General Caelum Thorne
I couldn't sleep.
There were too many questions in the air. Too many eyes in the shadows.
And I didn't trust shadows.
I stood outside my tent, staring into the black forest beyond our borders, the silver crest of the crescent wolf sewn into my cloak catching faint moonlight. I'd once sworn to uphold righteous virtue. But what did that mean, when you were surrounded by half-truths?
Seraphina approached, a wineskin in hand. "If you keep glaring at the trees, they'll march across and declare war."
I snorted. "They wouldn't be the first to surprise me this month."
She handed me the wineskin. "News?"
"None I trust."
"Good", she muttered, then added with a smirk, "Means things are normal."
Ayaka Rin
I spent the morning watching my newest recruit.
A quiet girl. Slum-born. Brilliant eyes, fast hands. Reminded me of… me.
I asked her why she'd joined.
"To change the world", she said, without blinking.
I smiled. "And how would you do that?"
She hesitated, then answered, "Burn what's broken. Then rebuild it."
Ah.
There it was.
Another seed.
I dismissed her with a nod and turned to Kaleid. "Assign her to the outer sentries. Let her listen. Learn."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're training a shadow?"
"I'm planting one."
General Caelum Thorne
The scout returned at midday, mud-caked, breathless.
"There was… a meeting", he gasped. "At the neutral zone. Not our troops. But someone in their colors."
My heart dropped.
"Rin?"
"Couldn't see. But the messenger passed something to a hooded figure. It looked… metallic."
I slammed my fist on the table.
Seraphina drew her sword. "I told you. She's playing us."
But I raised my hand.
"No. We don't strike first."
Lysandre leaned in. "Then what?"
"We trap her."
Ayaka Rin
Kaleid brought the message with careful hands.
He looked almost reluctant.
"The Alliance is mobilizing scouts near the truce border. Quietly."
I stared at the map for a long time.
"They think they've caught a weakness", I said at last.
"They might believe you slipped."
I allowed myself a smirk. "Then let them."
I stood, brushing off my cloak. "Have the merchant envoy deliver the next shipment with a smaller seal."
Kaleid blinked. "That'll make it look… forged."
"Exactly."
"But why..."
"Because I want them to think they've found my mistake."
General Caelum Thorne
I held the piece of metal in my hand. A half-burnt token with the Demon King's insignia. Recovered from the neutral grounds.
Was it planted? Was it real?
I didn't know.
But Seraphina was pacing. Lysandre was sharpening again. Even Malric had stopped reading.
This truce… it was a farce. But I couldn't risk triggering a war we weren't ready to finish.
I closed my fist around the token.
"One more move", I muttered. "Let's see what she does next."
Ayaka Rin
They were watching me now.
I could feel it in every formal meeting. In every shared meal. Even in the way Thorne's scouts lingered just a bit too long on the ridges.
Let them look.
Because what they saw was the bait.
The real work, the real dagger, was already in place.
All I had to do was wait for the first cut to draw blood.
And they would blame themselves.