Chapter 454: Villains

"Arria."

As Lord Gratidia stroked the cold and empty spot next to his own on the bed, he remembered that this was the room of one of his lovers, a place he had used to hide away from his responsibilities.

After years of erosion, the King of the North could now exert almost as much power as House Gratidia within the city of Rhodanos. Even so, there was nothing the lord could do to stop their further encroachment.

When the northerners had sent the newest batch of scholars, they had proven to be thieves and thugs, who charged into his city and robbed anything their lowly eyes deemed valuable, like raiders on a military campaign. It was already the final provocation from the northern king's courtiers. If Lord Gratidia didn't act against them this time, he knew that they would soon take over his lands completely, emboldened by his silence.

Even then, even when confronted with countless complaints from his own warriors, he couldn't bring himself to oppose King Amautu's shameless actions. He knew such opposition would only spell a quicker doom for his very young house. As a weak, rebellious lord, he would soon be turned into an example by the ambitious scholar king.

However, ignoring the complaints of his people would lead to deadly consequences as well. These loyal warriors were the last bit of real power House Gratidia had left, and losing their support was equal to a death sentence.

Thus, he had done the only thing he could think of: He had hidden away. Since the complaints had become overwhelming, he had announced that he would leave on a tour of the countryside. Of course, he didn't really have the leisure to travel around, not when his home was in crisis.

Instead, he spent every day visiting another one of his lovers in the city. In his time, the lord had been quite the romantic, and had cultivated intimate relations.h.i.+ps with a number of ladies. Thus, he could simply hop from one bed to the next day after day, most completely unknown to the intruders. Not even the scholars would find him if he always changed his location.

Thus, he had watched from here as more and more of his city had been taken over by these fake scholars. All he could do in response was hope for a miracle to turn the tides.

Now, something had finally happened, but it just felt like an extension of his nightmare, rather than good news. He was still in Arria's house, where he had fallen asleep, but his lover had disappeared without a word. She wouldn't just let him lie here alone, of that he was certain. Something was very wrong.

"Guards!" He shouted for support, and took a vigilant stance, ready for intruders to react to his call. Yet although he called out several more times, no one ever answered. Neither any perceived a.s.sa.s.sins came, nor any of his own guards. The people here were the most loyal among his warriors, long-standing battle companions, and the only ones he had trusted to protect him in this secret location. They wouldn't just disappear without notice, and neither would Arria. He couldn't just stay here. Both were in danger, he could feel it.

Despite his flaws in the political arena, Lord Gratidia was no ordinary man, or he would have never become a lord. Rather than get nervous in the face of danger, he calmed down instead. Sure, the political traps of the scholar king terrified him. After all, it was an enemy he was unfamiliar with, one he didn't know how to fight. However, he had made his fortune on the battlefield, and he knew how to defend himself, even in his older years. This was a threat he knew well, this was something he could fight.

Thus determined to get to the bottom of things, he held his axe tighter and stepped out of the bedroom, into the darkness of his lover's small courtyard. Since he had many such lovers, but not a lot of money, he couldn't afford large manors for all of them. All he could give them were slightly larger courtyards in his own city. Thus, he quickly made it through the small complex.

Of course, his goal wasn't the outside. If someone was after his life, the outside wouldn't be safe anymore. In the darkness, all kinds of people could just sneak up on him. Not only that, he also didn't know where Arria was, or his guards. If he could, he had to make sure they were safe first, rather than escape by himself. His honor demanded it. However, the complex remained conspicuously empty, with no signs of a fight either.

Thus without a better option, he decided to seek out a hidden, fortified position, where he could hold out until morning. With any luck, the others had had the same idea, and would hide out in the courtyard's secret room.

On swift and silent steps, Lord Gratidia made his way towards the small salon hidden deep within the courtyard, determined to make good on his past cowardice. In many n.o.ble manors, such a secret room had been built for secret meetings, or to hide precious goods. Some ordinary families had such rooms as well, to hide their valuables or themselves from warrior raids during the city's sacking, or from bandits.

This salon in particular only had a single entrance, hidden on a fake rock between two jasmine shrubs in the courtyard's small inner garden. The room could only be accessed with one of two keys, one of which belonged to Arria, the owner of the courtyard. The other, Gratidia had been carrying on his person ever since he had come here yesterday, an old habit from his time as a warrior. After all, without an exit strategy, even the bravest fighter would never survive to old age.

Once he reached the spot between the bushes and found the well-concealed lock in the large, decorative rock formation, the lord took a deep breath. Even if attackers had taken Arria, they wouldn't know about this secret location, so he was safe from here on.

In the best case, he would find his lover and his guards inside. Yet even in the worst case, he could safely wait out the night and then make his escape the next morning. After all, only once he was safe could he mobilize the rest of his men to find the attackers, and his lover.

With a plan in hand, he pulled the key from the chain around his neck, and turned the lock as quietly as he could. However, the darkness inside disappointed him. Neither his lover nor his guards were here.

Don't worry, Arria. If harm has come to you, I shall vow to take my revenge. Even if my foe is the king himself, this time I will retreat no more.

Disappointed, the lord entered the pitch-black room with careful steps. As a secret hideout, the room had no windows, of course, so he could see nothing. Yet just as he entered, before he could fully relax, he felt that something was off.

A faint breath, from the front. Someone else is in here!

Yet he could no longer act on his thought before a sudden bright flash appeared and took away his sight. For a second, Gratidia was blinded, just enough time to take up a defensive stance, though his caution seemed unnecessary. When his eyes adjusted and he saw his opponent, his caution waned straight away.

Across from Lord Gratidia, in one of the two chairs within the small room hidden within the rock, sat a little fat man. Next to him stood the oil lamp which had produced the blinding flash, as well as the black wax cloth which had covered its light before. Clearly, this man had been waiting for him. However, he didn't seem like a threat, as he was spread out on the chair like an overstuffed sausage, his legs crossed like a woman. All plumped up and wearing the frills of a merchant, this one was no warrior, and certainly no threat.

No, stay sharp

, Gratidia reminded himself.

This merchant could still be dangerous, no matter how harmless he appeared. Maybe he was wearing a disguise, or maybe he was carrying a pistol on his body. If nothing else, Gratidia had at least found his enemy now, the first person he had met since waking up. Now, there was some clarity. With a target presented in front of him at last, the lord could abandon his defensive stance and go on the attack. In all meanings of the phrase, he had been stumbling around in the dark until now. Somehow, he had to regain the initiative. It was time to pressure his opponents.

"Where's Arria!?" Gratidia thus shouted, an aggressive move to startle his enemy. However, the fat merchant just smiled in response.

"No need to worry, Lord Gratidia. Lady Arria is unharmed," the fat man explained. "But since this is supposed to be a private discussion, we have advised her to temporarily clear the premises."

The strange man's calm demeanor unsettled the lord, who had no idea what his opponent was talking about. However, he knew that he couldn't show any weakness, not now.

"Don't think I'm helpless because you caught me off guard this one time," he thus cautioned his foe. "If you harm her-"

"No, I have no interest in harming anyone," the fat man interrupted, and raised both hands. "I haven't come to make enemies. I have only come to talk."

When the merchant had raised his hands, Gratidia had instinctively lowered his stance, ready to evade a pistol or thrown weapon. However, his opponent only showed that his hands were empty, unarmed and harmless. It was clearly a sign of peace, but also one of weakness. Thus emboldened, the lord decided to press the issue further.

"Oh, you will talk, fat man," he said, and added a menacing grin to show strength. "Of that this lord will make certain."

Ready to extract the information he needed, Gratidia raised his axe and came towards the intruder. However, the man didn't look panicked, much unlike a defenseless commoner merchant should. He only looked a bit worried as he stared at Gratidia. A second too late, the lord realized that the intruder wasn't staring at him at all. He was looking over his shoulder, at a spot behind him, and he wasn't worried about himself.

Before the lord could react, someone had come up from behind and held his axe-wielding arm at his elbow, to immobilize his movements. The attacker had come silently, without any prior warning, and had considerable strength. Gratidia hadn't even felt their breath before he had been overwhelmed. This second intruder clearly was a professional, but that wasn't an excuse for the lord's failure.

All this time, Lord Gratidia had been too focused on the commoner in front, and had totally forgotten to check for other threats in the tiny room. Although he knew it was already too late, the lord wanted to resist and tried to wiggle his arm free. Yet before he could, he felt a blade against his left flank, ready to pierce his innards if he didn't cease all resistance at once.

Sloppy, slow. The younger me would have never been caught like that.

"Go on then, do your worst," the defeated lord growled, but the intruder in front only looked a bit uncomfortable at Gratidia's determination.

"We're really only here to talk. Please don't get excited," the intruder tried to calm down the lord, before he looked at his hidden companion behind Gratidia once again. "See, I told you your plan was a bad idea."

"What do you mean?" the second attacker replied. Shockingly, it was a woman's voice he heard next to his left ear, despite the attacker's apparent strength. "My plan worked perfectly. I told you he would show up here when he woke up alone, and I told you he would come with a weapon and had to be disarmed first. Everything that happened, I predicted perfectly."

"Yes, you did. But we're here to negotiate, not to rob the place." The fat man sighed, still comfortably seated after witnessing a fight. "I mean, look at me. I look like a villain here, sitting in the darkness with my legs crossed like this. This is

not

a constructive way to start talks."

While the two intruders were having their own little argument, Lord Gratidia was still held hostage between them. Although it seemed like they wouldn't hurt him for now, he was still extremely confused.

"What is happening here?" he simply asked, hoping for some answers. The empty courtyard, the strange intruders and their surreal conversation, none of what was happening here made sense. Just as Gratidia thought that maybe he was still dreaming, the fat man looked at the lord again.

"I'm truly sorry about this, Lord Gratidia. But could you please let go of your axe for now?" he said, still with that immovable smile. "I know this must all be very confusing for you, but the confusion was part of the plan, for some reason I cannot fathom."

Again, he stared at the female attacker behind the lord. In response, the woman explained: "In times of confusion, any target will revert back to proven strategies, and thus becomes more predictable."

I am the target,

Gratidia understood.

"Sure." The fat man replied in an insincere tone, followed by a second, more tired sigh. Apparently frustrated with his companion, the man turned to the lord again. "Anyways, could I please bother you to drop your axe, Lord Gratidia? I really didn't come to harm you, or any of your people. My friend back there is just a bit overexcited since she's been out of work for a while. So don't be too harsh on her. If we could all just calm down and drop our weapons, we would all be much happier."

If they wanted me dead, they would have done it long ago.

Slowly, as he collected more and more information on the intruders, the lord calmed down again. Whatever this intrusion was, it probably was no threat to his life, at least not for now. Not to mention, this crisis probably couldn't be solved through violence. He was alone, and almost completely immobilized. Resistance would just get himself killed. Finally, Gratidia let go of the axe to end the long standoff.

"Thank you. I think we can have a good talk now." The fat man sounded genuinely relieved, but who knew what he was really thinking. Again, he turned to the second intruder. "Please, Lady Inti, could you let go of our guest and make us some tea? We'll need some to calm our nerves, after this mess of an introduction."

Only a snort responded to the fat man, but the hand around his elbow let go, and the knife in his side disappeared as well. By the time Lord Gratidia turned around, he only saw shoulder-length hair and men's clothing, as they left the room for the outside. Still confused, the lord turned once again to the seated attacker. While acting like the host in another man's home, the fat man motioned to the chair opposite him.

"Please, Lord Gratidia, have a seat," he said, still armed with nothing but a dangerous smile. "We have much to talk about."