Danger standing by

"Damn it!" A curse echoed through the room.

Had Feron Lowminer known the Hier girl was as slippery as she was, he would have been much more careful than he already was. But he didn't, and here he was.

He had a bad feeling in his gut when he heard that Bella Hier was not at her personal home, and that she had hastily departed once she had learnt of her father's death. It was odd behaviour, what kind of daughter hastily ran away from home without announcing her destination after learning of her father's death?

Why wasn't there a period of mourning? Rather than grief, her behavior indicated fear.

All this strongly suggested that she had already figured out her predicament, and had taken pre-emptive measures to protect herself.

And she had surpassed his expectations, she managed to escape immediate capture and had remained hidden well enough and long enough to hire a Martial Apprentice from the Martial Union, remarkably raising the difficulty of her capture.