Most people s.h.i.+ed away from guards since they didn't want any trouble but they all still followed them to see what poor soul would feel their wrath. It did not take a long time for them to be followed by a small army of curious.

The guards were clearly coming for Emp and her but it did not stress her at all, instead, a devious smile crept up her face, mirroring those the thugs displayed.

She knew how this would end, they had no clue they were doing a terrible mistake. If they had known it was the young master Muracier they had attacked, they would have run out of town instead but in their ignorance, they tried to play the card of the victims, using their dead companions as a tool to corner the one they had attacked.

There was a small possibility it would have worked on an ordinary man. With no witness, the guards would probably stand on the side of those who were friends with the dead, more so considering the murderer had left the scene without telling any guards or calling for help. Emp was really the perfect culprit. But, he was no ordinary man, he was the son of the great general. This changed everything.

Between the words of two guys looking like thugs and the words from one of the highest ranked n.o.ble in the empire, the soldiers would easily know who to believe. As the guards got closer, they seemed shaken by the calm exhibited by Emp and the confidence displayed by herself. She enjoyed this greatly.

"Yes mister guard, I am absolutely sure, it is him that attacked us in that alley." Said one of the thugs.

Galana almost laughed out loud, after all the stressful things that happened to her that day, this was very soothing. A guard captain with a fancy mustache came towards them first and talked politely to Emp. He seemed to have realised what was up despite Emp's shabby look which dampened her fun a bit.

"Sir, may you forgive us for this but please, could you show us your hunting card just for the sake of things?"

Galana translated to him without delay, eager to see the faces that everyone would show when his ident.i.ty would be revealed. Sure it wasn't her own victory and she even wanted him dead an hour ago but she couldn't help but feel as if she was winning as well. She had made up her mind to be on his side until he left town after all so it wasn't entirely false.

Once Emp showed up his card, the guard captain wasn't surprised at all. The thugs didn't even see his name and focused on the kill list instead pointing at it from behind the guard.

"See, it's written on his card, he is the one who did it!"

The guard wasn't feeling as happy as them though, the job was always more difficult when a n.o.ble was involved. Galana was delighted, all she had to do now was push her own version of the story and no one would ever know what she had attempted to do. She just needed to be very careful with her story.

The crowd had a hard time keeping their excitement for themselves, eager to know how this whole thing would pan out. She was ready to give them a good show, what should she start with? Fools you are standing in front of the young master Muracier, watch your manners! This would be fun.

"Ask him what we should have done with the corpses." Suddenly said Emp.

"What? Now? Could you not let them do their jobs first."

"They already did though, they caught the guys."

"Idiot! They didn't catch the guys, they themselves went to the guards to accuse you of attacking them in reverse."

"That is not true though, they were the ones to start it all, is that not obvious?"

"How would it even be obvious?" She had a hard time following what he was saying now and both the guards, the thugs and the crowd were looking curiously at them while they talked seemingly casually.

"Well, look at them."

What was that supposed to mean? They looked like thugs yes but that didn't make them guilty of anything. Also, he looked just as bad.

"You do realise that you look as terrible as them right now, right?"

"I do not have a beard though."

"What does that even have to do with anything? Beards can be all right too if they are well groomed."

She didn't really like beards but at least if someone had one they should maintain it properly.

"Should I grow a beard too then?"

She tried to picture him with a beard but it just looked ridiculous. She was pretty sure he would become the laughing stock of everyone if he did have a beard.

"No, it doesn't suit you."

Wait, how did she end up in a conversation about beards? She was supposed to be in the middle of putting up a show right now. At least, her answer seemed to please the guy so whatever.

"Anyway, they still need to ask about a bunch of things like who started it, why were you fighting and if there were witnesses or other people involved."

"But they just ran at me with their knives out in an alley, why so many complicated questions?"

"How much of an idiot can you be!"

All the other people present were confused but none of the guards seemed willing to interrupt them. They were all just waiting there for them to finish talking like they did not mind. Except for the attackers of course.

"What are they saying?" Asked one of the thugs. "Why are you not arresting them?"

They still had not quite figured out what was happening but Galana ignored them, She was too busy trying to explain how the world worked to Emp.

"Before they arrest someone, they need to know who was in the wrong and who is the bad guy. Since there were no other witnesses than us, It will be your words against theirs. The more question they ask, the easier it becomes to figure out who is lying and who is saying the truth."

"I see, then we just have to say the truth?"

No, wrong, in front of a n.o.ble that was the perfect way to get arrested! Although this time she was on the side of the n.o.ble. What a strange and uncomfortable situation.

"In our case, the fact that you are the son of the great general is a big help. No one in their right mind would go against the words of someone who is almost as highly ranked as an imperial prince."

"But that has nothing to do with the truth."

She knew that very well, that was part of why she hated n.o.bles so much. They could say whatever they wished and everyone sided for them. She despised such behaviors.

"I know it has nothing to do with the truth but that is how it works anyway. Then, we can ask for the mage we just saw to testify that you were injured by them, setting in stone the fact that they indeed raised their weapons against a high n.o.ble. The fact they wanted your money and your magic bag or the fact they provoked you with their blades first doesn't matter in the story."

"But it is the most important part! I had no reason to kill them if they just went away instead."

"Maybe it's important for you but the guards can't possibly check if those are true or not unless they ask the help of a scrying mage. The only things they can be sure of is that a high n.o.ble was involved in a fight with a bunch of b.u.ms in an alleyway. With your name, they can also guess that if you really wanted them all to die, you could have made it so easily."

She had seen it with her own eyes after all, this guy was scary in a fight. No wonder the Muraciers where above every soldiers in the empire.

"Plus, you had no reason to attack them. Trust me I will talk to them and we will be done quick, anyway you can't speak the common tongue."

Now, she was at last ready to start. The crowd was on the verge of loosing interest too so she had to make it quick. She turned back to the guards but before she had the time to weave them the perfect story, the captain raised his hand to interrupt her.

"No need to repeat all that, That's an unusual way to get answers but I think I understand pretty well what happened back there now."

He spoke the n.o.ble tongue! This was a catastrophe! She had treated the young master Muracier like an idiot right in front of the guard captain! What had she done! She really needed to stop talking in the n.o.ble tongue as if no one else understood it, she had been caught like that three times in two days already.

"That is great!" Said Emp, excited. "Now we do not have to go through all that again."

"How come you speak the n.o.ble tongue?" Asked Galana in a panicked reflex.

"My mother was a dye trader on the main central road, she taught me how to speak it when I was small."

"I see."

And so, because of the mother of the guard captain, she had not only lost her chance to show off but also labelled herself as a disrespectful lowlife in the eyes of the guards forever. Just another thing to erase from her memory once the day would be over.

"What do we do now?" Asked Emp, nervous.

"You can just go back to your business sir, I have all I need." The guard answered in a rea.s.suring tone.

On this, he turned around and spoke to his men.

"Alright guys, those three fools here committed an act of rebellion by attacking the son of the great general Muracier and we have a witness in the form of the mage who healed him afterwards. In accordance to our laws, arrest them."

The guards didn't waste any time to take hold of the surprised thugs, leaving them no time to react. The crowd hollered in surprise and cheered on the guards loudly. They had not expected to witness the arrest of someone who would dare attack a Murracier that day.

"Wait! How could this be?" Complained the criminals. "If we had known he was a Muracier we wouldn't have attacked him!"

"What are they saying?" Asked Emp, curious.

Galana feared that her scheme would be revealed if she answered that. She feared someone would point out she should have announced him as the young master Muracier from the start but since the guard captain was there and understood all they said, she had no choice but to tell him.

"They said that if they had known you were a Muracier, they wouldn't have attacked you."

"Is that not dumb?" Said Emp with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

She failed to see how pointing out their own ignorance could be dumb.

"Well, in that one sentence, not only are they admitting they did attack me but also that if I had been anybody else, they still would have done it. That is much worse, they could have killed anyone if I had not been there."

Galana hadn't taught of it like that. She had believed that all of this was her fault but maybe someone else would have died anyway if they had not been there. Maybe she wasn't as responsible for this as she thought. This made her feel a little better. As she pondered this, the guard captain laughed at Emp's comment and led his men away as he answered.

"Well, criminals aren't usually the brightest people around."

After the desperate thugs and the guards had disappeared once more in the dispersing crowd, Emp spoke again.

"We forgot to ask about the corpses in the end."

"What is it with you and the corpses?" Asked Galana still distracted by her own thoughts. In the end, what she did didn't matter much, everyone involved got what they deserved for once right?

"I just do not like to waste things and I feel like they were."

"You feel like the corpses were wasted?"

Corpses are corpses, how can you waste them? She was certain someone would eventually go bury them in the forest, there was no need for him to personally do anything.

"No, the guys. I still do not understand them, if they just wanted money, they could have asked some and I would have given it to them, there was no need to attack us."

Once again, he wasn't making any sense.

"No one ever does that, no one just gives out money like that without anything in return."

"Why not?"

"Because not everyone kills a woodland horror like you and end up walking around with infinite money! They work hard for it and they need it as well."

After hearing her answer, the n.o.ble just entered in deep thoughts and Galana was left to walk him to the tailor in silence. What a strange guy, to just give them money instead of a loan. That same morning, she would not have believed it at all but now, she had a doubt that this guy was so dumb, he really might do it.