Steel Eyed Faker

Chapter 19: Relaxation?

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and Shigiya.

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-The Capital, Imperial Palace-

(Early in the morning)

“The Beasts are dead?” 

This was the first piece of news Honest heard upon waking early in the morning. The old man had been expecting a day of peace, one where he could indulge in his favourite meals with nothing but silence for company after getting the usual formalities out of the way. But that simple plan crumbled the moment his spies entered with the daily report, delivering news that caught him completely off guard.

“Did… did he kill them?” he asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from his subordinate's mouth, fingers gripping a thick slice of roasted meat that he had yet to bite into.

“From what we gathered, former General Liver was taken out by our target at the conclusion of a direct one-to-one confrontation. His comrade Daidara is believed to have fallen while fighting an unidentified member of Night Raid who wields the Teigu Lionel, alongside the former Prime Minister’s daughter, Spear.” The informant, hidden in the shadows, wearing thick layers of dark clothing such that neither their face nor gender could be discerned, continued to give out the details while stepping forward and placing several documents on the prime minister’s desk. Honest gave the papers only a cursory glance before turning his eyes toward the grand view of the Capital, which stretched far beyond the windows of his quarters.

“A failure to the end,” he said, voice low with disdain evident in his words. “So confident, that man. He swore up and down that he’d take care of that boy. Yet in the end, all he was capable of was dying like a pathetic pig. Makes you wonder whether he ever deserved the title of ‘Beast’ or if the old general just lost his edge with age and his blind devotion to Esdeath.”

The shadowed informant gave no response. Their role was not to offer opinions. Any misstep, even a careless remark, could end their life.

“What about the bodies?” Honest asked, reclining back slightly.

“They were retrieved by one of the Jaegers' units.”

“Someone from the old Jaegers or Wild Hunt? Which is it? Do not make me guess.”

“We suspect it was someone from the now disbanded Wild Hunt. Dorothea seems the most likely candidate.”

“I see,” Honest muttered, grabbing a whole turkey leg and tearing into it with a loud bite. He was hardly troubled by the loss. True, it meant the enemy had likely seized another pair of Imperial Arms, but those could be taken back eventually. A minor setback at worst. The Empire still had many trump cards tucked away, and new talents that can be easily manipulated pop up in abundance by the year. 

‘Then again, he was not supposed to survive this long to begin with. But even then, it just ends up working in my favor in the long run.’

As he continued to gorge himself, a faint tremor beneath his feet drew his attention. Honest paused mid-chew while eating a whole roasted ham, raising an eyebrow. His gaze shifted toward the courtyard, where he saw several of his personal soldiers frantically running below. They moved in a disorderly fashion, a clear sense of panic spreading among them. From his view behind the window, he watched them scramble to reach the building. But before the last of them could enter, they froze in place, as if struck by some invisible force.

“What is going on out there?”

His words were followed almost instantly by the sound of rapid footsteps. Turning on his heel, he saw an armoured soldier rushing toward him. Blood was splashed across the man’s face, and terror evident in his expression.