[Check Out My P4treon For +50 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][patreon.com/roaverse]
===
James was in a hurry, his footsteps rapid.
He came quickly, and he left quickly.
This even made the 'butler' beside him, who was actually a North God Style Saint-level personal bodyguard and secretary, look surprised.
In his eyes, James's brows were tightly furrowed. Although he verbally dismissed it as "bluster," his body language and demeanor were utterly at odds with his words.
He was very tense.
In reality, James was indeed quite tense.
He, James Boreas Greyrat, Allen's biological father on the surface, had appeared in Flowing Falls City not to joyfully welcome his dear son, who had been missing for several years.
He had come to kill him.
The reason?
—To secure his own position.
In two directions:
One: His position under the First Prince—the main threat here was Darius, who, despite collaborating with him, utterly looked down on him.
Two: His position within the Boreas family—the main threat here was Allen, who had already been acknowledged by Saul.
The latter threat, for now, was even more pressing than the former.
James understood Saul's current intention in sending Allen to the royal capital. It was nothing more than to insert Allen into one of the capital's four armed factions, where they would mutually support each other in gaining political influence.
But James knew very well that Allen, unlike his other children who looked at him with respect, fear, or even longing, possessed a pair of naturally indifferent eyes.
James couldn't pinpoint when the problem had begun, but he was certain that Allen was absolutely not on his side.
Even though Philip had failed in the contest for the family headship, his fallback plan was exceptionally cunning.
In James's eyes, it was almost like a 'stroke of genius':
He seemed to have known his eldest son's talent early on, making arrangements in advance, somehow letting him know of his identity.
This was also why, after Allen completely 'lost control' following the commendation ceremony and chose to move permanently into the Water God Style main dojo, James immediately decided to subtly poison Philip's second child with chronic poison.
Even though this second child seemed to possess mediocre talent.
Of course, it was publicly announced as a death by illness.
Why didn't he do the same to Allen? At that time, Allen's influence was already immensely powerful; it was impossible to make him disappear without a trace.
James and Allen engaged in a cycle of subtle manipulation and probing for two years. Finally, James received an 'anonymous tip' from a servant, discovering Allen's arrangements for a carriage, as he was attempting to secretly return to Roa.
The incident erupted.
The Red Dragon's Jaw—he chose to arrange for Allen to be killed en route.
The result was failure.
This led to requesting Darius's help, the bandit guild's bounty, and the investigation outside Rigard.
And this time, whether it was an ambush or an assassination, the primary objective was clear: to kill Allen.
However, the resources of the First Prince, Darius, and his own could not be fully integrated and coordinated.
But even so, in Flowing Falls City, he was willing to risk the First Prince discovering his misuse of public resources just to eliminate the immediate threat that was Allen.
After all, Darius's threat resided in the future. If he had no future as the head of the Boreas family, what good would it do to contend for power with Darius under the First Prince?
So.
The first wave, using the combined resources he and Darius provided, was the ambush at Mortalit. That time, James genuinely wanted Allen dead.
But the result astonished him. Judging by the scene, Allen's strength had reached the point of crushing a North King. At this point, after discussing it with his North Saint-level butler, he concluded that even with the First Prince's deployable resources, subsequent assassinations might still fail to kill Allen.
Thus, in Flowing Falls City, he changed his strategy and made multiple preparations.
One: Consolidate and integrate the First Prince's resources, setting up a chessboard, tying together the assassination of Ariel and the assassination of Allen, thus creating the assassination stage in Flowing Falls City.
Two: Induce Vita to launch his deadly plot against Allen at dawn on Ariel's second day in Flowing Falls City. At the same time, Vita's accomplices included a large number of assassin guild members aware of the plot against Ariel.
Three: Issue a bounty to the assassin guild, tasking them with eliminating Allen that very night—as a prerequisite for 'assassinating Ariel and becoming a retainer under the First Prince's heir apparent.'
And then.
He began his plan to kill three birds with one stone.
The plan pointed to three future possibilities:
One: If the assassin guild's bounty hunt at midnight succeeded in killing Allen directly.
Then Ariel would certainly die the next day.
With everyone dead, there would naturally be no witnesses. Afterwards, Allen and Philip could be blamed on the deceased Ariel, claiming Allen had originally been sent by Philip to join Ariel's faction.
James knew that Philip had secretly visited the royal capital during Allen's commendation banquet, with the intention of contacting the Second Princess. (In the absence of Rudy's storyline, Philip had Eris join Ariel's faction.)
This would not only avoid blame but would also be a great accomplishment.
In this way, James could simultaneously achieve—killing Allen, gaining the First Prince's trust, and weakening Darius's influence—a total of three objectives.
Two: If the assassin guild's bounty hunt at midnight managed to injure Allen.
Then the next day's assassination of Ariel would serve as a follow-up strike. Even if it resulted in a trade of pieces and he was unable to kill Ariel, James could accept it.
If the First Prince held him accountable, he could still claim to have foiled Ariel's and Philip's flirtatious gestures. Even if the First Prince was displeased with him, he would accept it. As long as his position as family head was secure, he could plan for the future.
To repel external threats, one must first pacify internal ones. The position of family head was the fundamental basis for exerting influence in the royal capital. This way, at least the position of family head would be secure.
Three: If the assassin guild's bounty hunt at midnight was utterly crushed by Allen, with all the assassins eliminated without a single injury to him again. Then the next day's assassination would likely also fail, as both assassination attempts had similar intensity.
In this scenario, the plan to tie Allen's and Ariel's assassinations together would precisely prove that Allen, a powerful retainer, had already made contact with Ariel. You're not here to join Ariel; you're here to save her, damn it, aren't you?
At the same time, to prevent the assassin guild from potentially bypassing him and reporting their failure to the First Prince, he ordered all underperforming assassin guild insiders in Flowing Falls City to be eliminated, severing all leads.
How would he then report to the First Prince?
—"Allen killed them all. This boy is extremely powerful, but narrow-minded and vengeful. Your Highness must be very careful," subtly thwarting any future attempts by the First Prince to recruit Allen.
What if the remaining two municipal officials were interrogated?
That was too simple.
Question: "Who sent people to assassinate me and the Princess?"
Answer: "Your father!!!"
This would clearly establish that the assassins, facing imminent death, had gone mad and were simply retaliating with baseless accusations. With no physical evidence and only verbal testimony, no one would believe it.
Logically, the first and third possibilities offered James the greatest benefit.
The perfect plan of Allen and Ariel both dying, no need to elaborate. The third possibility, pushing Allen towards Ariel, and then slowly dealing with him later using the First Prince's influence, also served James's interests.
But emotionally, aside from the perfect first possibility, James would rather accept the second possibility than the third.
His intuition told James that Allen's growth rate was too fast. Only a dead Allen could bring true peace of mind.
What was to happen tomorrow, he would plan for tomorrow.
Clatter, clatter, his footsteps were incessant.
James's current grim expression was due to the fact that, although things were still within expectation, ending with the third possibility.
Allen's swift killing of a municipal official on the spot was still horrifying.
This scene allowed James's emotions to override his reason.
Leaving only a lingering sense of vexation: Why couldn't he kill Allen?
At this moment, he vaguely felt that, although the current third development possibility was completely acceptable from a rational standpoint, he still felt a continuous unease in his heart.
One minute ago.
Allen turned to look at the tower, seeing James retract his body into the window.
He twisted his body and stepped aside, the blade in his hand twirling, settling at his waist in a middle stance.
And accompanying his movement, the cold glint of the blade flashed, and the surrounding nobles gasped, retreating in a circle, their faces aghast as they looked at him.
"Your Excellency, calm down!"
"Calm down! Princess Ariel trusts us! She has already guaranteed it! We were not involved in the assassination!"
Allen narrowed his eyes, looking at the now empty window of the tower, a smile spreading across his lips.
It was true... he had been impulsive.
Seeing James's greedy expression, he subconsciously wanted to cut him down...
But, now was not the time.
He twirled the blade in his hand into a flower-like flourish behind him, then suddenly chuckled, looking at the nobles in front of him, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the two who had instinctively turned their heads earlier.
He stared at one of them.
And, using [Persuasion], he spoke.
"Among those present, there is a planner of this assassination."
As soon as his words fell, that person trembled with fright, instinctively taking a step back.
"Don't, don't joke around!"
"Slander! Do you have evidence?!"
Allen stared at the retreating noble, his lips curving upwards, his smile widening. Yet, this display of white teeth, usually a symbol of goodwill, was as chilling as a blade in the morning light.
The nobles involuntarily took a step back.
The next instant, they felt a blur before their eyes, a gust of wind swept past them, and Allen's figure had vanished.
Before they could react, a scream erupted from behind them! "Ah!!!!"
The nobles collectively turned their heads, only to see Allen grabbing a noble by the hair. The latter flailed his arms in resistance. Allen frowned, and with a backhand strike of the hilt, he smacked him.
Crack! Bloody teeth flew into the air!
He gripped the noble's bloody, mangled face, battle aura swirling around him, deflecting the increasingly frantic struggles of the noble. He firmly squeezed the noble's cheekbone, forcing his head in front of his [Persuasion] target's face. A cold glint, and the blade was pressed against the latter's neck.
His smile, however, was exceptionally 'amiable.'
Word by word.
"I am a very reasonable person."
The noble looked down at the blade on his neck, his entire body trembling. Then he saw Allen lean closer to his ear, his voice clear.
"Even though I know you were involved in planning this assassination, I didn't kill you immediately, did I?"
The noble stared into Allen's eyes, feeling the captivating magic in his dark gray gaze.
He subconsciously answered, following Allen's words.
"...Yes... Yes... Don't... Don't move..."
As his words fell, the nobles beside him, who had been watching Allen's actions in terror, collectively froze, then slowly turned their heads, looking at the noble in disbelief.
The latter's attention was completely fixed on Allen's face. Then, everyone heard Allen speak.
"Two questions. First, who gave permission for the artisan-assassin on the bridge to be smuggled in? You? Or him?"
The noble froze, his face ashen. He stared blankly at the 'colleague' who had planned this, now dangling in Allen's hand, and swallowed.
"Hmm?"
"It's him! It was him!"
Allen nodded. He turned to the noble beside him and asked.
"Did you all hear that?"
No one answered; they all stared blankly at the head in Allen's hand...
The head.
Splat! Splat! Splat!!!
Blood spurted and splattered on everyone's faces. With a thump, the smoothly severed body slumped to the ground. Allen flicked his hand, sprinkling the blood drops from the blade onto the ground.
A line of blood.
Allen reached out and patted the mayor's face, which had turned ashen.
"Very good. Second question."
"Who instructed you?"
The noble froze, then immediately shouted loudly, with a clear wail in his voice, tears streaming down his face.
"James!"
He paused, looked up at Allen's expression, and immediately changed his words.
"No, the First Prince! It's the First Prince! This is the heir apparent's—"
Slice!
His head fell to the ground.
Allen casually looked to his side.
He saw the mayor, holding a sword, his face pale, while the other nobles' faces were all white.
"Oh? Mayor, why did you kill him?"
The mayor's lips trembled! But he gritted his teeth and growled.
"Framing! Still framing! Absurd! Simply absurd!"
Allen gave him a deep look.
He leaned in, pressing his lips to the mayor's ear, whispering softly.
Very intimately.
"Just now you kept saying there were definitely no assassins, yet now you're acting very quickly, Mayor."
Allen's smiling voice entered his ear like the whisper of a demon.
"What did I say earlier? If you don't act, I will help you. Now, it seems, I still had to trouble the Mayor to act personally."
The mayor's face was ashen, and he said nothing.
"I see you know a lot of things inwardly, not that you can't see, but just that you don't want to take a stance, deliberately turning a blind eye."
"But the problem is, you turning a blind eye—how long can that last? The First Prince set up such a massive assassination plot in your territory, and did he inform you? If this truly succeeded, could you fully escape responsibility? I see you treating him as an heir apparent."
"He clearly doesn't treat you as a person, Mayor?"
Allen straightened up, reaching out to pat the mayor's shoulder, whose face was incredibly foul.
"Think carefully. One hour. I'll await your results."
With that, Allen, holding the severed head, turned and walked away.
He had long since figured out James's plan. Just as the 'framing' excuse suggested, the testimonies of those two municipal officials were actually useless.
So, he might as well use them to generate a little more residual heat.
Lost in thought, step by step, he walked onto the bridge.
The morning breeze on the bridge carried the scent of blood. Allen suddenly turned his head.
In the distance, James, who had just exited the tall tower, glanced his way, then quickly turned his body, showing no lingering attachment, and walked away at light speed.
Allen chuckled inwardly at the sight.
Throughout this assassination attempt, there had been many potential opportunities to use [Persuasion], such as when conversing with the maid assassin, or when dealing with Ariel's probing and PUA tactics, or even when rejecting Ariel and counter-PUAing her on the third floor of the pleasure boat.
But Allen had restrained himself, achieving his predetermined goals one by one simply by laying more groundwork with his words, demonstrating more patience, employing more meticulous analytical skills, and exhibiting stronger verbal guidance abilities than Ariel.
[Persuasion]: One day/one use/three minutes.
It should be reserved for more critical moments.
What was a more important moment today—for instance, when 'persuading' James.
Allen had indeed guessed that James had come to Flowing Falls City. Knowing James's personality, he would absolutely not feel comfortable leaving this matter to others while he stayed in the royal capital. This world lacked the mobile phones that would allow him to remotely control the situation.
However, in Allen's imagination, given James's personality, once the plan was complete, he would surely appear before him with great smugness, in the manner of an elder reprimanding a junior, 'showing off' the results of his machinations.
Currently, his location suggested this was exactly his intention.
But now, it seemed, after witnessing his rampage.
He was actually afraid.
Tch...
Such a disposition.
Yet, by some strange coincidence, it had yielded a slight effect.
The more James feared, the more his reason would slip its leash.
The next step would be even easier.
He might as well save today's [Persuasion].
As for James, he would 'chat' with him face-to-face in the royal capital.
He no longer looked at James's retreating back, and continued walking towards the broken bridge.
From the ship's window, pale golden hair brushed lightly in the wind.
Cerulean eyes rippled and shimmered like a spring lake.
===
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 355 on my patreon, go check it out
https://p4treon.com/roaverse
if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Every 20 Power Stones==Bonus Chapter