Clear droplets spattered around as Roderick slammed the base of his cup against the hardwood.

"...Peh! What a stubborn little brat." Venom dripped from his tongue as he drew his scornful eyes towards Eris, across the table from him.

She turned away, her stoic expression beset by anxiety, "Because someone is intervening in Dellwick, it's become impossible for her to accept the proposal."

"Tsk. Who the hell it!? Who is messing up our plans?"

"I was hoping you would know. You've been gone for a few days, you must have seen what was happening outside the village, correct?"

He grunted.

"Have any of the nobles made their moves? Given her reputation, she likely has ties with Ealdton and the Capitol."

"No, none as far as I know. Though it doesn't change the fact that we have to deliver on your promise... Eris."

Her eyelids twitched.

Trying to pin this all on me, are you? When it's your job to handle any external influence that could hinder our plan. Bastard.

As frustration reached its peak, it became harder and harder to bottle up her real sentiments. She was forced to bite into thumb nail just to quench the stress. Then, once she had calmed down, she continued, as calm as usual, "Well thanks to that interference, I'm out of moves. I can't utilize my contacts while someone is running in the shadows, killing all of my assets."

"Hrmph." He grunted once more, "I've had it with shadow plays. A lot of good that's done for us!" He brought his hand down onto the table with a large slam, unfazed by the possibility of a patrol passing nearby. "We need to employ more drastic measures."

His recklessness gave her pause, and only after an awkward silence did she then ask, "...meaning?"

"Hmph." He crossed his arms and reclined on his chair. "If only we'd have just done it my way from the start, then we wouldn't be in this mess."

She furled her brows. "You mean your plan to kidnap her? What good would that even do? You would hold the heroine in ransom before the King?"

The corner of his lip perked up. "Silly woman. Do I look like a fool to you?"

That constant air of arrogance began to prick her temper.

"Why hold her ransom," he said as a crooked smirk formed on his lips, "when she only needs to disappear?"

Those words, spoken by anyone else, may have alluded to a more benign course, but the look he had in his eye suggested nothing but sheer malice.

It made her skin crawl.

He then nodded, as if reading her very thoughts.

"Are you serious!?" She laid her hands flat on the table and pushed herself up on her feet. "That's the still heroine you're talking about! The kingdom's heroine. Do you even know how much risk-"

"Of course I do!" His furious howl seemed to scrape gravel as it passed his throat. "Who was it that so assuredly promised to deliver all of Dellwick!?"

Eris was stunned from the sudden outburst.

"And now that he is expecting results, you come crawling to me, saying it can't be done. Don't be ridiculous! You are why I've been forced to do this!"

He clicked his tongue.

"The original plan was just to have her gone for a short while, have the 4th Linden 'rescue' her and use that debt to resume the food caravans..." He clenched his fist. "...but that won't be enough now!"

He leered at her with frenzied eyes, his lips slowly twisting into a malign grin.

"Her mere death will not satisfy him. He will want her to atone for the misgivings she had laid upon him these past few weeks. Perhaps some time in the dungeon? A fatal beating here and there? Heh heh heh!"

Beads of sweat ran down her brow and across her cheek.

"And with her passing, the village of Dellwick shall fall into chaos..."

He clenched his fist, victoriously.

"...And who better to step in and maintain order than the esteemed Count Rosteforough and his army?"

A silent moment passed, as if to let the insanity settle in.

"That's... just crazy!" she said, anxiety palpable in the tremor of her voice, "Killing... no, not even that, but just capturing a Legendary Hero? How do you expect to even do that?"

"Me?" he scoffed at her, "No. That's your job."

Her eyes widened. "...huh?"

"I will be waiting at the outskirts of town. You will bring her to me. Incapacitated. You'll probably need to rough her up a bit, but I don't care. She'll have lots of that coming her way."

"W-what!? Hold on, incapacitate the heroine!?"

"Yes." He glared at her. "There won't be any problems, now will there?"

She clutched tightly at her arm. This bastard...!

"You've spent a lot of time with the brat. I'm sure you've found a weakness here and there. It was you who said, after all, that she did not seem to be have any heroic powers at all." He shrugged. "Well, that's fortunate, isn't it? It will just be like kidnapping a child off the streets." He then glimpsed at her from the corner of his eye. "Right up your alley, am I right?"

This is the making of a kingdom-wide crisis... I can't possibly predict what would happen next, but one thing's for damn sure...

She gnashed her teeth.

...I'm going to hang for this.

Then, all of a sudden, he loosened up, draping his elbow over the backrest of his chair.

"Anyway, stop complaining," he added, "it's not as if you have a choice in this matter."

"Huh!?"

"As I said." He stood up, and rounded to table to her side. "This is your fault. I've come too far to lose face to him now. If I should fall... heh heh heh..."

Her skin erupted in goosebumps as he then placed his wrinkly hand on her shoulder.

"...then you're going down with me."

She jerked away in reflex, turning a sharp glare at his direction.

However, Roderick didn't seem to care, and just continued, "So make sure you do your best... you're a veteran, right?"

And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving Eris in isolation.

After a short while, several footsteps hurried down the stairs at the far end of the house. From where she sat, Eris could only see the silhouette of a handful of men carrying a large object wrapped in cloth out the back.

Roderick's eyes followed them for a moment, before then turning to the side, glancing at her out the corner of his pale eye. "Because gods help you, should you fail again..."

Just as the they passed the back door, the cloth slipped down from their package.

And out flopped an arm.

Bloody.

Limp.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

They quickly stuffed it right back in, like it was nothing.

For the first time in living memory, her mind blanked out in abject terror. It was all she could do to mutter these two words:

"I... understand..."

And without turning back, he uttered, "Make sure you do."

Eris tumbled, restlessly, on her bed.

She did not know what time it was.

The night had taken a deep, dark blue, of which she could only see a pale ray filter in from the window.

Her eyes were heavy, and yet, when she tried to close them, she would only pry them loose once more, as her thoughts kept invading her silence.

Even now, her mind was still racing from her last audience with Roderick.

That son of a bitch.

He's cornered me into being his accomplice for this crazy plan... worst of all, I'm the one who has to bring her to him. If things foul up, I'm the only one who could be implicated in her disappearance!

Her tired hands clutched her blanket with all the strength she had left.

I know how that man operates... and at this rate, he's going to use me as a scapegoat!

Damnit...!

...I'd do it too, if our places were switched. Right now, I'm just a loose end. Even if everything goes according to plan, it would be foolish not to cut me off.

That means...

Once more her eyes fell shut.

It stayed so for a short while, this time.

Indeed, an outside observer might conclude that she had finally fallen asleep at this point.

But in reality, her mind was rapidly connecting the dots in her head, culminating in one stark realization.

No matter what I do... all I'll be... is a loose end.

Her eyes shot wide open.

But if working with him results in my downfall either way...

She sat up.

...then what if I work against him?

She then turned towards her desk, upon which laid a few, scattered sheets of paper.

A smirk surfaced on her lips.

"Hmph. It would be a radical departure for my norm..."

She then slid out of bed, pulled her chair out and slipped on her glasses. And as she sat down, and lit her tableside lamp, a streak of light reflected off its lenses.

She lifted her face.

The anxiety had all but faded away, and in its place, a searing, aggressive confidence.

"...but I can see it working."

Thus, she went to work.

Notes were scribbled and routes were drawn.

Overtime would last until the break of dawn, but her scheme was complete.

"It's finished!" Sylphia cried, throwing her arms in the air.

The sudden outburst struck at Eris' temple like a bludgeon. Having gotten no sleep at all since yesterday, she had to contend with a nagging pain at the back of her head, as well as a heavy pair of eyes, despite needing to read pages upon pages of documents as part of her work. This was on top of a general lethargy that mired her every movement.

Nonetheless, she trudged through it with sheer willpower, safe in the knowledge that her sacrifice was well spent.

"Well? Well?" The little girl stared at her with sparkling eyes that seemed to say, 'Praise me!'

She sighed. And with slight apprehension, she granted the shallow desires of her young lady, saying, "Indeed, I have received the last of the official documents. Congratulations, my Lady. You really could do it, after all, if you tried. So please try ha-"

But her words of advice were lost to the girl's ears. For the moment she received her praise, her amber-gold eyes twinkled as she gloated, "Hyaaa, I guess you're right! I'm the type that can do anything, so long as I put my mind into it! Hahahaha."

Eris cringed internally.

You also the type that gets carried away too easily.

Clearing her throat, she then said, "If that's the case, then please be ready 'put your mind into' your duties as a Lord."

The smug little girl suddenly quieted down. "Eh?"

"As soon as I submit these documents to the Chancery, my Lady will be required to pen a decree for each of her reforms." She then gave a mean smirk. "Please do your best."

Her eyes flickered. "...Eh? Can't you do it for me?"

I could, but...

"I'm afraid a decree is different, my Lady."

"Even though you've written all of my paperwork up to now?"

"It is different."

...just this once.

"Uuugh...." With hollow eyes, the young lady stared down at her cooling soup, and mumbled to herself, "it never ends..."

Meanwhile, Eris covered her mouth and snickered.

Though she refused admit it to herself, she was slowly warming up to the habit of teasing the little lady. That said, seeing the girl seriously depressed did not sit entirely well with her.

A shallow breath thus escaped from her lips as she said, "My Lady, are you aware that Dellwick is celebrating its harvest festival soon?"

It piqued the girl's interest, as evidenced by her lifting her face off her desk and moaning, "Ueh?"

"It is celebrated near the end of the harvest season. Merchants and tourists visit around this time, transforming the market street into a very lively place, indeed. Especially during the night."

"Oh?"

"Would my Lady like see the festival with me?"

All of a sudden, the girl's sullen eyes widened, regaining their lost sheen.

She continued, "I wish to properly congratulate you for your hard work."

"Really!?" Sylphia leapt onto her feet. "I'd love to!" She then relaxed her shoulders, adding, "Geez... and all this time I thought you hated me... so you're a tsundere, huh!?"

"Huh?" Eris furled her brows. "What in the world are you talking about?"

The girl shrank away from the sudden pressure. "N-nothing..."

Finally, Eris sighed once more.

"A-anyway, when is this harvest festival?"

Eris thus lifted her face and adjusted her glasses. "Tonight."

"Ooooh!" Sylphia clasped her hands together. "I can't wait!"

Her lips then curled up, forming a meek smile. "Mm."

Afterwards, Eris took all the documents and excused herself. As usual, she shut the door quietly behind her, and returned to her own room.

There, she left the stack of papers on her desk and sat down, resting her tired eyes for a moment.

Step one - complete.

After a moment's respite, she pulled out once more the rectangular box and grabbed all the remaining coins.

...tonight, huh.

The coins rattled between her fingers she clasped them tightly.

Emi... I'll be home soon.