24: Sudden Invitation

Trojan sat there, surprised by Domino's timing. It had not been intended, but it was probably for the best. Domino appeared at the opposite side of the room, holding his staff loosely in one hand as he held several pieces of paper. The mage looked at Trojan, saying, "What is this about your death?"

"I will fill you in later," Trojan told him. "Your report can also come later. For now, I think we should move on to the main issue here."

Domino nodded and took a seat. The mage looked tired, Trojan could guess that the work Domino had been assigned was much too strenuous.

"The Royal Family may be after my life, and to counter that, I have prepared a plan," Trojan briefly explained. "The messengers and pigeons were a distraction, but for now, we need to come up with the actual plan to deliver the letters."

Trojan had a plan prepared, but the reliability and viability of it was being put in question by himself. It was a simple plan, and Trojan doubted whoever was keeping an eye on him would allow him to do so.

"I have a meeting with Emilia later today, am I correct?" Trojan asked to confirm.

"Indeed, my lord," His maid nodded.

Domino raised his hand, asking him, "Is the Royal Family aiming for my lord's life?"

Domino looked tired, and was. He had just skipped quite a bit of sleep to get his task done. However, after completing it, he had returned to the estate to hear about the Royal Family's intent on killing Trojan.

Trojan was a smart man, Domino knew that. When Domino had been on his way, he noticed something strange about the estate. It was covered with a spell invisible to most, a spell to broadcast noise to the caster, a spell to eavesdrop. Domino had disabled the spell quickly before appearing in the conference room.

Whoever the enemy of theirs was, Domino at least knew there was a mage amongst them. However, after being informed that the Royal Family was after Trojan, Domino easily pieced together who it could have been. Domino suspected Trojan knew of the culprit too, which was why he had started talking about a will instead of going through his plan before Domino arrived.

Trojan was wary of anyone the Royal Family would send, but the one he was most wary of was of course, Alastor, the Royal Family's mage.

"We are suspecting that the Royal Family may be trying to assassinate me," Trojan confirmed. "It is a rather convenient time for you to show up, Domino."

Domino considered it, but seeing as how Trojan was not willing to speak out his suspicions of Alastor, Domino decided not to mention it either. Domino laid back in his seat and said to him, "My lord, you should have called me back sooner if your life is at risk."

"Doesn't matter," Trojan said, waving the question aside.

Trojan tapped the stack of paper on the table. He said to his staff, "Delivering these out to the noble families will be close to impossible, but if I were to deliver these personally to Emilia, it may be possible for her to deliver these discreetly without attracting the attention of the Royal Family."

Trojan knew the risks of this plan, and so did his staff. By handing the letters to Emilia, they would be putting her at risk, she would be involved and may very well be assassinated too. As far as the Royal Family knew, Emilia had yet to hear about the potential assassinations. It was too simple a trick, and surely whoever was keeping an eye on him would manage to figure it out.

However, stopping two nobles from visiting one another was a difficult task. The Royal Family could not simply kill Emilia, could they? That would tarnish their name if Trojan used that as a catalyst to defame the Royal Family. Not much could be done, and frankly, Trojan felt that the Royal Family could only go against them after the meeting had taken place.

Someone knocked on the door of the conference room. Everyone perked up, surprised by the sound in the tense and silent room. Trojan said, "Who is it?"

The door opened, and it was one of the servants. She made eye contact with Trojan and said to him, "My lord, there seems to be a guest waiting for you."

"Who is it?" Trojan asked.

"I… I do not know exactly…" The servant replied.

Trojan stood up. There was a possibility that it was Emilia, or maybe a messenger of sorts. There was also a possibility that the guest was an assassin, but Trojan needed to see who it was. The timing was almost uncanny, right when they were discussing their strategies.

Trojan walked past his staff and out of the door, saying behind him, "Return to your posts."

Trojan was followed by his maid, as well as Domino. Trojan told Domino, "Domino, check to see who the guest is."

Domino made a circle with his fingers and looked through it, a spell which allowed him to see places that were out of sight. Sitting in the guest chair in the main hall, was a man Domino and everyone was familiar with. Plus, that man was staring directly at Domino.

"It is Alastor, my lord," Domino told Trojan, disabling the spell.

Trojan remained silent as he walked. Alastor, for the most part, was not there to make a mess. If Alastor wanted Trojan dead, he could have very easily done so. Trojan could tell that since Alastor formally presented himself, perhaps things would go smoothly.

At the Main Hall, Trojan walked in to see Alastor formally sitting on the couch. Alastor's staff rested beside him as he looked in Trojan's direction. He gave them a smile saying, "Greetings to Duke Trojan."

"May I know the purpose for your visit today?" Trojan asked him, warily sitting down across from him.

"Duke Trojan, under the request of the Royal Family, I am here to invite you to the Palace once again to speak of official matters regarding your promotion," Alastor explained. "His majesty, the King, realised that he had yet to have a formal ceremony with Duke Trojan, and would like to spend time discussing these matters with you."

The invitation was sudden, much too sudden and definitely staged. Trojan's entire plan was ruined, he could not speak with Emilia unless he declined the offer from the Royal Family, and if he were to feline the offer of the Royal Family, it would come off as rude. To outside eyes, Trojan was still on good terms with the Royal Family.

He thought about it briefly. Hold on, he could make use of it.

"I would gladly accept," Trojan told Alastor.