Ancient Empire Calendar Year 1810
A week had passed since the wedding
Ricardo's oldest brother Seth had entered the senior year and the War of the Heirs had officially begun
Mothers and fathers raised their arms to the heavens and prayed to the Spirits of their Ancestors so that their children could return home safe
This year, the oldest brothers Seth and Arlous would fight each other and Ricardo would fight his brother Xanros, who was a year older than him
The Academy Masters distributed the annual calendars to the students, there would be duels and training matches between the classes
It was like that on paper but everyone was aware of the truth
This was the beginning of a bloody war
Xanros had chosen three men from the assassin clans, Eric Kervin from the assassins
"Order me Young Lord, let us kill Ricardo for you"
Eric was the son of Yurik Kervin who was slain by Brian Ashbrum
Along with his brothers Jogan and Clark, they had sworn an oath of loyalty to Xanros
Now it was time to receive their first mission from their Master
"You only have one task, kill Ricardo, even if you can't kill him, kill his lover"
The three brothers who received the order took action at three in the morning
When they arrived at Ricardo's room, they couldn't understand why there was not a single guard at the door
"Brother, why are there no guards in Young Lord Ricardo's room?"
Eric, who was as surprised as his brother Yorvig, said in a low voice
"I don't know, even Young Lord Xanros' room is guarded by ten people
Either Young Lord Ricardo is very brave or a big fool"
The three walked silently into the room Clarc prepared to break the lock on the door but it was not locked
The three brothers thought they were about to carry out the easiest assassination of their careers
Eric opened the door and at that moment cold water poured from his head he saw Ricardo about to attack
"GET AWAY"
As he shouted to his brothers to warn them he noticed Ricardo had moved behind him
"When you"
Before he could even finish his sentence, his head was separated from his body and he faced death without even getting over the shock
The three sons of Yurik Kervin, one of the martyrs of the Kislavein-Ashbrum war, died that day
The three brothers were born on the same day and died on the same day
Those who heard the voices jumped out of their rooms and ran towards Ricardo's room
The students who came to support saw three lifeless bodies lying headless on the floor covered in blood
Their Young Lord Ricardo was cleaning the blood from his sword and approached Marco Ricardo
"Are you okay, Young Lord?"
Ricardo cleaned the blood off his sword and put his sword back in its sheath, his face expressionless
He looked like it was a very ordinary event
"I'm fine Marco, probably Xanros' men"
Marco was furious, how dare that bastard send assassins to his master
"Sir, let me bring you Xanros' head"
"No way Marco, I heard the assassins talking, Xanros has ten dogs waiting at his door
Sending you there would be the same as telling you to commit suicide"
Marco's anger grew even more but he did not compromise his respect and manners
"But my Young Lord, we must retaliate, if you remain silent, they will send more assassins"
"We will do it Marco and to the closest man to Xanros"
"Who is that, my Young Lord, order me to take his life"
Rucardo did not answer, there were too many eyes around, it would not be right to answer in front of everyone
After all, the Inter-Class Group Wars were still a long time away
The current war was a war of assassins and spies
Ricardo signaled Marco to follow him, turning to the crowd waiting around
"Listen, clean up these bodies and blood, you know what will happen if I see even a drop of blood on the ground in the morning"
Everyone was shaking, Ricardo had been killing them for a year in the name of education
Of course, they had also eaten the fruits of this harsh training, they had all become strong enough to cope with their superiors
As Ricardo and Marco entered the room, those outside began to clean up the bodies and blood
Ricardo cast a silence spell to create a soundproof barrier in his room
He turned to Marco
"Your target's name is Qrey Fraus, a smart and arrogant man from a minor House
He caught Xanros' attention with his intelligence, then ruined Xanros' already shitty personality with women, alcohol and various substances
Marco, as your Young Lord, I command you to go and kill Qrey"
Marco knelt down and bowed his head
"Yes, Young Lord" he said
As he was leaving the room something was starting to bother him
"I wonder how Young Lord Ricardo knows all this or is there a spy"
He wanted to ask this question but then he realized something
"Honestly if Young Lord Ricardo wanted me to know he would have told me already"
As Marco was leaving the room Ricardo called out to him
"Marco didn't you forget something?"
Marco felt a dark energy behind him it was Giskar he couldn't help but smile on Marco's face
"It's been a long time Giskar"
Giskar flew to Marco and he looked happy
"It's been a long time Marco"
Ricardo was surprised by what he saw, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Marco and Giskar in surprise
"They only went on a mission once and they're already such good friends"
When the two finished their conversation, they greeted Ricardo and left the room
Ricardo lay down on his bed and started to sleep, some people wouldn't sleep while he was sleeping
Marco and Giskar approached Qrey's room with an invisibility spell to kill their target, Qrey Fraus
"There are no guards at the door" Marco said
Giskar chuckled
"Wouldn't it be ridiculous if there were, Marco, as if he were a Young Lord haha"
Marco was a little angry, he left Giskar behind and approached the room, the door was locked, he thought about forcing it open or even breaking it
When Giskar realized what Marco was about to do, he flew to him
"Don't even think about it, you'll wake everyone up, leave it to me"
Giskar entered the door lock, since he was a Spirit, he could move objects without making a sound
When the lock opened, Marco entered and saw Qrey sleeping in his bed
He approached Qrey with silent steps and put his sword to Qrey's throat
Marco wanted to see the fear in Qrey's eyes before he killed him, he cast a small electric spell and woke Qrey
When Qrey woke up, he was terrified, there was a demon-like man in front of him with a knife on his throat
He could not move, his hands and legs were tied with aura ropes and he started screaming when he could not get free
"HELP HELP HELP"
Marco, hearing Qrey's screams, brought his face closer to Qrey's with a scary smile
"Scream as much as you want, no one can hear you Qrey, you will die here"
Qrey said with fear
"What did I do to you, what is my crime"
"What, umm, I honestly have no idea, but your master sent an assassin to kill my master
We came to warn him and kill you, the closest man to him"
Marco didn't want to waste any more time, Qrey quickly cut his throat
Blood spilled from Qrey's throat like it was pouring from a glass, splattering left and right, the room was painted red
Marco went to his room with the pride of completing another task
The next day, the Academy was talking about the assassination events that happened last night
Xanros was extremely angry about the killing of his three most trusted assassins, and he was taking it out on those around him
"DAMN BASTARD SON OF A BITCH I WILL KILL YOU EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO"
Xanros beat those around him, torturing those most loyal to him just for fun
He molested girls, raped some of them when he was drunk
"Haa haa, I'm a little relieved Arnheid, my dear Arnheid, come here"
Arnheid, who was shaking in a corner, walked towards Xanros with fearful eyes
Xanros pulled Arnheid to him, squeezed her breasts, sniffed her neck, Xanros had a disgusting expression on his face
Arlek saw all this but could not intervene
He could not touch the sons of the Dynasty Leader, he could not oppose
Otherwise, even the most distant relative would be killed with horrific tortures and the people in his homeland would be put to the sword
The only way out for Arlek was for Ricardo to kill Xanros
Xanros stopped harassing Arnheid at some point and punched Arnheid hard in the stomach
Arnheid lost his balance and fell to the ground
"Arnheid my dear Arnheid you can't be anyone else but me how much more stubborn will you be mine and I will give you a great pleasure"
Arnheid wanted to spit on Xanros' face and kill him but he couldn't make a sound like his brother
Arnheid was not weak but the hierarchy in the Western Lands was clear
The Dynasty Lord and his Family were at the top of the western hierarchy the slightest disobedience and rebellion was unforgivable
Even killing a member of the Dynasty Leader's family in self-defense was enough reason for the entire lineage to be brutally murdered
Arnheid said in a shaky voice
"You promised me you can't have me unless I let you"
Xanros squeezed Arnheid's throat hard
"Yes I did but it was just for fun I wanted to see how long you could take it
Look Arnheid if you are mine I will end these tortures and even make you my first wife after I ascend to the throne what kind of offer is that"
Arnheid's killing intent spreading throughout the room was so intense that even Xanros got nervous he stood up and turned around and left
Arnheid's facial veins were about to burst with anger
"I'm tired of being harassed by him every day, every day, I want to kill myself"
Arlek knelt down and approached Arnheid
"Don't worry, Young Lord Ricardo will kill Xanros soon"
Arnheid stood up, his head bowed, his voice trembling
"I hope so brother, otherwise neither I nor you nor anyone else can endure this torture any longer"
Xanros had taken control of all the second years the previous year and was subjugating the students through fear, cruelty and tyranny
To him, absolute loyalty was through fear
Later that night, Arlek snuck into Ricardo's room
He was surprised to see Ricardo waiting ready
"Good evening, my young lord"
"Good evening, Arlek, come and sit"
Arlek sat across from Ricardo
"Young Lord, you have angered Xanros by killing Qrey, I will give you different names
These are the names of those most loyal to Xanros, they also help Xanros control the third years
You can think of them as a kind of tyrannical gang"
Ricardo took a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down exactly what Arlek said
When they were done, Arlek asked permission to leave and stood up, just as he was about to leave the room, Ricardo
"Arlek, you heard what happened today, I promise you Xanros will not get away with what he did
I want you to gather those who hate Xanros until the Class Wars begin
Come to my side that day and let's kill Xanros"
These words touched Arlek's heart
His sister, who had been abused by Xanros for a long time, would soon end her suffering
Arlek turned around, drew his sword, knelt, bowed his head, and with both hands he extended his sword to Ricardo in a respectful and submissive voice
"I am Arlek Payrist, Successor of the Payrist Dynasty
I swear by the name of my House that I will serve you with all my loyalty from this day until the day I die, Young Lord Ricardo"
Ricardo took the sword Arlek offered him, pressed it to his heart, and looked at Arlek
"I accept the oath of loyalty of Ricardo Kislavein, son of IV Orsman Kislavein, the 65th Lord of the House of Kislavein
I swear by the name of my House
I will avenge you and your sister, end the oppression you have suffered, and
I will sever the head of Xanros from his body"
Oaths were made, promises were made, Arlek took his place among Ricardo's most loyal men
Until the date of the inter-class wars, many assassinations were carried out, there were deaths on both sides
However, Xanros suffered the heaviest losses, his most trusted and loyal men were slaughtered by Ricardo's assassins
Ricardo did not suffer serious losses with the precautions he took, on the other hand, although Jack Johanson was wounded in the arm with a poisoned dagger, he did not suffer any serious injuries because he was treated in time
A few months passed, the war of the Assassins had given way to swords and magic, the Inter-Class War had now begun
These wars would bring Ricardo one step closer to the Kislavein Throne