30: Worn Out

Trojan returned to his room with Domino, feeling slightly tired. A month had passed, and he had yet to find a way to save himself.

Trojan's mental state was a mess, and he was not thinking as well. Before the rebellion started, Trojan had already spent most of his focus on how to counter the Royal Family's plans to assassinate him, but all of his plans were wasted when the rebellion began. It was an impossible situation, and the more Trojan thought about it, the more tired he became.

He sat down in his room, rubbing his eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"My lord, you appear to be rather tired," Domino commented, sitting on a couch some distance away.

Trojan leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. He told Domino, "So do you."

Domino was tired too. Everyday, he would have to go around sending messages, casting spells and doing what was necessary to ensure Trojan's survival. He no longer had the same amount of free time as he previously had. Domino could have probably left Trojan alone and gone off to do his own things, Trojan would not have blamed him.

However, Domino was smart, and Trojan knew the drawbacks of Domino left. Not just out of a sense of loyalty, Domino's life could very well be at risk if he ever decided to desert Trojan. Sure, the peasants may not know he was Trojan's mage, but the Royal Family definitely knew.

An excuse was all they needed. If Domino was let to go free, he could very well leak the location of Trojan, which would then put the Royal Family at risk too. With that excuse, Domino may be hunted down by Alastor and killed without hesitation.

By doing so, without Domino, Trojan would just end up as another one of the King's pawns. If the King wanted, Trojan could be executed without hesitation. For both of their interests, it was better that they stuck together.

Luckily for them, their staff were relatively unknown, and Trojan's residence was also relatively obscure. His staff were probably safe, but he doubted the house would have lasted long. That was evident when Domino reported that his estate was burnt to the ground a week prior.

Domino rested his staff by his side and stretched his arms. He looked at Trojan, asking, "My lord, what do you plan to do now?"

Trojan had just received an offer from the Princess. It was a marriage offer, except this time, Trojan had more to think about. He had originally declined the Royal Family's offer because he wanted to support of Duke Phoenix. However, in such a situation, Duke Phoenix was untrustworthy and the Royal Family seemed to offer much help.

Then again, what could the Royal Family be able to do in such a situation? From what Trojan could tell, the peasants wanted revenge against him, as well as other nobles and royalty. Would the words of the Royal Family be able to sway the masses?

Trojan gave up on thinking about it.

"Have you managed to contact Emilia?" Trojan asked Domino.

"Yes. It appears that Marchioness Emilia is safe and healthy," Domino replied.

"Send her a message," Trojan told him. "A verbal message, make sure no one hears it other than Emilia."

"Of course, my lord."

Trojan tapped the armrest of his chair. "Tell her I would like to meet her in person at her estate to discuss several matters. If she declines, then that'll be all there is to it."

He knew they were engaged, but that marriage was only based off what they could benefit from each other. In the current situation, there was hardly any benefit that could be reaped from allying herself with Trojan.

"If she accepts, send me there right away. This is an urgent matter," Trojan told Domino.

Trojan was getting desperate. If possible, he would rather not have to rely on the Royal Family for help. The only ones he could trust were the nobles which he had a deep connection to.

Emilia was a rather high-ranking noble, but since her family had been declining, she barely had any allies. He knew that, and of all the nobles, Emilia seemed to be the most likely to help him.

Trojan had run out of ideas. His mind was no longer able to think as he previously did. He was just too tired, his fatigue was going to be the end of him. Instead, he wanted to force him way out of his slump. By speaking to someone else of the important matters, he would hopefully be able to drag himself out, maybe be able to think clearly again.

He was no longer going to play it safe. Hiding away and thinking of a plan to save himself without troubling others. He no longer wanted to tolerate those peasants for unjustly believing he was the culprit of a village set on fire.

The only memento he had of his parents, the same parents the peasants themselves had killed. His house was the only thing he had left from his parents, and they had burnt it to the ground too.

Trojan had been trying to form better bonds with the peasants, thinking it was likely just one person's unjustly actions. He wanted to forgive them as a whole because of the mistake of one of them. He helped them, and became relatively popular as a result.

But he could see just how useless his efforts were. One claim without any evidence to back it up made all those that supported him want to kill him. One of Trojan's many jobs included ensuring the fair trial in court. He had seen how unfair the sentence to his parents' murderer was, and he had changed it. Regardless of rank, all were to be judged the same.

What were his effort for?

The same people he had helped, the same people he had forgiven had taken arms against him, wanted to kill him. They had killed people associated with him, they had burnt down what was important to him.

He was thinking, maybe he should show the peasants what he was truly capable of if he wanted to kill them. A plan started to formulate, a plan much different from his original, pacifist plan.

It may have a few sacrifices, but who cares? The peasants were killing too, so how could they blame him?