"I failed to accomplish the mission. I will accept any punishment you give me." Sir black was beside himself. All his plans to leave no way out for the boy and to naturally usher him to their side had failed.

There was silence between him and the general. This time, he did not have to go all the way to the hideout to meet with his general. He had managed to acquire some of the past glory. He had gotten his seat back in the inner council by the promise of the supreme mandra. He could not give any opinion to the mandra or talk yet, but even so, he had gained some of his lost glory.

"Is he dead or exiled?" sir black dared ask after a moment of silence. It was the first time he had seen his general since leaving his exile. The general was being watched closely even after his exile was lifted. The supreme mandra was no man to be underestimated. He is the kind of man to keep his enemies closer. The general was not completely out of the woods. One slip up, and the beast art master could tear him limb from bone.

"Taola, all plans don’t always go as expected. You haven’t grown out of that sentiment, I see." The general finally spoke. His voice was calm. He was not mad, which was surprising to sir black.

"I apologize, General. I just wish to see you take all you deserve." Sir black said. He had been mulling over his thoughts for the past few days.

"The boy is neither dead nor exiled. Tsaka and the mandra only know what has happened to him," the general said. It was true that he was in the inner council, but he was only there for show. He did not hold any real power yet. The general, after all, still had warriors loyal to him, and even before he came to strike a deal and beg to be absolved, the supreme mandra had it in mind to either reinstate him or kill him and wipe out all the forces loyal to him. The latter could have caused an uproar. The warriors’ guild is still a pain in the neck to the mandra. The general showing up on time was helping the mandra calm the brewing tide. In doing so, he also allowed the mandra not to show weakness by ending his exile early.

The general had arranged it all.

"Could the supreme mandra want to use him as a secret weapon?" sir black asked frantically. He hated the gardener’s attire he wore. He hated dirt of all things. He rubbed our hands against each other to get rid of a soil particle before turning to look at his general.

"The supreme mandra could not do such. My spies at the southern border have not seen any envoy cross to the south, not even a soul. Tsaka is such a cunning man. He has managed to keep me in the dark about this," the general started. "It doesn’t matter. They won’t keep it hidden for long. The three councils that voted for his death are not standing still."

"Does it mean he is still in Tagayia?" sir black asked. This was currently the best news he had heard ever since he reunited with his general again. Their meetings had naturally become limited.

"Indeed," the general said, "but I advise against doing anything stupid. The stalemate currently is all I need to break through to the surface. Tsaka won’t keep me out of the mandra’s ear for long.

"Won’t it be better for us to eliminate him? As things stand, the boy now knows someone orchestrated his current situation. The chances of him coming to our side grow meager. It is better if we kill him," Sir black said.

"We can’t kill him even if we want to. Your pawn failed terribly. The boy himself wiped out a full squad of the seventh wing. Without the soulless, we cannot do anything about it," the general said.

"Have you been able to acquire her?" Sir Black dared to ask. This was a sour topic for the general, and he knew it. Even so, the general had asked him to stay out of it and let him deal with the ink keepers alone. The ink keepers cut across the nation. Even under the supreme mandra, there were ink keepers tasked with writing about history under his reign. They oversaw all exams and knew every important person in Tagayia and their histories. Those under the examination council were even worse. They were older than the council itself. They were shrewd as they were tight-lipped.

Not to forget the fact that if the general rubbed them the wrong way, they could just write him down in their books as some villain and destroy his possibility of ever rising. There was only one way to deal with them, and only he could complete the task. By his silence, Taola could tell his general had not made any progress yet. His calm mood turned sour in a matter of seconds, too.

"You should think about how to eliminate your pawn. If she remembers, then your whole operation could splash mad on my feet." The general’s tone was full of anger when he spoke.

"She can still be useful, or all I have to do is press the buttons I thought I could never. Perhaps she could kill the boy next time, and if she fails, I can kill her then," Sir Black said. He was still reluctant about killing his favorite and first successful subject. She was his pride and most successful subject, too.

"Don’t tell me you have grown quite attached to your pawn. Do you wish to defy me just to keep her?!" the general snapped.

"I dare not," Sir Black said.

"I think you know she is in war college. Find her and kill her. " Don’t fail me this time," the general gritted.

"I will do as you say," sir black bowed to his general.

"Don’t come to see me again until she is dead. She is a loose end. I don’t tolerate loose ends," the general repeated. Sir Black might have slightly fallen in love with his first functional subject, but now he knew the time had come to end her. Perhaps if she killed the boy and died in the process, then it would be picture perfect.

"As you wish."