CHAPTER 148: PLANS FOR WAR

"Nice to see you, Andrew. I’ve been wondering when you would come again," Viscount Luke said, sitting on his couch with a glass of wine in his hands. He twirled it around and around a few times and then took a sip before gazing out the window to look at his men training.

"A lot has been happening. I was placed under investigation by the Queen, and now I don’t know what’s coming next. It’s really a lot," Luke said and then took another sip.

"I’m here about that very issue," Andrew spoke.

"Oh? Do you have some information that could prove useful?" Luke asked.

"Yes. This might even be the point where you finally take down my brother. The Queen asked them to lead a war against you, to take you down for her.

"Soon, he’ll make a move against you, and you’ll die if you aren’t careful."

Luke’s face twisted when he heard that. He slowly placed his glass on the table and looked at Andrew. "Are you being serious, kid?" Viscount Luke asked, a hard expression settling on his face.

"As serious as can be," Andrew replied. "My brother will be coming against you and your land. He’s sneaky. He’ll find some method to take you down. Even though you have more force and more men, you cannot underestimate my brother."

The Viscount frowned, his fist clenching.

"To think the Queen would look down on me so much as to send a simple barony to take me down. I would have preferred if she came against me herself, then I would go down with honor. But sending a mere barony..." His jaw tightened. "That is disrespectful."

He looked at Andrew sharply. "Why would you tell me this? I understand your desire to remove your brother, but you do realize that what you’ve told me is simply giving me information about a coming war. Information I will use against your hometown. I’ll take everything, and burn it down."

"I understand that," Andrew said calmly. "And I am willing to support you to the very end. My father has already decided that my brother will be taking the seat as Baron. After everything I did for him, after everything I went through, he boycotted me for that lousy piece of shit. There is no more reason for me to stand with Ribests or stand for them. I would rather you burn it to the ground. And from those ashes... I’ll take my rightful seat as the new lord over the lands."

"I see. So that’s your plan," the Viscount said.

He picked up his wine glass again and took a slow sip.

"I’ll make sure you get everything you want when all is said and done. But for now, we are going to wage war against your barony, destroy your hometown, and drive a blade straight into the heart of that brother of yours. This will be the last time he dares stick his fingers into my business."

Hatred and anger twisted the Viscount’s expression.

"Now," he said, leaning forward, "tell me everything you know about your home. Every person. Every detail. Anything that could help us. Give me everything I need so that when I make my move... I will bring that entire place down without any issue."

[...]

After Andrew left, the Viscount sat in his room, staring into his main mirror while sipping his wine. A few seconds later, his ego appeared in the room, Shadow.

She walked to the chair and sat down, her fingers interlocked, her head bowed.

"It’s good to see you, Shadow," Viscount Luke said.

She didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at him, just kept her head down.

"I’m happy you came when I summoned you," he continued.

"What did you call me for?" she asked, her voice clearly irritated and exhausted with him.

He smiled from ear to ear. "Someone’s in a bad mood. Well, it doesn’t matter. Because now... I need your help."

She didn’t lift her head.

"The town of Ribest wants to come against me in a war. They want to take me down for the Queen. I won’t have that. I’d rather die in a prison cell than allow a child to put a blade through my heart. So in that regard, I’ll be needing your help."

"My help for what? You have a force strong enough to level that town. What do you need me for?"

He looked directly at her.

"I said I need your help, and that’s final. You don’t get to choose when or where I send you. According to the brother of Raze, the one the Queen assigned, there is a certain being in the town that you should pay more attention to. He said it goes by the name Fey... and somehow the kid is extremely strong."

When he mentioned Fey, Shadow’s eyes widened in shock.

He noticed.

"Should I assume that look means you’ve seen this Fey before?" he asked.

She looked away.

"If he is around... then there’s no point in attacking the town. We will lose."

"And that," he said sharply, "is exactly why I need you."

He leaned forward.

"Your job, your responsibility, is to keep Fey at bay. Do not let him near the grounds of the battle. Do not allow him anywhere close. Do you understand me?"

She looked at him helplessly. "That’s not possible."

His voice hardened. "Are you trying to disobey me?"

"It’s not that... that Fey is much stronger than you think. I don’t think I would be capable of—"

"Then use that technique. Use that ability," he snapped.

Shadow’s face twisted with shock and fear.

"If I use that... there’s no guarantee of my life."

"And I do not care," he said coldly. "At the very least, your life will have been useful for something. Don’t forget what you are, or what you’re meant to do."

She frowned heavily. "If I use that ability, I’ll die," she repeated, practically praying he wouldn’t ignore her.

But he doubled down.

"And I do not care. This is my life against yours. And when it comes to that... I’ll happily choose mine. Use that ability. Keep Fey tied down. Do you understand me?"