Second Time's a Charm (MxM)✔

Chapter 52 - Overworked

The weeks following the battle went by fast as Cain and Maddox worked together to find a way to provide supplies to the town. Thanks to the dryad's display of power, there was a certain distance from the forest border that was considered a safe zone, where the knights refused to tread in case they were dragged underground by tree roots.

Catalina was not too happy with the arrangement at first and decided to stick very closely to Cain's side for his protection. Norton was helping with trade negotiations, meeting the guild members, and exchanging goods to ensure they were good quality and not some garbage they were trying to pawn off. Which, a few traders tried to get away with but were quickly ousted for their trickery.

Many traders did arrive in New Ashbury, expecting to meet with Wolf Brooks or Sabre Maddox directly, only to be disappointed when met with the plucky servant. Some had the gall to refuse trades if neither of them appeared, so one day Cain showed up with Catalina in her true form right beside him. He also had the dryad make a few of the nearby plants sway unnaturally so it appeared that they'd snatch the men at any moment. This was enough to intimidate the traders out of their demands and they never heard another word about it since.

Maddox summoned his small army of demons to patrol the outskirts of New Ashbury. The forest itself didn't need much protection, but the new trade routes did. Half of their messenger birds that were sent back and forth from the domain got shot down by the Empires archers, which made mail delivery slow.

The citizens of the town began growing concerned as they realized they would not be able to visit their distant families anytime soon.

One afternoon, Cain was sitting at his desk, going over his plans for smuggling people out of Ashbury in case of the worst, when he heard a knock at his door.

"Can you get that?" He asked his shadow. Catalina took her human form and leaned against the desk.

"It's your boyfriend again." She explained without bothering to check. To which Cain sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. Let him in." It wasn't that he minded Maddox's presence. It was more that he had a lot of work to figure out and the villain had been increasingly distracting. But he couldn't just give him the cold shoulder after he'd helped so much with keeping the town afloat.

Catalina stepped over to the door and opened it. Maddox was standing in the hall, hands folded behind his back and his hair set loose from its usual tie. His dark grey tunic and leather pants had him looking more like a commoner than an honored guest of the Wolf Mansion.

"Enjoy your stroll around town?" The demon goaded while standing in her maid disguise.

"Enjoy your stroll in the forest?" Maddox shot back.

Catalina growled, having resisted the urge to visit the dryad for the past week. The villain had picked up on this as she insisted on keeping an eye on the blond instead for the time being.

"Is there something wrong?" Cain asked, breaking up the would-be argument. Maddox entered, and eyed the plate of uneaten food next to three melted-down candles.

"I'm obliged to say 'yes', but not with the town."

"You needn't worry about unnecessary things."

Maddox stood beside Cain and scanned the documents spread out on the desk. Some were potential new routes, some were lists of traders' names and their wares, and others were family names with ties to the capital.

Since Cain no longer had to deal with the companies he'd been partnered with, he'd instead begun working on ways to better run New Ashbury, if not expand it. He had his theories on how he'd go about this, but all of them were dangerous. Nonetheless, he chose to focus on coming up with more plans rather than sleeping.