The news rattled everyone across the Rashet estate: End House was burning. This wasn't just any building. It was the nerve center of Rashet's commercial affairs, home to critical business documents.
"What on earth happened!" one of the elders cried. "Last time, it was the forest. Now, the End House!"
Elder Chem's face was red with anger, watching several men stride toward the burning building. His worry wasn't for the structure. It was for the contract inside: a deal worth millions from an agriculture enterprise. If that document burned, everything would have to start from scratch.
"The lord has made everything so lax, even hiring complacent men to guard that place!" he said with a sharp, contemptious voice.
From a distance, three people glanced at each other. One was a gardener. Another was a household maid, and a man assigned in a warehouse. They weren't supposed to know each other. But in reality, they were spies. Only now, as they strode toward the burning building, did they finally recognize one another. No words were exchanged. They shared one thought: 'get the signed document.' The one that would secure a vast amount of iron ore.
The elite guards had determined that only the first and second floors were burning. A lot of the servants helped the guards, rushing back and forth, hauling basins of water. The five spies blended in seamlessly, carrying buckets like the rest. In the thick smoke, they joined the others pushing into the building. But in the chaos, no one noticed that a few people had slipped upstairs.
Yet, the moment they reached the third floor, knives flew at their throats. Their bodies trembled. Blood poured down as they collapsed.
...
THE DEAD BODIES were laid out in the backyard of the Precept Hall. The elders stood nearby, pale with fear. Elder Chem grimaced, then said, "Levon, how dare you take such actions without consulting us first—"
"A gardener going to the third floor of the End House while the fire was on the lower levels?" Levon scoffed.
Elder Chem frowned. "Still, why did you kill them? Didn't the lord know about this plan of yours—killing people based on mere suspicion?"
Ezekias, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. "Elder Chem, are you suggesting that in the middle of an emergency, we should have sat down for a meeting for an hour?"
"But isn't the idea ridiculous? My lord, are you saying they want something from the third floor? Or that they are spies?" Elder Chem pressed.
Ezekias's jaw tightened.
"They risked their lives going there. Whether they had good intentions or not, they chose to go somewhere they had no business being."
But there was one survivor—a maid, gagged and trembling—had already confessed. She named Divya Nox as the one who gave the order to go to the third floor. Later, Divya was dragged into the backyard. The moment she saw the marquis, she burst into tears.
"Imagine accusing me when I can't even leave my hall!" she sobbed. "It would have been far easier to catch anyone sneaking in there! My lord, they're setting me up. I'm certain Elder Chem knows more than I do!"
Elder Chem was the head elder, after all. And he had as much access to the End House as the marquis did.
"You've been negotiating iron ore contracts behind the lord's back. I stayed quiet because you threatened me!" Divya added with an angry tirade.
No, Nyasia thought, barely hiding a sniff. You stayed quiet because you benefited from it.
"Who gave you the confidence to accuse me?" Elder Chem thundered. "Someone points a finger at you, and now you're trying to pass the blame to me? How dare you! Your greed knows no bounds!"
Nyasia, standing at a corner, hid a smile. This wasn't Mrs. Nox's order at all. She was sure of it. The spies had simply acted on instinct. When their fellow agent failed to return on time, they knew something had gone wrong. And they knew about the contracts too.
The surviving agent had simply blamed Divya for one simple reason: to keep the Rashet Clan from digging deeper into those contracts—and tracing them back to the Jade Temple.
"Even if that were true, Elder Chem, it still doesn't explain how she got her hands on those contracts in the first place. The maid's accusations are still unfounded," Ezekias said, his voice cold.
He turned to a frightened caretaker.
"Where are those documents?"
"My lord, we searched the entire third floor. There was nothing there."
Elder Chem, Divya, and even the arrested maid were stunned, realizing they had been tricked!
Nyasia smiled faintly.
They had revealed themselves long before the real game even began. But the truth was simple. The documents were secured, then burned before the staged fire ever happened.
That fire was needed to erase the contracts. So that this so-called agriculture enterprise would be forced to renegotiate from scratch.
And also—
"Father, while you and Brother investigate this matter, I think I can help by taking over the End House." Her voice was steady. "I've been a burden for so long. I feel guilty that as the sole heir of the iron mine, I still know so little about it."
Her words stunned the crowd into deeper silence. Except for Levon, who was still wondering why his precious sister would want to get tangled up in this mess at all.
Elder Chem clenched his fists. His anger surged as he glared at the frail girl who dared speak such words. She's grown arrogant ever since her debut.
But something in her calm, almost triumphant gaze shook him. As if she were silently daring him. Taunting him. Go ahead. Speak. Make another mistake. And he hated how much it worked.
*