Revenge

"Would you like to have milk before sleeping, my lady." Elara did not waste her breath in asking where her husband was. She knew the man had many other responsibilities that kept him busy.

She was sitting at her dressing table and combing her hair. The task should have belonged to the maid who was staring back at her reflection as if they were equal. She shook her head and the maid nodded and left the room.

Elara rolled her hair into a bun that a noble would never approve of. But she knew that she would not have company tonight, like other nights. She stood up and went to the balcony. 

As she opened the door, the fresh breeze of early winter made her shiver. She looked around enjoying the serenity. The only good thing in this whole manor. But as if the goddess had heard her words. The sound of hooves suddenly filled the area and her eyes flickered.

Her husband never comes home before dawn. There was no way he had returned. But her balcony did not cover the main door so she was not sure who else had visited in the dead of the night.

She returned to her room and wore her outer robe. The maid opened the main door again. This time, her face did not have the arrogance of the last visit. She looked panicked as if she was finding a place to hide.

"The king's riders had come, my lady." blood drained from her face. "Unannounced at that." It only meant one thing. They were not there for a friendly meet.

The neighbors of horses and barking of dogs filled the room. Her body is going cold.

"How many of them? Is the butler there to receive them?" She looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a thin gown, too sheer for winter with no make up on her skin and her hair were not presentable at all.

She pulled the pin and let her hair flow.

"I am not sure about the butler, my lady. He often accompanied the lord if he was asked." great! That was the only thing needed.

She took a deep breath and nodded. David knew that the Fire Act had already been passed after the recent attack of Legions, a rebellion group that called themselves as the servant of the previous king.

One year ago, the youngest son of the previous king killed his father and his elder brother to take the throne and since then, the rebellions were trying to kill him. They have thought it would be an easy task since the public supported them.

But they have failed miserably and were forced to hide. Since then, the new reign was looking for traitors. An act had been passed that gives the freedom to the agents of court to search any manor, any inn without any prior notice.

If they have come in such a large troop, they must be sure there was something to find. She shook her head. There was nothing to fear, she told herself.

Though she was not what her husband did to earn wealth, she knew that he was a cowardly man. He would never dare to rebel against the kind. He must be sleeping with another woman tonight that was why he did not return. He must have offended the king by sleeping with someone powerful this time.

Even if they were here to punish someone, it was not her. She had done nothing. 

"What must be the reason for their visit?" Polly whispered in a fearful voice but Elara squared her shoulders. She would not show an ounce of fear to those strangers.

With years of practice, she had learnt to hide her fear completely. 

"Would it not be better to ask them instead of me?" for the first time Elara felt a sense of pride as she looked at the fear dancing on the eyes of the young maid. 

Whether it was the old king or the new, she had nothing to fear since she had no relation to any of them. She had been living a quiet life for a long time since she had been… married off here. Many more thoughts came with this one but she pushed them away. A knock came at the door, causing the maid to jump.

But there was no hint of hesitation on her face.

"Yes," she replied boldly when another maid, a senior one, bowed her head. 

"My lady," she said breathlessly, "I beg your pardon but there is a party of king's men who have entered the manor with force. They have come to the main hall and they are demanding your presence." demanding. The word was too bold to choose since it was her house.

She was a moniker of the Grand Casvilete Land. the place used to be revered in the past. And though her husband was not in a good relationship with the new king, he still had a high position in the empire.

"Ha! Are you sure they did not ask for my husband but me?" or they already knew that her husband was not there? But it was so late at night? Demanding to meet a married woman when her husband was not at home would bring a scandal on her plate.

"Yes, I am sure. The leader said that.." the woman hesitated for the first time in her life. "You know him." The frown only grew deeper with the words. "He said that his name was Lennart but he did not give me his second name."

"Lennart?" Her voice no longer sounded calm; it came out rough and choked, though she felt nothing, nothing at all but a prickling disbelief. Surely she was dreaming. Surely he could not mean. 

The truth finally dawned on her. She had heard his name in every party she attended, every gathering she had sat in. in every whisper, the rising hero of the empire. The eyes and brain of the new king.

He had finally come. He had come to take his revenge on her.