Chapter 3: Chapter 2 – No Rest For The Wicked

A contigent of mounted soldiers enters through the Rosevind Mansion's main gate, with Jacob at the front. The butler dismounts his grey horse and gives the reins to one of the three servants that came to greet them. He's rushing into the mansion to check on the Young Lord before leaving. Inside one of the rooms he finds the nanny breast feeding the two babies, her son and the Young Lord.

"Oh, pardon my instrusion, Matilda! I did not know it was feeding time."says the butler halfway through the door's frame.

"You can come in, Jacob, I don't mind."

"How's the Young Lord?"

"He's peckish, as usual." says Matilda with a smile.

"Good, good! A healthy apetite is a sign of a strong man." replies Jacob looking proud.

"Why are you dressed in military clothes?"

"Governer Stones run away after emptying the coffers of the North-West Administrative Region. Word is he is trying to gain the favour of another House. I'm gathering 40 elite soldiers to chase after him." speaks the man as he stepped inside the room.

"Governer Stones? How dare he! After all Lord Ferdinand did for him, he's betraying us in the worst moment possible?" says the nanny with a deep frown.

"Yes, it caught me off guard. I almost can't believe it, the Four Governers were handpicked by Lord Ferdinand based on their loyalty. Was he faking it all along? I will get an answer straight from the dog's mouth, when I catch him!" replies the butler with a fierce look in his eyes.

"My husband used to say that everyone is loyal to you during good times and that means nothing. It is during struggle that you see where people's loyalties really are, he said." says Matilda sighing.

"Yes, indeed. Your husband was a wise and brave man, befitting a General of my Lord." adds Jacob as the figure of her husband flashes through his mind.

*Knock, Knock!* someone knocks on the door.

"Most likely I have to go. I will double the guards at the Mansion while I'm gone."

"Ok, we'll manage. You better catch him, Jacob!"

"Yeah, I will, don't worry!"

Jacob opens the door and gets out of the room. The Guards Captain is waiting for him at the door.

"Sir, we caught one of the Governer's men sneaking around the Mansion. He claims he is loyal to the Rosevind House and he run away when he took notice of the Governer's betrayal. He says he can put us on Stones' tracks. We cuffed him and we placed him in the basement prison chambers." says the guard.

"Good job! Take me to him!"

Jacob walks through the cold and poorly lit basement corridor, accompanied by the Guards Captain which holds a mana crystal lamp in one hand. It's been a while since he came to this area of the Mansion. This place is not really a prison, as it doesn't host any prisoners regularly, but it's useful for detaining someone for a short period of time. Every great House has something similar, some even have actual prisons.

"There he is!" says the Captain, as both of them reach the front of a cell guarded by two guards.

"I wish to talk with you alone, Sir" says the prisoner in a husky voice.

"Leave us alone!" says the butler to the Guards Captain and the two guards.

"Yes Sir!"

They left right away, as it was an order. The prisoner is shackled with mana handcuffs and, even if he wasn't, the chances of him being able to escape under Jacob's supervision are close to none. As people that worked at the Mansion, they knew fully well how strong the butler really is.

"Now talk, why are you here? It doesn't look like you were caught just snooping around." says Jacob.

Inside the cell, a person looking more like a begger than a servant comes closer to the cell bars. Stained with mud all over his face, hair and heavy beard, dressed in rags and with dirt under his nails, his vivid eyes are the only proof that he is not just a street thug.

"I had to be very careful, as we don't know who to trust. I was tasked to deliver a message for you, Sir Jacob." replies the dirty prisoner, after he regurgitates a yellow glowing crystal the size of a quail egg.

He wipes the crystal with a handkerchief, pulled out of his chest pocket, and streches his hands close to the cell bars to hand it over the the butler. Jacob picks it up for a closer inspection. It's just a regular Recording Crystal, used to record an audio-visual message. The butler injects his mana into the crystal and something close to a hologram of a burly heavy bearded man comes out of it.

"Hello, old friend! When you recieve this message, you will have previous knowledge of my betrayal. It is with heavy heart that I took this decision, as the mere though of betrayal makes me remorsefull. My hand was forced. Alas, they took my only son as hostage! They made me choose between my own son and the House Of Rosevind. They asked for all the yearly funds of the North-West Region in exchange for my son's life. I managed to trick them into meeting the day after tomorrow, at the first light, in Abba Village, to make the exchange. I told them once I get my son back I will flee to my home country, Pagulia Kingdom, throgh the mountains. I chose to do it like this, since we don't know for sure who is still on our side. As Lord Ferdinand used to say, fool yourself to fool the enemies, right?

I won't betray our Lord, but I can't just let my own son to die. I will at least die trying to save his life, if needed be. That is the least I could do, as his father. I hope you understand. No matter what happens, you can at least recover the money as the Family will need all the finances they can get during this period of instability. If anything goes wrong, save my son first. The kid is ten times smarter than me, he will be more useful to the Young Lord. See you tomorrow morning in Abba Village!"

"It seems like that old fool hasn't gone completly senile just yet." says the butler on a lower tone.

"He may be a bit stubborn and hard to work with, but my boss is still a retainer of the House of Rosevind."adds the prisoner, chuckling.

"What's your name, soldier?"

"How did you know that I'm a soldier?"

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"Your eyes, your aura. You hide it well, but I can tell."

"I expected no less from you, Sir. My name is Karl."

"Wait here, Karl. I will send someone to come pick you up, but you need proper care first." says Jacob as he leaves.

He walks to the end of the basement corridor, where the guard are waiting, and pulls the Guards Captain aside.

"You can remove his shackles. Quietly bring over food and water for the prisoner. Make sure he has a nice stay. I will come pick him up later. No one else is to enter this area, besides you and the previous guards. We don't know if someone will try to silance the prisoner, so we better be careful about it." commands the butler without explaining much to the Guards Captain.

"Yes, Sir!" replies the Captain, realising that there is someting more than meets the eyes about the whole story.

In the courtyard about forty soldiers have gathered around, eager to go after the traitor. Jacob exists the Mansion and comes to speak with them.

"Anyone from Abba Village?" asks the butler.

"We are, Sir!" three men came forward.

"Excelent! You guys will come in handy. Barny!"

"Yes, Sir!" replies the Commander.

"Change of plans. Go and bring me another twenty soldiers. All of them must be no lower than the 4th Rank. Prioritize those that are good at stealth and covert operations. See if you can find anyone else from Abba Village. Also, add two more Warlocks to the two we already called for. Don't rush it but don't take too long either. We'll settle in at the Mansion untill everyone has gathered. I will brief you all later."

"Yes, Sir!" answers the Commander and then leaves with five other people to gather the rest of the troops.

***

*Knock, Knock!*

"This is it, Matilda, I have to go." says Jacobs as he hands the Young Lord to his nanny.

"It's good to know that at least he didnt betray us. You bring them back safely, Jacob. We need every loyal man that we can have."

"I know. I will do all in my power to return them safely, but this may not be at easy as it seems. There's a chance that someone very powerful in behind all this!" speaks the butler as he exits the room.

***

Backheel City, South West of Rosevind Fiefdom.

All the soldiers have been gathered in a large room. Jacob shows them the comunication crystal with Sones' message. He knows that saving an ally will motivate the troops more than chasing a betraying friend. Military men have a strong bond when it comes to those things. Nobody wants to leave a camarade behind. Soon after a bit of chatter emerge between the gathered soldiers, but at least they are more hyped about it now.

"I knew it!" says one of the soldiers.

"Yeah, the whole thing looked too strange." adds in another soldier.

"There's no way someone so loyal could have betrayed us!" says a third soldier.

"Ahem!" says the Commander, clearing his throat, as to reinstablish the order.

Everyone has calmed down, as Jacob briefs them on the up and coming rescue operation.

"As you all heard, the exchange will happen tomorrow morning at the first light. We need to be there first, if we want to take them by surprise. We will drop the military wear. We will be dressed like civilians. This is a covert operation. Come night we will sneak inside Abba Village, in small groups. Some of us will ocupy strategic positions inside the village. The rest will take shelter in the homes of the seven soldiers from Abba. Lucky as it is, the seven houses occupy a good position for encirclement."

"But Sir, will sixty soldiers be enough? Shouldn't we be encircling the entire Village?"asks the Commander.

"No, since we prioritised trust whorty people, this is the best we can do on short notice. Too many people and the enemy will notice. Sixty people is already too much, but I have a bad feeling about this. We need men that are able to react quickly to any change in the situation. More people would just get in our way."

"I understand, Sir!"

"Good! We will post 2 people at the two exists of the Village, at a vantage point. I will move on my own. We will communicate through the blinking crystal. When I give you the first signal, you will encrouch the enemy and strike at my second signal. Or objective is to rescue Governer Sones and his son and recover the funds. We will move as soon as night comes!"

"Yes Sir!" all the soldiers yell out.

Looking back, I really was lucky to have all the people and things my second father left behind. Being reborn as a baby has its shortcomings. It took me several years before I could function properly in my new body. So for a while, the real heroes where the retainers of the House of Rosevind. I don't even want to think what would have happened without them. If someone killed me when I was in my most vulnerable state, or more exactly if no one would have taken care of me, I would have died way before I got the chance of evolution.