Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 189: A Father's Scorn/Spire Hollow [Dual Chapter]

Richard slammed his fist into the wall of his office for the dozenth time since he returned to Pelith. Many things had gone wrong for him over the last few weeks.

The chief among them was that Lucius survived the assassination plan that was put in place. He left the entire plot up to the elven bitch known as Shiyani and assumed she would take care of it. Richard was not one to plan, he preferred the more honorable route of direct confrontation, so he had left the plan to her.

He had already dirtied his hands more than necessary by using an assassin. However, he also recognized that he was given little choice. There was absolutely no way for him to have been able to leave his command at Watcher's Retreat, make it past enemy lines unnoticed, track the Marked One down, and then kill him. After all that, he would have to somehow return to his command in a reasonable time.

It was practically impossible.

Another issue that plagued him was that not only did Lucius survive… he was also the son of the King Ranker Kalivas from Eroa. With training from him, the boy had gained the power to overwhelm every opponent in the Exhibition Tournament with complete ease.

After all that, the bastard had the gall to trap King Aleksander into a promise that allowed him to manipulate the king into approving the marriage of Lucius and Rena. There was not a doubt in Richard's mind of the question he asked, "Would it be fine if I were a noble" was one he specifically structured as a logical trap.

Had the king reneged on his word after Lucius was revealed as a noble but one similar in rank to Richard's own… it would have been an international embarrassment.

"That bastard defiled my daughter's innocent heart. I will kill him." Richard growled. "Wayne, I know that you are turning over in your grave, likely cursing me from the afterlife, but I cannot let this slide. Lucius… I will find a way to get back at you. Prophesied heir of House Kane or not… you will die by my hand."

"Lord Petra, your investigators are ready to provide a report on the destruction of Mistress Rubellia's home." A maid said from outside the door.

"Let them in."

A man and woman entered the room simultaneously, with a handful of documents between them. They were simple-looking folk, but they were very good investigators and information gatherers. Rubellia's home had been attacked not too long ago by an enraged Fanged Boar.

The beast alone was a rather rare sighting in the forest outside Pelith, but to have one leave the confines of the sacred woods was rarer still. For the beast to have also targeted Rubellia's home alone and caused no other damage… was too convenient, to say the least. Richard was not a man who relied on convenience; it was only a fact.

After his last inability to follow through, he would not leave this incident alone.

According to the investigators, Rubellia did make it out alive. People reported seeing her with a strange hooded man with animal-like ears. They left town on a rushed carriage headed toward the capital. This was likely the doing of Lucius.

As for the attack itself, it seemed someone had lured the monster out using a string of bait traps in the woods. The investigators found signs of monster bait around the destroyed home as well in periodic locations trailing deep into the woods where the beast would normally dwell.

After providing their findings, Richard handed them their payment and waived them away. Someone seemed to be attacking Lucius indirectly in such a way as to hurt him without making it obvious. Knowing how resourceful Lucius was, he would see through such incidents immediately.

Given how little time there was between Rubellia escaping and the monster attack occurring, it was clear he had anticipated something like this well in advance.

"Smart kid…" Richard grimaced.

At least one thing he agreed on with the boy was avoiding involving the innocent in their feud. Richard had no concerns that Lucius would find him responsible for this, as it was something below Richard's station.

"However, it is not below my idiot brother's…" he muttered. "Andre, you fool… if he finds out it's you… well, just keep Thomas out of it. He's the next in line, after all. If you get yourself killed, then it's your own damned fault."

Of course, he would not put it above Lucius to kill Thomas as payback for Andre's actions. However, starting a war like that between House Petra and House Kane could break the centuries-old alliance between Eroa and Arcadios. Such a thing would likely be something the boy would avoid.

After pondering the situation longer, he decided he needed to take a walk. It had been a long time since Richard had taken in the simple pleasures of life. He found himself amongst the flowers in his rear garden, walking and enjoying the smells and beauty of the cultivated flora.

It took little time for him to happen upon the gazebo that his daughter had loved so much when she was younger and the sight of it brought a pang of sorrow to him. Richard knew he was a poor excuse for a father. Too much of his focus was spent on his duties and almost none of it on his own flesh and blood.

Other than the maid staff, the girl was virtually isolated from social interactions of any kind. Her cousins were not those he wished her to be around. Also, the country nobles were much too timid to assume that he would let their children interact with her. Though he would have, they were not brave enough to ask, and he was too much of an idiot to make it known that it was okay.

"Lord Petra, a letter regarding Lady Rena arrived for you from the Arcadios Royal Academy."

"Oh? Why would that not be sent to Lucius or Kalivas?" he asked.

"I believe that you are still listed as her guarantor, so it will come to you directly."

"That makes sense, is she okay?"

The maid shuffled uncomfortably for a few moments before Richard finally said, "Well out with it."

"Um… my lord, it seems there have been a number of…"

"Of?"

"There have been noise complaints… from Rena's room… in the female dormitory, and the academy wishes for it to be addressed or for Lady Rena to find residence outside of the academy's facilities." The maid answered, her red flushed.

"Gods be damned, you fucking marked bastard…"

[---------------------190-Spire Hollow---------------------]

The first few days of the carriage trip went by rather smoothly. The roads were well-maintained and there were little in the ways of monsters or bandits to worry about. This was due to the capital's policy on making the area around it extraordinarily safe.

However, the safe and easy times would not last forever. The party eventually passed into the areas that were less maintained. The roads became bumpier and harder to travel. Natali in particular was uncomfortable from the constant jostling. As someone who had spent her entire life with Lyrah, riding in a carriage of any kind was something that she had never done.

The poor girl had it rough. She looked rather sick in the face even on the smooth parts of the trip, but now that they were rocking back and forth on large bumps and dips in the path, she looked like she would empty her guts at any moment.

"Miss Jade, could you please assist Natali in calming down? Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about the motion sickness she must be feeling." Lucius requested.

"Of course, Lord Kane." Jade answered with a smile before saddling up to the maid and rubbing her back. Jade also provided pieces of bread and water to try and settle the girl's stomach a little.

Neither would really accomplish much, but it was clear that Natali appreciated the gesture from Jade. Desmond looked on in pity at the girl, but said nothing. He had been remarkably quiet during the trip so far and even maintained a healthy distance away from Lucius.

Lucius did not know why this was, but assumed it had something to do with trying to earn his trust. Desmond had already self-admitted to receiving a letter from some unknown organization and handed the evidence directly to him.

It would have been just as easy for him to have kept it quiet and tried to worm his way into Lucius's inner-circle another way. However, it seemed that was not the kind of person Desmond Adler was. He was much more honest than that and freely answered the questions asked of him.

The only thing that ever seemed to put Sir Adler on edge was anything that related to his sister, Jade. It was clear he was extremely overprotective of her. Which is why Lucius used her to his advantage. Though he felt like Desmond was a decent enough guy, it never hurt to have insurance.

"Stop the carriage." Lucius stated suddenly while smacking the side of the wagon. Almost immediately, the driver stopped, making the horses whinny out of confusion.

"What is going…"

Lucius quickly shushed Desmond who had grabbed his spear and began to question why they were suddenly stopped. "Everyone out of the carriage. We have guests. They don't seem hostile." He said finally.

Lucius quickly jumped out and then proceeded to help the girls out of the back. The drop was not so large that they could not handle it, but something told him it would be the right thing to do. Natali and Rena could have easily made the leap without issue, but they were not going to decline his offer for assistance.

Jade, however, was not what one would call… athletically inclined. When she attempted to hop out, she stumbled over the side by catching the tip of her toe on the edge. Thankfully, Lucius was there to catch her, though they ended up in a slightly awkward entanglement.

Jade's face ended up buried into Lucius's chest as her arms were wrapped around his neck from her panicking and grabbing onto anything that would stabilize her fall. He could hear the pounding of her heart quicken and become louder while he simply sighed, put a hand on each of her shoulders, and then pried her off.

Desmond watched the situation with a raised eyebrow, visibly unsure of what to think about the situation. Rena simply smiled and stifled a laugh. However, the worst reaction from the situation came from the maid girl, Natali. Her usually stone-like face twitched at the corners of her lips; likely out of jealousy.

Choosing to ignore the situation in favor for the greater concern, Lucius turned to face down the road they were traveling on and awaited their guests. After only a short wait, a group of ten people, each wearing a hodgepodge of armor that did not quite go together, appeared.

It was easy to recognize the men as former soldiers from the war with Alorek. Since they were very close to the border with the Wisteria Concord, it only made sense that a number of the soldiers dismissed from the battle settled relatively near the area of engagement.

Discover hidden stories at M V L

Of course, Lucius did not recognize any of the people explicitly. He was able to deduce the information based on their armor, the fact many of them had marks on their left hands, and the fact they moved in a military-like fashion. It seemed that after he was secreted away to train in Eroa, the Marked Ones were given some form of training.

At least Richard was good for something while he oversaw Watcher's Retreat.

"Halt!" The person who appeared to be the leader of the group shouted out. "You are approaching Spire Hollow. What business do you have in our village?"

"Spire Hollow?" Desmond asked. "I'm unfamiliar with the place. We looked over the maps meticulously, but there was no mention of such a place."

"Spire Hollow is the name of our village. I'll ask again, what business do you have?" the leader continued, getting a little impatient.

"We were sent on a quest from the Adventurer's Guild to assist researchers at the Grimspire ruins. I take it your village is the one near them?" Rena said. She had put a hand on Lucius's arm to indicate she would take charge of the pleasantries.

Rena and the former soldiers continued to exchange information with one another so that they were each aware of the other's intentions. A few minutes went by, but eventually the armed men agreed to escort them to their village. It would be dark soon and traveling the rest of the way to Grimspire would not be a wise idea.

Even though it was very close to the village they were going to, such a short distance was still dangerous at night.

The village they called 'Spire Hollow' was supposed to be a small village that specialized in hunting and lumber, like most of the villages in Arcadios. However, it seemed that the village had grown a lot in population. There seemed to be a large number of veterans from the war that settled here.

Houses were constructed quickly and in large rows, and the village had even set up a rather large and formidable barricade around itself.

"Not bad." Lucius remarked.