*****
3:26 P.M, July 2nd, 1753, Aragon empire, Crimson palace.
''I'm telling you for the fourth time now that it wasn't us!'' A middle-aged man shouts angrily, his usual benevolence face nowhere to be seen. This is the first time the church has been involved in one of these meetings, and what he got was a baseless accusation.
''And how can I trust you, Archbishop Henry? Clearly the Marquis's guards were killed by the paladins, only with offensive divine magic can someone poke small holes through bodies like that.'' Another man refuted.
''Stop it, Duke Forbes, there is no evidence that the Church did it. But, the intruders were aiming to rescue the slaves, maybe the Marquis shouldn't have bought them in the first place. They have only targeted slave owners, you know? You of all people better be careful.'' A man presumably in his thirties replied.
''Hah, are you implying that they will come for me next? Laughable, you underestimate me too much, Duke Spencer, there's hardly anyone who can match me in this empire. If those cockroaches dare to attack me, they'll know fear!''
''...We're going nowhere.'' The emperor said annoyedly, besides him are his two sons.
He is exceptionally pissed off today, mainly because this morning, the brutally mutilated corpse of Marquis Eliot was found near the palace. And now he has to summon an emergency meeting with all the available high nobles and other forces to deal with this.
Just a few hours before, a report from the late Marquis's wife saying that unidentified intruders had raided their mansion, and that the Marquis was missing came in as well.
There's only 12 Marquises in the empire, so losing one is obviously a pretty big deal. The Marquis's son, Derrick Eliot, who is shaking with a pale face at the end of the table, is also here, mostly to receive the title and resume the late Marquis's work as soon as possible.
After some hours of discussing to properly fill in the vacuum of the late Marquis, now the meeting's topic has switched to the intruders.
''As I said before, I think these ones are the same ones who have been attacking our nobles for the last few years. Their motive is the same.'' A noble speaks up.
''But the group before this didn't use this kind of magic, I don't think they're the same ones.'' Another noble said.
''Actually, assuming it wasn't the paladins, what kind of magic can drill such clean holes onto the human bodies? It's even strong enough to pierce the barriers of two decent tankers as well.''
''Hah~, that's why I said, just don't buy slaves anymore, and you won't be targeted. It's that easy.'' Duke Spencer said with a frown. ''And Your Majesty, I plead, please make an effort to stop these kinds of crimes.''
''...I will think about it.'' The emperor said annoyedly.
-----
In the end, the meeting ended with no clear answer as to who the intruders are. The son of the late Marquis got his title in a hurry, and now he has to come back to his mansion to resume the work.
It was decided that Marquis Eliot's death will be officially announced as an accident after a few days.
Walking in the hallway outside the meeting room, a young man in his twenties with a fierce expression seems very frustrated, the attendant beside him tried his best to calm him down earlier, but it didn't work.
''Those goddamn scumbags...'' William curses.
Born as the second prince of the empire, William is ambitious, he wants to sit on the throne, and he wants to see his country grow to be the very best.
But definitely not like this. Corrupted nobles, ever raging wars, and people being enslaved.
Although Duke Spencer, who is his biggest ally in his faction, has tried his best to prevent slavery across the capital and other territories, there are still some rotten bastards like Duke Forbes. Worse, the bastard is one of the best swordman in the empire, so nobody can really touch him.
William is extremely frustrated, because he couldn't win over the emperor, no matter what he said. The emperor is siding with the crown prince, and they only know wars and invasions, ignoring the corruption that is still growing, embedding in the roots of the empire today.
Snapping out of his trance, he can see a girl walking towards him from the other side with a serious expression. It's his little sister.
''Christina.''
''Brother William.'' Christina said, looking straight at her brother's eyes.
William's image inside Christina is pretty good, although his appearance is a bit rough, and he likes to play around with women a lot, he is also kind and reasonable. Unlike her other brother, whose face is triggering this uncomfortable feeling inside her every time.
''What are you doing here?'' William asked.
''Brother, can we talk?''
''Sure...?''
-----
Inside the guest room of Christina's mansion, she and her brother are sitting across each other, sipping the tea that a maid bought in earlier.
''So... Is it true that you already knew about Duke Forbes owning slaves?''
''!!'' William widen his eyes. ''How did you know that?''
''I caught his son trying to do shady things with one of his slave earlier today, after some interrogation, he said that his father is also in it with him.''
''...Even the son is this bad...'' William frowns. ''...Fine, there's nothing more to hide.''
-----
After telling Christina about the whole situation, William smiles bitterly. ''I'm sorry, Christina, I'm not strong enough.''
Christina, who had an angry expression until now, relaxed her face when she sees her brother's state.
''...It's fine, brother William, at least you tried.''
''Thanks.''
''...Brother.''
''What's wrong?''
''The heir of Forbes also said that all of the slaves are in their main estate.''
''...Don't tell me...''
''I'm going to save them. Please lend me a hand.''
''...That... Is very risky.''
''I know, but I can't ignore this.''
''...''
''...''
''You know what? Fine, I'll contact Duke Spencer and the church to have them mobilize their forces. The archbishop seemed exceptionally pissed off today when he heard about Duke Forbes owning slaves, maybe I can get him to join. And I'm going as well.''
''Are you sure, brother?''
''I am, I can't let my sister charges in alone, no?''
''Heh! That's my brother.''
*****
''So, let me explain the plan once more. Firstly, we will wait for the moment when security is the most laxed, then we will infiltrate like the last time to find out the layout of the estate, as well as the exact locations of the slaves and Duke Forbes's bedroom.'' Adam said.
''Once we're done confirming the Duke's state, our members will report back the information, then, Her Highness will use the Hecate II with super AP rounds to hopefully shoot Duke Forbes to death while he is sleeping, and that will be the signal for us to all went in, prioritize knocking out normal workers, but shoot anyone on sight if they try to guard the slaves.''
It's nighttime, we're now in the meeting room underground again, with our new information.
Our investigation team has also been verifying what the late Marquis said as well, and apparently the information is very likely to be true, combine with what we got out of the guy earlier in the morning, we decided to finalize our plan today and proceed as soon as possible.
''Yes, it would be better if the Duke wasn't there, but... He's already on his way back to his estate.'' Isabella complained. ''If only we knew this earlier...''
''Well, worst case, just run away first, we can always do another raid later.'' I said.
''You're right, Your Highness. We still need to rescue more people.'' Isabella sighs.
Well, we need to travel for a day to get to his territory, so better hurry up, I suppose.
*****
3:26 P.M, July 2nd, 1753, Aragon empire, Crimson palace.
''I'm telling you for the fourth time now that it wasn't us!'' A middle-aged man shouts angrily, his usual benevolence face nowhere to be seen. This is the first time the church has been involved in one of these meetings, and what he got was a baseless accusation.
''And how can I trust you, Archbishop Henry? Clearly the Marquis's guards were killed by the paladins, only with offensive divine magic can someone poke small holes through bodies like that.'' Another man refuted.
''Stop it, Duke Forbes, there is no evidence that the Church did it. But, the intruders were aiming to rescue the slaves, maybe the Marquis shouldn't have bought them in the first place. They have only targeted slave owners, you know? You of all people better be careful.'' A man presumably in his thirties replied.
''Hah, are you implying that they will come for me next? Laughable, you underestimate me too much, Duke Spencer, there's hardly anyone who can match me in this empire. If those cockroaches dare to attack me, they'll know fear!''
''...We're going nowhere.'' The emperor said annoyedly, besides him are his two sons.
He is exceptionally pissed off today, mainly because this morning, the brutally mutilated corpse of Marquis Eliot was found near the palace. And now he has to summon an emergency meeting with all the available high nobles and other forces to deal with this.
Just a few hours before, a report from the late Marquis's wife saying that unidentified intruders had raided their mansion, and that the Marquis was missing came in as well.
There's only 12 Marquises in the empire, so losing one is obviously a pretty big deal. The Marquis's son, Derrick Eliot, who is shaking with a pale face at the end of the table, is also here, mostly to receive the title and resume the late Marquis's work as soon as possible.
After some hours of discussing to properly fill in the vacuum of the late Marquis, now the meeting's topic has switched to the intruders.
''As I said before, I think these ones are the same ones who have been attacking our nobles for the last few years. Their motive is the same.'' A noble speaks up.
''But the group before this didn't use this kind of magic, I don't think they're the same ones.'' Another noble said.
''Actually, assuming it wasn't the paladins, what kind of magic can drill such clean holes onto the human bodies? It's even strong enough to pierce the barriers of two decent tankers as well.''
''Hah~, that's why I said, just don't buy slaves anymore, and you won't be targeted. It's that easy.'' Duke Spencer said with a frown. ''And Your Majesty, I plead, please make an effort to stop these kinds of crimes.''
''...I will think about it.'' The emperor said annoyedly.
-----
In the end, the meeting ended with no clear answer as to who the intruders are. The son of the late Marquis got his title in a hurry, and now he has to come back to his mansion to resume the work.
It was decided that Marquis Eliot's death will be officially announced as an accident after a few days.
Walking in the hallway outside the meeting room, a young man in his twenties with a fierce expression seems very frustrated, the attendant beside him tried his best to calm him down earlier, but it didn't work.
''Those goddamn scumbags...'' William curses.
Born as the second prince of the empire, William is ambitious, he wants to sit on the throne, and he wants to see his country grow to be the very best.
But definitely not like this. Corrupted nobles, ever raging wars, and people being enslaved.
Although Duke Spencer, who is his biggest ally in his faction, has tried his best to prevent slavery across the capital and other territories, there are still some rotten bastards like Duke Forbes. Worse, the bastard is one of the best swordman in the empire, so nobody can really touch him.
William is extremely frustrated, because he couldn't win over the emperor, no matter what he said. The emperor is siding with the crown prince, and they only know wars and invasions, ignoring the corruption that is still growing, embedding in the roots of the empire today.
Snapping out of his trance, he can see a girl walking towards him from the other side with a serious expression. It's his little sister.
''Christina.''
''Brother William.'' Christina said, looking straight at her brother's eyes.
William's image inside Christina is pretty good, although his appearance is a bit rough, and he likes to play around with women a lot, he is also kind and reasonable. Unlike her other brother, whose face is triggering this uncomfortable feeling inside her every time.
''What are you doing here?'' William asked.
''Brother, can we talk?''
''Sure...?''
-----
Inside the guest room of Christina's mansion, she and her brother are sitting across each other, sipping the tea that a maid bought in earlier.
''So... Is it true that you already knew about Duke Forbes owning slaves?''
''!!'' William widen his eyes. ''How did you know that?''
''I caught his son trying to do shady things with one of his slave earlier today, after some interrogation, he said that his father is also in it with him.''
''...Even the son is this bad...'' William frowns. ''...Fine, there's nothing more to hide.''
-----
After telling Christina about the whole situation, William smiles bitterly. ''I'm sorry, Christina, I'm not strong enough.''
Christina, who had an angry expression until now, relaxed her face when she sees her brother's state.
''...It's fine, brother William, at least you tried.''
''Thanks.''
''...Brother.''
''What's wrong?''
''The heir of Forbes also said that all of the slaves are in their main estate.''
''...Don't tell me...''
''I'm going to save them. Please lend me a hand.''
''...That... Is very risky.''
''I know, but I can't ignore this.''
''...''
''...''
''You know what? Fine, I'll contact Duke Spencer and the church to have them mobilize their forces. The archbishop seemed exceptionally pissed off today when he heard about Duke Forbes owning slaves, maybe I can get him to join. And I'm going as well.''
''Are you sure, brother?''
''I am, I can't let my sister charges in alone, no?''
''Heh! That's my brother.''
*****
''So, let me explain the plan once more. Firstly, we will wait for the moment when security is the most laxed, then we will infiltrate like the last time to find out the layout of the estate, as well as the exact locations of the slaves and Duke Forbes's bedroom.'' Adam said.
''Once we're done confirming the Duke's state, our members will report back the information, then, Her Highness will use the Hecate II with super AP rounds to hopefully shoot Duke Forbes to death while he is sleeping, and that will be the signal for us to all went in, prioritize knocking out normal workers, but shoot anyone on sight if they try to guard the slaves.''
It's nighttime, we're now in the meeting room underground again, with our new information.
Our investigation team has also been verifying what the late Marquis said as well, and apparently the information is very likely to be true, combine with what we got out of the guy earlier in the morning, we decided to finalize our plan today and proceed as soon as possible.
''Yes, it would be better if the Duke wasn't there, but... He's already on his way back to his estate.'' Isabella complained. ''If only we knew this earlier...''
''Well, worst case, just run away first, we can always do another raid later.'' I said.
''You're right, Your Highness. We still need to rescue more people.'' Isabella sighs.
Well, we need to travel for a day to get to his territory, so better hurry up, I suppose.
