Ren did not believe Lilia’s words. He didn’t need to. He was always by the general’s side, serving him. He rarely stayed in the mansion because General Zayden had a lot of inspections to do, and every single day.
Ren only came to sleep in his room at the servants’ quarters. But this time, he had to believe her. They were truly evil.
He was sent to bring a bag of rice from the storage room by another servant. The man had a few demonic strings wrapped around his neck, but Ren didn’t find it strange.
Everyone in the mansion had at least one. And the general himself had countless. At first, it terrified him to be surrounded by so many demonic strings. But he had no choice but to adapt himself to this environment. After all, he had nowhere else to go.
No one tried to harm him either. Not until now.
When he entered the dark room, the door slammed behind him. He believed it was the wind. The room wasn’t cold. It was burning hot.
He quickly realized that the place where he stood had no pile of bags that could contain food. Instead, it was a completely dark room without even a small window to look outside, empty.
Ren sighed, taking a seat near the door.
Someone will open the door soon.
He told himself, closing his eyes.
"You need to let people know where you are if you want to be saved, Raniel," a voice echoed in the back of his mind.
He opened his eyes, standing up. He banged on the wooden door, careful not to break it. He couldn’t afford to be kicked out of here.
Just when he was about to stop, the door creaked open.
The bright light of the hallway, contrasting with the darkness he had adapted to, blinded him. He shut his eyes tight, opening them slowly.
Before him stood Lilia who looked at him as if he were pitiful.
"I told you they are evil, child," she sighed, pulling him outside the door.
Ren did not say a word.
"They talk about you. They resent you."
Ren locked gaze with her.
People hate him... here too? But what did he do here?
"It’s alright. I’ll discuss this with the headmaid. She’ll know how to deal with them."
She smiled, gently patting his shoulder, looking up at him.
"But are you sure you’re not an alpha? How could a good-looking man such as yourself be a beta?"
"I am... a beta," he confirmed, gently pushing away the hand on him.
"Alright, young man. Ah, dear me! I came looking for you to bring the general’s lunch. He must be furious!" She rushed towards the kitchen, followed by Ren.
Holding the large tray of food in one hand, Ren knocked once on the door. The door immediately opened.
Before him, Zayden stood. Ren couldn’t see his expression.
From what Lilia said, he must be furious.
He thought, placing the plate on the small table. He lifted the transparent food cover.
"What took you so long?" Zayden demanded, sitting on the chair.
"I apologize," Ren immediately answered instead of finding a reason.
He believed Zayden would scream at him. Perhaps punish him. Or even kill him. It wasn’t unusual for dominant alphas of high status to casually murder someone and get away with it. And a man of his status? People would justify his crimes instead of holding him accountable.
To his surprise, Zayden laughed.
"You’re one kind of an attendant," he simply said, without explaining himself this time and took a bite of his steak.
Sometimes Ren wondered why this man talked so much.
If he weren’t a general, he’d surely be killed.
He thought, nodding in agreement to himself.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Open the door, Mia," Zayden ordered.
The young woman bowed with a smile and headed towards the door.
Ren looked in front of him.
A row of the general’s other attendants stood, their posture straight. He hadn’t seen any of them gathered in this room ever since he started working. Some helped the general dress, bathe, and prepare his clothes. But Ren couldn’t understand why for the past week he was the only one doing all those.
And he refused to pay me a thousand shirings...
As if to answer his question, Zayden began.
"These are my other attendants. I sent them on a short vacation during my late quest. I expected it to take longer but it ended faster. Travelling takes time so even if I told them to return, it took them a while to get here."
"We apologize," they bowed in unison.
"I didn’t say it for you to apologize," Zayden chuckled. "I was saying to my attendant who seems to be upset that I don’t pay him enough."
Ren lifted his gaze, shocked. Did he read his mind?
Zayden burst into laughter, noticing his reaction.
A young woman knelt before Zayden, her head low.
Her pointed ears had long green earrings, her tan figure was wrapped in a long green dress, and her wavy honey-brown hair tied into a tight ponytail.
"Greetings, Your–" she paused for a moment. "My Lord," she continued with a bright smile.
"Took you while, Diana. I began to believe you forgot about me because I do not live in the city of Jewels," Zayden chuckled, gently extending his hand to her.
"How dare I?" Diana rose to her feet without taking Zayden’s help. "I am no longer a child, My Lord."
Zayden snorted, clicking his tongue in disapproval.
"The form," he grinned.
Diana’s cheeks flushed a slight pink, flustered.
All the servants tried their best to keep a poker face, and thankfully succeeded.
Zayden pulled her by her wrist, making her sit beside him.
"Do not worry. They are my people. They will not cause trouble."
Diana raised an eyebrow, doubtful.
"Should I remind you of that?—"
Zayden raised his hand, stopping her midway.
"You are all dismissed," he ordered, sending them away. The matters about the dragon egg should not be revealed to anyone. He indeed could not trust any servants, even if he just said otherwise. Not when one by one, everyone turned out to be a traitor later.
Ren exited the general’s room along with the other servants.
He returned to his room at the servants’ quarters to rest. At this time, Zayden would order him to take out his food. But today, he had a guest. A guest Ren never saw, or heard of her arrival.
"Is it normal for nobles to just abruptly visit each other? I heard they have etiquette... And without any prior notice...
His thought stopped once his gaze fell on the floor—broken mirrors. Then, he glanced toward the single piece of bed, the bedsheets he neatly folded laid on the ground, the wardrobe was open and the books he borrowed from the library with Hannah’s permission were on the ground, wide open.
The notes he cautiously wrote every night, studying the empire’s function, were exposed.
His fingers trembled, his chest tight.
Someone had come into his room during his absence. And they found out something they shouldn’t have.
Ren looked around, his gaze wary. Was the person still here? They had to be because they didn’t have the time to even try to put everything back in order.
He inhaled, controlling his breath and body. Once he calmed down, he started walking in the room, with slow steps, trying to find the person who snuck in—if they were still inside.
Was it one of the servants?
Then, he heard a sound.
Ren closed his eyes, and a faint blue light flickered around him.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His red eyes slowly shifted, reflecting on the mirror on the ground.
Golden pupils gleamed like sunlight surrounded by ice-blue irises.
Now, all he saw was darkness. No light. The bed, the mirrors, the pieces of furniture—everything was outlined in gray strings.
And behind the wardrobe, Ren saw it—a green string, trembling like the last remaining leaf in the middle of fall during an upcoming storm.
The man’s lips trembled as if trying to speak, but Ren couldn’t see his expression.
He simply looked at his figure.
Once the man made eye contact with Ren, his eyes widened. Pain struck his chest—unbearable. He tried to speak but no words came out of his mouth. Only groans.
For Ren, nothing was unusual. The green string slowly turned black. A few groans were heard but he smiled, standing there.
Once the noise stopped, he took the body. He whispered a few words, another light blue light surrounding him. He grabbed the fruit-cutting knife on his small table, piercing it into the body. He lifted the body with ease and threw it, and a swift breeze from his hands, he threw it into the forest.
The spell of wind—a spell only wizards knew. Only present in their grimoires.
Ren’s head rang violently. He covered his ears with both hands, trying to control the ache. He dropped to his knees, sweat dripping down his face. His breathing ragged, each gasp more painful than the last. Slowly, his vision blurry, and everything faded to black.