Crimson and Gold

For some time, Saria weaved among the guests aimlessly, eavesdropping whenever possible, hoping that someone would mention the person she was looking for.

The crowd was too big to simply go around asking at random. First, she needed to locate the right people, then she could try prying some information out of them.

She was strolling past the cliques formed in the main hall, listening to fragments of conversations, when her attention was stolen by a woman clearly looking at her.

Dressed in a pure white dress, resembling those worn by priestesses in the olden days, the woman had beautiful, fiery-red hair cascading in waves down her slender shoulders. Her piercing marigold eyes were cautiously following Saria’s every move.

When she realized she was discovered, the woman rushed towards the exit leading to the patio and cast one more glance over her shoulder.

Saria felt that the act looked a lot like an invitation, so without wasting another minute, she followed after her.

The chase didn’t last long, but it was enough for her to notice that the woman was mostly ignored by other guests, despite her obviously captivating appearance. On the other hand, Saria had almost lost her because of all of the people trying to talk to her as she passed by.

Finally, she caught up with the woman near the lounge tucked between the labyrinth and a fire pit.

As she approached, she noticed that her chase target was currently being harassed by one of the noble guests.

“I believe the lady finds your presence bothersome. I’d suggest looking for someone more enthusiastic to keep you company,” Saria said, walking to the woman’s side.

The man scoffed. “And who do you think you are to meddle in my business?”

Saria’s eyes narrowed menacingly.

“Someone who can slit your throat before you finish blinking,” she said smugly, playing with a flashy, impractical dagger.

“How did you—” The man’s eyes went wide. His hand darted to the sheath hidden under his toga.

Realizing it was empty, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

She flipped the dagger between her fingers with a lightness of someone born with a blade in hand and smiled. “I wish you an enjoyable evening. Somewhere away from here,” she said, pointing at the man with the handle.

The noble grabbed his blade and hurried away from them.

“No wonder his dagger was so useless. Running so fast, he doesn’t have to be afraid of any confrontation.” Saria looked at the woman next to her and winked. “I hope he didn’t do anything to you?”

The mysterious girl giggled, covering her mouth with her delicate hand, and shook her head.

“You are quite fast yourself. I could swear I was right behind you, but next thing I knew, you were already all the way here.” Saria ran her hand through her loose hair, allowing for the cool night breeze to soothe her skin flushed from the chase.

“But since we’re finally alone, can you tell me what it was all about in the main hall?” she asked.

To her surprise, though, the woman appeared to have no clue what she was talking about.

Looking at her with wide eyes, she tilted her head slightly in puzzlement.

In the next moment, Saria felt a hand on her shoulder, and another person emerged from behind her.

Two women stood before her. Both with the same gentle face. Both with the same fiery-red hair and marigold eyes.

The only difference was that one ‘copy’ of her was staring at her clueless, while the other wore a cunning smile.

After a long few seconds, the obvious truth finally revealed itself to Saria.

“Ah… Twins!” She laughed at her own confusion.

The girls lowered their eyelids in confirmation, then giggled again.

“Did you lead me here so I could help your sister?” Saria asked the ‘original’ twin.

The woman took her hand and nodded, looking at her with eyes full of gratitude.

“You should be more careful. There are plenty of dangerous people here. What if I had nefarious intentions too?” Saria scolded.

The girls exchanged gazes, then looked back to Saria, smiling gently. But just a moment later, their eyes darted above her shoulder. Whatever or whomever they saw made all the cheerfulness in their eyes immediately disappear.

“They won’t answer you, you know?” Saria heard a man’s voice behind her.

Curly blond hair and copper eyes, the man walked behind the girls and rested his arms on their shoulders.

Saria tensed instinctively. “And why would that be?” she asked.

The man smiled. “They are mute,” he said, sounding proud.

“You see, the sisters over here had a nasty habit of speaking poorly about their master. They liked to spread lies about him and go so far as trying to make people turn on him.”

The man grinned, tightening his arms around the twins’ necks. From the looks of it, telling this story was giving him a lot of pleasure. Saria imagined that he probably never passed up the occasion to share it with anyone willing to listen.

And each time caused the protagonists to cast their solemn eyes down, helplessly waiting to be turned into a laughing stock.

Just as they did in that very moment.

“The master was a generous man, giving them many chances to fix their behavior. Unfortunately, they refused to take it.” The tale continued. “So, in the end, the master had no choice but to punish the naughty servants. He cut out their tongues so they can’t spread their harmful lies anymore.”

The enjoyment while sharing the story, the pride oozing from his words, and the crestfallen expressions on the women’s faces left no doubt about the identity of said master.

Nevertheless, Saria still asked. “I take it you are the master?” Her voice was calm, so was her face, but her nails dug deep into the skin of her palm. The pain did little to control the welling anger in her heart.

Completely unaware of the emotions he instilled in others, the man laughed contentedly. “Correct. You may call me Lord Agrios.”

The man bowed his head ever so slightly and invited Saria to join him in the lounge.

While she wasn’t exactly in the mood to spend any more time in his company, seeing the twins utterly dejected, Saria couldn’t force herself to leave.

She sat on the marbled settee and took another good look at the man.

Even before his introduction, his high status was obvious. Everything in his appearance was a statement of his leisurely life and wealth.

It was obvious from his exquisite emerald green toga, with golden ornaments sewn with great finesse. In his smooth, glowing skin wrapping around perfectly sculpted muscles, and hands that hadn’t worked hard even for a day in his life.

His unique copper eyes were framed by thick eyelashes darkened with kohl, while atop his blond curls sat a fine golden laurel.

A golden earring was hanging from his left ear, matching the golden necklace, decorating his bare chest, and the thin arm cuff.

Even his sandals had beads of gold attached to their straps.

Saria had no doubts that he was enjoying a lot of attention, no matter where he went. He had both looks and the money, for a lot of people, that made him a perfect catch.

She, however, couldn’t help but think that, with how much gold he was wearing, his body would sink to the bottom of a lake really fast. If the lake were deep enough, nobody would even be able to find him after the sediment accumulated and hid him for good.

“Staring at me so intensely… Did I catch your eye? Should we go somewhere private?”

The sleazy voice and even sleazier words efficiently broke through Saria’s fantasies and forced her mind back to reality.

“I was thinking, since the women caused you so much grievance, Lord Agrios, then how about I buy them from you? This way you won’t have to be constantly reminded of the affront you have suffered.”

Years of training as an assassin taught her well how to hide her emotions. Even though a lot of those memories were lost, her body still remembered how to sever the connection between her heart and her face.

It was a skill she used reluctantly and only when the situation really called for it. This kind of detachment reminded her too much of the past, of the emptiness and numbness that filled her up before she met Lysandra.

Even though she knew it was irrational, Saria always feared it would revert her to being that shell that knew no joy or sorrow. The nothingness truly terrified her.

But at that moment, there was something important she had to do, so she had no choice but to face her fears. If it meant that she would be able to give the freedom back to the two women trapped by his side, then she had to do it.

“Who said anything about grievance?” The man’s neat eyebrow arched in puzzlement. “I keep them around because they are useful tools. Why would I sell them?”

Saria shrugged, assuming a completely neutral expression. “I figured for a man like you its not difficult to get new slaves.”

“You don’t seem to lack anything yourself, then why this sudden interest in what’s mine?” Lord Agrios sprawled on the stone sofa and stared at her with a sly smile. “Don’t tell me you feel sorry for them?”

“Not really.” Saria sighed and casually leaned against the armrest, matching the man’s attitude. “I just never had a mute, and I always wanted to try twins. They possess both qualities at once, which makes them interesting.”

The words tasted bitter. Bitter on her tongue and bitter in her heart. It made her hate the man even more for putting her in a situation where she had to say them.

There was a time when she was indifferent to problems like this. It didn’t affect her, didn’t relate to her. There was a time when the pain in the women’s eyes wouldn’t make her care.

Not anymore.

Perhaps, because her heart could no longer stay truly indifferent, the determination that built up inside her rippled in her eyes.

That flicker of humanity didn’t slip Lord Agrios’ notice.

His always smiling lips twitched as a shadow crossed his face. A hint of danger appeared in his copper eyes.

“You have someone so fabulous before you, but all you want are some defect slaves?” he said, reverting to the same nonchalance as before. “I’m so disappointed…”

“I like women, especially exotic women. Can’t blame me for having preferences, can you?” Saria snorted.

How she wished, she could simply slit his throat and dump his corpse at the bottom of that lake…

Unfortunately, there were too many people around, with every guest being someone important. The disappearance of someone so high profile would cause too much chaos, and she still needed to get the information she came here for.

Lord Agrios appeared deep in thought for quite some time. Saria even started to wonder if the rejection caused some damage to his brain.

Eventually, however, he snapped out of the daze and reached for the goblet on the table.

“The price isn’t something you would be able to afford,” he said, swirling the wine. “But… how about we play a game? If you win, the girls are yours.”

“And if I lose?”

“They’ll stay with me. Obviously.”

Saria narrowed her eyes. “Just like that? You don’t want anything in return?”

“Being able to play with you is already a reward.”

The sleaziness of the words made her recoil internally. Forcing her face to remain expressionless and ignoring the bad feeling in her gut, Saria accepted his proposition.