The Duke's Unwanted Wife

Marvis Jane

To be successful on a hunt, you have to study your prey, remain hidden and wait for the right time to attack. The cover of the night was the right time to attack but it wasn’t good to mindlessly attack. You have to wait until the prey was extremely comfortable before you made a move.

“Let’s set up camp here. You there, you’re on the first watch” a rather rude voice said to the only man who had been walking the entire distance. They had traveled more than 5 miles, stopping to rest a few times and no one cared to acknowledge how tired he was, treating him like he was air. However, he didn’t say anything, nodding to acknowledge his request.

He walked away from the party, finally letting down his hood. Long rough dark blue hair flowed out, reaching down to his waist. Reaching into the purse by his waist, he pulled out a pink ribbon and wrapped it around his hair. The long spear-shaped ears that were covered by the hair finally came out, covered by a bit of blue fur. Purple slit eyes observed the surroundings, his vision going beyond just trees and grass. He was able to see the caterpillars crawling on a tree more than a few feet away.

He was a tall man, his fingers long and thin. In the place of short fingernails, he had dull talons that could become sharp when he willed it. It was the reason he remained barefoot and in minimal clothing, wearing just a black top and a pair of brown pants. His cloak covered his entire body, showing just a fraction of his face and his hands whenever he stretched them out.

Although he was supposed to only take the first watch, they all slept soundly, forgetting that someone was supposed to take over. He wasn’t angry, rather, he had been waiting for them to let their guard down. He took one step and he disappeared, his shadow randomly appearing around the camp. After a while, he appeared in his initial position, flicking away the blood in his claws. He dropped something into the campfire and climbed up the tallest tree.

After a while, several monsters appeared from the forest and began to eat the corpses scattered about the camp ground. It took about two hours but there was almost nothing left of the bones of the ones he followed inside the forest. He descended after the monsters had left, collecting personal belongings that were undigested before reaching into his pocket to bring out an item. Extending a sharp claw, he cut his finger, dopping blood on the item. A purple light flashed and he disappeared from where he stood. He reappeared in an empty hall filled with the debris of fallen pillars and what was once the statue of the god served by the Empire of Illumine.

“.....you’re back, Sir Jane”

“Take this to his highness. I will go finish up my duty”

“His highness has requested your immediate presence, Sir Jane”

“Is that…..so? Please lead me to him then”

The two disappeared in another flash of purple light. This time, they reappeared behind a huge red silk curtain. The other guard disappeared while the man opened the curtains. Behind it was a secret room that was used by one of the most important people in the Empire, the Crown prince. That person rested on a couch with a glass of wine in hand, staring at a magical orb transmission. The man got on his knees.

“Marvis, you’re back,” the prince grinned, dropping the glass on the table beside him. He rose and walked to where Marvis was kneeling, stroking his hair. Marvis’s ears perked up, the tips turning a light shade of pink.

“I did as you asked, your highness”

“Hmm, I know you did. Did you get hurt this time again?” his hands caressed Marvis face. His ears turned a deeper shade of red the more he was touched.

“N-No……”

“Good. I can’t have my weapon rusty after all. I need you to do something else for me. From my informat, I hear the Kingdom of Ducroft is having an extermination campaign in the forest of damnation. I would need you to go there and gather as much information as you can. As always, make sure you don’t get found out”

“Y-Yes, y-you-ur h-highn-ness”

The prince finally let the man go, watching him disappear in a flash of purple light. Marvis reappeared in the middle of the abandoned temple which wasn’t empty this time. On his arrival, he was surrounded by children with animal features all rushing to catch his attention. He smiled, his ears moving to the sides as he pet them.

“Marvis, are you leaving again?”

“Sorry, I have to. I wanted to drop by and see you kids. They must’ve delivered this month’s funds to you, right, Ralia?” he turned to the oldest of them all who was carrying a child in her ams. She wore the simple clothes of a commoner but her face was stern. She was the caretaker of the werechildren that lived in the capital city of the Empire.

“Yes, they have. More children have been able to hide their features properly so we can go into town and purchase the supplies we need. Thanks to the funds we saved, our village is almost completed. The elders said they wanted to see you and thank you”

“I would also love to talk to them but due to the nature of my job, I can’t see you all very often so please convey my wishes to the elders. I have to go, little ones. The moment I am free, I will come to the village. I hope it is completed by then”

“Don’t leave, Marvis” the childen cried, clutching his clothes. He smiled awkwardly, looking back to Ralia.

“Come on children, he has to work so we can survive” she scolded. The children expressed their discontent with noise but they all let go of Marvis. He sighed in relief and readied to leave.

“Be…..careful, Marvis” her voice was small but he caught it, along with her fear and worry. Smiling to reassure her, he disappeared right before their faces. He reappeared in the grassland that seperated the two nations. He put his cloak back on and began to trudge through the grassland, eventually encountering other travelers that were heading to the Kingdom of Ducroft. Traveling in a group was not strange and it was perfect for the spy who wished to enter the kingdom through the Southwest.

As he expected, the topic on the lips of the travelers was the Extermination Campaign. Many of the people traveling were merceneries who wished to offer their services to nobles without a powerful army to participate in the Extermination Campaign. It was a damgerous job but it came with many rewards and it was safer since they were traveling in a group.

The forest of damnation or the forest of Telra, which was it’s actual name, was somewhere the Wererace could enter without difficulty. They were a species more powerful than the Beastmen so the monsters in the forest instinctively avoided them. It was the reason why the remainder of the Wererace found it safe to build their village beside the Forest of Telra. They wouldn’t be bothered by either humans or the monsters in the forest.

Although he could’ve gone through the village, he took this route because he wanted to gather information. Within the crowd, he could hear the nobles willing to hire mercenaries and the nobles participating in the Extermination Campaign. He also learnt the royal family would be hosted by the Grand Duke and a slew of nonsensical traditions and folktales about the campaigns of the past. He filtered out the gibberish, taking down important points.

“Have you heard about the Grand Duchess Kristen?”

“Who hasn’t heard about the rumored flower of the capital? She’s beautiful and elegant but she’s very capable too. I heard it was due to her efforts that the bandits pillaging about the forest’s edges were caught. It’s also due to her efforts that the area around the Forest of Damnation is safer these days”

“That’s incredible. The Grand Duke is a scary person so he must really feel blessed to marry such a capable person”

Before she became the Grand Duchess, Natalia Adamantine was someone who was closely watched by the crown prince’s allies. She built her way to the top of the social circle of the kingdom and established herself as the standard despite her background. Her brother, Sebastian Adamantine, was also very capable, becoming a Financial advisor at his age. Those two were targets the crown prince wanted to recruit as his allies or assassinate if they refused. But now that she had become the Grand Duchess, it wasn’t so easy to kill her.

As Marvis made it past the checkpoint, traveling to the city of Traisen, he wondered if he would ever get to meet the acclaimed lady. If his master willed it, he would take her life but….he had heard a lot about the beautiful lady and was curious to see her himself. After all, she was someone who captured the heart of his stoic master. If he could help it, he didn’t want to kill her.

“I heard the Merchant Association is also hiring merceneries to help gather materials and pick up monster cubs during the extermination. I hear they’re offering a good reward and connections to the Merchant Association”

Marvis’s ears perked up and he traveled faster, feeling lucky enough to find the first point of his infiltration; the Merchant Association.