The Path of Ruin

It was just as they thought. After killing the old man and the others, they had taken down most of the group.

The only ones left were two Bearers and eight normal people who dealt with nobles. Which took them less than half a minute to kill. Chapter Experience:

Finally, when they retrieved the nobles...

"We won't face another ambush now... will we?"

Matthew shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"I don't know, but if we do, we'll be in a tough spot... that's for sure."

Kael sighed slightly. Then he turned his eyes to the four nobles crouched on the ground behind Matthew.

So far... they hadn't spoken much. They had been communicating largely through body gestures, making no sound.

And that was still the case.

'Are they still too scared?'

This was the most logical explanation... but for some reason, it began to strike him as strange that all the nobles he had met were so 'weak'.

Most of the time, he had thought that nobles were the strong ones. Like all of them were Bearers or Followers. But... the reality was different. The vast majority of the nobles he had met were only skilled in policy work, such as running their own settlements, and that was it.

'Well, whatever.'

He bent down to the nobles and untied their hands one by one with his dagger. Then he put a small smile on his face.

"We've taken out almost all of our chasers, now... we're going to go to the nearest town and get some clean clothes first. And then..."

He paused, turning his eyes to Matthew.

They looked at each other for a moment. But when Kael saw that he didn't react much, he turned his gaze back to the nobles.

"We'll go straight to the capital."

Actually... the best option was to go to the Count of Uhron and inform him of the situation. The city was much closer to here than the capital and it would have been much faster.

The only problem was...

'I just... can't find myself trusting the Count.'

Yes, he had never seen him once.

Yes, he might turn out to be a really good guy.

Still... ever since he had learned in Ghran that the Baron himself was directly supporting the gang they were targeting, whatever reason he had, he had chosen not to trust anyone without seeing and understanding them.

Just in case.

*******

With Matthew as their guide, it took them a full day to reach the nearest town.

The only problem was... the town's baron was probably the most cowardly person Kael had ever met.

At first, they were going to ask him for help by showing him their Imperial crest. But the moment Matthew pulled it out of his pocket, the baron's eyes widened as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.

All he had to do was give them clean clothes. But the baron... thinking that Kael and Matthew had come for him... started saying one thing after another, not even letting them speak.

He apologized for the woman he had threatened just to spend one night together.

He apologized for the maid he accidentally killed.

He apologized for firing a man from his job and making sure that he would never be able to find another one, just because he got on his nerves.

Finally, as he apologized for his mistakes and crimes, Kael and Matthew could only stare at each other, their faces twitching.

"We... we just want clothes... we are on a different mission..."

It was only when they finally found the space to speak and uttered those words that the baron stopped. A silence fell over his office so deep that no one moved.

Eventually... he basically ran out of the room.

When they got the clothes they had asked for from the maids, they learned that the baron had gone to his bedroom and wept bitterly.

It was a rather... strange day for sure.

But they managed to get what they wanted and set off again. What to do about the baron... they chose to decide later.

*******

Nothing happened to them during the journey. No other ambush, no one following them, no bandits, no creatures blocking their path...

Nothing at all.

Though... a small part of the reason for this was that Kael regularly left the carriage and went into the forest to kill things. Every day, he could find a few wild animals and creatures. But they were still relatively few in number.

In this way, they made it safely to the capital. They handed the nobles over to the guards, then, without even reporting, they went straight to Hakon.

And they managed to find him in his office, although it was quite... unlikely that he would be there.

A few minutes later...

"So... you found the gang in Ghran, you took out the leader and the Bearer with him, but there's a much bigger gang in the city in Uhron County, and you rescued the nobles they were going to sell for human trafficking... Did I misunderstand anything?"

Kael and Matthew shook their heads at the same time.

And Hakon... widened his smile.

"Good. Do you know anything about the gang in Uhron?"

Matthew remained silent, not having any information.

But Kael... knew something.

"Feria Lockhend... that was the name of their leader."

And after what he said, not only Hakon turned to him, but even Matthew, who had been standing silently beside him.

"Lockhend?"

"Did you say Lockhend...?"

Kael paused, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at Matthew and then at Hakon.

"Did I say something I shouldn't have...?"

Hakon quickly shook his head from side to side.

"No, you just... said something quite surprising. Where did you get this information?"

"Directly from Feria Lockhend herself."

Hakon narrowed his eyes, the tiny smile on his face vanishing in an instant.

"Are you... sure about this, Kael?"

"I was hiding in the same room when the leader of the gang in Ghran was talking to her. She's a pretty woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She used that name when she introduced herself and said she was the leader of an illegal group called the Red Feathers."

Hakon's expression darkened further.

"Feria Lockhend is the daughter of Count Uhron, who married into the Lockhend family last year. But that's not the real problem."

Kael suddenly felt himself tense, his eyes narrowing just like Hakon's as a thousand thoughts ran through his mind about what could be the problem.

But the answer he got... it was definitely something he hadn't expected.

"Lockhend is a ducal family, Kael. And if it turns out that their daughter-in-law is involved in something illegal, especially trafficking other nobles, it will cause them a lot of trouble."

"Oh..."

Kael quickly realized how... big this was and stayed where he was with his thoughts.

"We need to investigate this. Every last detail. And if Feria Lockhend really had a hand in this 'gangsterism'..."

Hakon turned his eyes to the table, his black eyes even more... dark than usual.

"The Empire may be in turmoil for some time to come because of the Lockhends."

Hakon was silent for a short while, then stretched, took a piece of paper out of his desk drawer, and began scribbling.

"This mission... is out of both your league. I will mark your mission a success and you will receive your reward, though."

Then he took out another piece of paper, scribbled the same thing on it, and handed it to Kael and Matthew.

"Write your report, not leaving out a single detail. Then you can leave. Your days must have been exhausting, get some rest. Then... we'll see what happens."

Kael... was very surprised, not expecting things to get so serious. Nevertheless, he obediently pulled the paper to himself and wrote his report at length. When he finished... he and Matthew walked out of Hakon's office.

As they walked down the corridor, both of their faces were stoic.

"Feria Lockhend, huh... Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

There was no anger in Matthew's question. He must have had dozens of thoughts running through his head too. He was just... curious.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't think that woman would be that important."

"..."

Kael paused for a moment, his mind filled with questions he did not know the answers to and could not understand.

For example... if Feria Lockhend was so highly placed among the nobility, why was she involved in such... simple 'gangsterism'?

Trafficking nobles was certainly not a simple thing to do, yes, but... why were her underlings simple and weak? Why was she operating only in her father's county?

She must have had a lot of money. So that couldn't have been the case.

It couldn't have been fame either. The only greater fame than being part of a Duke's Family would have been being a relative of the Emperor or something.

Was she looking for entertainment, simply?

He wasn't sure of the answer, it could have been something he had never thought of.

But, nevertheless...

'People... are just so strange.'

After a short while, he parted ways with Matthew and returned to his own room. After days of sleeping on the floor, doing nothing but riding horses... his bed certainly felt comfortable.

Yet there was another reason why he had allowed himself so much comfort.

And it was because... for some reason, he thought his future was about to get a bit troubled.

So he closed his eyes. His mind surrendered to the darkness, he slept soundly.

The next day, when he woke up with the sun shining on his face and saw what awaited him in his room, he realized how right he was.

He didn't know why, but... sitting on his desk was a rather familiar figure with an annoying smile on his face.

"Good morning, Kael."

Kael let out a deep, really deep sigh.

Good thing he had decided to get a good night's sleep. Because he knew something like this was going to happen...

When had his instincts ever failed him before?