Taking all and more
The manor was quiet, enough for the faint crackle of a distant hearth.
Kael stood in the shadows of a vast corridor, his posture casual, but his eyes sharp and watchful. He had learned to blend into the background of places like this—grand, opulent homes of nobility who saw themselves as untouchable.
Tonight, his skill in moving unseen would be tested yet again.
In his hands, he carried a stack of ledgers, carefully forged replicas of records the Church used to track its informants among the noble houses. The true documents sat safely in Aric's study, secured after weeks of painstaking work by Maxim and his network. These decoys would serve their purpose—to sow confusion among the Church's ranks while Kael quietly turned their allies into Aric's.
A light scuff of footsteps brought him out of his thoughts. From the far end of the corridor, Hitoshi approached, his gait slow but deliberate.