Dusk was approaching Sofenia City as the sun was dipping on the hills that surrounded the region. The dense evergreen forests that populated the region have already turned dark.
The prey and predators of the daytime were preparing for slumber. Those who hunted during the night were awakening from their rest.
On the streets of the city, a similar phenomenon took place. Jolted by the happenings of the previous night. Most people hurried home as soon as work was finished.
There were some people who were still hanging out with friends or coworkers. They had their final drinks for the day and headed home earlier than usual.
No one wanted to get caught up in whatever that might happen tonight. The common folk feared not for their lives but their sanity.
They wanted to get enough sleep tonight so they could continue to work or take care of their tomorrow.
"I am so tired today dude. The kids went back to sleep in minutes but I laid there for an hour at least before sleeping."
"The same happened to me. The little ones found the explosions fascinating. They thought it was some kind of special fireworks."
Two men walked down the street as they made their way to their homes. They discussed the happenings of last night.
"I hope to sleep in early. I hope things are loud tonight."
"I hope for that too. Jessie already has a hard time sleeping. She is already taking care of our newborn. I don't want her to collapse."
"She took a break from her work, right?" said one of the men. He had orange hair and orange eyes. He was carrying a born cloth bag stuffed with vegetables.
"Yeah. The Vornix businesses are kind as always. They gave her a year of maternity leave and said she could keep her job when she goes back." said the other man. He had born hair and brown eyes.
Both the men had average looks and statures as they walked with slight smiles on their faces. Even though they were exhausted from work, these men had families to rely on for energy.
"A year and she keeps her job? That's quite generous. What was her job anyways." asked the orange-haired man.
"I think she was in accounting for one of their pillmaker halls." said the brown-haired man while scratching his head. "She doesn't like to talk about work at home anyway."
"She was always serious during her school years. She even got a scholarship to get a higher education." The orange-haired man double-checked his vegetable while saying this.
"That's why she got such a good job. Without her income, we wouldn't have our home right now and would probably be renting."
The man seemed a little don while saying this. "I wish I made more money. I can't compare to her. Sometimes, I don't understand why she chose me."
The orange-haired man looked at his gloomy friend and smiled.
He smacked the guy on the back and said "You are a kind and hardworking fellow. You showed so much care for your family even before you were married.
You are also someone she has known well since childhood. There was no way she would go for someone with the same income as her just to give up all that. Cheer up, my friend.
The brown haired man contemplated for a moment and then sighed. He donned a wide smile and gave his friend a pat on the back.
"When are you getting married then? I already have 2 kids but here you are, not even trying to find a partner," he said.
"Give a year more my friend. Once my inheritance comes in, I'll have enough for a small house in the 5th district. I'll look for a girl then."
"Alright then. I won't bug you about that. I'll be going in now.' the brown hair man had already arrived at his three-story home in the 3rd district of the commoner area.
This was where some of the wealthy middle classed individuals lived. It wasn't fit for a laborer like him but he was blessed with a capable wife.
"See ya tomorrow then." The orange-haired man said his goodbyes and walked off in the direction of a different district where he lived in a rented apartment.
The brown hair man and his buddy leave from sight and then take his keys out.
He entered it into the keyhole and turned it. The door clicked open and he hurried in. He was hoping to see his beautiful wife and kids after a long day of work.
Instead, what he saw made his heart want to jump out from his chest.
Jessie, with her long black hair let down to her waist and emerald green eyes was hugging a tall man.
The tall man with a fairly large build had had his back to him but he could see that he was wearing expensive clothing. The material was smooth and embroidered with golden images of dragons.
"He's upper nobility!" that the man in his head. dragon images were only allowed on the clothing of marquee ranked clans and above.
While the other man had his back to him, Jessie faced her husband directly. For a moment, the husband and wife's eyes met. Jessie had a composed smile on her face, her usual expression.
Her husband, Nathan, had a grim look as if he might be thinking the worst.
The hug ended quickly as Jessie pulled away from the man while the man turned around as well.
Nathan could now see the man's face. 'Handsome. Undeniably handsome!' he thought. The man had short black hair and purple eyes that held a sense of mystery.
his jawline was sculpted and his nose was refined. The obviously young man carried himself with dignity and pride. By his waist was a sheathed longsword in a black and purple scabbard. A black and purple that matched his expensive clothes well.
Nathan could not help but feel inferior but shook these thoughts away as he faced his wife. Before he could say anything, his wife spoke.
"Welcome home, dear." she said lovingly. This seemed to ease the heart of the man a little.
"Hey dear. Who is this man?" he cut straight to the chase.
"Hi there Nathan. I'm a friend of Jessie from college. I came back home recently and decided to give her a visit." The tall man spoke instead of Jessie as he gave her a look.
"He is a good friend of mine dear. He helped me quite a lot during my days in college." the young woman explained.
Nathan let out a sigh of relief.
"So he is that close of a friend to you. One where you can ignore the boundaries between men and women?" he asked.
"Yes. He is that close of a friend so don't misunderstand honey." she sighed a sigh of relief as well.
In most nations on the continent, men and women could not get too close physically unless they were related or married. There was an exception however if you were extremely close friends.
Nathan, in his usual bouts of insecurity, had forgotten this for a moment. He wasn't as worried now as he also realized that someone from a marquee or higher ranked family wouldn't have that kind of relationship with a commoner.
"I would like to talk to Nathan but I have some urgent business to take care of. I shall take my leave now." said the nobleman as he stepped towards the door.
"Are you sure?" asked Jessie.
"Yeah. I might come back some other time. Treat me to one of your carrot cakes then." he replied.
"Sure. I'll do that."
The man stepped in front of Nathan who was right at the door and gave him a range look. He opened the door but before she left, he whispered something to Nathan.
"Take good care of her or you will find yourself in a not so cozy place."
With those words, he left the hose and closed the door gently behind him.
Nathan shivered for a second as those words sent some sort of instinctual fear down his spine.
"you okay honey? You look exhausted" asked Jessie as she saw her husband state.
"I'm just tired my dear. I need to have some dinner and go to sleep. How are the kids." Nathan shook out of it as he decided to ignore the event.
"Derek is doing his homework while little Mary is asleep." she replied while heading into the kitchen to get the man some supper.
Nathan wasn't feeling alright at all right now as he had gone through too much too quickly. He had already been tired from little sleep and hard work.
right now, he just wanted a warm meal and to get some sleep.
"I'll think about it when I lay down." he thought.
"I didn't even get his name." he muttered.
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A little ways from their home. The young noble with black hair and purple eyes boarded a fancy carriage pulled by 4, black and tough horses.
In there was a young woman with blond hair and blue eyes akin to an ocean. She was as beautiful as the goddess who is the faith of this nation.
Ryan Vornix and Elina Zocraten sat in the carriage as it sped off. Elina was going through a stack of documents at the moment.
"Did your accountant figure it out?" she asked.
'"Yeah. Uncle London seems to have more money than we thought." said Ryan.
"Does that mean we can bring him for suspicion of embezzlement?"
"You can. I would suggest we do this right now. According to the cultists, he is planning on escaping the city before tonight."
"Why would he do something like this? He was already wealthy enough. He even has good prestige and a caring wife. What more could he ask for?" Elina questioned.
She was stumped by how a man who seemingly had everything would do something like that. Ryan sighed when he heard this.
"Even men who seemingly have everything might not be satisfied. Like the husband of my accountant, he is quite an insecure man.
He has a nice house, good money, a kind wife, and cute little kids. Even though he has all that, I can see that he isn't satisfied."
"Why do you think that is?" Elina was curious as to what drove some men to the wrong path.
"Well, I can feel that he isn't satisfied with himself. He isn't as good-looking as his wife. He doesn't earn nearly what his wife does. He isn't as smart or educated as his wife.
He might be a kind man, but these kinds of things tend to hurt the inherent pride in men. It can lead to feelings where they want to prove themselves, no matter the path."
Elina started to understand things as she heard this.
She started to compare her uncle London to Aunt Jenny to see if they were a match.
Aunt Jenny comes from an old and respected noble family. She is highly educated and an accomplished mage. She also is one of the best doctors in the empire. She still hasn't lost her beauty either, rather it has matured even more. She also is well mannered and not snotty like most nobles.
Uncle London has only his kind nature and decent appearance going for him. He is also an accomplished merchant who built his business up from the ground. At the same time, he was also a commoner.
"I see now," she said when she realized that Anton London didn't have much going for him at compared to her aunt.
Aunt Jenny was just that spectacular of a woman. There were not many men in the empire that could compare to her in the first place.
"Good. Let's get this done cleanly. I wish not to harm the Zocraten family's image." Ryan said.
"Yeah. I can't let the world know that one of our own was involved with the cultists." Elina said as she probed her mana care.
She was ready to do this with her own hands.