"What? What are you saying?" A blond, well-dressed young man shouted at one of his men when he heard some not-so-interesting news this afternoon.
"Young master, don't get angry. It's not our fault. That damned Cesar is plotting with his group to use the fall of the Defiant Tyranny to increase his influence." A red-haired woman said as she lowered her head, not daring to look at the city's most prominent heir.
A middle-aged man next to the redhead, also with his head bowed, said. "Young master, please don't be in such a hurry. We've only just begun. In a few days, we'll be able to deal with that damned Cesar. He's only won one battle, but the war still has a lot of ground to cover."
Marcus had just heard from his servants that their initial attempts to use the Martial Court and the royal army against Cesar and his people had failed.
From what he had heard, the Martial Court had suddenly reversed its position on the Mazzanti family that early afternoon. It released the Acolytes who had been imprisoned after the last incident!
Not only that but from what his men had discovered, Cesar's group was working and finding ways to clear the charges against their leader and eventually clear his name.
In other words, Cesar's situation with the royal forces was getting better by the day, which was bad news for Marcus, who wanted the head of the man who almost killed him days ago.
Thus, he couldn't help but get angry when he heard about these local changes, especially since he had always managed everything easily, but now he had problems.
"But how is that possible? Don't those damned Martial Court officials respect our family anymore? How can they ignore the support of my family? Do they think they can earn more from a few Barons?" Marcus shouted, refusing to accept the situation.
The two servants before him looked at each other but said nothing.
They both knew why the court officials were more concerned with a few Barons than the heir to a viscountcy.
That's right, Marcus was just an heir! Until he became a Viscount in his own right, his influence was comparable to that of a Baron.
The Viscount was his father, and he wasn't in town. Not only that, but Marcus' father was somewhat different from his eldest son. Many of those involved in the delicate local situation in Millfall couldn't be sure whether he would side with his son or the other local nobles.
In his absence, no one would make a dangerous decision on behalf of a mere heir!
But Marcus had a colossal ego, and none of them would tell him the obvious.
The elder said. "Young master, Cesar is mysterious and intelligent. We don't know what he might be using against the tribunal officials. So I suggest caution. We still have many fronts to deal with him."
Marcus was rash and arrogant, but he had completed the basic training to become a Viscount in the future.
Though angry, he considered the situation and took a step back, acknowledging Cesar's victory but wondering what to do next.
"What can we do? For the time being, we can't defeat him with the royal powers. So what do we have left that isn't compromising?"
"We have the alternative of hiring assassins. We can't put a bounty on his head, but we can hire assassins to deal with him and his people.
We'll use a different strategy than Defiant Tyranny. Instead of paying for his head, we'll go after the pillars of his group. This will force him to show himself and be vulnerable.
In the meantime, we can focus on our plans with the Martial Court without having the noble Symon's name associated with it." The advisor said this, much to Marcus' delight.
"Do it. No, let's go further. Use the assassins who recently attacked the Mazzanti family. They must be particularly angry after getting into trouble, getting hurt, wasting their time, and getting nothing." Marcus smiled and ordered the servant.
"Okay, young master."
With that, the man left to take care of the matter, leaving Marcus alone with the red-haired servant.
He looked at her for a moment and said. "Come with me. I want to see my fiancée's family."
"Yes, young master." She immediately moved to take her master's cloak and prepare to leave.
As she did so, she said. "Young master, are you going to investigate these recent rumors?"
That was what he wanted to do, so Marcus said. "Yes, it seems that Shelby is spending a lot of time with a man who is not me... That's very strange. I want to know what the Staples family will do about it." He smiled.
As much as Shelby hated him, and he knew it, her family valued him very much and were cooperative whenever he needed them.
'You are getting out of hand, dear Shelby. I'm going to have to punish you a little.' He smiled.
With that, he and his servant left his residence, walking slowly but already feeling much better after the treatment he had received to recover from his recent injuries.
...
After a while, Marcus got out of his noble gold, red, and silver carriage, which white horses drew.
When he arrived at the Staples' home, he didn't have to knock to enter there. One of the servants quickly recognized who was coming and opened the door for him, welcoming him as if he were at home.
"Welcome back, young master Symons. How are you today?" This person asked as he made a respectful gesture to Marcus.
"Not as well as I'd like. Where is Mrs. Staples? I'd like to talk about Miss Shelby's strange behavior lately." He said, making the servant frown and look at him.
It was no secret to the Staples family that Shelby was not easy to deal with. She didn't mind expressing negative opinions about the nobility, especially her fiancé.
But Shelby was not a foolish rebel. She had never done anything to make room for Marcus to demand things.
But this young master had come to this place with a justification to seek out one of the wives of the Staples patriarch, Shelby's stepmother.
That man was only a servant, and though he found the situation odd, he willingly said. "Please come with me. Mrs. Staples is in the garden of the mansion."
"Hmmm." Marcus soon followed this servant along with one of his servants, eager to speak to the Staples matriarch who was in charge of such matters.
Soon, he found himself in a garden where a beautiful, brown-haired, mature-looking woman was watering plants, her hobby.
"Young Marcus, what brings you to my residence today?" She asked, though her back was turned to her stepdaughter's future husband.
