be called that. Back in his world, he had been quite unreactive towards attempts of bullying on him, choosing to mostly ignore them—before ruining their lives from the inside, of course. Besides, he had a large enough friend group to not be considered a loner in the first place, so bullying was rare for him. So, this was really his first experience with such intense pain.
Groaning softly, and with his mind still somewhat adrift, he continued walking forward, letting fate decide his next step. That wasn't a wise choice, considering he was literally cursed by it, but Ashoka was too tired to pay attention to it.
Eventually, his ears perked up at the sound of an ongoing commotion outside. Frowning, he moved to a nearby window and peered out. He was currently on the first floor, and the ground wasn't too far below. Additionally, this part of the palace was relatively close to the inner wall.
A few meters ahead, there was a small postern gate carved into the tall palace wall, and inside it, under the dim illumination of the starry night sky high above, a peculiar scene was currently playing out.
Ashoka pressed closer to the window, squinting through the pale wash of moonlight.
A woman was kneeling in the dirt before the gate, both arms wrapped tightly around the leg of one of the two guards stationed there, her whole body curled into the motion like she meant to anchor herself to him permanently. Even from this distance, Ashoka could see her shoulders shaking. And could hear the broken fragments of her voice carrying faintly up through the night air. She seemed to be begging for something.
The guard she clung to hadn't moved. His spear hung loosely from one hand, forgotten, and his face—what little Ashoka could make out under the helm—had the expression of having absolutely no idea what the correct procedure was for this situation. Across from him, the second guard stood just as frozen, sword still in its scabbard, watching his companion with the same helpless, questioning look.
Neither of them moved to help her up. Neither of them moved to push her away either.
'What in the world...'
Ashoka's eyes narrowed as he tried to make out more details, but the poor lighting and the distance conspired against him.
He glanced back toward the direction of his own chambers—warm and quiet—and then down again at the small, strange standoff unfolding by the postern gate.
His head throbbed once again, as if reminding him that sleep was still very much the wiser choice.
He ignored it.
'Fate is calling me, it seems...'
Letting out a slow breath, Ashoka turned from the window and started toward the nearest stairwell leading down.
"What is going on here?"
As soon as the woman and the two guards heard the voice, all three of them turned to face the direction it had come from. Soon, a figure appeared from the darkness, with black, shoulder-length hair and a light bronze complexion, wearing simple yet exquisite clothes.
When the two guards realized who had stepped out of the darkness, they immediately tensed up and straightened their backs. "S-sir Ashoka?"
Ashoka stared at the pair with a curious expression, then coughed lightly, still unaccustomed to being addressed that way.
"Uh... At ease. So, anyone's mind telling me what's going on?"
The guard that had just spoken hesitantly turned to his companion, whose leg was currently held in a chokehold by the woman, before finally facing Ashoka.
"This lady... She's claiming to be Prince Oswald's wife and wants to, uh... meet him. Yes... Usually, we would chase away people speaking such nonsense, but she showed us this, so we are unsure of what to do."
The man handed him a flat piece of bronze the size of a fist. It was shaped like a pentagon, with the symbol of a crown over a fist, covered on all sides by branches of laurel etched into its surface. Ashoka quickly realized that it was an emblem, a royal emblem, to be precise.
Finally, as if realizing something, he looked up to study the woman's features. A face that might have been beautiful once, now looking nothing but a mess. With heavy dark circles beneath hollow, glassy eyes, her tangled, raven hair clinging damply to her cheeks like a wild crown of unkempt knots or dry hay.
All at once, the dots connected, and he realized who she was. She was Sera, Oswald's hidden mistress that Gaius had told him about. Ashoka had never seen her face-to-face, and so he hadn't realized it until he connected the relevant information.
He continued staring at Sera for a few more seconds, not saying a word.
'Right, it's about time I start leaving some breadcrumbs...'
In his mind, the semblance of a small plan had begun to form.
Just as Sera was starting to get uncomfortable under Ashoka's stare, he smiled warmly and handed her the emblem.
"I believe who you claim to be, miss, but forgive me for I have to reject your request. Today isn't the right day for it... But you can come back tomorrow, or the day after that, when Prince Oswald's funeral is to be held."
Sera's expression did not change the slightest, but her gaze drifted to the floor.
On any other occasion, Ashoka wouldn't have minded her coming into the castle. The main reason was because she was one of the many keys to sabotaging Gaius's attempt at becoming king that Ashoka had thought of.
The whole plan that Gaius and he had concocted relied on a simple alibi that said someone that looked like Prince Oswald had caused the massacre, and just a few hours before that, Prince Oswald had secretly left the Royal Palace before subsequently disappearing from the Crown's sight altogether. Through correlation, the Crown would simply surmise that Prince Oswald had gone on a bloody rampage after the recent trial, and that his subsequent death was a result of his own anger-guided actions, instead of a treasonous plot by someone to kill a prince to usurp the Crown and become king.
And here was a person who was basically a walking contradiction to this line of thinking. With the new information that Oswald was with a certain individual when the massacre had already begun somewhere far away, the Crown would definitely have to reconsider what had truly happened.
Previously, Gaius had secretly carried her out of the pillar's domain to make sure she couldn't serve as the Crown's eyes. He seemed to have believed that Sera wouldn't be willing to visit the Palace after Oswald's death, but it seems like he had underestimated the relationship between Oswald and Sera. But now, with how she just called herself his wife, Ashoka knew better.
Now, as he was saying. On a timely occasion, he would have wanted nothing more than for her to barge into the palace to announce everything she knew. After all, Ashoka didn't want Gaius to actually become king, since he was only a tool for him to complete this trial.
'Gods, was I really this crazy to have planned to use an Ascended as a tool?!'
The problem right now, though, was that Gaius was also in the palace, and if Sera went around sabotaging his schemes right in front of him, he would definitely deal with her once and for all.
And so, to protect Sera while still letting her do what Ashoka now wanted her to do...
Lingering for a moment, he ordered the two guards.
"Both of you, go and fetch Ascended Corvin for me."
The two guards hurriedly scurried away. After watching them disappear into the corridor, Ashoka turned around, only to see that Sera was staring at him intently.
'She's quite perceptive, it seems...'
After a few seconds of silence, she pursed her lips and began. "Oswald wasn't—"
But before she could finish, Ashoka stopped her.
"I suggest you keep your words to yourself for now."
Sera stared at him with suspicion but did not speak, as if even that was a labor for her.
Seeing that, Ashoka turned away from her and continued, "In a bit, a man named Corvin will come here to escort you home. I know you have a lot you wish to say, and you can tell all of it to him, but no one else. Remember carefully, because this is for your safety."
No one spoke after that. Sometime later, the echoes of footsteps could be heard from the corridor. Ashoka walked towards the entrance to greet Corvin, but when the unmistakable presence of an Ascended washed over him, his heart stopped.
The presence wasn't as sharp or cutting as Gaius's, but when he felt it, something resurfaced in his mind.
The feeling of a cold hand, wrapped mercilessly around his neck, choking the life out of him. The murderous stare of those cruel eyes, twisited hately, ready to snuff out his life.
Something cold rose from within, grasping his heart in a vice. The smile on his face froze, slowly morphing into dread. But before it could, Ashoka stopped himself.
Silently looking at his trembling hands, he let out a sigh and rubbed the front of his neck.
"Don't tell me I have PTSD now..."
Finally, the figure of Corvin appeared out of the corridor, walking down the stairs. Behind him, the two guards followed, too afraid to say anything.
Ashoka moved forward to greet him, but before he could say anything, Corvin looked at his face and raised an eyebrow.
"You're injured."
Ashoka laughed awkwardly before thinking of an excuse. "I was too tired from the past few days of work and clumsily fell down the stairs and injured myself. I didn't think it would be this straining, considering Sir Alariv seemed to manage fine."
He shrugged.
"Anyways, this injury isn't that big of an issue, and I plan to get it healed soon."
He lingered for a moment, pretending to think, before glancing at Corvin's right hand that was covered in a similar white bandage.
"Right, you were injured in the fight, no? Hm... I remember there was a potent healer offering her services that arrived in one of Slarman's caravans. I think you could get yourself healed pretty quickly there."
Corvin's expression darkened slightly at the mention of the battle with Oswald, but he wiped it off fast and raised one of his hands to supported his chin, contemplating.
"Well, Gaius doesn't usually permit soldiers getting healed from healers outside the army, but I don't think he would mind too much this time."
Ashoka studied him for a moment before smiling. "I'm sure he won't. From what I heard from Sir Alariv, Sir Gaius himself had gone to the healer before leaving for the expedition."
A few more moments were spent conversing before finally, Corvin asked the important question.
"So, why did you ask me to come here?"
Ashoka stayed silent for a second and then gestured at Sera standing a dozen meters away.
"That woman right there, her name is Sera. She... seems to have some sort of relationship with Prince Oswald. Maybe just a mistress, maybe something more; I'm not sure. I heard you were leaving tonight, and since her house seems to be in the path of your ward, I wanted to ask if you could escort her home safely. I hope that's not too much for you."
Corvin studied Sera's silent figure from afar. Eventually, he nodded. "No problem."
After all was said, there wasn't much for them to discuss, and they bid each other farewell. While Corvin left with Sera, Ashoka headed towards his room, where his comfortable bed awaited him.
Before jumping on his bed, he took the time to absorb his daily dose of soul shards one by one.
And while Ashoka was doing that, Corvin was walking through the silent streets of the capital's center, looking for the Awakened healer's shop among the numerous tents. Eventually, he did find it, only to discover that the Awakened was nowhere to be found.
After asking around for a bit, he found out that the Awakened had mysteriously disappeared somewhere around or after Prince Oswald had gone on a rampage on the outskirts of Casamir.
When he heard about the abnormal vanishing of someone as powerful as an Awakened, he felt a feeling of unease grasp his heart, its source unknown.
Later that night, as Corvin was escorting Sera to her house, she finally told him what she had been keeping a secret. Her true relationship with Oswald. And most importantly, how he had been with her, when he supposedly had been somewhere else reaping lives.
Corvin listened without saying a word. Slowly, the strange feeling of unease in his heart grew into a seed of doubt, as if things weren't what they had seemed to be on the surface...