"Hehe, we nearly reached Plethora, I can't wait to meet the young master!" giggled a young woman while sitting in a carriage.
She kicked her feet, smiling widely.
"You sure seem excited, huh? Do you like the young duke that much?" with a low chuckle, the maid asked.
"Hmm~" the younger lady pressed her cheek on her palm, appearing deep in thought, "I don't think so. I like him so much because he is the future Duke of the Paxley."
Hearing that, the maid burst into laughter.
"Right, right, money is the most important."
"Yes! And not just money, power too!" the young lady raised her fist and announced, "Imagine being the duke's wife! I will be a duchess!"
Arlott gazed at the scene in half thought and half boredom.
The young lady looked similar to his age. She was wearing a clean pink floral dress and a cute pearl headband that adorned her like a crown.
Her eyes twinkled in love and the innocence of youth, making Arlott breathe a cold scoff.
'Hah, she will be the first to cower in the face of the harsh reality of this life.' he narrowed his eyes.
'Cower? Interesting.'
With that, Arlott jumped off the tree and plummeted to the grassy floor, but before landing, the mana swirled below his feet, cushioned his fall and then dissipated as if nothing ever happened.
"Did you feel something?" A 4-circled mage, stationed in the rear, was alerted when Arlott used his mana nearby.
But with a position to hold on to, and having no proof that he really felt something, the guard sent his subordinate to check the bushes.
'Aw man, I hoped he would come himself. I hate meaningless bloodshed.' Arlott sighed.
The subordinate was 3rd-circle in strength, the same as Arlott.
But the difference in physique was great.
And not to mention…
*Swish* *Splat*
Arlott's spear streaked off a bush and swiftly pierced the subordinate's voicebox, making blood pool into his throat and the man gag on his own blood.
The man clawed his own throat in an attempt to remove the spear, but the resistance was meaningless.
Arlott simply drove the spear further, snapping the man's spinal cord and giving him an instant death.
The difference in skills.
Arlott had been fighting, killing and assassinating from the young age of 10. The art of murder was deeply ingrained in his bones, so much so that a single swing of his spear was enough to kill.
"Mike? Are you doing something else in the bushes?" The 4-circled guard questioned after his subordinate didn't return for the next 2 minutes.
Frustration was clear in his voice.
Again, he got no response.
"MIKE!" the guard shouted, causing the convoy to halt due to his outburst.
"Boss please calm down, I shall check." another 3-circled mage, this one equipped with a sword, heavy plate armour, and an iron helmet, offered confidently.
"You have 2 minutes." the guard sighed.
"I will be back in 1." the armoured mage scoffed and then strolled into the bushes, and disappeared from the vision.
And true to his word, the mage returned in a minute.
"There was nothing. I wasn't able to find Mike either," he said before heading to his position.
"Then where is he? Did you even check properly?" the guard grumbled.
"Yes, sir." the mage turned to look at the guard.
His eyes glinted in a blue light as he stared into the guard's eyes.
For a brief moment, the guard found himself speechless.
"Sir?" the mage waved his arm in front of the guard to wake him up, "We need to keep moving. It's not nice to keep the young lady waiting."
"Yeah you are right, we must not let the lady Claire wait for some worthless swine who gets lost in the woods." the guard said.
In reply to that, the mage merely gave him a respectful bow and then walked back to his spot where he initially stood.
The spot beside Claire's carriage.
"I will check where Mike went, and continue without me." the 4-circled guard, gestured to the other 4-circled guard.
"Okay." the other guard, standing at the front, replied with a thumbs up.
"What happened back there?" Claire's head peeked out of the carriage and looked at the mage in knight armour, her eyes twinkling in curiosity.
"My lady you shouldn't bother… he is just a hired guard, he wouldn't dare to talk to a lady like you," interjected Claire's maid with a cold look.
"Nothing happened, my lady. Sir heard sounds coming from the woods and he went to check." the mage replied politely.
"Ooh," Claire hummed, the mage's voice sounded deep and rugged as if he had been to countless battles.
And she, a woman who craved power, couldn't help but get curious.
"Why were you called then?" she asked.
"Because sir reminded me to take proper care of you, miss." the mage said without a change in his tone, "But I already planned to do that, hence nothing has changed. You can rest assured."
"That's nice." Claire nodded before dipping her head back into the carriage and looking at her maid with wide eyes.
"Gosh… he sounds so hot!" she whisper-screamed in her maid's ears, squealing like a little girl who got her favourite candy.
"He is just a hired guard, miss." the maid replied unamused, "The young duke is richer."
"I know!" Claire pouted, "I am not doubting my decision, I was just saying he sounds hot."
The maid smiled slightly, "You're right."
***
While outside the carriage, Arlott breathed a cold scoff.
He had succeeded in infiltrating the convoy by replacing a guard.
'And considering that this lady Claire has a relationship with the duke's son, I will have a good chance to meet the duke without any issues.' he chuckled to himself.
But there was just a single issue in his plan.
The issue returned much earlier than planned.
The 4-circled guard that went to check in the forest.
'Hah. I really hate meaningless bloodshed…' Arlott breathed a cold sigh and turned to look at the panting guard, who had run all the way from the woods till here.
There was a 10-meter distance between them, but the embers were already flying as they glared into each other's eyes.
Arlott looked in the man's eyes casually, while the guard unsheathed his sword.
"You will pay for killing two of my subordinates, knight." He rumbled before charging at Arlott.