Arthur shook his head with a small smile, ridding himself of some of the few fond memories he had during the war. He stole a glance through the side mirror at the silent Henri who appeared to be looking through a few documents.“Being tense will do you no good, Henri. Relax and look at this like a vacation.” Arthur said calmly, his tone and message hinting at his attempt at reassurance.Henri looked up, shaking his head with a nervous chuckle. “I'm afraid that will be difficult, Mr Smith. We are walking into the lion's den after all.”While he tried to appear fine on the outside with his smile that through years of practice, appeared genuine although Arthur saw through the façade easily, his hands shook nervously and almost immediately, Henri clasped them together, attempting and failing to hide the nervousness or rather fear he felt.“Know this, as long as I am around, there is no greater reassurance than that,” Arthur's voice took a more grave undertone but even at that, Henri could

The Blue Horizon, that was a name Arthur had come across more times than he had preferred to, but there wasn't much that could've been done to change that.After all, it was the name of the cruise ship that he was currently on, the same ship that was his target location for one main reason, the masked woman who stood before him flanked by guards in well tailored suits.She didn't make any direct introductions, but that was unnecessary, Arthur was already very familiar with who she was. Even if one were to ignore the somewhat obvious signs present at that moment that showed her true identity, he had memorized everything Charles had on her and her physical appearance was a part of the details, as one would expect.So an extravagant dress and well decorated mask were far from sufficient in deceiving the war god of all people and if that wasn't enough to prove his point, the exact same tone that had rang out from the speakers during the announcement was the very same one that he heard fro

“I'll be back.” Arthur said, rising quickly. “I have something I need to check.”And so he exited the room without explaining further, wearing his mask on the way out.Arthur stepped out into the hallway, scanning his surroundings just as he had done when they had first boarded the ship and Henri was doing his usual businessman interactions and greetings with the other attendees of the event.Just as his research had shown, the guests on the cruise ship or rather the Blue Horizon were a great number and they were immensely diverse.Both people who appeared and interacted like citizens of the empire and those who were obviously foreigners, and under close observation, one would note that they were from a great number of other countries and regions.It just emphasized how reputable the Merchant's event was as well as how much hold the Hughes family had on the upper brass in so many regions of the world and not just within the empire.When considering those among upper echelon that were

“Sir?” The Merchant asked, tilting her head to emphasize the curiosity she was trying to convey.Ian returned his gaze to the open sea, his brows furrowing as he recalled a troublesome event. Remaining silent for a few moments, he spoke up.“I'm sure you're well aware of my brother, Saul's death?”“Yes sir.” Indeed she knew, in extensive detail in fact, but she dared to not emphasize that point, after all she couldn't guarantee that the heir to the Hughes family would take that lightly.Yes, everyone in the Hughes family knew that the three children of Leonard Hughes were not the closest set of siblings. That was to be expected if one were to consider the great family's method of upbringing. Hostilities, strength of all sorts and competition were heavily encouraged while things like the regular family bonding was frowned upon.It was why Laura for example considered her father as just the patriarch and nothing more. It was the kind of relationship that Leonard himself had enforced. Ev

Ian waved his hand, signaling an end to the conversation. It was apparently clear that the Merchant did not have another clue as to the identity of the one responsible for the murder of one of his subordinates.While if it was anyone else aside from the Hands, perhaps a regular bodyguard or one of the criminal lackeys, the heir wouldn't have cared, the illegal dealings were handled by his sister, Laura after all, but this was a subordinate tied directly to the head of the Hughes family.He would find the culprit at all costs and he would make him curse the very day that he was born.“Sir.” The Merchant called out, catching the attention of the silent, thoughtful Ian, “if I may ask?”He glanced at her, eyeing her calmly but curiously, eventually turning away before he replied. “Go on.”“With the Surgeon's demise, who will handle his tasks? If I recall correctly he has quite the enormous amount of duties.” The Merchant asked, her tone a mixture of politeness and a touch of genuine innoc