4 The Sweet Aroma Of A Bitter Contract

No matter the thousands of examples that are presented to us. We humans have a great talent for ignoring them. Despite the demonstration of days ago, they continue to make the same mistakes. A Cerminian soldier decided to attack, with only his sword and his courage, with no plan, no strategy, just wanting to show service. An unfortunate man.

One man, different from the other nineteen, stood out in the circle that cornered Von. His green eyes resembled those of the girl he had just met, Von felt something different emanating from him, a strange energy, a contained force. The assassin admired the sword he held, folded at the ends, the sword looked more like a scythe, his dagger was gold-plated and the designs carved into it looked more like a battle of tigers and dragons in search of their sovereignty. The sword said a lot, unlike the man holding it, who silently created a great mysterious aura in the environment. Von wanted to kill him, envied his sword, and wanted it for himself.

Von's left hand met his right wrist. The assassin adjusted his glove discreetly, as if unlocking its mechanisms. Von turned his gaze to the first unfortunate of the day. The man was approaching the assassin with the intention of hitting him with his sword in a long, slow vertical cut. Von deflected to the left side so calmly that he seemed to be mocking the soldier's skills. The assassin put two fingers against the right corner of the soldier's face and activated his gloves. The blades pierced the man's skull, killing him instantly. Four soldiers, seeing their comrade down, went after Von. The assassin dodged the men's attacks, and returned them with kicks and light punches, disorienting them. Von didn't play with the soldiers, he lined them up. When he noticed that the four men were one after the other disoriented, he pulled his revolver from his waistband, and with just one shot to the head, he hit all four soldiers.

Killing soldiers of the High Command had never been so much fun.

Four more men were coming in his direction to attack him, two with firearms, and two with swords. Von deflected the shots with the blades of his glove, no ordinary human would be able to do such a feat, and Von knew this, and also didn't understand the extent of his reflexes, perhaps it was talent. With each deflected shot, it was a shot that Von returned with his revolver. First he shot the two shooters, then he executed at close range the two men with the swords. There was one bullet left.

This time, Von went toward the 11 men. He discarded his last bullet into the chest of one of the soldiers, while throwing his silver dagger into the neck of another. The assassin impaled a man in front of him with his glove. His body went into frenzy as he heard the man's cry of pain, enjoying the scene for a few moments. His back began to burn, and so Von remembered, he couldn't fail, he couldn't let his emotions control his actions, but he did, and his blood spilled.

-What a cowardly way to attack someone. - He said this as he stood up and looked at the face of the person who attacked him.

Von recognized him immediately, the man with the golden sword. Next to him were two other men, men who had not moved a muscle during the entire battle, mere observers.

Realizing this made his blood burn, but due to his wound, he would not be agile enough to kill them. He picked up a sword from the ground, and used it as a walking stick as he staggered toward a nearby river.

One of the men threatened to chase him, but the same man who had pierced the assassin's back stopped him. The man with the golden sword walked calmly, following the trails of blood that Von had left on the ground. His wounds were not deep, but he could not fight off the remaining men. As he neared the riverbank, Von felt the touch of the same blade that had wounded him, but this time the cold steel of the sword touched his throat. His eyes closed, he waited for his death with honor, but it was not coming. The man kicked him, making him sit on the ground.

-I am General Norgard Chasseur." he said slowly. - Will you serve Cermina, or die by my blade? -

-Did it take a general to kill someone like me? Pathetic. - If he could, Von would have spat in his face, but the General caught him by the strands of his hair, staring at him. He didn't understand what the green pupils meant, it looked like a mixture of wisdom and pride, it was clear that those eyes had witnessed many things, just like his own. Von again lost himself in memories, remembering the man who had given him bread and water in his childhood. They were the same eyes.

-You've grown, boy. You've become exactly what I expected. - The touch on his hair now felt like a caress of some kind. Norgard had a sad smile on his lips, Von didn't know what it represented. The General let go of the assassin's hair, and turned toward the river, watching the sun reflecting off the water. -I beg your mercy, Von. Will it serve us? -

-I will serve only the one who was able to defeat me. -

-Good, we have an agreement. - The General turned and looked at the two mysterious men accompanying him. - These are brothers Tyr and Fenrir. Take him to the mansion so we can tend to these wounds, and then we will go talk to Krauser. - When he finished speaking, he looked at Von passed out on the floor, the smile still on his lips.

Von awoke to the late afternoon sunlight reflecting in his eyes, which had opened slowly and he was trying to recognize where he was. A comfortable double bed, beautiful paintings scattered on the wall, porcelain pieces adorning the furniture. Everything indicated that the house was very large and very rich. Von had never dreamed of being in a place like this.

Trying to understand his current condition, Von lay there until someone came to him. He reflected on how unfortunate he had been, so close to having the money needed for his land, and in the end, he was captured. Damn him Norgard Chasseur. Now he would be a dog of the state, a puppet in the hands of the Elite. He heard some footsteps in the corridor and on instinct, he closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

-Did your father say you should take care of him? - It was an ordinary voice for a man, but he was worried about who he was talking to.

-No. I will watch him on my own. - A female voice answered the man; it didn't sound like a woman, but a girl.

-Then I won't be able to let you pass, cutie. - Then the sound of a body hitting the floor was heard, and then the door opened. A red-haired girl came through the door, and Von remembered her, and her cigarette on the floor.

-I see that the dog is awake. - She approached the foot of the bed, sitting there. She was wearing particularly unique clothes, black pants, with a small boot of the same color, a white tank top, and a black belt. It was noticeable very interesting blades on his belt.

-Tell me your name, dog. -

-Von, tell me yours now. -

-Sophie Chasseur, I am the General's youngest daughter. -

-The youngest daughter, huh? - Von couldn't control his laughter, the girl's green eyes reflected anger. - I can't believe they are going to use a foolish girl to watch me. - Sophie quickly threw a knife and plunged it into the wood of the bed next to the assassin's face. - You can't kill me, Sophie Chasseur.

-I can still hurt you. -

-Your father wouldn't want a crippled subordinate, cutie. - Her green eyes widened and her face turned red. She stood up and sat down beside him, taking the dagger from the wood of the bed and placing it against the assassin's neck.

-Repeat!

-So you don't like to be called that? - This time, laughter was heard coming out of Von's mouth, and he could have sworn his throat would be slit by the redhead, and it would be, but someone knocked three times on the door.

-I see you're getting along fine. - The general emerged wearing a black overcoat.

He was a tall man, with black hair tied up in a ponytail. His eyes reflected an exorbitant experience, totally indecipherable eyes, different from the eyes of the girl next to him. Totally predictable. - I came to see if you had woken up. Sophie, wait for him to get ready and take him to my office. - After saying this, he left the same way he came in, silently.

-It's not that unfortunate, you useless.-

-Are you really calling the one your father chose useless? Apparently you don't value Norgard's decisions.

-Get yourself cleaned up. - She reached for the assassin's clothes and tried to throw them in his face. Von took the clothes and watched the redness in the beautiful young woman's face. He silently questioned her behavior and stood up. - Hey," he turned to her, her face getting redder and redder, and he thought it was funny. It didn't take long to realize that he was wearing only one pair of panties, he laughed discreetly and went to the bathroom.

Von stepped out of the shower, he couldn't remember the last time he had taken a bath in hot water. His brown hair fell over his face, again wearing only one underwear, and the assassin left the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom he saw Sophie lying on the bed with her eyes closed, apparently asleep. He didn't expect that the girl had been waiting for him all this time.He approached her and observed her face. The general's daughter's face was so serene, she did not convey the arrogance of when she was awake. The young woman's hair was the color of the purest blood, her white skin seemed soft, her breathing so calm that she didn't even seem to be alive.

Von hardly ever looked at women, he never thought of them as anything more than objects to satisfy his worldly pleasures, but there was something different about the girl in front of him, something about her that instigated him, something he didn't understand at the time. He felt pleasure in teasing her, he didn't know her, knew absolutely nothing about her life, and yet he had a feeling she was just like him, lonely. She let out a sigh, causing him to turn on his back and stop watching her. He calmly put on clean clothes while looking at her in the reflection of the mirror.