Second Time's a Charm (MxM)✔

Chapter 32 - Risky Business

Cain made sure his hood covered the majority of his face, despite also having his mask on underneath it. He needed to make sure he didn't stand out too much. The Mustang he rode had a plain brown coat, with a ratty old blanket for a saddle. Anything flashier than that and he'd be made a target for thugs.

The pass he was wandering through had a cliff on one side, and a steep slope covered in rocks and shrubbery on the other. There wasn't much room to get more than five horses side by side through, so it was the perfect place for an ambush. Particularly because this pass was right where the old border between the Empire and the Chalot Kingdom was supposed to be.

Stealing territory from a neighboring kingdom was an act of war. Had it occurred unprovoked, the people would not have stood for it, yet with the assassination attempt being blamed on the neighboring kingdom, the Emperor could claim he had a just cause... Even if he had no proof that the assassin was from Chalot.

Invading without public notice was probably another ploy to distract the masses. When Chalot retaliates, the Emperor could claim that they were only defending themselves.

Cain already felt drained by the amount of manipulation that was happening at this very moment. If it did turn out that Maddox was planning to overthrow the Emperor, he certainly wouldn't mind helping him.

"Halt, stranger!" Someone called up ahead, and Cain lifted the hood just enough to see a man with a sword standing in the middle of the road.

He recognized the voice, and inwardly congratulated himself on going the right way.

Thistle Wood, one of Maddox's cipher masters, had been a key player in the war in Cain's past life. The man had made many trips between Chalot and Sonnet, carrying secret codes to his spies on the inside.

It was odd that he was the one to openly stop Cain. Then again, the man had also tagged after him personally back when he'd purchased his first painting.

"Do you not know this road has been closed off by the Emperor?" Thistle asked, approaching Cain's horse. He was wearing a dark green cloak, with red leather armor underneath. His sharp eyes scanned Cain for any signs of weapons.

"I did not," Cain replied, stopping his horse. "Why has it been closed?"

"The borders have been closed for a while." The man replied. "You must be from the countryside if you haven't heard about the news. It's not safe for you here."

In other words, there was something up ahead and Thistle didn't want Cain to see it. The ex-Marquess already knew what to expect though, because that was precisely what he was looking for.

"I have urgent business up ahead." He explained. "I must pass."

"I cannot allow that, as it would be against the law." Thistle swung his sword. "Turn around now or you will be arrested. "

"Then arrest me."

He halted. "Are you daft?"

"No. I'm in a hurry. So either move out of the way or arrest me. But I will not be turning around."

Cain could easily just run his horse passed the man, but odds were he'd be targeted by the actual soldiers who were planning their ambush up ahead. As strong as the pearl's power was, he doubted he'd be able to handle them all without Catalina's help, who he'd sent off to do a different task.

"You seem to be very eager to go to jail." Thistle glared, annoyed by Cain's stubbornness.

In reality, Cain already knew the man was bluffing. If he was arrested, then where would Thistle take him? He didn't work for the Empire and didn't have any real authority to arrest him.