Today was the festival. Eldric watched from the window of his room at the mayor’s house as people filled the streets. Everyone was in a festive mood, busying themselves with the decorations or visiting different stalls that occupied the streets in the past week.

But Eldric was not in the least bit in a celebratory mood. He came here with a purpose. He needed to track a man, so strong, so vicious, and so evil. Someone who ruins lives. And he was trying his best so that no more people would fall victim.

A knock on his door brought him back from his thoughts.

Tim poked his head inside the study. “Eldric, it’s time for the contest.”

He groaned. He did not really care about the festival. He only wanted to find the man and kill him with his own hands.

But attending the festival was a task the King trusted him to do. So he had to fulfill this duty too.

He balled his fist. “All right, I’ll come down.”

“Think of this as a good opportunity. We might get a piece of information about the group we are pursuing,” Tim said, trying to coax his general into a better mood.

As Eldric expected, the contest was just a waste of time, time he should be using to gather intel. He sat at the judges’ table, trying to keep a poker face as the other judges chattered nonstop.

“Our General here might have the highest standard when it comes to food,” the chef said.

“Oh ho, that is true. The foods they serve at the Palace and the city are definitely top-notch,” the mayor said.

“But this year’s theme isn’t about lavishness or anything like that,” the female council chimed in.

This year’s theme was home. The word was as foreign to him like exotic food. He never had one. If anything, the closest he could ever think of home, was the Imperial Palace. But that was not a safe place with its never-ending politics. And the Queen. It was worse because of her.

Eldric sat on his chair, bored beyond belief when something caught his eyes.

That little fellow.

Lately, he kept on bumping into this young lad within the town. Or should he say, young lady?

Despite the shirt and the pants and the hat, he knew right away that she was a girl back at the fruit stall. Was she joining the contest? But the way she refused seemed otherwise.

‘Oh, but she was being guided to join the rest of the participants now.’

Eldric sat straighter. He had finally something to look forward to for this event. He wondered what she might make. But her disguise…

She was still wearing a man’s clothes and it had been bothering Eldric. Why did she have to do that? Was she a spy? One of that man’s accomplices?

He gritted his teeth. He had more reason to bash that man’s head if he knew that she was part of the organization. ‘If she was another victim…’ his blood boiled just by thinking about it.

But before he could devise his plans further, the host took the stage. Eldric readjusted his thoughts and focused on the contest.