Nora freezes at the sight of gun barrels, her hand twitching instinctively toward her coat, where no weapon rests.

Charlotte gasps, the colour draining from her face as she presses close to her brother.

Charles steps forward, voice steady despite the steel aimed their way. “I am Charles Greystone, heir of the Greystone family, and this is my sister Charlotte.”

Nora inclines her head, tone firm. “Nora Ashford, detective of the city police.”

The Black Guards do not lower their weapons, their gazes sliding past the introductions and fixing instead on Lin Yu, waiting for his word before they move.

Lin Yu lifts his hand in a small signal, and the barrels dip.

Nora, Charlotte, and Charles released a breath of relief they had been holding.

Lin Yu’s tone is polite but edged with sarcasm. “Miss Ashford, do you not have any manners, barging into someone’s office without knocking?”

Nora opens her mouth, but no words come; her thoughts are still tangled in shock, and more so in the realisation that these are the very same Black Guards she saw follow the chief into the blood-bath building.

Charlotte finds her voice first, her chin lifting. “You also had no manners when you confiscated the farmers’ land.”

Lin Yu glances at her, expression unreadable. “Are you speaking of the farmers from Marlowe Hollow?”

“Yes,” Nora answers, her voice firm despite her unease. “You have confiscated their lands.”

Lin Yu’s eyes narrow faintly. “I believe you have already read the contract. They broke it.”

Charlotte’s curls bounce as she shakes her head. “They are farmers. They signed without reading.”

Lin Yu’s gaze sharpens. “There are many farmers in Marlowe Hollow, yet only they broke the contract. What does this mean?”

Silence hangs, heavy and accusing, as the three fail to answer.

Elise leans back in her chair, her eyes glinting. “They grew greedy. Or perhaps”—her gaze slides toward Charles Greystone—“someone enticed them.”

Charles speaks calmly. “I didn’t know anything about the contract. I only told my men to buy blue onions for our eateries.”

Elise scoffs, her lips curling. “Do you take us for fools, expecting us to believe such nonsense?”

Charles’ tone hardens. “I am telling the truth. It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not.”

Charlotte cuts in, her voice sharp. “That doesn’t matter. Are you returning the land or not?”

Lin Yu answers coldly. “No. They broke the contract. I am under no obligation to return it.”

Charles steadies his voice. “Then sell me those lands.”

Lin Yu’s refusal is flat. “No.”

He already understands the Greystone family’s intent, their plan as clear as ink on parchment.

Blue onions are near impossible to grow in the Griffin Kingdom, yet the soil of Marlowe Hollow is perfect for them, and if he sells, the Greystones will gain both the land and the farmers trained to tend it.

Charlotte presses forward, her words sharp as glass. “You refuse to return the land and also refuse to sell it to us.”

Lin Yu leans back, his patience gone. “I have nothing more to say to you. Leave.”

Charlotte bristles. “You—”

Elise cuts her short, her voice cool and edged. “You do not seem to understand the meaning of the word leave.”

Nora’s eyes flick to the Black Guards, and her voice is firm. “We are leaving.”

Charlotte raises her voice in protest, but Charles grips her arm. “Enough. Let’s go—we will find another way for the farmers.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The three step out, the door closing behind them with finality.

Back inside their carriage, Charlotte rounds on Nora. “You didn’t say anything to that Lin Yu.”

Nora exhales slowly. “You already said what I would have said.”

Charlotte leans forward, her voice edged with disbelief. “Did you see how the Black Guards listened to Lin Yu’s order? We are nobles too, yet they aimed their guns at us.”

Charles answers grimly. “That is why they are called the black dogs of the old nobles, not the nobles’ dogs.”

Charlotte shakes her head. “I still don’t understand. A hundred years have passed, the parliament was founded, yet no political party has stripped the old nobles of their power. They are as strong as they were when the royal family ruled the kingdom, as if nothing changed.”

Nora nods quietly. “Only the power of the law was taken from them. Everything else remains the same.”

Charles’ gaze turns thoughtful. “They must hold something that keeps the parliament in fear.”

“The private armies of the noble families,” Charlotte says at once.

“Maybe,” Charles concedes.

The carriage slows, and through the window, they see the doors of Greystone House drawing near.

Charles turns to Nora. “I have received an invitation to the birthday party of the matriarch of House Ravensworth. Will you go with me?”

Charlotte’s eyes brighten. “Nora, this is the perfect time for your relationship with my brother to come into the open. Uncle won’t be able to stop you if it happens at the party of an old noble family.”

Nora looks at Charles, memories of knowing him since she was five flickering through her mind, their bond deepening over the years.

Now the moment has come to decide if she sees him as a friend or as something more.

She feels the weight of Charles’s hopeful gaze and forces a smile. “My father doesn’t like surprises. I would have to ask his permission.”

Charlotte presses. “But—”

Charles cuts her off gently. “Then, I will be waiting for your answer.”

He steps down from the carriage, pulling his sister with him.

Nora leans toward the window. “Bye.”

The carriage rolls away, the sound of hooves fading into the street.

Charlotte watches the retreating carriage and sighs. “Brother, that was your chance to confirm the relationship.”

Charles shakes his head. “Nora isn’t ready. And we both know how stubborn she is. Forcing it now would be counterproductive.”

—

Lin Yu and Elise watch silently as the two Black Guards leave, the heavy door closing behind them.

Elise turns to Lin Yu, her tone thoughtful. “The tablet is very likely an extraordinary item.”

She lowers her voice. “Two massacres have already taken place for the tablet, and now another. The killings show no direct relation to the tablet, yet the same words carved upon it were found at the crime scene.”

Lin Yu’s gaze hardens. “Then I will have to cancel the oath I made with your father. Even if I acquire the tablet, I cannot share it with your family.”

Elise answers calmly. “That is fine. If the Black Guards obtain the tablet, you will be called to decipher it. In that case, at least share the knowledge hidden inside.”

Lin Yu inclines his head in silent agreement.

Elise takes her leave, her silver skirts whispering as the door closes behind her.

Lin Yu returns to his desk and bends once more over his translations, brush moving with steady patience.

That evening, when he returns home, Butler Samuel greets him in the drawing room.

“Young lord, the Baron is coming to attend the birthday party of the matriarch of House Ravensworth,” Samuel reports.

Lin Yu nods faintly and ascends to his chamber.

After bathing and changing into clean robes, he sits cross-legged on his meditation mat.

From his storage ring, he draws out a shadow crystal, its dark glow pulsing faintly in the lamplight.

Placing it before him, he begins to absorb the energy, threads of shadow sinking steadily into his body.

He counts silently in his mind—this is the seventh shadow crystal.

Lin Yu counts the seven shadow crystals in his hand and knows they are far from enough; at least fifteen are needed to condense an extraordinary heart.

He calculates quickly, eight more are missing, and his gaze lingers on the thought of the black guards.

They might have shadow crystals, but he cannot risk exposing himself by approaching them.

“They must come to me,” he decides, certain they will return once again for help, since he has yet to decipher the unknown words of that language.

Midnight cloaks the city when, inside an abandoned building, a man crouches before an array identical to the one Lin Yu saw painted earlier.

Corpses litter the floor around him, the stench of death heavy, their twisted faces frozen in silence.

The man presses his crimson energy into the array, and it hums alive, trembling with sinister force.

The corpses begin to shake as threads of blood seep out, drawn into the glowing lines of the formation.

One by one, their bodies shrivel until nothing but empty husks remain.

The array gradually fades, leaving behind a single floating crimson crystal pulsing faintly in the air.

The man grasps it firmly, his eyes gleaming, and slips out, careful to evade the patrolling guards.

At the outskirts of the city, hidden within a shadowed manor, he enters a chamber where two others wait, each already clutching their own crimson crystal.

The three men kneel in unison, and before them, a tablet materialises, radiating ancient pressure.

A phantom rises atop it, an enchanting woman draped in flowing red, her crimson eyes glowing, lips curved with both allure and cruelty, her black hair cascading like ink down her waist.

“Master,” the three whisper reverently, their eyes brimming with devotion as they extend their palms.

The crimson crystals float up, drawn to the phantom, and vanish into the tablet as she consumes them whole.

“I need hundreds more to shatter this seal,” she muses coldly, gaze lingering on her servants.

Her lips curl into a command.

“Tomorrow, do not kill all the ones you capture. Bring some back alive. I will turn them into blood servants.”

“Yes, Master,” the three respond, their voices trembling with fanatic obedience.

A wisp of crimson light flows from the woman’s palm, darting into their chests.

The men collapse instantly, writhing in agony, screams echoing, yet within the torment, their aura surges steadily stronger.

Their pain becomes the foundation of their power.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep