The night seemed unassuming for Baron Savani, and yet, he had remained uneasy for the past few days.
That's why he had slowly and secretly started sending his family, along with his wealth out of Agard.
After not receiving any reports from the men who were sent to deal with Marcus, as well as having set eyes on the supposed battlefield, his mind had refused to be at peace.
Perhaps those men have been traced back to him.
Maybe he had been betrayed by someone. After all, it was a planned ambush that was decided only a few hours before it was carried out.
And yet, his ambushers were ambushed instead?
The news of this must have leaked earlier on.
Egar had considered the possibility that the person who leaked this information was Maney.
But the man had nothing to gain from doing that, as he too had in his hands in this sticky affair.
The day after their failed operation, he had gone to meet the Maney, hoping to escalate the matter and blame Marcus for their failure.
However, the information they had contradicted the results of the battle.
They were certain that Marcus didn't have the power or the men capable of doing what they could infer from the battle site.
After leaving Maney's mansion, Egar's feeling of being betrayed only intensified.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn't aware of what truly transpired. And so, he couldn't help but think as before.
If not Maney, could it have been one of his men?
Baron Savani didn't care to know anymore. He was going to move, run away from Agard before the snake of retribution came for him.
Currently, apart from some guards and maids, none of his family were left in his manor.
Egar sipped wine from his cup while staring at the fire of a lantern. He was dressed in a crimson robe that did little to hide his hairy chest.
"By tomorrow, I will also be out of here."
He didn't believe that Marcus was the forgiving type. In his mind, Egar was so certain that Marcus was the one who ambushed them.
Whether it was because his instincts said so, or pure hatred, it was hard to discern which.
Egar placed the cup of wine on a table and began walking towards his bed.
On it were two attractive and naked women, waiting for the Baron to descend on them.
Though their faces showed no smiles, they had expectant looks in their eyes.
"Smile, you bitches. Haven't I fed you whores enough for you to be grateful to me? If you don't want to do anything with me then you can just leave." Egar sneered as he approached the bed.
Although he said this, none of the women stood up.
They even forced themselves to smile.
I sent my wife away and stayed behind so I can do this and yet you two want to spoil the fun for me?
"If you won't leave, then I will have my way with you tonight. By tomorrow, all our debts will be settled and you two will be free." Egar added huskily as his eyes ran down the naked figure of these women.
Placing a knee, crawling on the bed slowly as he approached one of them.
He seemed to have been enjoying every moment of this as a bulge could be discerned if one looked closely at his crouch.
Just when his hands fell to the waist of one of the women, the lanterns in the room went out.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
Then came the faint sound of metal sliding from a sheath.
Followed by multiple footsteps.
"Who's there!" Egar panicked, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Guards!"
But he received no response, only the footsteps getting closer.
And that was when it happened, warm liquid gushed out like a fountain as a head fell to the side of the bed.
"Argh!! Who are you!?" Egar shouted as he scrambled around aimlessly, even falling from the bed, only to see a head with a paper mask on.
This frightened him, forcing him to jump up.
And then another splash came from a different corner. And then another.
This continued for a few seconds before everything went silent.
"Tell me who you are, I-I can p-pay you. Please." His body trembled as he dragged himself across the floor, trying to flee from the dark figure that was approaching him.
"No you can't," The man said before using the back of his dagger to strike Egar's neck, knocking him out.
"Is it done?"
"Yeah." A different voice responded.
"Are these the same masks those men wore a few days ago?"
"Yeah,"
"They are all Tidal Wave Knights, five of them."
"Enough chatting, let's take the Baron and proceed as the young lord ordered."
Only a few minutes later, about forty horses could be seen running away from the Savani Manor, as though they had been frightened.
Later on, seven figures escaped a burning manor, with one of these men carrying a human-shaped cloth over his shoulder.
They ran into the night, silently slipping away from the Eastern District.
…
For Baron Savani, an unknown amount of time had passed.
"Ugh!" He woke up groaning, as his mind was assaulted by a sharp sting coming from his neck.
Egar tried to raise a hand to run his neck, only to realize that his hands were cuffed in chains and he had been tied to a chair.
He pulled harder, causing the chains to only rattle, echoing in the dark chamber.
The heat here was something else as there were no windows.
"Where am I?" He began panicking as the events that took place before he passed out resurfaced in his memories.
"Somebody!! Anybody!! Help me!" He cried out.
That was when a metal door shifted open, revealing the glow of light as it entered the room.
"There will be no one coming to save you, Baron Savani."
This voice sounded all too familiar to Egar.
He had been hearing it in his sleep for the past week. It tormented him at any given chance it had.
"Y-you, you did this?" His voice shook as Marcus's face came into view.
Behind were two of his knights.
"Me? I did nothing. But you, Baron Savani, have touched upon a taboo., and I would like to know how you came across it."
A chilling smile appeared on Marcus's face, further amplified by the barely lit room.
"N-no, no! Noooo!"
Ding!
The doors closed loudly.