Meanwhile, in a mansion situated in the district where most of the n.o.bles live, a fat man sitting before the dining table contained various colors of food and delicacies. At the far end of the table another man sipping wine and looking at the fat man who munching on the food.
"Brother Sander you can eat slowly you know. n.o.body's gonna take your food away"
The fat man, Sander momentarily stopped eating and gulped the wine in one go
"It has been a tough week Lennard, the only happiness to me is the food" Sander said as he wiped his mouth with silk cloth beside him.
"Yes I've noticed, what are you up to Brother?"
"Don't you see your lords are going to discuss something important?" Sander shouted at the maids and guards in the dining room as they quickly bowed and left the room leaving behind Sander and Lennard.
"I and some of the ministers were discussing about the future of Emir"
Hearing Sander talking like he cares about the kingdom made Lennard frown
"You mean deciding who's gonna take the throne right?" said while taking another sip from the cup.
"Potayto, Potahto but here's the thing if the rebel leader alone killed that monster Hedor, we ministers and n.o.bles would have killed him or put him in the jail along with his buddies with the help of mercenaries" Lennard saw the concerning look on Sander's face.
"But?"
"But all that time till his rebellion he was not alone. He got help from the king of Everlight HECK! Where the h.e.l.l is Everlight and who the h.e.l.l is he?"
Sander punched the dining table and some gla.s.sware shattered when they hit the ground.
Lennard didn't mind Sander's tantrum as he took another sip from the wine
"I thought he was someone from the cold moon palace or Ariel House when I saw him controlling the explosion like it's a child's play "
"Most of us did think like that but apparently he was the one helping the rebels all along and past two weeks his people are preaching about him and giving money to those peasants" Sander said.
"Not to mention the dwarves, they seemed nothing like slaves" When mentioning the dwarves Sander saw a glimpse of desire appear in Lennard's eyes for a second.
"It seems you have a soft spot for dwarven slaves Lennard" Sander said with a grin.
"Yes but I'm not an idiot to provoke a mysterious person like him by trying to steal his slaves. Also, I tried to get info on Everlight or this king but I couldn't find anything I think he's from another Empire"
"I don't give a d.a.m.n where he's from but it became clear he's also going for the throne seeing his people running around the kingdom preaching and helping the peasants" Lennard could clearly see the frustration and anger Sander has for this so-called king of Everlight.
"As far as I know he's already got the trust of the peasants and the soldiers by saving their families from the explosions, however..." Seeing a grin on Lennard's face while he's drinking the wine, Sander became excited about what's on Lennard's mind.
"Having the peasants and soldiers on his side is not enough, he needs us he needs every minister and n.o.ble in the kingdom to claim the throne and clearly he doesn't have anyone of us by his side"
"How do you know?" Sander asked with curiosity.
"I have my sources Brother"
"Alright, I won't ask about your sources. We need to gather more information about this king before we do anything but whatever we do we have to do it faster before him taking any move towards us "
While speaking Sander stood up from his chair and yawned.
"Yes absolutely, I've done my best to stop the news of King Hedor's death from leaking to other kingdoms or those vultures would have come waging war"
"Good it's better to face one king rather than a bunch of them. Alright, we'll speak about this in the morning, Good night Lennard" After finishing his dinner and discussion with Lennard, Sander went to his bedroom.
There was no work in the night for Sander, and just like him most people went to bed early either with a full belly or empty belly. He had previously taken advantage of his position as a minister and having fun with maids or dancers from the 'RedHouse'. However these days Sander had no mood for anything other than planning to take the throne to himself.
After a hard work of taking the steps to the second floor, Sander reached his bedroom on the far side of the floor.
Entering his room, Sander lit the candle in his room and walked towards his double-sized bed. However, the moment he reached in front of his bed a cold feeling appeared on his throat as the lit candle went off and then someone spoke
"h.e.l.lo Minister Sander"
Even on a cold day like this Sander started to sweat like he was inside a bakery.
"Gua..." Sander wanted to alert the guards about the intruder but the cold feeling on his throat turned into a slight pain.
"Scream and I'll cut your throat, got it?" the husky voice Sander heard was feminine and gentle but it had a murderous tone to it.
Sander didn't dare to answer so he just nodded his head.
"I'm going to let you go now if you scream you die, if you try to run you die, if you do anything funny you die" as Sander heard the voice, he felt the knife on his throat taken away. Sander didn't try to do anything because he knew If she could get in his bedroom without alerting his guards she must be an a.s.sa.s.sin and a good one at that.
Seeing the intruder behind him has no intention to kill him or at least not for now, Sander slowly turned his head to see nothing but a dim reflection on what Sander guessed as a sword in the darkness.
"Who...who are you?" Sander asked while his heartbeat started to accelerate.
"I'm here on the order of the King of Everlight"
Heck, is this how people of Everlight get a meeting with other people like him? Sander swallowed his fear and stood there without even moving a muscle while cursing the whole Everlight in his mind. Under the threat of an a.s.sa.s.sin, he could only swallow his fear and do what the other side wanted.
Sander wanted to open his mouth but before he could do that, he heard the woman snapping her fingers as the candle ignited again.
In the dim light of the candle, Sander could see the a.s.sa.s.sin before him. She was taller than him, her body was hidden under a black robe which had shiny metal plates on it, and her head covered with a hood, so he could not see her face.
"What do you want?"
"I'm here to ask to swear your allegiance to the king of Everlight"
In his mind, Sander was recalling the conversation he had with his Brother Lennard. They were just talking about the King of Everlight, how he has no n.o.bles by his side but it turned out he's making his move hence the a.s.sa.s.sin or an amba.s.sador in his bedroom.
Hearing the other side reveal their intention to being here, Snader breathed a sigh of relief as he understood that the other side also has an intention of talking than killing
"I don't know anything about your king, why would I want to swear my allegiance to a person I've never even met before?" Sander said but he tried his best not to sound disrespectful towards her king.
"Yes you don't know anything about him that's because we've killed your little birdies running around poking their noses where they shouldn't have "
Sander's muscles tightened when he heard her. It was true that he sent his men to gather information about the king of Everlight just like Lennard did but he never heard from them again and he now knew why.
"We also know about Lennard's sources" Sander could hear the mockery in her voice when she mentioned sources revealing that Lennard's secret sources are no longer a secret.
"This proves my point Miss, how can I swear my allegiance when you've already started to kill my men?"
The woman didn't say anything but laughed a little
"It seems you misunderstood Minister, this is not a negotiation this is an order. You either swear your allegiance to my lord or roll down and die like a good dog" Sander gritted his teeth in anger when he heard her insult and mockery.
Even though it's not the first time he was insulted, it's the first time he was insulted by an outsider, especially a woman. Except for the mad king Hedor who was punishing him in various ways and calling him 'fatty' every time, he was a respected minister and normal people would not even look at him in the eyes but now he felt furious and helpless at the same time.
"Don't get mad Minister, I'm sure you've heard worse from King Hedor. You should be glad I'm letting a murdering thief like you breath in my presence"
Hearing the woman, Sander felt anger and shock simultaneously because he never left proof or any trails when it comes to his criminal activities especially murders. Even when he killed a peasant whose life he valued less than of an ant's, he never let other peasants or fellow ministers know about it because he didn't want it to be a thing that can be used against him in the future by others just like the woman before him.
However the woman before him sounded like she knew everything about him and it made him feel like he's naked.
"You don't know anything about me woman?" Sander's tone had a mix of fear and anger.
"Believe it or not I know everything so is my lord. Now if you value your life drink this as a sign of acceptance" the woman didn't care to explain herself about the evidence on Sander's criminal activities but flicked her wrist and Sander saw a vial containing colorless liquid floating towards him in the dim candlelight.
