Chapter 115: Mine

I walk back into the room with Leon trailing not far behind. My body falls into my seat like a lump of coal and I huff, exhausted.

My eyes feel heavy, my headhurts, my butt hurts, my legs are killing me, everything is out of place and most certainly uncomfortable.

Matthias and the Diviner regard me with a look and I sigh even harder.

"We should discuss this some other time, Matthias." I mutter, trying to catch even the slightest break, "There are other things I need to talk to you about."

He narrows his eyes suspiciously, looking over to Leon and raising a questioning brow.

"Women problems I'm guessing?" he shrugs.

"You're a brave man, Leon." I say, pinning him to his seat with a glare.

"What? What does that mean?" Matthias asks, the confusion in his voice clear and apparent, "Why stop now? We've got Surgies right here, ready to answer all of our questions."

"We can't confirm if anything he says is true, at least not now. Personally, I find the story about the previous Necromancer and Anera meeting a bit too farfetched."

He blinks, "Farfetched?"

"Besides, I have other pressing matters to attend to."

He scoffs and folds his arms, "More pressing than finding out why my sister's entire fief was served up to the Cult?" He leans forward, glaring, "I thought you said you wanted to know? That Leriva was important to you."

"She's more important to me than she is to you, and I only knew her for a second." I snarl, disgusted at him.

He puts on an outraged look, looking to Surgies and Leon as though asking 'can you believe this?'

"Don't pretend Leriva was as important to you as you say she is, you're just afraid of me and of him." I nod over to the Diviner, "You're stuck here, you have no cards to play and I know you aren't some benevolent leader who actually cares about their people. That's Leriva."

His nostrils flare as he takes in deep and heavy breaths, "I do care about my people. Otherwise, why would I stay here? In this place cornered by Cultists when he's been asking, begging me to give him the treasury as payment for guiding me out of here for months."

"I don't know. Why are you staying here? I don't know why but I do know it's certainly not because of the people."

Now he growls, his fists balled up and set atop the table tremble with rage, "You're a Necromage, what do you care?"

I don't respond, instead I steadily stare right into his eyes, eyes filled with fury and he stares into mine.

He breaks, scoffing and folding his arms, unable to look my way again.

I shake my head at him, "You're a pretty shitty brother, aren't you? You really thought anyone with a brain would believe you loved your exiled sister more than you loved your own profit?"

"Carbina is a stone throw away from Frozia, closer from Spol. Both your territory, both give you tax, give you honour and prestige. But you couldn't stain what little you had to help your exiled sister survive the Cultists now did you?"

I bit my lip and remind myself to keep calm. I was going to ignore his deceit because I thought him useful but now…argh!

"I'd kill you right now but like I said, I still have some use of you." I look to Surgies and begin to address him, "I'll hear the rest of your tales later, but don't worry, I plan on keeping you two alive."

"You two?" Leon weakly mutters from my side.

"If you keep forgetting exactly who I am then you're not going to make the cut, Leon."

"Right, I'm sorry." He bows and I scoff.

"Now then, Mathhias, I'm goi-"

"It wasn't a lie." He says, rudely cutting me off. Slowly, he begins to face me as he speaks, "It wasn't a lie when I said I love my sister."

He's staring me in the eye again, this time it seems he's dug up some balls for it. I fold my arms and tilt my head to the side, "Then why didn't you help her then? You had all the resources she needed to survive, heck all she needed to be alive today was some potion for extreme mana exhaustion and broken pathways."

His lips tremble and his fists couldn't possibly get any tighter, "I wanted to, it's not like I didn't. " He starts, a classic excuse, "When Grandmother heard about her decision to stay with that woman, Mary, I think?"

"Mathilda, her name was Mathilda, and they died together."

He nods, swallowing hard, "Right, Mathilda, when Grandmother heard about her and Mathilda, and her refusal to carry out her duties, she was quick to kick Leriva out."

"Many of us protested…albeit quietly, but I later heard Grandmother thought Leriva would come crawling back for sure, I mean, being thrown all the way back to the forgotten village of our Ancestors? She wouldn't be able to stand living without all her luxury."

"Believing this, I felt at ease and stopped worrying. But that was a mistake, I should have visited, I should have sent a letter, or done something to find out just how well she's doing. If I did any of that I would have found out her strong her resolve was."

He laughs dryly at himself, "I guess Mathilda was all she needed, just as she said. And later, later when we heard, when the entire March heard about Carbina falling to the Cultists and the situation with Leriva's excommunication form the Synagogue, all eyes were on us, on House Carbina."

"Appeal after appeal was sent to the Synagogue from Carbina, I saw it, I read one. But none of us, not me, not Father or Mother could act without the entire House facing serious consequences."

"A B-rank Mage can take on a single Gamma warrior, so Leriva would be fine. I told myself this and focused on my own goals for amassing more power….and true enough, she held out, in the first year she stopped sending appeals and by the second she was barely in our minds. She's fine, we said. Leriva can do it all on her own…"

He stops speaking. The room is filled with silence as tears fall from his hung-over head, silently the man cried.

I let him sob out his tears for a moment, a part of me holds some pity for him. Once his done- which isn't long after- he wipes his cheek clear and sniffs.

"I'm sorry, I lost myself there."

"That's fine," I start, "So long as you understand how much you, and your entire House owe to Leriva."

He nods, "I've amassed a lot of power over the five years since Leriva was sent away, I started out as the Mayor of Spol, but opportunity found me and I got to Frozia, I then-"

"I don't care about your life story, Matthias. Leon, call a guard, take the Diviner away and keep him under supervision." I order, all while looking at Matthias.

Leon hesitates for a moment; reasonably so given he's just been given orders from an outsider. He looks to Matthias for approval or denial and gets a curt nod.

"Do it."

Surgies starts laughing, after being silent the whole time, "Hilarious boys you three are." He drones as Leon pulls him by the arm, "Looks like the Necro will be ruling Frozia!"

Before he can say anymore Leon drags him out and closes the door behind him, but the thought is already out there.

Matthias stares at me, unchallenging but rather…uncomfortable. Good, he should be.

With just he and I in the room I get off my butt and wander around his rather large office.

"Are you actually…" he starts, hesitant to speak out the words.

"Actually, taking control of Frozia?" I ask, turning my attention away from one rather dusty book on the shelf. He nods slowly, "Yes, I am."

He blinks, watching me all confused as I prowl his office, lightly touching everything, "Uh…is this about Leriva? Because I-"

"It has nothing to do with your sister, I simply need this territory for some of the things I have in motion."

He frowns now, "What things?"

"You'll find out in time. But for now, I've got a job for you."

He laughs, "A job, for me? You're giving me a-"

"Ferio Smithy. I believe the main operation is carried out here in Frozia."

He looks confuse but stutters out a reply, "Y-Yes but-"

"I hear they supply the Marquess, they'll be supplying me. I need you to arrange a load delivery to Aste. Weapons and armour, average sizes, no time to fit the entire army to their specific sizes."

"Weapons? Armour…wait Army? What is going on here? What are you talking about, Asher!"

My neck snaps at him and mana bleeds into my eyes, "Do not yell at me."

He sputters a bit then shuts up.

I step forward, approaching his curious desk, placing my palm on it as I lean over and glare down at him with eyes burning cold with necrotic green mana.

And I warn, "Do not question me." Despite facing me like this up close his eyes still flit towards his drawer, I scoff. "You want to try and face…me? Your rings won't help you…not any of you."

Staring into his eyes I watch as his hope dies out, as he realizes how hopeless he is.

"Get the job done tonight." He nods obediently, "Now get out of my office."