When I accepted the commission, the Raven guild master took out another envelope and handed it to me. He told me to read the contents when I got to an inn.

I’m sitting on the bed, not having opened the envelope yet. I felt nervous and my chest felt very heavy for no reason. Normally, I would take any requests that were thrown my way. However, just seeing the two envelopes in my hands, I felt like the room was turning ice cold even with my fire spell going.

“No, let’s do this Iris“ I hype myself and carefully open the letter without the seal.

Inside was a small letter. It was from the lord I’m going to work for.

“Pendragon Black?“

I knew I had a reason to feel nervous. Pendragon Black is the tyrant of the North. The Iphania Kingdom’s grim reaper and Marquess. He is known to have slayed many monsters threatening the kingdom, and dealing with traitors accordingly preventing future betrayals from happening. I came to know about the tyrant because of Emperor Yexirean. I had heard him mention that Marquess Black had sent a delegation to the empire to meet with the emperor. Servants were gossiping about Marquess Black and that they had heard rumors about him, how he had killed millions and that is how he became the Marquess of the Iphania Kingdom.

One time the emperor told me that, if Marquess Pendragon Black ever became an ally, I was to keep my eyes on him because he didn’t trust the look the lord had in his eyes.

What if he knew I was from the Yexirean Empire and worked for the emperor? Will he murder me and sentence me, claiming I’m a spy sent by the emperor? I don’t want to die young!

I put down the letter and slap myself as hard as I can. I’m going down a rabbit hole I shouldn’t venture into. If I have negative thoughts, I’m setting myself up for failure. After making sure my cheeks sting, I resume my reading.

Marquess Black wants me to guard him. He sustained a big injury after his last hunt, and it would take months before he could heal his arm. He is looking for my sword's ability, as he has heard much about it. This part sent chills down my spine. How come he knows about my abilities? I read the letter further.

He says that he inquired about a swordsman and that my name showed up. Must be because I had to deal with the poison lizards. I need to choke the Raven guildmaster the next time I see him. Marquess Black mentions that he will send someone to escort me to his march. He lastly says he is looking forward to getting acquainted. I fall back on the bed and kick with my feet in defeat.