Ressa looks at me, trying to size me up; to check if I am worthy of the 'mission' she will bestow upon me. Oh, thank you, Your Lordship! I would love to showcase my loyalty toward the Court by doing this work for you and your lapdogs! Please take me under your wing!

I sigh. It is not like I can do anything rebellious at this point. The country has a rule of summon, after all. I can't refuse the Court's unanimous order, lest I want to be expatriated. Believe me; it is much worse with the monarchy in the neighboring countries. One such country is Redlam of the Flame; hostile neighbors, always at border skirmishes with us. The Court of the Flame Emperor is infamous for killing the country's subjects for fun.

This country of Vlahem is the birthplace of the Forest Emperor, one of the five Emperors of the East. This Court is no less unjust than the other Courts of the East but much less hostile towards its citizens. That's why even if it is a godforsaken piece of land, I would much rather be here than anywhere else.

I glance around. It has been quite a while since I last came here. The pigs have built this place quite nicely. Long green curtains filter the sunlight into a moody green, bouncing off the gigantic pillars that prop up the huge dome at the center of the ceiling. At the center of it all, Ressa Myrtu sits.

She is the Lord of the Coastal Province of Vlahem, which is vital to the economy as it brings in much-needed imports from the West. She sells it at much higher rates to other countries that are either not in a trade agreement with the Pollyx archipelago or are landlocked. Even though she is an old hag, she possesses a frightening amount of cunning that far surpasses your usual merchant. I must be careful around her, or I will play right into her hand.

Enough of the mental exposition. What does Ressa have in store for me now?

"Well, Wilhelm," Ressa clears her throat, "I will skip all the pleasantries just as you would like. You are our last hope, and this mission should be of utmost importan-"

Oh no. I feel pressure rising up my throat. It is familiar, this pressure. My jaws slowly give up, and my gaping maw finally witnesses the Court in all its glory. I just yawned. I have been toiling away in the fields the past week; I feel exhausted.

The ministers are unhappy. Not that I care, but I certainly did not wish to yawn now.

"Your Lordship, do you really wish to recruit the Wild Dog for this? Look at him! Scraggly, unfit, and unwilling to serve the nation, much less go through an arduous journey to save it! He does not even wish to hear you out! The Council of Ministers are feeling uncomfortable in his presence."

My eyes dart toward the creature that said this. Why yes, it is the usual suspect, Jungwan of the Customs. He hates my guts, but the feeling is mutual. This corrupted frog annihilated the fishermen union because they sniffed out that he was smuggling illegal goods from the West. The Royal Coast Guard is also under his control, allowing him to have an iron-clad rule over the seas.

I met him on the road a month ago, harassing women.

Of course, I punched him. But he knew better than to mess with me, so he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"With all due respect, Mr. Jungwan, Wilhelm is probably our only chance to get a stronghold at our borders. We can't allow the Flames to bully us anymore." Ressa politely retorts.

What are these fuckers talking about?

"It would be fantastic if the Court could fill me in. It is very uncharacteristic of you bastards to call back dishonorably discharged soldiers and tell them that the country's future rests on their shoulders." I can't control my grin as I see their appalled faces, their puny hands covering their mouths in shock.

Yeah. I once worked for the military. And yes, I was dishonorably discharged. I really don't think it was my fault that one of my good-for-nothing subordinates fucked up the entire operation.

"Before that," Ressa eyes the entire room, "do we have a unanimous aye?"

Lots of grumbles and hushes in the crowd. I will be the happiest man if someone says no. Jungwan is smirking at me, his fat lips curling, making the abomination of his face even more disturbing.

I don't want your stupid job, dude.

"Aye."

How is it a unanimous yes to me doing a job that will supposedly save their asses if they all hate me?

I look at Jungwan again. The fat fuck is still smirking. He definitely did something to sway the Court. Is he setting me up, trying to get back at me for punching his face?

I do not mind punching him again.

"Alright then," Ressa starts talking, "I need you to go to the merchants' ball that is happening in Redlam and-"

"Nope, sorry, not happening. Firstly, you lost me at Redlam. Secondly, I don't do jobs like this; ask the Wraith for the spying shit."

"The Wraith is held up in Pollyx, and we need to finish this job as soon as-"

"Not my fault. I guess the job has to wait until then."

"Even if you could be expatriated?" Ressa raises her eyebrows.

"You would not do that."

She could do that, honestly. But I like my odds. Even if the Court has a unanimous aye on a matter, the Lord wields sufficient power over the proceedings that come later. I have more value undercover than half of these goons in the Court. Ressa knows that.

I start walking away from the Court. I was not going to accept the mission anyway, but this has given me more reason to walk away from this mess. I thought I had to assist the recon mission, not be the recon mission itself. Recons are boring, you sit around in a hotel or a shack with a weird angle into some Lord's balcony, and you are forced to cooperate with multiple people to make it a success. Not my jam.

Wraith is different. She thrives in these scenarios, effortlessly wringing information from her marks. She never gets caught and is a huge national asset, unlike the self-destructive Wild Dog of Lyspia barrelling headfirst into problems. We have never worked together, and I hope it stays that way.

I can already hear the pigs snort and scoff. One of them mouth loser at me, and I spit on the ground. I honestly could not care less about this situation.

"I heard the Kingdom of Light is sending Sofia to the ball," Ressa shouts.

Ah, fuck.

I turn around to face her.

Maybe I am kind of wrong about the whole situation, heh.

I can hear my voice of reason yelling at me to run away.

"Negotiating, are we now?" I ask her. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

"It is called a leap of faith, Will," she eyes me. "I am sure you would understand. Stay here in the palace for some time. Let me know your decision soon." She gestures to Giuseppe to take me somewhere.

The guest quarters?

This fox. I should not have turned around. It looks like she is relinquishing the choice of accepting the mission to me, but she clearly is forcing me into a corner here. I grit my teeth as Giuseppe approaches me.

"Shall we?" he motions toward the corridor.

I sigh.

Fuck it.