"Please, Lady Celeste. I beg you to consider."
Cayden was on his wits end. His auburn hair, his emerald eyes, and his subtle desperation reflected all too clearly on the porcelain cup. His fingers couldn't stop tapping around, and his feet couldn't stay still. Cold beads of sweat formed on his back as he racked his mind.
The owner of the fancy room he was in, sitting across from him. The noblewoman's silver hair and deep blue eyes were well known features across the Empire. Combined with the lavish dress, for a commoner like Cayden, she was like a walking jewelry shop.
"What is more to consider?"
She responded, not with the condescending attitude of average nobles, not with haughtiness and arrogance dripped from every word–but with exhaustion and sadness very noticeable in her tone.
"I…" Her words stuck in her throat, unable to come out. "....already lost husband. My son, albeit survived, lost his memories."
Cayden could only look down in shame. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckle turned white from the force.
"I don't mind if it's just money or assets, we have plenty. I don't mind if it's just some law and edict here and there, Edelweiss is beloved by its citizens so they won't mind."
"But this…" She continued, glaring at Cayden with a mix of anger and sadness. "....this was too much."
Between gritting his teeth in shame and trying to come up with the response, Cayden's mind was fumbling chaotically.
"I…" Cayden gathered his courage to speak, "My condolences for your loss, Lady Celeste. I admit that the fault…the fault lies on us. His Excellency was our staunch supporter from day one, and Master Ciel was our treasured comrade as well."
Swallowing his spit, Cayden looked at the grieving widow in front of him, "That's why…..We asked you to consider, Lady Celeste. If not, our work…..our predecessor's work, all the lives lost, will be in vain."
Silence loomed heavily across the room. Then—
Clank..!!
A porcelain cup thrown to the floor, shattered, spilling its content all over the floor. But the spillage didn't spread, it lost its color and freeze in an instant as the room temperature drop drastically.
"Audacity!" Lady Celeste raised her voice in anger. "And what's next!? What's the Order of yours going to cost me next time?! My son's life?! Mine?! The entire Edelweiss domain and its innocent citizens?!"
Cayden shrunk in defeat. He couldn't offer any words in response. He tried so hard to not to visibly shivered from the biting cold that was worse than any winter he ever experienced.
"You..!" Lady Celeste fisted in anger. Her tone was laced in fury. "You came to our house, brainwashed my son and husband with your useless idealism, using our name and wealth for your little agenda, and then left them to die miserably. And you still demand more?!"
"Know your place, you parasite!"
Lady Celeste's breath raggedly after the outburst. The receiving of said outburst though, could only sit silently and lower his head in shame. Everything that she said, Cayden thought, was right. That was why he could offer no rebuttal. The maids behind her were glaring at him with such hostility that he couldn't dare to even look up.
Why? The Edelweiss was their sole patron—and very kind one at that. Yet they failed them. They returned their kindness with a negligence that borderlining on betrayal. Nobles or not, anyone would lash out after being on the receiving end of such treatment.
"I've had enough of your people."
Lady Celeste calmed down, yet her tone and her eyes still shimmered with anger.
"I won't be so merciless as to kick you out of the domain or throw you into the dungeon. But I had nothing left for you people. Not even a single coin. Not even an ear."
Her eyes were sharp and her voice was firm as she declared loudly, "From this point, we have no business with the Inquisitor Order anymore."
"Dare to use our name without permission, the full power of the Duchy of Edelweiss will retaliate. Keep that in mind, Sir Cayden."