Herald of Steel

Just as Lady Ezaya was about to rush out to obey Alexander, she was stopped by an enraged guardsman from Amenheraft’s side, who looked at both of them with eyes spitting out the most toxic venom.

To him the plot was all too apparent and so he was determined to expose them right here, right now. Thus the man even began to boldly approach Lady Ezaya with his hands stretched out, believing she had something incriminating on her.

The rude gesture made the noble lady instantly flare up, and hastily stepping back, she cried out with arms crossing her chest, “Lord Mainus…. you dare slander a lady with no proof? And how can you even think of touching a lady without her permission?”

The protest however only made the tall, muscular man with sharp eyes flash an even colder glint. He was now convinced more than ever that there was something wrong with the girl and he was just a few seconds away from revealing her..

Hence the second son of Lord Vivizan continued to advance without missing a beat until he was towering over the much more demeanour lady, ready to tear her clothes to shreds.

If that was what was needed to prove she was the culprit, so be it!

“Stop!” His hands only paused upon this loud order from Alexander, as he coldly chimed, “Is this how the nobles of His Grace treat the womenfolk? Harasses them without proof!”

Lord Mainus probably stopped moving his hands because Alexander addressed Amenheraft as His Grace … as opposed to the poke at his nobility. Given the severity of the situation, this loyal captain of the bodyguard could have cared less what the people thought of it right now.

Slowly retracting his hands, he then turned to face the surrounded man and frigidly smirked, “Is my lord afraid your accomplice is going to find out?” Tʜe source of this ᴄontent s NoveI(F)ire.net

“….” Alexander’s eyes meet the man’s eyes straight on without the slightest of guilt, and he coolly deflected, “I believe our first priority is to take Lord Assazd and Lord Amenheraft to the doctor. Try and save their lives. You are hindering that by harassing an innocent lady.”

“…Save him? From leveona?”

Alexander’s proposal however seemed to get a very flaring response from Lord Assazd’s side, as Alexander recognised the voice as the late lord’s eldest son.

The young teenager was currently kneeling beside his pale, bluish father in a state of absolute shock, his fresh, baby like face shrouded in tears. The man had clearly passed away by now, possessing no breath or pulse.

Then as the boy turned to look at Alexander, rather than anger, he greeted him with pained and hurt eyes, like he was asking Alexander why he had done this.

“…” To which Alexander simply remained silent, knowing whatever he said would only add fuel to the fire.

It was not like he could not understand this sentiment. Given he was the only one out of the three who had managed to survive the plot, it was only natural to be considered the top suspect despite there being no evidence.

“I understand all of your suspicions. And know that if anybody thinks I had anything to do with this, then I am fully willing to help with the proceeding investigations.” He began a while later, his calm, soothing tone resonating with the settled air, then proposing peacefully with a flash of his palms,

“However let us at least summon the doctor for now. It is a great disrespect to leave both the lords lying on the bare floor like this. Every moment we waste arguing and pointing fingers is a sin on us against them!”

“…..” But much to the surprise, even this reasonable ask failed to draw much interest from the men. For some reason, neither Lord Assazd nor Amenheraft’s side seemed that eager to shout for a doctor.

This was primarily because the poison used was so famous for its lethality that the worst result was simply assumed- that there was no point in trying to save them.

Thus their focus now turned to revenge- i.e.- finding the culprit, and heavily punishing him. And currently, the top two names on their suspect list were Alexander and Lady Ezaya.

“Lord Alexander, did you have anything to do with this?” Thus, in response to Alexander’s attempt to divert the attention, Lord Assazd’s eldest son turned to ask Alexander this interrogating question very directly.

“…..” Alexander’s first produced a thin, pursed smile, before simply asking, “How does my lord wish for me to answer this?”

“Truthfully! In the name of the Father.” The young boy seriously posed, his puffed up eyes now turning soft, serene and focused.

And seeing this, Alexander personally thought the method was a bit immature, as it lacked any finesse or tact. However at the same time, he could appreciate the simplicity of it. Indeed right now it would make him appear more and more guilty if he tried to twist the words.

So he clearly nodded without a shred of hesitation,

“I swear I did not harm your father. I met with him today in good faith to resolve our issues. Killing him only hinders us in that aspect. As for you whether you believe me or not… well, you and I believe in different gods. So I will leave the judgment up to you.”

“…..” The young man became tongue tied hearing that. He did not have the experience to read through Alexander’s calm facade, nor did he know how to continue the conversation from there/

“Hmmp! I heard from everyone that Lord Alexander has a way with words. I can see that for myself!” He was only saved by Lord Mainus, who stepped in with still venom dripping from his eyes, furiously pointing, “If you are so innocent, why don’t you let me search your maid? Why talk in such a roundabout way? And why have you surrounded yourself with guards? Because you are only a coward who knows how to kill with poison!”

Lord Mainus made the accusation without missing a breath, and if not for the fact Alexander had a large group of men shielding him, this great warrior would have already charged in with swords drawn and killed the man, evidences and consequences be damned. He was that convinced.

Hence, even now, he was trying to bait the man out of his circle, hoping for the slightest chance.

Alexander only gave a disdainful smirk, seeing through the transparent tactic easily, before musing in a cool, collected, “Lord Mainus, I understand your thoughts are running wild right now. But I urge you to calm down; anyone and everyone in here is looking like a suspect to you. So if I say yes right now, you will kill me naturally, however if I say no, you will still kill me for lying.”

“….” And true to Alexander’s words, Lord Mainus’s eyes blazed with even more anger at Alexander’s denial, and he clenched his fist tightly till his knuckles began to hurt.

Alexander could only pretend not to notice the fury of the man but simply continued to add to his speech, now turning his gaze towards the gathered crowd,

“Given the current situation, does anyone find it unnatural that I took refuge with my men? Does anyone find it objectionable that I chose to skip discussing the culprit right now?”

“What if any one of you, out of sheer grief decided to do something rash? Or worse, what if the assassin is still hiding among us? Since he failed to kill me off with poison, could he not decide to use a knife to complete the job? Is there anyone who knows where the assassin is hiding?”

“….” Lady Ezaya almost broke her facade hearing the last question and had to desperately stifle her laughter.

But it seemed enough to convince Lord Assazd’s eldest son- Lord Yanuz of the logic. So with still puffed up eyes, he clenched out,

“Lord Mainus, you go and inform others. I will stay here and make sure he does not run. Let us have the three ladies checked by my moth… by our maids.”

The young man initially wanted his mother to conduct the body search because he trusted her the most, but decided against it at the last second as it would be too cruel to make her do such a thing right now.

“Laif! Kanil! Go!” Lord Mainus, agreeing with the man dispatched two of his trusted lieutenants, and instantly two heavily armed men dashed out of the room, one out looking for the doctor, the other rushing to inform their allies of the immense news.

Alexander on the other hand was prevented from seeking any such aid, as he and all his men were labelled as suspects and accomplices. Typically, this would have made the man very mad and protested, but given all this was staged, Alexander eschewed the option of causing more trouble.

He knew people from his side were ready with their ears perked up, and so would be here soon.

And indeed, just as predicted, the very first one to arrive in front of the door was none other than Kayvan, Pasha Farzah’s youngest son, sent by the old man a bit ahead of time to see what all the ruckus was about.

And as the young man spotted Amenheraft lying alongside the dead Lord Assazd, “What happened? How? Who?” the cry of disbelief he gave was extremely genuine.

Similar cries would soon begin to flood the room as more and more people converged on the room, until the whole place seemed about to burst.