Fin shook Arion's hand, a confused expression etched across his face. He glanced toward his wife, who quickly opened the gate to their fence.
"Lord Vermillion helped pay for the groceries and even helped transport them here," Olivia said as she walked to her husband's side.
Arion smiled as he looked at Olivia.
"Please, call me Arion."
Fin couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. How often did people of their standing ever meet a noble of such extraordinary rank? Even rarer was the thought of someone like Arion Vermillion willingly engaging them in casual conversation.
"May I come in?" Arion asked, snapping Fin from his thoughts.
No matter how much he wished to refuse, denying the request of a noble was unthinkable. Fin reluctantly nodded and gestured toward the gate.
"Splendid," Arion replied as he walked through it.
As Arion made his way into their home, Olivia wrapped her arms around Fin's arm.
"I don't know why he's being so friendly, but I don't trust his motives, my love," she whispered.
Fin looked at Olivia before shifting his gaze toward Arion, who had already placed his hand on the handle of their front door. Arion glanced back at the couple.
"Are you coming?"
The two nodded and entered after him.
Arion and Fin sat at the dining table while Olivia placed a glass of water before each of them. Throughout the entire exchange, Arion's eyes remained fixed on Olivia. His gaze lingered far longer than it should have, and he slowly licked his lips as though his mind had wandered to thoughts known only to himself. Fin quickly noticed Arion's unsettling stare and let out a soft, forced cough, snapping the nobleman from his thoughts.
Arion turned his attention toward Fin.
"What brings you here, my lord?" Fin asked, his wife now seated beside him, clinging tightly to his arm.
Arion took a slow sip from his glass before fixing his eyes on Olivia once again.
"This is remarkable water," he said, pausing to take another drink. "I'll be direct. I want your wife."
Fin and Olivia were left utterly speechless.
Fin shot to his feet so abruptly that his chair crashed onto the floor behind him. Arion, however, remained perfectly composed, a calm smile still resting upon his face.
For a fleeting moment, Fin convinced himself it had to be a joke. Surely the noble would laugh and dismiss it as tasteless humor.
He never did.
"I am willing to pay any amount," Arion continued. "Everyone has a price."
Fin opened his mouth to speak, but Olivia interrupted him before a single word escaped.
"I'm sorry, my lord, but I am not for sale, and I am happy with my husband," she said with a gentle smile as she looked at Fin. "You cannot place a price on love."
Arion slowly shook his head before rising from his seat, his glass now empty. He clasped his hands behind his back as he walked toward the front door.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he said calmly, "but I disagree with your words. Everything has a price... and one day, you will learn that."
Without another glance, he stepped outside.
The moment the door closed behind him, Fin slammed both hands onto the table in frustration. The force sent both glasses rattling violently. His own glass toppled first, crashing against the floor and shattering into countless pieces, water scattering across the wooden boards. Arion's glass remained on the table for a few uneasy seconds, rocking back and forth before it too rolled over the edge and shattered upon the ground.
Fin hurried to the curtains and carefully pulled them aside, checking whether Arion had truly left.
After seeing no sign of him, he released a slow sigh of relief.
Even so, the unease remained.
Olivia rushed into his arms, wrapping herself around him as quiet sobs escaped her lips. Fin gently rested one hand upon her head while the other encircled her waist, holding her tightly as he tried to comfort her.
For nearly a week, they rarely left the house. Yet the fear of losing Olivia never left Fin's mind. Every so often he would peel back the curtains, scanning the streets for any sign of Arion or his servants.
Eventually, however, their food supplies began to dwindle.
Despite his fear, Fin decided he had no choice but to venture out and purchase more provisions, leaving Olivia inside the house.
Before stepping outside, he gently kissed her forehead.
"Don't open the door... no matter who it is."
She nodded silently.
Fin immediately left.
Every few steps he glanced over his shoulder, checking every street corner and every narrow alley. His breathing grew heavier as sweat gathered upon his forehead and soaked his palms.
He hurried to the bakery, bought fresh bread, then rushed through the market to purchase fruit and the other essentials they desperately needed.
The entire time, his heart pounded so violently it felt ready to burst from his chest.
At last, he arrived home. Everything appeared normal.
He looked left. Then right. Then behind him.
When he finally convinced himself that no one had followed him, he exhaled a long breath of relief.
Fin approached the front door, knocked firmly, and called out,
"Olivia! It's me!"
No answer.
He knocked again.
Still nothing.
Panic slowly crept into his heart.
He began pounding against the door with both fists, tears already gathering beneath his eyelids. With trembling hands, he reached for the doorknob.
It turned effortlessly.
The door swung open.
The bags of groceries slipped from his hands, spilling bread and fruit across the ground as he rushed inside.
"Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!"
He called her name over and over again.
Silence.
He sprinted upstairs, shouting her name once more. Nothing. His breathing became frantic. His chest tightened until each breath felt like a struggle. He dashed back outside, screaming her name into the empty streets.
Still...
Nothing. He ran from house to house, pounding desperately upon his neighbors' doors. No one answered.
He searched every nearby street, every alleyway, every corner he could think of. Then he searched even farther.
Hours passed.
His legs finally gave way beneath exhaustion, forcing him to drag himself home. As he approached the house, he froze. Olivia sat slumped against the front door. A smile immediately spread across his face. He rushed toward her. But as he drew closer, he heard it.
Soft...
Broken...
Sobs.
Her trembling hands covered her face as tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
Fin dropped to his knees before her and gently placed a hand upon her shoulder.
"I-I'm sorry, Fin..." she whispered through broken breaths. "I'm... really sorry."
The moment the words left her lips, she collapsed forward into his chest. That was when Fin felt it.
Warm.
Wet.
His eyes slowly drifted downward. Crimson blood seeped steadily from Olivia's stomach. His entire body began to tremble. With shaking hands, he carefully pulled her away from him. Only then did he see it. A deep stab wound pierced her lower abdomen.
"No..."
His voice barely escaped his lips.
Fin gently lowered Olivia onto the ground and immediately pressed both hands against the wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
Yet Olivia continued whispering the same words.
"I'm sorry..."
"Please... stop talking!" Fin cried, desperately trying to save her life.
He looked wildly around the empty street.
There was no one.
No witnesses.
No help.
"Please! Somebody help us! Please!"
His desperate cries echoed into the silence. No one came. His trembling hands were completely soaked in blood.
Olivia weakly reached out and gently wrapped her fingers around his forearm.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Fin's face.
"Thank you... Fin."
As those final words left her lips, her hand slipped from his arm. It fell lifelessly onto the ground. Her eyes slowly rolled shut.
Fin's heart shattered.
He pulled Olivia's body against his chest, his blood-covered hands gently cradling the face of the woman he loved more than anything else.
"No..."
His voice cracked.
"No... why?"
"Why?!"
His anguished cries echoed through the empty streets. His heart had been broken beyond repair. And he knew exactly who was responsible.
Arion Vermillion.
No...
Not just Arion. Every noble who believed power entitled them to take whatever they desired.
Fin slowly raised his head. His grief transformed into something colder. Something darker.
His tear-filled eyes burned with scarlet fury.
"Arion Vermillion..." he whispered.
Then his voice hardened into an oath.
"No... every noble in this country..."
"I will make every last one of you live in fear."