The Earl

Vernice held the neck of the flagon of wine and poured into his mouth. It was a full flagon as a mere bottle can't satisfy his cravings. He put down the flagon and wiped the smeared fluid with the back of his hand. A grunt followed.

He was shaking. It was not of cold nor of age. It was of fear. His earlier encounter with the old man shook his bones.

He must inform Timothy. He knew that he must. And yet his hand stalled, the quill was untouched and the paper remained blank.

He sighed. Not all men are brave, he reasoned. Not everyone had it in them to face the darkness. Even brave men cower when faced with the depths of the abyss. What he saw and what he witnessed were stuff of nightmares. It was a deep secret his ears shouldn't have heard.

Vernice hoped that the old man was just insane. Even if he was the insane one that would be better. Because if the old man was right- then a painful future awaits in the horizon.

"Does the two of you believe in ghosts, demons and monsters?" he asked the two squires who were standing idly near him. They were both young and fit- unlike him. One of them, from what he knew, was a talkative son of a mason. The other was the opposite of the mason's son though. He was shy, silent and would only talk if asked a question.

"I personally don't sire" one of the squires answered. It was the mason's son. He made a small bowing gesture before continuing "The only ghost I believe in are those of the past and the only demons are those in a person's heart"

The other squire just smiled as if indicating that he was the same.

"So the two of you don't believe in those things huh? Well can't blame you. Young people nowadays think differently. But I do believe in them. They are real and I'm scared"

"Are they powerful sire?" The silent squire asked. Vernice was amused by his rare show of chattiness.

"They are" He said with a bitter smile on his face "They are" he repeated a second time. It was almost a whisper but more weighty.

"Then how come most people haven't seen these peculiarities?"

"Because they hide"

"And why do they hide?"

Vernice opened his mouth but said nothing. Why are they hiding? The old man did say that they were orchestrating wars all around the globe to weaken humans. If they needed humans to be weak before making their move then that would mean they also acknowledge human strength.

"I don't know" Vernice gave a safe answer. He doesn't really know.

"I tell ya" the talkative squire said with a grin "Nothing is worse than humans. I hope I didn't trample on your beliefs sire but my father once told me that the most fearsome enemy of a human is another human. We are addicted to power. We lie, we scheme, we take. Some would even kill their family..."

The squire stopped and looked at Vernice. His eyes started to quiver as he said something that he shouldn't.

If he was some other noble, the squire was as good as dead. But Vernice was not like that. He just smiled.

"Like me right? The Earl of Lards? Murderer of the my brother Vin"

The talkative squire was silent. He looked at Vernice with fear on his eyes.

"You didn't murder him sire" the laconic squire said.

"I didn't? But the entire city has been talking about how I stabbed my brother to inherit my current position"

"The entire city are full of blind ignorant men sire. They believe what they wanted to believe. At first I was like them. I believed the rumors too. My brother even warned me against taking the job of being your squire. But now my opinion of you is different. You are a little glutton and hard to please. Sometimes you stink and don't get me started with your lack of humor. But a murderer? No"

Vernice laughed as he just discovered why the Omniscient made this man laconic. If this squire was as talkative as the other one, he would have already been stabbed in a dark alley by men he insulted with his mouth.

Vernice's laughter slowly died down. He wiped the wetness from his eyes. "You sure are something. Thank you for both the insult and the praise. But I did stab him. Many times. In the back. It's true. What they say is true. I am a murderer. "

Vernice grabbed another flagon of wine and took a big gulp. It was true, he repeated in his mind. He killed his brother. He was the second son and Vin was supposed to inherit Anthapis from their father.

Growing up with Vin was difficult. Vin was liked by many people. He was charismatic and good-looking. He was the perfect son while Vernice was the opposite. He had always been fat ever since he was a child. With crooked nose and wide cheeks he was not a handsome man.

But Vin was not a good person. Others may think that Vin was some sort of a holy man. Vernice knew better. His brother was evil. Growing up with him, Vernice had always been the subject of his brother's cruelty. It would have been better if all Vernice got were insults. But Vin would sometimes hurt him. He had gotten hurt many times. The worst was when Vin pushed him from the stairs of the villa. His leg broke that time and his left leg was still hurting from time to time until this day.

Vernice's childhood was not all bleak though. There was this servant girl he fancied. Beatrice was her name. She was a beauty. So beautiful that people normally wouldn't believe the she was a servant. For many years she was Vernice's happiness. He doesn't talk to her though as he knew that a beautiful girl like her would not agree to his advances. While he could force her using his status, Vernice never did that. She was too dear to him.

Little did he knew that Vin also fancied Beatrice. But Vin doesn't want to take Beatrice as his wife. No. That ego of his wouldn't take it to marry a servant girl. Vernice knew that his brother only thought of Beatrice as a toy.

One night when Vernice was eating leftover food in the kitchen, he heard a woman's scream. He went to where the scream originated and found Vin trying to violate Beatrice. His brother was ripping the clothes of his beloved. Beatrice was on the floor, screaming for help.

His vision went dark. His breathing became heavy. He gripped the hilt of the knife he was using earlier to peel some apples. With a powerful quick lunge he rushed towards Vin's back. He stabbed Vin many times. Each stab felt good as he remembered everything his brother did to him.

Vernice killed his brother. With Beatrice looking shocked and Vin bathing in a pool of blood he realized what he did. His hands were trembling after the deed. He let go of the blade and embraced Beatrice. Both of them were trembling. Both were scared of the repercussions of what happened. Since both of them were victims of Vin's cruelty, they decided to hide the evidence.

But Beatrice betrayed him that very night. He was still washing the blood from his clothes when the guards arrived. She was paid while he was arrested.

Everybody hated him. He was paraded in the streets in chains. The people threw refuse at him and the insults were unbearable. To them, he killed the man they admired- that perfect brother of his. But the worst reaction was that of his father. His father was furious. To his father, Vernice killed the son he always treasured. Shaking with anger, his father ordered his execution. Nobody cared about his side of things. He was betrayed by the woman he loved, hated by the people and shunned by his own father.

But the executioner's blade didn't come for his neck. That was the time of Leopold Castonia's great noble purge. Everybody respected and feared the might of the King. And when the King heard of what happened, he personally went to Anthapis and reversed the sentence. He couldn't forget what Leopold told him that time.

"You did nothing wrong son. That man deserved to die a hundred times. It's good of you to rid the world of another womanizing scum"

Nobody could go against the King. Vernice was declared innocent and he even became the heir to Anthapis. Leopold warned his father that if something happens to Vernice, his head will roll. After a few months his father died and he became the Earl of Anthapis.

Vernice was good at being an Earl. Under his rule, the city of Anthapis became the most prosperous city in Eastern Castonia- even more prosperous than Ledega. But the people still hated him. Whenever the harvest fails, he was blamed. Whenever there was an increase in taxes, they would curse at him. They always wondered how better their life would be if Vin was their Earl. Little did they know the real Vin was an incompetent scum who acted kind on the outside but rotten inside. It was unfair- truly unfair. But Vernice got used to it. He loves his subjects even though they hate him.

The current Vernice sighed. His squires were still looking at him after his confession of his crime. The talkative squire was visibly sweating while the laconic squire maintained his calm demeanor.

"Leave me. I am tired" he ordered.

"Then good night to your sire" the laconic squire bowed

"And... I also hope you have a good night sire" the talkative squire also bowed albeit in a hurried manner.

The squires left and Vernice was left alone in his room. He again looked at the resting quill and clean paper. He had already made his mind. He will write to Timothy even if that old man kills him. After a deep and long sigh, he held the quill and started writing.

**********

He was playing with the flame of top of his hand while walking towards the Earl's room. He was about to sleep when he received new orders from the council and he needed the Earl's help for it. His footsteps were frugal in length, mirroring that of an old man.

When he was just a few dozen steps from the room, the door opened and the Earl's two squires exited. They didn't see him as they went the other way.

He continued his walk until he arrived just outside the door. Normally even guests are required to knock first before entering but the Earl already fears him so he didn't bother. He put his hand on the handle of the door and pushed it open. He entered the room.