A/N; This chapter would be shorter than expected for personal reasons.
Unfortunately. I needed to put God of Wrought Iron on hiatus because of lose of motivation.
But without further ado, let's start!
10:00 AM, Nightwillow territory, Rubelton City.
In the far west, away from the royal capital. There was a city named Rubelton, a bustling city under Count Nightwillow, it thrives through its gem mines and trading industry, but that was a long time ago. Beautiful architecture and happy citizens all over the city… or at least that's what it looks like outside of its walls. When you enter, you would notice the putrid smell that permeates the air, corrupt guards taking bribes all over the place, and lastly, criminals, they're everywhere that it almost looks like they own the place. Well, it wouldn't be too far from the truth.
An armored person walks its dirty streets, he wore a green ragged cloak covering his armor, he wears a helmet that conceals his identity, and people didn't really mind him roaming around, for all they knew he was just one of Nightwillows' mercenaries.
He looked around and saw a large group of people congregating around the city's quest board. They seem to be arguing about something…
"Oi, you got the last contract, let me have it this time!" A tall gruff man with a giant sword yelled at his companion who answered: "It's a hundred gold, we can split it!"
"Hey, you!" A man called the knight.
"Yes?" the knight answered.
"Green cloak, slightly shorter than your average man… You're Ector, right?" The man asked.
"I am, indeed." The knight confirmed. "What do you need of me?" The now identified "Ector" asked.
"Oh thank the gods! Could you please stop those morons from starting a brawl? There's a trading caravan from a neighboring kingdom, apparently they were sent by said nation to observe and establish trade relations, we need to be at our best behaviors!" The man exclaimed.
'You are delusional to think that anybody would want to trade with this place.' The knight scoffed mentally, knowing the true state of the city. "Well, why are they fighting anyway?"
The man looked at Ector like he has said something weird. He shrugged his shoulders and explained: "I don't know why you haven't heard of it yet, but Count Nightwillow issued a one hundred gold bounty for anyone who could bring back Lady Lizbeth, they were fighting on who should get the contract."
The knight's body jolted at the mention of the name. He calmed himself and cleared his throat "Lizbeth? As in Lizbeth Nightwillow? The one who went missing last week?" He asked calmly.
"The very same." The man nodded.
"Fine, I'll take care of it." The knight approached the bickering pair, he removed his scabbard along with his sword from his waist. The observers were expecting a battle, but suddenly- Ector hit both of them in the shins, they whimpered as they clutched their damaged jewels, now that they were a little lower, Ector then hit their necks with a scabbard. They were knocked out immediately.
The crowd watched in awe as Ector knocked out two opponents bigger than him with ease. The knight approached the quest board and ripped the taped paper containing the count's contract. He turned around and approached the man that told him about the fight.
"Thank you, oh thank you!" the man shook the knights hand. "I would never forget this! Also, pardon my rudeness." He cleared his throat. "My name is Igor, and I am the guildmaster of this city's adventurer's guild!" Igor introduced himself.
"No instead, I would like to thank you." Ector bowed.
"What for…?" Igor asked, confused.
"Do not worry about it." The knight turned around and walked away from the crowd. He waved his hand in goodbye.
Igor was left terribly confused by his action. But he shook his head and shrugged it as some weird habit from the knight. He then called some adventurers to drag the unconscious pair away from the quest board.
(Minutes later)
Ector was leaning in a wall in an alleyway, he pulled the notice from his bag. The notice reads as follows:
Dear Citizens of Rubelton, I, Count Nightwillow, Implore you to take action. My beloved daughter Lizbeth has went missing. She has been kidnapped by someone, I am currently in extreme distress for the disappearance of my daughter, and she is the only reminder of my late wife. Please search for her, I would give one hundred gold or more if she comes back unharmed.
And then at the back if the paper:
This is an official notice from the lord of the land, and thus, should be treated as top priority.
Ector scowled at the notice. "They never listen." Ector ripped the paper to pieces and threw it to the trash. "The Redlight District should be next, maybe soon I could get them off my back…" He walked deeper into the alleyway, disappearing from sight.
7:00 PM, Antaria Royal Castle, king's office
The king's aides were busy doing paperwork, it was a tiring day for them. Ever since the debutante ball the king's office became chock-full of letters, may it be invitations, the typical marriage proposals just triple the size, and consolation(read; bootlicking) letters etcetera.
The king however- was acting differently this time around. "What's happened to His Majesty?" One of the aides, named Lars, asked.
"Oh, he's just sulking." The eldest of the aides, named Bart, answered as he continued to compile the letters.
"How do you know?" Lars asked with curiosity.
Bart stopped compiling and pointed to said king. "Now look and listen, you see his right leg? It's twitching."
"Uhuh…" Lars nodded.
"Look at how he handles his pen, random ink splashes everywhere. He doesn't wanna be here, so he's sulking." Bart continued.
"But why? Isn't he a workaholic?" Lars asked, even more confused now.
"Lars, you're new here right? So you wouldn't know. But the king has a habit of doing chores for servants." Bart talked loudly.
"What!?" the younger of the two gasped.
"Weird, I know. Apparently he's been doing that since he was a kid, he was a nightmare for the headmaid. But, this time it's different, he's been banned from doing chores for a month after the stunt he pulled the day before the ball. The moron cleaned all day and even cooked, he- and I kid you not forego sleep to cook extra incase the food was not enough! The idiot stopped cooking at twelve in the night, and fucking woke up an hour later!" Bart massaged his temple in irritation.
"Bartholomew… I. Am. Right. Here!" Artorius yelled, objecting.
"As you should be!" Bart yelled back. "We're never resting until you finish the seventh batch." He said as he put a giant pile of paper at the king's desk. "Now work faster you damned brat!"
"I am nearing my thirties, Bartholomew!"
"Then get married already!"
"I don't wanna!"
Lars looked in awe at the older man and the king bickering. Maybe life at the palace wasn't so boring afterall.
(Three hour later)
Shirou was tired, incredibly so. The paperwork that piled up were a bit too much. As he was about plummet into his bed, he suddenly heard a swishing sound coming his way. It was coming from the window, he dodged it, tracing the projectile, he found out that it was a crossbow bolt. It was an assassination attempt.
He looked into the window and saw a hooded man running away. He reinforced his legs and sprinted to the roof across the garden, catching up to the assassin, he then projected a regular sword and started chasing the assassin, they passed through many obstacles, chimneys, towers, unmaintained roofs. The chase was so fast that the castle staff dismissed it as cats playing on the roof.
But, they assassin may be fast, but Shirou's reinforced legs were faster. Eventually he caught up with the hooded figure, the assassin tried to escape but was stopped when black keys locked his shadow. Shirou approached the man.
He then asked the assassin: "Who sent you!" He pointed his sword to the assassin. The man didn't even make a noise. Shirou prepared to knock out the assailant for interrogation when suddenly- the assassin's body began to dissolve into dirt, its clothes remaining intact for some reason.
The former freelancer sighed in disappointment. But at least he knew that a mage was targeting him.
Meters away we could see illya in her room occupied with something, her bird-like constructs floating in the air, ready to fight.
A hooded figure tried to stab her, but she dodged it. She binded the assassin in strings to make them immobile. Another one lunged at her but she just did the same thing and binded it to her strings once more.
"What is happening? Was Shirou attacked too?" She asked herself, worried for her brother. "Now let me ask you." She said at the two assailants.
"Who do you work for?" She asked.
The assassins didn't answer. Instead they crumbled into dirt. Dirtying Illya's carpet.
"It was a mage" She said to no one in particular. "Really advanced golems… it seems the it was disposable though."
She excamined the clothes the assassins left behind. "I better tell Shirou about this in the morning." She returned to bed and slept peacefully.
Away to the north of the capital, there was a great tower that lies at the middle of the forest. At the top of the tower, there was a figure that was biting her fingers in anger. It was the heroine, she was looking at a crystal ball that was projecting the events of the castle.
"Why? Why is she still alive? I even charmed the archmage for the golems!" She looked at the bed beside her, there was a figure there, it was a man with a long light blue hair, and he was naked.
"Are you alright my dear…" The archmage asked with a loving tone.
"Nooo~" The heroine said in a whining tone.
"What's wrong?"
"Could you make me another golem?~" She asked in a sweet tone.
"B-but! I can't, it takes hours to make golems like that!" The archmage stuttered, trying to refuse her request.
"Awww, c'mon! I'll give you a reward if you do it~" She said in a seductive tone.
The archmage blushed, then gulped. "Y-yes, as you wish!"
'Being the heroine is the best!!' She thought in excitement.
'Sooner, just you wait Isaiah, you'll be mine.' She thought, looking into the window.
A/N; And that's all folks. Please Follow and Favourite this work. Also please review. Flames would be ignored as usual.
