“You will be safe here for now, my lord,” said an elderly man with a hunch on his back. His garments were those of a peasant, but he spoke with elegance and precision, a stark contrast to what his garbs might suggest about his origin.

Marsh hummed and scanned his surroundings. Not a hint of suspicion in sight, which made it all the more suspicious. Still, there was no immediate threat as far as he could observe.

“You will find no prying eyes or opportunistic ears here, my lord.”

“For your sake, Franklin, there better not be,” Marsh retorted crudely and walked back into the small building that he had taken refuge in. An empty patch of dirt surrounded the cottage, encircled by a forest some miles away from the capital city of the Yorun Kingdom.

“Of course, my lord.” The old man, Franklin, simply smiled, bowed, and silently watched Marsh’s back disappear into the building.

The cottage was not even a tenth of his mansion’s size. The place smelled old and wet. It was musty. The floorboards creaked with every step Marsh took. Even the door shrieked loudly as it closed behind him. A gentle knock on the walls would lightly shake the ceiling. He wondered if this little house could even withstand a breeze. It wasn’t his first choice, but he didn’t have any other choice.

“How long will we be staying here, William?” asked Baloc. He had already made himself comfortable in an armchair by the fireplace. Tea and snacks were served on the table just beside him, but he didn’t touch either of those two. He was content with the chair and the warmth alone.

“We’re not staying for long,” Marsh answered and took a seat across from Baloc. “Just until Katya gets better.”

Baloc glanced at the floor— or rather, what lay beneath the floor. “Will she, though?” he questioned.

Marsh shot a glare. “Don’t.”

Baloc shrugged.

“Sir, what about Lady Genna?”

Marsh raised an eyebrow and glanced lazily at one of his few remaining subordinates, Reed. He had hundreds of them, people who served him. Now, there were fewer than ten. At the very least, this small bunch were loyal. He gazed past Reed, over to the unconscious Genna, who was resting in the arms of Byorn—a giant of a man, but with the mind of a simpleton. He liked Byorn. The grown boy obeyed every command without question. “How long has she been in Byron’s arms?”

“Ever since we arrived?” said Reed.

Marsh sighed. “Just put her down on the couch gently,” said Marsh.

Byorn nodded and walked over to the nearest couch with heavy steps. He then laid Genna gently down on the couch as if he were handling a tray of glassware.

“And what about… ”

“All of you, get some rest. We won’t be getting any after this for a long time.”

Reed nodded and made himself scarce.

“I still say we didn’t need to leave the mansion. You paid good money for that land. It’s a huge shame that we had to abandon it.”

“It would be an even bigger shame if we stayed. We would be lynched by those nobles.”

“You’re the good friend of the crowned prince. Surely you won’t be persecuted this easily, right?”

“I have enemies. The pettiest ones. They all want to be friends with the crowned prince, but His Highness only have the heart to trust one person. They want me gone. No matter what they had to do, or what they sacrificed. All it takes is a visit from a paladin, and I’ll be exposed.”

Baloc snorted. “You overestimated them, Marsh. Do you not have any confidence in my arrays?”

“I have confidence that the damage Argon would cause would not be something your arrays could hide. Also, your mentor was there. The heir to the Dragon God’s throne. We are outnumbered and outdone. We had to cut our losses.”

“Aye, we had to, but what of your girl? She’s suffering now.”

“She’ll be fine. She’s strong. And I would appreciate it if you back away from this subject.”

“You made me abandon my humble and quiet abode. Let me have some fun here.”

“Look for fun elsewhere, and I didn’t make you abandon anything. You were free to stay.”

“It’s only a jest, my friend. Still, it’s really a shame. I liked it there.”

Marsh frowned. “I wasn’t aware you were this fond of that pit that you called an abode.”

“It’s a nice place. I can work in peace and quiet. I can work for a long time without anyone to disturb me. Any chance that I will be getting the same tenor once we move to our new base?”

“We’re not moving to a new base.”

“We’re not?”

“Not for a long time. We will be going our separate ways after we crossed the sea.”

“...I’m not aware of this… arrangement.”

“Now you do.”

“Can’t I come with?”

Marsh eyed Baloc suspiciously. “And why will you want that? The major forces of the kingdom will be aftering me.” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Well… I got the Dragon God’s heir on my tail. And I get to test my skills in your presence. I have learned so much, thanks to you. It will be quite boring and tedious to be by myself once more. I have grown quite fond of your requests.”

“Those were no requests. Those were orders. I paid for your services.”

“And I have greatly enjoyed your patronage. I do hope we can continue our business together. All those villagers as test subjects… Oh, where else and who else can I get them from with so much ease and so little… moral quandary?”

Marsh rolled his eyes. “Do as you will. Just don’t expect my aid if you become a liability.”

“I would end myself if I became one.”

“I hope you remember these words of yours when this declaration becomes a reality,” Marsh said and rose from his seat.

“Oh, leaving so soon? I have still much to say.”

“Say it to the others.”

“Bah. They can’t even look me in the eyes, let alone speak with me.”

“Not my problem,” Marsh bade with those words and retreated to the cellar of the cottage. The stairs were just behind the firepit, though the warmth barely reached the shadows. Without a lantern or any source of light, Marsh descended the stairs into the dark underground.

“Leave,” a voice echoed from the dark and chilling depths. The cellar ran deeper than a body would be buried. It ran deep enough for four bodies to be buried.

“Katya, I—”

“Don’t ‘Katya’ me, Ivan.”

“You’re angry… I know.”

“Wow. What a fucking genius you are.”

Instead of frowning in sorrow, Marsh only smiled warmly as he approached his lover.

“Don’t come near me,” Katya snarled. She tried backing away but there was only so much room that she could back into. The cellar was not small, but the circle of inscriptions was. It was just big enough for a bed, specially prepared for her to rest on should she get tired of standing.

Marsh stopped his approach. “You’re doing well.”

“Well? You called this well?”

“...I suppose not. Katya, listen, I—”

“Nothing, Ivan. Don’t say anything. I don’t want your apology. There’s nothing you can say that would make all of this better. Thousands, Ivan. Thousands! You killed thousands!”

“Indeed, I have.”

“How can you be so nonchalant about this? You killed thousands. You kidnapped them from their homes. You tortured them. You experimented on them. You brutalised them. How can you not feel anything!? Men! Women! Children! Elderlies! You tormented them!”

“All for you, my love.”

Katya flinched with a look of disgust. “I’m not your love. And don’t claim that you have done all this for me. You didn’t.”

“But I did do all this for you, Katya. I know I will never get your forgiveness, and I never think that I will. But I want you to understand, if time were to rewind, and I was given the same options and circumstances, I would still choose this path.”

Katya grimaced. “You’re sick, Ivan.”

“I will be whatever is needed of me, as long as I get to see you alive and well.”

“Well, you failed miserably at that. Look at me, Ivan. Do you think this is being alive and well? I will rot and perish if I step out of this circle.”

“You won’t rot and perish, at least not for a few days.”

“This is not living, Ivan. The blood of the innocents is on my hands as much as it is on yours. How can you live with that?”

“As long as I have you, I can live with anything. You are my world, Katya. I took up the sword because of you. I joined the clan because of you. There’s nothing that I won’t do for you, Katya.”

“Then, let me die.”

“Well, maybe there is something that I won’t do for you.”

Katya snorted. “Argon will come for you.”

“He won’t. He won’t even be leaving that place alive.”

“...What did you do?”

“What I must.”

“He’s your friend, Ivan.”

“He killed you, Katya. And he killed me.”

“As it was his right. I was weak. If he didn’t kill me, then he would have been killed instead and I would have died to someone nonetheless. My fate was already decided the moment that I was born. There’s no place for the weak in the world.”

“But there can be. In this world. I will make it so. Starting with you, Katya. With you by my side, I shape this world into one that will never have to experience the same fate as you have.”

“Oh, dear god. You have gone insane. Did you hit your head too hard when you were reincarnating into this world?”

“I wish I were insane. It will make this whole ordeal all the less painful.”

“Painful?” Katya scoffed. “You expect me to believe that is what you’re feeling now?”

“It does not matter if you believe me, Katya. You only need to live. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Argon will stop you, you lunatic.”

“He can try, but be warned, I’m not the Ivan Soze he once knew.”

“No, you’re not, you’re someone significantly lesser now. If I had known this is the kind of person you are, I would have chosen Argon instead.”

Before Marsh could erupt in rage and fury, something stole his attention. He turned and gazed above him. “We have guests,” he mused and immediately rushed back up the stairs.

Then, the door swung open just as Marsh climbed out of the cellar. Franklin strode in with haste. “My lord, it seems that we have company.”

“I know. Who?”

“I cannot tell. Only that he’s armed and armoured, and he bears no hostility, yet.”

“Shall I, Sir?” Reed immediately offered himself.

“No,” Marsh responded. “I will deal with this myself,” he said and walked out of the building. He found a knight waiting for him at the open field in front of the cottage.

“High Lord Marsh,” greeted the uninvited guest. “Your presence has been requested at the court by His Highness, Crowned Prince Leorick.”

Marsh sniggered as he stepped off the porch. “You need to learn how to lie, Sir. You are terrible at it.”

“Ah, am I? Hmm, I suppose you are right. You are the expert here, after all.”

Marsh narrowed his gaze. “Who sent you?”

“The identity of my master is not your concern, my lord. Only know that ignoring his summon will result in consequences you can never hope to bear, my lord.”

Marsh chuckled. “What makes you think that I care about consequences, my good Sir? If you have followed me this far, surely you know what I have done. Do you still think that I’ll be concerned about consequences? If you sincerely do think this way, then my condolences to the state of the kingdom’s knights. Intelligence does not seem to be a criterion in recruiting knights. What a lost cause.”

“It would seem words are meaningless here. Do not blame me for resorting to another method, Lord Marsh.”

“As if I cared enough to blame someone as insignificant as you,” Marsh said and clicked his fingers. Darkness crawled up from his shadow and enveloped him.