The Marquis They Threw Away

Chapter Three: What Use Is a Dog's Loyalty?

Enjoying his twilight years? He was only twenty-two.

"Cruel."

Red flame flared from Wren's head, born of her strange, fiery energy. Thorne's words had rubbed salt straight into a wound that was already raw.

"Of course, the Champion Marquis is a man of loyalty and honor, and he won't give us the names easily. In that case, I'll have to use my own methods."

Thorne's gaze slid slowly over to Wren.

"Your methods?"

Gideon sneered. He wasn't sad anymore. He was filled with anger and hatred. The entire Ashcroft royal family was his enemy now.

"I'll kill this remarkable Scarlet Wraith in front of you, frame her for treason, and hang her body outside the capital gates. I hear the four Wraiths are close as brothers. With the Champion Marquis brought down and the Scarlet Wraith dead, I doubt the other three will be able to sit still."

Evil filled Thorne's eyes, and his words were enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.

"A fine plan. A fine method."

Gideon clapped his hands, mocking him, the cold in his eyes sharp enough to freeze a man solid.

"I'm honored to hear praise from the Champion."

A killing chill radiated off Thorne, and he readied himself to strike.

"Unfortunately, you can't kill her."

Gideon's voice was calm as still water.

"She can hold her own against an Awakened warrior, and her fiery energy works against me as well. But my own strength has reached the peak of the early Awakened stage — and you, Champion Marquis, are still a cripple with a shattered wellspring. Killing her is nothing. Surely even you can see that."

Thorne spoke with total confidence.

"I said you can't kill her, so you can't. Because—"

Gideon released his aura as he spoke, and lightning began to crackle across his skin in layers. The sudden pressure forced Thorne back two full steps.

"You... you can't... that's impossible."

Thorne's eyes went wide, as if he'd seen a ghost. What composure he had left vanished completely.

"Young Master, what level have you reached?" Wren asked, overjoyed.

"My strength has returned, Thorne. Let's settle the score from Broken Sky Mountain."

Gideon didn't give him a chance to answer. He threw a punch.

The blow carried the full force of raw, burning lightning, and it closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Thorne threw up his Frost Palm to block, and the two forces met head-on.

Crack!

Lightning burst from the impact. Thorne's palm twisted grotesquely before Gideon's fist shattered it entirely, and the force sent him flying back several feet.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Your wellspring was destroyed. Even if you somehow restored it, your strength should be at the peak of the ninth rank at most. How can you hit like this?"

Thorne felt as though he'd been struck by lightning himself. The agony from his ruined hand threw him into a full panic.

Watching from the side, Wren was so moved that her eyes welled up with tears.

A commanding presence rolled off Gideon, and he felt violent power surging through every part of him. He held his excitement in check. This was his first fight since forming the Thunder Veins, and his strength had exceeded even his own expectations.

Even a warrior at the peak of the early Awakened Realm, like Thorne, was no match for him in a single exchange.

This sudden, drastic shift shattered everything Thorne thought he understood. In his mind, the Champion Marquis had become something out of a nightmare.

A shattered wellspring, rebuilt from nothing. It was the stuff of legend.

Now that the Champion Marquis knew the King himself was behind it all, the Ashcroft royal family had made itself an enemy beyond imagining.

Thorne, dazed and desperate, turned to flee without a word.

The King had to hear this at once.

"Stay."

Gideon had no reason to let him go. Light flashed in his hand, and a crimson-gold blade of energy tore through the night and drove straight through Thorne's chest.

A sound of pain tore from him. Thorne coughed blood and dropped to the ground, his eyes wide with terror.

"My lord, please, don't kill me. I was only following orders. I had my reasons."

Thorne dropped to his knees and begged, his chest already soaked in blood.

"I liked you better when you were arrogant."

Gideon's face stayed empty, his eyes cold as ice. To him, Thorne was already a dead man.

"Gideon, do you really think killing me will let you stand against the King? The princess has already joined the Starlight Order, and tomorrow she holds her engagement ceremony with the Order's prodigy, Kellan Vane. She's climbed all the way to the top. How could you ever stand against her now?"

Thorne gritted his teeth.

Kellan Vane?

Gideon and Wren froze for a moment, then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

A terrible feeling crept over Thorne.

"Thorne, didn't you want to know who my other three Wraiths are? You yourself said all four are extraordinary and gifted. So tell me — do you think it's possible that Kellan Vane, the great prodigy of the Starlight Order, could be one of them?"

Gideon spoke with real relish.

"The princess had her betrothal broken by me, and now she's run straight into the arms of the Starlight Order. What a brilliant move on her part."

"What?"

Thorne coughed up more blood. This couldn't be happening. Tomorrow's engagement party was about to become an unforgettable disaster.

"Gideon — no, Lord Marquis — I've had a painful revelation today. Spare my life, and I'll follow you from this day forward. I'll serve you like a beast of burden, even to the death."

Thorne showed none of the backbone a warrior of the Awakened Realm should have, groveling like a dog.

He'd realized the man standing before him was simply too dangerous. Being his enemy was the most terrifying thing in the world. He could already picture the Ashcroft royal family beaten to a pulp at the Champion Marquis's hands.

"You've already called your own life a dog's life. So what use is a dog's life to me?"

In a single flash, the blade sliced through Thorne's throat, and the King's top bodyguard died on the spot.

"Young Master, your strength has come back, and your injuries are healed. That's wonderful."

Wren cried like a child, tears streaming down her face. Seven years she'd watched him carry that broken body without complaint, and now, in one night, it was whole again.

"Isn't this a good thing? Why are you crying?"

Gideon relaxed and patted her head.

"Keep crying like that and that pretty face of yours will end up looking like a wet kitten."

"I'm happy, that's all," Wren said, wiping her eyes while she kept right on crying.

"So? Did you get word to the three of them?"

"Yes, I already sent the message. If nothing's gone wrong, they should already be in the capital."

Wren paused. "But what's going on with Commander Vane? I told him you were betrothed to the princess. Why would he go and get engaged to her himself?"

"That kid never does anything the ordinary way. We'll find out what he's playing at tomorrow, at the engagement banquet."

Gideon laughed.

"Does the young master mean we're going to the banquet?"

Wren's eyes lit up at once.

"Of course. How could we possibly miss Marshal Vane's engagement banquet?"

"Ha! Tomorrow is going to be something else."

Wren laughed out loud. But Gideon's smile had already faded. If Kellan Vane really was one of his four, then he hadn't come to steal the princess. He'd come to send Gideon a message — and tomorrow, in front of the entire capital, Gideon meant to answer it.