The carriages of Duke Valmont arrived at the estate just as the morning mist was starting to clear from the surrounding forests. The Duke was not just any noble he was the Kings cousin and the man who controlled the military in the provinces. If the Count was a piece the Duke was a strong one. Heavy, powerful and dangerous if you did not handle him correctly.
I watched from the shadows of the stone balcony my eyes narrowed as the fancy gold-and-black carriages rolled into the courtyard.
[System Notification: High-Level Target Detected.]
[Name: Duke Valmont (Level 18. Peak Mortal Realm)]
[Accompanying Target: Lady Seraphina (Level 15. Prodigy Mage)]
"Seraphina " I whispered, the name feeling like silk on my tongue. She was the Dukes daughter, a woman known for her icy personality and a talent for light magic that was said to rival the Temples priestesses.
A Light Mage I thought, a smile spreading across my face. The perfect opposite to the darkness I am building.
Beside me Isabella stood still as a statue. She was dressed in her black clothes her eyes downcast, playing the role of the grieving cousin perfectly. No one would suspect that beneath her exterior her soul was already connected to my every command.
"The Duke expects to find a dying boy and a grieving household " I said, not looking at her. "Instead he will find a kingdom that has already changed hands."
"My father is nervous Master " Isabella murmured, her voice barely audible. "He fears the Duke will see through the frost on the walls."
"Let him fear. Fear keeps him sharp.. You, Isabella... You will be the one to greet Lady Seraphina. Bring her to the gardens by sunset. I want to see this 'Prodigy' for myself."
"As you command."
I turned away from the balcony. My body felt lighter stronger. The cold power I had taken from Isabella had settled into my bones giving me a sense of clarity. I could feel the presence of Elena and the other women in the palace. They were like beacons of darkness in my mind a network of spies that gave me eyes in every room.
As the Dukes party entered the Great Hall the atmosphere was thick with tension. Count Valerius was there sweating through his clothes his hands shaking as he bowed to the Duke. Elena was at his side her mask of royal grace flawless her eyes occasionally darting to the shadows where she knew I was watching.
"Valerius!" the Dukes voice boomed, echoing through the hall. "You look like a man who has seen a ghost.. Where is this nephew of yours? The one who is supposedly ready to sign over the Marches?"
"He... He is resting, Your Grace " the Count stammered, his voice thin. "The poison. I mean, the illness. Has been quite severe."
Duke Valmont grunted, his eyes scanning the room with a soldiers suspicion. "Illness? In this house illness seems to be a convenient thing. Seraphina go with the girl. I have business to discuss with the Count."
Seraphina stepped forward. She was breathtaking. Tall, with hair the color of moonlight and eyes that held the purity of a summer sky. She looked at Isabella, her expression one of disdain.
"Lead the way Isabella " Seraphina said, her voice like a bell. "I find the air in this hall... Stifling."
I watched them leave from the gallery. The hunt was on.
[System Quest: The Lights Corruption]
[Objective: Infiltrate Lady Seraphinas mind. Use her Light Magic to stabilize the Bedchambers floor.]
[Reward: Access to 'The Hall of Mirrors and Divinity Recovery +0.5%.]
You are sweating Valerius " the Duke remarked, his voice a dangerous rumble. He leaned forward his eyes tracking the patterns of frost that still clung to the edges of the rooms tapestries. "The air in this wing is cold enough to kill a mountain goat. Why hasn't the hearth been lit?"
"The... The servants, Your Grace " the Count stammered, casting a glance toward the shadows behind the Duke. "They have been... Negligent. I shall have them whipped."
I stood behind a curtain my presence completely hidden by the darkness. A minor power I had regained after claiming Elena. To the Duke I was a ghost; to the Count I was the devil holding his leash.
Watch his hands Count I commanded silently sending a pulse of pressure through the link.
The Count flinched as if struck. He cleared his throat trying to regain a sliver of the dignity I had taken from him. "As for the Marches... I have reconsidered. The boy, Alaric... He is too frail to survive a monastery. I intend to keep him under my personal tutelage. The land transfer will be delayed until his... Recovery."
Duke Valmonts fist slammed onto the desk. The wood groaned. "Delayed? We had an agreement, Valerius! The King needs those border forts manned by my men before the winter snows block the passes. You promised the boy would be 'handled' by now."
"Promises change when the gods intervene " the Count whispered, his eyes wide and vacant.
The Duke stood up his aura flaring. A faint golden light radiated from his armor. The mark of a warrior. "Gods? You have gone mad from the cold. If the boy won't sign I will take his hand. Sign it for him. Where is he?"
[System Notification: Hostility Detected.]
[Target 'Duke Valmont' is exerting pressure.]
I do not need to fight him I thought, a cold smirk touching my lips. I just need to distract him.
I signaled Elena through our connection. A moment later the door to the study opened. Countess Elena entered, carrying a tray of spiced wine. She moved with a swaying grace. A result of the 're-education' she had undergone in the Bedchamber.
"Your Grace " she said, her voice a sultry silk that seemed to wrap around the Dukes anger. "My husband is merely overwhelmed by the Princes change in fortune. Surely a man of your stature can appreciate the complexities of family blood."
She poured the wine her fingers grazing the Dukes armor. I watched through the darkness as the Dukes heart rate spiked. Elena was not just serving wine; she was using the power I had granted her a magic that bypassed a warriors defenses and targeted his most basic instincts.
"Countess " the Duke grumbled, his voice losing its edge. He took the cup his eyes lingering on the curve of her neck. "You speak sense than your husband.. The Kings business remains."
"And the Kings business shall be done " Elena whispered, leaning closer her scent filling the Dukes lungs. ". Perhaps we should discuss the details in a more... Private setting. My husband is tired. Let us leave him to his prayers."
The Duke looked at the Count, who sat like a statue then back at Elena. The greed for land was being replaced by an older much darker hunger.
" well " Valmont said, his voice thick. "We shall finish this discussion tonight."
As they left the room I stepped out from behind the curtain. The Count collapsed into his chair gasping for air as the mental pressure finally lifted.
"You... You are using my wife..." he wheezed, looking at me with pure horror.
"I am using everything, Valerius " I said, my eyes glowing with a icy blue light. "Your wife, your daughter, your knights. You are all pawns on a board you cannot even see."
I walked toward the door my mind already shifting to the gardens. Elena had successfully distracted the Duke. Now it was time for me to deal with the threat. The Light Mage.
[Objective: Locate Lady Seraphina.]
[Method: Seduction and Psychological Infiltration.]
I moved through the shadows like a ghost. My footsteps made no sound on the frost-dusted gravel. Up near the centerpiece of the garden. A statue of a weeping goddess. I saw them.
Isabella stood with her head bowed, playing the host. Opposite her was Lady Seraphina.
In the fading light the Dukes daughter seemed to radiate a faint ethereal glow. Her hair was a waterfall of moonlight and her presence felt like a summer day. A direct insult, to the darkness I carried within me. She was a 'Prodigy of Light '. Every fiber of my being reacted to her presence with a predatory hunger.
The mana in this garden is stagnant Isabella, Seraphina said, her voice like the sound of crystal. She reached out to touch a rose and as her fingers brushed the petals they thawed instantly blooming into a vibrant red. It is as if the very soul of this place is being squeezed by something
No it is merely the winter, Lady Seraphina Isabella replied, her voice a mask of neutrality.
No Seraphina whispered, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the hedges. Winter is natural. This is intentional.
I stepped out from behind a statue of a winged lion.
Intentional is a word for a garden, cousin I said, my voice cutting through the silence.
Seraphina spun around her hand instinctively rising as a spark of golden light ignited at her fingertips. Her aura flared, a wave of warmth washing over the garden that made the frost on the hedges hiss and evaporate.
Alaric she looked me up and down her gaze piercing. To her I was supposed to be a dying invalid. Instead she found a man standing tall his eyes holding a depth that seemed to swallow the light she produced. They told me you were at deaths door.
The reports of my demise were premature I said, walking toward her with strides.
As I drew closer the clash of our essences became physical. The air between us began to crackle. The heat of her Light grinding against the zero of my Void. It was a battle, a prelude to the conquest I had already planned.
You've changed she said, her spark of light growing brighter. Your mana it does not feel like the Valerius bloodline. It feels like a vacuum. Who are you Seraphina asked.
I am the answer to the prayers you do not even know you have whispered Seraphina I replied, stopping a few feet away. I did not flinch from her light. Instead I leaned into it allowing the warmth to hit my skin while my Glacial Touch pulsed beneath the surface.
I looked into her eyes. For a moment I used a fraction of my Divinity. Not the power of a God. The presence of one. The garden seemed to grow silent. The wind died down. In her eyes I saw a flicker of something she had not felt in years: uncertainty.
You speak of light as if it is a shield I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.. Light only exists to define the shadows. Tell me Seraphina, what happens to a star when it is pulled into a hole.
It is destroyed she stammered, her light wavering for the time.
No I smirked, reaching out. I did not touch her. I let my hand pass through the edge of her golden aura. The light turned gray where my fingers brushed it. It is consumed. It becomes part of something much bigger.
I saw the run through her. It was not fear. Not entirely. It was the thrill of a predator meeting something on the food chain. She was a prodigy who had been worshipped her life. She was bored of the light. She was craving the dark Seraphina was.
Isabella I said, my eyes never leaving Seraphinas. Leave us. I wish to show our guest the beauty of the Valerius estate.
Isabella. Vanished into the darkness. Seraphina watched her go then looked at me her golden spark dying down to a faint glow. You are Alaric. I should tell my father to burn this place to the ground.
You could I said, stepping into her space the scent of her light-magic-infused skin filling my lungs.. Then you would never find out what is behind the door I am about to open for you.
I reached out. Gently took her hand. Her skin was burning,. As my Glacial Touch met her palm she did not pull away. She gasped, her eyes widening as the drop of my void-essence entered her system acting like a dark aphrodisiac.
Welcome, to the beginning of your fall Lady Seraphina I whispered.
The garden dissolved into a world of glass and silver.