THE FIRST PROVINCE
In the Booney Town of the first province, someone related to high bureaucracy walked on the streets. More than a dozen soldiers accompanied him and the common people just stared at him blankly.
The man stopped at a small tool shop at the street-side with his head held high and looked at the shopkeeper who wore dirty clothes with patches on them, from under his nose.
The shopkeeper bowed his head. "Lord Snail. You made my day, My Lord."
The proud man was none other than the governor of the first province—Snail Nigros. He was an old man of small build and had a grayish curly mustache. He wore a golden crown embedded with gems on his head.
He also wore a maroon silky surcoat with gold embroidery over a woven shirt and had a sword hanging on his waist, of which only the shiny golden hilt peeked out of the edge of the surcoat.
"Show me your best work, toolmaker," He said.
"Of course, sir." The shopkeeper hurried inside the small chamber which was a part of the shop and worked basically as storage for tools, and came out with a shiny scimitar in his hand.
Lord Snail took a glance at it.
"Sir, it took me months to craft this," The toolmaker mentioned and handed the scimitar to the governor. "It is my masterpiece."
Snail examined it by looking at it from every angle. He had polished the scimitar enough to reflect his face on the blade. "Good job, toolmaker. I like it," He said which resulted in the toolmaker bowing his head with a smile.
"Thank you, My Lord," The toolmaker said.
"How much for it?"
The toolmaker first hesitated to tell the price as he knew about the governor's character. Then he told him anyway. "Three gold pieces, My Lord, but you can pay any amount you want."
The governor raised a brow. "Any amount?"
The toolmaker stayed silent for a while, then nodded.
"Alright, but before I buy it, I want to test it." The governor scanned the toolmaker from top to bottom while speaking and noticed a slight shiver in his body for a moment.
"How do you want to test it, My Lord?" The toolmaker asked.
"What is the work of a blade?" The governor said. "It is to slay the enemies." He took a glance at the toolmaker's face which looked a little frightened now. He placed the blade on the side of his neck. "How do you think I would test it?"
"My-my Lord." The toolmaker stammered in fear. The people had already started gathering around them. They followed the scene and murmured among themselves.
When the governor noticed the terror in the toolmaker's eyes, his lips twisted to form an arrogant smirk. He removed the blade from his neck and said, "I want to see if it is good enough to finish the enemies in one shot."
"It would, My Lord. It is my best work," The toolmaker said after taking a relieved breath.
"I don't doubt your skills, toolmaker. I doubt mine. You know… I have become old now. I don't know if I could strike the enemy and finish him in one shot. So, I would need an extraordinary blade to slay them."
Suddenly, he swung the blade horizontally and slashed the toolmaker's neck from the front. The people gathered around got shocked at the scene.
The toolmaker held his neck and gasped when the blood poured out from the corner of his lips. He fell to the ground and died after a few seconds.
The governor looked at the blood-stained edge of the scimitar and then looked at the dead toolmaker. "It is not bad," He said. "It fits well in my hand and doesn't hinder the natural flow of my swing."
He pulled a pouch full of gold coins out of his waistband after handing the scimitar over to a soldier. He took out three gold coins and threw them on the floor. "Here is your payment, take it."
The people were fed up with this evil little old man. It had become common for them to witness something like this, and they didn't know what he would do next and to whom. They had no choice but to endure it.
This little old man killed innocent people from time to time in different towns to keep his fear in their hearts alive and fresh. It also quenched his thirst for blood up to some extent.
He turned and looked at the faces of the terrified people. He walked ahead from between them after they gave the space for him to pass. He stood on the pedestal that was in the middle of the market, and the people gathered around to hear him.
"You filthy commoners!" He addressed the people with an angry face. "You are of no use to this kingdom, but we are still feeding you! Don't you have any shame? You are leeching our resources and still plot behind our backs?!"
He moved his eyes on the distinct faces in the crowd. "Our commander got killed, and I am sure you all are involved in this! I swear… I swear in the name of my motherland, if by any chance I find the evidence to prove it, I will root you out. I will wipe out your generations!"
He seemed extra furious than usual to the people. They guessed it must be because of the incident earlier when his commander's dead body was found with the emperor's name on the forehead.
"If our emperor had not tied my hands, I would have done so a long ago!" He added. "Now, disperse before I break my emperor's commands!"
The people dispersed and got busy with their daily tasks. Someone walked up the pedestal and talked to the governor.
The man was a commander under Governor Snail.
"Lord Snail, why don't we torcher these people and make them spill out their agendas?" The commander asked.
The commander was a white man with no facial hair. He wore the classic black armor and his battle helmet had a red feather at the top.
"I would love to do so, but I received a message yesterday from Governor Leonard of the fifth province," The governor answered while they ambled down the pedestal.
"What did it say, My Lord?"
"There is a bigger game behind this. Although I don't find that arrogant bast*rd reliable, I had to agree with him this time. He had something rough and unexpected this time. Until we find a reliable clue, we can't take any action."
"Does our emperor know about this, My Lord?"
"Is there anything our emperor doesn't know about?" The governor frowned at him. "Of course, he backs up this idea."
When the little old man walked on the street, he looked like a drunkard panda walking with his butt stuck out.
"What are the orders, My Lord?"
"Do you know about 'The Devil's son'?" The governor asked after he stopped in the middle of the street.
"I am afraid I don't, My Lord," The commander answered.
"Of course, you don't, Adrian. This is something only the important people know. Like me."
The commander got curious about 'The Devil's son'. "What is it about, My Lord?"
"Don't tell anybody else, or you would lose your head," Governor Snail warned. The commander nodded before the governor spoke. "Whom do we call 'The Devil'?"
"The Emperor of Alabusia—Argus Devonte Albus," The commander answered.
"Right, we have got his son."
The commander's eyes expanded in surprise. "What are you saying, My Lord? Do we have his son? He had a son?"
"Yes, he was born on the day his father died."
"Why doesn't anybody know about this? And where is this son?"
"Adrian, stop asking so many questions at once," The governor said and put his hand on the commander's shoulder. "Don't you know what would happen if you annoy me?"
Commander Adrian immediately bowed his head and apologized. "Pardon me, My Lord."
They walked ahead on the street. "About what you asked, Adrian," The governor said, "Our emperor kept it a secret from other people, and he wishes to keep it as it is in the future as well."
"Understood, My Lord."
After they walked a certain distance, the commander said, "My Lord, you mentioned about The Devil's son when we talked about the emperor's orders. Is it related to the incidents?"
"What did I told you about asking questions earlier?" The governor reacted and glanced at him with the side of his eyes.
"Pardon me again, My Lord." The commander bowed his head again.
"I was about to tell you, Adrian. Somehow, I and Leonard feel the boy is related to these incidents. When Commander Gore disappeared with his soldiers, that boy was present in the first province. Big brother Hanzer's personal attendant got killed, and he found his decapitated head in his own chamber in his own academy. Do you know what? That boy was in the fifth province when it happened. He studies in that same academy."
"Are you saying…" The commander was about to say something but the governor interrupted.
"I am not implying anything. But we can't neglect it."
Governor Snail's personal chariot stopped in front of him. He stepped inside after he said, "You stay on your guard, Adrian. What happened to Gore could happen to you."
"Yes, My Lord."