Chapter 7

-[Liam]-

With Honest under his control for the moment, he had a lot of freedom to do as he wished without making it seem too obvious.

Though, it was only a matter of time before the minister lost his value and became useless to him.

He stood at the balcony of the bedroom, looking over the empire. From the high vantage point, he could see a lot of it and with his vampire heritage, he could see the individual faces even from afar.

There was none that he could recognize for anything important nor were there any that caught his attention for more than a second.

His eyes twitched as he turned around, walking back into the bedroom to meet Esdeath who had just walked in, closing the door behind her.

"You're in a good mood. What happened?" He asked, noting the smile on her face.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked curiously as he walked up to her.

It was kind of cute seeing Esdeath hurrying out of the palace earlier to deal with something. The sadistic general had a side to her that others rarely saw, a side of her dedicated to him alone.

"Yes. I assume that's what you're hiding behind your back." He said, also noting her hiding a package away from his sight.

With a smile on her face, she showed the item in her hand, Liam's eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Do you like it? I had the best swordsmith in the empire make this for you. I'll accept nothing less than excellent equipment for my beloved." Esdeath said proudly as she presented a rapier towards him.

Its grip and guard were a shade of blue and gold respectively, giving it a regal look. 'It wouldn't look out of place among a collection of holy swords.' Liam thought unsheathing it and getting a feel for it.

"I love it. It feels just right in my hands." He said, performing a few test swings with it and finding it balanced.

The look on the general's face showed her happiness at his satisfaction with the weapon. "I'm glad that you like it. We still have to go and get ourselves measured for the rings. We can go whenever you're ready." She said.

"About that, what do you plan on doing?" Liam asked, sheathing the sword.

"What do you mean?" Esdeath asked in confusion.

"Are you planning on dealing with Night Raid before we officially get married or perhaps after they're dealt with?" Liam asked, honestly curious.

She put a finger to her chin for a moment. "While I'm a bit impatient, I can definitely see the merit in dealing with them first. Honest already proposed an idea."

"An idea that would no doubt be crude and barbaric." He muttered under his breath. He had no personal qualms with Night Raid and the revolutionary army. They just happened to be on the opposing side so he would treat them as such.

"He's targeting people who would likely support the revolution and blaming it on Night Raid. They haven't snapped at the bait so far." Esdeath revealed, moving to rest on the sofa.

"And if they do? What guarantee do you have that your soldiers can handle them if they attack?" Liam asked. "From what I'm aware, three of Night Raid's number are former soldiers of the empire. Strong ones for that matter."

Esdeath looked unbothered by that, speaking quickly. "Liver, Nyau and Daidara are the ones in charge of executing Honest's plan. They should be able to handle Night Raid. If not, then they're weak."

She spoke as if it was just a fact and to her it was. The strong survived while the weak perished.

Liam was silent for a moment, pacing around the room a bit. "Night Raid undoubtedly has at least one spy among Honest's men or at the minimum, someone high up." He mused, putting his hand to his chin. "How else would they be able to evade capture for so long?"

"I had my suspicions but whether Honest knows about that is up to question. Unfortunately, there's no foolproof way to root them out." The blue haired general said with a sigh as a smirk emerged on Liam's face.

"Who said there isn't?" He asked mysteriously, moving towards her. "Are you up for a long game of twenty questions?"

-[Hoshi]-

He was nervous.

Something highly unusual had been happening for the last few days. High ranking officials in the empire were being interviewed for a special position that would only be announced when a proper candidate was found.

Rumors were that it was a position to lead a special task force to combat Night Raid while other rumors suggested that it was simply an interview for a promotion.

Being a spy for the revolutionary army, his position in the emperor's court was very crucial in their objective. That was exactly why he needed to get this position.

He'd gone undetected as a spy for many years but the revolutionary army hadn't made great strides in their cause. With this position, he'd be able to get even more information and be in a place to properly aid the overthrowing of the empire.

There came the problem.

The minister had put Esdeath in charge of the interview. Though, from what he heard from those who had been interviewed, it was more of an interrogation than an interview.

"Next!"

As he was called into the office, he controlled his steps and cleared his mind. This would be his first time having an actual conversation with the icy general.

Walking in, he saw the empty chair in front of a desk that was obviously meant for him to sit. On the other side of the desk was Esdeath, an indifferent look on her face as she stared at him.

As she gestured for him to take a seat, he dared not refuse.

"You're Hoshi, correct?" Esdeath asked, looking through a list on the table.

"Y-yes I am." He stuttered out in response.

The atmosphere in the room was uneasy and that was to be expected but not in the way he expected. While Esdeath was part of the reason for the unease, a large part of it came from the young man sitting directly beside Esdeath, eyes boring into him.

'Who is he?' Hoshi wondered, not recognizing him.

He'd heard rumors of Esdeath allegedly taking a husband but there was no confirmation or denial until now. The man before him fit the description of the rumors given.

'I have to report this back! It could be another possible exploit to use against the empire.' He thought.

He was silent but it felt like all his secrets were being laid out before his eyes. Not to mention the feeling that a single mistake would be fatal.

"You've been working for the emperor for five years now. Are you satisfied with your current position?" Esdeath asked, snapping him out of his trance.

"I am satisfied with any position that allows me to serve the emperor to the best of my ability regardless of what it is." He answered, using the line he had rehearsed for the past few years.

"Do you have any family or friends in the capital?" The general asked, confusing him.

'How is that relevant here?' Hoshi wondered but shook his head in response. "No I do not."

The questions kept coming, some of them greatly confusing him with how irrelevant they were to the situation.

His hands fidgeted out of view of the two dangerous people, answering the questions as best as he could.

"Now for the last question." Esdeath said, gaining his attention, not that she didn't have it before. "Are you affiliated with the Night Raid?"

He stilled at that question before quickly composing himself. "I'm not affiliated with those criminals. I-"

Before he could even finish explaining, the man beside Esdeath was no longer in his seat.

"Got you." The smooth voice of the other male came from behind him before he felt a sharp pain in his neck, rendering him unconscious.

-[Liam]-

He smirked as he looked down on the form of the unconscious spy.

"I'll admit, I was beginning to have doubts that this would actually work." Esdeath admitted as she stood to her feet.

"I don't blame you. We had to go through so many of them just to catch him and it's all thanks to this." Liam said, holding a smooth stone in his hand.

The stone had runes carved into it. It was a rune that caused the rock to heat up whenever a lie was told. Esdeath's seemingly random questions allowed them to determine the possibility of them being a spy.

When there were enough lies to suspect a traitor, the final upfront question would confirm their suspicions.

"Still, it's a wonder you were able to set this up so quickly." Esdeath said in a questioning manner.

Liam smirked in response as he moved to lock the door. "Honest overplayed his hand and now he has no choice but to obey me. I'll explain later but for now, let's deal with him." He said, gesturing to the unconscious man.

Esdeath dragged the man to the center of the room, pulling out the rug on the floor to reveal a large rune circle with a slightly smaller circle joined to it.

Liam stood in the smaller circle while Esdeath laid the man in the middle of the main circle.

His nail sharpened as he pierced his palm, allowing the blood to drop onto the runes, causing them to light up.

"Thy body, resisting my will."

As he began chanting, the runes glowed even brighter in response, markings appearing on the unconscious man's body.

"Your fate, resting on my palm."

Runes began to appear on Liam's forearm at the same time, glowing and pulsing in sync as Esdeath watched with great interest.

"Bend to my will, my vision and heed my call!"

With that last line, the runes glowed brighter before dying out, the rune markings on the unconscious man fading away to remain hidden. On the other hand, the runes on Liam's forearm had taken the form of a red tattoo.

+++++

[You forcefully bent a creature's mind to your will.]

[You have been granted two pulls.]

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