The Blackburg manor was split into multiple zones based on who had the jurisdictions over them. Technically, everything belonged to the family head Ezax, however, each of the Blackburg children had a certain personal area under their own control in which the others would usually not interfere. That is why the passing maids were raising an eyebrow as they saw Irwyn walk by them. After all, this place was perhaps the last location where Irwyn would be expected to come in the entirety of the mansion.

“Lord Brite is not accepting any visitors right now,” a startled maid exclaimed as Irwyn made his way to the doorway of Brite’s personal bedroom.

“I was not asking whether he is,” Irwyn shook his head staring the maid down. She shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze.

“Please, lord Irwyn,” she pleaded, looking almost desperate, “You can leave, I will let lord Brite know you came by.”

“You should be able to see I am not currently in the mood for this,” Irwyn sighed and gave the maid one more glance. She seemed even more uncomfortable than before, however, she still did not relent.

“Brite, come the fuck out here right now or I will drag you out!” Irwyn yelled at the top of his lungs, forgoing any further correspondence with the maid. With mana imbued into the voice it thundered not just into the room in front of him, but throughout the entire building and surroundings. Yet despite that there was no answer coming from inside. After a few seconds of waiting Irwyn sighed again.

“What is about to happen is not your fault,” he looked at the now terrified maid. Then he put his palms on the two-winged door in front of them and with a surge of magic, he pushed. A boom sounded as the hinges cracked and half of the doorway itself was shredded into splinters in the process. Apparently Irwyn was supposed to pull. Either way, the door was no longer an obstacle and he could step in.

Inside he quickly discovered the reason why he didn't receive an answer. Besides Brite himself, there were two maids standing on either side of his bed, gowned in the usual Blackburg uniforms. That in itself would not be incriminating were it not for the fact that there were visibly untied laces on their strangely wrinkled clothes. That awkwardly frozen standing position only confirmed the obvious conclusion.

"What the hell are you doing!" Brite shouted at Irwyn as soon as he stepped through. He apparently didn't even manage to put a shirt on as he sat on the had in just his pants, a pillow on his lap.

"You two may leave," Irwyn stared at the maids who shook slightly as they saw his wild eyes, “Now!” he added when the two did not move. That got then to almost flee from the room, holding their not properly tied clothes.

"Now then, brother," Irwyn redirected his gaze, "I have some questions."

"Why the fuck would I answer?!" Brite shot back, "You swagger into my room like you own the fucking place and now you demand something from me?!"

"I am really not in the mood to put up with your bullshit," Irwyn stepped closer, releasing raw mana from within his body. Enough to utterly crush the spell Brite had been preparing and then completely restricting his ability to even attempt further casting, "So this once, behave like the meaningless barely mage you are and answer my fucking questions!"

Irwyn then allowed even more power to engulf the room, forcefully lifting Brite from the bed and applying pressure on his brother's throat while Irwyn raised his right hand, replicating a clutching motion. From his experience, making someone believe they were being choked from a few metres away tended to intimidate his victims very quickly. Unfortunately, with the current state of his body that was about as far as he could take raw mana manipulation. The drain was tangible even on his vast reserves and the concentration required was barely processable by his brain.

"Alright, alright! Just put me down," that being said, Irwyn had been quite happy to hear Brite yield so quickly. He reabsorbed as much of his mana as he could, thankfully the change in expression caused by overclocking his brain were not as visible on his frenzy covered visage.

"Were you behind the village raid?" Irwyn demanded, far calmer.

"No, no! I had nothing to do with it," Brite denied, newfound fear appearing within his eyes, "I only just heard what happened and that someone you knew was killed!"

"And what else have you heard," Irwyn continued, frowning. Brite was not a good liar on his best days, there was no way Irwyn wouldn't see through any attempts to lie Brite could make while trembling in front of him.

"Nothing more! I just didn't even care to find out anything else!" Brite almost shouted. Irwyn could not see even a trace of a lie in his words.

"Alright then," Irwyn's furious frown was significantly reduced, "Sorry for the intrusion. Enjoy the rest of your day," he said before he left the room. Outside a group of various guards were already gathered, they must've rushed over from their various patrols and duties. Perhaps Irwyn had been too loud, considering that the guards before him exceeded those standing guard inside the mansion, meaning he must've been heard from the outside.

"Return to your positions," Irwyn commanded, "The situation is over."

"Is it?" suddenly a familiar masculine voice sounded from behind the guards. That stopped Irwyn in his tracks as he turned around and looked at the parting guards. Behind them appeared a middle-aged man with average build and raven black hair. His most defining feature was most likely a large scar reaching from his cheek to his forehead.

"Father," Irwyn immediately controlled his composure and made a polite bow. Duke Ezax Von Blackburg was rarely ever seen outside his study, spending most of his time with Avys, either working or working out. By the presence of his aura alone Irwyn clearly understood that his father stood at the very top of the 4th tier, yet Irwyn also clearly knew that the man also lacked the determination to ever attempt Awakening, "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to see who tried to make such ruckus within my domain," Ezax replied starting down Irwyn. His father's sudden interest was completely out of character. From what Irwyn understood the only two people that the Duke actually cared about were Avys and his first son Ezyx.

"I apologize, I have just learned that someone important to me had been brutally murdered, so I have trouble thinking straight," Irwyn blabbered as he considered what Ezax's presence meant. However, it was no difficult task to figure out who was involved considering that Ezyx was currently abroad at the Academy of Ignis, "Perhaps I should also go apologize to mother," Irwyn said. He had been intending to bee meet Avys next anyway.

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"Yes that would be appropriate," Ezax’s eyes widened slightly before he agreed, very much confirming Irwyn’s suspicion that as always, Avys was involved. Although Irwyn had not seen his mother often since the death of Mage guild’s leader she was still the same perpetually scheming noblewoman. It was definitely not impossible for her to guess how Irwyn might act after what had happened, “However, she is meeting someone in our special meeting room.”

“I will be sure not to disrupt anything,” Irwyn gave one more polite bow, “Thank you father, I will take my leave,” he added before standing straight and leaving. Ezax did not seem to care enough to comment further. Instead he turned on his heel and left in the other direction, not even bothering enough to look in the direction of Brite’s room.

Naturally Irwyn knew of the place where Avys was. A room dedicated to the most special guests, either greatly influential or personally powerful, often both. It was rarely used, in fact, anything less than a 4th tier or a Duke did not qualify, which begged the question just who exactly was Avys meeting.

Arriving in front of the door, Irwyn clicked on the ring bell. The room itself was soundproof and warded against magic and even the ring bell did not sound directly into the meeting room, rather it alerted a maid assigned specifically to convey information between within and without. A few seconds after Irwyn pressed the button the door smoothly opened revealing Clarissa herself looking at him with her usual deadpan visage.

“Come in, she is already expecting you,” Clarissa did not stare long before she turned around and walked back inside, allowing Irwyn to follow. By the time Irwyn closed the door behind himself Clarissa was already on the other side of the small buffer room, unlocking the other door by carefully pressing her finger into a few specific places. Irwyn, of course, made sure to remember the combination just in case he needed it at some point and it wasn’t routinely changed.

“He is here, my lady,” Clarissa announced as soon as the door creaked open.

“Thank you, Clarissa,” Avys answered before Irwyn even had the chance to enter the room properly, “You may return to your position,” her voice sounded. Clarissa did not even properly enter the room at that time, instead moving aside to allow Irwyn to step inside. Irwyn noticed Avys’ guest as soon as he was welcomed by the place’s opulence, it was a woman seated opposite to Avys, wearing a far too large black cloak which perfectly hid all her curves. What gave her gender away was her head which was thankfully not covered by a hood. Her visage was strangely both intimidating and charming, the former because a chunk of her nose was only present as a large ugly scar, while the latter because the rest was perfect enough to mostly overlook even such a large wound.

Maybe Irwyn was not the best judge of that as the guest’s features seemed very slightly familiar to Avys’, though perhaps lacking the touch of that supernatural allure which always enveloped the duchess. That though lead to a different realisation on Irwyn’s part. The woman didn't give off any feeling whatsoever. Irwyn could not perceive her mana, her presence, not even her soul. Considering the unlikeliness of Avys meeting an awakened there was only a single logical conclusion: The woman was an extremely well-trained assassin in the 4th tier. Skilled enough that perfectly containing her presence became second nature to her.

“So tell me,” the characteristic perfect smile appeared on Avys’ lips while her eyes stared Irwyn down, “What do you deduce?”

“That the breakdown of the Mage guild is not going so well,” Irwyn replied. That was the most likely reason why Avys would require an assassin of such skill, “And that I had no idea you had such a powerful cousin.”

“Half-sister,” Avys chuckled, despite the years passing she looked the exact same as she did when Irwyn had first seen her a decade before.

“Why would you think I am powerful,” the woman frowned.

“Your disguise is too perfect,” Irwyn politely smiled, “I am extremely sensitive to mana, enough that I can sense the minuscule amount in the bodies of even the weakest peasants.”

“So I stand out because I have no presence at all,” the woman’s expression turned back to normal as she nodded, “Not the first time I have heard that, however, it had always been from accomplished mages, not a brat one-sixth my age.”

“I have dedicated most of my time to mastering magic and I have the unfair advantage of unlimited resources, aunt,” Irwyn offered his hand politely, “My name is Irwyn, nice to meet you.”

“Alexa Silvertongue,” the woman answered bluntly, though she didn’t reach for Irwyn’s hand before her eyes returned to Avys, “You were right, I underestimated him, but let’s get back to business.”

“What more is there to discuss?” Avys raised her eyebrow, perfectly faking the expression of confusion, “The terms I am offering you are already far better than what anyone else would offer, assuming of course that you even have other options. After all, what you are dealing with are mainland nobles, anyone you might turn to could’ve been involved.”

“Fine,” Alexa grumbled and brought her hand to her lips, biting into her finger. Avys followed the same actions.

“We hereby create the contract of blood,” Avys stated firmly, her bleeding hand glowing as shook it with Alexa’s, “I swear to find all parties involved in the murder of your husband Orobus, relaying that information to you as soon as I reasonably can. On the other hand, you swear to assist me in finishing off the mages guild with your skills as an assassin. As an oath of blood it will only end in fulfilment or in death. Do you agree to these terms?”

“I agree and accept this contract,” Alexa nodded, her hand now too glowing. Their blood met, forming a short lived vortex of magic which ended with the establishment of their deal, “I will be leaving then,” Alexa stood up as soon as the bond formed, putting on her hood and bidding goodbye, “You know where to find me.”

“See you later, sister,” Avys waved as Alexa left the room. The magical lock only worked for those entering.

“I assume you already know why I am here,” Irwyn walked over and sat where Alexa had previously been.

“Because of that unfortunate woman,” Avys smiled, “Daisy Bloom, if I am not mistaken. Going down the list of people who may want to send you a message and might dare I am naturally right after Brite who has a long term grudge with you, but you can’t figure out why I would needlessly provoke you in this way, so you decided to come see me.”

“Yes,” Irwyn nodded, “There are very few people who have grudge with me and enough gall to pull something like this. So did you have anything to do with it?”

“Of course not,” Avys laughed, “Alira is a good lesson to us all that needlessly crossing you requires a death wish. If I ever turn against you I am going to make sure that it will end before a meeting like this. However, I think you are looking at this the wrong way. In the end, it’s a blessing in disguise, isn’t it? The massacre leaves her young son, Minet, with no one to rely on but you. In the end, you still get exactly what you wanted, maybe even a bit more. Perhaps you should not be looking for people who mean you harm, but people who wanted this conclusion.”

“Then they could’ve chosen some other way!” Irwyn slightly slipped as he shouted, his eyes wild.

“I understand that she saved your life,” Avys frowned as Irwyn quickly reclaimed his composure, “But acting on emotions is not like you. I can’t imagine a village healer being so important to you. Unless…” Avys’ eyes widened for a moment before that brilliant smile returned to her lips, “You should also consider that Daisy was not the target at all. Accidents happen, it could have been some sadistic vagrants enjoying their time with an unusually beautiful woman. Either way, our people will find something by dusk. The best of the best are on the case after all.”

“Lady Avys, lord Irwyn,” Clarissa once again opened the door, “The initial investigation has been concluded. I advise that Lord Irwyn goes to meet the investigators for his own peace of mind.”

“Speaking of the devil,” Avys chuckled as Irwyn was already getting up to leave, “Go and hear them out then, I am sure it will be good news. Also, Clarissa, please bring me a glass wine. I am in the perfect mood.”