Herald of Steel

*Knock*, *Knock*, *Knock*

The solid yet polite thuds against the door felt like nails slamming against his coffin to Alexander as his heart skipped several beats.

That was how usually these types of assassinations happened right?

An innocent knock on the door.

Followed instantly by a flurry of furious jabs the moment it was opened, not giving the opener even a second to react.

Alexander's overly cautious mind could not help but conjure these various types of fearful scenarios, imagining words like the following drifting out from the door, 'Boy! Open the door! We need to talk!'

Alexander felt his heart sink at the grim possibility and his eyes instantly darted towards the open window right next to him.

'Can I jump?' He optimistically thought, but given he was on the first third of the stone mansion, found it very unlikely.

Even if he could survive the fall, he would most likely not survive the injuries, given he would almost certainly break both his legs.

Alexander could not bear to become a cripple.

'Being a cripple is better than being a corpse.' However, the desperate part of his brain was quick to point out the much grimmer alternative, urging his muscles to follow their instinct.

'No! Calm down. Calm down! Don't jump to conclusion!' Fortunately, his rationality restrained him from committing such a foolish act at the last second, as it reasoned within him,

'They would not dare to do it so openly. At least not in broad daylight. Even if I'm killed, my 5,000 men will not be. And knowing of my death, the legionaries will surely put the mansion to torch and massacre everyone. They must surely know that!'

As Alexander said this to himself, he turned his head towards the city streets, where he could see the pitched tents of the stationed soldiers even from his room.

And their sight brought great comfort to him as this meant the troops were still stationed there.

Alexander reasoned that if Miss Linda was going to clean house right now, she would have moved her reinforcements much closer to account for any unforeseen circumstances, such as Alexander's 5,000 men camping in the Royal harbor.

Hence, armed with logic and proof, the slightly paranoid man finally let down his guard and in a relaxed manner asked, "Who is it? I'm currently resting a bit. Is it an emergency?"

"Apologizes, my Pasha… I'm a maid in Lady Linda's service. I come bearing a message from my lady." The reply was crisp and submissive, and the feminine tone soothed Alexander's scant lingering anxiety.

If it was a woman, Alexander thought he might be able to fight his way out even if she was an assassin.

Thus his mind was much more intrigued by the message the maid was apparently carrying, as unlocking the lock, Alexander invited the lady to his room, "Then please come in."

"Greetings Lord Pasha," However, instead of entering, the smartly dressed woman first and foremost gave Alexander a full, regal bow, letting the man time to carefully scan the woman.

Tall and slim, with immaculate proportions, her chestnut hair was rich in tones of brown and hints of red, styled in a classic fashion with locks flowing on both her sides, framing her face in a warm and inviting manner.

Her facial features were sharp and well-defined, with a few gentle lines etched around her eyes and mouth, evidence of a comfortable, life well-lived.

Dressed in the Margraves family's usual maid clothing of a simple brown gown with few embellishments, her clothes somehow appeared tasteful and polished, as if reflecting her confident sense of self.

Her body language was poised and composed, and there was an air of confidence that drew Alexander's attention to her effortlessly.

The lady was undoubtedly from a noble family, which was really not a surprise given high ladies were usually served by the daughters of lower houses.

But this maid appeared much more than that, as Alexander could not help but be a bit smitten by her delicate yet sharp features, the contrast forming a formidable charm that even a man as experienced as him found hard to resist.

If Alexander was to compare her to Lady Miranda, who was quite beautiful on her own, the lady of the house would definitely turn into a common peasant girl who worked in the fields.

And the maid seemed to know the internal thoughts of the man in front of her, which was why she let him observe her for a while as she stood still with a proud smirk on her face.

Before finally breaking the silence once she thought that was enough eye candy for now.

Thus with a charming smile, she brought out a neatly scrolled white paper, sealed at the seams with red wax bearing the Margraves family's emblem of two coins resting on a balance, and graciously handed it towards Alexander,

"My lady invites you, the esteemed lord of Zanzan to join her for some drinks and refreshments this afternoon at her courtyard. She will be greatly honored by your attendance."

Alexander was at first a bit taken back by the suddenness of the invitation.

Given that no one from Miss Linda's faction had bothered to meet with Alexander until now, either in private or in any of the two held parties, this appeared to be completely out of the blue for him.

Why was Miss Linda extending her arms now when she treated him like thin air till now?

Why did she react now, just a few hours after Alexander had finished his meeting with Miss Linda?

And why was she so eager to meet with Alexander so quickly, scheduling the meeting to be held almost immediately?

Because it was already afternoon, almost approaching late noon.

All these various curiosities swirled inside Alexander, but try as he might, he could not find any definite answer.

So he decided not to try.

Whatever the reasons were for Miss Linda, Alexander could find it out when he met her.

He saw no harm in meeting the opposite side.

In fact, once he got over his initial surprise, he found the invitation to be much to his desire as he too wished to meet the leader of the opposing side.

If Miss Linda had not asked for Alexander, he might have had to extend his own invitation to meet and discuss these matters, to try and work something out between the two siblings.

Thus as this opportunity presented itself, with a light, jovial nod he accepted the letter, letting out a small smile towards the beautiful maid,

"Thank Lady Linda on my behalf. I too am eager to meet her. I will be sure to join in an hour."

The maid let out another cordial smile and light bow at this quick acceptance, giving a few pleasantries before rapidly excusing herself.

While returning to his seat, Alexander took his time to slowly unfurl the letter, finding the paper to be of very high quality and scented with a light, but very fragrant perfume.

A scent that greatly soothed Alexander's nerves and made him want to keep the paper close.

If Miss Linda did this, she was proving to be a lady of great taste, something which was further confirmed by her very neat handwriting– clear, crisp, blocky, and arranged in a perfectly straight line.

The letter basically detailed what the maid had alluded to, just in much more flowery detail, starting with Miss Linda expressing her adoration for Alexander and her gratitude for his timely help in saving her family, followed by expressing her regret that she had not the time to meet with him and finishing by her invitation to the talks, as a way to 'finally get to know each other better' as the quote went.

And it then ended with a simple but effective map showing the route from Alexander's rooms to Miss Linda's courtyard as if the other side had already guessed what the other's decision would be.

Alexander was finding this Miss Linda not be quite as dumb as Lady Miranda had made her out to be, even finding the neat drawing to be quite beautiful in its own way.

Alexander quickly finished reading the leather, followed by which his mind could not help but wonder what they were going to discuss.

Or more specifically, what he was going to say to convince Miss Linda to share power with her sister.

And as various ideas surged and floated into his mind, suddenly Alexander found something that caused him to let out a humorous half-chukle, 'Heh heh, oh right, I forgot they still need me. Without me, all of Zanzan's port will be lost to them. That will surely be a great loss to the Margraves. Yes, I still have some cards to pay."

Finally letting go of the paranoia that he was going to be killed, Alexander breathed a sigh of relief, as the fact that Miss Linda was the one calling to meet her and not the other way around helped to stoke Alexander's ego and reaffirm that he was not yet powerless.

Because in any negotiation, -'Whoever talked first lost.'

It was with this newly found confidence that after a short rest, Alexander quickly went to find his counterpart, managing to locate the place quickly.

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