Herald of Steel

(Sorry guys... Had the chapter in auto publish. But there was a small glitch. First miss in 1 and half years.... and it wasn't even my faith. *Sob*, *Sob*, *Sob*. Gutted)

The winter in Caira was proving to be very comfortable for Alexander.

It was unusually warm here when compared to Zanzan, and because the city was right next to the coast, the surroundings were refreshingly cool during the day but tepid and snug during the night.

The sun would almost always be bright and shining in the morning, so despite the temperature hovering close to the high single digits, it was actually not as frigid as one would think.

And it was due to this that Alexander could not help but want to sunbathe a bit, loving to stare at the navy blue sky with nary a cloud in sight.

And as he sat down, he began to think over Lord Nolan's feet dragging, while attempting to deduce what was holding the old man up.

"My lord, we have caught a boat filled with ropals!"

It was amidst this rumination that this loud and deep voiced message suddenly broke him out of his thoughts.

And now upon hearing this, he instantly connected the dots, as he suddenly jumped up out of his devan like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, feeling incensed, "What did you say? Ropals!"

He threateningly shouted unconsciously, catching the messenger a bit off guard, who instantly clamped up in fear.

There have been not just one or two instances of the king shooting the messenger.

And seeing this, Alexander quickly centered himself and placated the man.

Before getting to know the whole deal.

And the fact that it was Zanzan ropals that was caught and not the local Paysa, was the tell tale sign what revealed to Alexander what was going on.

He at once wanted to order his men to slaughter that lying old snake for this deception.

However, Alexander, being the cautious man decided to at least talk it over with Lady Nanazin before killing his ally's father in law, and this was what the Adhanian Queen had to say, "Perhaps we should wait. There must be a reason why they are moving the money from the mansion to the other side despite the risk. Let's see what they are plotting."

Alexander at first did not like this advice, grumbling, "The plot is that they are trying to swindle me. All that talk about reconciliation was hogwash. Dammit!"

The man felt like he was having deja vu, as something very similar had happened with the Tibian delegate Leosydas just a few years ago.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Alexander was thus feeling both angry towards the old man, as well as himself.

"...." While the regal queen wisely chose to keep quite, letting the man freely vent.

And it was then Lady Parthia, who had in a rare instance chosen to accompany Lady Nanazin, who stepped up and voiced in a soothing tone, "Whatever money we lost, is not very important at the moment. What were we doing with it anyway in here? It was rotting inside the ships anyway. Let them have it if they so desire. We can kill them and take it back later!"

The angelically beautiful queen was surprisingly bellicose when the situation called for it, as she then turned to address Alexander didactically, "What is now most important to discern is why they went to so much trouble to take the money off? Could they be readying themselves for an attack on us and fear the loot might be lost in the struggle?"

".....' Alexander was caught completely blindsided by this.

So blinded had he been by the shame of being taken advantage of, that he had not thought about it like that.

The man was suddenly glad he had bought these two experinced women with him- if for nothing else but their council.

So he decided to play dumb while raising his guard, waiting to see what the other side's game was.

And this patience soon paid off.

"Hey! What is this?"

As one winter late morning, an angry legionary could be heard barking this towards a diminutive looking man, while waving an expensive looking letter.

It was very neatly folded and had the Margraves family seal on the letterhead, as well as on the wax seal, looking very formal and official.

While the caught man tried to bluster his way out, "That is a letter I want to send to my wife and kids! Please do not touch it. It is personal."

Despite the abysal like fear he was feeling, the man thinking quickly on his feet put on a very brave front.

"Heh!" But the on guard man did not buy it, disdainfully scoffing and then sneering, "Is your wife some kind of noble? Should I bow and call you milord? Or else how could you carry such a beautiful letter? It even has the family's seal. And, *sniff*, it smells so good!"

It was very clear from the man's face and demeanor that he was a mere servant, who could not likely even afford the expensive paper he was carrying, much less the lavender perfume it was douched it.

This was another mistake Miss Linda had made. She had sprayed the letter with her favoutrite perfume, a practise that was very common among noble couples of the time, done to show one's affection towards the other.

The idea was that upon getting the letter, the husband would inhale the fragrance he would usually find on his wife and thus be reminded of her.

Which was all a fairly innocuous affair, if not even a bit armorous.

Howver this time it proved to be a dangerous smoking gun for the other side.

"Come with us." The messenger was not given any more chance to explain himself, and taken to the camp to be interrogated, while the unopened letter quickly made its way to Alexander.

Upon opening which, everything was laid bare.

From the decision that was made, to the tactic to be used, to the day and time of the attack, to the signal that was to be given.

Everything was written in clear detail, all in Miss Linda's handwriting no less.

One could have hardly asked for a more fitting evidence.

And upon reading it, Alexander was both angry and a bit scared. Because he did not think the other side would have dared such a move.

In this time period, killing one's guests was a big no no.

A simile for modern day would be something akin to a country's president being invited to the UN and then being assassinated.

Such a thing would be too scandalous.

So given the other side was willing to go this far, Alexander was left with the ask of how to respond.

His very first thought was to take the letter to Lady Miranda and gain council on how to proceed.

But then he thought better of it.

Because up until now, the lady had been nothing but a pain in his rear.

Not providing any tangible benefit, but only nagging and objecting.

Even her promise of a neutral father in law had come up with nothing but a 30 million ropal loss.

The old man was in cahoots with her younger sister as thick as thieves and the foolish lady did not even know about.

So this time, Alexander decided to go off on his own, and instead asked the two queens with him about this.

"We should change rooms. And increase the guards," And the idea they gave was to simply strengthen one's defenses even more and become even more vigilant.

However to Alexander, this sounded all a bit too passive.

Since the enemy had decided to strike, he wanted to preemptive it.

So instead, he began to consider allowing the attempt to proceed as was.

From the man's interrogations, Alexander knew that he was one among multiple messengers sent out by their mistress- all carrying the same message- one which informed the lord that the riots in the city were working and that Alexander's death would be received with great joy, thus encouraging him to continue as well as asking hom prepare his army for a attack on the defensive lines.

And given the date of the assaination was today, at midnight, Alexander was pretty sure they would not miss the man in time.

So gazing at the setting sun, Alexander called Remus and Hemicus into the room, showing them the letter and then declaring in a decisive voice, "As you can see, the negotiations have completely down. Tonight, we go to war!"

Neither man flinched a muscle, their confidence also helping Alexander's confidence.

Thus with a pleased heart Alexander at first turned to face the young general, "Remus, you will increase the sentries and strengthen the lines. Be sure to prepare for the attack."

"And when they do attack, take the chance to take few hundred men under darkness and set fire to all the ships in the Great Harbor. Use the catapults we have brought if you need to. They can shoot really far."

The armored general was of course over the moon at having finally gotten his permission and received the order with an enthusiastic salute.

While Alexander turned to Hemicus and ordered, "Replace the guards of my door with two servants from the mansion. Use whatever excuse you need to get them to agree. And then have ten armed men hide here."

"When the assassins break in, have them slaughter all the assilants. Then immediately take over the entire mansion. One group will capture the signaller while the other will secure Lady Linda and Lord Nolan. Go!"