Chapter 127 - A flawless capture
On the alley of Amnemos city, a blonde-haired young girl wearing simple clothes who had a happy face on her face walked along with a maid and at their back being two-guard looking men.
"Young miss, I think it's late. We should go back home, or Lord Grigos will be displeased if you miss the dinner." said the maid to the young girl, who had a smile on her face.
"I understand, Stella, don't worry, I will go buy some flowers to plant in the garden, and we will go back home. Daddy shouldn't be angry about that, especially if I buy him something from the sculpting uncle."
The group formed by the young girl, maid and the two guards didn't make much of a fuss in the nighttime, where most people were relaxing or enjoying their time in different manners.
Taking some turns, they moved toward an alley that had some shops, but the little girl walked toward a flower shop only with her maid while the guards remained outside to lookout.
They took notice of a group of three guys walking casually on the streets, moving toward their location. Still, the guards didn't react and kept looking around the alley.
When those three stopped at the stop, their lady stopped that their face turned a bit serious, yet they heard the guy with golden eyes who looked decent.
"Morlocc, Kane, go check some flowers. You know I don't have that much experience with those things, and I don't want to embarrass myself in front of my wife."
'Huh, so these guys don't have bad intentions with lady Aria.' thought the guards when hearing Bors comment along with his awkward expression.
"Worry not, brother, how can we disappoint big sister? Now that we got some money, I will for sure selected a big gift." said Morlocc with a shrewd expression.
After they said that, Kane and Morlocc entered the shop casually and later closed the door after them.
Bors, who remained outside, stared a bit at the guards and took note of their appearance and how they stood.
'These guys are quite decent. There's some discipline in their behaviour, but it still lacks compared to the Black Army.'
"Congratulations on your marriage, man." said one of the guards who waited along with Bore outside.
"Huh? Thanks, it is a bit awkward having my little brothers actually buy the flowers for my wife, but I am not good with those things." replied Bors while looking at those guards who seemed to genuinely congratulate him.
"It happens, I guess. Sometimes listening to others views is better. Our lady could help you find the perfect flowers for your wife. If you want us to ask, I think she will be happy to help you?"
Staring at those guards with his golden eyes who from their indifference, turning to a slight emotion.
'These guys are really not bad. Sigh, I think I should go easy with them, so I don't harm them.'
"No need, my brothers are decent enough, or they might ask your lady inside the shop."
Meanwhile, inside the flower shop, Morlocc and Kane noticed that only the blonde young girl and a woman in her mid-twenties wearing maid clothes were inside, talking with an old lady who was showing some flower bouquets.
"Ahh, new customers. Just a little bit, miss Aria, I also have to see what these gentlemen want." said the old lady when noticing Kane and Morlocc.
"No problem, granny. I always love looking at your flowers, right Stella?"
"Indeed, my lady, Lady Julmina is one of the best flower keepers in Kaysang." replied the maid before turning her head at the two guys.
"No need to bother with us too much, ladies. We just want to buy some flowers. Do you by chance have some rare flowers?"
The lady turned to look at Kane, and when she heard his request, she looked at the flowers close to her at the front of the shop and, shaking her head, said to the soldier.
"None on my front place. I will have to check on the backside. But are you sure you can buy them? The rare ones are quite expensive, and I only have some breeds of those flowers."
"As long it doesn't pass the sum of 500.000 𝔅, it should be fine."
"That's too much money, dear customer. I'm not like those greedy men who would rip off people, cheat them with fake goods and ask for exorbitant money. Wait a bit, I will go back to check on the rare flowers."
Saying that, the old flower lady walked slowly while using a supporting cane to walk toward the back of her shop.
"Ahh, granny is forcing herself again. She is still sick." said the blonde girl, a bit worried.
Kane looked down at the blonde girl and at the back of the old lady, who seemed to be hunchbacked.
"Little girl, may I ask, what happened with the old madame?"
"Some bad guys attacked her, stole her money and destroyed her flowers in the past, but daddy took care of those people."
Morlocc turned to look at Kane, a bit sad at hearing this, but later did a sign to him, as if to tell him.
'We need to act, now.'
Nodding at Morlocc, Kane moved closer to the little girl, and Morlocc got in position.
Instantly they acted out, and with surprising speed, they got hold of the two girls.
"Ahh, don't hurt Stella." cried out the little girl when she noticed that Morlocc grabbed Stella.
"Let me go!" said the maid panicked, before she got hit at the back of her head by Morlocc fast movements.
Kane, who held the blonde little girl that quicky began crying, scared of the situation, placed his hands on her mouth, so as not to alert more people, but one thing was for sure, just the scream of the maid, had the flower lady, and the guards outside reacted a bit.
Bors, who was outside, heard that cry and said with an apologetic tone to the guards.
"Sorry for what's about to happen, you two. You will just go to sleep for a bit."
Ending saying that, he sent two punches hard in their stomach and, like a predator, grabbed hold of their heads and quickly started squeezing his chiselled muscles, in this way putting them to sleep.
Ending them, he grabbed them on his shoulder and entered inside the shop and, with a cold stare, said to Kane and Morlocc.
"This wasn't the plan, you idiots."
"Sorry, brother, but this place seems good to hold them hostage." said Kane, who was holding the little girl so she wouldn't scream or hurt herself.
"Tsk, look what you did. You made the little girl all scared by your dumb actions. Wait, there's still someone inside the shop, the owner?" said Bors with a serious tone after using his olfactory sense to pick up another unique smell compared to the flowers smell.
It was at that time, the soldiers heard the voice of the lady, seeming a bit trembling.
"Young gentlemen, don't hurt them. Do you want money? I will give you everything, just don't kill these four, especially the little girl."
Seeing the old lady who came from the back supporting herself with her cane while looking a bit scared by Bors and the other two.
"Madame, we aren't here for such petty things. You can relax because we don't want your lives, money or anything. However, I want you to help with something."
"Anything, young man, as long you don't hurt them."
"The keys to your establishment, I want to secure it, and after that, I'll have a small chat with the little girl."
The old lady looked a bit surprised, and placing her hands in her pocket, she took the keys with trembling hands.
Bors placed down the two guards with a bit of care to not hurt them and quickly got the keys and locked the shop from inside.
"Kane, Morlocc, get them to the room the old lady came from. It's a slightly sealed place that wouldn't let people hear those four."
Kane and Morlocc abided to Bors orders and got to walk past the old lady toward the shop's back.
They entered a room that was full of flowers and green plants, making them feel like they entered a bloomed garden.
"Really not a bad place." said the two soldiers where they later heard Bors said to the old lady.
"Madame, let's also go to that room. Calm yourself. We are not criminals or petty bandits to harm people, especially the citizens of his Royal Highness Vermilion Vlad."
When she heard Bors pronounce Vlad's full name, the flower lady looked a bit surprised and even confused.
"Young man, you meant to say His Majesty Vermilion Opheltius?"
"No, old lady, we are strictly serving the Royal Highness and no one else."
"I am confused, young man. But it seems you truly don't wish to harm those kids, so I will not make trouble for you."
"You will understand everything after the end of the Civil War. It would be troublesome for me to explain to you details from my side, but know this. After everything is settled down, everything will be revealed to the entire Kaysang. Everyone from simple peasant, commoner, wealthy people or noble will understand the situation haunting this torn kingdom.
Ending saying that he supported the old lady who now really felt that he wasn't a bad guy. Slowly and with patience, Bors held on to the old lady arm and helped her walk safely to the back of the shop.
When the blonde little girl noticed how Bors was helping the flower lady, she calmed herself a bit and looked at Stella while her snot and tears seemed to flow on Kane's large hand.
After helping the old lady inside, Bors quickly moved to the front part of the shop and grabbed the two guards and promptly picked them up, getting back to the back room.
Placing them on a chair next to the maid, who now got tied down, he signalled Morlocc to bind them.
With everything settled down, he said to Kane, a bit annoyed.
"You can release her by now. The little girl seems quite smart, so she might figure out that we don't want to harm her or her maid."
Kane nodded, moved to take a chair that looked quite tall for the blonde little girl and gently placed her down. Ripping some fabric from his shirt sleeves, he used them to clean the girl's face.
"Now, now, little girl, we are good people. Don't cry like you did at first. Sorry for scaring you, but we also have some important responsibilities, and we can't afford failure."
" *Sniff* I understand, mister." replied the little girl, still with some aftereffects of her crying.
Bors got closer to the blonde little girl and asked her a simple question.
"Little Countess, Alderhine Aria, am I right?"
"Yes, mister, my name is Aria. What do you want from me?" asked Aria, still a bit scared by Bors serious face and golden eyes.
"My superiors want to have a talk with your father, and for that, we need some forms of approaches that wouldn't seem so brutal as storming our way inside your home and knock on the door." replied Bors in a serious tone to the little girl, who seemed to change a bit in her expression.
She asked him with a curious tone. "Is your master, that mister called Blood? The mister who helps the people from Sagletius who don't have what to eat or sleep?"
Bors looked at Aria with surprised eyes and even dropped a bit down to look eye to eye with her, and with a whispering tone, he said to her. "Indeed, I am also one of those people who master Blood helped, getting them out of a bad life."
"Master Blood also plans to help the entire kingdom and rescue it from the hands of the bad people."
"Ahhh, the bad blonde-haired uncle. Uncle Vestios?? Yes, daddy talked with him yesterday."
"Indeed, little girl, that person is the enemy of master Blood who did many bad things to the simple people."
"I understand, mister wolf. Can I ask you a question?" asked Aria, brimming with curiosity, that couldn't be explained for a 12 year old girl.
"Heh, I will respond to your questions, little girl, because you behaved nicely and didn't throw some tantrums like how I imagined noble kids to do."
"I'm not a kid. I am 12 years old. Daddy told me that in two years, he will give me a small province to administrate. But this isn't what I wanted to say. I was always curious whenever the nobles of father would come to talk with him and when I would listen to their talk secretly, the subject of mister Blood would appear. Can you tell me who mister Blood is?"
Bors looked at Morlocc and Kane and whistled out impressed. Walking back a bit, he noticed that the maid started waking up.
"You hit her weakly, Morlocc. If you went to the right point, they would sleep for at least 15 minutes."
"Brother, can you give me a break. I'll not hit a beauty like some idiot. What if I can hook her up? I'll rather risk her waking up faster and have her appreciate the fact that I went easy with her. Ahh, better not talk about such things with the little Countess around."
The maid who woke up found herself bound to the chair and immediately wanted to scream, but Aria was quicker to say.
"Stella, don't scream. These misters don't want to harm us. They seem to be people working under mister Blood from Sagletius."
"My lady, are you sure?" asked the maid, a bit surprised.
The little girl nodded her head and noticed that Bors smiled at her.
"Should I tell you? Or not? Well, I think it no longer matters for him. He can face anyone right now. Even the Dark Union will be nothing for him in some years. Listen, little Aria, Blood, is the prince of this country. The son of Crown Prince Vermilion Lucius. His real name is Vermilion Zagreus Vlad. Did my answer satisfy your curiosity, little girl?"
Looking at the girl, amazed expression, who seemed to contemplate what she just found out.
"Does this mean that Grampa Tius is big brother's grandfather?" asked the little girl to herself.
"Indeed, Prince Vlad is one of the Vermilions, I haven't seen King Opheltius in person, only seen some portraits with him, and I can say this, they have many similar features. However, His Highness probably takes more from his mother side on the facial side."
"Ohhh, I understand. Big brother Wolf, thanks for telling me this. I am so glad I told daddy to not help Uncle Vestios. Otherwise, he would be fighting grampa Tius and big brother Vlad and you brother Wolf."
"That's right. Prince Vlad doesn't want to harm the people of the kingdom, but the nobles rebelled against the Vermilion House and even now are looking to harm us. So he sent us to talk with your father, but we still don't know his stance on this conflict. I hope you can understand, little girl."
"It is fine big brother. You didn't harm Stella, Iulius or Oslo, and for that, I am grateful. They don't have any blame that I am daddy's daughter. You need my help to let you talk with daddy, right?" asked Aria to check the exact reason for Bors actions.
"That is correct." replied Bors with an interested expression while looking at this intelligent little girl.
It was at that time he replied back that the sound of the dial snail began ringing. Grabbing the transmitter, he didn't even reply back and heard a familiar voice ask with a perplexed tone.
"Bors, where are you? We got to the square, but there's no sign of you. Get immediately here. I found some surprising news from my search."
"You sure did, but I can't. I am at work right now. Wait there, I will get Kane to get you to where I am. Do you have anything to say, Valen?"
"Yes, man, Count Alderhine is searching for his daughter. There's really some big problems for us if he starts searching for the people who entered today in the city. Do you know anything about this?"
Bors looked at Morlocc, Kane, and the little girl who heard the conversation and said with an awkward tone.
"That's my doing. Now, shut up and wait there until Kane gets you. I still have to talk with the young miss."
"Damn, I hope you didn't kill anyone. Or harmed the young miss, or all our talks with Alderhine will go down the drain."
"Hmph. You will understand the situation when you get here." *Gotcha*
After ending the call, he gave Kane the shop keys and only said.
"Get those guys as fast as possible here before they get found suspicious, and a bigger mess starts."
Getting the keys, Kane walked to get Valen and Maisha, while Bors got lower to meet Aria's eyes and asked her in a calm and warm tone.
"What do you say, little Aria? Do you want to help us and assist us in meeting your father? Just like you, we don't plan on doing anything bad."
"Hmmm, if you get me back home before daddy starts getting too worried about my safety, it would be something I can help you." replied Aria with a small cute smile on her face.
"Good, very good. Can you excuse me for a bit? I have another call to make. Hey, Morlocc, remove the binds on the lady. Don't you feel bad for her?
Morlocc stared at the maid bound on the chair, and with a slight smile, he said to her apologetically.
"My lady, I hope you can find yourself to forgive my direct approach. We are the elite soldiers of his Royal Highness, and our approach might be too direct at times since we had to survive a harsh training regime."
The maid, Stella, who was initially scared for her safety and Aria's safety, calmed along with the talk Bors had with her young miss.
Now hearing Morlocc say those things made her feel a bit better, and as he was taking the binds on her body, she found some courage to ask.
"Are you guys always doing this with the girls you have to ask for help?"
"No, we usually don't get such delicate mission's from the central seat. Our job is to eliminate targets, diverse killers and criminals entering Kaysang on the side controlled by Prince Vlad and so on. We are the shadow that protects the citizens of Kaysang. Ahem, at least half of them, until the war is over."
After he finished taking the ropes on the maid's body, Morlocc smiled slightly when checking her nice-looking figure.
"My lady, if you are still upset with me, I can take you to dinner tomorrow."
"Ehh, I don't think I can join you. I have to be close to the young miss." replied the maid, a bit taken aback by Morlocc's direct approach.
"Don't worry about me, Stella, if you want to go, I will not stop you." said the little girl while a wink at her.
Meanwhile, Bors, who heard Morlocc cheesy words, smirked and called on the dial snail, which was quickly picked up.
"Captain, we have the path open. Get your ass to the city. Also, don't bring the company because we might be misunderstood."
"Wait, what? You guys already got to the target? Good, excellent, Bors. I will ask for more details when I am there. Have someone in your team get me from the entrance of the city."
"Aye, don't worry. I'll get you to where I am. Just don't do something stupid since things started getting a bit, hmm, messy. You should also prepare the call with His Highness, so the negotiations run smoothly." replied Bors back in a laid back manner.
"Kid, since when did you become an officer to start ordering me around? I know what to do."
"Captain, after this war, you might be out taken by me, so don't get butthurt, okay?"
"Hmph, you start getting arrogant little Wolf. You seem to forget why I am a Captain, and you still didn't get to an officer rank. But, whatever, it's all good. Congrats on doing the job flawlessly." replied Flex before closing the call, at which Bors turned to look at Morlocc, later saying to him.
"Morlocc, go to the gates and wait for Captain Flex. Guide him here as fast you can. After that, we will go meet with Alderhine."
