Chapter 102: Ally But Not A Friend
"I will give you a top tier knight manual." Adrian offered casually. "And I will make you the public face of my assassination group. Lorcan and his men will do their own thing. They will handle the shadows. But you? You take all the credit and all the glory. But if someone comes to you, then that will be your own responsibility so you will have to get strong."
Lorcan nodded. "That is perfect. I do not mind."
Jack’s eyes lit up. "I... thank you. I don’t know what else to say..."
"Cool. Let’s just do it then." Adrian pulled a blank Soul Contract from his pocket.
He drafted the terms quickly and tossed it to the floor. Jack eagerly bit his tongue and let the blood drip onto the parchment. Adrian then sealed the contract and tossed it into the dungeon.
"Now that we are done." Adrian smiled and instantly slapped the guy.
He hit him so hard that Jack literally spun across the floor and hit a wall.
Jack groaned as a massive, bright red handprint immediately appeared on his cheek. He survived the hit, but his head was totally spinning.
"That is what you get for even thinking of attacking me." Adrian said coldly. "Now tell me exactly who sent you."
"Marchioness Vaneira and Count Frankenstein." Jack coughed out.
Adrian squinted his eyes. "I see... I guess it’s time to kill their territories."
He suddenly paused, and then he turned to look at Lorcan.
"You said you have a really good information network." Adrian said. "I need to find a specific mercenary group. The ones who attacked this land a few months back and literally burned everything down. I can get my people to describe their faces to you."
Lorcan did not even hesitate as he shook his head.
"I already know exactly which group did it." Lorcan said calmly.
Adrian froze for a second and then grinned widely.
"Tell me." Adrian said.
Lorcan glanced at Aria and smiled at her, "I think the little lady needs some sleep first. Why don’t we talk later, my lord?"
With a nod, Adrian took Aria to her bedroom and the moment she hit the bed, she closed her eyes and stopped moving. She didn’t even need a bed time story.
’She’s pretty tired huh...’ Adrian thought as he sat on the edge of the mattress. He reached out and gently stroked Aria’s silver hair.
But Aria wasn’t really sleeping. It was just an act and she planned to eavesdrop on Adrian’s chat with Lorcan but there was a huge problem now.
She tried to keep her heavy eyes open and she tried really hard to fight it. But the soft, rhythmic motion of his hand on her head was just too much for her. The calming feeling washed over her entirely and she drifted off to sleep in less than a minute.
He watched her chest rise and fall for a while as he was lost in his own thoughts. Then he quietly got up from the bed and walked out of the room.
Adrian headed straight down the hallway and opened the door to his own bedroom.
Lorcan stood right in the middle of the room.
"We have a complicated situation." Lorcan said calmly as Adrian shut the wooden door.
He walked over to his chair and sat down.
"Speak." Adrian said.
"The mercenaries who burned your town did not come from Crestwall at all." Lorcan explained. "They were hired by the Ironhold Kingdom."
Adrian frowned when he heard it.
Ironhold was a neighboring kingdom located right beside his territory. They were famous across the continent for being absolute pacifists. They never waged offensive wars and they just hid behind their massive defensive walls for decades while successfully repelling anyone who tried to invade them.
"Are you sure?" Adrian asked. "They actually sent those thugs?"
"They maintain a clean, defensive image on the outside." Lorcan nodded. "But they play dirty in the shadows. They secretly hire rogue mercenaries and assassins to cripple growing territories before they become actual threats. In fact, they are my guild’s biggest clients."
That news hit Adrian like a bucket of freezing water.
He had completely taken their pacifist reputation at face value. He assumed they were just good people wanting to stay safe. But that was a total lie. Politics in this world were completely ruthless and this was a reminder for Adrian that he still wasn’t used to it yet.
"But they did not target you randomly." Lorcan said slowly. "Ironhold had zero intel on your dungeon. They had no idea Oresfall was making money and expanding. Someone from Crestwall leaked the information to them."
"Who?"
"Viscount Alexander."
Adrian clenched his fists.
Lorcan pulled a folded paper from his cloak. "We intercepted their communication lines. Alexander told Ironhold about your iron and steel supply. He warned them that if your place became big enough, the Crestwall Empire would have a forward operating base fully equipped to continuously wage war against them. So Ironhold panicked and sent the mercenaries to burn you down."
It was a perfect proxy attack.
Ironhold just wanted to prevent a scary future for themselves. But Viscount Alexander was the real mastermind behind the whole thing. He had put a knife at Adrian’s throat and Adrian couldn’t even tell who it was.
Until now, that is.
’I trusted that guy.’ Adrian thought angrily.
Alexander lent him troops just to play the good neighbor while actively plotting his downfall in secret.
Adrian took the damage personally and his people died because of this political game. He wasn’t the type of person to just sit still and let people play with him or his people.
He knew Ironhold was way too huge to attack right now. Their defensive walls were highly intuitive and strong. He was not prepared to march his new army just to get them killed.
But Alexander was different and he was going to pay soon.
"I will handle this." Adrian said coldly. "Leave me."
Lorcan bowed and left the room without a saying another word.
