Count Ward's manor had been reduced to a scene of bloody mayhem.
Bodies lay strewn across the halls and chambers, sprawled where they had fallen, while dark blood stains smeared the walls and pooled along the stone floors.
Marlow stood at the center of it all, hands clasped behind his back, his expression cold and unreadable. Leila's blood still marred his face and robes, but he did not care — or at least, showed that he did not.
He did not intervene as the Magi of House York moved methodically through the manor, cutting down anyone tied to the Count. Whether they were family members, servants, guards, or accomplices, they were all murdered.
This was a complete execution. It was the most efficient course of action, albeit cold and ruthless. By erasing anyone even remotely connected to the traitorous Count, Marlow ensured there would be no loose ends and no surviving accomplices to grow into future threats.
