7: Domino

Marquess Trojan walked out of Earl Sichal's estate in a rather foul mood. His maid walked by his side, both of them heading towards the carriage.

"What is the matter, my lord?" His maid asked him.

"Your family lives in one of the Middle Cities, right?" Trojan asked her, stepping into the carriage.

"That is indeed the case." His maid replied, waiting for him to get on first.

"Have you heard any news from them?"

His maid got on easily, sitting across from Trojan. The carriage door was closed and the driver took off, directing the horses to go forward. His maid seemed to think for some time, as if recalling something.

"No, nothing of much importance." Hi maid finally said.

Trojan nodded, drawing the curtains of the carriage windows closed.

"We are headed towards Marchioness Emilia now, correct?" Trojan asked.

"Indeed, my lord." His maid nodded. "The Marchioness Emilia has requested your presence to speak about marriage once again."

"I have asked the servants to reject her invitation, no?" Marquess Trojan asked.

"Unfortunately, The Marchioness Emilia was rather insistent on the meeting, and refused to leave until we accepted." His maid explained. "The staff were rather afraid of the Marchioness."

Trojan nodded. "It is a good opportunity. I have other matters to discuss with Marchioness Emilia."

The carriage travelled across the smooth ground. There was noise outside, coming from the bustling of the city. Inner City, at first glance, looked peaceful, like an utopia for humans. But knowing the facts, Marquess Trojan felt choked by the corruption and selfishness that ran in the system. Not just the nobles and royalty, but even the peasants.

"We are ahead of schedule, my lord." His maid told him while they were still travelling.

"By how much?" Trojan asked.

"Two hours."

Trojan nodded before he started to think about what he was going to do. He was quite busy with the preparation with becoming a Duke, and he had other things on his plate too.

"Send a messenger to Domino," Trojan told his maid. "I want him back by the time we return."

"Understood, my lord." The Maid said before picking up a piece of paper.

It was about the size of her palm, and brown in colour. One glance at it, it was useless paper, but it was a common item held by many mage contractors. An item infused with magic.

The Maid pulled out a lighter and set it on fire, the piece of paper burning without so much as a wisp of smoke. It disappeared, no ashes, no smoke remained. Domino had given them the piece of paper any time they needed him back.

"Would that not summon him here directly?" Trojan asked.

"I assume so." His maid confirmed.

A wind started to pick up inside the carriage. Trojan cursed and held onto the side of the carriage as the wind picked up its pace. It swirled and almost blew off Trojan's hat had he not been holding on to it. The wind seemed to solidify, becoming something similar to steam, an opaque gas formed in a swirl before it simply cleared out. Sitting beside Trojan, was a young man.

The young man wore blue robes, the signature dressing for common mages. He also wore a pointed hat of a wizard, and held a staff by his side. The young man had black hair and green eyes. He sat there, his arms crossed.

"Yes?" Domino asked, looking slightly frustrated.

"The lord has summoned you." The Maid said.

Domino looked over at Marquess Trojan and nodded, asking, "My lord, what do you require me to do?"

Trojan regained his composure, patting down his clothes. Mages were still a mystery to him, as to why only a certain few were able to wield magic. But it did not matter, whatever worked, worked.

"I would like to have a private conversation with you." Trojan said to Domino.

Domino glanced at The Maid, who seemed to allow him to do as he was ordered. Domino swung his staff slightly in the cramped space, and an invisible barrier where no sound passed was formed between them and the rest of the world, even The Maid was not included.

"Marquess, you may speak freely now." Domino told him.

"Domino, I need you to run an errand for me." Trojan said to his mage. "I will need you to investigate the recent appearance of a Phoenix."

"A Phoenix?" Domino asked, not looking surprised. "I've heard the rumours."

"I will need to you to investigate on it."

Domino shook his head, saying, "The problem with Phoenixes is more complicated than you think, my lord. Phoenixes, unlike other monsters like dragons or wyverns, do not fully exist."

"They don't exist?" Trojan asked, not really sure what Domino was speaking about.

"Yes, Phoenixes do not have a 'real body'," Domino explained. "Unlike regular monsters, they could be considered mythical creatures."

"Then how does one come about?" Trojan asked.

"Phoenixes are formed from two conditions." Domino continued. "The first being that there is an insanely high temperature. The second being that there is enough blood."

"Blood?"

Domino, similar to other mages, had been taught these kinds of information. Mages were there to fight against monsters, of course they would know more about these monsters compared to an ordinary person.

"The death of humans or monsters." Domino said. "There is no actual answer as to how many deaths, but it is said that a Phoenix is made by sacrificing enough people at a hot enough place."

"Burning people alive? That's what this is about?" Trojan demanded.

"Not necessarily." Domino tilted his head and yawned. "Just being near a flame is good enough."

"So that Phoenix sighting…"

"I'm sure a bunch of people died." Domino nodded. "But judging by how short the Phoenix was seen, I doubt many people died in the first place."

Trojan sat there, staring at his hands. He then composed himself before looking Domino straight in the eyes.

"Then all the more reason I would need you to investigate this matter." Trojan finalised. "Find out the cause of the Phoenix's appearance and report back to me as quickly as you can, understood?"

Domino closed one eye, as if thinking.

There was a few seconds before Domino nodded slowly. "Understood, my lord. I will get to the bottom of this case as quickly as I can."

Domino waved his staff once again, and he disappeared with another swirl of wind. The only people left in the carriage was Marquess Trojan and his maid, both not speaking until the carriage eventually came to a stop.