“Welcome to the real high society, Count Byron.”

This particular sentence sent all of their face’s color down the drain. 

Why?

Simple...they knew. They knew that they had themselves fallen to the traps laid by the hunter. A prey waiting to be hunted. That is what they are now.

The Title a noble has does have some effect...but it is easily overshadowed by the size and power of the territory they have.

For example, Marquis Clifford in front of me is widely known as a leecher. Slowly eating away the money our house has. Father knows it too.

I can’t count the number of times he almost sent assassins to kill him. But the only reason the Marquis is still living is because of the relationship my father had with the previous Marquis.

I’ve been well informed of the help and support Marquis Clifford’s father lent during the early days of my Father. When he just started to take control of the Duchy.

But...I can sense that my father’s patience has dried up.

Learning about what the next heir of Clifford did to me, Father and even mother too had people ranging from assassins to hired mercenaries ready. Ready to bring hell down to Earth for the Marquis.

But of course, that never happened.

I can’t just let them steal my prey.

Oh...right. Marquis Clifford is a complete asshole, known throughout the Empire. Our Duchy has already received countless letters from the people living under Clifford.

Now...this was the reason why he never really knew about the inner workings of the Nobility.

To start with, the territory the Marquis had in his control was already running on fumes. With the vault running dry, so did his power over the Empire.

He was deemed unworthy to know about the deepest secrets.

But on the other hand, the Donha family had only a Count title.

However, even the bigshots of the Empire like the Hastings or the Arden wouldn’t want to have the Donha on their bad side.

Why? Why would the power hubs of the Empire fear a territory that only has a title of a  Count?

It’s not like we would lose...no, if a fight were to break, our Duchy would undoubtedly win. But with the cost of a victory, we would have to sacrifice a lot of lives.

The Donha Countdom are originally farmers. But not just any farmers, they were a territory that supplied over 60% of food materials throughout the Empire. 

Vast land that had an abundance of nutrients and minerals mixed in the soil...a perfect place for agriculture that was used by intelligent people.

The Countdom has various customers, from Duchy to Barony. Even other Empires and Kingdoms were regular customers to the Donha.

And Lousia Donah was the sole daughter of such a family. They do have two other sons, but the only princess of such land was Louisa.

My brother’s fiancee.

Excluding her wild character, she was undeniably a lady with her own class of beauty. Red velvet hair and pitch black eyes...and a little bit of tan. She had more female fans than male ones.

Had.

Everything changed once Lily Dormer arrived. Like a puppy attracting the hands of children...she one by one stole the major players of the Empire. The next nobles...the future generation.

Ahh...remembering her still sends a chill down my spine. And not to mention anger up to the brain...Crown Prince!!!

Inwardly swearing, I cast the topic to the dark side of my brain.

Right, Louisa has a strong background. And to ensure that the Hastings and the Donha are in a strong relation, it was decided that Louisa and Silas will be engaged.

But, she has given up. Losing complete faith in Silas, she moved her concentration to something else.

I am pissed...not only did the Hastings are on the verge of losing an important connection, but Louisa is also my friend.

Her wild character...doing whatever she wants, like a prideful tiger roaming around the forest, I naturally considered her as one of my people. 

I would do anything to ensure that Louisa somehow enters the Hastings family. And I will.

Even Lady Cosima, Duchess of Arden had one of her daughters engaged to the eldest son of Donha.

The balance of power will tilt if my brother’s engagement gets annulled. 

Yes, my father is the Prime minister and the Duke of Hastings, but that doesn’t mean he can control all the bigshots in the Empire. 

And the Arden family knows it too...that’s why they too support engagement between Silas and Louisa is important.

For the outside world, Hastings and Arden are akin to cat and mouse. Breathtaking hostility. Spine chilling killing intent.

These are the emotions the people and the lesser nobles think that Arden and Hasting have at each other.

Of course, they couldn’t be any more wrong.

If we were against each other to that extent, I would have faced various assassination attempts. Perhaps I wouldn’t even be alive yet.

It’s quite obvious but both Hastings and Arden are on good terms. Some of our ancestors were indeed against others...but it changed over time.

We felt that if the two houses were against each other, it would bring more destruction than peace.

This change occurred long ago though. However, the noble houses supporting us don't know about it.

Why?

It could bring chaos. What would happen if lava and ice were to exist together? Wouldn’t it break the world’s understanding?

That’s how the nobles see us as. We couldn’t announce that we were on good terms with each other. Even in a one in a millionth chance that chaos and riots were to break out, we just can’t restart by cleaning the slate.

Bound by endless lies, some of the most prominent houses in the Empire are fated to live like this.

That’s just how the world works.

Facade. 

A veil.

A fog of mysteries.

A commoner walking down the street won’t know about the inner workings of the Empire. They don’t need to. For them, the price of day to day things have much more importance and weightage.

This is the truth. 

Nobles love to stay in trend. The same goes true for my family.

We stay in news...we stay in the people’s minds by creating incidents on our own. 

Gossips. Rumors.

Whether it be good or bad, existing in the people’s mind, their thoughts, their words...have much more importance. 

And with such policies, both Arden and Hasting have stayed as a hot topic for years. Creating problems on our own...solving them on our own, became a routine.

And…

“...you don’t need to know about them, Marquis Clifford.”, I said while sipping the tea I was served.

“Wh...Why?! Ju...just what is happening?!”

“Ku...Kuhahaha!!! I am glad I accepted the invitation!!”, Lady Cosima suddenly declared.

A completely un-lady like laughter surrounded the room briefly.

“Lad...Lady Cosima?!”

“My~~!! Count Byron! No..you moronic Byron. Can’t you understand what’s happening here?!”

Ooof...she doesn’t pull her words.

“““.....”””

All the nobles were silent. A wide range of expressions ran through their face. And confusion was the most prominent emotion they shared.

After a long time of evil laughter and giggling Lady Cosima and I had, Marquis Clifford who seemed to have enough of this atmosphere spoke.

“Just what is happening here?”

“Hmm?”, I hummed while sipping the second round of tea.

Man...these taste good.

And it seems like he regained his composure over time. He isn’t a leecher for nothing.

“...Lady Fiona, I hope you don’t forget about the relationship my father and the Duke had over the years. The Duke would be utterly disappointed by the attitude you have towards me.”

“...”

Funny. The rat whose life I saved is laying its tail where it shouldn’t.

I looked towards Lady Cosima, who eagerly looked like she wanted to say something. Eagerness and energy were boiling in her eyes. The composed look she had a few moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

But I suppose only I could point out these changes, maybe because of how proficient, I was in reading expressions.

*NOD* 

Nodding my head, I signaled Lady Cosima to continue the conversation. 

After all, for me watching the prey get devoured is better than doing the kill myself.

“You mean Duke Landon? How much was it? Little Fiona, 50? 60?”

“Close...75”

“What do you mean?”, Count Capell inquired.

“Assassins.”, Lady Cosima said bluntly.

“Hu..Huh?!?”, this time it was Clifford’s son who was out of track.

“My! Little boy! You didn’t know?! Duke Landon, you see, is a cunning but annoyingly cautious man. He won’t take action immediately, but if he does...there’s no stopping him.”, Lady Cosima said while smiling.

Years...this is what happens when nobles read each other for years. 

“...the fact that you are still alive is all thanks to Little Fiona and Duke Arthur. Why Duke Arthur? Because he was the one who stopped your sorry ass from going any further!! Because once you cross the line…”

*SLAM*

“Landon would have crushed you like a bug! Pfft...Muahahaha!!! Sorry! But the expression you all have on your face! It’s priceless!!”

“””....”””

“I mean...You four were all up in the clouds when you heard I will be accompanying you to the meeting!! But look at your faces now...god! Wonderful!”

Fear

An emotion that is common to all living beings. An emotion that even a newborn baby all the way to a 90-year-old man has.

That kind of emotion is what the beings in front of us have.

Even an enormous and majestic elephant would fear things that move faster than it. Even the bravest adventure would fear death.

Even Death would fear a world with no living beings. 

An emotion that knows no boundaries and exists in all planes...that is fear.

I too, for as far as I can remember was always held still by the clutches of fear.

If I were to fight back, would I get punished? Would it be death by drowning in the coldest sea or vanishing without any trace in the Forest of Peace?

Such Fear always controlled me...existing as a barrier to my actions, it became a day to day existence in my life. Something that I never thought I would free myself from.

But here I am. Placing my feet...my first step towards freedom.

I know that fear can never leave me...heck I would be afraid if I even go near the forest of Peace. But what about the fools in front of me? Do they scare me? Do they instill fear in my bones?

No.

I can’t believe it was this easy to scare someone...someone who was full of confidence last week was trembling...even refusing to meet my eye.

Ah...this is bad. I think I am falling in love with this. My whole being is itching to have the people who looked down on me, kneel before me. Begging for forgiveness.

*Ahem...Lady Cosima. What should we do with them?”, I said while looking towards her.

“Hmmm~~ You see, people have grown softer due to the influence Helena had. Her death kind of made people take her advice to their very core. So, we will be labeled as a villainess and tyrant if we do something grand.”

She said with a sulking expression on her face.

“Hmmm.”

“It’s funny because even Helena would have executed these four in mere seconds.”

“Huh?”

“No, she is indeed kind...but she hates people who steal others' hard work. And her personality finds it hard to forgive people like these. But!! The only ones who know that side of her are me and your mother...so, regardless we would be named as a Villainess if we were a bit too arrogant.”

That’s surprising.

So, the Flower of the Empire had such a side to her?!

But in the end, it all comes down to justice. She is kind to the people who are righteous and also gives chances to others for changing themselves.

However, for Lady Cosima who also has a clear image of her known to the world...it would be hard for her to move. Especially in a hotel against nobles.

“Isn’t that what I am already known as?”

“...!”, Lady Cosima couldn’t control her surprise as it showed blatantly on her face.

Moving my eyesight to the now trembling nobles. I had a very serious thought…

Which would be better? Smashing them now or...slowly eroding them until they have nothing left?

“The latter it is!!”

“Huh?”, Lady Cosima looked at me with a confused look.

“Ahem...Marquis Clifford.”

With his name called, the said person stared right into my eyes. 

Guess he still has some pride and courage as a noble.

“You have three choices. One...I or my men beat you up to get the money. Two...you may escape, but I will have to drag you through the town to where the money is. Three...you willingly hand over the money, and get beaten up.”, I finished with a smile on my face.

“Eh?”, it was his son who answered.

“Please don’t misunderstand. Among these three choices, controlling you is not the common point...you all getting black and blue is.”

‘““...!!””

All of them had sweaty hands and faces. Even with a cooled room like this, they could not help but be scared to the extent of sweating buckets.

This is the power...the power I, the Hasting’s sole princess never used. But that changes from today.

“I...I will hand over the money.”, Clifford said with a weak voice.

“Thank goodness! I thought I might have to get my hands dirty at this moment.”, I said while getting up.

“Let’s get going.”, Lady Cosima too stood up.

“““...”””

“What’s wrong? Get up!!”

All four of them were sitting still. Without moving an inch, and their eyes locked on me.

…!!

Those eyes...Clifford!! He has something up his sleeve!!

I blink once in surprise. His son who was supposed to be next to him vanished and at the next beat was right behind with a black dagger up my throat.

“...!!”, I was genuinely surprised.

“FIONA?!!”, Lady Cosima too was surprised by the sudden move.

“Hmph...not so tough, are you now?”, he snickered behind me. The ice-cold blade threatened to have a taste of my blood.

“Ha! Well done, my son!! I am proud to call my kin!!”, Clifford instantly brightened.

The other extras too started enjoying the sudden change of atmosphere.

“CLIFFORD!! I swear by the name of Arden, if a single drop of Fiona’s blood sees the outside world, I by myself will chop all four of you into several pieces and hang all of it in all corners of the Empire!!”, Lady Cosima started threatening Clifford with a tongue that no one would believe is hers’.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“We are all destined to die anyway...but our death is not today.” pointing towards me “But sadly this young miss will reach god a bit sooner.”

“Boy! Remember...even if you flee the Empire after you touch a member of Hastings, you will never be able to live holding your head high. Release her, and I swear to leave you free. They will be the only ones paying for the crimes.”, She said while glaring at others.

*TWITCH*

He was conflicted. The one that threatens to send me to the other side, is conflicted.

I smiled.

Tension was rebuilt in the faces of the idiots. Was it my smile or gazing at the incompetence of his son?

I don’t know…

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

Perhaps due to the sound, the knights stationed outside of our massive room knocked.

“Umm...is there a problem, Lady Fiona? Should we come in?”

Was I too confident? I was kind of happy that I am finally free from my nightmare. Maybe I overlooked the sheer size of stupidity these have…

“Come in, quick! Fiona has a knife over her throat!! BRING EVERYONE HERE!!!”, Lady Cosima instantly shouted.

*OPEN*

“What in the fucking world is happening here?!”, the knight paled at the situation inside.

*PPPPIIIIIIIIIIIII*

The experienced knight instantly blew a whistle….loud. Annoyingly loud. As the sound resonated in my ears, countless knights and mercenaries made their appearance.

It's funny cause the boy could have stopped them from entering by threatening to kill me...but here is just standing still.

The room which seemed huge at the beginning slowly seemed to shrink due to the sheer amount of people in it.

*CLACK* *SWISH*

As countless swords enjoyed the fresh air, despair once again filled their faces.

*SHIVER* *SHIVER*

He was trembling, the one holding dagger up my throat was trembling due to the oppression my men oozed out.

Killing intent.

They knew...that it doesn’t matter anymore. Their way of escape was block-...no it never existed to begin with.

As 100’s of swords earned for his blood, my killer started lowering his hand.

You can’t escape that easy, honey~

*DRIP* *DRIP*

The droplets of sweat that escaped his body, changed into a shining ice dagger as it fell down towards the ground.

A dagger perfect for cutting hands…

As the handle dropped right into my hand, I efficiently swished the dagger around my palm and…

*SLASH*

A pair of hands...two human parts with five fingers fell to the ground lifeless. One of them had a small dagger...the same piece of metal that threatened to steal my life a few moments ago.

“Ah….AHHHH!!!! MY HANDS!!”

As blood spurted out of his han...no the place where his hands used to be, he screamed, unable to do anything.

Marquis Cliffords and the other counts were already reprimanded before I could even notice. 

Hmph~ As expected of my knights! Instead of gazing at me with surprise, they moved swiftly to make others immobile.

From now on, I should have them wherever I go, even to meetings like these.

“AHHHH!!!”

Ah...annoying.

“You there.”, I said pointing to one of the mercenaries.

“Yes, my lady.”, he kneeled in front of me. There are mercenaries like him who learn how to work for nobles specifically.

“Drag this dog outside, and heal him. And burn those hands. Let the world know, that if a person touches Fiona Hastings twice without permission, they will have to bid their hands goodbye.”

“I will take care of your orders, My Lady.”

As the knight dragged the screaming soul outside, the room was filled with the voice of Clifford crying.

Have I finally broken him ?!

Lady Cosima looked like she had various things to say, but I silenced her by putting my slightly blood tainted finger to my lips.

As she nodded her head in approval, I moved to the kneeling Clifford and placed my dagger up his skin.

“Clifford~”

“Yo...You Bitch!! They were right!! You are a villainess!!! Once His Highness hears of this, you will not be let scratch-free!”

“Silence, Clifford. You would like to have your tongue attached to your body, right?”, I said while lightly slicing my dagger from his chin to his lips.

“...”, with his mouth closed, I continued.

“I’ll let you and your son free. But you have to repay all the money you stole. You have to personally hand over the money to my father tomorrow. Or if you have other intentions, I’ll look over the method these guys will use to kill you.”, I said while pointing towards my men who still had their swords out.

“...!!”, tears filled his eyes, and he slowly nodded. 

“Good! Now then, Lady Cosima. Shall we move to another room? Umm...it’s quite messy.”, I said awkwardly while holding my hands up in the air.

*************************

*SPLASH* *SPLASH*

As I washed my face, gazing into the puddle of bloody water draining...I realized something.

I am screwed!! I didn’t think Lady Cosima would come here today!! Now, what should I tell her?! Someone of her level would easily see through my lies.

I have to postpone it...even by a few days would help.

“Fio-”

“Auntie, please...I know what you want to hear. But please, I am mentally worn out today. How about another day? Perhaps the day when you will visit my mother?”

I am close enough to her, that once she forced me to keep calling her Auntie when we are alone.

“But…”

Please, my goddamn face. Have a tired look!! I know that you enjoyed today’s events...but you’ll be caught fresh if you don’t act!

“*sigh* ...fine. I am pretty sure your mother will call me to scold me later. I will talk to you then.”

“Hehe~ Thank you!”

Thank you, god! I have no idea what I would have blurted out to her on the pretext of lying.

“Ahem...then shall we talk about Duke Arthur?”

“Arthur? What’s up with him?”

“Umm...respect? Why are you calling him with his name?”

“Oh...that is something between us. Auntie, you don’t have to worry about that.”, seeing me smile, I felt her suspicion rise.

“Whatever...what I want to know is, have you ever come in contact with a grey-haired girl next to him?”

“A grey-haired girl?!”

“So, you have not...does no one other than Duke Arthur and Sebastion knows about her existence?”

“Whom are you talking about, Auntie…?”

A grey-colored girl? I have never seen her...including my dreams and my life.

Another abnormality...again around Arthur.

“That’s exactly what I want to know about.”

“...?”, seeing my confused expression, Auntie continued.

“I have placed spies all around the Empire. Knowledge is power. Naturally, Duke Arthur had spies on him. So, once I received a report of him repeatedly meeting with a grey-haired girl. About 20-24 years of age.”

“Please continue.”

“I was interested...so I ordered them to follow the girl…”

“What happened…?”

She had a troubled look as she spoke.

“Nothing, they don’t know.”

“Pardon?”

“Every time they follow her, they have their legs broken and memories completely wiped. But never once was there an incident when someone has lost their life.”

“Stop joking, Auntie. As far as I know, your assassins and men are the best. There’s no wa-”

*SLAM*

“I am not joking!!”

She screamed while slamming the table.

Her face was pale and deadly serious. Not a trace of lie was found in her expressions.

If what she says is true, then…

“Two things are possible. One the girl is extremely powerful, due to her grey hair. Or Duke Arthur-”

“I don’t know about the girl. But I can confirm you, Arthur is strong. Way stronger than your wildest imaginations.”

“Is that so…?”

It is. 

Insanely strong. Thinking about the fight the three had on that day...still sends both excitement and chills through my body.

“Okay fine. Even if we consider what you say, why would Duke Arthur protect a girl? That too, one who has grey hair.”

Grey hair.

This discrimination against clearly proves just how backward our people are. The Greys are always abandoned by their parents. Never accepted with society.

They are stripped of their human privileges. Many greys spend their life as slaves or outcasts who don’t have access to any of the privileges and services lent by the empire. 

The Emperor too had conducted countless programs to bring awareness. But it is all for naught. People never listen.

Why? Why are the Greys discriminated against?

Because they share the same mana that monsters use.

The grey mana monsters use are the same ones running through the Greys. And that was enough for everyone to side against the Greys.

They are humans too. Most of the nobles of this Empire don’t discriminate against Greys.

Some of the nobles even have them appointed as their direct servant. All for the sole purpose of spreading awareness. But it never worked. At least not till the level of satisfaction.

At most the coworkers and their family would stop being against the Greys. The same happened in our house.

I fear that, unless God himself changes their mana color...people won’t stop discriminating against them.

I can understand Arthur being friendly with a Grey. But why are the people trying to gain information about her end up having broken legs and wiped memories?

At a loss of answers, I answered Auntie.

“I...don’t know.”

“Hmmm...is that so? It’s fine, cheer up!!”

“Yeah…”

“*sigh*...I have another piece of information.”

There’s more?

“...”

She held up four fingers and stared straight into my eyes.

“Four. Four people have been once sighted harrassing that girl.”

“Even with Arthur around?”

“He is not with her always. But the four people you see…”

“What happened to them?”

“Vanished.”

*SILENCE*

It is Arthur’s work!!

“I think Duke Arthur took care of them. So, my real motive for coming here is to-”

“Warn me.”

“Right. Those four, due to their discrimination ended up dead. Never seen again. I know that you are not someone like them, but it never hurts to be careful.”

So, mentioning grey hairs in front of Arthur is a no go. I have to be careful. My expansion to Ellen and my relation with Arthur could get shaky due to a few words.

“Yeah. Thank you, Auntie.”

*Flick*

“Ow!”

“I am not some stranger for you to thank me. I have watched you grow from your birth till now, so you are like my own daughter. So, please…”, with a pleasant smile “ Enjoy your life from now on.”

She really knows how to make someone embarrassed. With a tinge of blush on my face

“Hehe~ I will!!”

********************

The next day, a piece of news spread all over the Empire.

[Fiona Hastings makes a comeback?!]

[Marquis Clifford’s son lost both of his hands!]

[Is Marquis Clifford powerless against the Hastings?!]

[Fiona Hastings...also known as the ‘The Thorn’]

Such news spread creating a storm of gossips all around the Empire.

At the same time, one newspaper in Ellen had a minor piece of news that no one cared about.

[Mysterious disappearance of Ellen official.]