Brunaulf POV:

We stood outside a large mansion that was gated off from the rest of the street. It had a small garden at the front along with a guard standing near the entrance. Once he noticed Beatrix, he bowed his head and greeted her.

“Welcome back, Milady.”

“Thank you, Roy.”

Beatrix nodded her head, and Roy opened the gate, allowing us to enter. He was significantly older than me and had short brown hair.

“The Kassmeyer Estate is located in a different city. I usually stay here when I need to carry out business.”

“Does your family come from nobility?”

“No. Both my parents died when I was young, leaving me with no other relatives. I built everything I have from the ground up.”

It was commendable. Without guidance, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the right path to walk on... A maid opened the door to the mansion just as we reached the entrance.

“Milady, you’ve returned safely.”

Her hair was tied in curly pigtails, and she looked only a year or two older than Beatrix. She had sharp eyes that stared at me intently.

“Yes. Let us talk in the conference room, Nana.”

Beatrix entered the house, leaving me alone with Nana. Her lips curved upwards slightly as she moved away from the door and looked down at me.

“So you’re the Mad Wolf.”

I glanced at her with disinterested eyes. I knew it would take more than a few months to get rid of the reputation I had built up over the course of many years.

“I don’t go by that name anymore. Call me Brunaulf. It’s nice to meet you.”

I walked up the steps and extended my hand towards her. Nana's eyes narrowed to a slit as she sneered at me.

“You can drop the nice guy act, Mad Wolf. No one’s going to fall for it. I know exactly who you really are.”

She smacked my hand away and left me on the porch alone. I looked down at my trembling hand and smiled bitterly as I entered the house through the open door. There wasn’t much to say in regard to Nana's words; I could only continue to try.

“Are you alright? I apologize for Nana's behaviour.”

I saw Beatrix leaning against the wall next to the entrance. I sighed inwardly and wondered if she had manufactured that scenario deliberately. Either way, it didn’t matter—I wasn’t going to be here for much longer.

“I’m fine. We should really discuss the rest of the details.”

“I agree. Follow me.”

She spun around and led me through multiple hallways. We ascended the stairs once more, and a few moments later, we reached two large doors in the middle of the hallway. Beatrix opened them, and we went inside.

The room was as large as any other room in a mansion. All kinds of expensive furniture was present and old paintings hung over a fireplace on one side of the wall. The windows were tall and had intricate designs, showing the garden behind the house and beyond.

I watched Beatrix sit down on a chair behind a desk. She took out a few sheets of paper before resting her arms on the armchair. I had moved towards one of the large windows when Nana entered the room a few moments later and closed the door behind her.

“Let me start with the bad news. We will have to wait at least one week for the situation here to calm down.”

“What situation?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. Surely she wasn’t referring to the commotion that she made me cause.

“You slipped past Border Patrol. They haven’t found any trace of you for the last few days, most likely because they didn’t expect you to reach Losa. However, word should be arriving here soon that someone from Outer Astril could potentially be hiding in Losa. Security will be temporarily tightened, even more so, considering the recent suspicious activity of a masked man.”

I clenched my teeth while glaring at Beatrix. There was no way she could have overlooked such an obvious outcome, yet she still made me do those things deliberately. What was she trying to gain by keeping me here longer?

“Don’t be angry with me, Mad Wolf. The Baron is also in the process of rising to the rank of Viscount. It is a delicate time for many reasons.”

Beatrix gazed at me with slight sadness in her eye. Variables and more variables, so many things getting in my way. I felt a throbbing pain emerge in my head; I was beginning to care less and less about using strategy.

“You should be grateful Milady has been so upfront and kind to you. She didn’t have to treat you this way, Mad Wolf.”

Nana looked at me disapprovingly as I calmed my mind. Even though Beatrix clearly had another agenda besides getting those important documents, she had treated me well—this I couldn’t deny.

“...Thank you for your hospitality. Is there anywhere I could stay? I’d like to meditate for a while.”

“Hmph.”

Nana folded her arms as she took a seat on the sofa. If this was the old me... No, let’s not go there. Beatrix examined me closely for a few seconds before responding.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“You are welcome. Nana will show you to your room. Let me know if there is anything you need.”

I nodded my head and glanced at Nana, who rolled her eyes. She got up reluctantly and showed me the way to where I would be staying.

“People never truly change, and you’re no different. In the end, you’ll go back to your true nature, Mad Wolf.”

Nana smirked as she brushed past my shoulder. I didn’t move for a while, instead choosing to look inside the room from the outside. A sigh escaped my mouth a few minutes later as I closed the door behind me.

I sat down on the carpet in the middle of the room and folded my legs. I closed my eyes and pushed aside any unnecessary thoughts as I focused on the flow of my Ki.

It was going to be a long week.

***

Jess POV:

I struggled to contain the yawn that forced my mouth wide open. Miles covered it for me as my hand was a step too slow.

“...Overworking is a bad habit of yours, Jess.”

My head slumped against his shoulder while I failed to fight off the closing of my eyelids. I adjusted my body, getting into a more comfortable position as my head slipped down onto his lap.

“...Disagree... Mm...”

That was the last thing I could remember. By the time my eyes flashed open, the sun had almost vanished beyond the horizon. I still felt tired, but it was much better than before.

“Finally awake?”

I slowly looked up at Miles and belatedly realized that I had been sleeping on his lap. I felt the blood rush to my face as he put the back of his hand on my forehead.

“Hm? You don’t have a temperature.”

‘Ugh...’

I knocked his hand away lightly and sat up. When it came to other girls, he could go on and on about all the obvious cues and signs that he noticed, but with me... Miles was always oblivious. I sighed inwardly and massaged the sides of my temples slowly.

‘What am I even saying?’

The lack of sleep had messed up my normal way of thinking. I took a few deep breaths and regained my composure. The influx of refugees from District 3 was finally beginning to slow down, which was a sign that the war would be over very soon.

“Ma wants to see you again. She told me off for not inviting you around more often.”

I watched him grin like he always would whenever he spoke about Grandma Yin. I was an orphan, so I didn’t know what it was like to have family, but Miles did.

“...Don’t you miss them? Your parents?”

His grin turned into a thin smile. He cast his eyes down to the street below, and I instantly regretted asking such a stupid question. It was insensitive. Of course he missed his parents.

“I do. They both died of a rare disease—something out of their control. But you know, their last wish was for me to be happy and not to forget who I am. To love and care for those around me just as any Vidrian would.”

His grandparents had left Vidris over a century ago and somehow ended up in Outer Astril. Apparently, at that time, the two sides of Astril were close to reaching unison.

“There were a few difficulties here and there, but one day Ma took me in. She said I reminded her of her son.”

Grandma Yin and Miles both looked nothing alike at first glance, yet at the same time, they had similar features. That being said, I contemplated on what I should do to make him feel better; it was my fault for digging up some of those painful memories in the first place.

“Then can I go with you tonight?”

“Huh...? Ah... Yeah, sure...”

‘?’

He rubbed his nose in a shy manner while he avoided making eye contact with me. I raised my eyebrow, unsure of what to say next. It was rare to see this side of Miles, in fact, I think I had only seen it a couple of times, and I wondered if I said anything strange.

“Looks like there’s trouble.”

He got to his feet as a group of Blood Hounds broke through the open border. The Workers tried to hold them off, but they were swatted away like flies. Miles extended his hand out towards me, and I grabbed it.

“Let's go.”

He helped me to my feet, and we jumped down. Miles took the lead, stopping the Blood Hounds from going any further. I appeared by his side a few seconds later as they circled around us.

I observed them carefully and noticed their veins popping out. Their eyes were blood red; their limbs moving in sporadic ways. It was a sign that they had injected themselves with KEDs recently.

“Be careful, Miles.”

“I know, I know.”

The Blood Hounds roared as they charged in. I instantly splayed my hand, forcing a blast of air to smash against their chests. I followed up by crashing my foot on the tip of their jaw, dropping them like lifeless mannequins.

“!”

Miles abruptly pulled my arm back as a blade flashed past my face. He had disposed of the Blood Hounds on his side, in around the same timeframe as me, but I had failed to notice the presence of another enemy.

She slipped the blade back into its sheath as she sneered at me. That black and green ombre hair, wasn't that Esmeralda? What on earth was she doing here?

“How pathetic. Cutting you both down here will serve as a reminder that District 4 will be punished for its insolence.”

She released her Ki and placed her hand on the sword grip. Miles stepped forward, releasing his Ki in response.

“You’re Esmeralda, right? Ahh... Such a beautiful woman is wasted on the Ruler.”

“...What?”

Esmeralda was temporarily stunned by his words as Miles immediately closed the gap. He placed his hand on her shoulder while her eyes widened in surprise.

“Look, you’ve chosen the wrong side. How could a lovely woman like you be treated in such a way? They don’t respect you nor do they care for you. They see you as nothing more than an object; a pawn to be used to achieve their goal. Is this what you really want, Esmeralda?”

Her hand shook violently as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. I ignored the annoying thoughts that popped into my mind every time Miles complimented her looks. Strangely enough, it seemed to be very effective against her.

“...You don’t know me. You’re just another stepping stone in the grand scheme of things.”

She pushed Miles away, but he barely moved. It was proof that Esmeralda was visibly shaken by his words. I wondered if the war between Enigma and the Royal Guards had caused her stance on where she stood to become more fragmented.

“You don’t need to fight for their cause anymore. You have a choice: Live in a place where people actually care for you, or live in a place where your worth is decided by how capable you are.”

Miles stretched out his hand towards Esmeralda. Her hand hovered over her sword, but she didn’t draw it. I observed her eyes dart between District 3 and Miles. She bit her lip, and her eyebrows quivered as she struggled to make a decision. In the end, she turned around.

“...Tch.”

She looked at Miles one final time out of the corner of her eye before retreating back to District 3. The other Watchers nearby had finally arrived at the scene, but Miles told them to let her go. We watched her back disappear down the street.

“Why did you feel the need to compliment her so much?”

I walked over towards Miles, unable to hide my displeasure at his actions. Esmeralda's blade was a lot faster than I thought it would be; it also didn’t help that I had been overworking myself lately. I had no choice but to concede that resting more would improve my efficiency.

“To be honest, she’s pretty attractive. But who would have thought that it’d shake her up that much?”

He cocked his head to the side as he pondered over what had just happened. I let out a frustrated sigh and placed my hand lightly over my hip.

“Who knows what she’s seen in District 3. I doubt it was anything pleasant.”

“...Yeah.”

A serious expression appeared on his face as he stared at the boundary separating us from District 3. Thankfully, the District Leader had come to his senses and was now training intensely, so the unsettled feeling I had before disappeared days ago. We just needed to be patient; the situation would soon change for the better.

“Well, Ma’s waiting. Let’s go, Jess.”

He put his hands on the back of his head while he whistled. A few Workers came in order to take care of the unconscious bodies as I walked by his side. The other Watchers would report the situation to the Vices, so we had some time to spare.

I covered my mouth while I yawned. I really needed to sleep.