I cannot begin to put into words on how relieved I was to finally get through the borders of the Alkmene Kingdom's territory and officially out of reach of Llyr's reign of power.
I was currently laying on the bed in my room, kicking my legs behind me into the air as I laughed into my pillow smiling like a mad man, which I practically was at this point.
Though that wasn't before my own annoying self had to remind me of the people I have to deal with when I reach the capital of the Silversun Kingdom. Which the thoughts instantly made me stop swinging my feet and look up at my wall with the expression one would imagine a zombie wearing.
"..."
"uuuuuggghhHHHHHHHH!" I groaned, initially doing it quietly, then louder as I started to sob internally.
I sprawled out onto my bed, my face looking up at the ceiling and my arms and legs spread out next to me. Starting to go through the plan I formed in my head, and knowing the kinds of people I was going to have to deal with alone, a giant headache formed.
'I hate my lifeeeee, why do I have to do this to myself!?' I groaned once more, actual tears forming near my eyes as I bit my bottom lip and squinted my eyes.
My plan went as followed, get to the port of the Silversun Kingdom, go with Eveleen to secure an Inn for the night, then leave with a carriage the next day. Travel to the capital, which since it will take a few days, I'll stop at any town I can to do some adventuring work. Then, once I find where that person is, I will send Eveleen on her way and convince the other to join my side. Easy peasy!
Except that the person in question is only mentioned twice during the backstory of one of the most dangerous villains in the novel's backstory. The person in question just so happening to be the beloved younger brother of the most powerful noble in the demon realm, and also having apparent trust issues.
'Ugh, The only thing I know about the guys is his name, main race, his initial destination before he went missing, and a key word to get him to listen to me, so even if i do find him there is no way he won't try to kill me in my sleep and flee back to the demon realm!'
That's right, according to the plot of the novel, the person I was trying to find was apparently missing. Last seen heading to the Asmund Kingdom under orders from the demon king, as a sort of test for his sister, the Marchioness.
His sister's name was Zephyra Heartborn, a well known Marchioness and one of the most wealthy and influential figures in the demon realm.
Initially, she was on a neutral side of the human realm vs. demon realm shenanigans. That was until the missing announcement and death of her younger brother, that she turned against the human realm and joined the side of the demon king, using her powerful subordinates to take the human realm by surprise.
'To be fair, you couldn't exactly blame the poor woman, losing both her brother and her parents…heh, perhaps I'm looking for her brother out of pity as well.'
"Hmmm," I laid there for a few moments, pondering and trying to remember more from the novel that would help me find Praxis, not bothering to check Lev's memory for any potential memories.
Giving up on searching for clues on Praxis' whereabouts at the moment, I decided to think up plans on how to avoid the impending doom that was the main plot surrounding the Silversun Kingdom.
'If I remember correctly, the King was trying to make the kingdom into an Empire and join the Demon King's side to then betray him and conquer the rest of the world, which obviously failed, dumb bastard.'
The way that the King of the Silversun Kingdom, Cassius Lawrence, was trying to persuade the Demon King to form a real alliance, was unique to say the least.
It wasn't the typical exchange of territories of political marriage plot, but something far darker, that made you think for a second that the novel was in the horror genre instead of high-fantasy.
Personally, I didn't want to even think about the details of Cassius' disgusting plan, so I instead focused on the ways and strategy he used to carry them out.
First, he used the "scientific" information he obtained on demons and how to sort of "make" demon spirits and the like, then gave it to the Demon King as an offering of an alliance.
Then, he lured the leaders and influential figures of other nations, including the Heroes party, to a false banquet that was actually a massacre as a declaration of war and show of allegiance with the demon king.
His plan was so well thought out and acted upon that he was able to even catch Atlas by surprise and injure him, which in the novel how he originally met the Goddess of Light by being treated at her church while he was on his death bed.
Though because of the massacre that would happen there in the future, I had to find out a way to get the invitation to accompany King Roman there or Oryn as their plus one.
And I knew exactly how to do that, I would pretend that I chose to go to the Silversun kingdom to both hide out and find an old friend, Praxis, then would just so happen to over hear the Kings subordinates talking about in while in the capital and snitch to King Roman about it when I get back home.
'Hehehe, perfect plan, fufufu! Man, am I a genius or what?'
Of course there was still the factor of how I would stop people from getting brutally murdered or kidnapped to become the King's personal research subjects, which I already thought up a plan for.
One of the ideas I had was giving the information to the leaders of the other nations, though the ones involved in the massacre were already allies with Cassius, so that likely wouldn't work so well.
Another was hiding knights and mercenaries somewhere to wait for the ambush during the banquet, though it wouldn't help if the King decided to use poison as well…and I don't exactly know how I'd sneak the group of ambushees into the Palace without being spotted.
'Hmmm, depending on the abilities of Praxis, I could use the techniques of his demon subspecies and some of Arwan's magic, though those could also be dispelled by other mages and magical artifacts..'
"Ugh, why is this so hard!?" I exclaimed, holding my head and squeezing my hair while playfully rising my torso into a bridge position and rolling onto my side.
But, luckily for me and my oncoming headache that I was giving myself, I was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I called, sitting up on my bed.
"..."
"..."
'Um, hello? Are you not going to answer or was it a knock knock ditch?' I thought, but was soon answered by the least likely person that I expected it to be.
"It's Atlas, may I come in? There is something I need to discuss with you, and very privately," He announced, his voice as emotionless as always.
"...Sure, you may enter I suppose," I replied solemnly, standing up and going over to the tea table in my room.
'Erg, why is this asshole asking to talk to me?! And privately at that?!'
"Hey…I, uh, brought liquor and snacks as a peace offering," Atlas said, clearly joking a bit as he held up a container of beer and a sack of butter cookies, which would remind every household of their elders at Christmas time.
"Alright, come and sit down," I added, already taking a seat and motioning him over to the one in front of me, then finally saying something as he awkwardly sat across from me, "So, what do you want?"
"I'm sorry?" Atlas asked, pretending to be confused, then put the goodies on the table and leaned back, his sword hitting the side of his chair.
"Cut the bull, Clyfford. You and me both know that neither of us wouldn't come seeking the other out unless we wanted something from one another, so what is it?" I questioned him coldly, wanting to cut to the chase and get his ridiculously handsome face away from me as quickly as possible.
"...Haaa, hehe, you got me," He chuckled coldly, putting his hands up then back down and on the table, "There is really only one question that has been lingering on my mind since we set sail."
"Oh? And what could that possibly be, hm?" I asked once more, making it clear to him that I didn't have a very high opinion of him, more so that he wouldn't come and bother me again.
"..."
"..."
We sat in silence for a moment while I stared him down, my chin slightly raised since we were about the same height. I guessed he stayed silent for a bit to hink of how to format his question, before he blurted it out.
"This might sound weird of me to ask, but what exactly is the real reason you are going to The Silverson Kingdom, hm? Because I know damn well that you are not acquainted at all with any politics there, no matter what aarons the Griffins' family had you do."
***
Four days after Lev, Eveleen, and the Heroes party had sent their signal to Victor, notifying them that they were a safe distance away from The Alkmene Kingdom, Victor had finally alerted Muriel that it was time for him to leave.
Disabling the illusion on the broach, Victor with the letters from Lev in hand and the paperwork he'd done prior to escaping, Victor teleported back to the front doors of the estate.
Opening the doors, he was immediately greeted by the sound, that he knew was Arwan coming to see if his mater had returned. Though when his red and black haired head come into view, Victor saw the disappointment on Arwan's face.
"Where is His lordship?" Arwan asked, walking over to Victor from the side of the house that led to the knights' training grounds, then looking Victor up and down, "And whats with the fancy get up?"
"...I think It's best we leave this discussion to have with Diarmain, Eun Sim, Ziven, Alvaro and Brielle," Victor replied, glaring at Arwan for the comment, then walking towards the servants common room.
***
A few moments later, all of the people that needed to be accounted for were present. Brielle and Eun Sim sitting on a couch, Ziven and Diarmain on the couch across from them, and Arwan and Alvaro standing on one side from each of them.
Victor sat in the chair on the side of both couches. Now back in his knight/butler uniform, he felt much more comfortable, not just because of the stuffy layers in his previous attire, but because his uniform was what he was most accustomed to wearing.
"So," Diarmaid started, facing Victor and looking him in the eyes, "Where exactly is Master Andraste and why have you not returned with him?"
"I, too, would also like to know! Considering that I have been cleaning his room till it was spotless for the past few days in anticipation of his return!" Brielle announced, pouting that Lev was not here to appreciate her hard work.
"My apologies everyone, but His Lordship has decided to stay elsewhere for the time being," Victor admitted, lowering his head for a bit and closing his eyes.
"..."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Arwan questioned, his voice dripping with anger and eyes full of suspicion as he glared at Victor.
"Yes, what do you mean?" Alvaro added, leaning on his greatsword a bit more, "Is it something that is so concerning that I should start looking for a new job?"
At the Guard Captains comment, everyone, including Victor, looked at Alvaro to give him a death glare.
"What? It's a genuine concern and question!" Alvaro fought back, spreading his hands out in defence, before quickly putting them down to catching his leaning sword.
"Huu, as understandable as that is, we don't need those comments right now, Sir Malyen. Now please, Victor, continue with what you were going to say," Ziven lectured, giving a smile to the shy Brielle, who flinched at everyone's angry attitude.
"Thank you Ziven, and to answer your question, Sir Malyen. No, it is not. It is just…a temporary decision made by Lord Lev," Victor announced, throwing extra salt at Alvaro when he said his title with his last name instead of first.
"...mean…" Alvaro mumbled, having been called unpreferably by his last name twice in the same conversation and by two different people.
"What was that you said, Sir Malyen?" Diarmaid asked coldly, looking towards Alravo with closed eyes and an intimidating benign smile.
"N-nothing! Please continue, Sir Victor!"
"...Due to certain circumstances, His Lordship has chosen to take a temporary and informal mental retreat to the Silversun Kingdom for a while," Victor announced, causing a stir among the Adraste household's head employees.
"Wh-what exactly do you mean by mental retreat?" Brielle asked timidly, bringing her hand to her mouth.
"Not to worry, it is nothing bad. And he is accompanied by someone who is quite trustworthy," Victor answered, holding up his hand to shush the others, "There were certain events that made his Lordship come to this sad conclusion…But, he has left me with finished paperwork and letters for His Majesty and Duke Casilda."
"I see…Would you like for me to go and deliver them tomorrow morning? Since the sun has long been set," Diarmaid wondered, doing a mental check of his tasks for the next day.
"No need. His Lordship asked me to personally deliver them, so I will head to the Dukedom and Palace tomorrow morning instead," Victor announced, then stood up, "Now if you excuse me, I have some tasks to get done before I leave tomorrow."