Even before the lifeless body of the Black Raven Fighter thudded to the ground, another blade of condensed fire beheaded the raven which was on top of Faxul.
Daneel was in no mood to take any risks. He had no idea whether the Raven also had any mechanism to alert the higherups in case of danger. Hence, he chose to cut it down.
As Faxul's face was angled to the side, he couldn't see what had happened. Yet, feeling the force on top of him disappear, he looked up just in time to see the scene of the soldier falling to the ground.
His eyes met those of the Black Raven Fighter's, and he watched with shock as the life faded from them, replaced by the nothingness of death.
Keeping a close eye on Faxul's expression, Daneel said, "I had no choice. He was going to send a message to the higher-ups. We cannot risk blowing our cover and having the entire army descend on us."
For a few seconds, Faxul just stared into those dead eyes, while the shock refused to leave his face.
Here lay one of the soldiers who had been talked about so adoringly by almost all of the citizens they had talked to.
He was just doing his duty, but he had been killed without even understanding the cause behind his death.
How would Faxul react when witnessing this sight?
This was the test that Daneel was putting for Faxul, as he needed to know where his friend's allegiance lay.
Of course, he wished that this situation hadn't come. But now that it had, he decided to use it to discover his friend's true feelings.
As he watched, the shock turned into frustration, then sadness.
Yet, at this point, a neutral expression covered Faxul's face, reminding him of the usual way his friend was before all the changes came upon him.
"Did you have no other choice?", he asked in a cold voice, giving no hint of the emotions he was feeling.
"Yes. There was no time."
Hearing his answer, Faxul just nodded and got up, allowing the raven's dead body to fall to the side.
This made him snap his head back to see the headless body of the majestic bird which had just been about to kill him. His eyes now became filled with anger, as if he were imagining his own raven being subjected to such a fate.
"Faxul, they would have killed us. I-"
Seeing the anger, Daneel was about to explain further as he knew that the birds must have a soft spot in his friend's heart, at least more than the people.
Yet, he stopped mid-sentence seeing the hand that was raised by Faxul.
"I know. I need to be alone for a little time. I'm not hungry, you can go eat."
Saying these words while still looking at the raven, Faxul regained the neutral and cold expression from before as he turned around and starting walking towards one of the bedrooms.
Seeing his broad back, Daneel sighed, not knowing what to think.
Still, he opened his mouth and said one last statement.
"Faxul, this is only the first of many that will die before Tenebrol is brought down. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of soldiers will die. You need to accept that. Remember, it's us or them. They wouldn't hesitate to kill me, and they would be more than happy to kill you. Don't make the same mistakes I did. It is better to be ruthless rather than to make mistakes and repent. Be prepared for what will come."
The words made Faxul pause.
As the King of Lanthanor watched on, the back which had always carried Daneel's dreams and aspirations shook, as if Faxul was feeling such overwhelming pain that it was even affecting him physically.
After a few moments, he nodded and resumed walking towards the bedroom before wordlessly closing the door behind him.
Letting out another long sigh, Daneel started walking towards the door to grab a bite to eat, just as his friend had suggested.
As he was doing so, something on the floor caught his eye, making him bend and see what it was.
It was a tear.
A tear of a man who hated to see his people die, but knew that there was no other choice if he wanted to save them all.
.....
Walking through the passageways of the Royal Palace of the Black Raven Kingdom with an idle expression on his face, Elanev kept observing and noting down everything he saw in his mind.
His objective was the room in the Palace where the commanders would mobilize soldiers if needed for any purpose.
According to what he heard, this would be the most bustling room in case there was any emergency.
After reaching it, he saw that there were only a few soldiers on duty as usual.
"Everything looks fine here."
Sending the message to Daneel, he was just about to walk away when he was stopped by one of the soldiers on guard who had spotted him.
"What is your purpose here? Hasn't it been communicated that this is not a place you can trespass in?"
"Oh, was this one of those? I was just looking for the kitchen! Can anyone direct me? And where have I seen you before? Oh, never mind, you challenged me before and got beaten into the dust….. didn't you say you would be back?"
Indeed, Elanev had been told about a few sections in the Palace which he couldn't go to without express permission, such as the Throne Room.
Yet, this time, he hadn't had any choice as Daneel had messaged him saying that he needed to know if any report had reached the Palace about two suspicious people in the Capital.
Luckily, the soldier who ended up questioning him was one who he was already acquainted with.
Seeing him stuttering for an answer while the Raven on his shoulder looked at Elanev with fear, he said, "Just find me whenever you want. I'll ask one of the maids."
Turning around, he walked away, leaving the soldier's cheeks burning as he thought back to the time when both he and his raven had collapsed after taking just one punch each.
No one in their right mind would be foolish enough to issue another challenge when the disparity in power was so high even though they were on the same level.
…..
Dalia was at her wit's end.
After making the bold proclamation to her mother, she had gone out of the house and reached their stall in the marketplace which they had closed down for the last few days as they were already overwhelmed by the orders.
Her Mother had given her 10 Silver Lans to aid her in her efforts. Using this money, the first thing she did was to purchase a banner with the words, "Looking to employ assistants for embroidery. Good pay. Opportunity to work with the most famous embroidery shop in Lanthanor, which has been praised by the King himself."
The flamboyant sign had done its part, pulling a lot of people who were looking for employment.
Yet, they didn't even know even the most basic things about embroidery. As she had grown up seeing her mother knit, she knew a few basic things which she questioned about.
After spending an afternoon in this futile attempt, she finally took down the banner and dejectedly started the walk back home.
As she was doing so, she heard a conversation between a child and his mother which piqued her interest.
"Mum, I want the enchanted clothes from 'Magical Necessities'! Why did we come here?"
"Oh, be quiet. Your father has cut down your spending because you didn't do well in the academy, remember? Now, follow me to this stall I saw the other day. The clothes look the same, and even the enchantments work. According to the shop owner, they are made under the supervision of the head enchanter of 'Magical Necessities'! He needs some extra cash, so he sells the extra clothes he enchanted to small stores. They are the same! Let's go, or they might close up!"
Same product…made by a different person? But supervised?
Couldn't they do the same?
Unable to get the idea out of her head, Dalia immediately began to run home, replacing the dejected expression on her face with one of hope and excitement.
...
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