Aric had departed from the castle before the sun even started to surface, the city still shrouded in darkness.
Two silent, masked horsemen, men of the Duke's personal guard, lined the sidewalks with an open carriage already prepared for him. They bore no banners, wore no insignias. They only existed to make sure the mission was a success.
The wheels rumbled over the cobblestone, and Aric leaned back against the wall of the carriage, silver ey es scanning the parchment in his fingers again.
Lord Edric Vale, and his wife, Lady Marianne Vale, and their son, Adrian.
Three names. Three lives.
The Duke wanted them dead.
Aric smirked. It was easy to give orders when you weren't the one executing them.
He fingered and squashed the parchment and tossed it away. He already had made up his mind.
This wasn't going to be an execution, and you could taste it.
It was going to be a message.
The Vale estate itself was just a few hours away.
Surrounded by iron sportscars, the mansion was perched high on a hill, gated and manned by patrolling guards. A house of nobility — but a fortress, too.
The Duke's paranoia indeed had its merits. The Vales had been getting ready for war.
When the fifth carriage came to a stop, all five hundred pounds of Aric exited and adjusted the black cloak draped over his shoulders. His guards remained silent, just waiting for him to move.
He exhaled slowly. Time to discover what this family was truly worth.
The guards at the gate, however, tried to stop him, and it was only a flash of the Duke's sigil that got him passage. Inside, the estate was quiet. Too quiet.
He was escorted by a butler into a salon where Lord Edric Vale waited.
The nobleman stood tall, his silver-flecked hair pulled back, and his features sharp with age. He stood next to his wife—a regal woman with calculating eyes—and behind them, their son, Adrian, no older than sixteen.
Lord Edric scrutinized Aric as though searching for an answer. "The Duke sends an assassin."
Lady Marianne scoffed. "How unoriginal."
The son, Adrian, balled his fists and said nothing. He looked afraid.
With a smirk, Aric stepped deeper into the room. "If I were what you think I am, you'd all be dead already."
Lord Edric's eyes did not flinch. "Then why are you here?"
Aric threw the parchment on the table between them. "To offer you a choice."
Father Edric took the parchment and read through the execution order without a word. His jaw tightened.
Lady Marianne frowned. "And what exactly do you mean by 'choice'?"
Aric folded his arms. "The Duke wants you dead. I was sent to ensure it happens. But I don't really like being told what to do."
A long silence.
Adrian gulped, his voice tentative. "So … you're not gonna kill us?"
Aric glanced at him. "That depends."
Lord Edric's eyes narrowed. "On what?"
Aric smirked. "How useful you can be."
Lady Marianne sighed, moving up a step. "You do expect us to believe you are betraying the Duke?"
Aric shrugged. "Well, let's just say… I'm nobody's little dog."
Lord Edric scrutinised him for a long moment. Then, he smiled.
"A mercenary with ambition," he said softly. "Fascinating."
Aric chuckled. "I attracted the term 'survivor' because I used to be able to survive." "
Lord Edric shared a glance with his wife before giving a slight nod.
Then he stepped forward a little and lowered his voice.
"The Duke is not as confident as he looks," he said. "His hold over the noble houses is fraying. He grows desperate."
Aric listened.
"We were never traitors," Lady Marianne went on. "But we did not agree to send him more gold for his endless wars. And for that, we became foes."
It darkened Lord Edric's countenance. "You think we're the only ones on his list? No. There are others."
Aric's smirk faded. He already knew the Duke was ruthless, but if he was cleaning house … it meant something bigger was coming.
Adrian had no more than been listening for most of the call when he finally chimed in. "So what do we do?"
Aric turned to him. "We ensure your deaths are believable.
An hour later, the estate was ablaze.
The guards weren't dead, but unconscious. There was smoke in the air, and bodies had been arranged amid the wreckage, burned beyond recognition.
From the shadows at the edge of the clearing, Aric watched as Lord Edric, Lady Marianne, and Adrian faded into the woods. By morning their deaths would be reported.
The Duke would be convinced it had worked.
And Aric?
He had just stuck a thorn in the Duke's side.
As he mounted his horse, preparing to head back to the castle, one thought remained in his mind.
This game was just beginning.