Baron Gano was sitting at his balcony table. Usually, this was the most enjoyable part of his night — sipping a glass of wine, enjoying the results of his hard work accompanied by his favorite crow … but today a glass of wine was not enough. He had finished an entire bottle and his head was hurting, not from the alcohol, but from the bad news he had received.

  Half of Lorca’s gang was wiped out with an indescribable method. Now, Lorca wanted war with the people he thought were responsible, Rex’s gang, and he was urging Gano to joined in the war.

  Gano did not want to go to war with Rex, he did not even think he was responsible for what happened to Lorca’s men. But he had no other suspects. Could it be Carven? No, it could not be him.

  That man was only interested in corpses and live subjects, just like most necromancers. If being a necromancer was not illegal, that man would not even dabble in crime. He did not even care about territories. His was the sewer, and it served its purpose well enough for him. He had zero reason to kill Lorca’s men, if anything Lorca was one of his clients. His main income came from storing and guarding the gang's illegal stashes.

  “Sigh”

  Baron Gano petted his crow who was busy eating nuts. It was the only comfort Gano could receive tonight.

  Should he agree with Lorca’s request to go to war? Picking a fight with Rex might be the wrong thing to do. Rex was an Imperial knight, unlike Krieg, who was just a knight. No ordinary knight could be an Imperial knight. They were the best of the best. Cream of the crop. Even his trusty knight, Jan, skilled as he was, did not make the cut to be an Imperial knight. Going to war with Rex meant risking his best asset, Jan. If they lost, he might lose everything he had built.

  Then there’s the red-haired boy who followed Rex. Gano realized what kind of talent he possessed. Before the boy worked with him, Rex was just a leader of an unscrupulous mercenary band, working for other crimelords, even Gano. But after the boy joined, they became a crimelord on their own right.

  Baron Gano had tried to poach the boy to his side, but he was rejected. When it did not work, he even sent some assassins after the boy … They never reported back, and no more assassins were willing to take up the contract to kill the boy. Jan had seen the boy once, and from that one meeting, he told Gano that the boy was more skilled than he looked, that he had the poise of an expert fighter, maybe even more.

  Truely, nothing good could ever come from picking a fight with Rex.

  Then there’s the issue of not joining the war. In the event that Lorca won the fight, their relationship would be ruined. Of course it was not that big of an issue since Lorca would not win without his support. The problem was what came after.

  There was a chance that Carven would see Gano as an unreliable partner if decided not to back Lorca. Carven was important for Gano’s operation. He was the one who ensured that illegal goods could be safely smuggled through the sewers. Not only that, Gano also used his service to stored his illegal goods and some of his more liquid assets. Jeopardizing his relationship with Carven was not an option.

  Not to mention, losing Lorca meant Rex would have free reign on not only Krieg’s former territory, but also Lorca’s. That meant Rex would rival Gano’s as the biggest and strongest gang in all of Hazen, surpassing him even.

  Baron Gano was in a no-win situation.

  Knock Knock

  “WHAT IS IT? DID I NOT SAY I DON’T WANT TO BE BOTHERED?”

  Baron Gano lost his usual composure, even scaring his crow a bit. Seeing it scared, he tried to calmed himself down.

  “It’s me, master, Jan.”

  Surprisingly, it was Jan. Jan was not the type of person to bother him … unless there was something important.

  “Come in, Jan.” Gano beckoned his knight to enter. A man, clad in runic armor from head to toe entered once he was given permission. Jan bowed once to his master before giving his report. “Master, there's someone who wants to talk to you.”

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  “Who was it?” Gano did not remember inviting any guests. It could not be Lorca, he already came and said what he wanted to say. Was it Carven?

  “It’s a kid, Sir.” Said his knight.

  A kid? What would a kid want with him? And why would he want to waste time on a kid? Unless …

  “Is it a noble’s kid?” If it was a noble’s kid, then he might have to spend some of his time dealing with it. He was a noble after all, so like it or not, he had to show some courtesy to some pampered little brat.

  “No sir, it’s an urchin.” Replied the knight.

  “Then why are you bothering me?” Gano could not believe that Jan would bother him for some street rat.

  “He said that he has information. On who killed Krieg … and who destroyed Lorca’s hideout.”

  Gano was shocked. He could not believe what he heard. Had his fortune finally returned to him?

  “Well, I’ll be damned. Take the kid to the guest room and serve him some desserts. I’ll prepare myself first.” Jan bowed once he heard his master’s order. He wasted no time to leave the room and welcomed the informant.

  Gano stood up from his balcony table. He headed to his vanity mirror, fixing up his disheveled hair and perfuming himself. He reeked of alcohol.

  The information this kid brought him might be a game changer. It might not be enough to stop Lorca from waging war with Rex, but it might be enough to bring Rex to the negotiation table, it might even be enough to convince Rex to work with him. At worst, this information might be enough to convince Carven that not siding with Lorca was the right call.

  Baron Gano could not stop humming. He even skipped like a little child as he exited his room…

  … And the crow noticed all. Even the implication of the traitor’s information. The crow had no choice — but to follow Gano and find out who would dare to betray Regulus.

  *********

  “Sigh”

  Lady Beaugard was sighing. Originally, she was planning to helped her brothers with their case, giving them advice on the state of orphans and street kids in the city. But now her plan was delayed. Whatever it was they were dealing with, it just became more major — more severe than they originally thought. Even their uncle became directly involved, soon, their father might too.

  Kylan told her to just forget about helping the case for now, and just do her charity work … While she was still allowed to go to the city.

  So that’s what she did. She was in a monastery, helping them by playing with orphan kids and funding them with her allowances. It was good work, but it was not a busy one. Once again, she felt like a burden to her family. But she could not complain. The case her brothers were handling — the case that the city was facing, it might be a bad one. She did not know the details, but she could feel nothing but bad premonition from it.

  “Are you okay Lady Beaugard?” It was Dame Lia’s voice, a handsome woman in her 40’s and Beaugard’s personal knight. She was concerned for her master. Beaugard could not hide her worries from her face.

  “Ah. It’s nothing Dame Lia… Well, maybe it’s something.” Beaugard was hesitating whether she should tell Dame Lia her worries or not. She did not want to seem immature in front of a woman she greatly admired.

  “You can tell me anything Lady Beaugard. My lips are sealed.” Dame Lia convinced her master to share. It might help relieve some of her worries.

  “Well, Dame Lia. My father and brothers … They were always so busy working for the good of the city. I just wish … I just wish I could do more. Help them more. Work more for the city.” Beaugard was convinced. She could not help but poured her worries to Dame Lia.

  “Lady Beaugard … You’re doing a lot of good right now. The thing you’ve done, the thing you’re doing right now, it’s more than I’ve ever accomplished in my life. You do not need to rush in wanting to do more my lady. Not all things … not all things become better just because you did more.” Dame Lia was reminded of the time when she was young. A time when she was eager to prove herself as a female knight. A time when she wanted to do more and did more … A time she regretted deeply.

  “Dame? Are you okay Dame Lia?” Now it was Dame Lia who could not hide her emotion from her face. She immediately brushed her master’s worry off. “It was nothing, my lady.”

  Beaugard knew that it must have been something related to Dame Lia’s past. Whenever she accompanied her to do her charity works, Dame Lia always looked solemn, regretful. But she never told Beaugard whenever she prodded her.

  “Dame Lia … Do you … Do you know anything about the case my brothers are dealing with?” Beaugard changed the topic. She also wanted to know the details of the case.

  “Not really, my lady. All I know is that it was some sort of warehouse robbery. Whatever happened this morning though, I don’t know. They did not tell me. Even if they did …” She might not be allowed to tell Beaugard. Beaugard understood. Even though Dame Lia main priority was her safety, Dame Lia would not tell her anything her parents or brothers did not allow her to. Dame Lia was also one of the overprotective people in her life.

  “Sigh”

  In the end Beaugard could only sigh. Dame Lia felt bad for not being able to tell Beaugard things, but in the end it was not her fault.

  “I promise you my lady. Once you have your coming of age ceremony, I will no longer hide things from you and tell you everything I know.” It was a promise Dame Lia kept repeating to her whenever she was dejected for being left in the dark. It was a promise Dame Lia intended to keep. For now, she just wanted Beaugard to be a child and live without adults’ worries.

  “Thank you, Dame.” Beaugard thanked Dame Lia. Deep down she pondered if Dame Lia would be truly forthcoming with her once she was an adult.

  “Hmmm,” for now, she had to cut her pondering short. A bunch of the orphan kids were gathered in front of the monastery gate, making a ruckus. Beaugard and Dame Lia approached the group of kids, wondering what the ruckus was all about.

  “What’s wrong children?” She asked one of the kids.

  “There’s a weird kid in front of the gate.” Answered the kid.

  Beaugard looked at the gate to find out who the weird kid was. It was a girl, small enough to be around 7 or 8 years old. Dressed in dirty and tomboyish clothing. With a knife on her right hip and what looked like a flintlock pistol on her left. Whoever she was, she looked like she had a rough life to be armed to the teeth. However, she seemed scared to be surrounded by other kids.

  Dame Lia immediately put her hands on her sword when she saw the girl’s weapons. Beaugard had to motion her to stand down. They approached the girl carefully, Dame Lia was ready to jump at any time if the girl ever showed hostility towards her master.

  “Hello there, my name is Beaugard. What’s your name?” Beaugard lowered her body so they were face to face, asking in the calmest and most disarming tone she could muster.

  “Uhhhm. My name is Eda. Can I … Can I pray here?” asked the mysterious girl.